HIS HOLY TEMPLE

HIS HOLY TEMPLE

                “But the Lord is in His holy Temple. Let all the earth be silent before Him. Habakkuk 2:20

                “But if ALL prophesy and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters he is convicted by ALL, he is called to account by ALL; the secrets of his heart are disclosed and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.” 1 Cor. 14:24, 25

                Just as the temple was holy in the days of Habakkuk, so the living temple, the Body of Christ is holy today. Only today, we do not, for the most part, function as a holy temple. There was a living dynamic in the early church to which we must return if we are to come out of Laodicea and get back into Philadelphia.

                There was a supernatural element in the early church so that all prophesied so that the one who entered that was a sinner or an ungifted one, the secrets of his heart would be exposed and he would fall down on his face and worship declaring that God was certainly among them. So how did the church service unfold in those days? Let’s read on:

                “What is the outcome then, brethren? When you assemble, EACH ONE has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification.” (For the building up of the Body of Christ.) If any one speaks in a tongue, it should be by two or at the most three, and each in turn and let one interpret; but if there is no interpreter, let him keep silent in the church; and let him speak to himself and to God. And let two or three prophets speak and let the others pass judgment. But if a revelation is made to another who is seated, let the first keep silent. For you can ALL prophesy one by one, so that all may learn and all may be exhorted and the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets for God is not the God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”  1 Cor. 14:26-32

                AS we read these verses carefully we see the Body of Christ as a living organism. It functions as a living Body each one sharing a Psalm or a teaching, each one able to speak in unknown tongues, (See 1 Cor. 14:1, 2 while others, by the same Spirit operate in the interpretation of tongues. The idea given here is that all may prophesy and that the others may pass judgment.

                If is important for the body of Christ not only to have and operate in the gifts, but also to pass judgment on the prophecies according to the Word of God. In fact Paul commended the Bereans for passing judgment on his prophesying. They checked with scripture to see if the things Paul was saying were true.

                I experienced such a living body of Christ one time in a home prayer group half a lifetime ago. They were singing, worshipping, prophesying, speaking in tongues and interpreting tongues. In that meeting the sins of my heart were laid bare and I asked them to pray for me. In all of my years of religion, it was the first time I had experienced the body of Christ as a living and Spirit moved organism.

                When they prayed for me, the secrets of my heart were laid bare. A demon was exposed that had long hidden under a façade of religion. It leered at me from inside me, like a menacing monster that was attached to every fiber of my being and threatened to destroy me if I tried to get rid of him. It scared me so bad that I backed out of the prayer and fled. But then I realized that I had never been truly born again. My religion was only skin deep. As a preacher’s kid I knew how to act and what to say and how to appear humble and all of that, but my religion was not unto salvation.

                 It was truly a wrestling match with God for the next few weeks, because in facing the prospect of giving my life 100% to God I could not picture anything other than becoming more legalistic than I already was. I had turned over a new leaf countless times and each time it had resulted in failure and deeper desperation.

                It was hard for me to give my life to Christ, thinking that I must become severely strict, like balancing on the razor’s edge. So as I got up my nerve to come to the Lord, I told Him that unless He had something more to offer me than more legalism, this was going to be a very short conversion. I knew there had to be more because I had seen it in action in others at that meeting. They never tired of worshiping God. They had something that I knew I had never had. So I finally gave in and asked Jesus to come into my heart in a new and living way and to do in me that which I had never been able to do for myself.

                It was at that moment that I discovered the absolute power and majesty of Jesus Christ. He came into me and through me like warm oil, like a gentle breeze and I felt the burdens of a lifetime melting away. The first words that Jesus spoke into my spirit were like nothing I had ever heard. He asked me saying: “Do you want Me to get rid of that thing?” I said “Yes” and the Lord let me see that demon fleeing. It was frightened beyond belief. Instead of being this all-consuming monster of evil it was now like a frightened little black leaf being blown by a mighty wind and it could not get away fast enough.

                The demon had threatened to rip me apart if I ever tried to get rid of him, but when Jesus came on the scene, the demon fled in terror and I did not feel a single thing. No wrenching, no tearing, not even the hint of a struggle. No wonder they call Jesus that name above all other names. He is magnificent in power and love. He does not come to condemn but to save.

                Friends, as we approach the very last days, we need the church to become a living entity once again. And this will only happen as we ourselves become living entities. When eh body operates in the gifts of the Spirit as it should, then visitors should not be able to endure the presence of God. Either they should fall on their faces and come to God, or to flee in rejection, or as in my case, I fled knowing that I must come fully to God and to experience His power over my sins and my evil heart.

                I know the voice of Jesus when I hear it. It is the most loving, understanding, accepting, forgiving voice you will ever hear and yet at the same time a gauntlet is clearly thrown down. It is the unspoken power of God letting you know that it is either Christ or Satan. Good and evil, light and darkness, cannot dwell in the same temple. We will be ruled by one or the other. The choice is ours, but the power is in the Lord.

                If there is anyone reading this today and you sense that your life is an empty shell… if you always feel like an outsider looking in… if you hunger for a pure heart…a heart that loves the presence of God: I invite you today to lay down your struggle. Ask Jesus to come into your heart in a new and living way. Ask Him to make you into a living part of His living Body. God’s Remnant people not only obey Him, but they are filled with Him. They bear the fruit of the Spirit and operate in the gifts of the Spirit.

                Jesus promised this saying: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.’ But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive…” John 7:38, 39a.

                Joel prophesied of this time just prior to the Day of the Lord saying: “And it will come about after this that I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind and your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams and young men will see visions. And even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” Joel 2:28-29.

                But now we need some time stamps. When is Joel talking about? Certainly Peter applied this prophecy to the Day of Pentecost, but it also included elements that did not occur at that time. So what else was said?

                “And I will display wonders in the sky and on the earth, blood, fire and columns of smoke. The sun will be turned into darkness and the moon into blood BEFORE the great and awesome day of the Lord comes. “Joel 2:30, 31

                During the past 5 years we have seen 4 blood moons which fell on God’s appointed feast days. We have seen a total eclipse of the sun across America.                 We have witnessed the return of the Bethlehem star for the first time in 2000 years. We also watched the Revelation 12 sign appear for the first time in 7000 years and never to appear again. We see wars trying to break out on a global scale. We see an unprecedented dying off of animals, birds and fish as well as massive crop failures, extreme weather, earthquakes and volcanoes on an unprecedented scale.

                And yet, as always we look to Israel because Israel is God’s physical time clock to show us where we are in spiritual time. (Chronos time and Kairos time) So what does Joel say immediately after His predictions of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days? HE says:

                “For behold, in those days and at that time, when I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem, I will gather all the nations and bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat. There I will enter into judgment with them there on behalf of My people and My inheritance Israel whom they have scattered among the nations and they have divided up My land.” Joel 3:1-2

                Here then is our time stamp. Israel has been brought back and their fortunes restored. But now the nations are gathering together to come against Israel and what are they trying to force Israel to do? They are trying to force them to divide up His… God’s land. You see, it is not even Israel’s land to divide. It is God’s eternal land and Jerusalem is the city of the great King. (Psalm 48:1, 2)

                When they do this the judgments of God will fall upon the nations. The Beast is rising and preparing to take his place in the temple of God showing himself that he is God. (Dan. 11:38, 2 Thess. 2:3, 4) The temple is about to be built so that these prophecies can be literally fulfilled. But now, let’s bring this down to a very personal level.

                Whatever happens to Israel physically tells us what is happening with the Body of Christ spiritually. The coming temple belongs to God as does the land of Israel, but the Beast of Revelation 13 is in the process of forming a global government and as per Satan’s long term desires, he will rule his global government from Jerusalem. At some point he will step into the temple and declare himself to be the God of gods.

                AT the same time as this is happening in Jerusalem, we see a parallel spiritual event… a great falling away from the faith as the temple of God… His church becomes a habitation of demons… a whore… a prostitute. In that day our Christian facades will be exposed and the true evil that hides under our facades of religion will be exposed. Many will fall away from the faith giving heed to seducing spirits and doctrines of demons (1Tim. 4:1) (See also 1 Thess. 2:1-4) And everyone whose name is not written in the Lamb’s book of life will worship the Beast. (Rev. 13:8)

                We are living in a time when everything that is not real and genuine will be stripped away. A great shaking will shake away everything that can be shaken so that what remains will belong to a kingdom that cannot be shaken. Hebrews 12:26-29.

                This boils down to a very personal thing, where we have to deal with what is inside of us, just as I did on that day when I had to decide who was going to rule and empower my life. I was in church and in evangelism for the first half of my life and yet I didn’t know that a demon was riding in me disguised as good intention and dead religion. What that tells me is that apart from the indwelling Holy Spirit we cannot know our own hearts.

                “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” Hebrews 4:12

                But instead of taking this as a threat, take it as a promise. It is Jesus alone who can cleanse your temple. His presence alone can make your temple holy. It is time to find rest from our own works and to lean fully upon His work. Salvation is God’s business. All He needs is our invitation and He will come in   and chase the devil out and restore our souls to peace and worship.

                “Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16

                In all of these years since I had my encounter with Jesus, I have stumbled and fallen many times. But since that day there has been a profound difference. In my spirit there is light instead of darkness. Little by little the sword of the Lord has conquered my enemies. The Lord is in His holy Temple and He is making it into a place to dwell in peace. It is His presence and His word that transform me more and more into His image. I can take no credit. It is in beholding Him that we are changed. It was in power and majesty that Jesus delivered me and took up residence in me “And the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave His life for me.” Gal. 2:20b. This is my testimony.   ”I am not ashamed of the Gospel; for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Gentile.  For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.” Romans 1:16, 17   

                This life is equally available to every thirsty soul that calls upon the name of the Lord. We were never intended to overcome anything apart from His Holy Spirit. Lay down your struggle and invite Him in.

                I’m sure that many of you reading this have your own testimony of God’s amazing grace. Don’t neglect to share it for it is the testimony of Jesus.