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The
Feast of Tabernacles - Part 3
Nehemiah and Ezra were two of God’s chosen who sought to rebuild
Jerusalem. They left Babylon with those who felt called to return unto the land
of their forefathers, which God had given them. Not all the Hebrews wanted to
return because of their new lives in a prosperous land and the wealth they had
accrued. Their desires were more on the natural plane. Those who left with
Nehemiah and Ezra forsook all their natural connections - family, income,
security, etc. They were a spiritual people making a trek of thousands of miles
to return to a land inhabited by strangers who didn't want them there, even to a
people who were not of the same faith.
When the Israelites arrived, they realized the
immense mountain of challenges that lay before them. Their first efforts after
dedicating themselves to the Lord was to build their own homes and establish a
means of income and sustenance. These people poured themselves into such an
effort. But it was not very fruitful and times were tough.
The leaders, as often is the case, who brought them
out and led them through many a harrowing experience on the way back to the land
of their forefathers, were probably not the leaders to have in a settled
community. These men could meet the challenges of the open road, but the
challenges of a settled community presented different problems, which needed
unique solutions. The people were struggling and failing.
Into this scenario, God raises up Haggai, the
prophet for Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and Joshua son
of Josedech, the high priest. God spoke to both men concerning the issue of His
people. God always does things in a witness (as 2 is the number of witness).
God was concerned for His people. As a side note, many times people
receive a word from someone and act on that prophetic word immediately without a
witness. If God has not told you similarly before the person declares a word to
you, then ask for a confirmation. God will honor that, because the Scripture
states that we should have things established in the mouth of two or three
witnesses. Since the Scriptures were given by God, it is He, Himself, who says
to prove Him by asking for a witness.
We find the man Zerubbabel in the lineage of Jesus
Christ (Matthew 1:12). So the word that the two men were given to take to the
“home land” was a word that would affect the lineage of Christ - which you
are a partaker of. Note that one was a prophet and the other was a high priest,
and the high priest's name of Joshua is the equivalent of the name of Jesus in
the New Testament. Was not our Lord
a prophet and high priest of our faith after the order of Melchizedek?
So there is a type and shadow here that can have some importance to us.
The word given to these two men to proclaim to
the people was: (1) Consider your ways; (2) You have sown and reaped little; (3)
Why? Because my house was laid
waste and every man built his own house; (4) Therefore the dew of heaven is
withheld; (5) Go up the mountain; (6) Bring wood; (7) Build the Lord's house;
(8) God will be glorified; (9) God will take pleasure in it. (Haggai 1:7-10)
These are the keys to this message on the feast of
Tabernacles. Tabernacles is a strong word of the Lord unto those who have been
called out of the systems of the religious denominations. Tabernacles is a word
of Life that forces people from the realm of spiritual comfort into the realm of
spiritual life. Passover and Pentecost are realms of spiritual comfort in which
God blesses the person without much being required. But Tabernacles is a realm
of maturity wherein what was permitted before in many ways is not allowed in a
deeper walk. In every age there have been people who have separated themselves
from the religious ways of man, that adamic fallen nature, to walk with God. It
has a cost, a total cost. God would have a Body of saints experience
Tabernacles, not just one or two in every generation. He is looking for a Body
to place His headship upon.
Many have left the church system only to find
nothing to fellowship with. Since they are alone without the benefit of
fellowship of others of like same faith, many become unbalanced. Freedom can
lead to license if not checked. Some have left the system to follow the Lord and
having been hurt by people in the system they have a wound that is not healed.
This wound is so real and the word of the Lord so real to come out that it is
difficult to follow Haggai's word.
All these people that left Babylon, like the people
today who leave Babylon’s church system, have moved on into the new land.
These saints have started a new life in a new land. They are farmers in a new
land. First, they must clear the brush and the little foxes in the land. Having
come out of Babylon, the saints start to work on their own house (their
spiritual habitation within themselves). They remove the things before their
eyes that need to be cleansed from the land. They do this because they know the
Scriptures and know what has to be done to be holy unto the Lord. What they are
doing is good.
These saints know that they are the temple of the
Lord (1 Corinthians 3:16-17). They know that they should build their very own
house. Just as the people of Nehemiah knew and did so. But they have not
realized that just because they have been led of the Spirit out of the system
unto the Lord, that they are not yet spiritual. Coming out of something does not
make you spiritual, although there is a tendency to think that one is spiritual
because of the new insights that occur. True spirituality is a relationship -
not revelations from God.
Haggai and Joshua were sent in order to bring
balance to those called of God out of Babylon. These precious people were having
difficulties in their walk. They had not considered what was going on (Haggai
1:5). They were so focused on what they were doing, that they could not see the
real situation. The purpose of God was being hindered because of the actions of
these people. God wanted to set creation free through the example of a people,
and these people who had separated themselves unto the Lord were not seeing the
big picture. They had, as the saying states, “lost sight of the forest because
of the trees.” These people were living on the developing of their revelation
and not their relationship with God.
They had heard the word to return to the land and
reclaim it from the adamic. They acted on that word. But their actions were
individual actions within their own understandings. My father owned a small
construction company in the 1950's. His business contracted jobs, which required
digging trenches and ditches for sewer lines, telephone lines, etc. Let me use
his work as an example. When I was in Springfield, Missouri in the 1970's a
fellow minister there needed some trench work done. The young men in the
congregation offered their abilities to dig it for him. It was a deep line, over
six feet. I knew that if the ditch was not “shored up,” with support placed
on the sides, it could cave in and kill people. My father had taught me that. I
brought the subject up and it was discussed, but the minister decided that it
would not be needed. He was incorrect, but I could not control the results.
However, before the ditch could be dug, God graciously moved on a lady to see a
vision in which a ditch caved in on people. She saw this during a service and
she was not involved in any of the previous discussions. The minister listened
and all went well.
Why this true story? Because it is an example to
learn from. While it would cost more in time and money to shore up the sides,
that was not the issue with the minister. He had good spirituality in many
things and his assumption was that he knew what he was doing. But he had no
construction experience in that area. He needed the work done, and he was going
to do it. So it was with the people of Nehemiah and is with people today who
have left the system. They know they were called out. They see what needs to be
done and set their hand to do it, but they sometimes do not have a Body to
fellowship with to save them from their mistakes.
My wife and I moved from Pennsylvania to Missouri.
We were called out from the system, but we moved to where there was a Body of
like same faith who had come out of the system and were looking unto God. I left
a career, as did my wife. We left natural family ties. We counted those things
as dung in order to know Christ crucified. But many who come out, come out and
do not seek nor are willing to move in order to have fellowship. While I
understand each person has to be led of the Spirit, I also understand that the
very phrase is sometimes used as a spiritual license. In the society found in
the USA there is much credence on individualism and self-fulfillment, to the
point that it is narcissistic in nature. Even the emphasis on eschatology (study
of end-time things) in the USA is not found in other countries. People are
subtly influenced by their environment. It takes a Body of believers to help
protect against false ideas. Now,
we could say that the people of Nehemiah's group were a Body all together in the
same place, and that would be true, but it’s only half the story. The trouble
was that none interacted with the others. They were rugged individuals building
their own lives. There was not even a temple to come together and meet at.
Nehemiah's people were all individually building their own houses, and the
results were the same. Each called-out person was starving for food and drink
(Haggai 1:6), and their wages were not sufficient enough to permit a house to be
built that would be good enough. They were doing something wrong. Predominately
since 1948 within the circles of those called-out ones, especially those who do
not believe in the rapture, but believe in the reconciliation of all things back
unto God and the kingdom of God being set up on this earth, there have been few
places to fellowship. Each has stayed where they lived and tried to survive
where they were. Procreation of the word of God with these deeper truths has
been, as results show overall, a failure. There are many white-haired people in
the meetings but few youth and young adults. Whether the issue wants to be faced
or not - it needs to be addressed. We
cannot, as the people of God, follow the pattern of Nehemiah's people. We must
harken unto the word of Haggai who speaks to us today. The feast of Tabernacles
is an inclusive feast. It includes everyone. It includes every realm. It
includes every person, saved or unsaved. The feast of Tabernacles is a person
first - Jesus Christ. He showed on the cross His willingness to die so that all
would come into the knowledge of God. The feast of Tabernacles secondarily is a
people who are called out of the world systems, which include economic, social,
political and religious ways, and these saints are called to reveal Christ to
all, as sons of the Most High. But these people called “to be the
greater works” that Jesus spoke of, need to build God’s house. They tried to
build a house - their own. They were failing in Nehemiah's time, and they are
failing today for the same reason. That is why God sent Haggai and Joshua to
correct the vision, for the people were perishing because they did not have a
correct vision. God did not say that the building of their own house was
incorrect. He did not say that they were using wrong materials. He did say that
they weren't getting the job done and wanted to show them the correct way. Step
One - Consider Your Ways The
first step Haggai told them was to consider their ways. The Concordant Literal
Translation states Philippians 3:17-19 as “Become imitators together of
me, brethren, and be noting those who are walking thus, according as you have us
for a model, for many are walking of whom I often told you, yet now am lamenting
also as I tell it, who are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose consummation is
destruction, whose god is their bowels, and whose glory is their shame, who to
the terrestrial are disposed." Note the sadness of Paul that these
who started to follow him are now not following him as he follows Christ. Their
bowels were their destruction. Their desires of the lower plane, those
terrestrial desires, were their downfall. This could mean lusts of the flesh but
it also could mean the soulish desires such as power, dominion, prosperity, etc.
Examining ourselves to see whether we be in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5) means
to test, evaluate and try oneself to see if the right fruit is being produced.
It is to see if we have the correct approach, not just the correct desire. Since
these people were not successful as evidenced by their fruits, which showed
poverty (wages with holes in the bag), little food or drink and houses not done,
they needed to examine why. It was not that the people were unfaithful or that
there was infidelity to God. Their knowledge of the Word of God was not there.
At that time in history many of them could not read and did not have the
availability to hear the Word of the Lord read. But today that is not an excuse
because the Bible has been given to us. These people were out of balance
in their walk and it produced poor results, poor fruit, if any at all. Egotism,
self-expression, and a narcissistic devotion to self are all endemic in the USA.
It is this disease, if you will, that brings rottenness to the church. How many
go to feed or enhance others at church? That is the point. We must consider our
ways. These people were so selfish that they sought their own well being at the
expense of others. It is not that they did it intentionally, but they looked to
themselves first. They looked inside their close knit circle. These people were
focused only on immediate families and immediate needs. Consumed with self, they
failed God in their testimony. I
am sure you have seen the toy called a top. One carefully winds the string
around it then he pulls the string as hard as he can. The string unwinds and the
top spins on its small point. The top whirls around and around staying on its
point, but as the force lessens on the top, it begins to wobble and totter.
Eventually it falls to the ground and spins out of control until it is done
spinning. Without balance (the Spirit of God) the church is spinning out of
control and is a poor witness. We must have balance. But the word in the USA is
that of imbalance with the prosperity message and a self-centered faith where
the individual seeks to be blessed. Step
Two - Failure to Reap
It is important to note that the people in Nehemiah’s time sowed the
ground. They worked very hard at sowing, but they reaped very little based upon
their sowing. It is not supposed to work that way. One kernel of corn can
produce two ears of corn that are made up of many hundreds of kernels. That is
the way it is supposed to occur, but it didn't work for them.
These people were righteous in Nehemiah's time.
They were the crème of the crop, so to speak, because they had left Babylon to
follow the Lord. God could not ask for anyone more qualified as far as their
dedication and sincerity to the things of God. These were great people.
It was not because of their lack of faith nor their
unrighteousness, because they were covered and called of God. Even today, those
called of God have been clothed with His righteousness and their filthy rags
have been removed. The called-out ones of today as well as those of yesteryear
are very similar. Both bemoan the lack of fruit and results.
The plowing, the planting, the watering, the
weeding, all have been done to the glory of God in their own house, but the
fruit still does not come. What effort, what time, what cost has been spent and
the results are not there. It would be a depressing sight if not for want of
food and drink. Of course, we see this even as spiritual food and drink was nigh
to be found. Regression did occur. Their natural bodies did not receive enough food and so they
wasted away. Positive
change could not occur. Positive change is growth. They did not have enough to
grow physically from the food planted. Even so it is true spiritually today. You
will not grow if you do not follow the correct pattern or plan. The right
pattern is for one to sow, another to water and another to reap. Step
Three - Failure to build the Lord's House
Want to be blessed? Then don't focus on yourself, but focus on another.
Want to feel good with a long memory of it, then give to another rather than
take unto yourself a touch of the Spirit. The
people of Nehemiah did not realize that if they built the Lord's house first,
their house would be built! It is
only as we build the Lord's house in others that our own spiritual house is
built. It is only as we act out of the nature of God that we have within, that
we can build the same into another person. It is only as we sow Him who is in us
out to others that we reap even more of Him who is in us! They
built their own houses without concern for others building theirs. They did not
have a vision of the corporate Body of believers. The same is lacking in the
brethren today. Do you see them as the house of God? Do you see them as the
Lord? Are you building the Lord up in the brethren? If you were standing face to
face with the man Jesus, I am sure you would profusely seek to bless Him and
edify Him, even as some poured oil on His feet in admiration. Do you do the same
with the brother or sister you see in Christ right next to you? Often
we have a soulish faith. A person enters the church service, closes their eyes
to focus on God and closes out others - who are a manifestation of God. While
there are times to do such, there are even more times to bless others. Helping
others to be built in the faith is a sacrifice that God desires because it is
like His nature. Jesus gave Himself to help others spiritually. Do you? Do
you sacrifice a little sleep so that early in the morning you can lead your
family in Bible study and prayer before the day starts? Or is building your own
house more important than others. Are you willing to set aside your afternoon
off to help your spouse do something, thereby revealing the nature of Christ, or
is a romantic novel or a football game too important? God
was upset with the people of Nehemiah's time because they did not build the
Lord's house first. God wanted
the corporate expression done first so that He would get the glory. Of course,
the literal building would be a sign to the people in the area. Today, God is
looking for a people who place others first and seek to establish the Christ
life in others. They seek to establish not only salvation, although that is the
foundation of all of the Christian faith, but to bring people into Union with
God, into the feast of Tabernacles. Step
Four - the Dew is Withheld The
dew represents the anointing, and/or the Holy Spirit. If the Holy Spirit is not
involved in the work, there can be no fruit (see Galatians 5:22). Those
stomachs, which think they are spiritual and build only their own house, are
eating of the lusts of the flesh as was quoted earlier in Corinthians. Consider
a child. It starts life selfishly. It cries for its needs. The child sees the
response of the parents and becomes even more so a selfish, possessive creation.
It must be weaned from the tit of desire and lust, even though that is the food
that feeds it. The child must move from the mother’s tent to the Father's
house and learn of the ways of his Father (Genesis 21:8). The
life of the Spirit is withheld from the hand that holds the plow if it seeks to
farm and create only unto itself. If the Spirit does not lead, the person will
not prosper. The Spirit will not assist if it is not found in the mode of
operation that God has planned. The people of Nehemiah failed in their efforts
because of the focus on themselves rather than assisting others first.
When one hears the word Amish, one thinks of everyone pulling
together to build a house or barn for another, because the Amish are known for
that. That is a pure example of building the house of the Lord by uplifting
another. Step Five - Go up the Mountain
Even with all the failure of the people of Nehemiah, God was not angry.
He loved these people and wanted them to become what they could be. He saw them
far greater and better than what they had envisioned of themselves. So, God
called them and commanded them to change what they were doing. They were to let
it go, change course and go up the mountain, because He had something better for
them.
We should take the hard road, as Abraham did.
Abraham gave Lot a choice - the lush grass or the peaked mountains filled with
snow. What Lot chose became his own downfall, because the hard road creates
strength and overcoming ability. Abraham enjoyed that path. Proverbs declares
that a man may stumble six times but on the seventh he stands. You only stumble
when you are going forward, when going up the mountain! What counts is reaching
the peak, not the stumblings in between.
Isaiah 2:2 says that we should go up the mountain
to learn the ways of the Lord and His Word. His statutes are found on the
mountain. The message of the snow
is found in the mountains (Job 38:22). The mountain is built for those who can
climb upon the crags as a mountain goat can.
Haggai commanded the people to go up the mountain.
There was no choice here but a divine call to the top of the mountain. Jesus was
on the top of the mountain when Satan had Him look below and see what could be
His. But the Son of the Most High knew what was the plan and purpose of God and
withstood, remaining in the nature of God and refusing to yield to the lusts of
the flesh in the height of the mountain.
Haggai commanded the people to go up the mountain
to test them and see what they were made of. On the mountain is life. The
treasures of the snow and the righteousness of God are evident when the
pleasures of the earthly life are left behind when one ascends the mountain.
Zechariah 4:6 is often sung as a chorus. It proclaims the victory we have by the
Spirit. But there is more. The next verse 4:7 states that by saying “Grace,
grace to it,” the mountain of the flesh disappears as the mountain of God
appears. It is only as we climb the mountain of God, that our countenance is
changed into His likeness. Step
Six - Bring Wood
We all know the story of Abraham (see our message: Who is Abraham?).
He has his son carry wood to the mountain top where there is to be a sacrifice.
Wood represents humanity in the Scriptures and generally the fallen nature of
humanity. It is the kindling for the release of the nature of God. When Abraham
was called to the mountain, it wasn't because of some sin he recently did. He
was called to the mountain by the Love of God. He was called to the mountain to
reveal the nature of Christ.
He was called to the mountain to release himself
for the good of the world. He was to sacrifice all that He was in his son for
the voice of God. He knew that Isaac was the seed that was called to bless the
world. That is why he told his servants to wait until he and his son returned.
Abraham knew the outcome would be supernatural.
It was time to offer up his own manifestation of God in his flesh. It was
time to lay down everything he was in God so that God could be God. When he came
down from the mountain, He was called the “father of nations.” Why? Because
Abraham built the house of the Lord. He knew it was time to stop building his
house, and let God be the house in his son, Isaac. Step
Seven - Build the Lord's House This
is true Tabernacles. Build the Lord's house. If you don't see your spouse as the
Lord's, then you won't grow in grace. If you don't see your spouse as Christ
Himself, then you won't grow in grace. A true marriage does not see male/female
because the union is in Christ (Galatians 3:28). A true marriage sees each other
as Christ. "If someone
says 'I love God' and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not
love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen"
(1 John 4:20). Note the word cannot. That leaves no room for any excuse.
Do you love God? Then you love your spouse as God, for in loving your spouse,
you love God. That is an immediate circle, but the circle widens, broadens, etc. My spouse is a so and so or my spouse lies or cheats on me, or drinks, or is manipulative. The excuse does not matter. Did you see them as Christ? While I understand that every situation is unique and that there is a hardness of heart in a bill of divorcement, some can see others as a finished product in Christ and walk that walk. Build the Lord's house in each person, even if the darkness in them doesn't let them know who they really are. For in sowing to the Lord's house, the result is that you reap Him in yours. What a fruit to behold! You become as the fruit of the Lord (Galatians 4:14). To
you has been given the ministry of reconciliation. To you it has been given.
Whether you want it or not, the Christian has been given the message of
reconciliation. This is the foundation on which the house of the Lord is built.
Second Corinthians 5:18-19 clearly states that we are committed to the word of
reconciliation, since Christ has forgiven their sins. We are to cover a
multitude of sins with the Love of God that has so blessedly been active in our
life. Building
the Lord’s house in someone else will automatically build the Lord’s house
in you. For as you sow into someone else, God sows in you. The Israelites that
returned failed to grasp this principle. Let us not follow their pattern. Let us
start with our family by sowing Christ in them (Jerusalem), then in the people
of our faith (Judea) and then the uttermost parts of the earth (Samaria) as Acts
1:8 states. Step
Eight - God will be Glorified
God is going to be glorified. The question is how? The answer is found in
2 Thessalonians 1:10. When He comes, He comes to be glorified IN His saints.
Note it does not say He is glorified “with” His saints or “for” His
saints. But He is glorified “IN” His saints. The coming of the Lord in the
feast of Tabernacles is internal to the person, but the expression is outward to
others. As we know, God gives His glory to no man or anyone that sets himself up as God (Isaiah 42:8). So if He is going to be glorified in the saints then they must no longer be descendants of Adam (a man) but a new heavenly creation (John 17:24). What a precious Lord that He works within us to fulfill our desire to be a manifestation of Himself. This is the fruit of Tabernacles. He is creating a special people (Romans 8:19-20) to be the firstfruits (James 1:18) of His nature. How gracious is He towards us.
Anything that we build, even for His glory, if
it is done by or for our personal spiritual gain, it is doomed to be blown away
(1:9). God will not be mocked,
Scripture declares. It is important to note that the word mock means to
have one's nose in the air. In other words, God is mocked when we put our
thoughts higher than His thoughts, and thereby we become a god unto our own
destruction. The dew, or the fruit, was withheld because of the people’s
attitudes (Haggai 1:10).
Yet, God encouraged them three times so that they
knew that He was with them and had never forsook them. He was always with them.
Nothing could separate them from the Love of God (Romans 8:39) and even if they
made their bed in hell (Psalm 139:8) He was there with them. He was always in
their midst to do His good pleasure. In Haggai 2: 6-7 God shakes the heavens and
the earth (see our message: The REAL Location of Heaven and Earth). He
will receive glory and nothing will remain of the flesh.
When an earthquake comes in the world people see
destruction. God sees what remains! He wants to remove everything that is not on
a firm foundation. He is shaking
the heavens and the earth in order to remove the corruption from the heavens and
the flesh from the earth. He wants a pure mind, the mind of His Son in everyone
and He wants the Life of the Son manifested in each one. So, He shakes until
that which is carnal is removed. He is looking for what remains, because what
remains is sure.
From the removal of a poor structure, a new
building can be developed and built. This new structure is the new creation man.
His goal is not just you and I as individuals or just the church, but
even the nations shall be built into the house of the Lord (Hag. 2:7). God
declares that every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that He is
Lord, and none can do that except by the Holy Spirit (Philippians 2:11, 1
Corinthians 12:3). He shall save all so that He receives all the glory. The
Day the Temple of the LORD was founded
Haggai 2:18 shows that the temple was founded in the ninth Hebrew month.
This corresponds with our December. We
must remember that their cupboards were bare. They had no food because of their
self-effort. But from this time forth He was going to bless them. Though they
were still in trials from what they had poorly sown and were still reaping that
result, it was about to change. Of course, this was a natural word to Israel.
But it is a spiritual word to us.
The founding of the temple of the Lord begins with the shaking of all
that is not of Him (Hag. 2:21-23). God is establishing Himself by removing that
which is not in His image. First removed is the seat of all false power (2
Thessalonians 2:8). God is going to have you identified with Him and not the sin
nature. When you see the man of sin before your eyes, those things that you
thought you had already conquered, rejoice, for God has just sat down on the
throne of your life and thrown out the usurper. You see the man of sin because
he is leaving! God removes the seat of power first. He is removing the spiritual
realm that has ensnared people first – Haggai 2:22 – that is the thrones
that are mentioned there. When this is accomplished it is much easier to remove
the other desires of the world. Power leaves when the force behind the power no
longer exists. The police have power only as long as the government is behind
them. Remove the seat of government and the police have no power. So it is in
the spiritual realm. Those things that control are removed when their source,
that false throne is removed.
When the throne and the power are gone, then He
will destroy their strength, their second level of power – the mind (Haggai
2:22). The carnal mind that is at
enmity with God will be removed. It is a religious mind and has perceptions,
which are not founded in Him. That is why the Israelites built their own house
first rather than others…it seemed to be the right thing to do. Building in
another causes you to change, and the old nature falls away. Finally,
the chariots (Haggai 2:22), that is, the efforts of the flesh trying to remain
in control, are proven to be futile. For arm of the flesh is weak when the power
and the throne and removed. God is creating a whole new creation man. He is not
saving anything of the sin nature! He is establishing His kingdom! All three
realms will be removed so that the new creation man will come forth. Blessed be
the Lord our God, for He is doing it for His glory!
It is in that day, the day of the shaking in your
life, that you too can receive the word of the Lord (2:23) to Zerubbabel
(meaning one sown in Babylon). He is making you into His signet ring. It is the
king's ring that seals every document of the King. It is the official stamp of
the King. You are His ensign. You are the sign (even as Christ was Luke 2:12).
You have become the express image (Hebrews 1:3) of the Son, since you have been
conformed to His image. The earth (adamic flesh) cannot be hurt until the saints
of God are sealed by the hands of the sons (Revelation 7:2-3). The
latter glory of this house will be greater than the former says the LORD
(Haggai
2:9)
This verse is not talking about a literal temple
because nothing could have topped the temple of Solomon's day. Even Herod's
temple (which was the third one) could not compare to Solomon's. No, this verse
is talking about a spiritual temple…Jesus Christ.
This is why Jesus confounded the Pharisees and
others by saying the temple would be raised up in three days, meaning Himself.
Jesus was not concerned with the natural temple. He was concerned with God's
temple - people. God wants to manifest in a people. But it is easier for people
to build a structure than for them to be processed so that they can be
personally built into God. To come against the natural temple was blasphemous to
the Hebrews, and therefore they sought to crucify Jesus.
Jesus was the chief cornerstone of the temple. Some
state that this means the capstone, or the last part put into place of a
finished work. Either way, He is the beginning (chief) and the ending (cap). He
is creating the latter house out of you and me to be a corporate expression of
Who He is. This is glorious to Him and the Father.
The glory of the latter house is Christ in you
manifested because you permitted someone to place Christ in you. We have few
fathers in the land spiritually, but at the time I was in need of one, two men
implanted in me those things that I am forever grateful and will bless my God
all my days. Bill Britton and B.S. Westlake placed themselves within me by the
things that they shared with me. It was their spiritual understanding that they
placed as pillars in my temple, which now is a part of the corporate temple.
Because of their desire to build the house of God in others, their house was
built too.
It is hard to build into someone else. The builder
must have the desire to share and be vulnerable, and the person who is to
receive must have a desire to grow and a willingness to change. It takes both to
construct a new creation person. Paul was willing (1 Corinthians 4:9-15) to be
abased for the sake of others so that they could be built into Christ. The
latter house is the manifestation of Christ in you, which is victorious over
thrones, strengths and chariots (Haggai 2:22). |
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