Worship: Temples for the Lord God
Now I have said so many times that God the Father doesn't live in buildings made by the hands of men. This used to take place by the way of altars under the open skies by His servants. The outdoor altars of Cain and Abel, of Noah, of Abraham and his descendants and of Moses eventually gave way to the enclosed sanctuaries of the Tabernacle and the Temple, but their purpose remained the same.
Focus: All were places of God's presence, and sacrifices were offered there with the belief that God would accept them and to be pleased with them.
Now in the Tabernacle and the Temple, however, the worship of God became more regulated. Indeed, the building of the tabernacle and the temple, as well as the praise and worship offered there, were governed by the specification of God Himself, with no room for variance.
Word Definition: Variance--1) the quality, state, or fact of varying or being variant; a changing or tendency to change. 2) degree of change or difference; divergence; discrepancy.
Constitutional Scripture: Exodus 25:1-3, 8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. 3 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Please note: Now do you see what verse 8 states? God, the creator wanted a place to live among His people so He told Moses to bring an offering. Now is that just like a King?
Focus Point: Sanctuary means "holy place". As the ground had become holy because of the presence of God in the burning bush (read Exodus 3:5)
Constitutional Scripture: Exodus 3:5 5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Reference: So the sanctuary would be holy because of the presence of God that overshadowed the structure and dwell in its symbols. God whose true dwelling place is beyond the heavens, desired a structure that would represent His holy presence among His people. That I may dwell is related to the Hebrew verb from which we derive the word "shekinak", which designates the radiance, glory and presence of God dwelling among His people.
Now, building a place for God is always about having the presence of God in the midst of His people. In fact, a big or large elaborate building may look like a church and may even be called a church, but in reality is very far from being one. That is because the presence of God isn't there.
Focus Point: If God's presence isn't with you, it doesn't matter how elaborate your building is, how well educated your staff are, how well planned your worship services are, or how dynamic the preaching is. Without God's presence, all you have is a large building filled with people. Now on the other hand, you can meet in a plain room with simple worship and an untrained preacher and have everything. The difference is the presence of God.
Please note: Always remember this, that God's presence is the only essential ingredient in worship. Our praise and the other elements of meetings must lead us into the presence of God. Now if they don't, there is no reason to do them. By the way, they may have great music and a feeling that makes you feel great, but the purpose of the gathering is to enter the presence of the Lord. Anything that does not contribute to this is simply unnecessary clutter. God's presence in our worship is the only worthwhile end to our meetings.
Focus Point: Keep in mind, this was God's purpose for instructing Moses to build the Tabernacle: He wanted to get close to His people. Everything God told Moses to do in some way revealed the lost condition of man and unveiled God's plan to rescue man from his wrong environment by getting His presence back in man's presence.
Focus: All were places of God's presence, and sacrifices were offered there with the belief that God would accept them and to be pleased with them.
Now in the Tabernacle and the Temple, however, the worship of God became more regulated. Indeed, the building of the tabernacle and the temple, as well as the praise and worship offered there, were governed by the specification of God Himself, with no room for variance.
Word Definition: Variance--1) the quality, state, or fact of varying or being variant; a changing or tendency to change. 2) degree of change or difference; divergence; discrepancy.
Constitutional Scripture: Exodus 25:1-3, 8 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying: 2 “Speak to the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering. From everyone who gives it willingly with his heart you shall take My offering. 3 And this is the offering which you shall take from them: gold, silver, and bronze; 8 And let them make Me a sanctuary, that I may dwell among them.
Please note: Now do you see what verse 8 states? God, the creator wanted a place to live among His people so He told Moses to bring an offering. Now is that just like a King?
Focus Point: Sanctuary means "holy place". As the ground had become holy because of the presence of God in the burning bush (read Exodus 3:5)
Constitutional Scripture: Exodus 3:5 5 Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
Reference: So the sanctuary would be holy because of the presence of God that overshadowed the structure and dwell in its symbols. God whose true dwelling place is beyond the heavens, desired a structure that would represent His holy presence among His people. That I may dwell is related to the Hebrew verb from which we derive the word "shekinak", which designates the radiance, glory and presence of God dwelling among His people.
Now, building a place for God is always about having the presence of God in the midst of His people. In fact, a big or large elaborate building may look like a church and may even be called a church, but in reality is very far from being one. That is because the presence of God isn't there.
Focus Point: If God's presence isn't with you, it doesn't matter how elaborate your building is, how well educated your staff are, how well planned your worship services are, or how dynamic the preaching is. Without God's presence, all you have is a large building filled with people. Now on the other hand, you can meet in a plain room with simple worship and an untrained preacher and have everything. The difference is the presence of God.
Please note: Always remember this, that God's presence is the only essential ingredient in worship. Our praise and the other elements of meetings must lead us into the presence of God. Now if they don't, there is no reason to do them. By the way, they may have great music and a feeling that makes you feel great, but the purpose of the gathering is to enter the presence of the Lord. Anything that does not contribute to this is simply unnecessary clutter. God's presence in our worship is the only worthwhile end to our meetings.
Focus Point: Keep in mind, this was God's purpose for instructing Moses to build the Tabernacle: He wanted to get close to His people. Everything God told Moses to do in some way revealed the lost condition of man and unveiled God's plan to rescue man from his wrong environment by getting His presence back in man's presence.
In order for you to understand this in the fullest,
you must embrace the Kingdom concept.
you must embrace the Kingdom concept.
