This message was preached at Word Of Grace Church on October 6th 2024 by Colin. For the audio & video please click here. For the worship please click here.
Partnering with God's Vision
We will be moving shortly.
When David instructed Solomon to build a house of the Lord, David had it in his heart to do it himself but God prevented that from happening. The temple that was build was the dwelling place of God. Today God is in us. Wherever the church of God is present, he is there. “you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” - 1 Peter 2:5 ESV
This hall is not holy by itself, but God is here because we are worshipping him here. We are moving to a dying mall, and as we move in, we will be a blessing to that place. We need to prepare our hearts for this move.
“David assembled at Jerusalem all the officials of Israel, the officials of the tribes, the officers of the divisions that served the king, the commanders of thousands, the commanders of hundreds, the stewards of all the property and livestock of the king and his sons, together with the palace officials, the mighty men and all the seasoned warriors. Then King David rose to his feet and said: "Hear me, my brothers and my people. I had it in my heart to build a house of rest for the ark of the covenant of the Lord and for the footstool of our God, and I made preparations for building. But God said to me, 'You may not build a house for my name, for you are a man of war and have shed blood.'” - 1 Chronicles 28:1-3 ESV
David had mighty victories and immense wealth. But in all this, he had a heart to build a house for the Lord. Where is your heart today? Is it wrapped up in just your home, job, family, and the cares of this world, or are you committed to building the house of God?
While David had the heart posture to build God's house, but God wouldn’t allow him to do that because his hands were unclean.
“"And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever. Be careful now, for the Lord has chosen you to build a house for the sanctuary; be strong and do it."” - 1 Chronicles 28:9-10 ESV
Acknowledge God
Serve him with your whole heart and a willing mind
“Then David gave Solomon his son the plan of the vestibule of the temple, and of its houses, its treasuries, its upper rooms, and its inner chambers, and of the room for the mercy seat; and the plan of all that he had in mind for the courts of the house of the Lord, all the surrounding chambers, the treasuries of the house of God, and the treasuries for dedicated gifts; for the divisions of the priests and of the Levites, and all the work of the service in the house of the Lord; for all the vessels for the service in the house of the Lord,” - 1 Chronicles 28:11-13 ESV
God, through David, directed him about all the details of the house. We want the same as we make this move. We need God's direction in all the small and big matters. Pray that the Holy Spirit guides us in this.
“Then David said to Solomon his son, "Be strong and courageous and do it. Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed, for the Lord God, even my God, is with you. He will not leave you or forsake you, until all the work for the service of the house of the Lord is finished.” - 1 Chronicles 28:20 ESV
The promise of God is to be with us so that we can be strong and courageous. He is our provider. We will need different departments or teams to make this happen. Each one of us has a part to play in this. Let’s work on this together.
David passes on this to his son Solomon, in chapter 29 we will look at 7 things in giving
Ch 29:1 The task is great - it’s a palatial structure for god to dwell in. We are building something for God's glory
2. Ch 29:2 David provides for the temple in large quantities!
The vision David had was to give for something glorious even though he would never see it. He recognised that the temple was for God and he wanted to give… and he gave in faith.
V6 the officials and leaders also pooled in to give generously. No one had to be arm-twisted to give. The people gave willingly freely and wholeheartedly to the lord. There was great joy as they gave. V9
4. As we give you will be full of joy
5. Ch 29 V 11 David’s prayer - he acknowledges that everything we have comes from the lord. We are just giving back what belongs to the lord. There is a great privilege in giving
7. 29v19 - praise God and bowed low to worship god.
2 Ch 5:14 and the temple of the lord was filled with the presence of God.
Word of Grace is an Evangelical (Born Again), Spirit-filled (Charismatic), Reformed, English-speaking church in Pune that upholds the Bible as God's inspired Word for life. We are a church community that has people from every part of India and parts of the world. We are here to put the Great Command and the Great Commission into practice by equipping and releasing every member into works of service. Word of Grace is part of a wider international family of Churches called RegionsBeyond.To know more about us please log onto www.wordofgracechurch.org.