God has everything we need
1 Kings 7:48-51
48 And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread was, 49 And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, 50 And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple. 51 So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LORD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.
[i]
EVERYTHING YOU NEED IS IN
THE HOUSE OF THE LORD!
II Kings tells us an interesting story.
I’ll try to give you the short version so as not to bore you, but there is a wonderful lesson contained therein.
It begins in 2 Kings 11, and we find that Athalia, the daughter of Ahab and Jezebel is in her waning years.
And in a senseless act, one that defies logic, she proceeds to seek out her male grandchildren and destroy them.
I don’t quite know what her thinking is, maybe jealousy, maybe insanity, whatever.
But, her daughter, Jehosheba, took one of her grandsons, Joash, son of the late Ahaziah, and spirits him away into hiding.
Now ironically, the place they hid the child was the temple of God.
For, if even she had ever gone there at all, it had certainly been a long time since Athalia had darkened the doors of the House of God, since she was an avid Baal worshipper like her parents.
So, the priests of the temple, led by Jehoida, protected, nurtured, trained and groomed this child, Joash, to be the next King over Israel.
And, they did it all in the house of God!
Joash would grow up to be a Godly king, one who loved God and did what was right in the sight of God, and I firmly believe it’s because he was raised in the house of God!
Parents, let me give you a sidebar here: The pressure of the age is to let up, to not put so much pressure on our kids to come to church, to abide by holiness standards, to be faithful to church.
Psychologists tell you that you’ll drive them away, but I’m telling you that if we raise our kids in the house of the Lord, and don’t talk badly about the church when we’re home in our living rooms, and stay faithful to the house of God, they’ll grow up to love God as well!
They may depart from it for a season, but as the wise man says if you’ll train them up in the way they should go, they can’t get away from it!
They might leave the building for a while, but the church will never leave their hearts, and eventually they’ll find their way back to the building!
But, anyway, Joash was raised in the temple to become the next king.
Now, at the ripe old age of 7, it’s time to raise Joash up as king, and Jehoida knew that once Athalia found out they had deceived her, she was going to storm that temple to try and destroy Joash.
And Jehoida does this: 4And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the LORD, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the LORD, and shewed them the king’s son. 5And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king’s house; 6And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down. [ii]
So, he takes some of the captain of the guard, and stations them at the entrances of the temple to keep intruders out.
But, just in case someone breaks thru the barrier, he goes a step further:
7And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the LORD about the king. 8And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in. 9And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest. [iii]
And they all said, “Great, but we have no weapons – what are we going to use?”
And Jehoida said, “Got that worked out already, you won’t need your own weapons”
10And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David’s spears and shields, that were in the temple of the LORD. 11[iv]
Remember those dedicated instruments Solomon put in the temple?
That’s what these men used to fight the enemy of God!
With these dedicated weapons they slew Athalia, and Joash reigned over Israel!
Now, I’m telling you again, there are people that are trying to fight a spiritual enemy with your own weapons, but you need to lay them down and come to church!
In the church you’re going to find everything you need to be victorious!
God’s already put in his church everything you need to fight the battle!
Put down your own ideas, your own philosophies, your own weapons, and get into the house of God! God has already placed in His house the weapons of your warfare!
I.) REMEMBER WE TALKED LAST WEEK ABOUT DAVID?
There was another time in David’s life when he was running from another enemy. This one was from within, it was his predecessor, Saul.
And he comes to the House of the Lord.
Man, I love David for this reason, when he had a problem he ran to the House of the Lord!
1 Samuel 21:1-9
Then came David to Nob to Ahimelech the priest: and Ahimelech was afraid at the meeting of David, and said unto him, Why art thou alone, and no man with thee? 2 And David said unto Ahimelech the priest, The king hath commanded me a business, and hath said unto me, Let no man know any thing of the business whereabout I send thee, and what I have commanded thee: and I have appointed my servants to such and such a place. 3 Now therefore what is under thine hand? give me five loaves of bread in mine hand, or what there is present.
4 And the priest answered David, and said, There is no common bread under mine hand, but there is hallowed bread;
6 So the priest gave him hallowed bread: for there was no bread there but the shewbread, that was taken from before the LORD, to put hot bread in the day when it was taken away.
David came looking for natural bread, but he got spiritual bread instead!
8 And David said unto Ahimelech, And is there not here under thine hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king’s business required haste.
David didn’t bring his own sustenance or weapons to God’s house!
9 And the priest said, The sword of Goliath the Philistine, whom thou slewest in the valley of Elah, behold, it is here wrapped in a cloth behind the ephod: if thou wilt take that, take it: for there is no other save that here. And David said, There is none like that; give it me.
[v]
Now, here is the awesome part, when David got to the House of God, the weapons that he needed for that day were already there!
I believe that’s why David wrote Psalms like these:
§ Psalm 20:1-2
The LORD hear thee in the day of trouble; the name of the God of Jacob defend thee; 2 Send thee help from the sanctuary, and strengthen thee out of Zion; [vi]
§ Psalm 63:1-2
1 O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is; 2 To see thy power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary.
[vii]
§ Psalm 73:1-28
1 Truly God is good to Israel, even to such as are of a clean heart. 2 But as for me, my feet were almost gone; my steps had well nigh slipped. 3 For I was envious at the foolish, when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.
17 Until I went into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their end.
[viii]
§ Psalm 77:13
13 Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God? [ix]
§ Psalm 96:6
6 Honour and majesty are before him: strength and beauty are in his sanctuary. [x]
§ Psalm 134:1-3
1 Behold, bless ye the LORD, all ye servants of the LORD, which by night stand in the house of the LORD. 2 Lift up your hands in the sanctuary, and bless the LORD. 3 The LORD that made heaven and earth bless thee out of Zion.
[xi]
§ Psalm 150:1-6
Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power. 2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness. 3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp. 4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs. 5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals. 6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.
[xii]
David had been helped in the sanctuary so many times that he knew the importance of going to church!
Psalm 122:1
1 I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD. [xiii]
No wonder he was glad! David had already discovered that there was bread in the house of the Lord, there was strength in the house of the Lord, there was victory in the House of the Lord!
I.) ONE OF THE BIGGEST LIES SATAN CAN TELL US IS THAT WE DON’T NEED THE CHURCH!
The old song that was popular when I was a kid was “Me and Jesus got our own thing going” and that is the most incorrect statement anyone could ever make!
God works thru his church, God protects his church, God speaks to His church!
The word “church” appears 80 times in the Bible, and the first time the word is used is by Jesus in:
Matthew 16:18
18 And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. [xiv]
When Jesus established his church, He established it in victory!
He didn’t say that the church would be perfect, or without persecution or trial, but He said before the church even began,
“When time has come and gone, and every philosophy of man has come and gone, and every institution of man made origin has risen and fallen back into dust, I’ll still have a church!
§ And the safest place for you and me to be is in the middle of that church!
§ Because it’s already destined to overcome!
§ One day we’ll be without spot or wrinkle, but right now we have a few wrinkles. But even in spite of our imperfections, we’re still the church of the Living God!
§ And one day he’s coming back for His church!
The church was established by Jesus, had the breath of life breathed into it by the Holy Ghost, and perpetuated by the Apostles!
The church is still the medium thru which God speaks, anoints the preached word, heals by the laying on of the hands of the elders, brings comfort, and strength and encouragement!
Stay in the church! Stay in the church!
II.) THE SAINTS WERE RESPONSIBLE IN THE O.T. TO BRING OIL TO THE TEMPLE TO KEEP THE LAMP BURNING.
Nehemiah 10:39
39 For the children of Israel and the children of Levi shall bring the offering of the corn, of the new wine, and the oil, unto the chambers, where are the vessels of the sanctuary, and the priests that minister, and the porters, and the singers: and we will not forsake the house of our God.
[xv]
The saints were blessed by each other’s contributions!
They were fed by the offerings and input of the other members!
That’s what’s so awesome about you being here today!
§ God has someone over here on this side who needs the prayers of a saint on this side!
§ God’s going to give a saint on the left side a word of encouragement thru the lips of a saint on the right side!
§ God’s going to feed one thru the offering of another!
That’s what’s so incredible about the church, we all come together and bring something that no one else can bring, and God dedicates those talents, abilities, prayers, contributions and they bless the entire church!
§ Leave your weapons at home, there are dedicated weapons in the house of the Lord!
§ Leave your ideas at home, there are dedicated ideas in the house of the Lord!
§ Leave your strength at home, there is strength in the House of the Lord!
§ Salvation
§ Healing
§ Deliverance
§ Joy
§ Peace
§ Strength!
§ Direction
§ Provision
It’s all in the house of the Lord!
That’s why if me and Jesus have anything going, it’s going to include the house of the Lord!
JOHNNY JAMES PREACHES A MESSAGE ENTITLED “IF THE CHURCH IS NOT YOUR MOTHER, THEN GOD IS NOT YOUR FATHER!”
Kind of a strong statement, but a true one!
Too many people think they can make it on their own, but we need the church, we need each other!
There are 484 appearances in the KJV of the word “together”.
Here are just a few:
§ and let us exalt his name together.[xvi]
§ 5Gather my saints together unto me; those that have made a covenant with me by sacrifice.[xvii] (God)
§ We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company.[xviii]
§ 1 Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity![xix]
§ 9Break forth into joy, sing together, [xx]
§ 44And all that believed were together, and had all things common;[xxi]
§ Now Peter and John went up together into the temple at the hour of prayer[xxii]
§ And when they had prayed, the place was shaken where they were assembled together;[xxiii]
§ 27And when they were come, and had gathered the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them,[xxiv]
§ 9For we are labourers together with God: [xxv]
§ 1Wherefore comfort yourselves together,[xxvi]
§ Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together[xxvii]
§ 6And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:[xxviii]
§ Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.[xxix]
Now, let me just say that this last one hinges on us partaking of all the ones before! If we can’t come in and worship together here, we won’t make it to heaven to worship together there!
Don’t let the devil trick you into believing that you don’t need the church!
I know the church is not perfect, I know it has its failings, but it is the institution that Jesus has already said would be victorious!
God, let us fall in love with Your church all over again today!
CONCLUSION
Judges 19 gives us a gruesome story of a man who had gone to Bethlehem to retrieve his unfaithful wife. She agreed to come back to Jerusalem with him, and they traveled a long way toward the House of God.
As the night fell on them, they decided to stop and rest. First mistake, because an old man came out of the fields of Gibeah, where they had stopped and persuaded them to come to his house, promising them protection.
If they had not stopped, things probably would have been alright, but they did, and as they were sitting around the table having a good time that night, the knock on the door came from the evil, perverse men of that city, who just like the men of Sodom desired the male visitors that they might have carnal relations with them.
The man of the house declined, but offered instead his own virgin daughter, along with the concubine of his visitor. They thrust this concubine outside, where the Bible says she was used and abused by these monsters all night long.
The next day when the traveler got up to leave, he opened the door and found the bruised, bloodied, concubine lying on the doorstep, her hands on the threshold, dead from her wounds.
What a gory story, but yet the meaning is so powerful to us in 2001.
There will be so many influences in our lives to distract us from our journey.
In our quest to make our way to the house of the Lord, there will be many old men in the street that will entice us to come to their house instead, and have a good time. You’ll be safe here, you don’t need to try and travel thru the night to make it to Jerusalem, or city of God.
And, we will be tempted, for their way is easier, more attractive, more convenient.
But, the old man in the street can’t provide the safety he says he can!
Our only protection is in the House of the Lord!
§ Don’t stop now, don’t turn aside, who knows how many family members might die because we turned aside?
§ Who knows what the long-term ramifications of our lack of attendance to the house of the Lord might be?
OUR SALVATION IS IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD!
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[i]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[ii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[iii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[iv]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[v]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[vi]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[vii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[viii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[ix]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[x]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xi]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xiii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xiv]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xv]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xvi]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xvii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xviii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xix]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xx]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xxi]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xxii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xxiii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xxiv]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xxv]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xxvi]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xxvii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xxviii]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.
[xxix]The King James Version, (Cambridge: Cambridge) 1769.