Building a house for God??

[MrVersatile48]

2nd part of this study added below..

This today from http://www.anchorlife.org

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Building A House For God



I have not dwelt in a house from the day I brought
Israel up out of Egypt to this day. I have moved from
one tent site to another, from one dwelling place to
another. 1 Chronicles 17:5
Then David said, "The house of the LORD God is to
be here, and also the altar of burnt offering for
Israel." (NIV) 1 Chronicles 22:1

Over 3000
years ago, a young man named David was anointed
king of God's people. He was a man with a heart
after God. Not free from struggles or sin, but he had
a tender responsive heart. David achieved more and
more success as king. God gave him great wealth as
well as peace and rest from all his enemies around
him. David saw how God was working among His
people and it was his desire to build a house for God
to dwell in. After all, David lived in his own
magnificent palace. Why should God's presence
reside in a tent? Up until this time, whenever God's
people moved, God moved from place to place with a
tent as His dwelling. But, how do you build a dwelling
for God?



How do you build a dwelling for the One. . .

Who is the Creator of the universe?

Who breathes life into every man and woman?

Who made a covenant with Abraham declaring that
his descendants would be God's chosen people?

Who delivered the Israelites from the bondage of
slavery in Egypt?

Who powerfully parted the Red Sea making the water
stand firm like a wall?

Who guided His people with a cloud by day and with
light from the fire all night?

Who split the rocks in the desert to give the
Israelites water as abundant as the seas?

Who led His people into the Promised Land?

Who at the sound of trumpets tumbled the walls of
Jericho?

Who empowered David to slay the giant Goliath?

Who gave David the victory over his enemies?

Who anointed David King?



How do you build a dwelling for the One. . .

Who is all present?

Who is eternal?

Whose voice thunders over the oceans?

Who hung the stars like a canopy in the sky?

Who is incomprehensible?

Who is immeasurable?

Who nothing in all of creation happens beyond His
ultimate purpose and will?

Who stands before His universe utterly unlimited and
immutable?



How do you build a house big enough for God's
presence?



Continued tomorrow. . .


Written by Marji "Mike" Kruger



For more on a relationship with God. . . - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=o8hnvxbab.0.ggg ... 4027&ts=S0
201&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anchorlife.org%2Fhtml%2Fwhy_bother.htm



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Fire From Heaven



Then he called for his son Solomon and charged him
to build a house for the LORD, the God of Israel.
(NIV) 1 Chronicles 22:6


. . .Continued from yesterday



Over 3000 years ago, King David saw how God was
working among His people and it was his desire to
build a house for God to dwell in. God knew the
sincerity of David's heart. But, He denied David the
privilege of building His temple (1 Chronicles 22:8).

God lovingly and graciously gave David plans in
writing for a dwelling to house His own presence in
Jerusalem. David in turn gave the plans to his son,
Solomon. After this, David gave his personal
treasures of gold and silver for the building of God's
temple (1 Chronicles 29:3). The leaders of families,
the officers of the tribes of Israel, the commanders
of the army and other officials gave willingly to the
work also (1 Chronicles 29:6).



As David passed the torch of leadership to Solomon
he gave him the following advice: ". . . my son
Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and
serve him with wholehearted devotion and with a
willing mind, for the LORD searches every heart and
understands every motive behind the thoughts.

If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you
forsake him, he will reject you forever (1 Chronicles
28:9).

Solomon himself gives the order to begin construction
of the temple (2 Chronicles 2:1). He tells the
people: "The temple I am going to build will be great,
because our God is greater than all other gods" (2
Chronicles 2:5).



It took 7 years to complete the temple. When it was
completed it was noted for its lavish beauty and
detail. The interior was overlaid with gold.

No extravagance was spared . . . it was a dwelling for
God. But, Solomon's magnificent work was
overshadowed when the glory of God filled the
temple.

Fire fell from Heaven (2 Chronicles 7:1).

Notice it was not stoked by man, it came from
above. And then God's glory fell and filled the temple,
consuming the burnt offering Solomon had laid before
God. This signified that God accepted his sacrifice.

The ordinary becomes holy ground when it is touched
by the supernatural!



The reaction of the people? Flat out worship! They
kneel on the pavement with their faces to the
ground, and they worship and give thanks to the
LORD, saying, "He is good; his love endures forever."
(2 Chronicles 7:3)



How do you recognize the glory of God around you?
And, what is your reaction? How and when do you
worship God as His presence fills your life?



Continued tomorrow. . .



Written by Marji "Mike" Kruger



For more on a relationship with God. . . - http://rs6.net/tn.jsp?t=4qy8vxbab.0.ggg ... 4027&ts=S0
201&p=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.anchorlife.org%2Fhtml%2Fwhy_bother.htm



God bless!

Ian

 

[MrVersatile48]

This timely word from http://www.crosswalk.com seems to fit best here:-

Biblical Disputes Revive Question: What is an Evangelical?

A poll by the University of Akron found that evangelicals are the largest segment of actively religious Americans, outnumbering Roman Catholics.

But The Christian Post reports the definition of "evangelical" is open to dispute, thanks in part to a book by historian Randall Balmer. With "Thy Kingdom Come: An Evangelical's Lament," Balmer says the evangelical activists' agenda "is misguided, even ruinous" to "the nation I love and, ultimately, to the faith I love even more."

However, unlike many recent books that attack the "religious right," Balmer claims to defend God and country from within evangelicalism. By Balmer's definition, an evangelical "takes the Bible seriously" and often literally, emphasizes personal conversion to Jesus, and sees a necessity to evangelize."

Similarly, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) theologian Jack Rogers says evangelicals believe that people need a personal relationship with God through Christ, the Bible is the final authority for salvation and life, and everyone should hear about Jesus.

Like Balmer, Rogers has had his evangelical credentials questioned because he advocates full acceptance of same-sex couples and gay clergy. Balmer believes that faith is purer and more effective when it's unsoiled by politics; he pronounces both the mainline denominations and the Democratic Party "virtually moribund."

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The multiplying, intensifying birthpains of Matt 24 include false prophets/ teachers/christ/messiahs


Matthew 24 (New International Version)


Signs of the End of the Age

1Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its buildings. 2"Do you see all these things?" he asked. "I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down."

3As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"

4Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. 5For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,[a]' and will deceive many.
6You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. 7Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9"Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people.

12Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.

14And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

15"So when you see standing in the holy place 'the abomination that causes desolation,' spoken of through the prophet Danielâ€â€let the reader understand 16then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.

17Let no one on the roof of his house go down to take anything out of the house. 18Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.

19How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! 20Pray that your flight will not take place in winter or on the Sabbath.

21For then there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until nowâ€â€and never to be equaled again. 22If those days had not been cut short, no one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened.

23At that time if anyone says to you, 'Look, here is the Christ!' or, 'There he is!' do not believe it.
24For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the electâ€â€if that were possible. 25See, I have told you ahead of time.

26"So if anyone tells you, 'There he is, out in the desert,' do not go out; or, 'Here he is, in the inner rooms,' do not believe it. 27For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. 28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather.

29"Immediately after the distress of those days
" 'the sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light;
the stars will fall from the sky,
and the heavenly bodies will be shaken.'[c]

30"At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all the nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory. 31And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.

32"Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. 33Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it[d]is near, right at the door.

34I tell you the truth, this generation[e] will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. 35Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

The Day and Hour Unknown

36"No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son,[f] but only the Father.

37As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 38For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; 39and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away.

That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. 40Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. 41Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.

42"Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 43But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. 44So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.

45"Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? 46It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. 47I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions.

48But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' 49and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. 50The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. 51He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Footnotes:

Matthew 24:5 Or Messiah; also in verse 23
Matthew 24:15 Daniel 9:27; 11:31; 12:11
Matthew 24:29 Isaiah 13:10; 34:4
Matthew 24:33 Or he
Matthew 24:34 Or race
Matthew 24:36 Some manuscripts do not have nor the Son.


Must go!

Ian

 

[MrVersatile48]

Timely word from http://www.crosswalk.com before autologout:-



Making the Most of Your Church Part 1
John MacArthur

The church has changed a great deal over the centuries, having become more complex and businesslike. Today it is a massive organization with denominations, commissions, committees, councils, boards, and programs. It quite often functions like a business rather than a body, a factory rather than a family, and a corporation rather than a community.

The church also has become obsessed with success, establishing superficial goals and awarding prizes to those who can pack the most people into the pews on Sundays. Many church leaders panic when the line starts dropping on the graph, indicating a drop in attendance and finances.

As a result many churches have become nothing more than entertainment centers, giving performances to passive herds of unproductive churchgoers. Such devices bring people into the church, but are unable to produce any genuine, biblical growth once they come.


Unless the Lord Builds the Church

But God never intended the church to be like that-and He still doesn't. In Matthew 16:18 Jesus says, "I will build My church, and the gates of Hades [hell] shall not overpower it." Nothing will overpower the church. But our Lord did give one condition to that great promise: "I willbuild My church" (emphases added). Christ's guarantee is valid only when He builds the church His way.

When a building needs to be built, an architect designs it, makes blueprints, and a contractor is hired to construct it. If the building isn't constructed according to the pre-approved plan, the city inspector won't approve it. Similarly God produced a plan for the church, and Christ will build it through us according to that plan. When we follow His plan, the gates of hell won't prevail against us. But should we depart from His plan, we will forfeit that guarantee. Churches in New Testament times, throughout history, and across America have done just that. Many no longer exist because they didn't allow Christ to build His church His way.

In Revelation 3:1 the resurrected Christ has this to say to the church at Sardis: "I know your deeds [they were an active church with lots of programs], that you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead." Despite appearances, that church was operated by people like those Coleridge made famous in The Rime of the Ancient Mariner: "Corpses man the ship; dead men pull the oars; dead men hoist the sails; dead men steer the vessel." Sardis was an ecclesiastical corpse because it had departed from the divine blueprint.

One New Testament church followed the blueprint perfectly. The first church-the church at Jerusalem-was born in a prayer meeting on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came and filled approximately 120 people gathered in an upper room (Acts 1:13-15; 2:1-3). After a dramatic manifestation of the change that came over those people, Peter preached to the populace (vv. 4-40). When he finished, nearly 3,000 people were added to the church (v. 41). You'd think a church that size would have lots of problems. But it had few because it followed the blueprint.

In its infancy the church was unspotted and uncorrupted. The people didn't know anything about building a church; they had no precedent. They didn't have a book on the church; they didn't even have the New Testament. There were no conferences, seminars, conventions, or experts the church could look to. Yet it was built Jesus' way; and as such, it's the model for the church today.


Back to the Blueprint

Acts 2:42 gives the blueprint they followed: "They were continually devoting themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Those things make up the actual function and life of the church. Each is vital.

The Makeup of the Congregation

Jesus builds a church only with believing people. Verse 41 identifies the church as being made up of "those who had received [Peter's] word," and "were continually devoting themselves." Jesus said, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine" (John 8:31). First John 2:19 says, "They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us." Continuing and remaining in Christ is proof of salvation. The church at Jerusalem was filled with saved people.

While that may seem such an obvious beginning, many churches are filled with unredeemed people. One pastor said to me, "I think the problem in our church is that half the board isn't saved." That is a problem: How can God and Satan ever operate the church together? There is no place in the church for people who don't love Jesus Christ.

Now that doesn't mean we shouldn't welcome unbelievers as guests. We want them to attend so they might hear about Jesus Christ and come to a saving knowledge of Him. Yet the membership of the church-those who serve Christ-must be redeemed.

What Christ said to the church at Pergamum illustrates the danger of a co-mingling of believers and unbelievers in the church: "I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit acts of immorality" (Rev. 2:14). Christ accused that church of compromise.

The "teaching of Balaam" refers to Numbers 22-25. Balak, king of the Moabites, wanted to eliminate Israel. He hired Balaam to curse Israel. When that didn't work as planned, Balaam dreamed up an alternate plan. He taught Balak to corrupt Israel by allowing Moabite women to intermarry with the Israelites. Balaam's plan worked, and Israel's power was sapped.

That's exactly what happened in Pergamum. Satan's strategy was simple: infiltrate the church with unbelievers. Once they established themselves in the church, they taught spiritual adultery and immorality.

Christ's condemnation makes it clear that Christians must, at all costs, remain pure and separated from the world. Paul said, "Do not be bound together with unbelievers; for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? Or what harmony has Christ with Belial [Satan], or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God" (2 Corinthians 6:14-16).

In Acts 2:38 Peter says, "Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." If the church is to be built Christ's way, it will not only be redeemed but also empowered by the Holy Spirit. Self-will, personal agendas, and sin must be set aside so that the Spirit of God can rule in the assembly of believers.

What about your church-Have you examined the membership rolls lately? Do you know the spiritual condition of each member? That's the responsibility of each local church, for Christ will only bless a church committed to regenerate church membership.

Stay tuned for Part 2 of "Making the Most of Your Church."

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Just time to yahoo megachurch & give you links..

Search Results1 - 10 of about 285,000 for megachurch - 0.08 sec. (About this page)

Also try: megachurch megachurches, megachurch pastor, lakewood church More...

News Results for megachurch


WEB RESULTS

Megachurch - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Megachurch. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. The interior of Rev. Robert Schuller's Crystal Cathedral illustrates the stage lighting, space, audio, and seating facilities often found in a megachurch. ... in Seoul, South Korea. The megachurch phenomenon is also reflected in the ... http://www.en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megachurch - 36k - Cached - More from this site - Save

Exploring the Megachurch Phenomena by Scott Thumma

... Exploring the Megachurch Phenomena: their characteristics and cultural context ... At its most basic descriptive level, a megachurch is a congregation which has two thousand or more ... http://www.hirr.hartsem.edu/bookshelf/t ... icle2.html - 132k - Cached - More from this site - Save

Database of Megachurches in the US

... in what a megachurch is, read our megachurch definition or more recent ... Megachurch home page. Megachurch Definition. Megachurch Research. Megachurch Articles. Megachurch Bibliography ... http://www.hirr.hartsem.edu/org/faith_m ... abase.html - 31k - Cached - More from this site - Save


God bless!

Ian