THE BIBLICAL BASIS OF NIGHT AND DAY WORSHIP AND PRAYER SESSION 11: THE HOUSE OF PRAYER PERSONIFIED GARY WIENS

Transcription

1 GARY WIENS Isa 56:6-7 "Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations." Mat 21:13-4 And He said to them, "It is written, 'MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED A HOUSE OF PRAYER,' but you have made it a 'DEN OF THIEVES.'" Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them. INTRODUCTION: From the beginning of all things, God desired to have a people who would be His family, who would love Him, choose Him, minister to Him, and become a suitable partner for His Son. In short, He desired a priestly and kingly family of affection to serve Him in love forever. God s plan involved the permanent joining of heaven and earth as the dwelling place of God with His people. This plan was interrupted by sin, and so God s activity throughout history has been focused on re-establishing a dwelling place on the earth for Himself, so that He might be with His people, and they might be with Him in holiness and love. The construction of the Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacles of Moses and David, as well as the temple of Solomon were all constructed unto this end that things might be on earth as they are in heaven. The point of the temple was the replication of the Heavenly temple on the earth, a structure to contain the Ark of the Presence, so that the Kingdom of God could come in fullness, the will of God being done without resistance. The cycles of disobedience and sin caused the Father to withdraw His presence first from the Garden, then from the subsequent structure, resulting in judgment coming upon the people. The ultimate fulfillment of all these prophetic types and shadows is the person of Jesus Christ. Our purpose today is to show how God s desire to dwell with His people in intimacy, and to be their God and Father is fulfilled first in Jesus, and then in the Church as the Body of Christ. I. THE HOUSE OF PRAYER PERSONIFIED IN JESUS A. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament picture of the Ark of the Covenant 1. The Ark of the Covenant was revealed and constructed to be the literal dwelling place of the Lord. The Ark was a type and shadow of Jesus Christ as the true dwelling place of God in human flesh. The Ark was constructed of acacia wood, and overlaid with pure gold, representing several things: a. The holiness and incorruptibility of Christ's human nature. b. The divinity of Jesus. c. The regal glory of Jesus.

2 GARY WIENS Page 2 2. The contents of the Ark typified the fullness and the work of Christ. a. In it were the two tables of the law. In Jesus these laws were embodied. He had them in His heart. He exemplified them in their fullest extent. b. In it was the golden pot of manna. So in Jesus is the bread of life. "His flesh is meat indeed." The manna was the physical expression of God s complete provision for the Israelites. In Jesus, we have the assurance that all our needs and desires will be satisfied. c. In it was Aaron's rod that budded, typifying Christ's exalted and abiding priesthood, and the supernatural dimension of His ministry. B. Jesus is the fulfillment of the Old Testament realities presented in the Temple 1. Angelic and human worship at His birth Luke 2; Matthew 2 2. Jesus is the temple/oracle/sanctuary Hebrew debiyr, from dabar word 1 Kings 6:16; 16 times in Old Testament 1 Kings 6:16 Then he built the twenty-cubit room at the rear of the temple, from floor to ceiling, with cedar boards; he built it inside as the inner sanctuary(debiyr = oracle ), as the Most Holy Place. 3. The Word (OT dabar = NT logos) was made flesh and tabernacled among us John 1:1, Fullness of God dwelling in bodily form Colossians 2:9 5. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world John 1:29 6. Day coming worship not here or there, but in Spirit and in truth; I AM truth John 4 John 4:25 26 The woman said to Him, I know that Messiah is coming (who is called Christ). When He comes, He will tell us all things. 26 Jesus said to her, I who speak to you am He. 7. The disciples worshipped Him John 9:38; 20:28; Matthew 14:33; Luke 24:52 8. My house shall be a house of prayer the lame and the blind came to Him at the temple, and He healed them Matthew 21:13-14 Matthew 21:13 14 And He said to them, It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. 14 Then the blind and the lame came to Him in the temple, and He healed them.

3 GARY WIENS Page 3 9. One greater than the temple is here Matthew 12:2-6 Matthew 12:2, 5-6 And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath! 5 (He said to them) have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? 6 Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. 10. This He spoke of the temple of His body John 2:19-21; Hebrews 10:5-7 John 2:19 21 Jesus answered and said to them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. 20 Then the Jews said, It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days? 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body. 11. Jesus lived a life of night and day worship and prayer John 5:19-20; 8: In the Heavenly City, the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple Revelation 21:22 Revelation 21:22 But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. II. THE HOUSE OF PRAYER PERSONIFIED IN THE CHURCH A. The Church Gathered 1. Prophetic picture of the priests of God s Kingdom is given in Deuteronomy 10:8. This picture is fulfilled first in Jesus, and then secondarily in His Body, the Church. Deuteronomy 10:8 At that time the LORD separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of the covenant of the LORD, to stand before the LORD to minister to Him and to bless in His name, to this day. 2. Whoever comes to Jesus experiences the death of repentance, the resurrection of the new birth, and the infusion of the Holy Spirit as rivers of living water flow from innermost being Romans 6:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17; John 7:38 Romans 6:5 For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. John 7:38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.

4 GARY WIENS Page 4 3. Jesus promises that those who love and obey Him will become the dwelling place of the Lord John 14:21, 23; John 14:21, 23 He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him. 23 Jesus answered and said to him, If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. 4. Jesus gave His Spirit to the disciples, releasing them to exercise His authority John 20: The corporate Body of Christ is the dwelling place of God in the Holy Spirit Ephesians 2:19-22; 1 Peter 2:5 Ephesians 2:19 22 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, 22 in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. 6. We are declared to be a Kingdom, and priests to the God and Father of Jesus Christ, purchased by the precious blood of Christ Revelation 1:6; 1 Peter 2:5,9 1 Peter 2:5, 9 you also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 9 But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; Revelation 1:5b 6 To Him who loved us and washed us from our sins in His own blood, 6 and has made us kings and priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. 7. We bring holy sacrifices to the Lord our bodies, presented to Him as His body, available for 24/7 service/worship (liturgy) Romans 12:1 Romans 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.

5 GARY WIENS Page 5 8. We are to be in prayer 24/7 1 Thessalonians 5:17 B. The Church Scattered 1 Thessalonians 5:17 pray without ceasing, 1. The individual believer is to be holy, set apart unto the Lord, because the believer s physical body is the temple of the Holy Spirit 1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19 1 Corinthians 3:16 17 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are. 2. Jesus releases His Spirit to dwell in us all the presence and power of the Kingdom of God is now resident within New Covenant of Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 10:12-17 (notice: His enemies become His footstool denotes victory and conquering, but also transformation into worshipping carriers of His presence (see Romans 5:8-11). The Ark is called His footstool (Psalm 132:6-8), the place of His dwelling, the place of His rest, where His will is done without resistance. Jeremiah 31:31 34 Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD, for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. Hebrews 10:12 13 But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, 13 from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. Psalm 132:6 8 Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah; We found it in the fields of the woods. 7 Let us go into His tabernacle; Let us worship at His footstool. 8 Arise, O LORD, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. 3. The same power that resided in Jesus now resides in His Body, the Church. While the fullness of the Father was in Jesus as an individual, that same power now is in His Body, functioning together in love and mutual submission and honor Ephesians 3:14-21; Hebrews 10:19-25 Hebrews 10:19 25 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the

6 GARY WIENS Page 6 veil, that is, His flesh, 21 and having a High Priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. 23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. 4. Jesus gives us His full complement of power and authority to venture into the world as overcomers in His Name Ephesians 6:10-18 Ephesians 6:10 18 Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. 14 Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God; 18 praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints 5. We are the House of Prayer!! Each one carries this personally, as part of the Body of Christ. Collectively, in agreement great power and authority! (see 1 Corinthians 5:4) 1 Corinthians 5:4 In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ,