Cleanse the Temple

2 Chronicles 29:3-7, 15-17

2 Chronicles 29:3-7 (NKJV) ³ In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them. ⁴ Then he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them in the East Square, ⁵ and said to them: "Hear me, Levites! Now sanctify yourselves, sanctify the house of the Lord God of your fathers, and carry out the rubbish from the holy place.
⁶ For our fathers have trespassed and done evil in the eyes of the Lord our God; they have forsaken Him, have turned their faces away from the dwelling place of the Lord, and turned their backs on Him. ⁷ They have also shut up the doors of the vestibule, put out the lamps, and have not burned incense or offered burnt offerings in the holy place to the God of Israel.
2 Chronicles 29:15-17 (NKJV) ¹⁵ And they gathered their brethren, sanctified themselves, and went according to the commandment of the king, at the words of the Lord, to cleanse the house of the Lord. ¹⁶ Then the priests went into the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and brought out all the debris that they found in the temple of the Lord to the court of the house of the Lord. And the Levites took it out and carried it to the Brook Kidron. ¹⁷ Now they began to sanctify on the first day of the first month, and on the eighth day of the month they came to the vestibule of the Lord. Then they sanctified the house of the Lord in eight days, and on the sixteenth day of the first month they finished. God wants us to cleanse our temple! What have you allowed into your life that does not honor God? Do you have a secret place in your heart that you won't even allow God in? 

      Philippians 1:6 (NKJV) He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

    I. Our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 (NLT)
¹⁹ Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself, ²⁰ for God bought you with a high price. So you must honor God with your body. We are to honor God in all we think, do and say.

II. We are to cleanse our temple. Ephesians 4:21-22 (NLT) ²¹ Since you have heard about Jesus and have learned the truth that comes from him, ²² throw off your old sinful nature and your former way of life, which is corrupted by lust and deception. This is an ongoing process. Just as the priests and Levites threw out all the unholy things in God’s house, God says we are to throw off the old sinful things and our former way of life. Ask the Holy Spirit to cleanse you from hidden sins that include; Unforgiveness! Matthew 6:15 (NLT) But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. Who in your life have you not forgiven? An unthankful heart! 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (NLT) Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus. Do you take God’s blessings for granted? Selfishness! James 4:3 (NLT)  And even when you ask, you don’t get it because your motives are all wrong—you want only what will give you pleasure. Do you put others before yourself? Disobedience! Galatians 5:7 (NKJV)  You ran well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth?

   Idols! Ezekiel 14:2-3 (NKJV) ² And the word of the Lord came to me, saying, ³ "Son of man, these men have set up their idols in their hearts, and put before them that which causes them to stumble into iniquity. Should I let Myself be inquired of at all by them? Ezekiel 14:6 (NKJV) "Therefore say to the house of Israel, 'Thus says the Lord God: "Repent, turn away from your idols, and turn your faces away from all your abominations. 

    Lack of reconciliation with others! Matthew 5:23-24 (NKJV) ²³ Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, ²⁴ leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

   Not wanting to wait on the Lord! Psalms 27:14 (NKJV) Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!  Don’t Get ahead of the Lord.                         

  III. We are to keep our temples clean! Matthew 5:8 (NKJV) Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.

     a. How do we do that? (Eph. 4:23-24)²³ Let the Spirit renew your thoughts and attitudes.

        ²⁴ Put on your new nature, created to be like God—truly righteous and holy. Ephesians 5:18 (NLT)  Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit.

    Conclusion: God wants our attitudes and thoughts to be pure before Him so He can work in our lives and fully bless us with the fullness of life and power which He desires for His people. Each of us must seek out and clean out these those things that can make our prayers ineffective and hinder our walk and close relationship with the Lord.

Invitation: This coming week allow the Holy Spirit to take inventory. Get alone somewhere and be still before God and ask Him to show you anything that you need to cleanse from your mind and life. Psalms 19:13 (NLT) Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. If you need salvation, confess your sins against God and ask Jesus to forgive your sins and to cleanse you and save your soul so you will be in Heaven with the Father God and His Son Jesus Christ!

Meaning of the Jewish Feast Days

There is a deep reservoir of knowledge built into the feast days of ancient Israel. They reenact the story of the Jewish people brought from slavery in Egypt, through the establishment of a covenant between God and Israel, through the wanderings in the desert, to the ultimate goal of life in the Promised Land. Jews and Christians have believed that these annual holy days symbolize and teach man's journey from slavery to Satan sin, and evil, toward the goal of forgiveness of sins and the promise of eternal life. Yet there is another aspect to the feast days of ancient Israel, that of a prophetic object lesson given by God to show mankind the ultimate outworking for His plan of salvation, and the soon coming of Messiah to establish the kingdom of God on the earth. We will look at those specific aspects of the feasts fulfilled by Jesus in His earthly ministry, and those to be fulfilled at or near the Second Coming. The unfulfilled feast days reveal the key to an accurate analysis of prophetic events and the key to the end times.
The spring feasts are Passover which tells the story of the lamb’s blood being shed and placed on the door posts to allow the Angel of death to pass by, and was fulfilled by Jesus when He died on the cross for our sins. If we believe and are born-again, His shed blood allows us to pass from death to life with our names written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a picture of Christ’s holiness, sinlessness and purity.
Firstfruits is the wave offering of a sheaf of the spring grain harvest before God, and fulfilled the prophecy of the resurrection of Jesus who ascended to heaven as an offering for both Jew and Gentile, bringing the two together as one body in Him. Finally, Pentecost which was celebrated as the loaves of the spring harvest were waved as an offering was fulfilled when the Holy Spirit was poured out on the early church as a mighty rushing wind bringing forth a mighty harvest of souls known as the church. We can all easily recognize that Passover, Unleavened Bread, Firstfruits, and Pentecost were prophetic in that they foretold specific events that would take place in the early spring harvest. And not only that, but they were fulfilled on the exact days of the year on which they were celebrated by the Jews. Therefore, doesn't it make sense that the main harvest feasts are themselves prophecies of specific end time events, and that they will be fulfilled on the exact day of the year as celebrated by the Jews according to the Jewish calendar!!
Most Christians are entirely ignorant of the fall feasts of ancient Israel, Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah), Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur), and Booths (Sukkot). They don’t know the way in which these feast days are celebrated, which reveals specific information on the way in which they will be prophetically fulfilled. The Jews start the celebration of the fall feasts 30 days prior to Rosh Hashanah which falls on the 1st day of the 7th month. For 30 days the shofar is blown every morning in the Synagogue to remind the people that the holy days are approaching, in order that they may prepare themselves. Their preparation consists of confessing their sins and seeking forgiveness along with a change in life as needed. The Jews earnest prayer is that their name may be written in the Book of Life. They too believe as Christians do, that Angels record all the actions and words of the people on the earth in a set of books, while another book is kept by God called the Book of Life, in which are the names of those who have eternal life with God. So, the 30 days preparation before Rosh Hashanah is to become a righteous person and have their names written in the Book of Life. Revelation 20:12 &15 (NKJV) ¹² And I saw the dead, small and great, standing before God, and books were opened. And another book was opened, which is the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to their works, by the things which were written in the books. ¹⁵ And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire. On Rosh Hashanah, a series of 100 trumpet blasts are sounded for a specific reason. They are to awakening God’s people from spiritual slumber and announce the setting up of the eternal court, with the trumpets heralding God as the all-seeing, all-knowing Judge of the Universe. Built in the court proceedings, is the knowledge that this court date is only open for those who desire to live righteous and have their names in the Book of Life. This is a day of prayer that God would forgive them and place their names in the Book of Life. For us Christians, the blowing of the shofar on Rosh Hashanah is prophetic of the rapture of the church and reminds us to be ready for the soon appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. Though we don’t know the exact day or hour of His return to call us home, we are commanded to watch and be ready for His soon appearance for His church. We ought to be in a constant state of repentance as we seek to humble ourselves and walk with our God.
Rosh Hashanah will be fulfilled according to 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18 (NLT)
¹³ And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. ¹⁴ For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died. ¹⁵ We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died.
¹⁶ For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the Christians who have died will rise from their graves. ¹⁷ Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.
¹⁸ So encourage each other with these words. The Messiah comes on the clouds; the dead in Christ rise to meet the Lord in the air, then those who are alive are changed in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye to new immortal bodies. All of those whose names are in the Lamb's Book of Life are righteous, not by their own deeds, but by the blood of the Lamb. Thus the fulfillment of Rosh Hashanah is the rapture of all believers, all whose names are written in the Book of Life. The court process of Rosh Hashanah for the Christian is where the works of a believer's life will be tested by fire for determining of rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ as spoken of in 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 (NLT) ¹¹ For no one can lay any foundation other than the one we already have—Jesus Christ. ¹² Anyone who builds on that foundation may use a variety of materials—gold, silver, jewels, wood, hay, or straw. ¹³ But on the judgment day, fire will reveal what kind of work each builder has done. The fire will show if a person’s work has any value. ¹⁴ If the work survives, that builder will receive a reward. ¹⁵ But if the work is burned up, the builder will suffer great loss. The builder will be saved, but like someone barely escaping through a wall of flames. The other people left behind at the time of the rapture are a mixture of good and bad, whose names are not in the Book of Life and God in His mercy will delay their court date for a 7 years to allow them call on the name of Jesus and be saved. The second court date is on the next festival which is Yom Kippur. All left on the earth will remain for court on Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. However, between Rosh Hashanah on the 1st day of the 7th month, and Yom Kippur which falls on the 10th day of 7th month, are the Days of Awe or also known as the 10 Days of Repentance. The fulfillment of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur will occur in a different year in the prophetic calendar. The rapture of believers ends the “age of the church.” Between the end of the age of the church and Jesus’ 2^nd coming, The Days of Awe correspond to the period of time that the people of the earth are tested in the Day of the Lord during the “Great Tribulation.” God in His mercy allows a period of time when people can still be saved by “the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.’ (Rev.12:11)
After the Second Coming, after the conquering of the armies of the earth by Jesus on the Great Day of God the Almighty, all the people of the earth will be summoned to Israel for judgment. This judgment will be the fulfillment of Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement.  First, all Israel will be judged in the trumpet judgment of Matthew 24:29-31 (NLT) ²⁹ “Immediately after the anguish of those days, the sun will be darkened, the moon will give no light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ And then at last, the sign that the Son of Man is coming will appear in the heavens, and there will be deep mourning among all the peoples of the earth. And they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And he will send out his angels with the mighty blast of a trumpet, and they will gather his chosen ones from all over the world—from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven. Their sins will be forgiven. This judgment will be a merciful judgment as the people of Israel acknowledge their sin, confess their guilt, and fall on the mercy of the court.
After the judgment of Israel on Yom Kippur, then the Messiah will judge all the people of the nations in the Sheep and Goats judgment shown in Matthew 25:31-45. (Be sure and read these scriptures) Finally, on the 15th day of the 7th month, the Feast of Booths or the Feast of Ingathering (Sukkot) will be celebrated by all alive on the earth judged worthy to live on in the millennium. This first celebration of Sukkot will be fulfilled in the same year as Yom Kippur is fulfilled. Messiah will celebrate with all people of the earth and there will be joy and gladness and no tears. The Lord will pour out the Spirit of Gladness and spread His tabernacle of peace over them beginning the millennial reign of Jesus Christ who is “Lord of lords and King of kings.”                                                                                            Invitation: Are you ready for the coming of Christ for His church? If not you will be left behind to go through the tribulation period. Search your heart before God and make sure you know Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord. Be 100% sure you have asked Jesus to forgive your sins and invited Him to take charge of your life and save your soul for Heaven.

Your Labor is Not in Vain

   Intro: The apostle Paul reminds us in the scripture text for today that we should be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. We are to remember that is the most important work in this world and it’s to be rewarded by God Himself.

 1.  The charge is to all believers in Christ.                         1 Corinthians 15:58 (NKJV)
⁵⁸ Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord. Paul speaks to "Beloved brothers and sisters," in the New Living Translation.

   a. The believer is to be steadfast and immovable. The word steadfast means to be strong, firm, fixed, determined, purposed, and faithful. The believer is to stand fast and fixed in his belief and labor for the Lord, determined to live for the Lord and to carry out his purpose for the Lord. The believer is to be faithful and committed to the end.

   b. The word "immovable" means to be unyielding, unshaken, undisturbed.

      The believer is not to be fickle, erratic, or indecisive in his service for the Lord.

      They are to stand as solid as a rock in their beliefs and in the serving of the Lord.

      We are to be like trees planted by rivers of living water bringing forth fruit. Psalms 1:3 (NKJV)  He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.

   c. The believer is to always abound in the work of the Lord. The word always means never cease, never stop, never slacken up, never quit, and never retire. Abound means to overflow and flourish, growing in love and service, excelling in the work of the Lord. It means to serve the Lord enthusiastically, actively, willingly, and heartily.

      We should be eager to prosper in the work for the Lord. What a challenge to the believer!

       But the believer's labor will not be in vain, that is, left empty and unrewarded.

 2.  The believer will be rewarded.                             1 Corinthians 15:51-57 (NKJV)
⁵¹ Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed--
⁵² in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
⁵³ For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
⁵⁴ So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory."
⁵⁵ "O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?"
⁵⁶ The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
⁵⁷ But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

      The bodies of the dead believers in Christ will be resurrected at the last trumpet and they will be given a new body that has been prepared for Heaven. Those Christians who are alive at Christ’s coming will be changed in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. That trumpet marks the end of the church age. Our frail mortal bodies will be changed into the immortal bodies that God has prepared for us as we rise to meet the Lord in the air and ever be with Him. Believers will be rewarded with victory over death and the grave forever more!

  Conclusion: Because we have such a glorious hope: the hope of being resurrected and given an incorruptible and immortal body, and the promise of eternity in Heaven should stir the believer to be steadfast and immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ knowing that our labor will not be in vain.

  Invitation: Only those who belong to the body of Christ and serve Him will be rewarded with resurrected immortal bodies. Do you belong to Christ? If Jesus were to come today, would you be ready to meet Him? If you honestly don’t know for sure, make sure right now. Ask Jesus to forgive your sins against God and ask Him to save you for Heaven. Then invite Jesus Christ into your life as your personal Savior and Lord. Make sure today because you may never have another chance. Be ready before that last trumpet sounds calling God’s people home!