It’s Time To Build God’s House! By James Lantz
God’s love for us is great! He made the earth for man to inhabit and gave him dominion over all the animals, the fish, the birds, and every creeping thing (including devils). God put everything in place for his man to be comfortable, healthy, and rich. He knows everything about us, our thoughts, our desires, even the number of hairs on our head. God was not willing to lose us, even after Adam’s betrayal. God loved us just as much as He loved Jesus and worked His plan for Jesus to suffer and die, so we could live and be in relationship with Him forever. Our redemption was not some kind of patch job, but actually made better than what Adam and Eve experienced in the garden of Eden. We christians have been made joint heirs with Jesus Christ. We have been seated together with Christ at the Father’s right hand. God wants us to know this great love He has for us and that we are not just some orphan child that He wants to give a free lunch to once a week. We are totally forgiven and made righteous just like Jesus is righteous. We are loved with an everlasting love! Eph. 3:19 And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. We have the very nature of our Father God, who is love, on the inside of us. God has shown us that He loves us just as much as He loves Jesus, by the fact that He was willing to sacrifice Jesus for us. Jesus prayed that the world may know, that God had sent Him, and that the Father loved us just as much as He loved Him. This makes me happy just thinking about how much I am loved. Jesus said, whatsoever things you desire, when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you shall have them. O the love, that our heavenly Father has towards us! God gave forgiveness and redemption to His enemies, how much more love He bestows on His children who love Him. Did you know that God rejoices over you with joy and that He will joy over you with singing? Zephaniah 3:17 The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. Healthy relationships are not one sided, love is to be received
Is God Rejoicing Over You With Joy!
and responded to. We are not to love in order to get something, but, the very nature of love is meant to be responded too. 1 John 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4:19 We love him, because he first loved us. Our heavenly Father expects us (his children) to take up His cause here in the earth. We were taken out of the kingdom of darkness (hatred, selfishness, fear, worry, greed, and the works of the flesh) and brought into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. After being born into God’s kingdom we still must put off the old man and put on the Lord Jesus Christ. God likes it when we participate in the things of His kingdom. He calls this being a suppling joint. We believers, the church, are the body of Christ. Each of us were placed exactly where God wanted us in His body. You would not like it if your elbow didn’t move when you decided to have dinner. God does not appreciate it when parts of His body refuse to do their part and cause the body of Christ to be handicapped and ineffective. If we refuse to be a supplying joint we are not walking in love and are going to get in trouble with the Father. In fact, many are weak and sickly, and die early because they refuse to properly discern the Lord’s body. I know some who have gone to be with the Lord prematurely because they wouldn’t do what God said. I hear the reasons people give for being afflicted, sick, and broke, I am just getting old, the devil is doing it to me, people don’t treat me right, everybody’s against me, I am just unlucky. ( Not every sickness nor affliction is caused by the individuals sin but in this context we are dealing with christians who have not responded to Christs’ command to take this gospel into all the world.) We are never going to get God’s help until we admit that we have been rebellious and unbelieving. We can make the correction by believing and submitting. Healing and restoration is available for all of God’s children through repentance and doing the work we are commanded. Jesus refers to the man who refused to forgive as being turned over to the tormenters. Matthew 18:34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. I know there are some people who would rather die than conform to what God is saying, but they don’t have to. Pride, stubbornness, and rebellion are all qualities of the devil, not something believers should have any part with. God is extremely merciful, compassionate, gracious, and willing to bless His people in every way! It makes no difference to God what a person has done or has not done, the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse from any and every sin. What matters to God is that we genuinely repent and put His things and His righteousness first place in our life. We have been purchased by the Lord Jesus Christ and we are to function in the kingdom of God, serving Jesus as our Lord. The very first commandment is, do not have any gods before God. We see this principle, put God first, again and again through the scriptures. Adam was to care for the tree in the center of the garden but not to eat of it. Able brought God his first and his best sheep. Jericho was the first city to be conquered, it was devoted to God as a first fruit, and the people were not to take any spoils for themselves. Abraham gave tithes of all to Melchizedek, priest of the most high God. We see that bringing God our tithes and first fruits is acting on our commitment to put God and His kingdom first. Our faith (confidence in God being our provider) is what Jesus receives. The act of tithing without faith in God receives no reward. Heb. 7:8 And here men that die receive tithes; but there he (Jesus) receiveth them, of whom it is witnessed that he liveth. The Lord Jesus gave us an assignment before He ascended up to sit at the Father’s right hand and the assignment has
Our Assignment Is Go Ye With The Gospel!
not changed. Mt. 28:18-20 AMPC . . . All authority (all power of rule) in heaven and on earth has been given to Me. Go then and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, Teaching them to observe everything that I have commanded you, and behold, I am with you all the days (perpetually, uniformly, and on every occasion), to the [very] close and consummation of the age. Amen (so let it be). We are very close to the end of this age, but, as of now, we still have a window of opportunity to obey the great commission. I, for one, am not going to be lukewarm (having no zeal for the things of God). The people in the days of Haggai the prophet had returned to Jerusalem and rebuilt the walls of the city and their homes. Years have gone by since their return from exile but they were still focused on their own homes while God’s house laid in ruins. God is not against us having nice homes, but He is against us putting our house ahead of His house. These people were saying, it is not time to build God’s house. In other words, they were saying, we want to get around to it sometime, but not now. God sent word to their leaders, if you want My blessing on you, you had better get to building My house now! Haggai 1:5-9 . . . Consider your ways. Ye have sown much, and bring in little; ye eat, but ye have not enough; ye drink, but ye are not filled with drink; ye clothe you, but there is none warm; and he that earneth wages earneth wages to put it into a bag with holes. Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord. Ye looked for much, and, lo, it came to little; and when ye brought it home, I did blow upon it. Why? saith the Lord of hosts. Because of mine house that is waste, and ye run every man unto his own house. When you follow this account, you will see that the leaders obeyed God, the people obeyed God, and they all got busy building God’s house. As soon as they obeyed the word of the Lord, God spoke to them again, saying, “ I Am With You” and He refreshed them. I am telling you, by the Spirit of God, now is the time to get busy building God’s house and the
When God Is With Us His Blessing Is On Us!
blessing of God that you have been seeking will come on you. Mt. 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Luke 17:14 . . . as they went they were cleansed. Psalms 23:5&6 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies (this is here in the earth since there are no enemies in heaven): thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever. You may be thinking, should I go and get you a load of lumber right now to build the church. There is more to building the church than just getting lumber. Remember, the church is God’s people and the church house is necessary in order for us to have a place to gather. Start by being a regular attender at the church where God has called you. Faithfully bring your tithes and offerings and serve in your church body. If you don’t know where to serve, ask your pastor. Listen to what God is speaking through your pastor and other ministry gifts and study the word of God so you know they are speaking God’s word. 2 Cor. 8:5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God. Give yourselves to God and to your leaders, serving as unto the Lord, and watch what God will do in your life. May the blessings of God be on you mightly as you serve the Lord!
Haggai 1:8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.
