Title: The Presence of Jehovah's Glory
Contents
The Presence of Jehovah's Glory
2 Chronicles 5:11-14
According to the Bible, God's people have tried to believe in the true religion.
Unfortunately, in many cases, true religion has been lost.
There were times when God's people served a god other than God.
There were times when God's people did not experience God's presence and were just immersed in religious ceremonies.
Today we too must do our best to believe in the true religion.
We must serve only the living God.
We should never worship idols or worship anything other than God as a god.
And we must experience the presence of the living God.
You cannot live your life of faith with just one ritual.
Today's text records the struggles of the Israelites to establish a true religion.
First, Solomon built and dedicated the temple of God with all his heart.
Feeling that that alone is not enough, they bring the ark of the covenant containing the stone tablets of the Word to the newly built temple.
It is enshrined in the Holy of Holies. And with joy all the people praise and give thanks.
God was present among them in glory.
It is the scene where true religion is established.
These words make us realize what we must observe in order to live a true life of faith today.
You must do your best in your life of faith.
2 Chronicles 2:1 says: “Solomon decided to build a temple for the name of the Lord, and a palace for his throne.”
After deciding to build the temple, Solomon did his best to build the temple.
First of all, I did my best to prepare. He did the best he could.
He enlists the help of Huram, king of Tire, to make up for what he cannot do.
We did our best to build the best temple and dedicate it to God.
After the preparations were completed, I also did my best to build the temple.
If you look at 2 Chronicles 3-4, you can see that he devoted himself to even the smallest details.
That's right. In this way, God was pleased with Solomon's attitude of doing his best.
So, when the temple was dedicated, the glory of God came to come.
Many Christians today are living their life of faith without experiencing the presence of God.
One of the decisive reasons is that we do not do our best in our religious life.
First of all, more and more people are not doing their best on Holy Week.
Pastors, including myself, are heartbroken when the holidays go on for several days, including Sundays.
This is because many church members are concerned that they will break Holy Order Sunday.
This is because I am concerned that my attendance on Sundays will decrease.
In fact, more and more church members are taking Holy Week to enjoy the holidays and traveling abroad.
It's unfortunate.
Also, more and more people are not doing their best in church life.
Those who were praying in the morning are resting. People who have been praying all night are stopping.
The church service that I had been working so hard for is also hesitating.
Those who gave with joy are hesitating.
What is the result? It means that we cannot experience the presence of God in our Christian life.
It means that you will not be able to experience deeply that God is with you now.
It means that joy and emotion will disappear from your life of faith.
Dear all! Please do your best in your life of faith.
God will be pleased with your life of faith.
And he will show the presence of God in your life of faith.
The Word should be the center.
2 Chronicles 5 records the words of Solomon placing the Ark of the Covenant in the temple after the construction of the temple was completed.
Solomon did his best to build the temple.
But I couldn't finish it.
Because something crucial is missing.
It is to bring the ark of the covenant into the temple.
Solomon brings the ark of the covenant that he had kept in Zion, the city of David, to the newly built temple.
It was a grand celebration with all the people of Israel.
They brought the Ark of the Covenant to the temple with all their heart.
The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the Most Holy Place in the Temple.
What is the ark of the covenant here? In verse 10, two stone tablets representing the word of God are contained in it. So, the ark of the covenant is a symbol of the word of God.
No matter how beautiful a temple is, it cannot be called a temple without the Word of God in it. In the center of the temples of all other religions in the world, the Holy of Holies, man-made idols, or idols, are erected.
However, in the temple of the living God, there cannot be a statue of God.
However, the temple could not be built solely as a building.
That is why the ark of the covenant, which symbolizes the word of God, was placed in the place of the statue.
A temple without the ark of the covenant is like a royal palace without a king.
The same is true in our religious life.
A life of faith without the Word of God cannot be called a proper life of faith.
God comes to us through His Word.
When we listen to His Word, we can deeply experience the presence of God.
Why are we not experiencing God's presence today and living our faith?
Because there is no word of God in me.
This is because even if you do your best to lead a life of faith, there is no word of God in you.
It is just like Solomon built a beautiful temple, but without the Ark of the Covenant in it, it cannot be a proper temple yet.
Dear all! I hope you will put the Word of God into your heart.
Please keep in your hearts the Word of God to me.
When you obey the Word and actually do it, you will experience the presence of God deeply.
Praise and thanks should be abundant.
If you look at verses 12 and 13 of today's text, it reads like this. “The singing Levites, Asaph, Heman, and Jeduthun, and their sons and brothers, all dressed in linen cloths, stood on the east side of the altar, holding cymbals, harps, and harps, and a hundred and twenty trumpet priests standing with them, the trumpeter and the singer. They all shouted out their voices to sing praises to the Lord and give thanks; they blew the trumpets and the sacraments, and all the musical instruments sounded, and lifted up their voices to praise the Lord, saying, “Good, and his mercy endures forever.” When Solomon placed the ark of the covenant in the newly built temple, the people That is, they fervently praised God. It means giving thanks to God with a full heart.
In verses 13 and 14 of the main text, it is recorded as follows. “At that time the house of the LORD was filled with the cloud, and the priests were not able to stand and serve because of the cloud, because the house of God was full of the glory of the LORD.” is.
All those who participated in it experienced the presence of Jehovah's glory.
That's right. God delights in our praise. We delight in our sincere thanks.
And it shows the presence of God.
Scholars who study church music generally organize the functions of praise into three categories.
First, it is the function of dream.
It refers to the function of those who praise and glorify God.
Indeed, God is pleased with the praise we give with our whole heart.
Second, it is the function of meeting.
It refers to the ability to experience spiritual encounters in praise between those who praise and God who is praised. Indeed, God dwells in praise.
So, you meet someone who praises you with all your heart.
Third, it is a function of change.
It refers to the ability of those who praise to experience change while meeting God in praise and experiencing God's work.
In fact, people who sing praises will experience many changes as they praise them with all their heart.
One of the reasons many Christians lose the spiritual presence of God is because they lose praise.
It is because they are singing praises merely formally, without emotion or joy.
Dear all! Praise must be restored.
Praise with joy, praise with thanks, and praise with emotion must come to life.
God, who dwells in praise, shows these people the presence of God's glory.
Dear all! We must restore the true life of faith.
We should be able to experience the presence of God in our religious life.
To do this, you must do your best in your life of faith.
The Word of God must be at the center of our religious life.
And you should be able to praise with all your heart.
Then God will show us the presence of glory.