Plt 08.04
This document was uploaded by user and they confirmed that they have the permission to share it. If you are author or own the copyright of this book, please report to us by using this DMCA report form. Report DMCA
Overview
Download & View Plt 08.04 as PDF for free.
More details
- Words: 2,414
- Pages: 6
PLT Message April 26, 2008
Being Ready for the Celebration of God! INTRODUCTION By studying Hezekiah, we are going to study how he prepared the people to reopen the temple of the Lord and how he brought his people into the celebration of the Lord…of the Lamb of God. Background: Before King Hezekiah, there was a king Ahaz in the land of Judah. This king was not devoted to the Lord and he closed the temple of God and devoted himself to idol worship. When Hezekiah became the king, He had the desire to please God. He found out that God wanted to be worshipped and he wanted to reopen the worship/celebration of God. Hezekiah’s work is to start a restoration in the temple of God and the people of God. KEY TEXT 2 Chronicles 29 VERSE-BY-VERSE •
V. 3-4 – “In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the LORD and repaired them. He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the courtyard east of the Temple.”
What is revival? God’s arrival! God is returning his heart back to His people because now His people’s heart has been turned back to God. God is preparing a revival in our generation, to turn our generation back to the Lord that He may arrive again! To fulfill this revival, God is calling the priests and the Levites those who are wholly devoted to God, who are desiring to give their entire lives devoted to the Lord alone, people want to be in the ministry of God (temple of God)…those who are separated! •
V. 5 – “He said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary.”
The priests had to be purified before they could serve the Lord. When God calls you, He will not allow even a little bit of blemish in your heart, mind, and lifestyle. Many of us are going through the process where God is pointing out little
“Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
1
PLT Message April 26, 2008
things in our lives that need to be changed. Thank God that He is beginning to point those things out because He desires to purify us. Do not be afraid to be holy and purified before the presence of God because God is preparing you as priests and Levites to prepare for revival. Those who are called to be priests and Levites God will set them apart and through them, God will bring revival. Will you grown and moan about being different or being persecuted? Revival will come…but it may not happen through you. I pray that you will be summoned to bring revival for this generation! In the second part of verse 5, Hezekiah calls the people not only to purify themselves but to purify the temple of God. •
V 6-7 – “Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned the LORD and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him. They also shut the doors to the Temple’s entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel.”
Ahaz completely rejected the temple of God. Because of his idol-worship the temple of God was defiled. What is the temple of God? During those times, it was an actual building, built by Solomon where God was going to dwell. The temple of God is the place in which God dwells and He alone is worshipped. Hezekiah not only called the priests and Levites to purify themselves…but he asked them to purify the temple of God. He asked them to take away all of the things that did not please God. In order for God’s revival to come in our generation, God is asking His church, His ministry, and His people to be cleansed. Not only is God calling the people of God, but He is calling the church through which God will bring revival. Not only individually is God calling us to revival, but God is calling the church to purify themselves. How will the world know God exists? Through the church! The church is the temple of God where God dwells. When the body of Christ has been defiled…He cannot come and move through us. So what is God doing before the great revival? God is coming and purifying the churches and bringing them back to worship and prayer…reviving that vision of prayer. God is calling the priests and the Levites to purify themselves AND to purify the ministry/temple of God.
“Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
2
PLT Message April 26, 2008
•
V. 24, 27-30 – “…The king had specifically commanded that this burnt offering and sin offering should be made for all Israel…Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be placed on the altar. As the burnt offering was presented, songs of praise to the LORD were begun, accompanied by the trumpets and other instruments of David, the former king of Israel. The entire assembly worshiped the LORD as the singers sang and the trumpets blew, until all the burnt offerings were finished. Then the king and everyone with him bowed down in worship. King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the psalms written by David and by Asaph the seer. So they offered joyous praise and bowed down in worship.”
After all of the purification process, there is atonement (sin offering) offering made…and God was restoring the worship movement. The same idea is going on now! There are more ministries now understanding the worship movement (24/7 worship/prayer movements). God is going to restore worship unto Him because He will forever be worshipped and praised from the lips of His people. But the thing is…are you ready for this worship movement? Are you preparing yourself for this in the future? These people were being prepared and when the door was opened for the temple to be restored, they were ready to worship the Lord. •
30:1 – “King Hezekiah now sent word to all Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters of invitation to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. He asked everyone to come to the Temple of the LORD at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel.”
King Hezekiah is now calling all people to come to the city of God (Jerusalem) and worship the Lord. In a place where God dwells…in the cities that God dwells…the people will flock to those areas to praise the Lord! What is the Passover? The process started during the time of Moses. When the angel of death came to kill the first-born sons of Egypt, the people of the Lord placed blood upon the door. When the angel came and saw the blood, it passed over that family. God is calling them to remember their salvation. God is calling them to a great celebration! Hezekiah is calling all the people to come and celebrate the Passover. •
V. 2-3 – “The king, his officials, and all the community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate Passover a month later than usual. They were unable to celebrate it at the prescribed time because not enough priests could be purified by then, and the people had not yet assembled at Jerusalem.”
“Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
3
PLT Message April 26, 2008
Why is revival not happening right now? It is because the priests are not ready. Do you know why His revival is not coming? God is desiring to reap souls during this great revival…but no workers are ready for this great harvest! So God, in his mercy, is holding back the great harvest until you and I are ready and purified. •
V. 6 – “At the king’s command, runners were sent throughout Israel and Judah. They carried letters…”
Runners messengers you and I! Before the celebration can happen… messengers must go out and proclaim the good news and the message of God! •
V. 6-8 – “O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel…Do not be like your ancestors and relatives who abandoned the LORD…Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the LORD. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the LORD your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.”
The message of the messengers return to the Lord…come back to your God! Why? Because we have been abandoning God! This is the message of repentance! If you are a messenger of God…what is the message on your lips? If you are speaking about how to be happy, receive riches and wealth…then the people’s itching ears are being satisfied. No. God’s message in preparation for the great revival is that his runners will take the message of God to the people of God and say, “Come back to God. Return to God!” •
V. 10-11 – “The runners went from town to town throughout Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as the territory of Zebulun. But most of the people just laughed at the runners and made fun of them. However, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.”
When you run with the message of God, there will be people who make fun of you and call you radical. In fact, most of the people will reject you. But do not be dismayed in being persecuted for what you say because you are speaking the message of the Lord. Still, there will be some people…perhaps few people…who will humble themselves and hear the message of the Lord. Those people will go with you and run with you! •
V. 12 – “At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the LORD.”
While the runners are going around awakening the generation…in the land of Judah (the place where revival will break out) God’s hand was upon them and they all became one! “Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
4
PLT Message April 26, 2008
Not only will God use you as a runner…but God will also sweep through the place of revival and bring unity. Fight to keep unity amongst the body of Christ! For the main purpose is to maintain the way of the Lord, fulfilling what God has called us to do! We have a greater purpose. Do not allow the enemy to come and separate you from the calling of God in the group! Do not succumb to the thoughts of your mind but rise up in the work of the Lord to be united! •
V. 5 – “The people had not been celebrating it in great numbers as required in the Law.”
God is calling us to unite in great numbers…to celebrate in great numbers! We must change our mindset…for right now we are in preparation but God is desiring to gather together a vast number to return to Him. •
V. 25-26 – “The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, including the priests, the Levites, all who came from the land of Israel, the foreigners who came to the festival, and all those who lived in Judah. There was great joy in the city, for Jerusalem had not seen a celebration like this one since the days of Solomon, King David’s son.”
In great number…joy will arise! Do not limit yourselves to something small in the eyes of God. Expect the day that God will fulfill His desire to gather a great number of people together before the Lord. And even in verse 31, this revival was multiplied in other cities, rippling out of the revival in Jerusalem. Multiplication is happening! •
V. 15 – “This shamed the priests and Levites, so they purified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the Temple of the LORD.”
Still, the Levites were not prepared! I pray that out of shame you will be prepared. Out of understanding His plan, you will be prepared. The purification process is going on during the revival and at the end of the revival. May you and I desire the fact that if we’re going to be purified, we want to be purified in the beginning! It’s great that purification is going on throughout the revival…but may you and I desire to fill ourselves with the vision of God now, in preparation to fulfill His great will! How much will you be prepared? I cannot be purified for you! Why am I struggling before the presence of God…reading the word of the Lord and struggling to fill my heart and mind with the thoughts of God? Because when the time comes to fulfill God’s vision and revival…I will be ready! •
V. 27 – “Then the priests and Levites stood and blessed the people, and God heard their prayer from his holy dwelling in heaven.”
“Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
5
PLT Message April 26, 2008
The first thing to do…priests and Levites much purify themselves before the presence of God so that they can then go and minister before the people of the Lord…blessing the people! These people are the ones who can lead His people into the presence of God. Just because you are a part of the PLT does not mean that you are going to be prepared. Being a part of a group will not prepare you alone. First, you must be prepared before the presence of God. You must be personally connected to Jesus Christ. CONCLUSION Great revival is coming. God is going to raise up a generation and a great number of people who will come together and celebrate the day of the Lord. But who will be those who are ready, prepared to fulfill God’s revival and minister the people of the Lord? God is preparing His priests and Levites. I pray that you will prepare yourself for this great revival…through praise, prayer, repentance to the Lord.
“Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
6
Being Ready for the Celebration of God! INTRODUCTION By studying Hezekiah, we are going to study how he prepared the people to reopen the temple of the Lord and how he brought his people into the celebration of the Lord…of the Lamb of God. Background: Before King Hezekiah, there was a king Ahaz in the land of Judah. This king was not devoted to the Lord and he closed the temple of God and devoted himself to idol worship. When Hezekiah became the king, He had the desire to please God. He found out that God wanted to be worshipped and he wanted to reopen the worship/celebration of God. Hezekiah’s work is to start a restoration in the temple of God and the people of God. KEY TEXT 2 Chronicles 29 VERSE-BY-VERSE •
V. 3-4 – “In the very first month of the first year of his reign, Hezekiah reopened the doors of the Temple of the LORD and repaired them. He summoned the priests and Levites to meet him at the courtyard east of the Temple.”
What is revival? God’s arrival! God is returning his heart back to His people because now His people’s heart has been turned back to God. God is preparing a revival in our generation, to turn our generation back to the Lord that He may arrive again! To fulfill this revival, God is calling the priests and the Levites those who are wholly devoted to God, who are desiring to give their entire lives devoted to the Lord alone, people want to be in the ministry of God (temple of God)…those who are separated! •
V. 5 – “He said to them, “Listen to me, you Levites! Purify yourselves, and purify the Temple of the LORD, the God of your ancestors. Remove all the defiled things from the sanctuary.”
The priests had to be purified before they could serve the Lord. When God calls you, He will not allow even a little bit of blemish in your heart, mind, and lifestyle. Many of us are going through the process where God is pointing out little
“Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
1
PLT Message April 26, 2008
things in our lives that need to be changed. Thank God that He is beginning to point those things out because He desires to purify us. Do not be afraid to be holy and purified before the presence of God because God is preparing you as priests and Levites to prepare for revival. Those who are called to be priests and Levites God will set them apart and through them, God will bring revival. Will you grown and moan about being different or being persecuted? Revival will come…but it may not happen through you. I pray that you will be summoned to bring revival for this generation! In the second part of verse 5, Hezekiah calls the people not only to purify themselves but to purify the temple of God. •
V 6-7 – “Our ancestors were unfaithful and did what was evil in the sight of the LORD our God. They abandoned the LORD and his dwelling place; they turned their backs on him. They also shut the doors to the Temple’s entry room, and they snuffed out the lamps. They stopped burning incense and presenting burnt offerings at the sanctuary of the God of Israel.”
Ahaz completely rejected the temple of God. Because of his idol-worship the temple of God was defiled. What is the temple of God? During those times, it was an actual building, built by Solomon where God was going to dwell. The temple of God is the place in which God dwells and He alone is worshipped. Hezekiah not only called the priests and Levites to purify themselves…but he asked them to purify the temple of God. He asked them to take away all of the things that did not please God. In order for God’s revival to come in our generation, God is asking His church, His ministry, and His people to be cleansed. Not only is God calling the people of God, but He is calling the church through which God will bring revival. Not only individually is God calling us to revival, but God is calling the church to purify themselves. How will the world know God exists? Through the church! The church is the temple of God where God dwells. When the body of Christ has been defiled…He cannot come and move through us. So what is God doing before the great revival? God is coming and purifying the churches and bringing them back to worship and prayer…reviving that vision of prayer. God is calling the priests and the Levites to purify themselves AND to purify the ministry/temple of God.
“Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
2
PLT Message April 26, 2008
•
V. 24, 27-30 – “…The king had specifically commanded that this burnt offering and sin offering should be made for all Israel…Then Hezekiah ordered that the burnt offering be placed on the altar. As the burnt offering was presented, songs of praise to the LORD were begun, accompanied by the trumpets and other instruments of David, the former king of Israel. The entire assembly worshiped the LORD as the singers sang and the trumpets blew, until all the burnt offerings were finished. Then the king and everyone with him bowed down in worship. King Hezekiah and the officials ordered the Levites to praise the LORD with the psalms written by David and by Asaph the seer. So they offered joyous praise and bowed down in worship.”
After all of the purification process, there is atonement (sin offering) offering made…and God was restoring the worship movement. The same idea is going on now! There are more ministries now understanding the worship movement (24/7 worship/prayer movements). God is going to restore worship unto Him because He will forever be worshipped and praised from the lips of His people. But the thing is…are you ready for this worship movement? Are you preparing yourself for this in the future? These people were being prepared and when the door was opened for the temple to be restored, they were ready to worship the Lord. •
30:1 – “King Hezekiah now sent word to all Israel and Judah, and he wrote letters of invitation to the people of Ephraim and Manasseh. He asked everyone to come to the Temple of the LORD at Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover of the LORD, the God of Israel.”
King Hezekiah is now calling all people to come to the city of God (Jerusalem) and worship the Lord. In a place where God dwells…in the cities that God dwells…the people will flock to those areas to praise the Lord! What is the Passover? The process started during the time of Moses. When the angel of death came to kill the first-born sons of Egypt, the people of the Lord placed blood upon the door. When the angel came and saw the blood, it passed over that family. God is calling them to remember their salvation. God is calling them to a great celebration! Hezekiah is calling all the people to come and celebrate the Passover. •
V. 2-3 – “The king, his officials, and all the community of Jerusalem decided to celebrate Passover a month later than usual. They were unable to celebrate it at the prescribed time because not enough priests could be purified by then, and the people had not yet assembled at Jerusalem.”
“Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
3
PLT Message April 26, 2008
Why is revival not happening right now? It is because the priests are not ready. Do you know why His revival is not coming? God is desiring to reap souls during this great revival…but no workers are ready for this great harvest! So God, in his mercy, is holding back the great harvest until you and I are ready and purified. •
V. 6 – “At the king’s command, runners were sent throughout Israel and Judah. They carried letters…”
Runners messengers you and I! Before the celebration can happen… messengers must go out and proclaim the good news and the message of God! •
V. 6-8 – “O people of Israel, return to the LORD, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel…Do not be like your ancestors and relatives who abandoned the LORD…Do not be stubborn, as they were, but submit yourselves to the LORD. Come to his Temple, which he has set apart as holy forever. Worship the LORD your God so that his fierce anger will turn away from you.”
The message of the messengers return to the Lord…come back to your God! Why? Because we have been abandoning God! This is the message of repentance! If you are a messenger of God…what is the message on your lips? If you are speaking about how to be happy, receive riches and wealth…then the people’s itching ears are being satisfied. No. God’s message in preparation for the great revival is that his runners will take the message of God to the people of God and say, “Come back to God. Return to God!” •
V. 10-11 – “The runners went from town to town throughout Ephraim and Manasseh and as far as the territory of Zebulun. But most of the people just laughed at the runners and made fun of them. However, some people from Asher, Manasseh, and Zebulun humbled themselves and went to Jerusalem.”
When you run with the message of God, there will be people who make fun of you and call you radical. In fact, most of the people will reject you. But do not be dismayed in being persecuted for what you say because you are speaking the message of the Lord. Still, there will be some people…perhaps few people…who will humble themselves and hear the message of the Lord. Those people will go with you and run with you! •
V. 12 – “At the same time, God’s hand was on the people in the land of Judah, giving them all one heart to obey the orders of the king and his officials, who were following the word of the LORD.”
While the runners are going around awakening the generation…in the land of Judah (the place where revival will break out) God’s hand was upon them and they all became one! “Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
4
PLT Message April 26, 2008
Not only will God use you as a runner…but God will also sweep through the place of revival and bring unity. Fight to keep unity amongst the body of Christ! For the main purpose is to maintain the way of the Lord, fulfilling what God has called us to do! We have a greater purpose. Do not allow the enemy to come and separate you from the calling of God in the group! Do not succumb to the thoughts of your mind but rise up in the work of the Lord to be united! •
V. 5 – “The people had not been celebrating it in great numbers as required in the Law.”
God is calling us to unite in great numbers…to celebrate in great numbers! We must change our mindset…for right now we are in preparation but God is desiring to gather together a vast number to return to Him. •
V. 25-26 – “The entire assembly of Judah rejoiced, including the priests, the Levites, all who came from the land of Israel, the foreigners who came to the festival, and all those who lived in Judah. There was great joy in the city, for Jerusalem had not seen a celebration like this one since the days of Solomon, King David’s son.”
In great number…joy will arise! Do not limit yourselves to something small in the eyes of God. Expect the day that God will fulfill His desire to gather a great number of people together before the Lord. And even in verse 31, this revival was multiplied in other cities, rippling out of the revival in Jerusalem. Multiplication is happening! •
V. 15 – “This shamed the priests and Levites, so they purified themselves and brought burnt offerings to the Temple of the LORD.”
Still, the Levites were not prepared! I pray that out of shame you will be prepared. Out of understanding His plan, you will be prepared. The purification process is going on during the revival and at the end of the revival. May you and I desire the fact that if we’re going to be purified, we want to be purified in the beginning! It’s great that purification is going on throughout the revival…but may you and I desire to fill ourselves with the vision of God now, in preparation to fulfill His great will! How much will you be prepared? I cannot be purified for you! Why am I struggling before the presence of God…reading the word of the Lord and struggling to fill my heart and mind with the thoughts of God? Because when the time comes to fulfill God’s vision and revival…I will be ready! •
V. 27 – “Then the priests and Levites stood and blessed the people, and God heard their prayer from his holy dwelling in heaven.”
“Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
5
PLT Message April 26, 2008
The first thing to do…priests and Levites much purify themselves before the presence of God so that they can then go and minister before the people of the Lord…blessing the people! These people are the ones who can lead His people into the presence of God. Just because you are a part of the PLT does not mean that you are going to be prepared. Being a part of a group will not prepare you alone. First, you must be prepared before the presence of God. You must be personally connected to Jesus Christ. CONCLUSION Great revival is coming. God is going to raise up a generation and a great number of people who will come together and celebrate the day of the Lord. But who will be those who are ready, prepared to fulfill God’s revival and minister the people of the Lord? God is preparing His priests and Levites. I pray that you will prepare yourself for this great revival…through praise, prayer, repentance to the Lord.
“Being Ready for the Celebration of God”
6
