DEDICATION by Pastor Shah, Clearview Church, Henderson 
Introduction: How do you gift something to someone when it already belongs to them? I remember as a little boy wrapping things up around the house and giving it to my parents on their birthday. I would wrap up a flashlight and give it to my dad on his birthday. I would wrap up a pen and give it to my mom on her birthday. By the way, that was when I was very young. They would act all happy and excited to get a gift from me but later I realized that it wasn’t really a gift because it already belonged to them. In this service we are dedicating this new sanctuary to God but, in reality, it already belongs to him. So, what are we doing? We are really dedicating ourselves to God. We are committing ourselves to using this place to worship God, to magnify his son, to allow the Holy Spirit to work freely, to preach the truth, to encourage and edify one another, to reach the lost, and to be a lighthouse in our community and our world for Jesus Christ. The dedication is not of brick and mortar but of hearts and lives.
2 Chronicles 6 41“Now therefore, Arise, O LORD God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, And let Your saints rejoice in goodness. 42“O LORD God, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed; Remember the mercies of Your servant David.” 2 Chronicles 7 1When Solomon had finished praying, fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the temple. 2And the priests could not enter the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD’S house. 3When all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD on the temple, they bowed their faces to the ground on the pavement, and worshiped and praised the LORD, saying:“For He isgood, For His mercyenduresforever.”
Question: They saw the fire and the glory and they fell on their faces before God. When was the last time you fell on your face before God? When was the last time you dedicated yourself to God? Are you saved?
Context: The passage we just read comes from a very high point in the history of God’s people. After years of delaying and deferring, they finally got around to building the temple in Jerusalem. It came from a deep conviction in King David’s heart. 1 Chronicles 17:1“Now it came to pass, when David was dwelling in his house, that David said to Nathan the prophet, ‘See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the ark of the covenant of the LORDisunder tent curtains.’” This is powerful to me because it tells you why David was a man after God’s own heart. He saw what many couldn’t see that there was no single place for God’s people to worship him. Even though David’s desire was noble, God knew the future and he told him that he was not going to build the house but his son will. Later we hear from David himself in 2 Chronicles 22 8but the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “You. . . shall not build a house for My name, because you have shed much blood on the earth in My sight. God saw what would happen with Bathsheba and Uriah her husband.9Behold, a son shall be born to you, who shall be a man of rest. . .” Remember that. “. . . His name shall be Solomon. . . 10He shall build a house for My name.”Ultimately, God had one greater than Solomon in mind. (Matthew 12:42)
When we see paintings of the temple in Jerusalem, it’s not Solomon’s temple that we are looking at but Herod’s temple. Herod’s temple was beautiful! It was actually more than twice the size of Solomon’s temple. It was very impressive but no match for Solomon’s temple for many reasons. For starters, Herod’s temple was elaborate but Solomon’s temple was ornate. I don’t have time to go into all the details but listen to this – 1 Chronicles 22 14“Indeed I have taken much trouble to prepare for the house of the LORD one hundred thousand talents of gold (3,000 tons; rough calculation – $128 billion)and one million talents of silver (30,000 tons; rough calculation – $14 billion), and bronze and iron beyond measure, for it is so abundant. I have prepared timber and stone also, and you may add to them.15Moreover there areworkmen with you in abundance: woodsmen and stonecutters, and all types of skillful men for every kind of work.16Of gold and silver and bronze and ironthere isno limit. . .”Keep in mind that the temple, even though smaller than Herod’s, was roughly 40 ft wide, 130 ft long, and 50 ft tall. That’s a lot of walls to overlay with gold and silver.
For the cedar and the stones for the temple, Solomon gave Hiram, king of Tyre, twenty cities in Northern Galilee! He in turn also sent his best craftsman. There were 2 bronze pillars in the front entrance. One called “Jachin” meaning “God establishes” and the other called “Boaz” meaning “In God is strength.” Inside the temple, the walls are covered with precious stones and beautiful imagery of floral patterns and cherubs. All the sacred objects inside – candelabrum, tables, lamps, etc. – are all made of precious metals and wood. They did not spare anything in building the temple of God.
Here’s the point: The church is not a temple. We are the temple of the Holy Spirit. Neither is the building the church but it’s the place where the church meets. Having said that, it’s a shame when you see a church building in shambles and people living in mansions. Something is truly wrong. It’s a reflection of the spiritual lives of the people who attend that church. It tells how much they truly care about the things of God. How much do you care about the things of God? Do you give the best or what’s left over?
I want us to focus for the next few moments on Solomon’s prayer of dedication of the temple. 2 Chronicles 6 12Then Solomonstood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the assembly of Israel, and. . . knelt down on his knees before all the assembly of Israel, and spread out his hands toward heaven).” So also, when we come into this place, we are to humble ourselves and come with open arms.
14and he said: “LORD God of Israel, there isno God in heaven or on earth like You, who keepYourcovenant and mercy with Your servants who walk before You with all their hearts. 15You have kept what You promised Your servant David my father; So also, when we come into this place, we are to come in faith and take hold of God’s promises.
22 “If anyone sins against his neighbor, and is forced to take an oath, and comesandtakes an oath before Your altar in this temple, 23then hear from heaven, and act, and judge Your servants, bringing retribution on the wicked by bringing his way on his own head, and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness.” So also, we need to come knowing that God sees and knows everything.
24“Or if Your people Israel are defeated before an enemy because they have sinned against You, and return and confess Your name, and pray and make supplication before You in this temple, 25then hear from heaven and forgive the sin of Your people Israel, and bring them back to the land which You gave to them and their fathers.So also, we need to come repenting before God.
28“When there is famine in the land, pestilence or blight or mildew, locusts or grasshoppers; when their enemies besiege them in the land of their cities; whatever plague or whatever sicknessthere is;29whatever prayer, whatever supplication is madeby anyone, or by all Your people Israel, when each one knows his own burden and his own grief, and spreads out his hands to this temple: 30then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and forgive, and give to everyone according to all his ways, whose heart You know (for You alone know the hearts of the sons of men), So also, we need to come seeking help from God in times of trouble.
2Chr. 6:32 “Moreover, concerning a foreigner, who is not of Your people Israel, but has come from a far country for the sake of Your great name and Your mighty hand and Your outstretched arm, when they come and pray in this temple; 33then hear from heaven Your dwelling place, and do according to all for which the foreigner calls to You, that all peoples of the earth may know Your name and fear You, as doYour people Israel, and that they may know that this temple which I have built is called by Your name. So also, we need to realize that this place is for all people.
41“Now therefore, Arise, O LORD God, to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your strength. Let Your priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, And let Your saints rejoice in goodness. 42“O LORD God, do not turn away the face of Your Anointed; Remember the mercies of Your servant David.” What Solomon saw through a telescope, we see clearly. Jesus is the ultimate Son of David, chosen King of Israel, whose kingdom shall have no end. We are now the priests and the holy nation before God. We are to rejoice in goodness.
Ephesians 2 19 “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.”
Are you part of the temple of God? Are you saved?
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