Sermon Tone Analysis

Whether you know it or not, each believer here this morning is in the midst of a building project.

That project it the Temple of God.

The question of the hour is, "What you erecting on the foundation of your Christian life?"

Is it a glorious building which brings honor to God? Or is it a shack made of inferior material and workmanship?

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I. TEMPLE BUILDING MUST BE A PRIORITY

* /"But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side; there is neither adversary nor misfortune.

"Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, 'Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.'"/ 1 Kings 5:4-5

#. under Solomon the Kingdom of Israel reached a pinnacle of power and prestige

#. under his reign the nation was at its greatest geographical extension

#. there was also great economic prosperity in the land

* "Judah and Israel were as numerous as the sand that is on the seashore in abundance; they were eating and drinking and rejoicing." 1 Kings 4:20

#.

Solomon himself had gained a reputation among the nations surrounding his as in intelligent and wise man

#. he was an expert in botany, horticulture, and zoology

#. he was an accomplished author and is credited with over 3,000 proverbs and 1,000 songs

#.

God came to Solomon when he ascended the throne and offered the young king the desires of his heart

#.

Solomon asked God for wisdom and a discerning heart /"So give Your servant an understanding heart to judge Your people to discern between good and evil.

For who is able to judge this great people of Yours?"/ (1 Kings 3:9, NASB95)

#. because Solomon asked for a truly worthwhile gift, God honored him with wealth and honor in his lifetime

#. in spite of all his earthly accomplishments, the most pressing goal in Solomon's life was a spiritual goal

!! A. THE TEMPLE OF GOD BECAME A PRIORITY FOR SOLOMON

#. chapter five of 1 Kings begins the account of the building of what we have come to call Solomon's Temple

#.

I'm sure that Solomon would have bristled at that title

#. this was not Solomon's Temple, but The Lord's Temple

* /"Behold, I intend to build a house for the name of the Lord my God, as the Lord spoke to David my father, saying, 'Your son, whom I will set on your throne in your place, he will build the house for My name.'"/

(1 Kings 5:5, NASB95)

#. for seven years the Temple was Solomon's priority

#. he oversaw every detail of its construction

#. when it was finished it was a magnificent structure

#. it was not large as temple of that day went, ut it was unsurpassed in its lavish beauty

#. it was built of the finest limestone and gleamed brilliantly white in the sun

#. the door into the temple was flanked by two solid bronze pillars

#. the inside was paneled from top to bottom with cedar from Lebanon, and was intricately carved, then it was all overlaid with gold sheath

#. all the furnishing were of gold and precious material

* /"Solomon made all the furniture which was in the house of the Lord: the golden altar and the golden table on which was the bread of the Presence; and the lampstands, five on the right side and five on the left, in front of the inner sanctuary, of pure gold; and the flowers and the lamps and the tongs, of gold; and the cups and the snuffers and the bowls and the spoons and the firepans, of pure gold; and the hinges both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, that is, of the nave, of gold."/

(1 Kings 7:48-50, NASB95)

#. no expense was spared - no corners were cut - this was God's house and building it right was priority #1

!! B. BUILDING THE TEMPLE OF GOD MUST STILL BE PRIORITY #1

#. the temple that Solomon built became God's dwelling place among His people

#. the Scriptures tell us that at the dedication of the Temple, God's presence filled it, and that the priests had to leave or be overwhelmed by God's glory

* /"It happened that when the priests came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord."/

(1 Kings 8:10-11, NASB95)

#. the Temple was a place where one could ...

#. meet a holy God

#. offer sacrifice

#. find redemption and forgibeness

* /"But as for me, by Your abundant lovingkindness I will enter Your house, At Your holy temple I will bow in reverence for You."/ (Psalm 5:7, NASB95)

#. the Temple represented God's presence among His peole

#. but the Jewish Temple no longer stands

#.

where can a person go to meet with God if He doesn't have a Temple?

#.

God's new Temple is the heart of all those who confess Christ as Savior and Lord

#. believers are the temple of the Living God

* /"Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?"/(1 Corinthians 3:16, NASB95)

#. in the days of Solomon, God inhabited His Temple through what is called the Shekinah Glory

#.

Shekinah literally means the dwelling of God and is a reference to the physical manifestation of God in the pillar of fire and smoke that guided the Hebrews through their desert wanderings

#. today, God inhabits the believer through the Holy Sirit

#. it's probably no coincidence that John the Baptist said of Jesus, /"He will baptize you with fire!"/

#. if we truly are the Temple of the Living God, then building that Temple must be priority #1 for us

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II.

TEMPLE BUILDING REQUIRES ASSISTANCE

* /"Now therefore, command that they cut for me cedars from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians."

When Hiram heard the words of Solomon, he rejoiced greatly and said, "Blessed be the Lord today, who has given to David a wise son over this great people."

So Hiram sent word to Solomon, saying, "I have heard the message which you have sent me; I will do what you desire concerning the cedar and cypress timber."/

(1 Kings 5:6-8, NASB95)

* /"Now King Solomon levied forced laborers from all Israel; and the forced laborers numbered 30,000 men.

He sent them to Lebanon, 10,000 a month in relays; they were in Lebanon a month and two months at home.

And Adoniram was over the forced laborers.

Now Solomon had 70,000 transporters, and 80,000 hewers of stone in the mountains, besides Solomon's 3,300 chief deputies who were over the project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work.

Then the king commanded, and they quarried great stones, costly stones, to lay the foundation of the house with cut stones.

So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house."/

(1 Kings 5:13-18, NASB95)

!! A. SOLOMON COULD NOT ACCOMPLISH THIS GREAT PROJECT ALONE

#. he had help from all sides

#. temple-building, you see, is always a joint project

#. to build a temple worthy of God, Solomon needed the very best materials

* /"Now therefore, command that they cut for me cedars from Lebanon, and my servants will be with your servants; and I will give you wages for your servants according to all that you say, for you know that there is no one among us who knows how to cut timber like the Sidonians."/

(1 Kings 5:6, NASB95)

#. in that day, Lebanon was world-renowned for it Cedar trees

#. they were tall, straight-grained and highly aromatic

#. to build a temple with exactitude, Solomon needed detailed plans

#. the blueprints for the Temple were precise

#. the plans were so precise that most of the Temple was actually prefabricated and assembled at the site

#.

every board was pre-measured

#. every stone was precut

* /"The house, while it was being built, was built of stone prepared at the quarry, and there was neither hammer nor axe nor any iron tool heard in the house while it was being built."/

(1 Kings 6:7, NASB95)

#. to build a temple with sure foundations, Solomon needed the best craftsmen available

#. 80,000 men labored in the stone quarries

#. 70,000 laborers hauled materials to the building site

#. the best craftsmen of the kingdom were employed

* /"So Solomon's builders and Hiram's builders and the Gebalites cut them, and prepared the timbers and the stones to build the house."/

(1 Kings 5:18, NASB95)

#. to build a temple that measured up, Solomon needed foreman who would supervise the project and get it right

#. 300 foremen made sure everthing went according to plan

* /"besides Solomon's 3,300 chief deputies who were over the project and who ruled over the people who were doing the work."/

(1 Kings 5:16, NASB95)A.

THE CHRISTIAN CANNOT BUILD THEIR TEMPLE ALONE

#. the building of the Christian life is a cooperative effort

#. it takes the work and sacrifice of many other believers to erect strong, stable, and glorious temples

#. like Solomon, you need to choose the finest materials in building your temple

#. you must begin with establishing a firm and strong foundation