Rebuilding the Ancient Ruins

The wealth of the sinner laid up for the righteous

• August 27th, 2004

Proverbs 13:22
A good man leaves an inheritance to his children;
And the wealth of the sinner is stored up for the righteous.

Isaiah 60:5
Then you shall see and become radiant,
And your heart shall swell with joy;
Because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you,
The wealth of the Gentiles shall come to you.

Isaiah 60:11
Therefore your gates shall be open continually;
They shall not be shut day or night,
That mena may bring to you the wealth of the Gentiles,
And their kins in procession.

Isaiah 60:16
You shall drink the milk of the Gentiles,
And milk the breast of kings;
You shall know that I, the LORD, am your Savior
And your Redeemer, the Mighty One of Jacob.

Build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified

• August 24th, 2004

Haggai 1:4-11
“Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?” Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways!

Thus says the LORD of hosts: “Consider your ways! Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified,” says the LORD. “You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?” says the LORD of hosts. “Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands.”

1 Corinthians 6:19
Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

We are the temple of the Holy Spirit and God’s instruction to us is to build our spiritual self (our temple) so that God would take pleasure in us and be glorified. We cannot focus on beautifying our homes and our interests when our spirit is in ruins. If we do, we’ll find that sow much, but bring in little, that there will be drought on all the labor of our hands.

John 2:19
Jesus answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Jesus said he would destroy the old temple and our bodies would be the new temple of the Holy Spirit.

Jer 13:15-16
Hear and give ear:
Do not be proud,
For the LORD has spoken.
Give glory to the LORD your God
Before He causes darkness,
And before your feet stumble
On the dark mountains,
And while you are looking for light,
He turns it into the shadow of death
And makes it dense darkness.

The Word of God in Jeremiah warns of thick darkness if we do not give glory to the Lord our God. God is glorified when we rebuild his temple by seeking first the kingdom of God.

Matthew 6:33
But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

It is pride to be neglecting the temple of the Holy Spirit and it is only until we have been humbled and give glory to the Lord our God that we will enter into the promised land.

Deuteronomy 8:16
who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers did not know, that He might humble you and that He might test you, to do you good in the end– then you say in your heart, “My power and the might of my hand have gained me this wealth.’
“And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day. Then it shall be, if you by any means forget the LORD your God, and follow other gods, and serve them and worship them, I testify against you this day that you shall surely perish.

The book of Isaiah also describes how we will “raise up the foundations of many generations; And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach, The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.” I like how one translation puts it, you will rebuild the ancient ruins. This is our calling, this is faith of our forefathers Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and of Moses, we’re called to rebuild the temple of faith so that God may take pleasure in us and be glorified. When we’re able to glorify God we will be granted passage into the Promised Land.

Isaiah 58
“Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
“Why have we fasted,’ they say, “and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’

“If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the LORD honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
Then you shall delight yourself in the LORD;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the LORD has spoken.”