The Importance of Seeking God: 2 Chronicles 7:1-22

Have you Googled yourself lately? Are there negative posts from

an ex employee or from a former client, maybe an

outdated news article. Search engines don't always get it right

for right or wrong. It's your reputation on the line.

That's where Reputation Defender by Norton comes in take control.

With Reputation Defender, their cutting edge approaches help you to

wipe away unwanted information in your search results. They also

promote the good stuff. You can start by getting your

free reputation report card at ReputationDefender dot com or call

eight hundred eight one one forty nine seventy five to

speak to an expert.

Virginia's Insurance Marketplace is where Virginian shop for affordable health insurance.

Find a health plan that fits your needs and budget.

During open enrollment now through January fifteenth, plus nine out

of ten customers qualify for financial assistance with high quality

plans starting as low as ten dollars a month. So

join the more than four hundred thousand Virginians who have

enrolled on the marketplace. Go to Marketplace dot Virginia dot

gov to apply. Brought to you by Virginia's Insurance Marketplace

that's Marketplace dot Virginia dot com of.

You're listening to the Bible Guys, a podcast where a

couple of friends talk about the Bible in fun, in

practical ways. Hey, everybody, welcome to the Bible Guys. It

is Friday. If you're listening day to day, and so we.

Are, it's an important day. Yes, it is an.

Important day because because it's everybody's favorite segment.

Well, that's because but in a world full of injustice,

this is what made Chris mad this week. That's right,

that's good.

I like it.

Hey, I think you should introduce it every single time

in the world, in Christmas world.

Yes, it's just full of injustice.

So typically when I am asked the question what made

Chris mad this week? I would say the majority of

the time, wouldn't you say that my complaints are against

sort of like dumb people in bad customer service, bad

customer service, and.

People who don't take the carts back.

Yes, and I and I get mad for the behalf

of us.

Yes, for the little people.

Yes, yes, you you are mad for me and all

the other little people in the world.

Well, this maeks a little bit different because I'm still

mad for the masses. Okay, I'm not just mad for me.

I'm mad for the world. Yes, they have to experience

what I'm going to complain about, Okay, but I'm mad

at time time because my knees aren't holding up the

way that they used to.

Oh.

Oh, I'm working out and I'll step wrong, and literally,

all of a sudden, I go like this, I step wrong,

and I go in. My wife goes, what was that.

I'm like, I don't know, right, And then like you

bend over in your back, it's like, oh, or maybe

you'll twist. You're in your car and you twist and

you go grab something, and all of a sudden, like

this pain comes up and it just won't, you know,

go away for a minute. And then I also realized

that when I was thirty, I if I wanted to

drop to ten pounds, I could do it in five minutes.

It seems like right right, And it seems like the

oher you get right hard it is. And I have

been recognizing lately that yes, I'm currently right now, I'm

not overweight. Currently, right now, I'm eating well. Currently right now,

I'm working out, and I'm doing all those things. So

like I'm definitely being active. So it's not as if

you could look at me and be.

Like, okay, being active.

Come on, mister, say get off the couch, you know. Like,

so I'm being active, and because I'm being active, I'm

recognizing how much I am not a friend of time.

I don't like time. I'm out of time currently.

Yes, but you're getting so distinguished. Time is making you

like this distinguished.

Okay, So you're saying there's some benefits of time. Yeah, yeah, yeah,

there's there's this much benefit, there's this much drawback. Okay,

that's fine, which I would even argue that that's pretty subjective. Okay, right,

but I really think time is a terrible thing to

do with.

Wow.

Yeah, don't you agree? You're the same age as me.

Yeah, so people ask me that. People get frustrated that

I don't feel bad about being my age.

I like my age every year. I never. I never

dread a birthday. I never.

I'm like, oh, I'm getting old everything. Like I don't

play softball very much anymore. Right, I loved baseball, and

softball I don't play it much anymore because that season

my life is over.

But I'm I'm a grandfather.

Now, How cool is this, and I'm I'm in a

place where finally, financially things are getting a little bit

more stable, and and you know, I feel like I

have a patience and a wisdom I didn't stab So

I like my life today, okay, And I don't resent.

None of that.

Is that what I'm talking about talking about?

Physically?

Yeah?

Yeah, I don't know.

Yeah, because everything you're saying I have.

My left knee is a little goofy. But I just

always keep thinking I should go get it. Then I

have it, but I don't. I don't know, and I

never think of it like, oh, man, I wish I

wasn't old.

You don't think of it as oh, that's new. When

I'm working out with my trainer and she and she's like, hey,

do this, and I go, oh, I make it, and

she's like, what's your problem now, I'm like, hang on,

I have to rest for a minute because it's an

old person thing. Or she'll say do do reverse lunches

and I'll go back.

And she specializes in like geriatric, she does all of.

The old people we send to that trainer.

No, that is not so.

If you don't know, if you're if you're a new listener.

The church that we passed her at Heritage Church in

uh outside of Detroit, Michigan. You take the We have

a gym, yes, the Hetage Fitness Project. Yes, and we

have several trainers.

By the way, it's a great gym, fabulous.

Gym, And we have several trainers.

Yes.

And your trainer is the one that also trains all

of the old people.

My trainer. You to be ready for this. For a living,

she did physical therapy, so she was an actual pet person.

That she was. She's fabulous, Yeah, which means she.

Contains knowledge for those up in age that other people

do not contain.

That's what I think I would saying.

So I would say the specializes the wisdom of Chris May,

who leads the thing, would say, anybody who's a little

bit older go to her because she's better. She won't

hurt you like she's no, that's okay, well, actually that is.

She'll give you modified exercises well because the young people.

Yeah, when I had.

Two mensca surgery, she knew every modified extra absolutely.

Yeah.

She does not specialize in Jerryachers, I love it.

I love Yes. No, she's great though, yees, she is great.

But I'm mad at time, mad at time?

Thank you, buddy, thank you, thank you, because I wouldn't

have even thought to be mad at.

Time for people.

Yes, yeah, because you're closer to heaven. Did you ever

see the movie with Will Smith were He's mad at

death and time and love? No, what's that called? Anyway? Yeah,

he's actually mad at time.

Okay, nope, I'm not not yet anyway. Okay, well, hey,

thank you Chris for that. I know many of our

listeners probably.

It's called collateral beauty.

Okay, no I haven't. Yeah, uh, I'm sure many of

our listeners are grateful for your your concern.

Thank you.

Yes, and if you could do something about it, then

that help be helpful. Yeah, because when you're in a

parking lot and you see somebody not put away their cart,

you just yell.

At him put your card away. What kind of person

are you?

Yeah?

Well this right?

Yeah, you're right, you kid?

Yeah yeah yeah.

But if you can work it out, if you can

work out a solution for this time thing, then let

us know.

Yeah yeah, yeah, get to.

Work on it, no problem, I'll let you know.

Well, thank you, thank you, thank you.

Hoops dropped my is to get to get to heaven

before you and to convince God to change the system.

Yeah, that's which is not going to happen. Okay, it's

not gonna happen. You're not gonna get to heaven for me.

Well, I mean, I'm a pretty good influencer, but probably not.

He's not sure he's getting to heaven. People, you heard

it here first.

You remember the old nineteen seventies movies Oh God, Remember

Oh God?

Yeah, with George Burns.

Yeah, yeah, not very biblical, but there's a conversation and

oh God. Book two, he's having a conversation with a

little girl and she and she's real small, and they're

walking together and she goes, God, She goes, why did

you make the giraffes next so long? And he goes

to have to eat off of the high trees, and

she goes, why didn't you make the tree shorter? And

he just looks down and he smiles, and he goes,

where were you? And I needed you?

There?

You go, Yeah, I'm sure there's a lot of us

who really helped God Outah right, okay, well, hey today,

do you have a transition for us?

Yes, speak speaking of speaking of Wait a minute, I

did God. Book two quotes. So I gotta go back

to the time. Speaking of time, we are going to

skip over the time that Solomon built the temple, because

that is a lot of time. And we're going to

skip over to the time where he actually dedicates the temple.

Okay, to the dedication time, not the building time.

Correct.

Okay.

See, it's a terrible transition.

That was a terrible which is our goal. Our goal

is terrible transitions.

So, if you're a Bible reader, which I hope you are,

there is something really special about these chapters that talk

about the glory of the temple. Yes, it describes the

exterior being just massive. The interior is magnificent. Remember this

is a building that is worth billions upon billions of

dollars with the gold and silver and all these things.

It is an unbelievably magnificent building. And then it talks

about the furnishings. And I mean King Solomon went all out, Yes,

came to the glory of God's place right temple, and

then the life applications.

He loved his father, Yeah.

And he honored his father, and his father really set

the precedence for this thing because it was actually David's

brainchild and it was. It was David's passion, right and

his sacrifice.

That's correct.

So yeah, So then in the Life Application Study Bible,

there's a couple of cross sections and some pictures and

those kinds of things, and tons of notes, and so

honestly we're skipping twenty pages here of really great stuff

that if you would go back and read it. Both

it's found in First Kings and then also in Second Chronicles.

These these two passages or two books kind of highlight

the same basic stories. So we're going to be reading

from Second Chronicles, chapter seven, and it says when Solomon

finished praying, right, he prayed this amazing prayer about everything

comes from you and you are great and glorious and

all these things.

Is really great.

And then it says when Solomon finished praying, fire flashed

down from heaven and burned up the burnoff frings in

the sacrifice. This in the glorious presence of the Lord

filled the.

Temple, I think makes me think of Indiana Jones.

Yeah, no, caid, the priests could not enter the temple

of the Lord because the glorious presence of the Lord

filled it.

When all the people of Israel.

Saw the fire coming down in the glorious presence of

the Lord filling the temple. They fell face down on

the ground and worshiped and praised the Lord, saying he

is good, His faithful love endures forever. Then the king

and all the people offered sacrifices to the Lord. King

Solomon offered a sacrifice a twenty two thousand cattle, one

hundred and twenty thousand sheep and goats, and so the

king and all the people dedicated the temple of God.

The priests took their assigned positions, and so did the Levites,

who were singing His faithful Love and doers forever, That's

their song. They accompanied the singing with music from the

instruments David had made for praising the Lord. Across from

the levites, the priests blew the trumpet while all Israel stood.

Solomon then consecrated the central area of the courtyard in

front of the Lord's temple. He offered burnt offerings and

the fat of peace offerings there because the bronze altar

he had built could not hold all the burnt offerings,

grain offerings, and sacrificial fat. For the next seven days,

Solomon and all Israel celebrated the Festival of Shelters. A

large congregation had gathered from as far away as Lebohemath

in the north into the Brook of Egypt in the south.

On the eighth day, they had a closing ceremony, for

they had celebrated the dedication of the altar for seven days,

the Festival of Shelters for seven days. Then at the

end of the celebration, Solomon sent the people home. They

were all joyful and glad because the Lord had been

so good to David and to Solomon and to his

people Israel. So Solomon finished the Temple of the Lord

as well as the royal Palace, and he completed everything

he had planned to do in the construction of the

temple in the palace. And then one night the Lord

appeared to Solomon and said, I've heard your prayer, and

I've chosen this temple as the place for making sacrifices.

At times I might shut up to heavens so that

no rainfalls, or command grasshoppers to devour your crops, or

send plagues among you. Then if my people who are

called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and

seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways, I

will hear from heaven, will forgive their sins and restore

their land. My eyes will be open and my ears

attended to every prayer made in this place. For I

have chosen this temple and set it apart to be holy,

a place where my name will be honored forever. I

will always watch over it, for it is dear to

my heart. As for you, if you faithfully follow me

as David your father did, obeying all my commands, decrees

and regulations, then I will establish the throne of your dynasty.

For I made this covenant with your father, David, when

I said one of your descendants will always rule over Israel.

But if you or your.

Descendants abandon me and disobey the decrees and commands I've

given you, and if you serve and worship other gods,

then I will uproot the people from this land that

I have given them, and I will reject this temple

that I have made holy to honor my name. I

will make it an object of mockery and res to

qele among the nations. And though this temple is impressive, now,

all who pass by will be appalled. They will ask,

what did the Lord do or why did the Lord

do such terrible.

Things as this land and to this temple? Is that

where I end one more vership.

And the answer will be because this people abandoned the Lord,

the god of their ancestors, who brought them out of Egypt,

and they worshiped other gods instead and bowed down into them.

That is why he has brought all these disasters on them.

Wow.

Yeah, So up to this point there had never been

a permanent address for God. There was the Tabernacle, which

was a mobile even though it wasn't It was very

stationary in one place for long periods of time, but

they would.

Pick it up and move it there.

They would pick it up. It was tense, yeah, yeah,

are tense yep. And it was elaborate, I mean it was.

It was not you know, a circus tent where you

put up in one day. But however it was mobile.

And but this is the first time where brick and

mortar and stone and gold and silver and everything else

comes together, and it is the most I would imagine

it is probably the most elaborate building, maybe perhaps ever

created in human history. At this point. Would you agree

with that? Yeah?

Well, if you get in and read the descriptors, I mean,

the everything covered in gold, the magnificent design of it.

But then it was so delicately made that there there

were leaves on this this one thing inside the temple,

there was a tree and there were leaves, and each

of the leaves was independent, and when the wind would

blow through, the leaves would rustle.

But it was made out of gold. Right, it's phenomenal.

The artistry in this is it's the peak. It's the

pinnacle of everything that had ever been made in the

world up to that point. Right, And you and I

we've been to the Pyramids before. I've been to all

kinds of pretty amazing things that happened before this time,

but I've never seen anything that even came close to

the intricacies and the delicacy of how fabulous and ornate

this building was.

Yeah, it's pretty pretty phenomenal.

So it's yeah, it's got to be one of the

greatest structures ever built. God says, Hey, listen, I'm impressed.

I like it a lot. Don't mess with me or

I'll destroy it, because this building is not more important

to me than your heart. Right, what you built for

me is not more important to me. There if you

cheat on me. This building means nothing to me. That's

what he says. Right, I'll destroy it and the world

will mock it. And that that's really amazing that even then,

in this great act of worship, God still only really

wants the heart. Thank you for the nice gift, but

I want the heart.

Because because the temple for God is just a vessel.

For this is where the sacrifices will be. I'll hear

the prayers in this building. That's the promise. And as

long as you worship me, this building will be important

to me. If you if you don't worship me, I'll

make it mockery this building. So yeah, you're right, it is.

It is only important because of the people. It's only

important because God's cheap desire hire is to have a

personal relationship. And by the way, that's that's a sermon altogether.

Isn't it.

Because you know, people think that you know that Jesus.

Sometimes they would claim or think that Jesus came to

start a religion. Jesus didn't start to coming just to

start a religion. He came to start a relationship, right

with with with you and with me. That's his chief goal.

That's God's end game from the very beginning was our

relationship were stored with our heavenly Father and uh and

then also, uh, we're to understand that that God uh

wants us more than our even our obedience. So what

is he saying in the Old Testament? He says, uh

uh uh, it's it's more obedience is more important than sacrifice.

The human response is more important than a thousand burnt offerings.

Right.

So so it's always primarily the person over action, and

it's over in this case the temple right right, which

which which translates today into churches.

Yeah, it's always the person over religious action. To what

God's saying is you're demonstrating your love for me by

how you behave. And he said, when you decide you're

going to go after other idols, when you're gonna decide

that you're going to reject my law. Then he said

there's going to be consequence of this, and to the

point where he finally says, I'm going to set.

This aside and I will hear your prayers here. I'm

going to make it holy.

The idea that God makes anything holy just means the

word holy for us, we think means perfect behaves in

a perfect way. Holy for God means it's set aside

for me. It's not for you, it's for me now, right,

And he says, so, I'm going to make this holy.

When he says that He's made us holy, it doesn't

say he's made us perfect, right, It just means that

he set us aside for him. Now we're not for

us anymore, we're for him.

Yeah, set aside, consecrated right.

Right, And so now it's mine. And if you pray here,

I will hear you here, because there's going to be

times when you're going to get into sin. There's gonna

be times when you're gonna disobey me, and I might

have to send some grasshoppers to wipe out your fields,

or I might need to send some things to remind

you that you're here for me and that we are

supposed to be together, and remind you that your pride

is coming up in front of us. He says, So,

if these things happen, one of my favorite verses in

the Bible. He says, then if my people who are

called by my name will humble themselves and pray and

seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, I'll

hear from heaven, and I'll forgive their sins and restore

their lands. My eyes will be open and my ears

attended to every prayer made this place. I want to

connect with you. And the minute you realize you're heading

in the wrong direction, if and you realize you're my people,

if you'll humble yourself, Remember James and Peter both tell us,

humble yourself before God, and the due season he'll lift

you up.

Right.

God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble.

He said, humble yourself first, and then confess your sins.

Right you say, humble yourself, pray seek my face. Turn

from your wicked ways, he said, out here, and I'll

forgive and I'll restore. It's one of my favorite verses

in the Bible.

So before I moved to Michigan, I worked at a

church for seven and a half years at a small, little,

tiny church. Then I went to a large church and

I was there for like almost four years, and I

started a college ministry for college students, and I was

a college pastor. And they built a brand new building,

educational building. They had a Christian school and we met

on the third floor, so we kept on saying, Hey,

meet on the third floor. Meet on the third floor.

So I developed a name for a ministry, and we

called a third floor, and I based it off of

the temple. And what I said was is that, you know,

I sort of gave the pitch that the closure you

got to God you had to go up a level.

So you know, there was sort of the outer courts

at ground level, and then you you know, there's a

set of stairs, then there was the other courts for

the priests, and then there was another set of stairs,

and on the third level was the most holy place.

It was God's presence right. And then what I basically

said was and this was a I'm giving you not

the right explanation, but basically it was based on Hebrews

four twelve, where it says, now we can go boldly

into God's throne right and make our request, made no name,

asking for grace and helping our time of need. And

basically what I said was the moment that Jesus died

on the cross, the veil ripped into I said, and

then God's presence ushered out and into everybody. So God

was not confined to an address. And so I said

in that moment, I said, everybody was welcome to the

third floor. That's what I said, right, I said, I said,

it's an invitation that says everybody's not welcome to the

third floor, right, And so I sort of pitched that.

Everybody's like, oh, that's really cool, man, welcome to the

third floor. So we've got on the third floor. Our

ministry took off and went from nine students to like

eighty five students in not a college town. Was really big, right.

And then when the student Center was finally remodeled, we

moved from the third floor of the educational wing down

to the first floor of the and everybody on staff said, well,

obviously you're going to change your name now, and I said, no, Well,

why in the world would you ever call it third

floor if you're gonna be me on the first floor.

I'm like, you never got it, Like, did you were

you listening? Are you? Did you go to Bible school

the ghost? Right?

The goal is the third floor?

Pastor Rick? Yeah, you know, and so but yeah, that

was the idea. So God's presence equal the third floor.

So now we know that God did keep his promises.

When Israel finally did totally defy him. Sometimes substantial time

after this, God allowed Babylon to come in and destroy

this temple. And for seventy years people did mock Israel,

and they'd walked past this destroyed city and mock them

and wonder why God did that. Then Nehemiah came back,

They rebuild the city. They eventually rebuild the temple, and

and and then it gets destroyed and then silent or

then Herod King he builds it and it's destroyed. In

eighty seventy there's never been another temple on the Temple

mount again. Right now, there's a mosque where the temple

used to sit in Jerusalem. But Paul tells us after

the Cross, when God tore the veil in the temple

from top to bottom, he literally did open the door

for everybody to have access to God. Then Paul says,

we are the temple. He said, don't you know that

you're holy people, that God has made you the temple.

So then glorify God in your body. Right, your body

is the temple of God. Now, so if that's the case,

you always qualify for that verse. If my people who

are called my my name, you are His people right right,

and you in your moment. You don't have to go

to some holy place. God's called you and made you holy,

and so you can go boldly before the throne of

Grace and you qualify for this promise that you humble

yourself and you pray, and you turn from your wicked ways,

and you seek him, and he'll forgive us, and he'll

restore your land right. And there's a lot of power there.

So all the promises I believe that came along with

obeying God, honoring God, the Temple, the blessings, the miracles

that God did as a result of the Temple, I

think every one of those is available to those that

are followers of Christ now because we are the temple

of God. Which then makes me think, I think a

lot of times as Christians, boy, we sure do paint

a lot of graffiti in God's temple. Yeah, we sure

to do a lot of dumb things with God's temple. Now,

you know, I would think we would think of our

bodies and our decisions with our bodies, our life, the

things we listen to, the things we do, the people

that we're interacting with, who we sleep with, all that stuff.

If we would realize that this literally is a temple

of God. We sure do abuse it a lot.

Sure, yeah, And I just want to say, maybe one

of the closing thoughts could be this is such an

unbelievably popular verse, isn't it. Then if my people, who

already referenced it, right, then if my people who are

called by my enable humble themselves and pray and seek

my face and turn from the wicked ways, I would

hear them from heaven, and I will forgive their sins

and heal their land. It is definitely something that we

always see when people say we need to pray for

our nation, We need to pray as a people that

we would, you know, turn back to God. And so

we as as followers of Christ, need to always do

our best to make sure that we are contributing to

move God's kingdom forward so that we would always be

a people corporately that would do our best to turn

back to God. Because hey, the promise given back then

is given by the same God who says the same things. Yeah, right,

we just turned from our wicked ways. In any state

that we find ourselves in, we humble ourselves, we recognize God,

and then he will hear us. He will forgive our

sins and heal our land.

That's fantastic.

That's a great, great gad verse. All right, well that's

our time, so hopefully we will see you on Monday

on the Bible.

Guys, have you googled yourself lately? Are there negative posts

from an ex employee or from a former client, maybe

an outdated news article. Search engines don't always get it

right for right or wrong. It's your reputation on the line.

That's where Reputation Defender by Norton comes in take control.

With Reputation Defender, their cutting edge approaches help you to

wipe away unwanted information in your search results. They also

promote the good stuff. You can start by getting your

free reputation report card at ReputationDefender dot com or call

eight hundred eight one one forty nine seventy five to

speak to an expert.

Virginia's Insurance Marketplace is where Virginian shop for affordable health insurance.

Find a health plan that fits your needs and budget.

During open enrollment now through January fifteenth, plus nine out

of ten customers qualify for financial assistance with high quality

plans starting as low as ten dollars a month. So

join the more than four hundred thousand Virginians who have

enrolled on the marketplace. Go to Marketplace dot Virginia dot

gov to apply. Brought to you by Virginia's insurance marketplace.

That's Marketplace dot Virginia dot gov.