And we're now going to do what we do as part of our service.
We believe prayer is a very key part of what it means to be part of the body of Christ,
to be the church.
And so I'm going to enter into the time what we call our pastoral prayer.
And really what this prayer time is, it's not a time for you just to kind of zone out
because you've had a long week.
But actually let me encourage you right now to actually re-center your minds.
To re-center your minds and to close your eyes and we're going to pray together to the living God
and to realize what a privilege this is.
So don't just listen to what I'm saying, but actually in your heart and even verbally,
you can just pray with me and amen what I'm going to pray.
So let's bow our heads and pray to our Father.
Father, we were made for you.
In your presence there is fullness of joy.
And the one thing that we ask, and this is what we seek,
that we may dwell in your house,
that we may learn to have you and your presence at the center of our community,
at the center of our individual lives,
at the center of our families,
at the center of our schedules,
at the center of every part of our lives.
We want you to be the number one in that.
Because you're the fountain of life, Lord.
You're the source of all goodness.
You're the one who sees the end from the beginning.
You're the first and the last.
The galaxy is in your hands.
Our political situation is in your hands.
Our economic situation is in our hands.
Our relational situations are in your hands.
And you are good.
And you are faithful.
So we come to you this morning asking for more of you.
We want your face, not just your hand.
We're asking that you would teach us what it means to truly live by faith.
Rather than having one hand on you and one hand on our plans,
one hand on the comforts that we seek,
one hand on all the other things we chase after.
Lord, we want you to recenter us on you.
We want to pray right now for those who are discouraged.
Who feel discouraged by even your own choices and responses in this last week.
Discouraged by your lack of faith.
Discouraged that you gave in to porn again.
Discouraged you got angry again.
Discouraged that in your family relationships,
there's still things that haven't been solved.
Discouraged that sickness is still present in your body or in those you love.
Father, lift our eyes up to see you.
You're the God who lifts up the downcast.
Give us godly grit to get back up and see that you're the God of all hope,
who fills us abundantly with all hope.
We also want to pray, Father, for sons and daughters and their bazaar that's going on this week.
Lord, thank you so much for the 36 ladies who attended just the other day.
And Father, we ask for more.
We ask for those women who are so broken in so many ways
that they would experience your love through this time
in a far deeper and richer way than just through receiving some clothes, Lord.
Would you melt their defense mechanisms?
Would you open them up to see new hope in you?
Would you use Julie and the team to be a light to them over the coming days and weeks?
And would you develop really significant relationships even through this week?
Father, we want to pray for the Nepalese community in our city.
We live in a divided city which is divided along political lines,
but it's also divided ethnically and racially.
And we ask that you would restore a unity in this city.
We pray for the churches in Hong Kong,
that we would demonstrate and reflect the fact that in your gospel
you bring together people from every tribe, language, people group.
And Father, we thank you that in VBS this week
we have 10 Nepalese kids coming who don't know you.
Lord, we pray that you would be their hope.
We pray that they would come and see you this week
and them and their families would turn to you
and find hope in the living God.
And Father, we want to pray and thank you
for Janet and Charlie who got married just this last week.
We ask your blessing on them.
We pray that you would work through the challenges and the trials
with the visa process going through.
And Lord, we thank you for Dina and Hernando
that you have provided both of them with visas.
Lord, thank you that in the wait you are faithful
and we can trust you and you are good.
And we ask all these things knowing that you are a gracious, faithful God.
Amen.
So this morning we have a very exciting thing
that's going to happen this morning
because we have somebody who is going to be speaking to us
for the first time.
Gary is going to come and speak to us.
And part of one of the things that, yeah, let's have a, woo!
One of the things that as a community we want to be doing,
we're all about making disciples who then make other disciples.
And we want to be raising up other people within the congregation
to both preach and lead in all kinds of different ways.
And so this morning is just a great opportunity
and just really excited about Gary to do this.
Gary, if you don't know Gary, you should know Gary
because he's an amazing member of our community.
He's got two amazing kids,
one of whom has just been sent off,
Russell, to university in Canada.
He's been very involved with helping out,
serving with youth and with hospitality
in a whole load of different directions.
So I'm just really excited for Gary
to come and bring God's message to us this morning.
So I'm going to invite, first of all,
before Gary speaks to his Jefferson
to come and read God's word
and then we'll hear from Gary.
The scripture reading comes from Haggai chapter 2.
Please follow along and your bulletins are on the screen.
The seventh month on the 21st day of the month,
the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet.
Speak now to Zerubbabel, the son of Sheatiel,
the governor of Judah,
and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadech, the high priest,
and to all the remnant of the people,
and say,
Who is left among you who saw this house in its former glory?
How do you see it now?
Is it not as nothing in your eyes?
Yet now be strong,
O Zerubbabel,
declares the Lord.
Be strong, O Joshua,
son of Jehozadech,
the high priest.
Be strong,
all you people of the land,
declares the Lord.
Work for I am with you,
declares the Lord of hosts,
according to the covenant that I made with you
when you came out of Egypt.
My spirit remains in your midst,
fear not.
For thus says the Lord of hosts,
yet once more,
in a little while,
I will shake the heavens and the earth,
and the sea,
and the dry land.
And I will shake all nations,
so that the treasures of all nations shall come in.
And I will fill this house of glory,
says the Lord of hosts.
The silver is mine,
and the gold is mine,
declares the Lord of hosts.
The latter glory of this house
shall be greater than the former,
says the Lord of hosts.
And in this place,
I will give peace,
declares the Lord of hosts.
This is the word of law.
Wow, what a privilege
to be able to share God's word with you today.
But before I start,
I just want to open with a word of prayer,
so please pray along with me.
Our God,
I just thank you for your word.
Your word,
which is as relevant today
as it was thousands of years ago.
And I just pray that as your word
comes to us today,
that I may not stand in the way of your word,
but that our hearts and our minds
will be open to receive your word.
Speak to us now, I pray.
In your precious name, amen.
So, the Old Testament,
if you're like me,
you might want to read the Bible
and you read the Old Testament,
you read the New Testament,
and sometimes you like the New Testament
a little bit better than the Old Testament.
Why is that?
Well, a lot of the times,
the New Testament's very easy to understand.
Little concepts just seem to come straightforward,
and you understand it pretty straightforward.
But even if you read the Old Testament,
you sort of see stories,
and you see things and some words,
and, you know,
you might not see that things come to you right away.
But what I've learned is
the Old Testament actually has its way of speaking to us.
It takes a little bit more work,
a little bit more thought,
and that's what we're going to see today.
We're going to continue on.
Last week, we started a four-week sermon
that Chris started on the book of Haggai.
And again, that's in the Old Testament.
And the book of Haggai
focuses last week's message
about rebuilding the temple of God.
And last week,
Chris preached about
how God's people are sort of busy
with rebuilding their own temples,
their own houses,
focusing on their own priorities
as opposed to building the temple of God.
So last week,
hopefully we were challenged
and thought,
well, let me not focus on my individual things,
my individual security,
my individual success,
my individual reputation,
but instead on God's temple,
which really is God's presence.
So hopefully last week,
we got challenged.
And maybe some of you felt that challenge
and said,
okay, I want to really focus
this week on having more
of God's presence in my life.
Whether that means opening my Bible
and doing a little bit more reading,
or maybe that's spending
a little bit more time in prayer,
or maybe just realizing
and realizing God's presence is around us.
A lot of times,
we start with good intentions.
And I think that's the way
the human body is.
We have great intentions.
We get motivated.
We hear something exciting.
We get on fire.
And then we want to do something.
The problem is,
it's sometimes hard to sustain it.
Because human nature,
it's very difficult
to keep on sustaining that momentum.
Sometimes we'll start off,
but we don't finish.
We start off high,
and we start to drop after that.
And what you're going to see this week,
in just chapter two,
you're going to see Haggai,
who talked last week,
as Chris shared with us,
excited the people.
Let's start building the temple of God.
And literally,
in Haggai,
from Haggai 1,
chapter 1,
to Haggai chapter 2,
one month later,
you start to hear rumblings
of saying this discouragement.
And they wanted to get excited
about building God's temple,
but now it's starting to rumble
and say,
I don't know if it's going
the way we thought it was going.
So,
let's,
God knows this.
The good thing about God
is He knows our human nature,
and He knows this,
which is why He gave us
Haggai chapter 2.
The thing is,
Satan also knows this.
And Satan's two most,
I call,
tactics that he uses
to disrupt our relationship
with God,
to separate us from God,
are pride
and discouragement.
Pride in terms of
just puffing us up,
or discouragement
and bringing us down.
And that's why God
gave us chapter 2
to really help us
overcome discouragement.
And when we talk
about discouragement,
it really is a feeling.
Here's the thing,
I actually struggle
with feelings.
Why?
Because I grew up
in a Chinese home.
In our Chinese home,
we don't talk about
feelings very much.
I don't know of your homes now.
It might be different nowadays,
but when I was growing up
as a child,
my parents never said,
I love you, son.
Right?
They were more focused.
I don't care how you feel.
I care about what you do,
what you accomplish.
That's what we care about,
not how you feel.
And feeling's a difficult subject
because, you know,
everybody's different.
We handle feelings different.
You have people who are shy.
You have people that are outgoing.
You have people that are sensitive.
You have people that are hard as rock.
So feelings are sometimes
difficult to talk about
with people
because you don't know
how they respond.
But I want us to take a look
at this picture
about feelings.
What do you sort of feel
when you see these pictures?
And today,
we're going to be talking
about discouragement.
And really,
discouragement
is the loss of confidence,
the loss of enthusiasm,
being disappointed,
being disheartened,
or even depression.
depression.
The World Health Organization
states that they believe
there's about 300 million people
in the world
that actually struggle
with depression.
So how do we overcome
this discouragement?
How do we overcome
this depression?
How do we press on?
How do we keep going?
Well, there's three main points.
I'm going to be covering
three main points today.
And those three main points
is, first of all,
be honest with ourself
and our situation.
Then as our scripture says,
be strong.
And in be strong,
there's three minor points.
Remembering that God is faithful.
I am with you
and by my spirit.
And three,
the third one is,
be aware
that a future house
more far glorious
is awaiting us.
So let's get started.
The first point
in overcoming discouragement,
being honest.
What does it mean
to be honest with ourself?
Well, if you look at verse 3
in our scripture passage today,
it says,
Who of you is left
who saw the house
in its former glory?
How does it look to you now?
Does it not seem like you
to you nothing?
So Haggai is asking
these questions
to the people of Israel
who were, again,
looking at rebuilding
this temple.
Now you've got to remember
what they were thinking about.
They just came
from seeing Solomon's temple
that was built
and where they had
God's presence
and that was destroyed.
Solomon's temple
stood there
for 400 years
in Jerusalem.
And during that time,
over half
of the Old Testament
was written
while they had
the Solomon of Temple,
the Temple of Solomon.
And if you see,
it was like
the crown jewel.
If you read the scriptures,
it talked about
Solomon's temple
being built
with the cedars
of Lebanon.
Gold-plated,
adorned,
huge,
something to be marveled at.
At one point,
there was 153,000
skilled laborers
working on Solomon's temple.
So you can imagine
how amazing it was
to have God's presence
in Solomon's temple
and where they were
worshiping God
in that temple.
And then all of a sudden,
these people
were rebuilding
the new temple.
And they saw the footprint
and they started
to compare.
And they said,
well, this temple
is not as glorious,
not as beautiful,
not as impressive
as what we used to have.
And those older people
that saw the past temple
that were comparing it
to this new temple
were starting to say,
what is the point
of even building
this temple?
And really,
how many of us
get discouraged
because we compare
to things
that we used to have
or think
that we should have
or things
that we've done
or things
that we should do?
Discouragement
can come in
just because
we compare.
And if we look
at our hearts,
we have to see,
are we comparing?
And because we're comparing
and thinking
we should have more
or thinking
we should do more,
we sort of get discouraged
as to what's the point
of even trying.
If we also think
of not just comparing
and how the power
of comparing
can prevent us
from doing
the things
that God has called us
to do,
but also being honest
with ourselves,
sometimes we get discouraged
by the speed
and the progress
of things
or the results
that we see.
Now,
speed is very important,
especially we talk about
here in Hong Kong.
Everything moves fast
in Hong Kong.
That's one thing
I learned coming here
11 years ago.
You walk a little bit faster.
You sort of,
when you sit down
in a restaurant,
you expect the service
to come a little faster.
When you're waiting
in the queue
for the ATM,
you expect the person
to punch in his code
very quickly.
You know,
so I understand
the speed
is very important,
but you can also imagine
if we are serving God,
and especially when
these people were in fire
to build God's temple,
they might be concerned
about how fast
that is being done.
The construction
of this temple
was being done
during the seventh month,
and during the seventh month,
there were a lot
of festivals
at that time.
And one of the rules
of during the festival time,
you cannot do work
during festivals.
There was the Feast of Trumpets
on the tenth day
of Atonement.
They also had
on the fifteenth day
the Feast of Booths,
where the whole population
of the Israelites
would move out
of their homes
and move into
leafy shelters
and for about that,
in memory
of the Exodus wanderings.
And for that whole month,
about half of the month
that they had,
they probably could not
do any work
on the temple.
So you can imagine
how some people
were probably frustrated
because they want
to build this temple.
They were on fire.
They said,
let's build this temple again.
And for half the month,
they couldn't work on it.
And they look at it
and say,
wow, it's not being,
it's not progressing
very quickly.
And sometimes,
ourselves,
we get discouraged
because of the speed
of how things are happening.
Right?
The rest of our life,
sometimes,
the rest of life
gets busy.
We get on fire
and we take up
this ministry
and we want to do
this good work,
but the rest of life
gets so busy
and we don't have time
to do it.
Whether it's our family
or work,
and suddenly you get
discouraged about the work
that you've taken on,
just nothing seems
to be accomplished.
If we look at that,
maybe individually,
we are praying
and earnestly wanting
God to change us,
but we don't see
that happening
very quickly.
Or corporately,
in our church,
maybe we get excited
by the 2020 vision
of 225,
and we try to share
the gospel,
but we look around
our sanctuary
and we still see
empty pews,
and we don't see
the results,
and we sort of
get discouraged
and say,
what's the point
of keep on trying?
But again,
what we're going
to see is that
if we first want
to overcome
this discouragement,
we have to be honest
with ourselves
and see what's
the present situation.
What's in our hearts?
What are we feeling?
What are we comparing?
And what are we
actually looking at?
That's the first point,
being honest
with ourselves.
The second point,
then,
is to be strong.
And when,
in the scriptures,
it says,
be strong,
the first part
I want to cover
is remember
that God is faithful.
Verse 4 says,
but now be strong,
Zerubbabel,
declares the Lord.
Be strong,
Joshua,
son of Jehozadak,
the high priest.
Be strong,
all you people
of the lands,
declares the Lord.
So when the Israelites
heard this from Haggai,
they would have recognized
the call to be strong.
Now,
the call to be strong
is quite unique
because it's mentioned
three times.
And it parallels
a passage
that we have seen
before in the past
because in 1st Joshua,
verses 5 to 9,
it also reads the same
where it says,
the Lord was speaking
to Moses
after he died.
Speaking to Joshua.
As I was with Moses,
so I will be with you.
I will never leave you
nor forsake you.
Be strong and courageous
because you will lead
these people
to inherit the lands
I swore to their ancestors
to give them.
Be strong and very courageous.
Be careful to obey
all the law
my servant Moses gave you.
Keep this book of the law
always on your lips.
Meditate it day and night
so that you may be careful
to do everything written in it.
Have I not commanded you?
Be strong and courageous.
These were the words
that God spoke to Joshua
to be strong and courageous
before the Israelites
were going to enter
into the promised land.
So the Israelites
would have recognized
that call to be strong
three times.
They would have seen
that parallel.
And what they would have
remembered
is how the Israelites
were about to enter
into the land of Canaan.
And they would have remembered
how the report said
that Canaan is beautiful
flowing with milk and honey.
But the people there
are big.
They're strong.
They're giants.
Their cities are fortified.
They have high walls.
So if we're going to go
into Canaan
it's going to be very difficult.
They're going to remember
the stories that were told
to them of what happened
to the Israelites
when they went into
the land of Canaan.
A few weeks ago
Kevin talked about
how the grandfathers
would sit together
with everybody over dinner
and talk about the stories
of what the Israelites
went through.
And they would have shared
the stories of David
and Goliath.
How a shepherd boy
could defeat a giant
in the Philistine army.
They would have shared
the stories
about the fall of Jericho.
How the Israelites
marched around
the city of Jericho.
A fortified wall
six times.
And on the seventh time
blew some trumpets
and made a lot of shouting.
And suddenly
these great walls
sort of crumbled and fell.
they would have remembered
how God was faithful
to them
and how God
helped them
through their most
difficult time.
It's so easy though
to forget
God's faithfulness
because it's easy
to forget
and let discouragement
creep in.
It's human nature.
It's human nature
to forget about
things that we know
and to just focus
on what we're feeling
and dealing with
right now.
And a lot of times
we can sort of
think well
the Israelites
should have known.
They were just
let out of Egypt.
They saw the plagues.
They saw the sea
wide open.
Why should they
be discouraged?
All the stories
that they went through
they should know
that God
should be faithful.
Aren't these Israelites
silly
to forget that?
But again
I think we can also
fall into that
same trap
because if we look
at everything we know
from the scriptures
today
how Jesus died
on the cross
and how he was risen
again
don't you think
the God that can
overcome death
can help us
in all of our situations?
Don't we think
the God who died
on the cross
and freed us
from all sin
can overcome sin
even in our lives
today?
So it's very easy
for this discouragement
to take over.
Sometimes we just
don't remember
God's faithfulness.
We don't remember
what is written
in the Bible.
but sometimes
we don't also
just need to rely
on what's written
in the Bible.
Even if we look
at our own lives
I'm sure we have
our own stories.
Our own stories
of God's faithfulness
in our life.
How maybe
someone's lost
their job
and God was faithful
and gave them
another job
or had an even
better opportunity
for them.
Maybe how
we were
discouraged
and we didn't know
how we were going
to pay this bill
but all of a sudden
we've got some money
from somewhere
and we were able
to overcome that.
Again there's many
stories in our lives
in our friends lives
in our family's lives
where God has shown
that he is faithful
that we can remember.
But you know
this call
to be strong
is not just
the call
to just toughen up.
It's a call
it's a fight
to remember
God's faithfulness
and to persevere
so that we can
continue to do
what he called
us to do.
And that call
is to worship him
and to serve him.
Point number B
to be strong
is I am with you.
Verse 4 says
be strong
all you people
of the land
declares the Lord
and work
for I am with you
declares the Lord
Almighty.
Do we remember
who this God is
that says
he is going
to be with us?
This God
is the creator
the almighty
powerful God
the designer
of the universe
who says
he will not forsake us.
When we follow him
and things get difficult
whether it's
sharing the gospel
with your colleagues
or friends
or even family members
or even your parents
maybe it's parenting
and you have kids
and you see
it's
this is impossible
I don't see how
my children
are not listening to me
we're arguing
all the time
I'm ashamed
of what the words
that flow out
in our discussions
and we don't see
any hope
maybe it's in health
or sickness
and we have somebody
who's overcoming
a sickness
and we just seem
like there's no hope
and it gets so difficult
and we say
what are we supposed
to do?
You don't understand
the amount of pain
the amount of suffering
that I'm going through
how can I not
be discouraged?
Well I remember
a poem
and again
growing up
in the 80s
and being a Christian
there was a poem
and there was a thing
called
Sands in the Footprint
and this poem
talked about
one night
that a person
had a dream
and across the dark sky
flashed scenes
of my life
for each scene
I noticed
there was two sets
of footprints
in the sand
one belonging
to me
and one set
of footprints
belonging to my Lord
I looked back
at the footprints
in the sand
and I noticed
that at many times
along the path
of my life
especially at the
very lowest
and saddest times
there was only
one set of footprints
this really troubled me
so I asked
the Lord about it
I don't understand
God
when I needed you
the most
you said
you would never
leave me
he whispered
my precious child
I love you
and will never
leave you
never ever
during your trials
and testing
when you saw
only one set
of footprints
it was then
that I carried you
so during
the most
difficult times
sometimes
all we are
going to get
is I am
with you
I am
with you
the almighty
God
is with us
isn't that enough
isn't this creator
of the universe
saying that he is
with us
through the most
difficult
the most troubling
time
isn't that enough
but you might say
then do I still
just have to grin
and bear it
Gary
be strong
I know
God is faithful
I know
he is with me
do I just
grin and bear it
point three
or see
it says
by my spirit
verse five
says
this is what
I coveted
with you
when you came
out of Egypt
and my spirit
remains among you
do not fear
the Holy Spirit
is with us
we don't need
to fear
but you might
wonder
what does it
mean
what does it
look like
to have the
Holy Spirit
with us
what does it
mean that
the spirit
is with us
well we get
some glimpses
of that
from the scripture
again
Acts chapter 2
talked about
the Holy Spirit
coming down
from heaven
onto the disciples
and onto the people
and they're
talking in different
tongues
and being able
to be on fire
and just so motivated
we get some glimpses
of that
but I think
the real picture
of when the Holy Spirit
is with us
is when we realize
that we are weak
that we can find
strength in God
and not in ourselves
through our weakness
when we fix
our eyes on him
and meditate
on God
and see
the type of God
who is with us
and how he can face
and we can face
any situation
in front of us
and that's how
we have the hope
and power
to keep on going
Zechariah 4.6
says
this is the word
of the Lord
to Zerubbabel
not by might
nor by power
but my spirit
says the Lord
of hosts
now this
verse is supposed
to be comforting
I know
but I also find
it difficulty
in it
because
our human nature
is to be
self-sufficient
this verse
says
not by power
not by might
but by my spirit
but when I look
at situations
guess what I want
to do
I don't want
to use
the spirit
I want to use
my might
I want to use
my control
my ability
my reasoning
how can I solve
this problem
how can I overcome
this
right
but maybe
God is putting
us through this
so that we can
learn to depend
on him
to depend
on his spirit
we don't have
to do this
with our own
strength
God's going
to give us
his spirit
and when we
focus and fix
our eyes on him
and that strength
is with us
he will really
allow us
to trust in him
to lean on him
to really give him
control
and not to control
things ourselves
and isn't it
comforting to know
that this creator
this almighty God
can redeem
any situation
do we doubt
his intent
his power
this is the same
God that created
us
our bodies
if you want to see
how good and powerful
a creator is
can you imagine
designing
and building
something today
like the human body
just think about
the digestive system
how complex
the way
having the enzymes
having the different
parts
the pancreas
and its role
the stomach
and then when you
think about
the nervous system
how did God
design the nervous
system
synapses
that we're able
to transfer
everything through
from feeling
up into the brain
think about DNA
talk about programming
by Pascal
or by
object oriented
programming
God programmed
with DNA
DNA
and how he is able
to encode
how every
each cell
is going to
respond
based on that
DNA
this is the God
that we are
are worshipping
he's in control
he can design
things
there's nothing
that he cannot
do
if we ever
in doubt
think about
the universe
think about
how it's spinning
out of control
and how fast
it's traveling
God is in control
of all of this
so we can be
confident in God
because in verse 8
it says
the silver is mine
and the gold is mine
declares the Lord
of hosts
what that means
is all the resources
in the earth
are his
they're at his
disposal
for us
to help us
overcome any
situation
to help us
persevere
because they are
his
even though
they may be
in the possessions
of kingdoms
governments
business people
they ultimately
belong to our God
and they are
at his disposal
this is why
we want to be
strong and persevere
so that we can
place God
and the worship
of him
at the center
of our lives
and this is what
the temple
in the Old Testament
is all about
this idea of just
it's not more than
it's a lot more
than just the building
we persevere
because this is what
God calls us to do
to keep sharing
the gospel
to keep loving
our CG members
to keep meeting
up with him
to keep fighting
sin
because we know
the power to change
is in God's hand
we can trust him
because he's with us
that's how
we can be strong
the last point
is be aware
be aware
that a future
house of glory
verse 9 says
the latter glory
of this house
shall be greater
than the former
says the Lord
of hosts
this references
the coming glory
of the temple
and we're talking
about the temple
we know the temple
yes it's talking
about an old building
where God's presence
used to be
but in John chapter 2
Jesus references
the temple
as Jesus'
body himself
when Jesus clears
the temple
in John
he says in chapter 2
verse 19
Jesus answered them
destroy this temple
and in three days
I will raise it up
the Jews said
it's taken 46 years
to build this temple
and you will raise it up
in three days
but he was speaking
about the temple
of his body
so when they were
building this lowly temple
compared to Solomon's temple
could they have ever imagined
that 500 years later
Jesus was going to come
and be the next temple
that was going to be rebuilt
and with his temple
his body
that was going to be broken
and with that
bringing the forgiveness
of sins
and the repairing
of the relationship
with God
because in the past
before Jesus' body
and the temple
they just had
a physical building
where God's presence
was in
and in order
to come to God
to have communion
with God
they had to have
the high priests
come in
and they had to have
sacrifices
and the Christians
at that time
or the Israelites
at that time
could only look
from the outside
and see God was there
but they couldn't
really get close to him
but then
because they had
the need of the high priest
because they had to have
the atonement
but this new glory
was going to be
so much better
than that former
in most religions
normally you have
a God
that is far apart
and you have
worshipers
you don't have
a God
that comes down
and reaches
and comes down
to the people
or you have
to do things
to prove
you're worthy
of that God
the worthy
to be in his presence
worthy
to be able
to be a part
or worship him
or to have him
as our God
but when we talk
about our religion
this Israel
Israel did not
God himself
instead of saying
up in heaven
came down
in the form of Jesus
to give full access
to him
Jesus temple
at that time
no one could have
imagined
what was about
to happen
in the future
can you imagine
even the disciples
with him
seeing Jesus
seeing him crucified
could not imagine
the future glory
of his temple
look at today
if you remember
we were at
a small building
being rebuilt
thousands of years ago
to today
what's God's temple
look like today
we have churches
all around the world
worshiping
in all types
of languages
just like this today
look at how
glorious
his temple
has become
from a small
building
to where
now people
can worship
God
and to have
communion
with God
all around
the world
and to be able
to draw strength
with God
isn't that
a beautiful sight
fast forward
to where we
think it's going
there's even
more of a
glorious temple
that is waiting
for us
because God
didn't want
his people
to be discouraged
he wanted
to give access
to him
so that we
don't have
to be
discouraged
but we can
feel his
presence
with us
always
but here's
the funny thing
so we had
a temple
we had
God
in our
presence
then you
had
sort of
Jesus
come
and be
with us
and then
we had
him
crucified
and then
we had
the Holy
Spirit
so then
we had
Jesus
with us
but you
know what
the new
temple
is
the funny
twist
of things
that are
happening
now
that we
could have
never
imagined
is now
we become
the temple
of God
because
Jesus
comes
inside
of us
it says
we are
now the
location
of God's
presence
can you
imagine
what that
means
just think
about that
before this
God
that used
to be
in heaven
so separated
then he
came down
in a
physical
building
then he
came in
the form
of Jesus
and now
he resides
in each
and every
one of us
we
suddenly
become
this
temple
of God
and when
we
carry
God's
presence
wow
what's
the impact
of that
carrying
God's
presence
in each
and every
one
of us
does
that
change
how
we
think
about
things
I
don't
know
if
we
can
even
comprehend
that
because
our
thinking
is so
limited
because
God's
presence
would
motivate
us
to do
different
things
you can
imagine
how
your
daily
walk
with
God
can
change
if you
realize
that
God's
presence
is
in you
when
you
realize
you
are
carrying
God's
presence
do you
feel
more
not
fearful
to share
his
gospel
and his
word
would you
not
feel
challenged
when
difficulties
come
your way
do you
not feel
you will
not feel
ashamed
when you
know
you carry
God's
presence
in you
with you
all the
time
I
just
think
we
don't
understand
and realize
the
ramifications
of what
it means
to carry
God's
presence
with us
but again
there's still
this is what
Colossians
we read
we had
a sermon
series on
Colossians
it says
Christ in
you
the hope
of glory
Christ
is inside
of us
and this
is the
hope
of the
future
glory
and finally
when we
see
Christ
a new
creation
in the
temple
he also
talks
that one
day
we're
going to
see
Christ
face
to
face
just
like
throughout
these
whole
thousands
of years
we could not
understand
how God's
presence
was
when he was
in heaven
when he was
with us
in the
garden
Eden
when he
was in
heaven
when he
was in
the temple
when he
was in
Jesus
when he
is in
us
now
to when
one day
we're going
to see
him
face
to face
to worship
him
face
to face
again
this is
another
future
glory
that I
think
we cannot
comprehend
right now
we cannot
understand
being face
to face
buddy
buddies
with God
can you
imagine
that
this is
what the
future
glory
we have
to look
forward
to
so I
know
we all
have
different
stories
I want
to talk
about
my
story
a little
bit
because
I think
this
Christian
journey
it's
going to
be filled
with ups
and downs
we know
that
but
throughout
that
journey
we want
to never
lose
fact
that we
have a
calling
the calling
to worship
God
and the
calling
to serve
him
no matter
how
difficult
the situation
can be
because
we do
run
through
I hear
difficult
stories
that sometimes
it's easy
to forget
that calling
we don't
want to
worship
God
we don't
want to
serve
him
and I
can
understand
situations
get
difficult
I look
at my
life
and the
most
difficult
situation
I ever
had to
face
the most
difficult
situation
where I
had no
control
was when
we wanted
to have
children
Kathy and I
we wanted
to have
children
so we
thought
yeah
it's the
natural
thing
so we
got
pregnant
and then
five months
into pregnancy
when I'm
at work
you get
that call
Gary
I'm at
the doctor's
office
I don't
know what
to do
something's
wrong
can you
come
so I
rush out
of the
office
go to
the doctor's
office
and the
doctor says
sorry we
can't find
the heartbeat
and as
little kids
we didn't
know what
we were
supposed to
do
I don't
know what
we were
supposed to
do with
this
we were
preparing to
have our
first child
and it was
very difficult
that was the
first
that was the
thing that I
was normally
in control
of most
things
but this
thing I
could not
control
and it's
so easy
to doubt
God's
faithfulness
so easy
to question
where are you
God in
this
how is
this
glorious
God
right
is this
the calling
you've
called me
to bring
but God
called me
to persevere
and that
call of
perseverance
is remembering
who he
is
this
almighty
God
doesn't
change
throughout
our
circumstances
he's the
same
God
no matter
what our
circumstances
and I
look back
now if I
would have
fallen
if I
would have
lost my
calling
if I
would have
not
persevered
there would
have been
so many
different
blessings
I would
have missed
out
not only
in my
life
but in
the impact
of other
people's
lives
and how
they were
impacted
if I
would have
again
got discouraged
and fallen
away
it doesn't
mean that
our road's
going to be
smooth
and our
path is
everything's
going to
go well
but I
know that
I have
the strength
of God
that this
same God
and his
presence
is with
me
to overcome
and go
through all
these different
situations
I want to
end with
two points
of application
because every
good sermon
should have
points of
application
not just
theoretical
so what
are our
application
points
well first
of all
as a
church of
community
of believers
and also
as individual
believers
first as a
community
church
don't be
discouraged
with the
present
building
this present
building that
we're called
into
don't be
discouraged
whatever
programs we
have in
our church
today
don't be
discouraged
God's
presence
isn't about
the programs
isn't about
how good a
sermon is
God's
presence is
coming down
that does
not change
is not
defined by
programs
or by
sermons
his presence
is with us
and can
impact us
and empower
us and
change us
the same
as it has
for thousands
of years
this call
in our
community
to be
strong
calls us
to really
pale
everything
pales
and compare
these results
that we see
today will
pale in
comparison to
the future
glory
even though
we might
be able to
not see
the results
today
this call
is to
call us
to a
community
of worship
and a
community
of service
but also
for the
individual
believer
don't be
discouraged
when we
struggle
with our
current
situations
whether
financial
or whether
with
relationships
or even
our struggle
with sin
with our
Christian walk
and struggle
with sin
we can feel
extreme
discouragement
extreme guilt
we can be
discouraged
because we
go into
the Christian
walk
with good
intentions
we love
God
we want
to follow
him
we want
to obey
him
but our
spiritual walk
might seem
like a
Ferris wheel
that goes
round and
round
up and
down
it might
seem like
a sin
cycle
sin
cycle
of sin
repentance
forgiveness
and then
sin
repentance
forgiveness
and it
seems to
go over
and over
again
we can
have a
whole other
sermon
talking about
the cycle
of sin
breaking
the cycle
of sin
breaking
the bondage
of sin
but for
now
all I can
say is
be strong
the same
parallel
three times
be strong
Satan's
tactic
is to
break
our
confidence
in God
to doubt
God's
grace
goodness
to doubt
who God
is
and to
discourage
us
we just
need to
remember
God is
faithful
he is
with us
his presence
is with us
we can do
all things
by his
spirit
and the
future
house
is far
more
glorious
his presence
that awaits
us
is far
more
glorious
than what
we can
see
today
that's how
we can draw
encouragement
that's how
we can
overcome
our
discouragement
and continue
on
persevering
with our
community
of worship
with our
community
of service
to keep
on enduring
to keep
on
pressing
on
to keep
on
carrying
on
what
God
has
called
us
to do
let's
just
end
in a
prayer
our
God
Lord
I know
sometimes
Satan
wants to
cloud
our
picture
of you
so that
we don't
see you
clearly
that we
don't see
Jesus
clearly
but you
tell us
in your
scripture
in John
10
verses 9
and 10
you say
I am
the door
if
anyone
enters
by me
he will
be saved
and will
go in
and find
pasture
the thief
comes only
to steal
and kill
and destroy
I came
that they
may have
life
and have
it abundantly
God
maybe sometimes
we don't feel
like we have
life
right now
sometimes
we don't
feel like
we have
it abundantly
right now
but you
do
say in your
scriptures
that you
came to
give us
this life
and give
it abundantly
help us
to seek
this abundant
life
Lord
help us
to realize
that you
do give
us abundant
life
that you
want us
to be
strong
and if
we want
to be
strong
Lord
all we
have to
do
is say
to you
Lord
I want
to be
strong
and you
will hear
us
and you
will give
us your
spirit
and you
will give
us the
strength
you will
give us
the strength
to overcome
discouragement
Lord
so we
pray
if we
are in
that
situation
now
struggling
with
discouragement
that you
would give
us the
strength
God
that you
will speak
to our
hearts
that you
would move
in us
Lord
to realize
everything
we know
about you
that is
true
everything
that we
know
that you
are the
almighty
God
that is
in control
that loves
us beyond
we can
ever imagine
who knows
us individually
who sees
our present
situation
and who
is a
God
that is
good
and has
a future
glory for
us more
better than
what we are
experiencing
today
Lord
speak to
our hearts
Lord
help us
to really
see a
clearer
picture
of you
Lord
help us
not to
have a
distorted
picture
of you
but to
be able
to truly
experience
you
and see
you
who you
are
we pray
for this
Lord
we pray
that you
speak
to our
hearts
we pray
all this
in your
name
amen