Building A Church That Glorifies The Lord

Temple Baptist Church - 2-28-2010

1 Kings 6:1-14

Introduction:

A. Here in the Book of 1 Kings, we find the building of King Solomon’s Temple, possibly the greatest and most expensive structure ever built by man. It was dedicated in app. 953 BC. The gold alone that went into the building was 108,000 Talents of gold or, at today’s prices, app. $231,814,980,000.00. Not including the silver and other precious metals and materials that went into the building. An astronomical figure! No building has ever come close to that value either before or since. The most expensive building built in our times was the Bank of China Tower in Hong Kong at an estimated 1.5- 2 billion dollars. About 1/154th of the cost of King Solomon’s Temple. There was 1, 000,000 Talents of Silver as well as much more.

B. I said that to say this, that expensive building was destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonish Army in 586 BC. Though God honored the building of this glorious Temple, He eventualy forsook it and it was brought down by human hands just as it was built by human hands. I want to look at this passage this morning and draw some spiritual truths out concerning building a church. Not a church building, but a church. Not a church that glorifies man but one that glorifies God! The church is made up of people working together for the glorification of the Son of God and the advancement of the gospel.

C. At the completion of Solomon’s Temple, the Lord was well pleased and filled it with His glory. That is the desired end-result of the church also.

D. I want us to notice three things found in these verses about the building of the Temple that are necessary for the building of a church:

1. The Purpose Of The Church Must Be Right – vs. 2 “for the Lord”

a) The Purpose Of The Word Being Preached – Fiery Preaching

b) The Purpose Of His Son Being Praised – Fervent Worship

c) The Purpose Of His Salvation Being Propagated – Faithful Soul winning and Missions

2. The Plan Of The Church Must Be Right – vs. 7

a) It Is A Secret Work – “made ready before” Churches are normally silent during the week but God’s people are in their “Prayer Closets,” doing one-on-one soul winning, family altars, raising their children for the Lord, and spending time in God’s Word.

b) It Is A Varied Work – “hammer…axe…tool” Churches are not built by one man but by everyone doing their part during the week. The results are only manifest on church days.

c) It Is A Unified Work – “brought thither” Cooperation is a necessity in building a church. Unity is a necessity in building a church. It is “our elephant” instead of “my elephant!”

d) It Is A Silent Work – “nor any tool of iron heard” Building a church is not the shout or the praise of worship but rather the day by day labor that is not in vain in the Lord. No one heart the noise of the work done somewhere else. They only saw the results of that work.

e) It Is A Precise Work – “made ready” Everything must be built to the Lord’s specifications! Bringing the Ark of the Covenant home on a new cart may look impressive, but it is not God’s way!

3. The People Of The Church Must Be Right – vs. 12

a) A Purposed People - Obedient To God’s Walk – “thou wilt walk in my statutes” A purposeful people. God’s Word holds for us the “Old Paths” wherein the good way lies. The Bible is right and obedience to it brings blessings. Living for the Lord is both right and good.
b) A Submissive People - Obedient To God’s Will – “execute my judgments”

c) A Holy People – Obedient To God’s Word – “keep all my commandments

What Kind Of Church Should We Desire?

1. A place where God is glorified instead of man. The church is to be a place where the “Head of the Corner” becomes the “Head of the House!”

2. A place where the Word of God is magnified. Where the Word of God is not “majoring on a minor” because it is the Major, magnified above the very name of God! Where the Word of God is not “a fundamental of the faith” but “the fundamental of the faith” whereupon is built every fundamental doctrine that we hold dear.

3. A place where the preaching of the Word is loved and heeded. Where the preacher has liberty to preach and the Word of God has free course to flow into the needful areas of our hearts.

4. A place where sinners are loved and evangelized. The church is a “hospital for sinners” instead of a “rest home for the saints.” A place where sinners are loved, hear the gospel, and are wondrously born again.

5. A place where families are unified and strengthened. “Except the LORD build the house, they labour in vain that build it: except the LORD keep the city, the watchman waketh but in vain!” Strong families make for strong churches which make for a strong nation.

6. A place where lives are built up in the faith and made useful in the Lord’s Service. Sunday School is important! Youth Meetings are important! Preaching on Sunday mornings, Sunday nights, and Wednesday nights is important!

7. A place where sin is hated and holiness is exalted. Sin is named and holiness becometh thine house! This is not the beach! This is not Six Flags! This is not a ball game! This is God’s House! People need to dress and act like it!

8. A place where apostasy is detected and liberalism is rejected. A place where the “faith once delivered” is contended for and men of God are not afraid of naming names when it comes to apostasy and liberalism!

9. A place where unity is prevalent and encouragement is offered. We are a family! We are friends! We are fellow helpers! We are Co-laborers! We are ONE!

10. A place where the end result is that, above all things, God is both preeminent and pleased. Vs 14 – Then and only then it becomes a finished work. God’s people doing God’s will in God’s way get the job done!