Holy Temple:

            Living stones - spiritual house:  

1 Peter 2:5
5 you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

            We stones are living. We should stop acting like we’re dead. Our purpose is to be built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood. We need to change our thoughts and attitudes. We’re meant for something special. This holy priesthood has a special duty … to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. God hasn’t done away with sacrifices. It’s just that they are spiritual instead of physical. This is part of our purpose in His life. We need to seek to do the best we can to see that it happens.

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are My special people. You are a House for My habitation. You are My holy House where I dwell. You are the ones that I have chosen from among all the people of the earth to bring forth My Kingdom in this age. You are the ones to lead the people of the world to Me. You are where I dwell and where I reign from. There is no other place where I dwell outside of My people … My House. There is no other place where My people are one … where they come together in My name and worship Me. Wherever you are, there I am. You are My holy dwelling place, and I desire to be nowhere else but in your presence.”

            80. I am a living stone. I am being built into a spiritual house for a holy priesthood so that I can offer up spiritual sacrifices.

His Church cannot be overpowered:

Matthew 16:18
18 “I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.

            How many times has the Church acted like the gates of Hades could not overpower it … not very often; at least in our lifetime? Perhaps in the very beginning she did. We’re so fragmented that it’s a wonder we survived. That’s not the way we’re supposed to be. We’re supposed to be exhibiting His power. That power created the universe. Nothing can overpower it. We, the Church, should be making much more of an impact in this world.

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are strong in Me, My children. You are a rock upon which I will build My house. You cannot be shaken when you work together for My Kingdom. When you work for your ideals and goals, My Kingdom suffers. When you work together, you cannot be defeated and the enemy will fall before you. You are My rock and strength. The enemy does not know how to destroy you or stop you when you work together for the good of My Kingdom. He only knows how to stop and destroy you when you fight with each other and try to drag down each other. Work together for the good of My Kingdom and you will have good success.”

            79. I am a part of His Church which is built on the rock of revelation that is so solid that the enemy cannot overpower it, hence, cannot overpower me.

The Church:

            Church – His body; His fullness:  

Ephesians 1:22-23
22 And He put all things in subjection under His feet, and gave Him as head over all things to the church,
23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

            I have news for some of you. God doesn’t have plan B. This is it … the Church. If it doesn’t work, then He fails. However, He won’t fail. God doesn’t know how to fail. Everything He plans and executes works. We’re part of His body. Since all things were put in subjection under His feet, they are under our feet. Now some people would have us believe that we control all things because of that. We do, only so long as He permits us to. We can only do it if He allows us. We don’t decide, and then He goes along with it. It’s when we determine that it is His will, and then the things we’re up against can be put under our feet too. In other words, He doesn’t just rubber stamp whatever we do. He gives us permission only if it is according to His predetermined will.

            We’re to show forth His fullness … He who fills all in all. How seldom do we exhibit that fullness!

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are My Body. You are my completeness. I cannot do without you, but you cannot do without Me either. You are complete in Me, but you need one another to come into perfection. Apart from Me you can do nothing. With Me we can accomplish all that My Father has intended. Do not despise those that do not belong to your group or who do not believe as you do. Together we will succeed in overcoming the enemy’s plans for the end times.”

            78. I am a part of the Church and therefore a part of His body … the fullness of Him who fills all in all.

Chapter 9

All Together

            We’re in this thing together for all eternity. We need to act like it. Too many of God’s people refuse to associate with certain believers and even treat them worse than they do unbelievers. God desires for us to be one in Him. He can’t have that when we go our own way. There is no one group that has His favor over any others. We all do. Jesus said that when we act unified and love one another, people will know we’re of Him and that Christianity is for real.

Body:

            Whole body … fitted and held together:

Ephesians 4:16
16 from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

           

            He’s our source, but we supply what is needed for the body. If we’re not working as we should, the body won’t grow as it should. How do we build up ourselves? - in love. If we don’t show love to one another (even those that don’t believe the same as we do), the body won’t grow. If a baby isn’t shown the proper love, it won’t grow up the way it should … neither will the body of Christ. We need to work together in His love. The whole body (not just a few “special” pieces) is being fitted and held together. Then we will grow properly and people will know that what He says about His Church is true.

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You are not My children. You are all together as one. You are all dependent upon one another. There is no one above another in My Kingdom. You are all special, and you are all needed to make My Body complete. I cannot do it without you, and you cannot do it without each other. Each one is special in My sight and has a special place in My Kingdom. You are all needed to make My Body complete. Do not fight and do not compete with one another. My Body is not one of strife but rather one of peace and unity. I need all of you and you need each other to make it work. We are all in this together and we need each other. Together you can become invincible. Apart from each other you will fail. My Kingdom will succeed, but you will fail. There is no one more special or more needed than another. Work together for the good of the whole. Night is coming quickly in which no man can work.”

            77. I am a part of the body of Christ and will supply my part to help the rest of the body to be fitted and held together.       

Righteous judgment of God: 

Romans 2:5-10
5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,
6 who will render to each person according to his deeds:
7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;
8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.
9 There will be tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek,
10 but glory and honor and peace to everyone who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Revelation 22:12
12 “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done.

            More verses confirming God’s judgment for wrong doing. He is going to render to us according to our deeds, whether done in righteousness or unrighteousness. Sometimes when God doesn’t zap us instantaneously after we do something wrong, we think He doesn’t see or doesn’t care. We tend to get lax in our obedience, thinking, we’ll just repent later. We don’t know how long He will be patient with us. We should always strive to do His will. We should do good to please Him, not to avoid judgment.

If you could hear God speak, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Do not think that I am come to put My seal of approval on all that you say and do. I am come that you might walk in the newness of My light; so that you may be a light to your generation. You should be such that those who see you would want to have Me as their Father. I discipline you, not to hurt you, but in order to bring you into the fullness of My life. You have My life within you, and you must bring others unto Me. I will not do it without you. You are My only means for others to see what I desire from My people. You are what will draw them unto Me. It is not signs and wonders, but rather the holiness of My people. If I let you go and do not bring you into My paths of righteousness, then they will think that I do not care about them. It is like a child. If the parent disciplines the child the way he should, the child will not resent the parent. The child will embrace the discipline of the parent; for the child knows within himself that the parent loves him and only wants the best for him. Such it is with Me … I discipline you so that you may walk in My path without fail. Then others will want to come unto Me so that they may walk in My holiness.”

            76. Since I know that I will face the righteous judgment of God, I will make sure that I only do good and inherit eternal life.

            We are accountable for all that we say, think, or do. We need to be careful to follow the leading of His Spirit. He doesn’t want a bunch of “loose cannons” running around “doing their own thing”. People will judge us many times wrongly for what we say and do. We don’t need to give them any ammunition by doing or saying things that are contrary to the Word of God. Some of them will turn their backs on God because of what some Christians show in their lives. We don’t want to aid the enemy in turning unbelievers away from God.