Building God's House

Having role models in life is helpful in giving us a clear vision and direction of progressing ourselves forward and upward. It is the same in the things of God. The bible is full of testimonies of great men and women of God whom we can look to and take after. King David is one such. In fact, he is an exceptional one amongst them.

The bible says that King David is a man after God's own heart. 1 Chronicles 28 depicts his earnest desire to build a dwelling place for the ark of God. So he set apart much gold, silver, bronze, iron, wood, and all kinds of precious stones from his personal treasury to do so. But God expressed that it was to be his son, Solomon, who is to build this house, not him. At that time, Solomon was very young and thus to King David, inexperienced. Therefore, he gathered the tribes of Israel and shared to them his vision and God's will, presenting to them the opportunity to build this house of God together.

1 Chronicles 29:9 says that with a loyal heart, they willing offered to the LORD and so the day came when King David gathered with the people of Israel to present to God their willing offering. His prayer that very day exhibits his heart for God and His house. There are 3 things that we can learn from him:

1. Acknowledgement - God is the Source of everything we have.
1 Chronicles 29:16 O LORD our God, all this abundance that we have prepared to build You a house for Your holy name is from Your hand, and is all Your own.

Everything begins with God. All that we have, all that is our possession is really God's. Out of the abundance He has given, we can give.

2. Attitude - Our willingness to give to God is demonstrative of the uprightness of our hearts.
1 Chronicles 29:17 I know also, my God, that You test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have willingly offered all these things; and now with joy I have seen Your people, who are present here to offer willingly to You.

2 Cor 8:12 tells us that there must first be a willing mind before we give from what we have. The heart of giving expresses the extent of love and generosity. Giving resentfully nullifies the very intent and purpose of giving.

3. Affection - It is our unwavering faithfulness and focus on an individual and cause that would see us to the end.
1 Chronicles 29:18 O LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, our fathers, keep this forever in the intent of the thoughts of the heart of Your people, and fix their heart toward You. 19 And give my son Solomon a loyal heart to keep Your commandments and Your testimonies and Your statutes, to do all these things, and to build the temple for which I have made provision.

It is interesting that king David prayed for a heart fixed on God after the offerings were gathered. Should it not be prayed prior? Matt 6:21 is the answer: For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Without an eternal heart of loyalty towards God, we can never see the things of the kingdom to completion; we would never be able to finish the race.


Building God a house is no small feat. King David rightfully puts it as such, "the work is great, because the temple is not for man but for the LORD God." (1 Chro 29:1) Get this straight once and for all. The house of God is for the people of God to gather (no doubt... but!) to exalt Him! It is all about Him! There is no place for shabby offerings or irreverent attitudes towards the things of God. Greatness can only be achieved through single-minded belief, zeal and actions. The kind of seed we plant determine the kind of fruit we get.

King David not only lived out God's purpose for him in his generation, he made an impact in the following generation wtih the extravagant giving out of his personal treasury. His affection was on the house of God and so he made significant provisions for it even though God specified that it was his son Solomon who would have the priviledge to build Him the house. But he did not relent in his pursuit for God and the things of God. He challenged the people of Israel to give likewise. 1 Chro 29:3, "Who then is willing to consecrate himself this day to the LORD?" Through this, we obtain precious insight to king David's inner thoughts: every giving is an act of consecration to the LORD God. It is demonstrating to God that what you have and own are set apart for Him, that you seek first His kingdom and His righteousness (Matt 6:33)!

My friend, are you willing to consecrate yourself this day to the LORD? #nelle#

Revival Begins With Me!

What happens when revival comes?

"Revival is not when the churches exchange members, but when the Holy Spirit changes lives."

"You hear of people talking about these communications, and about their dealings with God and with the Lord Jesus Christ, the realisations of his presence, the manifestations of his love; of being almost overwhelmed by a sense of the nearness of the Lord Jesus Christ, of being filled with a sense of God’s glory and of his love."

"Revival is a going of God among His people, and an awareness of God laying hold of the community...moving men and women who until then had no concern for spiritual things, to seek after God."

The end result of revival is, "a community saturated with God."

The singular theme that runs through these quotes about revival is that the lives of individuals are changed and there is great intimacy with God. Revival begins with you and i! It begins in the house of God!

Revival comes from the church to the world; from the inside to the outside; from our hearts to our hands; from our inner response towards God to our outward conduct for God; from one to many...

To me, there’s no verse other than James 4:8 that gives clearer instruction on how to attain revival.

James 4:8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

How have we sinned? In what ways have we been double-minded?

James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Sin is rebelling God's will; disobeying what God has spoken into our hearts; turning away from what the Holy Spirit is teaching and how He is guiding us.

Deuteronomy 6:5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

The perpetual question for all believers is: Is God first or not? Is God the only or not? If He is not, then we have not been single-minded in our pursuit of God. Then we have been double-minded, desiring a relationship with God yet unable to resist the lures of of the world.

How then might we cleanse our hands and purify our hearts? By ourselves, we cannot do these. What is the remedy? James says: “DRAW NEAR TO GOD and He will draw near to you.” This is the key to revival.

There are 3 W’s for drawing near to God:

1. Worship
Please, this is NOT a sing-along! Never! Christian music isn't about nice melodies and cool beats. They are the product of those who have met God in their private worship closet. There is an outflow of fresh revelations of who God is e.g. His presence: holiness and majesty; His power: His greatness has no boundaries.

2. Word
Excuse me! The bible is not a reading of history, literature or prophecies. The Holy Spirit is in us to illuminate the Word. Where there is new understanding of a verse, a passage, our entire being is nourished! This has an impact on our prayer life too! Unless we know God's word, unless we know God's will, we can pray amiss and nothing is changed in our lives. But we are called to victorious living! We can be conquerors of circumstances by receiving a word of knowledge or wisdom from the Lord!

3. Works
This is NOT about busy-ness, my friends. *Ouch!* Doing this and that, even if it were church-work, does not glorify nor please God unless they are the very things you know He wants you to do. By the general word of God (gk. logos) or by His spoken word (gk. rhema), we can distinguish the good works from the dead ones. One thing is for sure. Revival will bring renewed commitment to the Great Commission. People would seek to live out the Word e.g. involvement in ministries, evangelism and missions.

When we see God face to face in worship and in His word, there would surely be faith. And Acts 15:9 says that it is by faith that our hearts are purified. Our hands would also be cleansed as we eliminate dead works and press in the good works defined by God. Such undivided focus on God leaves no room for double-mindedness.

But you say, "I am very dry. Where do I start? How do I begin?"

Do you remember what it was like when you first came to the Lord? Did you know how to worship? Did you know how to find Him in His word? Did you know what were the good works? The truth is we don't but we do it anyhow. Just get moving! Lift your hands and turn your heart and mind to Him. Read His word and ask for the Holy Spirit for understanding. Serve with a willing heart filled with expectancy and joy. Just do it! Because when you draw near to God, then only, He would draw near to you.

Until we are individually revived, we cannot see corporate or national revival. Revival begins with you and I, my friend. It is going back to basics. It is returning to our first love and works. There is where God is.

Position Yourself For Divine Healing

Have you said the sinner's prayer and believe with all your heart and mind that you are saved? Yes? Then you probably have had the priviledge and joy to proclaim to a new convert, "You are saved!" Yet, could you say with the same assurance to the sick after a prayer for healing, "You are healed in Jesus name!" Your answer is probably a "No." Why so? Perhaps the physical condition is too evident to ignore. Perhaps the tangible feeling of pain is so unbearable people are consumed by it. Whichever the case, it is a distraction from focussing on the healing power of the Lord! Never doubt that God can and wants to heal.

John 5:3-15 is set in Jerusalem by the Sheep Gate where the pool of Bethesda is, there is multitudes of sick - blind, lame, paralised - waiting by the pool for the stirring of the water. At a certain time, the angel would come to stir the water and whoever is the first to get in would be healed of whatever disease he had.

Question: Why must the angel stir the water? The angel could have just waved his wand and bring healing to any single person at any one time. Why stir the water?

This passage teaches us 4 essentials to positioning ourselves for healing: H.E.A.L. That is:

1. A H eart that is stirred - as the water is being stirred, the blind listened, the lame and paralysed watched, all waiting for the moment that the angel would cease stirring.

2. An E xpectation of faith - as they listened/watched intently for the last stir, their hearts are filled with faith of being the first to make the way into the pool.

3. A concrete A ction to appropriate healing - against the oddes, as they head for the pool, they assume an proactive position to seize their healing.

However, only 1 person could be healed at any one such time. Praise God for Jesus Christ for when Christ came, the tradition of man (1 stirring, 1 healing) was broken! That day, while someone was healed in the pool of Bethesda, Jesus raised the paralytic with the infirmity of 38 years to his feet! This was a man who had yearned for healing and strived to obtain it time and again. And Jesus saw his heart that had been stirring, his great expectations of faith for healing and his conscientious attempts towards healing (John 5:6)!

And mind you, this is a man who did not know who Jesus was! It occurred on Sabbath day and the religious Jews were offended by the sight of the healed paralytic walking about with his mat in hand.

John 5:12 Then they asked him, “Who is the Man who said to you, ‘Take up your bed and walk’?” 13 But the one who was healed did not know who it was...

He was not a believer of Christ! God has sent His word to heal us (Ps 107:20) and Jesus is the Word in flesh (John 1:14). God wants to heal EVERYONE and for some, the salvation of the soul follows after an encounter with Christ the Healer. This paralytic man is a classic example:

John 5:14 Afterward Jesus found him in the temple, and said to him, “See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you.” 15 The man departed and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him well.

Jesus revealed Himself to him subsequent to his healing and taught him to keep his healing by:

4. A L ife of righteousness - the wages of sin is death and so to maintain health and well-being, there must be a lifestyle of righteousness. Sin will separate us from God and thus, His blessings upon us.

1 John 3:8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil.

Jesus has come to tear down the works of the devil. A life turned to God is a life that will be restored for God and God only, is the giver of life and life abundantly. #nelle#