Forgiven to Act
1
1 Kings chapters 7-8
Forgiven to Act
Week #13
 12.07.2014 – First UMC St. Cloud
Note from Pastor Mike: I want to encourage our church family to look
deeper into what God speaks to us through the Message.
Here at First United Methodist Church of Saint Cloud we believe that God
speaks to us through the Message. One way for all of us to hear from God
more clearly is to read the Scripture verses and the Message again during the
week.
I would really like to hear your comments and how God is challenging you
through the worship service and the Message. It would be great to hear your
discussion ideas. Please feel free to send me your discussion points.
Your friend on the journey,
Pastor Mike
Contact Pastor Mike at:
 [email protected] OR
 First UMC St. Cloud 1000 Ohio Avenue Saint Cloud, FL 34769
(NIV) 1 Kings 7.51 [THE STORY, 185] – 51 When all the work King Solomon had
done for the temple of the LORD was finished, he brought in the things his father
David had dedicated—the silver and gold and the furnishings—and he placed
them in the treasuries of the LORD’s temple.
(NIV) 1 Kings 8.1-6 [THE STORY, 185] – 1Then King Solomon summoned into his
presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the
chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant from
Zion, the City of David. 2 All the Israelites came together to King Solomon at the
time of the festival in the month of Ethanim, the seventh month.
Forgiven to Act
2
3 When
all the elders of Israel had arrived, the priests took up the ark, 4 and they
brought up the ark of the LORD and the tent of meeting and all the sacred
furnishings in it. The priests and Levites carried them up, 5 and King Solomon and
the entire assembly of Israel that had gathered about him were before the ark,
sacrificing so many sheep and cattle that they could not be recorded or
counted.
6 The
priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant to its place in the inner
sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the
cherubim.
(NIV) 1 Kings 8.27-30 [THE STORY, bottom 186-187] – 27 “But will God really dwell
on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How
much less this temple I have built! 28 Yet give attention to your servant’s prayer
and his plea for mercy, LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your
servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your eyes be open toward
this temple night and day, this place of which you said, ‘My Name shall be
there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place.
30 Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray
toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear,
forgive.
Introduction: New From Old
1. How does Old Testament Biblical history inform our here-and-now faith? What
I discover, in this text, is that we are reminded that God works through our
history and, through real people in real situations. More importantly, God is
constantly reaching out to humanity to offer forgiveness and to reestablish
our broken relationship, help us overcome our sin and to bring a new creation
out of this old and broken (but good) creation.
The “Big Idea” – Through forgiveness, God is bring forth new life out of this old
life; we are forgiven to act.
A. The Only Remedy
The Temple is a glimpse of the possibility of God's presence with God's people
and God's forgiveness as the only remedy their sins.
1. The building of the Temple took King Solomon, King David's son, seven years
and 180,000 conscripted laborers. We read in (NIV) 1 Kings 7.51 [THE STORY,
185] – 51 When all the work King Solomon had done for the temple of the LORD
was finished, he brought in the things his father David had dedicated—the
Forgiven to Act
3
silver and gold and the furnishings—and he placed them in the treasuries of
the LORD’s temple. Then further down in
(NIV) 1 Kings 8.1-6 [THE STORY, 185] – 1Then King Solomon summoned into his
presence at Jerusalem the elders of Israel, all the heads of the tribes and the
chiefs of the Israelite families, to bring up the ark of the LORD’s covenant from
Zion, the City of David....6 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD’s covenant
to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it
beneath the wings of the cherubim.
2.
Quick tour of the Temple
a. The Altar. The Sea. The braziers.
b. The 2 pillars. The great door. The Holy Place. 10 Candelabras. Bread of
Presence Table.
c. The Curtin. The "Holy of Holies". The 2 Cherubim. The Ark of the Covenant.
3. Finally, the people of Israel have a place to walk to where they can sacrifice
to God. The hope is that here, at the Temple, the people of God can come
near to God's presence. In this form that God has given them, they are only
two rooms away from God's presence. The hope is that someday, all God's
people will finally live in God's presence just as it was when God created the
world and humanity. The pomegranates and the palm trees are symbols of
creation.
4. King Solomon's prayer helps us understand what the people expected God
to do through the Temple. Listen to (NIV) 1 Kings 8.27 [THE STORY, bottom
186-187] – 27 “But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the
highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built!
To begin with, Solomon acknowledges right up from that the Temple is not
God's dwelling place. In fact, God fills the whole of creation and the cosmos.
God is the ruler of all and not simply enthroned in the Temple as so many
other local gods were portrayed and worship. The Temple is a place where
God's presence might be experienced and where God's authority is
proclaimed. This brings us to the purpose of the Temple.
5. The Temple is the physical (though apparently not the only) place where the
people's needs coincide with God's willingness to respond. Finally, Solomon
gets to the heart of the Temple, (NIV) 1 Kings 8. 3b0 – 30 Hear from heaven,
your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive. Their lives will eventually
become entangled in sin which will separate them from God and for which
the only remedy will be God's forgiveness.
6. So the Temple is a glimpse of the real and complete forgiveness, as the only
remedy, for sin that will be experienced in Jesus the Christ. The Temple points
to the hope of God's complete salvation that is to come in the Messiah, who
at this point in history, has yet to be born.
Forgiven to Act
4
B. More To Come
Our life between the cross and the return of Jesus is a glimpse of the new
creation. We often forget that there is more to come.
1. We are blessed to live in the age after the birth of Jesus, the church season
which we are celebrating now. What the Temple did incompletely, Jesus
does in full. Remember, the priest offer sacrifices day after day, year after
year, for the sins of the people. Once a year, the High Priest ventures into the
Holy of Holies. So, there is a constant reminder that the people are still at a
distance from God. There is more to come.
2. Yet, for us as Christians this is true, (NIV) Hebrews 7. 23-27 – 23 Now there have
been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in
office; 24 but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood.
25 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through
him, because he always lives to intercede for them. The Temple was a place
for prayer to God. There is more to come. Now Jesus (who is God) speaks to
the Father (who is also God) on our behalf.
a. (NIV) Hebrews 7. 26-27 – 26 Such a high priest truly meets our need—one
who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the
heavens. 27 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer
sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the
people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself.
Though the life and death and resurrection of Jesus the Christ you and I
have access to God's forgiveness and to a right and good relationship
with God.
3. Jesus is the real for which the Temple was a glimpse, YET even now, all is not
on earth as it is in heaven. Poverty. War. People striving while our grocery
stores throw out some ten-percent of their food because of how it looks.
a. Closer to home. Wages are not meeting many people's basic needs.
Families are still fractured. Inner turmoil and conflict. Finally, death still
seems to have the last word.
4. "Silent Night" seems like a dream or even a hoax to many. We hope there is
more to come.
C. "Now And Not Yet"
The cross will make all things new when Jesus returns. Out of this life will come
the new heaven and new earth. There is more to come in the "now and not yet"
of God's work in our world.
Forgiven to Act
5
1. The Temple reminded the people of Israel that there was more to life than
what they saw or experienced each day. Solomon prays to God, to (NIV) 1
Kings 8.28-30 [THE STORY, bottom 186-187] – 28 Yet give attention to your
servant’s prayer and his plea for mercy, LORD my God. Hear the cry and the
prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. 29 May your
eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said,
‘My Name shall be there,’ so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays
toward this place. The Temple offered the people of Israel a glimpse of the
mercy and forgiveness of God. A copy of the real things. The prayer asked
for God who even with the Tempe was still to some extent distant and
separated to look toward the Temple and answer the people's prayers,
especially for forgiveness and the restoration of a good relationship. A visible
copy so that the people of Israel could begin to see and learn how God
eventually intended to interact with God's created humanity. Hope of more
to come.
2. In our relationship with Jesus, in making Jesus the Lord and Savior of our lives,
we now have direct access to God's "Holy of Holies" (if you will) in heaven.
(NIV) 1 Hebrews 9.23-28 – 24 For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with
human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself,
now to appear for us in God’s presence. 25 Nor did he enter heaven to offer
himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place
every year with blood that is not his own. 26 ....But he [Jesus] has appeared
once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice
of himself. 27 .... 28 so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many;
..... This is the "now"! Sin and death have been conquered, yet as we
lamented about above, often, far too often for many of us, it does not seem
that sin and death are conquered. This text, though, also points to something
that is "not yet" (NIV) 1 Hebrews 9.23-28 – 28 ....and he [Jesus] will appear a
second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting
for him. Life in the "now and not yet".
3. Like Solomon at the Temple, we live in the "now and not yet" of God's
Kingdom or God's Rule in our world. The Temple spoke of the "now" of God
dwelling amongst God's people and the "now" of forgiveness. But also of the
"not yet" of God dwelling in the lives of each believers and the "not yet" of
the sin and death being conquered once and for all. Our having God dwell
in our lives through the power of God the Holy Spirit in us speaks of the "now"
of experienceing the mercy and forgiveness of God the Father and the "now"
of Jesus, God the Son, allowing us to experience God in a truly intimate and
up-close way. But also the "not yet" of the whole creation being put to rights
when Jesus returns and the "not yet" of seeing God face to face. The "now
and not yet".
Forgiven to Act
6
4. Speaking of this life in God's new heaven and new earth, we are told in (NIV)
2 Corinthians 5.5 – 5 Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is
God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.
God's Holy Spirit dwelling in our lives, which in Hebrew would be translated as
"to tabernacle" (like God dwelt in the Tabernacle), is a glimpse and the hope
we cling to that what we see and often experience is how God intended nor
how it will be when Jesus returns to make all things new.
5. We read about this in (NIV) Revelation 21.1-4 − 1Then I saw “a new heaven
and a new earth,” for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away,
and there was no longer any sea. 2 I saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem,
coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully
dressed for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying,
“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with
them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their
God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or
mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” This
is the hope we live by. Just an exciting thought, in Revelation 21.15-16, we
learn that the New Jerusalem coming from Heaven to earth is a perfect
cube, just like the "Holy of Holies" is a perfect cube - the true "Holy of Holies"
where God the Father and Jesus exist is now connected to our earth heaven and earth are one - all will be "on earth as it is in heaven"!
6. Not a distant hope but an expectant hope where we trust that because of
the life and death and resurrection and return to heaven of Jesus the Christ.
God has already secured this good future. Through our relationship with Jesus
and through the power of God's Holy Spirit, we already have glimpses of this
new creation coming to pass in our here-and now lives. And it is to the
glimpses and hope of God's new creation in our here-and-now lives and
world that we now turn.
D. A New Creation
Reading about Solomon's Temple in Jerusalem (that existed from about 3000 to
2500 years ago), reminds us to hold on to the hope we have that through Jesus
God is already beginning to bring about a new creation, even as we await for
Jesus' returns to make all things new.
1. Christians hold on to this hope that through Jesus God is already beginning to
bring about a new creation when we act as if the new creation where
already here. Christmas is a time we all seem to think more about helping
those in need yet as a culture Christmas is also an overindulgence of
spending, often over spending, mostly on people who are close to us.
Though, there is great joy in giving and in receiving presents, the unrestrained
focus on gifts betrays the reason the Christian Church celebrates Christmas -
Forgiven to Act
7
One: Rejoice always!
All:
The Child of hope is coming!
2. In Luke's Gospel (account of Jesus' life), Luke records that the first public act
of Jesus is to read from the scroll of Prophet Isaiah (the Jewish Bible and a
part of our Old Testament) in the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth in
the region of Galilee. There, [Isaiah 61.1-2/58.6], (NIV) Luke 7.14-4 −
17 ....Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:
18 “The
Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners
and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free,
19
to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then
he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The
eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 He began by
saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”
The new creation has begun. Not dreams of escaping this world but the hope
that this world will finally be put to rights as only God can accomplish. Poor
cared for, prisoners freedom, physical ailments cured, oppression dealt with.
And though you and I live in the "now and not yet" of God's Kingdom or God's
Rule, we believe and act trusting in the words of Jesus, “Today this scripture is
fulfilled in your hearing.”
3. In 2015, the leadership of our church (in partnership with hundreds of other
United Methodist churches in the United States) has committed to raise
$5,000 towards Imagine No Malaria, an effort by the United Methodist Church
to wipe out deaths caused by malaria in Africa and to live-out our belief that
in Jesus, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”.
4. Every 60 seconds, malaria claims a life in Africa. It kills an estimated 655,000
people each year, most of them children under 5 and pregnant women.
Transmitted through the bite of a female anopheles mosquito, malaria is a
parasite that initially causes fever, vomiting and joint pain. Left untreated, its
symptoms progress to convulsions, organ failure and death. Yet, malaria is
100% preventable, treatable and beatable! Imagine No Malaria is an
extraordinary effort of the people of The United Methodist Church, putting
our faith into action to end preventable deaths by malaria in Africa ,
especially the death of a child or a mother.
a. Prevention - insecticide treated mosquito nets are still the best way to
prevent malaria, however, other measures like draining standing water
Forgiven to Act
8
where the insects breed, trimming foliage and proper sanitation, are also
critical to preventing malaria.
b. Education - We train community based health workers to share the facts
about malaria, like identifying symptoms and dispelling myths about the
disease. This information, coming from a trusted, local source is a very
effective way to educate about malaria.
c. Communication - Community health workers also provide behavior
change communications—helping families to understand why it is critical
to sleep under a bed net and how to properly care for this life saving tool.
d. Treatment - For 160 years, The United Methodist Church has been
operating hospitals and clinics across the African continent. But those
hospitals need rapid diagnosis kits and life saving medicines to treat
people infected with malaria.
5. As Solomon dedicated the Temple, in his prayer he asks that through God's
relationship with the people of Israel and through the people of Israel being
faithful to God, the whole world would know that God as indeed God.
Solomon prays, (NIV) 1 Kings 8.59-61 − 59 And may these words of mine,
which I have prayed before the LORD, be near to the LORD our God day and
night, that he may uphold the cause of his servant and the cause of his
people Israel according to each day’s need, 60 so that all the peoples of the
earth may know that the LORD is God and that there is no other. 61 And may
your hearts be fully committed to the LORD our God, to live by his decrees and
obey his commands, as at this time.” This is the same prayer I have for us as a
church. You and I have been forgiven and blessed by God in Jesus. As you
"give less so you can give more", your friends and family, coworkers and
fellow students, and thousands of people in Africa will know that in Jesus the
Christ is forgiveness of sins and eternal and abundant life! A new creation!
“Action Point” – Give less this year so you can give more to participate in the
work Jesus is doing to put our world to rights; participate in God's new creation.