FBC Daily Devotional – November 16, 2021

Well, good Tuesday morning to you. How'd your day go yesterday? Has your week gotten off to a good start? I trust it has.

And as we look forward to this day, I trust the Lord will bless us in our work, our labors that he's called us to do, whatever that area of responsibility is.

Well, to help us get our focus in the right direction, I want you to think about what we read, if you have read today's reading, in 1

Kings chapters 5 and 6, and I especially want to zero in on chapter 6. That chapter begins with what

I think is a very sobering realization. It says that it came to pass in the 480th year after the children of Israel had come out of the land of Egypt, Solomon started to build the temple.

Did you catch that? 480 years after they came out of Egypt, he started to build the temple.

480 years. Now, get the sense of that. You know,

I think a lot of times we read these passages of scripture, we read these verses, we just pass over 480 years, but we don't stop to put that in perspective.

Think about this. That's almost two times longer than the

United States of America has been an independent nation.

Can you imagine that? So it's been almost 500 years, half a millennium, five centuries since the people came out of the land of Egypt until Solomon builds this temple.

In other words, all this time, all these hundreds of years, there hasn't been a solid, built, established house for God.

And finally, God blesses Solomon to do this. He gives it on his heart, puts it on his heart, gives him the skill and ability to move forward in the construction of this temple.

500 years. But then what I want to really zero in on is what the

Lord says in verses 11 to 13 here in chapter six. Because here's the way that we can often think, even in the

New Testament church, we can think that since we have a wonderful building, well maintained, it's got a sense of beauty about it, it's directing our attention to God and to worship.

We've dedicated it as the Lord's house, dedicated it for the worship of God and the service of God and the ministry of God and so forth in the world.

We can think that we are blessed and God will bless. And if we are faithful and going to that place that has been set apart for the worship of God by God's people, that we will be blessed.

But here's the thing, the Lord says this, he says, concerning this temple that you're building, okay?

And remember, God laid it on Solomon's heart to do this and he's given them a skill and the ability to move forward in the building of this temple.

He says, concerning this temple that you're building, if you walk in my statues, execute my judgments, keep all my commandments and walk in them, then

I will perform my word with you, which I spoke to your father David, and I will dwell among the children of Israel and will not forsake my people

Israel. All right, now notice the expansiveness of the conditions. He's building a temple.

The Lord didn't say, as long as you are faithful to come and worship me at this place and follow all of the ceremonial rules and regulations and laws concerning sacrifices and so on and so forth, and you do it all just right, then

I will bless you. He doesn't say that. He says, if you execute my judgments and you keep all of my statutes and walk in them.

In other words, what God is concerned about is not what happens at the temple, but what happens outside of the temple that affects the genuineness of what happens in the temple.

In other words, if God's people are not walking in his ways, they're not obedient to his commandments, and yet they're still coming and bringing their sacrifices, it's like God told

Saul through Samuel, the Lord does not have as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the

Lord. All right, now let's bring this into the 21st century. Let's bring this into New Testament Christianity.

The Lord's blessing his people is not dependent upon whether or not they come to church on Sunday.

Here's my point. You can think that, well, I go to church every Sunday. I gather with God's people.

I sing the songs. I listen to the sermon. In our church, we go by the regulative principle.

In other words, we don't have a bunch of stuff in our church services that God hasn't prescribed.

We do what God's prescribed in prayer, in the ministry of the word, in the reading of the word, in the singing, the congregational singing, and so forth.

We just do what God's prescribed for us to do at church. So, therefore,

God's going to bless my life. God's going to bless us, and so forth. The message here that God gives to Solomon is that you can do all of those things, and I'm not going to bless you if, in your life as a whole, you're not walking with me.

You're not walking in my commandments. You have no desire to live day by day according to what

I have said, according to what I like, according to my character.

You're not walking godly Monday through Saturday. I'm not going to bless you, even though you do all the right stuff on Sunday.

That's the point. So, let me encourage you. Don't fall into that trap of thinking that, well, you know, as long as I go to church on Sunday morning, and I participate like I'm supposed to,

I give money, I sing, and I listen to the sermon, and I even stay awake through it, and so forth.

Well, good for you for those things. But, no, don't fall into the trap of thinking that that buys you brownie points with God, when

Monday through Friday, Monday through Saturday, you're just pretty much living for yourself. And ignoring how God would have you to live.

Don't think like that. That's not godly thinking. All right? So, let me challenge you with that.

So, Father, I pray that you would deliver us from that kind of merit -based thinking that if we just do the right stuff on Sunday, then you're going to bless us.

No, Father, give us a heart to love you, a heart to live for you day by day, every day of the week.

Therefore, then, our worship will be truly pleasing and acceptable in your sight on the

Lord's Day when we gather together. So, I pray, help us with that proper way of thinking, we ask in Jesus' name.

Amen. All right, well, have a good rest of your Tuesday. Trust the