Remnant Rally 2009: The Narrow Way

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Remnant Publications

Mark Howard

Cleansing the Temple ( Remnant Rally 2009 #5 )

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We'd like to invite you to sit back, get comfortable and prepare to be blessed.

Might encourage some of you to know that I used the right bathroom this morning.

Those of you who have no clue what I was talking about weren't here Thursday night, or you would know.

And so you'll have to find out from somebody else.

All right, well we're going to kneel, I'm going to kneel rather this morning.

I'm going to ask if you would bow your heads and we just want to ask the Lord to be with us in a special way, me as I'm speaking and all of us that we would receive and put into practice that which we learned this morning.

Heavenly Father, Father, you have invited us into your presence today.

And Father, you have something to teach us, something you expect us to take to heart today, something that will be saving in its influence.

And so, Father, I pray that as you've drawn us here, you'll give us ears to hear and hearts to respond.

And Father, I just pray that the time that we spend with you throughout this day with all the different speakers will be a time that will help us to grow closer to you and to better resemble your character to the world around us.

Father, this morning we are talking about cleansing the temple.

We have a soul temple that needs cleansed.

And Father, we yield it to you this morning and we ask and pray this in Jesus' name, Amen.

As I mentioned there when Dwight was out here, you know, how many of you have read the accounts in the Bible and the Gospels about the cleansing of the temple where Jesus came in, the money changers were selling the animal sacrifices.

How many of you have read those accounts?

Okay, I really want us to think about that this morning.

Again, I don't think that was, in fact, I'm very positive that that was not an accidental thing or an incidental thing, like, oh, Jesus came into the temple and there were things going on there and he said, well since I'm here anyway, I may as well do something about this.

The fact is he did it twice in his ministry that we have recorded in the scriptures and he could have done it more times.

When he cleansed the temple at the beginning of his ministry and then When he cleansed the temple at the beginning of his ministry, and then when he cleansed the temple at the end of his ministry, it was as bad at the end of his ministry as it was at the beginning of his ministry.

Which tells us he could have done it more times, but he didn't.

He starts and ends his earthly ministry with a cleansing of the temple.

And I want you to go with me first of all this morning to a text in Isaiah.

We're going to finish up with a text that we're going to start with here.

And this is going to have profound significance when we come to the end of our time this morning.

Isaiah 60, I'm going to start in the first verse.

Isaiah 60 and verse 1, the Bible says, Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord is risen where?

For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth.

Now tell me, is this not descriptive of the time that we live in.

The darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people, but the Lord will arise over you.

You might want to take note of the fact that in the beginning the Bible says God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, etc.

And then it says God said let there be light.

What I find very interesting is it wasn't a couple days later until God actually created the sun, moon, and stars.

When you understand, When you do a study in the scripture, what you're gonna find out, the Bible contrasts the light and darkness with good and evil, and the essence of goodness is God's character.

And what God said, I believe in the beginning there, is God said, let there be a true knowledge of me throughout the earth.

And we're going to see that even fleshed out this morning.

Well, that knowledge of God has faded and darkness covers the earth.

Multitudes today in the world don't know who God is.

They don't understand His purpose for their lives.

And I want to make this point this morning.

If you do, even a little bit, you, like the Apostle Paul, are indebted to the people that you come in contact with to let them know the gospel truth.

He says, Isaiah says, verse 3, let me start in verse 2 again, For behold, the darkness covers the earth, and deep darkness the people, but the Lord will arise over you, and His glory will be seen, what?

But when the Bible speaks of the glory of God, it's speaking of the character of God.

In Exodus chapter 31, Moses goes before the Lord, sorry, chapter 33, Moses goes before the Lord and he asks the Lord a question.

To which God responds, okay Moses, you found a favor in my sight.

I'm going to make all of my goodness pass before you.

And I'm going to proclaim to you the name of the Lord.

When we're talking about the glory of God, we're talking about the goodness or the character of God.

And when the Bible says here that the glory of the Lord will be risen upon you, what it's saying is that the character of God is going to be seen in His people.

So that when Paul says I'm crucified with Christ, but I'm not really alive, it's Christ who lives in me, that's what he's talking about.

This is what the Bible is foretelling, a time at the end of earth's history when deep darkness covers the earth and the people.

But the people of God will be shining a light.

The very character of God will be seen in His people.

Notice the response, verse 3, The Gentiles, those are just the people who don't know God, The Gentiles shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Lift your eyes all around and see, they all gather together.

Your son shall come from afar and your daughter shall be nursed at your side.

Anybody here today have sons and daughters who don't live for Jesus?

Well listen to what God says this morning.

Your sons shall come from afar, your daughters shall be nursed at your side.

Then you shall see and become radiant and your heart shall swell with joy because the abundance of the sea shall be turned to you." The sea in prophecy is representative of multitudes.

And God is just saying when the glory of the Lord has risen upon His people, multitudes will be drawn and say, why is it you're so different?

What is it that makes you so different from the rest?

We shouldn't be looking forward to that time.

Today, God has promised to give His Spirit to us and that His character can be seen in us.

Verse 6, the multitude of camels shall cover your land.

The dromedaries of Midian and Ephah, all those from Sheba shall come.

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Cleansing the Temple ( Remnant Rally 2009 #5 )

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