OCI 2014 Leadership Retreat: One Thing

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Outpost Centers International

Afternoon Devotionals

Lael Caesar

The Beauty of the Lord

Just Like John

Two Opinions

One Thing

Why do I want to talk about the beauty of the Lord?

The aim of the exercise is to complicate uniqueness.

Well, you see, unity and the oneness of 1 may well be larger and more transcendently glorious than we have recognized, than we have granted, than we have appreciated.

And so maybe we need to understand that oneness is not a simple matter, certainly not a trivial matter.

Let's read the scripture reading together, everyone.

1 thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life to behold the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.

It may not be as world-encompassing as having a representation of OCI in every nation under heaven.

But it's a good dream too, it's a good vision.

I always like to give the people of God a seven-word summary of what I'm going to say.

So if I don't say it, you'll know what I meant to say.

And if you're asked hereafter, what did he say, this is what you were supposed to say.

I said, whether that's what you heard me say or not.

Altogether now, what's the message today in 7 words?

Temples and catwalks serve radically different purposes.

Oh God, you who charm us by your grace, show us your face today.

Until we are overwhelmed by love and cannot do but gaze upon your face forever and forever, and see the beauty of our God within his temple.

The following scenes are from Paris Fashion Week.

Featuring creations by Chanel, or for Chanel by German designer Karl Lagerfeld.

I understand there's some folks here from Germany.

Over here there's a model with leggings full of holes, and then that's the kinds of things that happen on the catwalk.

Now, here's Rihanna in the shopping cart with other important people.

It has shopping carts and supermarket products, but it still has the sophisticated women and their sophisticated attire.

I actually know her personally, which is quite remarkable.

I met her at my son's wedding, she and her mom.

Her mom is her photographer, and she was helping her mom at my son's wedding.

I see 1 of them that says Miss Upstate New York, so I imagine that that 1 must be the previous Miss Upstate New York, because she was just crowned in January, I think.

So, You find sophisticated people, you find sophisticated attire, you find good looks.

King David said to the entire assembly, you may read along with me, my son Solomon, whom alone God has chosen, is still young and inexperienced and the work is great, for the temple is not for man, but for God.

The temple is apparently to contrast with the catwalk, because the catwalk is for people.

Sophisticated men and women prancing around.

Not necessarily because you've been there, but.

They then become part of the news, and so you see it on the news.

The fact that I never have doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with going.

Or maybe you're supposed to get invited to these things, and I've never been invited.

We've said it before, temples and catwalks serve radically different purposes.

And God's house is not for fashion parades.

Robin, who's Madison's mom, Madison is the beauty queen and Robin is her mom.

Robin told us about Madison when we met in January for the wedding.

She says, she is not, and Madison is not interested in being Miss World or anything like that, her aim is to build her resume.

She wants to be a scholar, she wants to study, and study costs money, and the scholarship applicant who has the best resume gets the most money.

So Robin and Madison are interested in more than looks, you might say.

Academe is better than a parade of bodies.

A catwalk for beauty or a catwalk for scholarship?

I've been, I see somebody shaking her head.

I've been thinking of the many variations on this kind of option that we face in life.

Glenn Greenwald and Ed Snowden versus the NSA.

The American Civil Liberties Union versus whoever the establishment may be.

I felt like putting up for this frame, ACLU Alabama, but some of you are not from Alabama, and you still have an ACLU or something like it wherever you come from, Germany or Korea or wherever.

America versus Moscow, now you can relate to that 1.

Or America versus North Korea, or America versus Iraq, or America versus China.

Assad versus Al-Qaeda, Iran versus Israel, ABC versus CBS versus NBC, MSNBC versus Fox.

This choosing thing is a very important strategy.

Because whoever is behind it, It keeps us from David's narrow-minded focus on 1 thing.

1 thing have I desired of the Lord that will I seek after that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, for what purpose?

Back to Menu

Series

Afternoon Devotionals

The Beauty of the Lord

Transcript

Parent Series

Parent Conference

Sponsor

Recorded

Attachments

What’s Love Got to Do With It?

1h 3m

Hungering for More of HIM

07 Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled

44m

Path to the Heart

1-Jesus Only

26m

Living in the Day of Atonement

1h 1m

For The Sake Of Goodness

30m

Evening Plenary

02 Fully Surrender

1h 14m

Metamorphosis

1h 2m

Five Principles of Life

40m

Plenary

The Point Of No Return

1h 46m

Vital Traits for Soulwinning

1h 32m

Jesus Throughout the Bible

1h 17m

InVerse, 3rd Quarter 2019: "The Least of These" : Ministering to Those in Need

06-Worship the Creator

27m

Sound Doctrine