House of prayer for all nations - acceptable activities in the House

Solomon hit the nail on the head when he prayed this prayer in 1 Chron 6:19-20:

"Yet regard the prayer of Your servant and his supplication, O Lord my God and listen to the cry and the prayer which Your servant is praying before You, that Your eyes may be open toward this temple day and night, toward this place where You said You would put Your name...."

"This place" that Solomon is referring to is the first House of Prayer in Jerusalem!

It is not just a house of prayer for the sake of building a house for prayer but a house for spiritual activities!

What are the acceptable spiritual activities in a House of Prayer that is dedicated to God?

Isa 56:7 mentioned that "burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar". 

God is looking for "burnt offerings" and "sacrifices" to be offered at "His altar". 

There are 3 things to be activated in a House of Prayer:

1. 1 Altar
2. 1 Burnt offering
3. 7 Sacrifices

1. Altar

Another word for the House of Prayer in Isa 56:7 is the "altar". It is a physical altar as there is a special place designated for the children of Israel to bring their offerings to God.

For us in the NT, it is also the spiritual altar of our hearts where the Holy of Holies resides and where we bring firstly our lives as a burnt offering to be totally consumed by the "fire of God" - the Holy Spirit. 

Secondly it is for us to bring our sacrifices of prayer, praise and worship, thanksgiving and a broken and contrite heart (among other spiritual offerings).

God hates the trading, buying, selling or making money and the abuse of the House of Prayer to advance our own agenda like what we saw happened in Mark 11:16-17:

"And He would not allow anyone to carry wares through the temple. Then He taught to them, "Is it not written, My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations?" But you have made it a den of thieves"

2. Burnt offering

The Hebrew word for "burnt offering" is "olah" which means to "ascend" upwards in smoke. The smoke from the sacrifice ascended as a "soothing aroma to the Lord" Lev 1:9

Lev 1 and 6:8-13 describes the burnt offerings as being an animal like a dove, pigeon, bull, sheep, ram or goat male animal with no defects and killed at the entrance of the temple. Blood was then sprinkled around the altar. The animal was then skinned and cut into pieces, the intestines and legs washed, and the priests burnt the pieces over the altar all night. 

It is for general atonement, an acknowledgement of our sinful nature and a request to renew our relationship with God.

The ultimate burnt offering is Jesus sacrifice on the cross. His life was completely consumed. He ascended to God as a pleasing aroma. His sacrifice, one for all time, atoned for our sins and restored our relationship with God.

Eph 5:2
"And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling aroma"

So Jesus is the whole burnt offering when He gave His life for us on the cross and a sweet smelling aroma ascended to God through this penultimate sacrifice.

In the House of Prayer, we follow the example of Jesus to offer to God our lives so that a pleasing aroma or fragrance may come out of our lives to touch others be it in the workplace, homes, schools or neighborhood.

This is the very first thing we need to do in the House of Prayer. Without the offering of our lives to God, we cannot begin anything in building a House of Prayer. 

Rom 12:1
"I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service."

All our activities will come to nothing if we do not get this first part right.

2. Sacrifice

"Sacrifice" - is that offering which is partially burnt and most of it eaten in communion at a sacrificial meal. 

The word means "corban" or "qorban" in Hebrew.  "Sacrifices" can be kosher animal sacrifices or grain, meal, wine or incense. 

God wants us to bring not only our burnt offering but also sacrifices to the House of Prayer.

Sacrifices - the ancient sacrifices are offerings which are partially burnt and partially eaten by the priests and the people thus this type of offering requires participation on our part.

God wants us to offer spiritual sacrifices in the House of Prayer. They are:

1. Sacrifices of righteousness

Psalm 4:5
"Offer sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the Lord"

What are "sacrifices of righteousness"? They are right actions and heart attitude that we need to maintain. For e.g whenever someone hurts us, the sacrifice of righteousness is for us to forgive the person.

For me a mother and son who wanted to go to morning prayer may set me back a few minutes if I were to detour to fetch them on my way there but it is an action that pleased God - a sacrifice of righteousness.

Blessing a person who persecute us or who speak bad things about us or who misjudge us wrongly, this is a sacrifice of righteousness.

2. Sacrifice of prayer

To offer up our prayers unto God is a form of sacrifice which produces incense rising up to the throne of God.

Psalm 141:2
"Let my prayer be set before You as incense, the lifting up of my hands as the evening sacrifice"

3. Sacrifice of joy

God delights in our praise and worship as it expresses our joy in His presence.

Psalm 27:6
"And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the Lord"

5. Sacrifice of praise

Psalm 54:6
"I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good"

It is so important for us to praise the Lord with all our hearts when we come to church on Sundays. By doing so we are offering to God spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to Him.

5. Sacrifice of thanksgiving

Psalm 107:22
"Let them sacrifice the sacrifices of thanksgiving, and declare His works with rejoicing"

Psalm 116:17
"I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord"

Heb 13:15
"Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name

6. Sacrifice of our heart

The spiritual altar or "mizbeach" in Hebrew is the altar of our heart. God desires the sacrifices of a broken spirit and a contrite heart.

Psalm 51:17
"The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken spirit and a contrite heart - these, O God, You will not despise"

7. Sacrifice of our finances

Epaphroditus sent gifts from the church in Philippi to Paul and this was described as an acceptable sacrifice.

Phil 4:18
"Indeed I have all and abound. I am full, having received from Ephaphroditus the things sent from you, a sweet-smelling aroma, an acceptable sacrifice, well pleasing to God"

Paul was talking about giving as the verses before this mentioned about "no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only" - Phil 4:15.

Phil 4:16
"For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities"

Paul commended the Philippian church for their financial and monetary gifts as an acceptable sacrifice to God.

Collectively we are to offer up spiritual sacrifices in the House of Prayer to God through Jesus Christ - the Author and Finisher of our faith.

1 Peter 2:5
"You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ"

House of prayer for all nations - Address of God's house

Kenneth Bae in his book "Not Forgotten" shared about his imprisonment in North Korea. He was arrested for taking groups of people into North Korea (as tourists) to pray for the North Korea.

He was arrested on one of his trips and they found a pendrive on him in which he used military terms to describe his prayer activities for North Korea.

He ended up accused of being involved in activities to overthrow the government through prayer and worship! The prosecutor described him as the most dangerous American to enter North Korea for the past 60 years. 

The prosecutor described "prayer as a hostile act". It seems that the communists who profess to be atheists believe in a prayer answering God which in itself is a contradiction. Kenneth Bae also said that even those who do not believe in God profess to believe in the power of God!

During one of his interrogation, the guards got so angry with him that they asked him "give us the address of this Jesus as we want to arrest him"!

Ponder over this for a moment....if someone were to ask you for the address of God's house how will you answer?

Jesus talked about the God's house being a house of prayer for all nations. Why did He use the example of a house? 

What is the address of a house of prayer? Where is it's location? Can it be found on the GPS? How do I find this house of prayer?

1. God's house has a name

The first thing to note is that this house of prayer belongs to God. He even have a name for it. He clearly calls it a "house of prayer"!

There are other inanimate objects for which God has specifically given a name:

1. He called light - day
2. He called darkness - night
3. He called firmament - heaven
4. He called dry land - earth
5. He called waters - seas

There are also living people for which He specifically singled out to give a name:

1. He called Abram - Abraham
2. He called Jacob - Israel
3. He called Jesus - "Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace"
4. He called His people - "Children of God", "Trees of Righteousness", "A city not forsaken

How awesome and wonderful it is for us to build a house and to call it by a name that God has chosen for it even before it's foundations have been laid!

2. God's house has an owner

"My house" - God has ownership over it. It belongs entirely to Him. Isn't it completely liberating? Isn't it completely relaxing? 

Just the thought of such a place of prayer being owned by God is so comforting, so assuring.....if God owns this "house of prayer" this means that He is committed to it. His eyes are on it, His ears are open to it. He is constantly watching over it even taking care of it. 

If you owned a house, you would be cleaning it, renovating it, tidying it, paying all the assessments and making it comfortable, liveable and a cosy place to live. You will do all it takes to make it a nice place to stay.

You live in it, you dwell in it, you make your home in it. God delights in making His home in each of us as a house of prayer.

In our natural houses, we build a family. In our natural houses, we seek to build a home with people whom we love. As long as we dwell on this earth, we stay in houses that provide shelter and protection for us. It is in our houses that we find love and companionship with our loved ones and family members.

In the same way, God's house is the place for us to find His love, His companionship and the support and encouragement of other believers in the family of God!

Something powerful happens when God claims the house of prayer as "My House". In the Bible there are a number of things that God claims as His and His alone:

1. My word
2. My people
3. My covenant
4. My works

No one else on this earth can ever lay claim to what belongs to God. When we are participants of something that belongs only to God, we are truly the most blessed people on earth!

It is not "Tim's house" or "Ruth's house", it is "My (indicating God's possession) house" or "God's house" which is a house of prayer.

3. Physical and spiritual house

It is clear from God's word that God's house is a both a physical place (OT) and a spiritual place (NT).

There are 3 things that qualifies to be God's address:

1. A physical place where sacrifices and offerings are being offered unto God. 

In Hebrew, Isa 56:7 the "house" means "bayith". It means a physical house, temple, shelter, abode, place or receptacle for containing something. Figuratively it also means 'human bodies'.

When Jesus stepped into the temple and saw people trading in it, He was upset.

Matt 21:12-13

"Then Jesus went into the temple of God and drove out all those who bought and sold in the temple and overturned the tables of the money changers and the seats of those who sold doves. And He said to them "It is written, My house shall be called a house of prayer", but you have made it a 'den of thieves'"

In Greek, it has a richer meaning. The word is "oikos" which means:

Physical meaning:

- an inhabited house, a home
- any building
- any dwelling place
- fixed residence or abode

Spiritual meaning - people:

- inmates of a house
- all persons forming a family
- family of God
- Christian church

2. A spiritual place where each one of us is a dwelling place for the Spirit of God making each of us personally and individually a house of prayer. 

1 Cor 6:19 "or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?'

Temple - "naos" means a temple or a shrine.

In Greek it is used to describe the Holy Place or Holy of Holies, a sanctuary where the image of God was placed to distinguish it from the whole enclosure. Metaphorically it consists of saints joined together in Christ Jesus.

2 Cor 5:1 "For we know that if our earthly house, this tent is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens"

3. Members of the church gathering together make up the house of God. Members of the house of God gathering together to pray become a house of prayer.

1 Peter 2:5 "you also as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ"

The above verse tells us that we are a spiritual house and not just a physical house where we gather with others who are members of the same household!

So where is God's address - the church GPS address and each one of us as the temple of the Living God!

My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations - Attendees of the house

Whilst praying about my message for Sitiawan the Lord just laid this on my heart while praying at the prayer room in the church:

Isa 56:7

"Even them I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on My altar For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations"

Who are these people whom God said He will bring them to His holy mountain (His presence) and to give them joy in His house of prayer. God is saying that even those who are not of the tribe of Israel qualify to be in His presence and in His house of prayer.

They are:

1. Sons of foreigners who have joined themselves to the Lord, to serve Him and to love His name, to be His servants
2. Eunuchs who make the choice to follow the Lord and to keep His Sabbaths, to choose what pleases God and to hold fast His covenant

To be in the house of prayer is to be joined with the Lord. Its membership is not exclusive to a certain race or a certain tribe, God welcomes all who choose to love Him and to honor His commandments!

God showed me the 4 important things about building a house of prayer:

1. Attendees of the house
2. Address of the house
3. Activities in the house
4. Authority of the house

Why is it called a "house of prayer"? Why not a "house of discipleship" or a "house of missions" or a "house of evangelism"or a "house of healing"?

This is because when the house of God becomes a prayer power-house, discipleship, missions, evangelism, healing etc will naturally flow as a result of the foundation of prayer established in the house!

In calling His house a house of prayer, God is stating clearly that His priority for us to build our lives and the church as a house of prayer for all nations!

And in commanding us to designate His house as a house of prayer, God does not want us to discriminate against the "sons of foreigners" or the "eunuchs".

"Sons of foreigners" are those who do not belong to the tribe of Israel. They are people from other nations who have chosen to follow Yahweh like:

1. Ruth the Moabitess
2. Naaman the Syrian
3. Rahab of Jericho
4. The Ninevites
5. The Samaritan woman at the well 
6. Cornelius, the Gentile.

They do not have the citizenship of Israel but because of their love for God, they became God's people.

We are the welcome attendees of the house of prayer as we are considered foreigners from a foreign land not being Jews. God is saying that His house of prayer is open to all who are joined to Him and who will keep His covenant. Attendance by all whether Jews or non-Jews are welcomed.

As for eunuchs, they are found all over the Bible, in the OT and the NT.

Eunuchs famously mentioned throughout the Bible:

1. Ebed-melech the Ethiopian eunuch who rescued Jeremiah from the cistern

2. Ethiopian eunuch to whom Philip preached the Gospel to.

Jesus described eunuchs as falling under 3 categories:

Matt 19:10-12

"The disciples said to Him "If a relationship of the man with his wife is like this, it is better not to marry." But He said to them, "Not all men can accept this statement, but only those to whom it has been given. "For there are eunuchs who were born that way from their mother's womb; and there are eunuchs who were made eunuchs by men; and there are also eunuchs who made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. He who is able to accept this, let him accept it"

God accepts everyone - whether they have a defect on their body, whether they are single or married or whether they choose to remain unmarried.

God does not want us to discriminate against them. He says they are welcome into His house once they choose to:

1. Join themselves to God
2. Choose what pleases God
3. Hold fast His covenant.

He promised them Isa 56:5 "Even to them I will give in My house and within My walls a place and a name better than that of sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off"

Prayer is open to everyone who have a relationship with the Living God!

We qualify to be children of the Living God even though we are not born Jews. We qualify to be children of the Living God as long as we choose to join ourselves to God, to do the things that pleases Him and to hold fast His covenant.

We need not feel left-out or second-class or despised. We need not feel that we have our physical defects, sicknesses, infirmities or old age disqualify us from going to the house of prayer to pray - God welcomes all who are outcasts into His house of prayer.

There is no restriction for salvation, no condition, no borders between Jew and Gentile, salvation is open to all who would believe and call upon His name!

Definition of little - David and Josiah and Jeremiah

There are 3 notable examples of the little in the Lord in the Bible.

David

In 1 Sam 17:33 And Saul said to David, You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are a youth, and he (Goliath) a man of war from his youth"

In the NLT, David was described as a "boy" and in the AMP "an adolescent. 

David had 8 brothers, 3 of them went to war - Eliab, Abinadab and Shammah. If David was the youngest and the minimum age to go to war was 20, then David being the youngest in the family, with another 4 brothers who did not go to war, could be about 15 or 16 years old only!

He was only in his teens when he brought down Goliath! 

Num 1:3 

"You and Aaron are to count according to their divisions all the men in Israel who are twenty years old or more and able to serve in the army"

Amazing! At the UPRISING, we met many young people from many countries. Some countries sent only one or 2 representatives. The commission for them was to go back to their nation to start an UPRISING. 

I was looking at their numbers - Samoa, Russia, Kazakhstan, Qatar, Pakistan, Belgium, Mongolia....can they really start an UPRISING? There are so few of them! God spoke to my heart, do not look at the outward nor look at the numbers, remember that a little one can be a thousand and a small one a strong nation.

Josiah

King Josiah was only 8 years old when he became king. At 16 he began seeking God with all his heart and at 20 he started purging the temple.

2 Kings 22:1

"Josiah was eight years old when he became king, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. His mother's name was Jedidah the daughter of Adaiah of Bozkath"

He began to repair the house of the Lord eight years later

2 Kings 22:3-6

"Now it came to pass, in the eighteenth year of King Josiah, the at the king sent Shaphan the scribe, the son of Azaliah, the son of Meshullam saying: "Go up to Hilkiah the high priest, that he may count the money which has been brought into the house of the Lord, which the doorkeepers have gathered from the people. And let them deliver it into the hand of those doing the work, who are the overseers in the house of the Lord; let them give it to those who are in the house of the Lord doing the work, to repair the damages of the house"

When Hilkiah the high priest found the Book of the Law and gave it to Shaphan who read it to the king, Josiah tore his clothes and mourned. He responded in humility and obedience before the Lord.

2 Kings 22:11

"Now it happened, when the king heard the words of the Book of the Law, that he tore his clothes"

They found Huddah the prophetess who gave the word of the Lord to them. She prophesied about Josiah in 2 Kings 22:18-20:

"But as for the king of Judah, who sent you to inquire of the Lord, in this manner you shall speak to him, 'Thus says the Lord God of Israel: "Concerning the words which you have heard - because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before the Lord when you heard what I spoke against this place and against its inhabitants, that they would become a desolation and a curse, and you tore your clothes and wept before Me, I also have heard you," says the Lord"

Do we want God to hear us when we pray? Do you want God to respond in the same way to us that He has heard our prayers? Let us respond like Josiah when the word of God is read or preached!

Let us humble ourselves and respond with obedience to the reading of God's word!

Jeremiah

Jer 1:6-7

"Ah Lord God! Behold I cannot speak, for I am a youth. But the Lord said to me: "Do not say I am a youth. For you shall go to whom I send you, and whatever I command you, you shall speak"

Definition of little - lessons from the insect and animal kingdom

Prov 30:24-28 gives us some precious lessons of small creatures from the animal/insect kingdom:

"There are 4 things which are exceedingly little on the earth, But they are exceedingly wise (Note: Not only are there strong or have the potential to grow to thousands there are also very wise)

The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare food in summer. The rock badgers are a feeble folk, yet they make their homes in crage. The locusts have no king, yet they all advance in ranks. The spider skillfully grasps with its hand, and it is in the king's palace"

Interesting that God uses the word "people" for ants and "folk" for badgers. What does this mean? What is God teaching us about the small, insignificant and the weak things using the animal and insect kingdom as an example?

Ants - they can carry up to 10 times their weight. May we be like the ants able to read a lot of God's Word so that we can prepare ourselves for a time when there is famine of His Word. Just like the ants who keep on gathering in summer for winter times, may we keep on reading and memorizing God's Word so that we can endure tough times.

Ants are also not afraid hard work or difficult assignments. They also value teamwork. Have you seen ants coming together to carry a piece of sugar?

Rock badgers - the rock badgers know that there are weak so they find protection in the crags of rocks. May we be like them finding our shelter in the Rock of Ages who is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Locusts - a lone locust is hardly a threat. Splat it and it is a dead locust, absolutely harmless. However locusts that advance in rank together shoulder to shoulder brings great devastation in their wake. Pharoah knows the power of an advancing locusts which literally ate up everything in sight. They destroy everything and leave the land barren. May we be like an army of locusts as we fast and pray in UNITY. May we be like this army of locusts whose sole focus is to eat up the work of evil in our land.

Spider - the spider keeps on weaving and weaving his web undisturbed with what is going on around him. 

It speaks to me of 3 things:

1. A spider weaves his own web. Each of us have our own tasks to do for God so let us weave our own web with the skills and abilities that God has blessed us with.

2. The web is to catch the spider's prey. May we in the midst of weaving our web (serving God wherever we are) catch others for Jesus.

3. A spider weaves his web unseen and unknown. Let us not be concerned about whether our service for God is appreciated by others are not. The most important is that God sees us serving Him. Let us serve God faithfully in our chosen career reaching others for Jesus.

Remember that the spider weaves in the palace of a king. Our King is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

May we be like the spider and keep serving God, keep on building up ourselves up in prayer and the Word of God so that we can continually rest in the palace of the King!

The power of being little

God gave this message while I was in Korea for the World Youth Prayer Assembly from 26 July to 30 July. It was held at the Ilsan Kwanglim Church in Goyang-si in Seoul. 

When I received this message, it really ministered to and I knew that I had to write it out and preach it.

I felt the Spirit of the Lord giving me this message and the points:

1. Definition of little
2. Delight of the little
3. Dunamis of the little
4. Destiny of the little
5. Declaration of the little

Definition of little

The text He gave me:

"A little one shall become a thousand, And a small one a strong nation. I, the Lord, will hasten it in its time" - Isa 60:22

What is the definition of "little"?

In Hebrew, it means "qatan" which is young, small, insignificant, unimportant, little worth.

"Small" is "tsa'iyr" in Hebrew which also carries more or less the same meaning as "little".

In Greek, the meaning is "mikros" from which comes the word "micro".

The definition falls into 2 kinds:

1. In terms of age, the little people are those who are young or small. In the World Youth Prayer Assembly (WYPA), this group of people is between 17 to 35. They got prayed for over and over again whenever the speakers preached from Jerome Ocampo to Ps Nico to Dr Brown to the German speaker to Ps Yang (Singapore). This age group was really ministered to for the 5 days of the Prayer Assembly.

2. In spiritual or emotional terms, it also refers to a group of people of any age who sees themselves as unimportant, insignificant, of little worth, incapable of doing many things, lack of ability, gifts or talents. They are people who see themselves as failures and not able to progress or make it in life.

Yet God's promise to them is this - they have the potential to be a thousand and a strong nation!

The largest contingent at the Assembly was from Korea, the second from Philippines and the third Malaysia! Some countries sent only 1 or 2 participants but they were all prayed for with prayers of faith during the Rapid Fire Prayer time when nation by nation was called out for prayer!

Can these 1/2 or 3 go back to their nation to start the UPRISING? In Christ they can!

Tropicana Orange Juice - for exhortation

The testimony of Anthony Rossi, founder of the Tropicana Orange Juice.

When I was in Bible College, a tractor load of Tropicana Orange Juice was dropped off at the cafe every week. I wondered how a low cost Bible College could afford so much expensive orange juice.

One morning in the chapel, I found out how an older Italian man in broken English, gave his testimony. He said he had come to the US from Italy in the 20s as a teenager, with nothing but the clothes on his back.
A Christian couple befriended him and through their love, he came to know Christ as his Savior and Lord. 

One Sunday in church, he prayed: "Lord, if you give me an idea for a business, I will be faithful to give you a portion of everything I make to work"

That very morning, the idea of fresh squeezed orange juice popped into his head - and the rest is history: Anthony Rossi founded the Tropicana Co and has been faithful to give to God not just 10%but 50% of his income for God's work.

For the past 60 years! He also gave truckloads of free orange juice to Christians all over the country.

I want to give 3 challenges today to 3 groups of people:

Today I want to challenge you that if you are praying about doing a business, the first commitment you need to make is to God, to give Him a portion of your income. The idea of a business may not be in your mind yet but keep on praying and believing even as you make this commitment to God.

I am not saying that you give 50% but I am just challenging you to make the commitment to give Him the 10% as tithes.

Then pray and ask God to give you a good idea for a business.

The second challenge is to those already doing business. If you are experiencing some trying times, consider paying 10% of your income to God and walk into the miraculous.

The third challenge is to those who tell me that their current salary is not enough to cover food, petrol, car, toll etc. Consider giving to God 10% of your income before spending it on anything else and test God to see whether He will open a window of blessing for you

Testimony on Tropicana Orange Juice from Pastor Brian Kluth - Maximum Generosity.....the rest of the write up is mine....:)