_{Image Source}

On Monday nights at the HOPE we've been going through a series on night and day worship.

A couple weeks ago taught on Isaiah 56:7, the passage we focused on last month.

The initial recording was terrible quality so I re-recorded it because its super dank and I want all to hear it! :P

Here is the video:
https://www.facebook.com/ben.mercer2/videos/vb.545245084/10160843186010085/?type=2&theater

This is a link to a much more polished up version of these same notes:
https://www.facebook.com/notes/benjamin-jacob-mercer/god-lives-in-you/10160843222200085/

Isaiah 56:7: Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar; for my house will be called a house of prayer for all nations.

Intro

A. We are reminded of the gospel of Jesus Christ
B. God shows us what His house will look like
C. We are shown how important prayer is to God
D. God reveals His heart for every person in every nation.

The gospel

A. Their burnt offerings and sacrifices will be accepted on My altar;
-The sacrifice of Jesus that was offered for us
-The joyful sacrifice of praise that we now bring

B. The blood of Jesus has given us confidence to draw near to God.

C. The only way to Father is through Jesus Christ. Abel’s sacrifice of the first-born of his flock pointed to the sacrifice which was to come… the sacrifice of Jesus Christ—the firstborn among many brethren. Cain’s sacrifice was rejected just like “our own” righteousness is—God sees it as a filthy rag. (Isaiah 64:6)

D. In Genesis 22, the story of Abraham and Isaac alludes to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The offering is all about Him.

E. Psalm 40:6 God reveals how He does not desire our works—trying to earn us right-standing with God.
He elaborates on this in Hebrews 9-10: Jesus was our atoning sacrifice.
9:28 “So Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many.
10:2 “For the worshippers, once purified, would have no more consciousness of sins.”
Jesus’ blood cleanses our conscious from sin so we don’t feel shame and can feel confidence to “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water (v.22)
F. The “offerings” and “sacrifices” are simply worship for what Jesus has already done! “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess His name.” (Heb. 13:15)
-This is where the joy comes from. The gospel is how He will make them joyful in His house of prayer.

G. The cross is God’s altar. That is where the lamb of God was slain. Because of Jesus, we can joyfully come and worship God at His house of prayer and partner with Him in what He is doing.

H. Out of a grateful heart of what Jesus has done for us, the only right response is extravagant gratitude: “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” (Romans 12:1)
-We are to simply make His habitation (our bodies) a welcoming and inviting place for Him to live.

I. 1st Chronicles 19:14 “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are foreigners and strangers in your sight, as were all our ancestors. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. LORD our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you.”

God’s house

B. Gods house is where He can be found.
-In the new covenant God reveals Himself in His people—in His ecclesia—in you and me! God is not only found in heaven but He can also be found in His people!

C. God’s house will be famous for/ called a house of prayer. A couple thousand years ago it was known as a place where you could make money. It wasn’t about God.

D. Mtt 21:13 It is written, he said to them, “My house will be called a ‘house of prayer’, but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’”

E. He was quoting Jeremiah 7:11 “‘has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching!’ declares the LORD.
-It will be famous for a place to go to meet with God.

F. God wants His house to be known as a house of prayer. He really likes this concept of a “house of prayer.”

G. We are Gods house. He lives in us. Eph 2:22 “in Him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit.”

H. 1 Pt. 2:5 “you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”

I. 1 Cor. 6:19 “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God?”
-God no longer lives in merely an earthly temple.

J. There is still that physical structure called the temple. 2 Cor. 5:1 “For we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.”

K. Psalm 27:4 “one thing I ask from the LORD, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the LORD.”

L. Psalm 2:6 “yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion.”

M. There’s an earthly temple built by human hands and then also the New Jerusalem, the city of God, that will come down from heaven to the earth.

N. Isaiah 11:9 “they will not hurt or destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”

O. Isaiah 2:2-3/Micah 4:1-2 “It shall come to past in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the Lord shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be lifted up above the hills; and all the nations shall flow to it, and many peoples shall come, and say: “come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.”

P. Zechariah 8:3 “Thus says the Lord: I have returned to Zion and will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem shall be called the faithful city, and the mountain of the Lord of hosts, the holy mountain.”

Q. Heb 12:22 “but you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem.”

R. I think in addition to the literal heavenly Jerusalem that will come down, I think that the new covenant speaks of how, by faith in Jesus, we are seated with Him in heavenly places—we are in the heavenly Jerusalem—even if only by faith right now—because He is in us and we are in Him (John 17).

S. That’s cool! …But there is so much more. There is another dwelling place that is far more glorious.

T. Mount Zion will be awesome because Jesus will be there. But we must not forget that He is here…right now…with us…in us. What the Jews were waiting for has happened—2018 years ago. I’m not knocking the exceptionally glorious reality that awaits us—of being able to see Jesus face to face and all. But I’m also not losing sight of the exceptionally glorious reality that we are in right now. The new covenant is truly remarkable.
*God lives in us. We are His temple.

U. Acts 17:24 “The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by human hands.”
-Now He lives in you!
That is what happened in the resurrection of Jesus. He is alive! In you!

House of prayer

B. Tabernacle of David- Around 1000 BC King David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem and employed 4,000 musicians (1st Chronicles 23:5) and 288 singers (1st Chronicles 25:7) to minister before the Lord. Day and night these Levites were “to make petition, to give thanks and to praise the Lord” (1st Chronicles 15-17).
C. Amos 9:11 “on that day I will raise up the tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, and repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, and rebuild it as in the days of old.”

D. Malachi 1:11 “For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts.”

E. The “tabernacle” or “house of prayer” so much more than just a building though. John 4:21 woman, Jesus replied, “believe me, a time is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.”

F. The ultimate fulfillment of God’s house of prayer is us. God’s people. We are His house of prayer.

G. Matthew 16:18 “And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.”
-The word “church” means an assembly. It’s a people. Not a building.

H. We are the house of prayer. (because Gods house is a house of prayer and we are God’s house).

I. Mtt. 18:20 “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”

J. The tabernacle was a mobile dwelling place that was covered in skin. “God always had a mobile skin-covered incarnated habitation in mind.” Andre Rabe.

K. We are created to worship God!

The nations

A. For all nations

B. God loves the whole world. Everyone. All.

C. John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
-John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whosoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
D. Acts 10:28 “You know how unlawful it is for a Jewish man to keep company with or go to one of another nation. But God has shown me that I should not call any man common or unclean.”
-This concept of unconditional love is not limited to just de-constructing racism—but also every other form of prejudice that one may harbor in their heart. Whatever demographic of people that someone hates, God loves.
-God wants to so transform our minds that we no longer categorize people but instead see every human being as someone who bears the image of God and therefore has intrinsic value.
-God is love. And the more we realize this God who lives in us, the more His life will flow out through us. God’s perfect love shows no favoritism. When we have a complete realization of this union that we have with God then we will love everyone perfectly—just like God does—because it will be Him loving through us.
-Though the focus of this passage is on the nations, this concept extends beyond this. God wants to break down every socio/economic/political/demographic barrier of division. The overly nationalistic boundaries just happen to be an easily recognizable one that most unfortunately identify with.
-The height of this is to no longer see “outsider” or “insider”—no longer judging others based on their nationality or even if they are a “believer” or an “unbeliever” but rather loving others based on their intrinsic value as people created in the image of God.
-The Jews hated anyone who wasn’t a “believer” in Yahweh and follower of the law. God continually challenges this exclusionist mindset by demonstrating throughout scripture that His heart is for all people from every nation.
-These Jews thought God was into tribalism—loving them and hating everyone else. But God reveals throughout the scriptures that He is for the whole world.

E. Revelation 7:9 “After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”
-Every tribe is welcomed.
-We all become one tribe in Him.

F. Eph 2:14-16 “For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility.”

G. “There is neither Jew or Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ” (Galatians 3:28).
-God breaks down the division between us. There is distinction, but not separation. Rather, unity. Just like our union with God. We are one with God but we are not God. One with God but distinct from God. John 17: Jesus praying that we would all realize our union with Himself and with each other that He has given us. In the incarnation, God united Himself to the human race. In the resurrection God now lives in His people! He is alive! In you!
-Just like our Father is in Jesus and Jesus is in Father. Jesus has made this union…this incredible intimacy possible to experience. Because Jesus is in us and Father is in Him, we also get to experience union with each other—because of the union we have with God. When we are all in God then we are also all in each other.
-That which unites us is greater than the small differences. What we have in common—being one in Christ—is a far greater reality.
-The smaller, distinct differences between people are something we get to celebrate—but that’s after we are firmly established in the union we have with Christ, and thus, with each other.
-The commonality that every human being shares is supposed to be the greatest point of reference of identity.

-Once we understand this, we can fully appreciate and even participate in God’s love for all people.

H. “Consequently, you (us gentiles/foreigners) are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household.” (Eph 2:19)

I. Colossians 3:10-11 We “have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all.”

J. This comes natural to some. It’s a God-given desire. God has already shared His heart for all people, for all nations, with many. But He wants everyone to share His heart for the nations.
Growing up in other countries--became aware of and had many opportunities for relationship with others from diversely different cultures.
-God gave me His heart for the nations.
(Didn’t know why, but I seemed to be uniquely attracted to and felt very comfortable around people who looked and sounded very different than me.
-This is where God is taking EVERYONE. We’re all brothers and sisters. Some just realize it sooner rather than later. Malachi 2:10—we all have one father.

K. If it doesn’t come natural, we can just ask God for Him to share His heart with us. We can also renew our minds by meditating on how He reveals His heart for the nations throughout scripture.

L. We were once all foreigners. We were once all unbelievers. The “foreigner” can represent anyone who is not a believer. On the cross Jesus reconciled us to God. We are reconciled. (2nd Corinthians 5:18) This is the sacrifice of Jesus that has been offered. Therefore we are able to worship God and enjoy the reconciliation that Jesus has provided.

M. God enters into the context of a very exclusionist society and said that He wants to adopt all. (God desires that none would perish but that all would turn to Him [2nd Peter 3:9]
-In this God was just showing how very different He is than us. The Jews thought they understood God correctly but were so wrong. They created God in their own image—a God who hated those who weren’t Jewish, were women, or children.
-When Jesus entered on the scene and invited children to come near to Him and showed great value to women He was breaking down the wrong, prejudice thinking of that time. Jesus came to show us what God is really like. Jesus came to deconstruct wrong ideas about God and show us what our Father is really like.
-Even today, in the evangelical west, I think many of us believers don’t have a right view of God. He is continually showing me how many wrong ideas I have believed about Him.

N. Joel 2:28-29 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.”
-The Jews balked at this. They did not respect women, children, or gentiles.
-Anyone that wasn’t Jewish was looked down upon. (Merikuh!)
-It was into this mindset that God entered and said that He was going to live in all people—in people from other nations—in young people—even in the women! (Gasp!) In Joel 2 God said that He is going to live in young, gentile girls! That certainly came as quite the shock to the Jews at that time! If they were a really religious Pharisee they probably had a heart attack!
O. (Matthew 22:8-10) Then he said to his servants, ‘the wedding banquet is ready, but those I invited did not deserve to come. So go to the street corners and invite to the banquet anyone you find. So the servants went out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, the bad as well as the good, and the wedding hall was filled with guests.’
P. Isaiah 65:1 “I revealed myself to those who did not ask for me; I was found by those who did not seek me. To a nation that did not call on my name, I said, ‘here am I, here am I.’”
Q. “On this mountain the LORD Almighty will prepare a feast of rich food for all peoples, a banquet of aged wine—the best of meats and the finest of wines.” (Isaiah 25:6)
R. Jesus’ inheritance is the nations. “I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people.” (Eph. 1:18).
-Isaiah 66:18-20
“And I, because of what they have planned and done, am about to come and gather the people of all nations and languages, and they will come and see my glory.
I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations.
And they will bring all your people, from all the nations, to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the LORD—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and mules and camels,” says the LORD.
“They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the LORD in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the LORD.
-God wants us to treat everyone as our brothers and sisters.
-When we start to understand Jesus’ inheritance in every person, we begin to treat people much differently—with immeasurable value.
-Walk in love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. (Ephesians 5:2)
S. Romans 15:16 “to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.”

T. “All the flocks of Kedar shall be gathered together to you, the rams of Nebaioth shall minister to you; they shall ascend with acceptance on My altar, and I will glorify the house of My glory.” (Isaiah 60:7)
U. Jeremiah 7:6 “if you do not oppress the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow”….
V. Ezekiel 47:22 “you shall allot it as an inheritance for yourselves and for the foreigners who dwell among you and who have children. You are to treat them as native-born Israelites; along with you, they shall be allotted an inheritance among the tribes of Israel.”
W. Genesis 18:18 “Abraham will surely become a great and powerful nation, and all nations on earth will be blessed through him”
X. Rev. 5:9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased for God persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.”
Y. Rev. 22:2 “On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”
Z. Participate: Mtt. 22:19 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
-We get to imitate God. This is “the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Colossians 1:26-27)
-The mystery is that God lives in you! God living in an earthly and heavenly building is cool and all but God living in people is some next level stuff!
-The more we realize that God lives in us, the more we are able to pour out our lives in crazy, supernatural, agape love.

Conclusion

A. God is making us—His house—His house of prayer—a people who love everyone. Individually and corporately He wants to shine through us. The more each individual reflects Him, the more accurately we will corporately depict Him as we gather together.
Because God lives inside of us, it would be a shame to never interact with Him. We would be missing out! We would not be realizing our true identity and ultimate experience of life.
God is inviting everyone to interact with Him…He’s not far away. He’s as near as turned attention. The kingdom of heaven is within you. He’s nearer to us than we are to ourselves. But the fun doesn’t stop there. God is expressed in a unique way in each individual. We see a different aspect of God in each person. When we come together as a corporate house of prayer, we get to experience God in a greater way.
God wants others to see Himself in the way we love anyone and everyone. We are to simply yield to Love Himself who lives in us and allow God to reveal Himself in us. God invites us to allow Him to express and demonstrate His unconditional love in and through us.
We are designed to love supernaturally. Made in the image of God, we are capable of giving ourselves just like God gives Himself—because of Christ who lives in us. Its just a matter of realizing the potential that lies within every human. God wants to set you free to be fully yourself. To be who you really are. Who He created you to be. To live in your true identity.
What if it was normal to love supernaturally? That’s where God is taking His people. He doesn’t want us to settle for anything less. He wants our vision to be to walk in perfect love. God wants to challenge any unbelief and declare the possible…even the probable. He says, it is written—My people will be a people who love everyone with My very own, supernatural, agape love. The more we hear and believe these truths, the more they begin to manifest in us.

Prayer:

Father, remind us of what is most true about us. Give us revelation of our true identity. Help us to live from the place of victory that Christ has secured for us. A place of abundance instead of lack. Thank you that you have already given us all things! Let the reality of how we are, right now, seated with Christ in heavenly places affect how we live: how we think about ourselves and how we think about others.
Let us taste and see how good You are so we would crave interacting with You! And fill us with love for every person from every nation! And finally make it a priority for us to gather with others to worship You and agree with what’s on Your heart!