HOW TO ACCOMPLISH MORE

"The ark of the Lord remained in the house of Obed-edom the Gittite three months;

and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and all his household."

-2 Samuel 6:11 (NRSV)

Alright! I want the Lord's blessing on all I do.

Where do I get one of these "arks"?

First what was the "ark", or what did it represent?

"Spiritually, the Ark was the manifestation of God's physical presence on earth

(the shekhina)."

-David Shyovitz

in the Jewish Virtual Library.

Simply put it means,

God's presence = God's blessing.

That is why Moses was so concerned for Israel.

"Moses replied, 'If you do not go with us,

don't make us leave this place.

How will anyone know that you are pleased with your people

and with me if you do not go with us?

Your presence with us will distinguish us from any other people on earth.'".

-Exodus 33:15,16 (TEV)

Martin Luther is reputed to have said,

"I have so much to do that if I didn't spend at least three hours a day in prayer I would never get it all done."

Several times I have read of people getting more done by spending more time with the Lord.

It seems backward. But it works.

Personally I am a goal or project orientated person.

Generally I figure out what tasks need to be done, and which one's I can accomplish in a given time frame. Then dig in.

So, I purposely begin to spend more time with the Lord.

Guess what?

When I spend more time with the Lord,

I get ahead of schedule,

then look for something else to spend the extra time at.

"Seek the Lord and his strength;

seek his presence continually."

-Psalm 105:4 (NRSV)

WHOSE IDEA IS THIS?

"From the time I rescued the people of Israel from Egypt until now, I have never lived in a temple; I have traveled around living in a tent. In all my traveling with the people of Israel I never asked any of the leaders that I appointed why they had not built me a temple made of cedar.

- 2 Samuel 7:6,7 (TEV)

Photo courtesy hilltopchurchofchrist.nky.c

The idea came from man, not God.

See 2 Samuel 7:1 - 17

Photo courtesy www.connectingpoints.com

On the mount of transfiguration the disciples saw Jesus in his glory. Then,

"Peter said unto Jesus, Master, it is good for us to be here: and let us make three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias: not knowing what he said."

- Luke 9:33 (KJV)

It is man that wants to build. That is something creative we can do - even in the flesh.

Photo courtesy www.tireeimages.com

What was God's response to Peter about building a tabernacle?

"A voice said from the cloud, 'This is my Son, whom I have chosen - listen to him!'"

-Luke 9 35 (TEV)

There is our responsibility.

"When the voice stopped, there was Jesus all alone..."

- Luke 9:36 (TEV)

Jesus alone is our need

Photo courtesy buildingdesign.remodeling...

Halley Bible Handbook on p.859 says,

"The First church building was erected in the reign of Alexander Severus (222-35). After the edict of Constantine they began to be built everywhere."

Wow! From Pentecost to 222-35 AD. with out a church building.

You don't suppose the "church" was too busy turning the world "upside down" (Acts 17:6 KJV) to worry about building a church building.

All those years with out a church building,

printing press,

radio,

TV,

or the Internet.

yet turning the world upside down.

Then the church went into the construction business.

And we lost something.

Photo courtesy www.peterbrownconst.com

Is it possible that the real motivation behind our mad drive for buildings is the same one that motivated;

King Saul in 1 Samuel 15:12,

or "wannabe" king Absalom 2 Samuel 18:18

to build a "Monument"?

Yes, a monument to a ministry or

a monument to a churches presence in the community,

or a monument to our successful "Christian" program.