Seeing the problems in the world today – and in the Church – I want to look at what happened in those famous verses, so often linked with revival, when Solomon had finished building the Temple. 2 Chronicles 5:13-14 tells us, when the musicians were as one, praising and thanking the Lord, and saying, “He is good and His mercy endures forever,” – the House was filled with a cloud, so that the priests could not stand to minister, for the Glory of the Lord had filled the House! The worship was so strong!
I have experienced the Glory of God in my life, several times. The first time was in 1972 when I was locked up in a communist prison. In the desperation when it seemed God wasn’t answering me – when I cried out for food and there was none – when I wanted my family to come and they weren’t allowed to come – when Heaven was like brass shut up against me – one morning in my cell, as I began to pray, the Glory of God came down! It was one of only about three times when I have experienced the Glory of God – it filled the prison cell!
So when they gathered together in Solomon’s new Temple, and they began to worship, the Glory of God appeared. People think they can watch services online or on TV in the comfort of their homes, but that’s not where the Glory of God is. I’m concerned that there are still so many restrictions of public worship. I’m told in some churches you have to register to attend, there’s maybe only one service a week, the number that can go is restricted, and worship is restricted. But here in 2 Chronicles is something without restriction! If only we could get this spirit back into the Church!
Look at Chronicles 7:1! When Solomon had made an end of praying, Fire came down from Heaven and consumed the sacrifices – and again the Glory filled the House! And again the priests could not enter, because of the Glory of the Lord! We really need some evidence and demonstration of the Power and Glory of God! Here, when the children of Israel saw how the Fire came down and the Glory of the Lord filled the House, they bowed down on the ground and worshipped and praised Him for His Goodness, His Power and His Glory!
We have to understand who our God is. People seem to have lost the sense of who our God is, what His Power is. And that our God desires – sacrifice! In the case of Moses, he was to become a ‘sacrifice’ – he had to give his whole life. Elijah – it was the oxen and the wood and the stone. When Solomon built the Temple, the Fire fell – on the sacrifice!
Turn back to Chronicles 6:12ff. Solomon stood before the altar of sacrifice, climbed up on an extension he had built and, in the presence of the congregation, spread out his hands, and kneeled down and began to pray: “O Lord God, there is none like You in Heaven or on earth who keeps promises and shows mercy on Your servants who walk before You with all their heart… When trouble comes because the people have sinned, when they pray towards this place and confess their sin and turn from it, then hear from Heaven… When these things happen and when Your people pray, then hear from Heaven and forgive!” And when Solomon finished praying, Fire came down and consumed the sacrifice! There is such a sense here of sacrifice and of prayer…
In many traditional churches, there is an ‘altar’ at the front – but where is the sacrifice? Yes, I know, Jesus is the Sacrifice. But there is something else very deep spiritually here. Look at Romans 12:1. Paul is saying, “Brethren, I beseech you that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice.” There is a call to us to become a part of a sacrifice, to make a sacrifice of our lives, in order that the Fire will come. So many people are talking about revival, looking for the Fire to come back in the Church. Yes, we need revival. We need the Fire. But it will only come back when there is a sense of sacrifice. I have to sacrifice. I’ve had to sacrifice personal ambition, personal pleasures, in order that I can find that place before God. Paul says to present your bodies as a living sacrifice – which is your REASONABLE service! So, according to Paul, presenting everything, our lives, on the altar is only ‘reasonable’. It’s what God expects from us. We used to sing in the old days, ‘Lay your life on the altar for God, He’s calling for you today…’ I don’t hear that message these days! Where is that message, ‘Lay your life on the altar for God, He’s calling to you today’? There is a call today for sacrifice.
I’m very concerned about the Church and the future of the Church. Revival Fire will only come when we begin to pray and to sacrifice.