Pillars in the House of God
M-1109 / 23 November, 2008
Dr. Russell K. Tardo
A more detailed account of this appears in 1 Kings, chapter 7.
1Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the LORD appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite. [The beginning of the temple; the work begins. This chapter tells the time and place of the construction. The dimensions and very elaborate ornamentation are described. It is to be a very splendid work to behold with all the ornamentation, the gold, bronze. 10And the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold. [The author describes these gigantic works, each with a 15-ft. wingspan. They literally spanned the entire width of the holy place. 14And he made the veil of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon. [This was the veil that separated the holy place and the manifest presence of God. This is the same veil that God would rend at the death of Christ (Matthew, chapter 27). It was not that exact veil because that one was destroyed in 586 BC, but it was a similar veil.] 15Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. 16And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. 17And he reared up the pillars before the temple, on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz. 2 Chron. 3:1,10,14-17]
Flanking the entrance to the temple were two gigantic brass pillars (35 cubits = 50 feet) that Solomon had erected. These pillars were made of brass of the highest quality and they stood on stone footings and were topped by colossal capitals. The account in 1 Kings, chapter 7, indicates they were some 18-ft. in circumference and stood before the house of God. The account in 1 Kings, chapter 7, says they stood in the porch of the temple. There is some debate whether or not these pillars were freestanding outside with no roof over them or in a porch enclosure with a roof over them. [Several artistic depictions were shown.] Whether or not these pillars stood under a porch or were outdoors is simply not known, but we do know it was quite a sight to behold.
A review of the accounts in both Chronicles and Kings reveals that Solomon named the two pillars. He named these pillars just as one today might name an automobile or boat. One pillar Solomon called Boaz, who was David’s great-grandfather. [It was Boaz who married Ruth and their son was Obed. Obed’s son was Jesse who was the father of David and grandfather of Solomon.] The name of the other pillar was called Jachin who is much less known today but was well known in the days of Solomon. Jachin was the head of the twenty-first division of priests and ministered at his post during David’s reign. He may have very well been dead by this time. One view is that Jachin was the first High Priest of the temple. What is known however, is that he was an individual of some quality or importance to merit having a pillar in the temple named for him. He was a man of great renown, great faith, great quality and integrity. Jachin obviously had a reputation for truthfulness, godliness, integrity, stability and character.
Today as in ancient times, pillars served multiple purposes. They could simply be ornamental monuments or they could be functional, i.e., designed to hold up or support something. Pillars in ancient times were integral to the support of buildings as the Bible indicates in the account of Samson pulling down the temple of Dagon. [The mainstay of the building was the pillars that Samson used to bring down the entire edifice.] Pillars also served a memorial purpose.
This purpose is borne out in Genesis, chapter 28, the account of Jacob’s dream at Bethel:
10And Jacob went out from Beersheba, and went toward Haran. 11And he lighted upon a certain place, and tarried there all night, because the sun was set; and he took of the stones of that place, and put them for his pillows, and lay down in that place to sleep. [Jacob is running from his brother, Esau, who has threatened to kill him. Jacob is exhausted and stops at this place in the wilderness to sleep. He took some stones and made a pillow on which to sleep.] 12And he dreamed, and behold a ladder set up on the earth, and the top of it reached to heaven: and behold the angels of God ascending and descending on it. 13And, behold, the LORD stood above it, and said, I am the LORD God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; 14And thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed. [Gen. 28:10-14]
Jacob has this extraordinary vision which is followed by a tremendous promise. At a later time in this very same place, God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. Originally called Luz, even the name of the location was changed to Bethel. To Israel was given the promise of land and blessing.
17And he was afraid, and said, How dreadful is this place! this is none other but the house of God, and this is the gate of heaven. 18And Jacob rose up early in the morning, and took the stone that he had put for his pillows, and set it up for a pillar, and poured oil upon the top of it. 19And he called the name of that place Bethel: but the name of that city was called Luz at the first. [Gen. 28:17-19]
The idea is that this was a sacred place. Jacob took the stones from his pillow, designed it into a pillar and poured oil on it which now made it a consecrated place. Perhaps Christians today should consider getting off their pillows and set about becoming pillars in the house of the Lord. Unfortunately, there are many Christians who are in a state of spiritual slumber, spiritual sleep. This was a place of memorial where Israel (Jacob) would remember how God dealt with him through visitation and made a promise to him. Every time Israel saw that pillar, he thought of God’s promise.
Pillar? or Soft, Comfy Pillow?
Today believers are supposed to be pillars like those described. When people see us, do they see the Lord in us? If so, then the Lord is evident in our lives, with His presence and His promises clearly visible. There are many pretenders out there, but then there is you. Are you like a pillar? Are you steady, stable, steadfast, unmovable? In that sense, you become a reminder, a memorial, and a remembrance of God’s goodness, God’s faithfulness and His covenants.
The Purpose of a Pillar
A pillar can be either a foundation or support to hold something up or it can be a memorial. Solomon names the two pillars Boaz and Jachin, godly leaders whose names actually meant something of significance. Boaz in Hebrew means strength or God is strength; Jachin means established. These pillars served as a memorial to Israel every time the people went to the temple. To look upon the pillars was a memorial to God’s strength and His promise of enablement. God promised to enable His people to endure and for as long as the people served Him, He promised that the temple would endure. That promise continues to believers of this age. As long as believers obey Him, He will be our strength and will cause us to endure. That’s the constant reminder of these two pillars. Artistic renditions are all that remain of that awe inspiring sight. Believers today are admonished to look to no other source for strength other than God. He alone is our strength and will enable us to endure.
Israel was the sole nation to receive the revelation from God. It was established by God and it was theirs for as long as they served Him. We, too, have a unique revelation as a New Testament body of believers. We’ve been given a new covenant, promises of provision, protection, healing and blessings. The promise of salvation includes all and as long as the church serves the Lord, it is settled and established. Jesus said that He would build His church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. Now that’s the true church of Jesus Christ. That doesn’t mean that an individual church might not collapse or fall into disarray or even to cease to exist entirely. The true body of Christ will endure and the gates of hell will not prevail against the body of Christ. That’s the promise.
When Israel backslid, God actually wrote Ichabod on that very temple. The Bible says that the glory departed. The unique covenant that God had given the Jews, i.e., to abide with Him even forever, departed when they as a people departed. The glory actually departed and God removed His hand of protection and His presence, allowing that magnificent temple to be destroyed. That was the temple that God said that He would dwell in and be their God. He had promised to dwell in that holy place and bless the worshippers but that promise was conditional. Now God allowed that temple to be destroyed.
It’s interesting that the Bible makes specific reference to those gigantic pillars when they were torn down. Generally, one doesn’t consider the members of support, thinking only of the temple structure itself. When those pillars came down, however, it was a bad sign as the Bible mentions the roaring.
8And in the fifth month, on the seventh day of the month, which is the nineteenth year of king Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, came Nebuzaradan, captain of the guard, a servant of the king of Babylon, unto Jerusalem: 9And he burnt the house of the LORD, and the king’s house, and all the houses of Jerusalem, and every great man’s house burnt he with fire. [When Jerusalem was breached and the Babylonians crushed the occupants, everything, including the temple, was destroyed. All the houses, including the houses of the great (the rich, the famous) men of the city, were burned and destroyed.] 10And all the army of the Chaldees, that were with the captain of the guard, brake down the walls of Jerusalem round about. 11Now the rest of the people that were left in the city, and the fugitives that fell away to the king of Babylon, with the remnant of the multitude did Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard carry away. 12But the captain of the guard left of the poor of the land to be vinedressers and husbandmen. 13And the pillars of brass that were in the house of the LORD< and the bases, and the brasen sea that was in the house of the LORD, did the Chaldees break in pieces, and carried the brass of them to Babylon.14And the pots, and the shovels, and the snuffers, and the spoons, and all the vessels of brass wherewith they ministered, took they away. 15And the firepans, and the bowls, and such things as were of gold, in gold, and of silver, in silver, the captain of the guard took away. 16The two pillars, one sea, and the bases which Solomon had made for the house of the LORD; the brass of all these vessels was without weight. [2 Ki. 25:8-16]
Everything was destroyed; everything was carried away. Even the two great pillars -- strength and endurance -- failed. When a nation and its people turn their backs on God, they can fail. God abandoned His own temple. Just think about that! Taking that into consideration, we ask, "What of the church that would stray from the Word of God that would depart from the faith and introduce heretical doctrine?"
Let’s move now to the New Testament. Strength and endurance can fail if people fail to trust, serve and obey the Lord. As long as believers serve the Lord, they will have His strength and endurance. It was a backslidden Israel that lost their strength and endurance. They lost their strength, becoming captives of the Babylonians; they lost their endurance and failed to endure as a nation and as a people and went into captivity for seventy years.
In this passage of scripture, Paul recalls to the Galatians his visit to the church in Jerusalem that occurred sometime previously and his meeting with the apostles. Paul describes his ministry as a ministry to the Gentiles. While Peter was an apostle to the Jews, Paul said that he was an apostle to the Gentiles.
7But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; 8(For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) [Gal. 2:7-8]
No man’s calling is the same. Paul considered his calling to be unique in that God was turning His focus to the Gentile nations. That’s where Paul labored, expending his energy and efforts. Different people, different anointings, different burdens which is as it’s supposed to be. Not everyone’s calling and ministry are the same. Not everyone is an evangelist; not everyone is a pastor; not everyone is a teacher; not everyone is an apostle. Even among these various ministries, not everyone has the same focus. Some may be called to a foreign nation. Different people have specific callings, specific burdens. Some may be called to minister to those in jail. Some may be called to minister to the homeless, while others minister to a church. I believe that’s my calling -- to minister to the church, the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. One should not malign or criticize one for not doing what another may be doing. The guy who ministers to the jail can be so committed and burdened for his ministry that he makes you feel guilty that you don’t go to the jail and minister. Some are so passionate about their ministry and calling that they make others feel unsaved and guilty because they don’t share that same burden, that same calling. Paul had a burden for the Gentiles while Peter’s burden was for the Jews. Just keep that in mind as you may hear someone give an impassioned plea or appeal that you have to do what they do or your Christianity is in question. Callings and responsibilities are unique to individuals.
9And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. [Gal. 2:9]
They recognized that Paul’s calling was to the Gentiles, the heathen and the lost nations of the world. They recognized that the calling of Paul and Barnabas was to take the message to the heathen nations.
Here’s what I want us to notice. Paul mentions three men here -- James, Peter and John -- who seemed to be pillars in the church. In the Old Testament, pillars were named for people. Now in the New Testament, people are called pillars. What does it mean when Paul calls Peter, James and John pillars? Paul is describing his meeting with the apostles in Jerusalem and he singles out these three. In that apostolic group, Paul perceived almost immediately who the pillars were. All were apostles; all were godly leaders but three in particular, Paul identifies as the pillars. If people are called pillars, what does that mean to you? When someone or some family is said to be a pillar or pillars in the congregation, it says they are examples of strength, stability, endurance, support, integrity and character. In fact, the pillars are the strength of the church. The pillars serve to support the structure. [Remember that when Samson pushed down the pillars, the entire pagan temple fell in on top of the worshippers.] The pillars get their strength from the Lord. When one speaks of a person who is a pillar that means someone who is reliable, trustworthy and supportive; someone who strengthens the church and the entire body. These are people who are solid and stable. Pillars in the church should be reliable. Pillars aren’t Christians one day and heathen the next; they don’t vary. Pillars are constant, reliable, trustworthy, solid, stable and faithful. When Paul speaks of these three men, he recognized they had leadership qualities; it was evident to him. The pillars among the group of apostles were able to discern who Paul really was. Remember that Paul had persecuted the church for a long time. Paul had been responsible for the deaths of many Christians; he had made many enemies. When Paul began to say that he was a Christian, asking to be invited to the church, he was viewed with a great deal of skepticism. Here you have the pillars -- Peter, James and John -- who discerned Paul’s true motivation. These three said in effect, "Even though we didn’t train him, Paul is legit." Paul talks about that in his letter to the Galatians saying that he didn’t go to the apostles for his indoctrination. He got it from Christ Himself. That would likely cause a great deal of suspicion but the leaders, the pillars, were able to discern that Paul was who and what he claimed to be. They extended to Paul the right hand of fellowship, recognizing him as one of their group. Even though Paul wasn’t one of the twelve; even though they had not taught Paul, they were able to tell that Paul was one of them. Not only is Paul a Christian, but he’s also one of us.
Discerning Pillars
Let’s consider that quality of a pillar. Pillars have to be able to discern because there’s not always going to be someone around who can discern for us. We have to be able to discern truth from error, right from wrong, what is the Word and what’s not the Word. The right hand of fellowship was extended to Paul which meant that these pillars, these three men, fully accepted him as one of their own. There were no more doubts, no more reservations about Paul. Believers have to be able to discern in order to recognize others, to discern those who are real and those who are frauds and phonies. It’s important to be able to discern those who are simply out for our money. Unfortunately, we live in a time when there are people in the ministry for all sorts of reasons. While I don’t know their hearts, I can only judge from what I see and hear. I do believe there are those out there who are legitimate and perhaps only misguided. I believe there are those out there who simply don’t know they are not to raise money in that fashion. Perhaps there are those who know but do it anyway. I also believe there are those out there who are in it to fleece the flock and get money from gullible people, using the money for their own ends, to support their lavish lifestyles. Believers have to be able to discern. Beloved, we have to become pillars. It’s time to get off the pillows and become pillars. We can’t be spiritually lazy in this matter. That means we have to be men and women of the Word. We have to know the Word for ourselves. When we see shenanigans or things that aren’t kosher, when we hear someone preaching something that is doctrinally incorrect, we have to be able to discern that. We must be pillars.
Brothers and sisters, you are a unique people. I believe that; I really do. You are a unique body. I’m impressed that you have the real thing; I’m impressed with you all the time but you can never relax on your spiritual pillows. We must always remind ourselves that we have to be pillars, always discerning and responsible. As a pillar, people look at us; they look at our lives and listen to our words. They judge Christianity in general by what they see and hear from us. Now that doesn’t make me proud, but it does make me some kind of happy to think that Praise God, I had some kind of influence on the lives of these people and they are affecting people in that kind of way, that we are raising up people that are strong, stable and discerning. Pillars are discerning.
In Acts, chapter 15, there is an account of error beginning to creep into the church and it was of concern to Paul and the apostles. A meeting of the apostles was held in Jerusalem to discuss matters of immediate concern. Some were beginning to teach that while one had to believe in Jesus, one had to be a Christian, be saved by grace through faith, but still keep the laws of Moses. One still had to be circumcised, keep the sabbath, the dietary restrictions, etc. It was necessary to believe in Jesus and follow Moses. The apostles assembled to consider this matter. The group was divided with some leaning one way while others leaned another.
The pillars in the church then stood up, i.e., Peter, and later James. They said that the Jews couldn’t keep the law and now they wanted to make Gentiles keep it. They were going to bring the Gentiles under that same bondage. James then gives his comments. The final conclusion was to tell the Gentiles to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not have to keep the law of Moses, that’s not part of the new covenant. The pillars stood against error. They stood against the inroads of false teaching. The pillars opposed it.
We are called to be pillars and that means we have to be able to recognize something when it’s illegitimate or false doctrine. Recognize it and oppose it! That’s our responsibility. Our stand must be, "I recognize that for what it is. It’s not the gospel and I’m not going to let myself fall into that kind of bondage." There are all kinds of messages and messengers out there. There are those that will try to cause others to fall by turning grace into disgrace while still others will try to entrap you into the yoke of legalism and bondage. You have to be a spiritual bloodhound so that you recognize legalism when you see it and when you hear it. Perhaps you have heard the new modern doctrine that you have to submit your ministry to a covering. This group teaches that someone’s got to be your covering and you submit to that individual. Before any important decisions are made, you must go to your covering and you get the okay, claiming that it’s biblical that you be submitted. That smells peculiar to me. Smells like reinstituting a priesthood. I’m a priest; I can go before the Lord for myself; I can hear from God for myself; I can pray to the Lord myself; He can speak to me personally. Put that sniffer to work out there and discern error. There’s much foolishness in churches today.
These pillars sniffed out the legalism (Acts, chapter 15) and stood against it. They opposed it. A pillar doesn’t just stand, it stands for something. It stands for the truth; it stands for what’s right. It stands for the Word of God; it stands for what is just, moral, pure and holy. Beloved, we need pillars; we all need to be pillars, pillars in the church -- steady, stable, trustworthy, reliable and faithful. Men and women, families and individuals who are spiritually strong; men and women of faith; men and women who are established in the Word; men and women of prayer; men and women who are workmen, laborers and servants in the body of Christ -- pillars. Every church has to have solid foundational members. Every church must have them and that’s what we’re called to be. In the past years many of the religious leaders, especially in the charismatic world, that we thought were pillars in the church, thinking they had high standards of godliness and morality and integrity, believing them to be reliable and trustworthy, were proven to be huge disappointments. Some proved to be flakes or fakes or just hollow pillars. I have some pillars in the hallway of my house. They are strictly decorative; hollow and don’t support a thing. These pillars look like something they’re not. Their appearance makes them deceptive because there’s nothing inside them -- they’re hollow. We have found out the hard way that there are leaders in the charismatic pentecostal movement who are like that. While they looked impressive, they proved to be hollow and didn’t stand the test of time.
Three of the nation’s mega churches have recently come crumbling down and several have asked who they were. In the last three weeks, three of the mega churches in America have been foreclosed on and their buildings confiscated by the banks -- the Church without Walls International, Tampa, Florida, which at one time had 23,000 members and only a few years ago was voted the fastest growing congregation in America. The pastors were Randy and Paula White. I don’t watch a lot of religious television because one has to be wary of some of the television preachers. Apparently they were well known within the charismatic pentecostal community. While I probably wouldn’t have recognized the pastors had I seen them, a church of 23,000 members is a pretty impressive organization. The pastors announced from the pulpit they were divorcing and both were seen shortly thereafter in the company of other partners. The church began to diminish until financially the church collapsed and on November 4, 2008 the bank filed foreclosure proceedings and they were millions of dollars in debt.
Bishop Thomas Weeks, Global Destiny Ministries, Duluth, Georgia is another. On November 14, 2008, during the Sunday morning service, representatives of the Sheriff’s Office came into the service and escorted him out of the building and foreclosed on that gigantic mega church. It floundered after Weeks had divorced his wife. In fact it was reported in the news recently that he assaulted his wife (Juanita Bynum, a popular charismatic preacher) in the parking lot of a shopping mall.
People don’t know what they follow. They have so little discernment. There are so few pillars. You should be able to listen to these people and discern them in minutes.
Then in Atlanta, the huge Chapel Hill Cathedral that was formerly pastored by Earl Paulk, a 10,000 member church at one time, went up for sale because of the many, many sexual scandals that were associated with Paulk and his leadership. In my mind, it’s a miracle that it had not collapsed earlier considering all of the scandal associated with the leadership.
Yet another church that fell was the Carpenter’s Home Church, 10,000 members, pastored by Carl Strader, one of the large charismatic preachers. He is no longer there and that property was sold to the Whites in 2005 and when their financial empire collapsed, that property was also under foreclosure.
This was written by the editor, Jamie Grady, of Charisma magazine:
In the case of the Cathedral at Chapel Hill, many parishioners walked out sixteen years ago when it became known that Earl Paulk and other staff members were involved in wife swapping. Paulk created the bizarre culture of secrecy to cover the immorality which included his affair with a sister-in-law and resulted in the birth of Donnie Earl who thought he was Earl Paulk’s nephew until last year. The church has only had a few hundred members in the past years. Today, Donnie Earl has embraced the inclusionist doctrines of Oklahoma pastor Carlton Pearson who left the faith in 2003 and was labeled "the heretic" by a group of African American bishops the following year. The younger Paulk now preaches that all people, not just Christians, are saved. He told Charisma last week that the Cathedral has expanded to include all of God’s creation, Christian, Jew, Hindu, Buddhist, gay, straight, etc. and this distorted message is broadcast from a pulpit that hosted the premier leaders of the charismatic movement during the ’70s and ’80s. Even before Weeks [This is Thomas Weeks, the one who assaulted his wife in a parking lot back in ’07]; the pastor of Global Destiny Ministries defiled his pulpit during a Teach Me to Love You Marriage Conference. He told married men they should use profanity during sex to heighten their experience and he brought couples on stage to play a game in which men were asked to name their favorite female body parts.
Don’t you think pillars would have discerned this? Pillars would have walked out the door and never darkened those doors again. A pillar is discerning. Was it supposed to end like this? How did a movement that at one time was focused on winning people to Christ and introducing them to the power of the Holy Spirit, how could such a movement end in such disgrace? It’s been one scandal after another. One moral scandal is followed by another; one financial scandal follows another. He writes:
I hear the sound of bricks and steel beams crashing to the ground. The wrecking ball of heaven is swinging. It has come to demolish any work that has not been built on the integrity of God’s Word and all of us should be trembling. God requires holiness in His house and truth in the mouths of His servants. He is loving and patient with our mistakes and weaknesses but eventually if there is no repentance after continual correction, His discipline is severe. He will not be mocked.
Behold therefore the goodness [kindness] and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off. [Rom. 11:22]
God is not married to our buildings and He is not impressed with our buildings. If He allowed foreign armies to burn Jerusalem and its temple, He will write Ichabod on the doors of our churches if there is no repentance. This is how the author concludes this notice:
I pray the fear of God will grip our hearts until we cleanse our defiled pulpits. Let’s examine our hearts and our ministries. Let’s throw out the wood, hay and stubble and build on a sure and tested foundation. It’s the only way to survive the meltdown.
These were ministries that were once considered pillars -- pillars in the charismatic world, attended by tens of thousands of people. We live in a day and time when everything is being shaken and many of those we believed to be pillars have fallen or are falling. Consider the pillars in the financial realm. All America thought these financial institutions were pillars -- pillars of strength, stability -- and they were hollow and are now crumbling. Consider those who were pillars in the insurance industry. We thought General Motors, Ford, Chrysler were pillars of American industry and they are shaking in a way no one could have imagined just a couple of years ago. Even just a year ago, no one could have imagined this meltdown, this shaking; the pillars all around us are shaking and many are crumbling. Their weakness is being exposed. The only way we will have strength and endurance is if our faith is in the Lord and our eyes are on the Lord and we stand on His Word and in His role. The pillars are most definitely falling and these corporations are coming down like dominos. The Bible tells us that in the spiritual realm there is a day when falling will become falling away and this, too, I believe, has already begun.
Let no man deceive you by any means [by their words, their eloquent speaking, their persuasive talk or by signs and wonders]: for that day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition. [2 Thes. 2:3]
That’s where we get the word apostasy. Multitudes are falling away. One falling tends to lead to another and it’s time for the body of Christ to be pillars. Get off the pillows and be a pillar in the body of Christ. Every church has all kinds of people in its membership. There are people from different backgrounds, different walks of life, white-collar workers, blue-collar workers, retirees, housewives, people of every color, size and shape and educational background. A church is comprised of many different backgrounds but we are one body in Christ, one body with one mind, one heart. We are to know the Lord, serve Him, obey Him and glorify Him. That’s what we want to do. Glorify the Lord in our hearts, our homes, our minds, our mouths and our families. We want Christ to be glorified in us. Wherever we go, we want Christ glorified. We want people to see Christ in us. In a church there are people at all spiritual levels. There are the newly saved and those who are mature saints in the Lord. There are those in-between. There are those who have been around a long time, mature in Christ and also those who are just beginning to learn. There’s room for all. Every one of us can love and accept everyone else. Can you love your brother if he’s a different color? Can you love your brother if he’s from a different financial background? People who are a little strange are also found in churches. We have no strange ones here -- a bit odd, maybe, but not strange. Eccentric people.
Are you a pillar?
Here’s my question: Would you be considered a pillar in the body of Christ? Would people consider you to be a pillar? Let’s look at one last scripture where the Bible says that if you’re not a pillar here, you can’t be one there. Would you by your lifestyle, by your habits, your attitude, your words, by your influence be considered a pillar? That’s a question you’re going to have to answer. Will you be a memorial, a reminder of God’s goodness and faithfulness? By just being around you, are people reminded there is a God in heaven because your life radiates the love and peace of God?
7And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write; These things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth; 8I know thy works; behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it: for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name. [He commends them for their faithfulness.] [Rev. 3:7-8]
Skipping down to verse 11, we have this promise:
11Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown. 12Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my GOD, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my GOD, and the name of the city of my GOD, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my GOD: and I will write upon him my new name. [Rev. 3:11-12]
This is a promise from the Lord Himself. What does it mean to overcome? It means to conquer. That means that we have to conquer the world, the flesh and the devil. We have to conquer the sin, the temptation to compromise. We have to conquer the temptation to spiritually lie on that pillow and be spiritually lukewarm, indifferent, and apathetic. It’s time to be an overcomer, a conqueror, conquering the temptations, the self, the flesh, the stinking attitude, our words, thoughts and habits. To him that conquers will Christ make a pillar in the temple of God. The pillar never left the temple. It remained steadfast, stable, resolute and unmoving. The pillar was ever in the house of God, ever in the presence of God. Pillars don’t come and go. Verse 12 says, he shall go no more out. That means that we will enter into God’s presence and stay there forever, never, ever to go out again -- always in the presence of God. We’ll never have to leave. Even though the carpet is replaced, new chairs installed, the pillar is never changed or replaced. The pillars remain fixed forever. The Holy Spirit says, I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem.
What do we put our names on? We place our names on what belongs to us. When it’s ours, we place our names on it. God said that He was putting His name on us. I’m writing my name and my address on you because it’s also your address -- the New Jerusalem and that’s where we will abide, where we will remain throughout eternity. Be a pillar, beloved. If we will be a pillar here, we’re sure to be a pillar there.
- CLOSING PRAYER -
Father, cause us to be pillars, we pray, pillars in the house of God. Lord, I pray that you would deliver us from all that binds us to this world, all that causes us to stumble. Lord, I pray that you would deliver us from ungodly thoughts, habits and attitudes and cause each of us to take our place as pillars in your house. Lord, it’s our prayer in Jesus’ Name . . . amen.
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