Sermon Central
-
Fill My House Series
Contributed by Rev. Dr. Andrew B Natarajan on Sep 2, 2023 (message contributor)
Summary: God demands from everyone who believes in his word to fill his house. The house may refer immediately to the church where you are part of, the house also refers to the kingdom of God, the house refers to his abode with us.
Theme: Fill My House
Text: Malachi 3:1-10
Greetings: The Lord is good and His love endures forever!
Introduction:
What does it mean the house of God:
It was a Tent of meeting during the wilderness journey, a place where the ark of the Lord was placed during David, Jerusalem Temple during monarchs, then it referred to the synagogues during exilic periods.
Whereas in the early Christianity it changed from perpetual to temporary places of meetings. The gathering of believers is called the House of God. Jesus told that people can worship God in any place in the world. (John 4:23).
During the days of David to the time of Jesus, it was the temple at Jerusalem was called as the House of God, House of Prayer, House of Instruction, House of Worship, House of Healing, and House of Praises. Jesus was the first person to name the temple as “My Father’s House.” (Luke 2:49).
Today, I would like to meditate with you on the Topic: “Fill My House.” This is the desire of the LORD. How can we fill the house of the LORD? We can fill the house of the Lord in three ways: I was led by the Holy Spirit to leave with you these practical ways to fill the House of the LORD.
One, fill my house with prayers and praises;
Two, Fill my house with all nations and people; and
Third, fill my house with Tithe and offerings
1. FILL MY HOUSE WITH YOUR PRAYERS AND PRAISES
Isaiah 6:1 says ‘The robe of God filled the temple.’ The glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord (2 Chronicles 7:1-3). Three times it is mentioned in these three verses that the Glory of the
Lord filled the house of the Lord.
Psalm 69:9: “For zeal for your house consumes me, and the insults of those who insult you fall on me.”
“For thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Once more in a little while, I am going to shake the heavens and the earth, the sea also and the dry land. And I will shake all the nations, so that the treasure of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with glory, says the Lord of hosts.” Then we read that ‘the latter splendour shall be greater than the former.’ (Haggai 2:6,7,9).
During the early church, we read that where disciples gathered to pray, tarry on, “And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.” (Acts 2:2 NASB).
So the house of God is a house of prayer, house of healing, and house of prayer but the Pharisees, Sadducees, and priests made it as den of robbers (Matthew 21:13).
The temple is supposed to be a house of Prayer (Matthew 21:13). Prayers must be offered, daily prayers and fasting prayers,. Prayer for the nations, kings, and people groups be made from here. Prayer for the saved and the unsaved. Prayer for the needy and rich be offered. Prayer for the not reached and outreaches., Prayer for the missions and visions of God must raise from the church.
The temple is the place of healing. Place of soothing. People must experience healing physically, mentally, psychologically, and emotionally, etc., Pray for the sick and the Lost. Church has the healing oil. God is the Healer (Matthew 8:3, 20:34, Mark 1:31, 5:29, 7:35, John 4:53). He heals all the sicknesses. Once again, the Church must take up this great work of healing as done by the apostles (Acts 3:6-10, 4:16, 4:21).
Jesus used the place as the place of praise. Many children, young, and adults started to praise Him (Psalm 8:2, Matthew 21:15-16). The temple is a place to express and sing the wonders of God. Sing with real love for the Lord. Worship shouldn’t became a program. It’s not a time-bound event but spirit controlled. Praises lifts our hearts to God.
2. FILL MY HOUSE WITH PEOPLE
“And the master said to the slave, ‘Go out into the highways and along the hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled.” (Luke 14:23 NASB).
This is a direct reference to the missionary works, mission activities. We can do this with personal contacts, hospital visitation, public ministry, tracts distribution, through WhatsApp messages, YouTube preachings, Facebook, Twitter, blog writing, and all the availability digital resources.
Missions strays with our desire for a person. Kindly make a list of names, pray for them regularly until you are convinced to talk about Christ, make contact with them, and invite them to get together, look for opportunities to open the Bible, and talk about Jesus.
We can invite some folks to come to church and if they may turn us down for the first or the second or even the third time, but some will eventually come. This is not a one-shot deal. Of course, we must first invite friends that we know well, and also strangers on the highways and hedges. We should build relationships with them that will give us opportunities over time to speak with them on more than one occasion.
