This, My Tabenacle-Part 2

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Part 2

Realization, Temple Maintenance, and Continuance


1.Realization


Our next step is one of realization. We need to realize
what we have become, what we now are and then how to
maintain that new creature in order to continue on to the end
and be victorious along the way.

    1Corinthians 3:16-17  Know ye not that ye are the
    temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
    If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God
    destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.

    1Corinthians 6:19-20  What? know ye not that your body is
    the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have
    of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a
    price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit,
    which are God's.

Hopefully you now have a pretty decent idea what you are. If
not, then check out Romans chapter 6, verses 4-6. On we go.


2.Maintenance


How then ought we to take care of this temple, this tabernacle
in which God has taken up residence?

    1Peter 2:11  Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers
    and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against
    the soul;

    2Timothy 2:4  No man that warreth entangleth himself with
    the affairs of this life; that he may please Him who hath
    chosen him to be a soldier.

    James 1:21-25  Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and
    superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the
    engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. But be ye
    doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own
    selves. For if any man be a hearer of the word, and not a
    doer, he is like unto a man beholding his face in a glass:
    For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and
    straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was(don't
    forget what you are now!). But whoso looketh into the
    perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not
    a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be
    blessed in his deed.

If you follow up on this study, you are bound to find that denying
the lusts of the flesh, the things to which we formerly gave ourselves
over to is a common ideology amongst New Testament writers and
finds it's roots in the holy lifestyle which God had commanded the
children of Israel to live in the Old Testament.

    1Peter 1:13-16  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind,
    be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be
    brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ; As
    obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to
    the former lusts in your ignorance: But as He which hath
    called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;
    Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

What then should I not do or what should I do, you might ask?!?!

First you need to be filled in on some specifics concerning the
"former lusts" and shown what the opposite end of the spectrum
(which you now are on) consists of.

What we were and did:

    Galatians 5:19-21  Now the works of the flesh are manifest,
    which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness,
    lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance,
    emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envyings,
    murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like...

    1Peter 4:3-4  For the time past of our life may suffice us to
    have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in
    lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings,
    and abominable idolatries:

What we ought now to have manifesting itself in our lives:

    Galatians 5:22-23  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,
    peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, Meekness,
    temperance: against such there is no law.

Now, one must keep in mind that we still live in this world filled
with sin and in this flesh in which there is a law of sin-Romans
chptr.7-and when we think we ought to be perfect or that others
ought to be perfect immediately, we run into problems. We need
to understand that there is a continual growth in all of us going on
and no person is in the exact same place in the race of faith at the
exact same time. We need to learn to overlook what we consider
to be the faults of another in the body of Christ and examine our
own selves daily whether we be in the faith.-1Cor.13:5; Matt.7:1-5.

Having all of these things in mind, the number one thing that we
can and NEED to do to maintain this temple of God is pray!(notice
the exclamation)

    Luke 18:1  And He spake a parable unto them to this end,
    that men ought always to pray., and not to faint;

    1Thessalonians 5:17  Pray without ceasing.

And putting ourselves in remembrance that we are the temple,
or house, of God, call to mind the words of Jesus once again.

    Matthew 21:13  It is written, My house shall be called the house
    of prayer...

And also our Savior's example.

    Mark 1:35  And in the morning, rising up a great while before
    day, He went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there
    prayed.

    Matthew 14:23  And when He had sent the multitudes away,
    He went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening
    was come, He was there alone.

Along with prayer, there needs to be some fasting as well. Fasting
is a denial of the flesh. It helps us to gain the ability through Christ
to abstain from those fleshly lusts. Paul said that he died daily
(speaking of the death of self that Christ might live in and through
him).-1Corinthians 15:31-

Also, there is a need to be in continual fellowship with the people
of God. We are the body of Christ and a body cannot function to
it's full ability without all of it's parts; however it can still function.
On the other hand any part of the body that is cut off will die and
ceases to function completely and we are all a part of the body
which is the church and though the church might be able to do
more or function to it's full ability with us there, without us there
it will still function and other parts will learn to compensate for
the loss just as our own bodies adapt to loss of hearing, etc.
whereas we being parts, if cut off from that church(not just your
local assembly, though that's important) we will eventually die and
be thrown away if not sewn or grafted back on expediently and
properly.

    Acts 2:42, 44, 46  And they continued stedfastly in the
    apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread,
    and in prayers...And all that believed were together, and had
    all things common;...And they, continuing daily with one
    accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to
    house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of
    heart,

    Hebrews 10:25  Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
    together...but exhorting one another: and so much the more,
    as ye see the day approaching.

    1Thessalonians 4:18  Wherefore comfort one another with
    these words.

Next we need to adhere to some standards in our lives.
Standards are not rules and laws to burden our souls but are
guidelines to help us live holy before the Lord in this present
time. They help to keep us from falling into the snares of the
Devil who "walketh about seeking whom he may devour:".
-1Peter 5:8

    Isaiah 59:19  ...When the enemy shall come in like a flood,
    the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

    Isaiah 62:10  ....Lift up a standard for the people.

Once again, the purpose of standards:

    1Thessalonians 4:4  That every one of you should know
    how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;

And a word to those who would be wise in the Lord and not
proud in heart when it comes to standards that you are unsure
about:

    1Thessalonians 5:22  Abstain from all appearance of evil.

All these things together combined with praising the Lord
continually, in our homes, at our jobs, and in our services make
up what we call worship, for worship is not something that we do
just at the service in song, dance, etc., but rather the true
worshippers shall worship Him in spirit and in truth and not just
merely in outward expressions when and where others can see.
If you don't like worshipping, then you'll hate heaven. Read the
Psalms if you want to know about worship and read  Revelation
if you want to know what we'll be doing once we get to heaven...for
eternity! (I'll give you a hint; it starts with w and ends with p and
there's an orshi in the middle.)


3.Continuance


Continuance is not complicated at all. It is somewhat self-
explanatory. It is continuing in the faith, in the things which we have
discussed in the maintenance section in particular.

1.Continue in the reading of the Word.

2.Continue in prayer and fasting.

3.Continue in fellowship and breaking of bread.

4.Continue in worship and praise.

5.Continue to stand fast through all trials and tribulations, in good
times and in bad, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health,
until death or the coming of the Lord when we shall meet Him in
the sky, which ever comes first.

    1Timothy 6:12  Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal
    life...

    2Timothy 4:7-8  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my
    course, I have kept the faith: Henceforth there is laid up for me
    a crown of righteousness...

    Matthew 10:22 ...he that endureth to the end shall be saved.

    Hebrews 3:6  But Christ as a son over his own house; whose
    house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of
    hope unto the end.

6.If you should fall, GET UP!!! Do not let your heart, your
conscience, the devil, or anyone else condemn you and do not
allow yourself to be swallowed up in false guilt. The race is not
given to the swift or to the strong but to the one that endures to the end.

    Proverbs 24:16  For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth
    up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

    1John 1:9  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive
    our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

    1John 3:20-21  For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than
    our heart, and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn us
    not, then we have confidence toward God.

    Philippians 1:6  Being confident of this very thing, that He which
    hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of
    Jesus Christ.


Next step, Conclusion...don't respond yet.

In Jesus' Name,
Bro. Daniel M. Westbrook, Sr.