Tearing Down and Building Up

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Tearing Down and Building Up

Wednesday, May 9, 2018

“While they were bringing out the money that had been taken into the temple of the Lord,

Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord //that had been given through Moses.” (2 Chronicles 34:14 NIV)

King Josiah of Judah was preceded by two kings //who had set up altars to false gods all throughout the land—even in the temple of the Lord!—and had thus caused Israel to descend into idolatry and wickedness.

  Unlike his father before him, Josiah began to seek the Lord at a young age.  Soon he realized that he had to address the wrong things in his life, so he began to purge the land of idols, all throughout Judah.  Later, it dawned on him that they had neglected the temple, which stood for the worship of God and communion with him.  And so he set out to have the temple of the Lord repaired and built up. 

You see, it’s not enough to tear down the negative things; we have to also build up the things //that cultivate our relationship with God /in order that he may be the center of our lives.

* cultivate; prepare and use (land) for crops or gardening.

Like Josiah, we have to be open to God and acknowledge that we’re never going to grow or progress /in our faith /with negative stuff /in our lives.  What fellowship does light have with darkness, and how can two walk together /unless they be agreed?  How are you going to grow in God /when you have intimate friends //who are anti-God and pull you down /every day () you talk to them?

*  every day; each day

   Everyday (as one word) is an adjective; average, mundane, ordinary, and standard

The thing is that we’ve got to be real with God.  We can’t dance around with him /when he puts his finger on something. 

There may in fact be idols in our lives //that mean more than Jesus.  They don’t have to be ugly things.  It could be our career or education or making money or a relationship //that means more to us than serving God.  It’s got to go; that idol has to come down.

We’ve got to take time and wait on God, not so much telling him what we need, but letting him speak to us and show us the negative things that are affecting our walk with him.  We can’t be afraid of silence in prayer; we can’t be afraid to hear God’s voice; we can’t be afraid to tell him that the thing is too big for us, and that he has to help us by his Holy Spirit to get the junk out of our lives.

Then, once those things are dealt with, we have to build up the positive things that will draw us closer to God.  It’s not enough to know what’s wrong; we have to know [what’s right] and build that up, developing a communion with God and his Word every day, forsaking not the fellowship of believers, and getting involved in the work of the Lord.  Sadly, some of us are being held back and not flourishing, because we’re not cultivating that relationship with God.  We need God’s grace every day, but how is that grace going to operate in us?   Most of it won’t happen while we’re texting or running here and there.  It comes when we get alone and spend time with the Lord.

Oh, the beautiful and unexpected blessings //that come /when we tear down the wrong things and build up the right things in our lives!  As Josiah was building up the temple, guess what he ran into?  The Word of God!  The Bible says that Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the Lord that had been given through Moses, which had gotten lost when the temple was neglected and in disrepair. 

It was God saying, “You’re removing the junk in your life and seeking me and spending time with me and building up the things //that bring you closer to me, so I am going to give you even more light!”  Hallelujah!   He longs to do that /with each and every one of us today.

Read 2 Chronicles 34:8-15.