August 27, 2006
Rev. Terry D. Campbell

Where You Can Find God
1 Kings 8:22-30, 41-43

“Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven ²³and said: 'O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below-you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way. ²⁴You have kept your promise to your servant David my father; with your mouth you have promised and with your hand you have fulfilled it-as it is today. ²⁵ 'Now LORD, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father the promises you made to him when you said, 'You shall never fail to have a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons are careful in all they do to walk before me as you have done.' ²⁶And now, O God of Israel, let your word that you promised your servant David my father come true. ²⁷ 'But will God really dwell on earth? The heavens, even the highest heaven, cannot contain you. How much less this temple I have built! ²⁸Yet give attention to your servant's prayer and his plea for mercy, O LORD my God. Hear the cry and the prayer that your servant is praying in your presence this day. ²⁹May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place. ³⁰Hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray toward this place. Hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.'
'As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name- ⁴²for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm-when he comes and prays toward this temple, ⁴³then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.'”

Solomon's Temple was built and Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven and said: "Now I know that there is no god like You-You kept your promise to my father, David, and now to me!" This was no liturgy or ritualistic praise that Solomon was praying. It came straight from the joy in his heart!

Solomon's reply was equally heart-felt-"Let this Temple always connect people with You, God." The Temple gave Israel a physical reminder of the presence of God, it inspired their looking toward God in worship, humble repentance, and witness to the world. Solomon knew that it wasn't the ACTUAL dwelling place of God-he said in vs. 27 that God can't be contained in a house built by human hands. But people could certainly discover and experience God there. God needs signs in this world that so easily forgets or ignores God. Let's explore three different kinds of "signs" of God's presence that He gives the world.

People can find God in the Temple.
"²⁹May your eyes be open toward this temple night and day, this place of which you said, 'My Name shall be there' so that you will hear the prayer your servant prays toward this place."

In the past, people wanting to find God would naturally turn to church buildings. But more and more non-churched people and especially younger un-churched people do not turn to the church building-they don't really understand what a church is. We are foreign to their experience. One thing we need to do is to invite people to come with us to God's house for some spiritual exploration. You can be their tour guide into the new world of going to "God's House" and help them get acquainted.

There is nothing magical about houses of worship and its not that we can't worship or meet God elsewhere. But God has promised, made a covenant, with people that certain buildings will bear God's name, focus people's attention on the spiritual and encourage the connection of people with God.

It is important to understand this: We live in a world where many people "multi-task," that is, we do several things at once. You get dressed for work, eat your cereal, watch the Today Show, and have a conversation with the spouse or pet all at the same time. Multitasking is OK for some things but not for worshipping God. God deserves and expects our complete attention. The quality of our attention, when it is divided, is not as good-and we need to give our best attention to God. While people "CAN" find God on the golf course, or on a picnic, or driving the scenic route to work, something else is demanding a part of our attention and we must look away from God. Going to a house of God helps us leave behind our normal distractions so that we can give God our full awareness.

People can find God in Jesus.

People can become aware of God by experiencing nature, music, art, relationships, but the key to an accurate and complete experience of God is in experiencing Jesus. I'm not talking about Christianity-some specialized list of "Do's and Don'ts" of a particular group of Christians. Jesus is the only place you can truly and completely find God. Colossians 2:9-"For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form," John 14:6-"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." John 14:9-"The one who has seen Me has seen the Father."

Meeting God is not about what you look like (being a person clean-cut and wearing a suit, a long-haired hippie, or a tattooed biker). It is not about what denomination you attend. It is about do you walk with Jesus? Have you come and yielded yourself to Him. Are you allowing Him to reveal Himself to you more and more?

True Christianity demands we use our brains and our God-given discernment. For example, we learn very quickly that Jesus is the Prince of Peace-at Christmas. We learn that Jesus wants us to be peacemakers. But as we walk with Jesus more, we begin to learn another dimension of Jesus-defending the weak and those who can't defend themselves. We learn that Jesus intensely combated Satan and drove out evil forces in many places. We see Jesus speaking harshly to His best friend, Peter, when Peter told Him to abandoned doing God's will. So we see that Christians need THINK and DISCERN when to be gentle and when to be stern, when to turn the other cheek and when to say, "That's enough of this wrong. No more!"

People can find God in Jesus-very easily. Jesus IS God in the flesh. But UNDERSTANDING and following God takes more insight, courage and effort.

People can find God in You.

'As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name- ⁴²for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm-when he comes and prays toward this temple, ⁴³then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.'"

Jesus' kind of salvation experience is not getting saved and satisfied, but getting saved and becoming enthralled with God so that you work to take others with you.

Matthew 5:13-16-"'You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men. ¹⁴'You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. ¹⁵Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. ¹⁶In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.'"

Jesus told us that we are, not that we can be if we choose to be, but that we are:

• Salt-isn't obvious-but blends in. When salt in food is obvious, it is too much-too salty. Don't be like Tom Cruise and his over-bearing attitude for his new religion.
• Light-more demonstrative, but blinding light is not helpful Professor Howard Hendricks said, "In the midst of a generation screaming for answers, Christians are stuttering."

Don't hide! We must stop hiding from our called purpose!
What's the excuse -"I'm not like that"-are Clarinda and I the only two who are to speak up for Jesus? What if one or both of us is "not that kind" of person?

Do what you can to make his love concrete? Give up seat at church and move over. Help needy. Peter party with neighbors and church folks.

What will you do now?

Make sure you have a regular time of focused fellowship with God-in God's house, with God's people so you can grow as God's ambassador. Focusing on Jesus, the true revealer of God and getting to know Him MORE COMPLETELY. So that people will be able more and more to see that Jesus transforming your life and know that they have the blessed opportunity to find God, too!

Amen.