Reading verses 22-32. 1 Kings 8, verses 22-32. Remember, what the Bible says is what God says. Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel. and spread out his hands towards heaven and he said Lord God of Israel there is no God in heaven above or on the earth below like you who keep your covenant in mercy with your servants who walk before you with all their hearts. You have kept what you promised your servant David my father. You have both spoken with your mouth and fulfilled it with your hand as it is this day. Therefore Lord God of Israel now keep what you promised your servant David my father saying you shall not fail to have a man sit before me on the throne of Israel. Only if your sons take heed to your to their way that they walk before me as you have walked before me and now I pray oh God of Israel let your word come true and which you have spoken to your servant David my father but will God indeed dwell on the earth behold heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain you how much less this temple which I have built yet regard the prayer of your servant and his supplication oh Lord my God and listen to the cry and the prayer which your servant is praying before you today that your eyes may be open towards this temple night and day towards the place of which you said my name shall be there that you may hear the prayer which your servant makes towards this place and may you hear the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel when they pray towards this place here in heaven you are dwelling place and you when you hear forgive when anyone sins against his neighbor and is forced to take an oath and comes and takes an oath before your altar in this temple, then here in heaven and act and judge your servants, condemning the wicked, bringing his way on his head and justifying the righteous by giving him according to his righteousness. Now, if you would please turn over to Luke chapter 19. looking at verses 41 through 48. Luke 19, 41 to the end of the chapter. Now as he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it, saying, If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace, But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come when upon you, when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you on every side and level you and your children within you to the ground, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another. because you did not know the time of your visitation. Then he went into the temple and began to drive out those who brought and sold in it, saying to them, It is written, My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves. And he was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy him and were unable to do anything for all the people were very attentive to hear him. Let's pray. Our Lord and our God, we are so thankful that the Lord Jesus Christ has come He has come and has brought the sanctity of worship, of prayer. We ask, O God, that we as Thy people would understand such a sacred privilege that we have. In Christ's name, Amen. What does praying in the presence of the temple mean? What does praying in the presence of the temple mean? After all, the context of Solomon's discourse is the temple constructed during his day under the direction of the Lord Himself. And that specific temple is no longer in existence. Nor is the temple in existence which was begun during the intertestimonial period which Christ recognizes during his own ministry. That temple is also gone. So what does it mean pray in the presence of the temple. Are we to sit down and kneel and pray towards Jerusalem every day? Should I declare this building as the temple so that we come here and pray in the presence of this construction? or in this construction. Congregation, this morning I brought you Paul's message on prayer based on Colossians 1.3 which reads, we give thanks to the Lord and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you. If you recall, We raised the question in that context whether Paul really meant that he prays always for the Colossian Church. And our conclusion was, yes, he does. Paul prays always for the Colossian Church. But how? Well, we pointed out that Paul understands prayer from the position that he has in union with Jesus Christ. And in union with the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul himself is presently at the right hand of the Father. Christ's stature in heaven is so engulfing that Paul understands his own life as a life of prayer, constant prayer. Since Paul is in union with Christ, who prays always for the Colossian Church, Paul understands that he himself is always praying all the time for the Colossians. He sees himself in complete union with Christ's prayers. in Christ's continuing and constant intercessory prayers for His children. And through the Holy Spirit, through the Holy Spirit's intercession in our prayer life, we pointed out in Romans 8, 26, we are exalted into the intercessory prayers of our Savior on behalf of the covenant people of God. Romans 8, 27. So in Paul's prayers, in your prayers, the Spirit has lifted each of you up to participate and live in the constant ministry of Christ's priestly intercessory prayers. A congregation with this reminder of Christ's active priestly office before us, let us return to our question this evening. What does praying in the presence of the temple mean? The passage before you from 1 Kings provides the foundation and directive in answering our question. What a phenomenal passage it is! The construction of the temple is now finished. A construct whose beauty no human eye has ever beheld. Even the tabernacle did not have such a descriptive event associated with it as mentioned in 1 Kings chapter 8 verses 10 and 11 if you want to look back. And it came to pass, when the priests came out of the holy place, that the cloud covered the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not continue ministering because of the cloud. For the glory, the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord. Now we see something of that same phrase. in terms of the tabernacle in Exodus chapter 40 verse 34. But you'll notice the priestly aspect missing in terms of that glory in the tabernacle passage in chapter 40 verse 34 of Exodus. It says the cloud covered the tabernacle and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. So the glory of God revealed in the temple even surpasses the glory revealed in the tabernacle. What a day this was for Israel. A kingdom of peace now reigns in the land. They had finally settled and were content with the covenant promises of their God. No greater statement does God make in the construction of the temple in their midst. Why? Because it is the essential statement of covenant identity. Covenant identity with his people. The God of heaven and earth. The God who understands the heaven and the heaven of heavens. Verse 27. He condescends in covenant bond in all His glory into their midst. God's presence and identity with His people is manifested in the entire splendor, splendor of this construction. Now, congregation, Let us enter together this magnificent revelation on the day of dedication which is placed before you in this text. We have an exact picture of the worship service on that day in this text. Solomon conducts the service. as the covenant intercessor on behalf of the children of Israel with his hand spread towards the heavens. Verse 22. It is a service dominated. This particular service is dominated by prayer in which the content of Solomon's prayer is the basic message of the entire service. In the presence of the Lord, Solomon invokes the covenant faithfulness of the true God, the only God of heaven and earth, in that Israel's God is a God of mercy, the God of promise, who has brought His promises to fulfillment. Verses 23 and 24. whose word, when spoken, is always true and surely comes to pass. Indeed, His covenant of grace is so powerful, is so penetrating into the lives of His people, that He enables His servants to walk before Him with all their hearts." Verse 23. What a wonderful covenant bond. this is in terms of the picture. Hence, to be in the presence of the temple is to be in the presence of God. To be in the presence of the temple is to be in the presence of God. The intercessor, Solomon in this case, is making his plea It is the temple where the God of heaven dwells on earth. Verse 27. As the Lord's servant, he, Solomon, prays, he pleads that the Lord will listen to his cry as he prays towards the temple, that the Lord's eyes will be open at all times to the place where his name dwells, verse 29, so that the Lord will hear the prayer of his servant and the children of Israel. The word, the Hebrew word here, has the connotation that the Lord and the people are face to face. And the Lord hears. And as the Lord hears, will he not be a God who forgives? Verse 30. Forgiveness from what? Of course, we know. It's very simple here. Sin. In order for one to live in the present, and grace of God without experiencing God's wrath. For that person to walk before the Lord with a pure heart, verse 23, that person needs the forgiveness from sin. And as we progress in Solomon's prayer, the message provides the prescription for the forgiveness from sin. In a word, that prescription is very simple again. We know it well. It's called repentance. It's called repentance. The God of grace and mercy does not listen and does not hear unless the covenant people of God come before him in faith and with repentant hearts. Now Solomon's prayer outlines seven areas of repentance. No, we're not going to be here all night. But we will just take a brief glance at these. The first one in which I will spend a little bit more time than the others because of its sort of preamble connotation. He points out that sin against one's neighbor needs repentance. Verse 31. Sin against one's neighbor needs repentance. Because of time, permit me to draw your attention to two things here in verse 31. First of all, it is not a coincidence that this is the first sin mentioned. What have we seen from verses 22-30? A focus upon invoking the person, presence, and the name of the Lord in prayer, followed with a directive towards our neighbor, verses 31 and 32. At the very heart of our prayers, at the very heart of our walk in the presence of God is the two great commandments. There it is. The summary of the Law and the Prophets. To love the Lord God and your neighbor as yourself. It should not surprise us. Secondly, do not miss the mention of the altar in verse 31. It is this altar that Christ references in His Sermon on the Mount. In Matthew chapter 5 verse 23 and 24. Do you recall Christ's directive in Matthew chapter 5, 23 and 34? Therefore, if you bring your gift to the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift. Indeed, if someone says, I love God and hates his brother, he is a liar. That's what the Bible says. For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him. that he who loves God must love his brother also. If you want the text, it is 1 John 4.20-21. through the seven directives, the second through the seven directives for repentance from sin, has to do with the corporate sin of Israel and their relationship and status in the land. You would have to read verses 35 through 53 of the rest of the text for that. Why such importance of the land? Congregation, I cannot overstress the fact that the land Canaan is the representation of heaven. It is the symbol of heaven. Hopefully, people in this church understand that. There is nothing more confusing in evangelical, I may be exaggerating here, more confusing, by putting in terms of the extent of connecting Canaan to the United States. in evangelical preaching. That is not. Canaan is always the church. It's always representative of heaven and the body of believers. Now, the second realm of repentance is because of the corporate sin of Israel, which brings expulsion from the land In order to enter once again into the benefits of the promise of the land, repentance is mandatory. Verses 33 and 34. The third aspect of repentance that Solomon outlines. In light of sin, if the Lord shuts the heavens from rain, The repentance is needed in order to walk in the righteousness of the Lord and receive your inheritance. Verse 35 and 36. Fourthly, as I said, we're going to do these quickly. When the fear of the Lord is absent from the hearts of the Israelite, and thus the Lord judges the land with plague, famine and pestilence, Solomon pleads for the Lord to forgive the repentant heart. Verses 37-40. Fifthly, when foreigners come before the presence of the Lord, in terms of the temple, to dwell in the land of Israel, then hear the foreigner who calls upon your name in repentance and faith. Verses 41 through 43. What are you hearing there? The preview of the Gentiles coming to the gospel. Which, by the way, I'm sure for the most part is all of us. Sixthly. When God's people go out and confront the enemies of God in battle, then here are the people Fear the prayer of thy people as they pray in repentance and faith to maintain their cause. Verses 44 through 45. We did that this evening in a sense. In my pastoral prayer, praying for you as you go into the world this week. All of you are going to face battles. Seventhly, when God's people sin, is so great that the Lord comes and removes them from the land placing them in captivity. This is interesting. You're already seeing here a preview to the exile. Then oh Lord forget not your dwelling place in the midst of my people and forgive the repentant hearts trespasses and be compassionate unto them, so that thy people are truly your inheritance." Verses 46-53. But congregation? The temple where this worship service occurs no longer exists. So where is the temple that we worship? Where do we come in terms of confession, in faith, in terms of our sin-seeking repentance, in terms of the inheritance of the covenant? O children of our heavenly High Priest, Jesus Christ, All the splendor and hooray of Solomon's temple could not behold the temple that now has come. For the one greater than Solomon's temple, the ones greater than Solomon himself, the one greater than the temple made with human hands, is here in your presence. Indeed, the God of heaven and the heaven of heavens has condescended in covenant promise, in covenant presence into our midst. In fact, the true temple of prayer and worship where God dwells in actual flesh has arrived in the presence of the God-man, Jesus the living Christ. There is only one way for Jew and Gentile to inherit the land of the eternal kingdom. To inherit the presence of the eternal mediator always in compassion and love interceding for you. It is through repentance and faith in the true temple of God, Jesus Christ. Now we see that Solomon's prayer had a prophetic character to it, did it not? Do we see that Jesus here is in His prayer? Do you see that Solomon's prayer can only be provisional looking forward to the day when the eternal reality has been set before you in God's shepherd. For us, God's flock. That day has arrived. It has come. Now, do you understand the anger of our Savior displayed in the temple that was pointing totally to Him? in Luke 19 verse 45. Do you now understand why Christ refers to the temple as a house of prayer pointing us back to the consecrated prayer of worship and dedication of Solomon and the prophetic voice of Isaiah 56 7. You cannot overlook the gravity of the event recorded in Luke 19.45 in Christ's life. Christ does get angry. The church lives in too much post-Romanic nonsense. Christ does get angry. He is full of righteous anger. And it is visible. And it is graphic to all who witnessed it that day. These profane crooks had used the temple as a place of profit, as a commercial marketplace, literally analyzed and criticized by the biblical text in accord with the prophet Jeremiah as a den of thieves, of robbers. Jeremiah 711. Easy to remember. The Old Testament temple points to Christ. Christ's person is not a den of thieves. It's not. He is not a robber. No. Christ is the true temple. of the presence of God. And as the presence of God, he is both servant and intercessor, whose task is interceding, reconciliation between the Father and those redeemed by the Lamb of God. His intercession must be constant. Christ's exalted person, as he utters his priestly prayers, is always a house of prayer. Always. They are prayers. Christ's prayers. For His church. For you. prayers of integrity, truthfulness, righteousness, and justice. All grounded in the person and work of Christ on our behalf. Listen carefully. You do not exchange ourselves For the presence of Christ's praying ministry on our behalf by turning Christ into a den of robbers. A den where money is collected for indulgences of repentance. Where Christ turned into the prospects where the Christ ministry is turned into the prospects of a health and wealth gospel. If you do not have righteous anger, if you do not find despicable those in the history of the church, who have attempted and have succeeded to fatten their pockets through the name of Christ, then I would say you are forsaking the pure, priestly ministry of Christ. Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, live in the confidence of the sure, the steady, the loving intercessory ministry of Christ for you. As Christ's Spirit wraps your prayer, your prayer life of faith in and repentance unto Him. As you, as you now, as Christians, are told that you, by the Apostle Paul, you are the living temple of the Holy Spirit. You know the passage. 1 Corinthians 6. That's who you are. Let it lift your soul. And do not Do not forsake the Christ who prays as the eternal temple of the living God on behalf of you as the temple he has made by his spirit.