Well, on the first Lord's Day of each month, we have an evening worship service that focuses on corporate prayer together. And in preparation for our prayer together, I preach a message that brings our attention to a specific biblical subject or passage in order that we might pray in light of God's word. So for a number of months now, I've been teaching and preaching during that time on the Lord's Day evening before our prayer time on the subject of Christian zeal. And so this morning, I want to begin to talk about that subject again, and then lead us into this evening as we'll continue to talk about this subject as well. The Christian is called to be zealous for God. to be zealous for the things of God, to be zealous for His glory. And as I've been talking about that subject, I've been using this book by Joel Beakey and James LaBelle called Living Zealously. And I've used it as somewhat of an outline as we have considered this subject and then added some of my own thoughts from the Word of God as well. And so far, On that first day, on that first Lord's Day evening during corporate prayer, and now talking about the subject this morning as well, we've considered the marks of godly zeal, the motivations of godly zeal, the regulation of godly zeal, and then more recently, we've been considering the objects of godly zeal. What things should we be zealous about? And so we talked about the last couple of months during our evening service that we should be zealous for these four things. Of course, there are more, but here are four of them. Glorifying God, growing in holiness, strengthening the saints, and saving the lost. So we should be zealous for the glory of God, our sanctification, the church of Jesus Christ, and the proclamation of the gospel and making disciples. And so last month, in the month of January, in our evening service, we began to consider the zeal that we should have for the church and the people of God, the church which Jesus purchased with his own blood. And so with Pastor Ernest scheduled to teach during our Sunday school this morning, but unable to do so since he's been battling vertigo, I decided to take up the subject during this time in addition to this evening during our corporate prayer time. Last month, my title during our evening service was Zeal for Christ Church. This morning, the title is Zeal for the New Covenant Temple from Haggai chapter one. And then this evening, we will briefly consider Christ's zeal for his church from John 2. So please turn with me this morning to Haggai 1. And if you're not as familiar with where that minor prophet is, you go to Matthew and turn back three books, Malachi, Zechariah, and then Haggai. Haggai chapter one. And I'm gonna read these 15 verses before we consider them. Haggai chapter one. In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, This people says, the time has not come, even the time for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt. Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai to the prophet saying, is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. You have sown much, but harvest little. You eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied. You drink, but there is not enough to become drunk. You put on clothing, but no one is warm enough. And he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes. Thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways, go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified, says the Lord. You look much, but behold, it comes to little. When you bring it home, I blow it away. Why, declares the Lord of hosts, because of my house, which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. Therefore, Because of you the sky has withheld its dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all your labor, the labor of your hands. Then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, And Joshua the son of Jehozadak the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him, and the people showed reverence for the Lord. Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke by the commission of the Lord to the people, saying, I am with you, declares the Lord. So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, the governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, on the 24th day of the sixth month in the second year of King Darius. If you would, or if you were to die today, would one of these sayings accurately describe your life? Efficient, but efficient in the wrong things. Successful, but successful at things which are temporary and of no lasting value. Busy, but accomplish little for the glory of God. Prosperous, but not in spiritual things. Dedicated, but to the wrong things. Zealous, but not for the things of God. God has numbered our days. How are we using the days that he has graciously given to us? How many of you believe that your lives are too full and too busy? I've not met many people who say, you know, I have nothing to do. I have too much time on my hands. If only I had less time. No, instead, most people say, if only I had more time. How often do you consider your life what you should be doing, what you shouldn't be doing? How you should be using your time and maybe things that you should not be doing with your time. How often do you consider what things should have more of your time and attention and what things you should spend less time doing? Or maybe even things you should cut out altogether. How often do you ask the question, how does God want me to spend the time he has given me on this earth? Or do you even think about these types of questions? And if you do think about those questions, where do you go to find the answers? Do you go to the Bible, the revealed Word and will of God to set your priorities? We sometimes sing to Him, take my life and let it be. And we sing, take my moments and my days. Let them flow in ceaseless praise. How often Is that really lived out in your life? How often do you ask, God, am I using my moments and my days in a manner that is purposeful and in a manner that is giving glory and honor and praise to your name? How do you want me to use my time? We could ask this. How are you investing your time? Time is like an investment. You can waste it. or you can use it to multiply glory to God in and through your life. How many of you have ever been grocery shopping on an empty stomach? You're familiar with that type of situation. Everything looks especially tasty, and if you're not careful and disciplined, you end up buying all kinds of things that you wouldn't normally buy and probably shouldn't have bought. And what's the answer to that problem? Well, you might say, well, eat before I go to the grocery store. Well, it's really taking a shopping list and being disciplined. These are the things that I need. This is why I'm here. Rather than letting your appetite drive what aisle you walk down and what you take off the shelf and put in the cart, instead, purposing and planning. Here's what I need. Here's my list. Here are my priorities. Here's what we need. And then discipline yourself to get those things. That's the way it is with the use of your time and your priorities. To follow the analogy of the grocery store, the world and our lives are like shelves stocked full of things for us to choose from. And when it comes to our time, there's an endless array of choices. And many Christians live their lives like the hungry grocery shopper, adding to the cart of the day, activity after activity, thing after thing, but never taking the time to ask questions like, should this be something that I am doing? Should this be a priority? What are God's priorities in his word for my life? Of course, some, if not many of the things that we spend our lives and time on are not bad. They're not sin, necessarily. They're not evil in and of themselves. It isn't always a question of right or wrong, but rather what should my priorities be? I once heard someone put it this way, there's good and there's bad, but that's not always our cue, but rather what is the wise thing to do. In other words, sometimes the choices we make are not about sin and righteousness. They're not about good and evil. It's just sometimes a question of what is the wisest thing to do? What is the best use of my time? What are those things that really ought to drive my life? So that over time, I am accumulating glory to God because I'm giving attention to things that really ought to be my priorities. And when I say, how do you use your time? I'm really saying, how do you use your life? Sometimes that puts it in perspective. We're not just talking about time. Sometimes we can think of that and it's all time as if it's endless and as if we have a lot of it. Now, how are you using your life? And what are the things that should be a priority in your life? The things we're most zealous about are the things that end up being priorities in our lives. They're the things we invest our time in and our money as well. So this morning, I wanna address the issue of priorities, focusing specifically on one priority that should be the Christian's priority. He must be zealous for this. Look again in your Bibles at Haggai chapter one. In the second year of Darius the king, on the first day of the sixth month, the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai to Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua, the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, saying... Now, just stop there for a moment. The word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai. Let's set the scene historically. Here you have a prophet, Haggai. He was a prophet of God set apart by God to speak his word to the people of God. And it says the word of the Lord came by the prophet Haggai. So this was the word of God spoken through the instrument of the prophet who spoke for God. In verse 13 of this chapter, Haggai is called the messenger of the Lord. And it says he spoke by the commission of the Lord to the people. So what he says to them is authoritative for their lives. And there's application to us as well. Consider the time of Haggai, the historical setting. When did Haggai prophesy? Well, it tells us it was the second year of Darius the king on the first day of the sixth month. Darius was the fourth king of the Persian empire. We could back up even further to understanding this historically, the history of Israel. There was King Saul, King David, King Solomon. And after Solomon, Israel splits in the two. It's a divided kingdom. There's Israel in the north. That included 10 tribes of Israel. And Judah to the south, two tribes. That included Jerusalem there among the two tribes in Judah. And so they have their separate kings. And in 722 BC, Assyria invades and conquers Israel from the north. And then in 586 BC, Babylon conquers Judah to the south. And when that occurs, the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed and its articles were deported. God had foretold through the prophets that there would be a time of exile, and it would be 70 years. And during that exile, the Medo-Persian Empire comes upon the scene. In Jeremiah chapter 25, it speaks of Babylon, and that the people of Israel would serve them for 70 years, but then God would bring another. He would punish Babylon by the hands of the Persians. And so in fulfillment of God's word, Cyrus, king of Persia, decrees that then the Israelites can go back to their land and rebuild the temple. And so in Isaiah 44, verse 28, it says, it is I who says of Cyrus, he is my shepherd and he will perform all my desire. And he declares of Jerusalem, she will be built and of the temple, your foundation will be laid. And so in about 538 BC, Cyrus, king of Persia, decrees that the Jews may return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple. And by the way, the historical background for this fits into the book of Ezra. It's in Ezra that you read about this rebuilding of the temple. And then Haggai and Zachariah, those two minor prophets that you find here, fit into that historical context of the Book of Ezra with their now back to rebuild the temple. And so in 536 BC, work begins on the temple. And they begin work laying the foundation, yet in a short time, it comes to a halt. Again, all this is in the Book of Ezra. And why was the temple not rebuilt? Why did they stop rebuilding the temple? Well, Ezra chapter four tells us that they were discouraged because they were frightened by people who were, the people there at the time who were the Gentiles, who were threatening them in various ways. And so from fear of the people, they stop rebuilding the temple. Time passes by and the ruins are still there. They stop the work. And eventually they forget. They lose that zeal for rebuilding the temple as God has commanded them to. And so it's in that historical context that we see Haggai 1.1. It's the second year of Darius the king, and God speaks through his mouthpiece, the prophet Haggai. And here in Haggai 1.1, It's in the second year of Darius the king. That's the year 520 BC. So they've given up on rebuilding the temple. Instead of pursuing what they knew the will of God to be, they filled their lives with other things. And so 16 years after beginning construction on rebuilding the temple, it still lies desolate. John Calvin in his commentary on the book of Haggai says, but as the liberty to build the temple was given to the Jews, may we gather from what the prophet says, that they were guilty of ingratitude towards God, for private benefit was by everyone almost exclusively regarded, and there was hardly any concern for the worship of God. So they're thinking about their own benefits. But yet they weren't doing what they knew the will of God to be, to rebuild the temple. And so God sends Haggai and Zechariah to call them out of their sin, out of their apathy toward the will of God, and to challenge them to do what they knew was the will of God. And so in Haggai 1, verse 5, the Lord says through Haggai, consider your ways. Consider your ways. And so this is the historical setting that we see here. And so there's a delay in construction of the temple. Now, what was the reason for this delay? We see that in verses one and two. In verse two, the people says, this people says, the time has not come. They just say the time hasn't come. It's not time to rebuild the temple. Now, we know from the Old Testament that the temple was an important part of the worship of God in the Old Covenant. It was, among other things, a place of worship, a place where God's glory was revealed, a place of God's presence among the people. The temple was a reminder that God was their God and He was present to bless them. And the fact that God foretold through the prophet Isaiah that the Jews would return to Jerusalem and rebuild the temple was a clear indication that it was indeed the will of God that the temple be rebuilt. There was no question about the fact that rebuilding the temple should have been a priority. But because of opposition, they gave up and eventually gave precedence to other things. What had rightly been a priority had now become unimportant and forgotten. What they once were zealous for had now been forgotten. Now they're zealous for other things. And their reason for not rebuilding the temple is simply this, the time has not come for the house of the Lord to be rebuilt. One commentator said this, to excuse their disinclination to exert themselves, they were not saying no, but not yet. But there is never a right time for engaging in the Lord's work if we're waiting for a time without problems. It is always possible to point to those who would hinder and oppose and to the difficulties that will arise from a lack of resources. So they're simply making an excuse. They're not saying it's not God's will to rebuild the temple. They're just saying in light of these circumstances these last 16 years, it's just not time. It was simply an excuse. We're masters at excuses, aren't we? Our former way of life in the flesh before we were saved by God's grace was filled with excuses and blame shifting. And that's still our propensity because of our remaining corruption. Who are we to say the time has not come when God has said the time has come? And so sometimes we rationalize why it's not time to do the will of God. But look at my circumstances. You don't understand my circumstances. It's just too difficult. The time hasn't come to do that yet. Yet we're not called to live our lives based on our circumstances or our interpretation of them. We live our lives based on the revealed will of God. And we have it in the completed canon of Scripture. There's never a reason, or a good reason, to disobey God. We're not to be like the sluggard of Proverbs 22.13. There's a lion outside. I will be killed in the streets. Someone might say, but I'm afraid to do the will of God. It may bring opposition. Proverbs 29.25 The fear of man brings a snare, but he who trusts in the Lord will be exalted. So the reason for the delay is found in verse two. It's not time. And they probably could have elaborated on that. Here's all the reasons why we don't believe it's time. But then we see God's response in verses three through 11. There's a question in verses three and four. There's a command in verse five and in verses seven and eight. And then God gives an explanation in verse six and in verses nine through 11. In verse four, the word of the Lord comes by the prophet Haggai saying, is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate? God responds with a question. The question was meant to cause them to consider their actions and to expose their sin. You say it's not time. God says, then is it time for you to dwell in your paneled houses? have paneled houses. Maybe you remember, maybe you do. The old paneled houses, the paneling on the inside, a lot of people paint over it now or just replace it. That's what I think about when I think of paneled houses. You might think, oh, paneled houses, that's not very elaborate. Well, that's not what it refers to here. It was very elaborate in that time and it was given much attention. 1 Kings 7 verse 7, Jeremiah 22 verse 14 speaks of paneling of cedar. God is exposing their great concern for themselves and their own well-being that led them to neglect the will of God. They were giving great attention to their own houses paneled with cedar and elaborately giving attention to those things while the house of God lied or lay desolate. And so God exposes it with a question. You say it's not time. Is it time for you to dwell in your paneled houses? At the heart of a lack of zeal for the things that should get our attention is really self-centeredness. The hollowness and hypocrisy of their excuse is exposed by the fact that they were giving quite a bit of time and quite elaborate attention to their own houses while the temple was pushed aside. What excuses are you giving? for not being zealous for those things that you know to be the will of God from Scripture. So God convicts them with a question. And then He gives them a command in verse five, consider your ways. And then again in verse seven, thus says the Lord of hosts, consider your ways. So He commands them to think about their ways. Or as one translation says, give careful thought to your ways. It's a call for self-examination. There's a danger in an unexamined life. How often do you consider your ways and think carefully about these things? How often do you take inventory of your time? God says, consider your ways. And then He explains some things that maybe they didn't understand. He reveals to them why there were certain things providentially happening. It's an explanation of why they were facing various adverse situations. In verse 6, there's a lack of food and clothing. You've sown much, but harvest little. You eat, but there's not enough to be satisfied. You drink, but there's not enough to become drunk. You put on clothes, but no one is warm enough. He who earns, earns wages to put it into a purse with holes. And in verses 9-11, He explains to them what's taking place. You look for much, but behold, it comes to little. When you bring it home, I blow it away. Why? And he tells them graciously why. Here's why these, God is disciplining them. A good and gracious God disciplining them. There are consequences to our neglect of the things we know the will of God to be. We may think, oh, it's just hard times. It's just the economy. It's just this or that. And again, we have to be careful. Here we have God speaking directly through the prophet telling them and interpreting the providence. We can't always do that. Well, let's take that back in light of our cessationist study. We can never do it. We don't know. We don't interpret that and say we know infallibly why this is taking place. But we do need to take inventory. Sometimes it is God disciplining us, the consequences of our lack of zeal for those things we know the will of God to be. Understand this, there are always consequences to our sin. We don't have time to read it, but in Leviticus 26, verses 14 to 24, God had warned of this. He had already told them that if they didn't carry out all his commandments, that these were the kinds of things that he would bring upon them to discipline them. And so God graciously, through the prophet Haggai, allows them to have a look into why these things were happening. Understand this, God never rewards disobedience. God never rewards disobedience. Now, on the other hand, you may say, well, wow, I seem prosperous and I don't have holes in my pocket. It seems like my bank account is increasing. Again, be careful. Prosperity is not necessarily God's blessing. It could be an indication of covetousness and a love of money. And it could be God's discipline upon your life to show you in the end the futility of those things. God never rewards disobedience. And when we put our own interests above God's, he always disciplines us that we may consider our ways and repent of our sin. But notice, God's glory is the goal. Verse eight, he says, go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple that I may be pleased with it and be glorified, says the Lord. This should be the believer's goal and pleasure. This should be what we're zealous about. We talked about that. in our study of zeal on the Lord's Day evening in our corporate prayer time. Being zealous for the glory of God. And that's the ultimate thing for which we should be zealous. And so God is graciously exposing that with these questions. And He's exposing why things are taking place in their lives. And what the root of it is, is because of their sin and neglecting what they knew the will of God to be, because they weren't zealous for that, they were zealous for things that were not the will of God. But then we see Israel's repentance from this delay of rebuilding the temple. We see that in verses 12 through 15. They showed reverence for the Lord and obeyed. Verse 12, then Zerubbabel, the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people showed reverence for the Lord. There's repentance, and now they obey. And God accepts their repentance, what a gracious God. He says in verse 13, I am with you, declares the Lord. He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion. Proverbs 28, verse 13. And this repentance wasn't just a sorrow for sin, it was true biblical repentance. They follow through. And we read of that in verses 14 and 15. They begin to rebuild the temple. 24 days after Haggai's prophecy, They begin to rebuild the temple. We see that in the rest of Haggai. Now, in the time we have remaining, how do we apply this? How does this apply to us in the new covenant? Are we to rebuild the temple? The physical structure? Obviously not. The temple is obsolete. It's abolished. God has demonstrated that in His providence. Jesus even foretold of that time when He walked this earth and when that temple would be destroyed, an indication that the old covenant worship is abrogated and obsolete, those things we call the ceremonial law. The temple, the worship that is in that tent, it's abrogated, it's done. So this is not a passage about building funds. That's how it's often been used. We need to build a structure. And so let's go to Haggai 1. Consider your ways. Stop giving attention to paneled houses and give it so we can build this house. Are we to build a temple for God? Well, in that sense, we would say no. In another sense, we would say yes, we are to build a temple for God. No, it's not God's will that we build a physical temple as Israel did in the Old Testament. The temple served a purpose in the Old Testament. But as Colossians 2.17 says, those things were a mere shadow of what was to come. The substance belongs to Christ. What happened in that Old Testament temple pointed to Christ, and Christ has come. There's no need for those shadows anymore. No need for the sacrifices that would take place in that temple. The temple was a shadow of a reality to come. The Old Testament temple pointed to the temple of God in the New Testament, which is the church. The temple of God still should be our priority, but I'm not speaking of a building. No, in the New Testament, there is no structure that we're talking about as the house of God, but we're talking about the people of God, the church. And so the application of this chapter in Haggai for us now in the new covenant is to give priority to the new covenant temple of God, the church. The Bible uses many metaphors, analogies, and pictures to describe the church. We are the family of God. We're a family. We're brothers and sisters in Christ. We are the flock of God. We have one Shepherd who tenderly cares for and protects and leads His people, His sheep. We are the body of Christ. Many parts. With one head. Christ Himself. We are the bride of Christ. We're the vine, or he is the vine, we are the branches. So many analogies and pictures used in the New Testament of the people of God. But there is this picture in the New Testament of the people of God as the temple of God, God's building, a house. 1 Corinthians 3, verse nine, we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, there's another analogy. And then he says God's building. 1 Corinthians 3, verse 16, do you not know that you plural, it's plural there in the Greek, are a singular temple of God? And that the Spirit of God dwells in you. Not simply talking about the Spirit of God dwelling in the individual believer, but the Spirit of God dwelling in this new covenant temple, the people of God, the church. 1 Timothy 3, 15, we are the household of God. Ephesians 2, verses 19-21 speaks of this spiritual house, a building being fitted together. And we're growing into a holy temple in the Lord, and we're stones in this building. Jesus Christ being the very cornerstone, as it says in 1 Peter 2. This is a spiritual house. That refers to the immaterial character of it. It's not a literal house, but one which is assembled in the spiritual, not physical sense. This house does not have an address on it. How often do Christians refer to the building where they meet as the church? Now, sometimes we do that. It's a figure of speech. We say, I'll see you at church. And we mean the church building because that's the place in which the people of God meet. And we just use it as shorthand. And so that's okay. We do that. But we have to be careful. Never does the Bible refer to the meeting place of believers as the church in the technical sense of the New Testament refers to it. The building is not the church. So when we speak of coming to the house of God, the only way this is right and true and biblical to speak of it in that sense is that we're speaking of the assembling of God's people together, for we are the house of God, not the structure we gather in. So the Bible is very clear that the church is not a building, but the church is the people of God. So the application is just like then, in the old covenant at that time where God had purposes still in those types and shadows, and he told them, this is what you're to be zealous about. This is to be a priority. You are to build this temple. They were not to make excuses for it. Well, now in the new covenant, we're to be zealous for the temple of God, not a structure, but the church, the people of God. Are you zealous for that? Is it a priority in your life? And are you building it up? Not the structure, we're not talking again about a building and a structure, but are you building up the people of God? For that is where God displays his glory in a unique way. There's a story, and some of you have heard this and know the source of it, there's a story of a man speaking about time management and priorities. And he was speaking to a group of business students. And he pulled out a large, wide-mouthed jar and filled it with fist-sized rocks. And when he couldn't put any more in, he asked, is the jar full? The class responded, yes. He said, really? Then he pulled out a bucket of gravel and poured it in and shaking it down through the cracks. Then he asked, is the jar full? The students were figuring out he's up to something. So they said, no, the jar's not full. He said, good. He dumped in a bucket of sand and once more asked, is the jar full? And they said, no. And again, he said, good. He poured in a pitcher of water till the jar was full to the brim. And then he asked, what's the point of that illustration? One student said, no matter how full your schedule, if you try hard enough, you can always fit more in. And the speaker said, no, that's not the point. The point is, if you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all. In other words, if you don't make first things first, things that should be our priority, if they're not the first things in your life, they'll never fit. If you filled it with all kinds, your life with all kinds of other things, with sand and water and all this, then you'll never fit in the big rocks, the things that really matter. So what should be the big rocks? in your life as a Christian. What things should be first? Well, one of those things, one of the big rocks should be the church, for which you should be zealous. How do you make that a priority? Well, that's a whole nother lesson, but let me just give you quickly these three ways to make house of God, meaning the people of God, the church, a priority. And be zealous for it. You do it by your prepared presence. Your prepared presence. We always emphasize this as pastors because it's just basic and fundamental. We are the church, not the church disassembled, but we're the church assembled as well. And so we come, our presence, we come, but a prepared presence, meaning that we are coming prepared, our hearts prepared to hear the word, to worship, to speak to one another, to encourage one another. And so we make it a priority by our prepared presence, but also our practical participation. That is, by using our spiritual gifts and serving God. We're participating. We're not just present, but we're participating. How can I serve in the body of Christ? What spiritual gifts do I have? And what ways can I practically serve in the body of Christ to build it up? There are different parts of the body. So you make it a priority through your prepared presence, your practical participation, using your spiritual gifts and serving. But thirdly, let me just say, by your passionate prayers, your zealous prayers for the church, interceding for the church. praying that we would grow in holiness. Praying that we would love one another and so display the love of Christ. Praying that the Gospel would be preached and that we would live the truths of the Gospel. That we would be sanctified as the people of God. That we would grow to a mature man, Ephesians 4, to the measure, the stature that belongs to the fullness of Christ. That we would passionately pray for the church. That we would be faithful. And that we would not ever tire of doing what God has called us to do and to be. Why should the church be a priority in your life? The church was created by God and for His glory. I often end our services with the benediction from Ephesians 3, verses 20 and 21. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think according to the power that works within us, To Him be the glory, it says in Christ Jesus, right? To Him be the glory in Christ Jesus. It does, but before that it says to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. See that connection? Christ and His church. Christ and His bride. The shepherd and His sheep. The church was created to the glory of God, and Christ, our Head, is glorified through His church. It is God's church, chosen by the Father, purchased by the blood of Christ, and indwelt by the Spirit of God. Jesus said, I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. In Acts 20.28, The elders are called to shepherd the church of God, which he purchased with his own blood. The church of God should be dear to our hearts. The people of God should be dear to our hearts. For the church was created for the glory of God. So let us pray that we would be zealous, zealous for this holy temple, the people of God, the church. Let's bow our heads together in prayer. Father, we thank you that you have created us as those made in your image and that as human beings we have zeal. We have things about which we are passionate I pray that as those who've been redeemed by Your grace, that we would be zealous for those things that You are zealous about. Those things that we know to be Your will, that would give our time and attention in our lives. Lord, I pray that we would be those who are zealous for Your church, and I pray we would be zealous for this local church here at Grace Fellowship Church. I pray that we would not just be present, but prepared as we come and are present. Not just prepared to receive, but prepared to minister to one another. I pray that we would be those who are practically participating in the work of ministry in the church to build it up. For we're not just static stones, but we are living stones in this holy temple, the church. And we have been gifted by the head of the church to build it up. I pray that we would practically participate in the ministry of the church. And that we would passionately pray for the people of God here. But not only here, but for the church universal. For there are local churches Lord, that are seeking to be faithful and proclaiming the Gospel and making disciples. Lord, we pray that Your church, universal, expressed in local assemblies throughout the world, would be built up. May we be zealous for the church, the people of God, purchased with the precious blood of our Savior, the Lord Jesus, in whose name we pray, Amen.