The Presence of a Holy God

The fire of God falls on the altar in the Tabernacle

How can we cultivate something pure in a corrupt world—if we ourselves are not pure?  How can we cultivate something holy if we ourselves are not holy?  Because that’s what God is asking us to do:  to bring the presence of a holy God into our lives and into our corporate life together, into our church. 

But this is a scary thing.  Why?  Because we are unworthy.  As the centurion said to Jesus, “Lord, I am not worthy for you to come under my roof...” (Matt. 8:8).  That’s true.  We are not worthy.  But that’s what God wants to do.  He wants to come into our lives and live with us here—every day, every hour. 

What is the eternal destiny of the human soul?

What do you believe is the eternal destiny of the human soul?  Notice the special emphasis on eternal. 

Most Christians will say, ‘Well, if you’re good you go to heaven, if you’re bad, you go to hell.’  End of story.  But is this really the teaching of the Bible?  No.  The idea that our eternal destiny is in an immaterial or purely spiritual heaven or hell is not a teaching of the Bible.  Nor is the similar idea that the righteous will become angels and play harps in the clouds of heaven.

So what does the Bible teach?  The Bible says there’s going to be a resurrection of the dead—of both the righteous and the unrighteous!  This will be a real, physical resurrection. 

Biblical Giving

In the last few weeks we’ve been looking at the Bible’s plan for leadership in the Church.  An important part of that plan is how we handle the finances, the money, in the Church.    

One of the quickest ways to identify that something is not right in a local church is when it has a preoccupation with building up the organization rather than building up the people.  If the leadership of the church is constantly calling on the people to sacrifice themselves for the church, something is wrong.  It’s supposed to be the other way around.  The leaders are supposed to sacrifice themselves for the people.  We’re not supposed to build man’s kingdoms, but God’s kingdom.