Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”

These last few days I have been playing over and over again a 20 minute section of worship from a very powerful meeting that I had recently attended. The anointing on it was so overwhelming at times as the Holy Spirit filled the room with His wonderful presence, taking us higher into heavenly places.

As I have spent time with the Holy Spirit today, He began talking to me from 1 Kings 8.

King Solomon had been commissioned to build a temple where the Ark of the covenant could reside.

“When all the elders of Israel arrived, the priests picked up the Ark. The priests and Levites brought up the Ark of the Lord along with the special tent and all the sacred items that had been in it. There, before the Ark, King Solomon and the entire community of Israel sacrificed so many sheep, goats, and cattle that no one could keep count!

Then the priests carried the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant into the inner sanctuary of the Temple—the Most Holy Place—and placed it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the Ark, forming a canopy over the Ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place, which is in front of the Most Holy Place, but not from the outside. They are still there to this day. Nothing was in the Ark except the two stone tablets that Moses had placed in it at Mount Sinai, where the Lord made a covenant with the people of Israel when they left the land of Egypt.

When the priests came out of the Holy Place, a thick cloud filled the Temple of the Lord. The priests could not continue their service because of the cloud, for the glorious presence of the Lord filled the Temple of the Lord.

Then Solomon prayed, “O Lord, you have said that you would live in a thick cloud of darkness.

Now I have built a glorious Temple for you, a place where you can live forever!”

Who is the one living in the temple? God the Holy Spirit. The one Jesus spoke about

in John 14.

“If you [really] love Me, you will keep (obey) My commands.

And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counsellor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever— The Spirit of Truth, Whom the world cannot receive (welcome, take to its heart), because it does not see Him or know and recognize Him. But you know and recognize Him, for He lives with you [constantly] and will be in you.

But the Comforter (Counsellor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you.” John 14: 15-17, 26

The paracletos, the Greek word for the Holy Spirit: a helper, succourer, aider, assistant of the Holy Spirit destined to take the place of Christ with the apostles (after his ascension to the Father), to lead us to a deeper knowledge of the gospel truth and give us divine strength needed to enable them us to undergo trials and persecutions on behalf of the kingdom.

The one that when we become born again lives on the inside of us.

"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, for it is He who has sealed you as belonging to Him, a mark of assurance, until the glorious day of complete redemption." Ephesians 4:30

Think about that for a moment! God the Holy Spirit has made your body a dwelling place for Himself. The Holy Spirit lives in you! Wow, what a privilege.

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us". 2 Cor 4:7

"For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature].

And you [a]are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power]". Col 2:9-10

Some christians can go through their whole life never realising, or worse, ignoring the presence of the Holy Spirit, living life far below the abundant life that Jesus spoke about!

He's the one that Ezekiel 47 refers to as the stages of waters ankle deep, knee deep then too deep to walk through!

“Then he brought me outside the wall through the north passageway and around to the eastern entrance, where I saw the stream flowing along on the south side of the eastern passageway. Measuring as he went, he took me 1,500 feet east along the stream and told me to go across. At that point the water was up to my ankles. He measured off another 1,500 feet and told me to cross again. This time the water was up to my knees. Fifteen hundred feet after that it was up to my waist. Another 1,500 feet and it had become a river so deep I wouldn’t be able to get across unless I were to swim. It was too deep to cross on foot.” Ezekiel 47:1-5

We are designed to be in the river of God, out in the deep not settling for a paddle!

But we have to start somewhere and the Holy Spirit is the one who needs to do the leading!

Solomon built a glorious temple for God to inhabit.

How do you and I build a glorious temple for Him to inhabit?

Firstly, we must recognise that we are the temple now!

“Do you not know that your body is the temple (the very sanctuary) of the Holy Spirit Who lives within you, whom you have received [as a Gift] from God? You are not your own,

You were bought with a price [purchased with a [a]preciousness and paid for, made His own]. So then, honour God and bring glory to Him in your body.” 1 Cor 6:19-20

Secondly, Make Jesus Lord of your life!

“And every tongue declare that Jesus Christ is Lord,

to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:11

“Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe (adhere to, trust in, and rely on the truth) that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved”. Romans 10:9

What does His Lordship of my life look like?

We are also a triune being, spirit, soul and body.

“And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah)”. 1 Thess 5:23

What we present to the world is often very different to who we really are. Jesus wants to be the Lord of the seen and unseen, private and public aspects of our lives!

Our true spiritual health is determined by our spirit and soul, (mind, will and emotions) not the body!

Battles are fought and won or lost in the battlefield of our private life!

Is Jesus Lord of your thought life, your emotions, your speech, your relationships, your possessions, your whole life?

The easy answer is yielding your life to Him, taking your hands off the controls.

That is a journey in itself! How many times have we sung "I surrender all?" and in the next breath taken back the control? We often look for ways to manipulate God to accept an alternative to obedience.

Samuel had this to say when King Saul was making excuses for his lack of obedience.

"Then Samuel said, Do you think all God wants are sacrifices— empty rituals just for show? He wants you to listen to him! Plain listening is the thing, not staging a lavish religious production. Not doing what God tells you is far worse than fooling around in the occult. Getting self-important around God is far worse than making deals with your dead ancestors. Because you said No to God’s command, he says No to your kingship". 1 Samuel 15:22

Like my temple, your temple will have many rooms!

When I first became a Christian, my marriage was falling apart, my mom had recently died, I was heavily pregnant and my dad felt like a total stranger to me! I was in so much emotional pain and turmoil. I was afraid to be real in church, because of what I saw and heard when people went forward for prayer! I didn’t feel safe in church!

However, there was a moment in worship one day that I physically felt the Holy Spirit. I had read several books on the Holy Spirit, and while reading the bible words would jump off the page as if they were alive before my eyes, but I had never felt the power of the Holy Spirit like this! I could see and feel Him cutting the locks, bolts and chains from my heart. I saw them being cut off and falling to the ground as the blood of Jesus poured over my colourless, cracked, bruised and lifeless heart. The breath of God was breathing new life into me!

Worship was always my focus; at home I would lie on my couch listening to worship music and it would be during these times that the Holy Spirit would talk to me about the rooms in my temple that He wanted access to! Those rooms that needed spring cleaning!

The fear room, with its “Keep Out” sign! Fear of having a voice, fear of being who he had called me to be, dealing with the changes that were taking place in me, fluctuating between such boldness, then the fear of man!

I could hear His voice so clearly. I would lie in bed at night, asking joyfully if there was anything that I needed to repent off, past or present. But spring cleaning, that could wait!

There was that fear, that if you take the lid off, it becomes pandora's box! So much for "I surrender all."

So often, we only focus on the first part of John 10:10 and forget the BUT !

"The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it [a]overflows)".

The Holy Spirit was revealing Himself to me as a person, who had emotions, who spoke directly to my heart as one who really knew me. His love was so overpowering at times I would weep, other times such joy would flood my soul. Sometimes He would scare me with what He was asking me to do! But He had already captured my heart, how could I deny Him anything! That doesn't mean that I didn't argue or try to negotiate with Him!

Over the years many of my rooms have had signs saying, ‘no entry’ or ‘Keep out’, buried deep until that time was right for the Holy Spirit to open the door and let the light in!

It has been a journey, and that journey has given me the opportunity to know where I’m really at in faith, then to be able to make an informed choice for healing and to overcome with His help.

Lacking hope was another room off limits in my temple!

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick,

but a dream fulfilled is a tree of life.” Proverbs 13:12

I had taken up residency in that room!

“ Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) is the man whose strength is in You, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

Passing through the Valley of Weeping (Baca), they make it a place of springs; the early rain also fills [the pools] with blessings.” Psalm 84:5-6

My address had become 18 Baca Street!

The bible tells us we are passing through and if we embrace the journey to freedom, we will experience blessings along the way!

We must set our minds on freedom!

I had forgotten this: "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God’s unmerited favour to us sinners), that we may receive mercy [for our failures] and find grace to help in good time for every need [appropriate help and well-timed help, coming just when we need it]." Heb 4:16

I have other rooms, rooms of adventure, risks, dreams, rooms for family and friends.

The Holy Spirit loves these rooms!

We are all on a journey and life has its ups and downs. Jesus said:

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]” John 16:33

Over the years The Holy Spirit has been busy clearing out my attic, what about yours?

The wonderful thing is that once cleaned out, there is so much more capacity for the Holy Spirit to enlarge the tent pegs! He pours in more love, joy, peace, healing, adventures, a whole lot more "...life, and have it in abundance (to the full, till it [a]overflows)".

Worship for me is the key to greater intimacy, think of it like this, ‘into me see’!

Worship opens up all my senses to His presence quicker than anything, it opens my spiritual eyes and ears.

“After this I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven! And the first voice which I had heard addressing me like the calling of a war trumpet said, Come up here, and I will show you what must take place in the future.” Rev 4:1

The presence of the Holy Spirit makes me feel invincible, fearless. It also makes me feel humbled to think that He would live inside of me, a body He calls His temple not fit for His habitation. Yet, He chooses to not only live in me, but fill me, love me, reveal things to me, heal me and use me to help others! We can be a giant slayer and a child all at the same time!

What an awesome God we serve!

Have you ever woke up with a song going over and over again, or woke up from a dream that you remember, or been in a meeting when suddenly you were aware of the atmospher changing? Were you able to discern if it was the Holy Spirit or another spirit?

What do you do in those moments? Is that song you woke up with God speaking to you, encouraging you, sharing something special with you? Is that dream, God talking to you.

What does the Holy Spirit want to do in our meetings when He lingers on one song, or suddenly a hush falls over the congregation, or He stops or interupts the preaching?

Far too often we are in a rush to take control!

Why not wait, inquire of the Lord, then follow His leading?

The Holy Spirit loves to come and fill our temples and sometimes He will do that in the most unexpected places, like restaurants, on trains and buses, at school gates, while taking a shower, in the middle of the night, when reading the bible, in church, in fact wherever you are He is! Our churches should have moments where the priests (you and me) can't stand to minister because God's presence is so thick!

"Let be and be still, and know (recognize and understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth!"Psalm 46:10

Too often, we move on too quickly, fail to take note, write it down or ask questions!

Whatever our field of influence, work, home, school or church the Holy Spirit is speaking and moving. How much more we need to sensitive to Him. So many opportunities are missed. Do we have a tendency to talk too much, or move on too quickly.

I understand more now what Isaiah 6:1-8 is saying to us.

“It was in the year King Uzziah died[a] that I saw the Lord. He was sitting on a lofty throne, and the train of his robe filled the Temple. Attending him were mighty seraphim, each having six wings. With two wings they covered their faces, with two they covered their feet, and with two they flew. They were calling out to each other,

“Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Heaven’s Armies!

The whole earth is filled with his glory!”

Their voices shook the Temple to its foundations, and the entire building was filled with smoke. Then I said, “It’s all over! I am doomed, for I am a sinful man. I have filthy lips, and I live among a people with filthy lips. Yet I have seen the King, the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.”Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a burning coal he had taken from the altar with a pair of tongs. He touched my lips with it and said, “See, this coal has touched your lips. Now your guilt is removed, and your sins are forgiven. Then I heard the Lord asking, “Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?”

I said, “Here I am. Send me.” Isaiah 6:1-8

It’s time to:

“Arise [from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you—rise to a new life]! Shine (be radiant with the glory of the Lord), for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you!

For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and dense darkness [all] peoples, but the Lord shall arise upon you [O Jerusalem], and His glory shall be seen on you.

And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.

Lift up your eyes round about you and see! They all gather themselves together, they come to you. Your sons shall come from afar, and your daughters shall be carried and nursed in the arms.

Then you shall see and be radiant, and your heart shall thrill and tremble with joy [at the glorious deliverance] and be enlarged; because the abundant wealth of the [Dead] [a]Sea shall be turned to you, unto you shall the nations come with their treasures”. Isaiah 60:1-5

Solomon built a natural temple to house a supernatural God, It took seven years to complete, and only when it was finished was the Ark of the covenant placed inside of it. God came in power and filled the temple with His presence, so much, that the priests couldn’t stand to minister!

When was the last time that you couldn’t stand in His presence?

We are now the priests!

“He has made us a Kingdom of priests for God his Father. All glory and power to him forever and ever! Amen”. Rev 1:6

The good news for us is that our temple is built from the inside out!

God takes an earthen vessel, you and me, and makes it His throne, His temple!

As soon as we ask Jesus to come into our lives the Holy Spirit takes up His residence in us and then He begins the work of taking us from Glory to Glory! Notice our starting point is Glory!

Solomon blessed the people after God had filled the temple with His presence. His presence is not only for us, but for us to give it away.

There should always be an overflow!

The Holy Spirit wants each one of us to embrace the journey. Along the way will be highs and lows, adventures and rest; throughout it all the Holy Spirit is our constant travelling companion.

Make Him Lord today and as your landlord give Him access to shine His glorious light throughout all the rooms of your temple to bring you into a place of enlargement, to heighten your spiritual senses and empower you to fulfil all the words that are written in your book!

“You saw who you created me to be before I became me! Before I'd ever seen the light of day, the number of days you planned for me were already recorded in your book”.

Psalm 139:16

“Many people feel so pressured by the expectations of others that it causes them to be frustrated, miserable and confused about what they should do. But there is a way to live a simple, joy-filled, peaceful life, and the key is learning how to be led by the Holy Spirit, not the traditions or expectations of man.” Joyce Meyer