God's Eternal Purpose - 4

No Temple Here 

Revelation 21:22

And I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God, the Almighty and the Lamb, are its temple.

In all of my research and studies I have found that this particular reference in the scriptures is one of the most neglected and misunderstood.

Many wish that it wasn't in there, others, that see many of the things that are talked about on this site, don't believe it has reference to today. 

The great strategy of most that don't understand the spiritual significance of New Jerusalem, is to simply dismiss this as another thing that will happen after all things on the earth have been completed. If there weren't other places in the scriptures that contradict that, there may be some ground to stand on there, but there are many places that blow way of thinking away.

For example when Stephen was about to be martyred, he reveals that God does not dwell in temples made with hands. Does anybody seriously think that he didn't know about this city of God? Did he just come up with an interesting saying? No! He was one of the very few that saw the end of all types and shadows and that the real was now here. 

Another place that speaks of this is when Jesus talks about He being in the Father, Him being in us, and us being in each other etc. This is spiritual temple language and insight. This is talking about dwelling in one another spiritually and in union with Christ, the Father, and each other.

Now having said all of this, let's look at some of the significance of this tremendous revelation of Jesus Christ. No temple! What a challenging statement. 
Not only in the days of the apostles and the early church, but just as much in our own day, this has been something not comprehended by many. 

Today we see something of this and look, for the most part at it from an outward point of view. 

In other words, we begin to see that there was no such things as special buildings that the early believers ever met in, or would even come into their way of thinking. Yet, for the most part the modern-day response is to move from these so-called "churches" to meeting in homes. 

While this is a good step, it misses a lot of the point altogether. Simply transferring where the people of God meet, doesn't begin to deal with what is eternally on the heart of God. Everything that is being done in the buildings, can simply be started again in another physical setting. I am talking about the practices here.

So what is it that God is saying in all of this? What is the mystery? It's really not that hard to understand at all. It goes back to Jesus describing what eternal life is: that we may know Christ and His Father. It goes back to spiritually comprehending the end of all things: that God may be all in all. This is temple-talk from God's point of view.

Now I am not saying that because this is dealing with spiritual realities that we shouldn't leave the religious system, but if we do it without seeing more than simply exchanging physical locations, we miss the point entirely.

We leave because we are looking for a city whose builder and maker is God Almighty Himself. We are looking for a city build from the reality of the person of Jesus Christ, not on systems and logic, or certain traditions.

This temple is not simply one individual either. It is the entire Godhead in communion with one another and us. So it is with us, it is a corporate dwelling that God is building. Again, He created all of mankind to dwell in and be all to - not just a few.

This doesn't mean that we aren't individually dwelling places of God. But together we are being built into a temple for Him. As we embrace and share Christ with one another, we grow into all that He is. That is the significance of there being no temple in the wife of the Lamb. He couldn't care less about bricks and mortar, He is after intimate union with His woman. His bride. There is nothing that He will allow to compete with that.

When we individually enter into union with Christ and one another, something greater than ourselves begins to happen. That is what this aspect of the great eternal purpose of God unveils. 

God's Eternal Purpose - 3

The Street, River, and Tree 



In considering the eternal purpose of God and the wife of the Lamb, let's look at three important things that are described as existing inside of her.

The Street

First we see that there is a street of gold that is transparent as glass. There is also a river, clear as crystal that flows down the middle of the street. Finally there is a tree that vines across the river and is thus on both sides of it.

Let's look at a couple of things concerning this street. First the street is gold. This always speaks of the nature of God. Then it is described as being like transparent glass. 

This street is showing forth the nature of God in all of its purity. The transparent glass showing that absolutely nothing is mixed in with it. Nothing hinders one from seeing through it clearly.

Keep in mind that a street is for traveling and that this was one street, not many.

The River

Now in considering the river, we are told that it is a living river, living waters. It is also revealed that this river flows down the middle of the gold street of the city. 

This river is clear as crystal, again signifying that it is completely free of mixture, clear, without impurities. 

The river of course refers to the Holy Spirit. Remember that we are told by Jesus that out of our innermost beings will flow rivers of living waters.

This is a river that is going somewhere. Since it is flowing down the street this is another insight into the reality that this is something coming down from God above: A higher life.

The Tree

Lastly we see the tree of life. This is a very fruitful tree. It bears 12 different crops of fruit. Each in its own season. Then we are told that the leaves of the trees are for the health of the nations. (most translations say "healing," but the word in its truest sense means "health.")

When we look at this remember the words of Jesus when He said, "I am the vine and you are the branches." We are those leaves that abide in the roots of Jesus Christ, the true vine.

Now what we need to see here is that the street, river, and tree are completely entwined with one another. The river goes down the middle of the street, and the tree roots itself along the sides of the river. 

Just to let you know, this is not, like some have thought, a bunch of trees that have multiplied individually. No, it is one tree, a tree that is one that vines. Jesus, of course, is this tree, and by extension, those of us who abide in Him are part of it also.

There is a place in the scriptures that Jesus tells us that He is in us, we are in Him, and we are in each other. This is what is being shown forth here. The street, river, and tree are part of all of us. And when you see that these exist within the walls surrounding the city, you see that this is all within a people. This is why Jesus told us not to look for the kingdom without but to rather look for it within.
Which is one final thing I want to mention, the river flowed out of the throne of God and the Lamb. This is talking about the rule and reign of God within His people. This is what the kingdom is all about. It is a battle for the hearts of men, not for things on the earth that can be seen.

That's why Jesus told Pilate that if His kingdom was of this world His servants would come and fight, but His kingdom isn't of this world. This world has already been defeated.

So we see that the eternal purpose involves these three things as part of its nature. As we eat of Christ and drink of the Spirit, we walk on a street within that is only all of who God is. 

Eventually these things that are within, will begin to reveal themselves without - But first they must be within.

God's Eternal Purpose - 2

Wife of the Lamb

  Christ - The Lord from Heaven
 
The scriptures unveil to us a very telling story when they reveal to us that Abraham was looking for a city with foundations, whose builder and maker was God. Even though He was promised the land, we are told that he dwelt there in tents as if he was a stranger or alien to it. In fact they were testifying that this was for a very specific purpose.  

God had given them a revelation and insight that there was another country, another land, another city; one that already existed in heaven - one that the Lord had already prepared for them.  

They never settled in the land themselves; rather they wandered it, prophesying through their actions that they were looking for something higher and better: something born from above.  

As we talk about these things, also keep in mind that when we are told that we must be born again, in reality the fuller meaning is that we must be born from above. The term born again isn’t inaccurate, just not complete.  So when we are told that Abraham saw a city we must know that it was the city that we see at the end of the book of Revelation in chapter 21 and 22.  

The first thing we need to note here is that this is a city that is coming from God. It is not something that has originated on this earth or from the mind of man; rather it has existed in God forever. As a matter of fact we are told that God is its architect. Not only that but He is its architecture.  

Next we must note that it is a city coming down from heaven, yet also recognized as the bride of the Lamb. The fact that this city is coming down from heaven means that it is from a higher life. It is already complete, as everything in heaven is already complete - which is why we are exhorted to pray for His kingdom to come and will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. He’s taken care of His responsibility in heaven, now it is to come down to this earth.  I want you now to remember how throughout all of the New Testament revelation of Christ, we are told that He is the Lord from heaven. That is His roots. Well the fact that this city’s roots are also in heaven says that it obviously comes from Him.  

As a matter of fact in the Gospel of John we are revealed that the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us.  

Then in Revelation 21:3 a loud voice from the throne tells us to look and see for the tabernacle of God is among men. Then it goes on to say that He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them.

When Jesus came to earth He was the beginning of this city, the end of the city and also the in-between. He was the tabernacle. Now the living tabernacle was with those who love Him. You might have a hard time seeing this but this was the firstfruits of the city of God coming to earth.

I want to talk about one aspect of this bride-city in this section. It is concerning the walls of this city coming down from heaven. We are shown that it is a high, massive, great wall. Included in the wall were 12 gates and also twelve foundations or foundation stones, along with all types of precious stones decorating them.  
Now what I want us to see here is that the wall, the gates, and the foundation stones, along with the precious stones were all one. They had different functions but were all part of one wall.  

These are all symbols of the great reality of Christ and His people. Like we learned in the introduction concerning the eternal purpose: Christ is all of the purpose of God existing at once. That is why when we look at this city from the eyes of God and Him revealing it to us, He sees all of it as one; existing completed and united at once. Even though the names of those mentioned cross thousands of years of time, and when the precious stones are included, we don’t know how long throughout time these have existed.  

In other words if everything is in Christ at one and the same time, so it will also be with this city and bride of His.

This is what we are being revealed: the very history of the purpose of God as it will be lived out upon this earth. We are seeing it from the eternal God’s point of view: complete, unified, and completely one, even though stretching across all of human history.

Here we are seeing another aspect of the eternal purpose, a mystery now being revealed: namely that Christ is being distributed among a people. The result is the New Jerusalem, His bride, fully filled with all that He is.  

God's Eternal Purpose

Introduction

  Christ - Everything at once!
 
In writing about Christ and the eternal purpose of God, we must be cautious concerning the temptation of wanting to put this into categories or bits and pieces. While this is true with all spiritual things, it is especially true here. For it is here that we have lost the greatness of the Father and the purpose He has in His son. To make it into another fragment or disjointed tidbit of so-called “doctrine,” would be a futile, hopeless, endless misapprehension of who Christ is. Once one sees the greatness of Christ in all of His fulness, it totally demolishes this human concept.  

So having said that, may God grant us all eyes to see and ears to hear as we open our hearts fully to the revelation and receiving of Jesus Christ.  

It has been revealed to us by Christ Himself that He is the alpha and omega, the beginning and the end. Of course when He says this He includes everything in between also. In other words – He is everything all at once: eternal.  This doesn’t mean that he had a beginning somewhere and then grew into becoming the end – for He had no beginning and He has no end: Again, He is eternal.  We are told that everything that is the Father has been fully indwelt inside of Christ. When we see Christ we see the Father. This of course happened before there was even a creation.
 
So when we have Christ, we have all of who the Father and Son are. When we believe, we don’t receive part of Him, we receive all of Him.  

Let’s look at one example of this. When Jesus waited until Lazarus died and came back to resurrect him, He was told by Lazarus’ sister that she believed that he would be raised on the last day, to which Jesus responded to her that He was the resurrection and life. The resurrection wasn’t simply a one-time event that would happen in future, the resurrection was a person. The resurrection was an all encompassing reality that fully indwelt Jesus Christ. He was the resurrection.  

In other places we see that Christ reveals that He is the way, the truth, and the life. He is revealing to us that the way is a person, the truth is a person, and the life is a person. They literally exist as Him, complete in Him at the same time. They are Him.  

We must again open ourselves to the Lord Jesus Christ as one who completely, totally, fully embodies all of who the Father is at once and eternally.  

Patience, love, hope, longsuffering, faith, among all other Godly attributes, again, are Christ the person, they are not unattached things or characteristics.  

What does this have to do with the eternal purpose? The eternal purpose is a person too. The eternal purpose is Christ. All that the eternal purpose entails is embodied in Christ; it is who He is. All that the eternal purpose is the Father has centered in His Son. It is one purpose, single, unified, whole in Christ.  

As we search out and explore God’s only purpose, we will discover that all of it is placed in and is Christ Jesus our Lord. That purpose is total and complete with nothing that can be added to it. Still as we are taught, it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, and the glory of the king to search a matter out. And we are kings and priests unto our God, so we are called to search and explore the depth, height, and width of the eternal purpose the Father has imparted in His Son.  

But we are not called to search it out as some fragmented, fractured idea that is dissected and separated from the person of Christ. Rather we are to see this purpose in Christ as our Father sees it: fully dwelling in Christ. All the fullness of God dwells in Christ, and He totally embodies all that the Godhead is.  

This was before creation, outside of space and time, completely whole and complete. Christ is the beginning, middle, and end of all of this, and when we believe in and receive Christ within, all that God is comes at once. The alpha and omega as Christ is entirely dwelling wholly within our spirits - Not part of Him but all of Him.
 
We must see that all of the purpose of God is in Christ Jesus our Lord. We must see our Lord as completely whole and unified as the Father’s purpose. This is the beginning of seeing how truly great our God is!  

The Challenge of Christ

Christ and His Purpose

by Gary Bourgeault                                          

From before the beginning of creation and after the end of creation, Christ has always existed.

When He came He brought all that had existed before the creation of man and the eventual fall, and showed what it was that had been happening between the Father and Himself throughout eternity.

Then in an unexplainable revelation, He invited us to participate in that same life that has always existed in the Godhead. 

Yet because man had fallen, we for the most part miss this great revelation and invitation, because we center on redemption and forgiveness of sins as the end that Christ and the Father had in mind. 

We must learn that there is much more than that that has been existing in God from before the creation. Yes we needed to have the sin issue taken care of. There could be no access to the Father without that happening. The question we must ask ourselves after this had been entered into, and we now all have access to the Father again is this: What is the purpose that all of this has happened?

Paul reveals to us that there has existed in the heart of God from before creation an eternal purpose. This purpose existed before sin and it still exists after there is no longer any sin in the creation.

It is a purpose as vast as the heart of God itself. This purpose has been for the most part ignored or not even acknowledged as having existed in God. 

Still we are told in the scriptures that all things have been created for Him, through Him, by Him, and to Him. We can never thank the Lord enough for what He has done for us in the salvation that He has provided for us. Yet we miss so much when we don't take into account why this has all happened. 

Christ died for us for much more than simple forgiveness of sins; He died to bring us back in line with what it was that He had hidden within Himself from before time. And as great as salvation is, there is much more to it than that. 

Jesus Christ is the door back into the Father. And once we participate into this access with Him, where are we to go then? That is what this site is dedicated to searching out with you.

What are we to do with this Jesus whom we are confronted with?
 
What does it mean when we are told that our glorious hope is that Christ is in us? Not just in us individually, but much more significantly - corporately as a group.  
We will look at why the early church never met in buildings and never knew the empty rituals and practices that fill the modern-day church. We will explore the history of those that never adapted the practices that have dominated church history since the time of Constantine.  

Mostly though we will look at this Jesus and what it is that He has been after from before the creation of this world and man. Most Christians don’t have more than a slight idea of what that is. Most don’t know what it is that motivates their Lord and why we even exist in the first place.

This may seem odd to most of you, but that is something that Christians, many times unknowingly, fight against the hardest. Why? We seek those things that are our own rather than those things that are Christ’s.  

There is one thing that we must all know for sure: we live for Him. We are here for Him. 

He has poured His life into us, and offered us to eat and drink of that life forever. He is in us, we are in Him, He is in the Father, and eventually we learn to be in one another. This fantastic reality was happening in the Godhead from before creation and is offered to continue happening to this day and forever.
 
The alternative is to create systems and hierarchies that replace personal and corporate responsibility. This is what creates the vacuum that allows manmade systems to form as an alternative to the freedom-loving organic life that exists in Christ.  

This is where ambitious people throughout history have stepped in and replaced Christ as the only way to God. Not necessarily as Savior, but as some type of in-between with God and man.  

No, we all have access to God directly through Christ, and He is not a respecter of persons that He will give special treatment to one over another. It is to whosoever desires Him that He will open Himself up to. This fellowship comes at a cost though, and many resist this also.  

People like to have things done their way and not Gods. Again this causes resentment within the flesh of man. Jesus Christ, if nothing else, demands to have His way with us. We are to adapt and respond to Him, not attempt to wrap Him around what we know or desire or understand.  

While you may heartily agree with much that is written, still there will be a demand put upon you that initially you may resist and resent: What are you going to do with this Jesus Christ who has always lived? What are you going to do with the discovery that the way things are now in the church are not the way things have been or were meant to be? That is always the question that we must answer - both individually, but much more importantly, as the church.  

Selfish Ambition

One of the great enemies of the purpose of God is selfish ambition. To put it simply: selfish ambition is that which doesn’t look out for what is of importance to God.  

It is very stylish today to talk about God having a purpose for the individual’s life. While there is some truth to that, it is far from God’s heart.  God does have a purpose, but it is His purpose. It existed in Him before the world was conceived. It is a purpose that is eternal. It originates in Him and from Him. Jesus Christ embodies and is the firstfruits of that purpose.  

Selfish ambition is basically something centered only in the individual. It asked only, “What can I get out of this?” It looks at the people of God as some type of means to ones personal ends.  

The church of Jesus Christ wouldn’t and couldn’t be what it is today, if it weren’t for this deceptive way of life. 

One of the most important things that Jesus dealt with concerning the twelve was that they were not to be over one another; that they weren’t to be like the world was - lording it over each other. They were a family – brethren. They were to serve one another, not as some type of specialized ministry, but as members of an extended, spiritual family.  

Each one was to give something of Christ that all could be built up and profit in the Lord from. Men of ambition could never fit into this humble lifestyle.  
Those of us who see what it is that God is after, need to check themselves in His light, to see if the motives of our hearts are pure in Him.  

Jesus didn’t raise Himself up or proclaim Himself as anything, except as the Father spoke or revealed to Him. Without the Father He said that He could do nothing. How much should it also be for us?  
There have been so many in the name of Jesus that have went out on their own and built their own kingdoms. They have done more harm than they could imagine. We need to be much better than that.  

God honors those who will walk humbly with Him. Doing things to try to impress the world or others will never work. You can’t out-world the world. The great majority of Christians today can’t see past their self-centered desires to even know that there is such a thing as an eternal purpose that has existed in God before there was a creation and time.  

Remember: God reveals Himself to the humble and poor in spirit.  

Called to Serve

One of the unfortunate characteristics taken up by some of those that leave the religious system is that, for a number of reasons, they have within them the desire to dominate other believers.

In this article we're not going to get into the reasons, we can do that another time. What we want to do is to center in on what Christ unveiled concerning this issue. And it was an issue.

Remember when James and John asked Jesus if they should call fire down out of heaven on some people? Jesus gave them a strong rebuke and told them that they didn't understand what spirit they were of.

Another time with the two, they had their mother come and ask that one of them be granted to sit at His right hand in the kingdom. 

Here is where Jesus made the simple but gargantuan statement of the difference between the kingdom of God and this world. Here is how He says it in the NIV:

"You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to be first must be your slave - Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

Jesus came to reveal that everything that is of this world has been turned upside down, not He was reversing that.

What's He say? 

The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them - but not so with you. 
They exercise authority over them - not so with you.
If you want to be first - be everyone's slave
The Son of Man didn't come to be served - He came to serve
The Son of Man didn't come to be served - But to give His life

This is the beginning and the end of those who want to dominate; it does not exist in the kingdom of God. I know about those out there who take this and get cute with it. They'll use the same words to do the very opposite of what they say. But these are the foundation of those who are Christ's in this area: not so with you!

That's it! Not so with us. There are no more words to add to or neither are they to be taken away from. 

This is why one of the aspects of the eternal purpose of God is that we all shall know Him from the least to the greatest. The key is that we shall all know Him, that in the end is all that matters for this lifetime and for eternity. 

So when you find those wandering out there looking to be over somebody, just politely send them on their way. Remember the words that John the Baptist spoke: The bride now hears the Bridegroom's voice, now my joy is full. And right after he mentions that, he adds that he must decrease so that Christ could increase. 

That's the only purpose we are to have in this life: to encourage and exhort one another to be in union with Christ directly, not through some false authority that has come between you and God. Christ is the only way to the Father and none other can take you there. Not only in your initial salvation, but also in your continuing walk.

It's all about a Tree

I want to talk about something here that I am not sure I've heard talked about among us outside the religious system. It is my intention that after you read it, you can never be the same again.

What I am talking about is those of you outside the religious system and one of the great dangers that exist which can destroy everything that God intended to do.

What is it? Let's take a look at the first couple of chapters in the book of Genesis.
Here of course you have the creation of all things. You have all of this stuff happening for a period of six days. During this time, you see the dividing of things: such as the waters. You have the emergence of land and eventually: trees and all green things that grow.

In other words there is this fantastic environment that now exists there; waiting. 
Now, you have the creation of man. After he is created God puts him in Eden. He puts Him in the eastern part where God Himself had planted a garden.

Adam names the animals and he finds that he is missing something and so God takes Eve out of his side.

So here we have Adam and Eve in the most fantastic environment that existed on the earth. Actually it was the blending of heaven and earth. A paradise.

God had revealed something fantastic in showing Adam that it wasn't good that he would be alone.

Still here we have him no longer alone; living in the most beautiful place in the universe.

Here is one of the most amazing insights you will ever receive about the simplicity of Christ.

Adam and Eve had everything at this moment of time, and yet they truly had nothing at all!

You see, there were two trees in that Garden that stood before the human race. Two trees that will continually be eaten of until a time in the future.

Now what is the point of all of this? For those of us outside the religious system, we can have all the trappings of paradise, and yet not have anything at all.

You can have all the closeness, unity, fellowship, friendship, and joy together that it may be possible to have on this earth, and still completely miss the whole thing. You can still completely miss the whole reason for your existence.

What am I saying? I am saying that it is all about a tree! Everything was ready to go in Eden. God had revealed His will to Adam and only gave him one restriction, which was of course to not eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Still, before they rebelled against God's command, there was the potential. 
What is the significance of this moment before their sin? They had everything. Or rather almost everything that could be possibly desired given to them by God.

So do those of us who see that God has always had something much deeper and profound than we are currently seeing in the religious system.

The problem we face is that we can enter into the fellowship of the saints outside the system, have everything that Adam and Eve had, and still never do the most important thing that must be done.

Even though Adam and Eve were temporarily sinless before God, and living in the most bountiful environment that has ever existed, they lacked the only thing that really mattered.

So can we who are outside the system be potentially completed misled about what is truly important to God. Really it is the only thing that is important.

Remember the story of Martha and Mary? Martha was complaining to Jesus about Mary not helping her serve. Jesus response was that Mary had chosen the only thing that really mattered and He wasn't going to take that away from her.

It is similar to when Paul writes to one of the churches and tells them that he is concerned that in the same way that Adam and Eve were deceived into rejecting the simplicity of being devoted to Christ, they also would be led astray from that same, pure, devotion.

In another place we are told that the disciples were called to be "with" Him.
Jesus also reveals that eternal life is the intimate union, or knowing of the Father and the Son.

Again Jesus tells us that He is the vine and we are the branches.

This issue caused almost everyone to leave Christ while He was on the earth.
When He told them that they must eat His flesh and drink His blood, they would no longer walk with Him.

We can be outside the religious system, seem to be doing what the will of the Father is, and still miss the whole thing.

You can look around in your present environment and believe that this is what makes things work. This is the ultimate deception.

Just like Adam and Eve, we can be dwelling in Eden, and yet not do the most important thing, and the truly only necessary thing that is needed.

You see brothers and sisters: it's all about eating from a tree! We just need to be sure it's the right tree!

Endurance

I want to say something about endurance that I haven’t heard mentioned much: Its main application and focus is in relationship to the church.  

While there is application in our everyday individual and family lives, overall the eternal application relates to the people of God with one another.  

When you are able to see it, it is amazing how everything in the scriptures ties into Christ and His church in connection to His eternal purpose.  
Endurance is another of these tremendous things.  

For example, how can we even begin to experience and enter into the eternal purpose of Jesus Christ without having endurance? It can’t be done.  

First we must learn to endure the working of God in our lives.

Then we must learn to endure others. Since fellowship with God is the overall umbrella over His eternal purpose, there isn’t far to go before it extends to one another.  

So to give the purpose of God a chance to work within us together, there must be much fortitude and staying power. If there isn’t, the purpose of God will never be worked out within our lives. It’s that simple.  

Since endurance is Christ, we must continually be in fellowship with Him and the Father so that we may have this vital aspect of Him worked within us. If we don’t we will never stay together long enough to have the eternal purpose worked within us.  

That’s why Paul prayed that the church would be strengthened with all might according to the glorious power of God, to the end that we would be patient and longsuffering toward one another with joyfulness.  

Without this being worked within us, we can never fulfill the purpose of God in the earth.

Don't Despise the Day of Small Things

Small Things

Zechariah 4:9,10 NIV
 
Then the word of the Lord came to me: The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands will also complete it. Then you will know that the Lord Almighty has sent me to you.
Who despises the day of small things?  
 
We who see the great eternal purpose of God are sometimes overwhelmed by the current condition of the church of Jesus Christ. We share in the burden of the Holy Spirit to show forth Jesus Christ in His church.  

Because we share this great desire we can at times become to a great extent discouraged by what seems the indifference of God Himself concerning these things. As a result we increase our own natural efforts to attempt to bring about the purpose of God in this earth. This has never worked and it never will.  

What is tremendously enlightening about the scriptures above is that a couple of verses before this we are given that oft quoted insight that things will be done not by power or might but by the Spirit of the Lord.  

It gives us real understanding in how God does things within the context that we are dealing with. The context is the temple of God or the church being started and finished. Like we’ve talked about before; a revelation of Christ being the Alpha and Omega.  It is amazing to me the simplicity of what is being talked about here. At this point we have a type of Christ in Zerubbabel laying the foundation of the temple. Of course that means that He laid Himself as the foundation.
 
Now what is enlightening to me is that this is sandwiched between the scriptures concerning that this will be done by the Spirit along with the admonition that we are not to despise the day of small things.
 
Here I want to talk about not despising the day of small things.  

We as Christians, out of a misguided zeal, always want to do “big” things for the Lord. Consequently, we make the big plan, recruit, raise some money, and then want results within a week or two.  While there is nothing wrong with wanting to do the will of God, there is something wrong with the thought that it is going to happen immediately in response to some emotional appeals.  

We are always looking for the next “big” thing rather than to gradually, faithfully grow together into the image of God that is in Christ Jesus.  God is building His temple. Yet He wants things to be done His way. If it is not done His way, He has no qualms about leaving man-created works and contracting things down to a few to start again.  

That’s why it was such a sin when David wanted to count Israel. He wanted to boast about how big things had gotten. He wanted to boast in the natural aspects of things rather than in God. He paid a horrible price for His mistake.  Jesus never attempted to do things to impress men. In the end before He died He had just a small handful of men that were left from His 3 ½ years of ministry. Yet on the cross He without hesitation declared that “it was finished.” He had fulfilled the purpose of God that He had come to the earth to perform.  I want to relate to you here a story about Sam Walton, the man who made Wal-Mart.  

He tells us in his autobiography (Sam Walton – Made in America ) that he never had any big vision of creating some great behemoth that the stores have become. Rather he said that all he ever wanted to do was to take care of the little things daily. When he and the other employees did these things, the results took care of themselves.  

I always wanted to be the best retailer in the world not necessarily the biggest… Here’s the point: the bigger Wal-Mart gets, the more essential it is that we think small. Because that’s how we have become a huge corporation – by not acting like one. Above all, we are small-town merchants, and I can’t tell you how important it is for us to remember – when we puff up our chests and brag about all those huge sales and profits – that they were all made one day at a time, one store at a time, mostly by the hard work, good attitude, and teamwork of all those hourly associates and their store managers, as well as by all those folks in the distribution centers. If we ever get carried away with how important we are because we’re a great big $50 billion chain – instead of one store in Blytheville , Arkansas , or McComb , Mississippi , or Oak Ridge , Tennessee – then you probably can close the book on us.  

Sam Walton, in his chosen field, did not despise the day of small things. As a matter of fact he insisted that the company would be run in no other way.
 
This is why the Lord started things in one city and than move from city to city as a strategy when the church began, eventually unto the uttermost parts of the earth.  
The ways of God are that we are to consistently, continuously, gradually extend the eternal purpose of God, not only throughout the earth but throughout the age. Yes the earth is the whole field of our service, but overall that is a meaningless entity from man’s point of view. Why? We are made of flesh and blood.  We have these earthen vessels that we dwell in. That means that we must think locally, even though we recognize that Jesus wants to fill the whole earth with Himself.

Jesus recognized the limitations of dwelling in His earthly body. That is why He tells us about His desire to get past the baptism that He was to be baptized with so that the era of the Spirit could begin.  

Why is this so important? When you think in terms of the whole earth it is so easy to do nothing. It is so easy to flee responsibility. The great majority of Christians without a doubt are to live and act locally. This is the secret of not despising small things.  

Yes we are part of something much bigger than ourselves individually and corporately. Yes we are part of something much bigger than the neighborhoods we live in. It’s like when you hear someone in the world that is boasted about being a citizen of the world. What is usually meant is that they are a citizen of nothing; committed to nowhere and nobody.  The bride of Christ as she is revealed coming down out of heaven is great to behold. That is something big. That is the fulfilment of the eternal purpose of God being manifest in the earth. It encompasses all generations and all believers that will ever live.  

Think about the context of what happened here though. This is talked about at the end of a letter that John has written to who? Yes, a number of local churches.  
In the day to day outworking of our faith we do need to see the great fulfilment of God’s eternal purpose. That is truly something that is huge. This is shown forth by the measurements that are taken of its size.  

One of the reasons this is revealed to us is that our steady faithfulness to God in the daily “little” things, is eventually rewarded with the satisfaction of God’s heart.  We must grow into faithfulness in the little things, whether it is in our daily vocations, marriages, child-raising, business dealings, fellowship with one another; amidst the myriad of things that we encounter in the environment that we may find ourselves in.  

So not only are we not to despise the days of small things, rather we are to embrace them as a way of life.