1 00:00:00,320 --> 00:00:04,480 So much better, Amen. Hallelujah. 2 00:00:05,480 --> 00:00:07,320 You understand with me this morning. 3 00:00:07,880 --> 00:00:11,120 We go to the word of the Lord today, Amen. 4 00:00:11,120 --> 00:00:14,720 Good to see each one of you, the House of God today. 5 00:00:15,920 --> 00:00:20,720 And again, please, I emphasize and my wife said we'll just keep 6 00:00:20,760 --> 00:00:25,240 a pulse of things for tonight. There's been times we come and 7 00:00:25,240 --> 00:00:29,000 we've been crisscross applesauce in the bathroom floors due to 8 00:00:29,000 --> 00:00:31,000 weather and things of that nature. 9 00:00:31,000 --> 00:00:34,440 And I'd rather not have you here for that. 10 00:00:34,440 --> 00:00:38,080 I'd rather you do that in your home or whatever your safe place 11 00:00:38,080 --> 00:00:39,440 may be. Amen. 12 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:42,880 And so we'll keep, we'll keep an eye on that and you can keep 13 00:00:42,880 --> 00:00:45,720 your eye on Facebook and things of that nature. 14 00:00:45,720 --> 00:00:49,680 Maybe a one call that would go out to indicate otherwise if 15 00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:51,400 we're not going to be here tonight. 16 00:00:51,760 --> 00:00:53,720 Amen. But we're here this morning, so 17 00:00:53,720 --> 00:00:55,880 we're going to try to make the best of it as possible. 18 00:00:55,880 --> 00:00:59,320 I'm going to turn into the the Book of Jeremiah, Old Testament 19 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:02,040 book, the last chapter, Jeremiah chapter 52. 20 00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:06,160 Amen. This morning we had festivities 21 00:01:06,160 --> 00:01:09,800 yesterday for Trevor's birthday and played some volleyball. 22 00:01:09,800 --> 00:01:13,080 My body's filling it. Sister Cox thought is going to 23 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,200 have to take some Tylenol muscle neck to get to bed last night, 24 00:01:16,200 --> 00:01:20,640 but I didn't and yesterday morning and I, you know, I made 25 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:22,680 fun of old people. Now it's coming back to me. 26 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:26,760 You're shaking your head. But I mean, like yesterday 27 00:01:26,760 --> 00:01:28,360 morning. I think I just reached for my my 28 00:01:28,360 --> 00:01:31,400 toothbrush and like my trap back here just went and I turned my 29 00:01:31,400 --> 00:01:32,720 neck and it's. Hurting from my neck. 30 00:01:32,720 --> 00:01:34,480 Down through here. How's that happen by just 31 00:01:34,480 --> 00:01:37,080 grabbing a toothbrush? Explain that to me. 32 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:41,800 It's a big toothbrush. I'm just saying. 33 00:01:42,200 --> 00:01:44,840 Had a lot toothpaste on it, you know, I don't know what it is. 34 00:01:45,360 --> 00:01:47,640 Amen. Jeremiah 52. 35 00:01:48,240 --> 00:01:53,440 I'm going to begin reading with verse #20 The Bible says the 2 36 00:01:53,440 --> 00:01:59,120 pillars, 1 sea, 12 brazen bulls that were under the bases which 37 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:01,640 King Solomon had made in the House of the Lord. 38 00:02:02,200 --> 00:02:05,040 The brass of all of these vessels was without weight. 39 00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:10,000 And concerning the pillars, the height of one pillar was 18 40 00:02:10,000 --> 00:02:12,000 cubits. And I'll just break this down 41 00:02:12,000 --> 00:02:15,440 now, probably will again, just we don't talk about cubits or 42 00:02:15,440 --> 00:02:19,560 things of that nature. The height of one pillar was 27 43 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,600 feet. All right, We're talking about 44 00:02:21,600 --> 00:02:25,240 27 feet here. And the Bible says, and the 45 00:02:25,240 --> 00:02:31,280 fillet of 12 cubits did compass it. 46 00:02:31,600 --> 00:02:35,720 So it's talking about the circumference of this pillar, 47 00:02:36,120 --> 00:02:40,280 which is I believe it's 7 1/2 feet or such a round or I might 48 00:02:40,280 --> 00:02:43,080 have that wrong. But nonetheless, I'll get to it 49 00:02:43,080 --> 00:02:45,400 later in our lesson this morning. 50 00:02:45,800 --> 00:02:48,600 So around there is the circumference and the Bible 51 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:53,120 says, continues to go on and say and the thickness thereof was 52 00:02:53,120 --> 00:02:57,880 four fingers and it was hollow. The chapter brass that was upon 53 00:02:57,880 --> 00:03:00,000 it. This is on top of the pillars. 54 00:03:00,240 --> 00:03:03,760 The height of 1 chapter was 5 cubits with network and 55 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,400 pomegranates upon the chapters round about. 56 00:03:06,400 --> 00:03:10,160 All of brass, the second pillar also in the pomegranates were 57 00:03:10,160 --> 00:03:13,280 likened to these. There were 96 pomegranates on 58 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:15,920 the side and all the pomegranates upon the network 59 00:03:16,240 --> 00:03:22,760 were 100 round about. So this is just quite a sizable 60 00:03:23,040 --> 00:03:27,920 thing, quite a sizable thing. So again, 27 feet and this, this 61 00:03:27,920 --> 00:03:31,920 is my pillars up here, you can't see them, but the outer tape is 62 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:36,480 the diameter of the pillar. And I, I measured last night 63 00:03:36,480 --> 00:03:40,120 from the floor to where this hits the ceiling is 15 feet. 64 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:45,120 So almost double that these pillars are standing tall that 65 00:03:45,120 --> 00:03:47,720 diameter. The Bible says they had 66 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,200 chapters. The chapters on on top of them 67 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:53,640 were 7 1/2 more feet on top of the 27. 68 00:03:54,120 --> 00:03:57,800 All right, the Bible says they were four fingers thick, which 69 00:03:57,880 --> 00:04:00,160 equates to about 3 inches. That's the reason why there's 70 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,360 two pieces of tape just to show you the thickness of the 71 00:04:03,360 --> 00:04:04,840 pillars. These were massive pillars. 72 00:04:05,320 --> 00:04:08,760 But for a little while today we want to minister this pillars 73 00:04:08,760 --> 00:04:12,360 that carried nothing. Real encouraging. 74 00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,080 I'm glad I could help you out. Pillars that carried nothing. 75 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,880 You got to think of these astounding high, large pillars, 76 00:04:18,880 --> 00:04:21,000 very ornate. We'll talk about it today. 77 00:04:21,640 --> 00:04:24,120 Pillars that carried nothing, Amen. 78 00:04:24,120 --> 00:04:26,760 Let's ask the Lord to help us. Father, I need you today. 79 00:04:27,200 --> 00:04:29,560 God, you're able to help us, Lord, in this place. 80 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:32,520 God, strengthen, Lord, our minds and our hearts. 81 00:04:32,520 --> 00:04:34,760 God that you have to educate us, the Lord, through and by your 82 00:04:34,760 --> 00:04:37,240 word. God, I pray, Lord, help us. 83 00:04:37,240 --> 00:04:39,240 Lord, today. God, we're thankful for your 84 00:04:39,240 --> 00:04:40,960 people. We're thankful for your spirit. 85 00:04:41,280 --> 00:04:44,080 God, I pray, Lord, speak through your word, We'll give you the 86 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,760 glory for the lovely name of Jesus Christ that I pray 87 00:04:48,120 --> 00:04:51,280 Hallelujah and Amen. The church say Amen, Amen. 88 00:04:51,280 --> 00:04:54,720 You may be seated this morning. Pillars that carried nothing. 89 00:04:55,240 --> 00:04:58,840 Jeremiah chapter 52, the very last chapter of Jeremiah. 90 00:04:59,320 --> 00:05:03,040 Jeremiah is known as the weeping prophet because he spent his 91 00:05:03,040 --> 00:05:07,680 lifetime as a prophet, constantly warning, constantly 92 00:05:07,920 --> 00:05:11,200 instructing the nation of Israel, more particular the city 93 00:05:11,200 --> 00:05:15,320 of Jerusalem, about some impending doom that would come 94 00:05:15,320 --> 00:05:17,800 up on them if they did not amend their ways. 95 00:05:18,240 --> 00:05:22,560 And so the last chapter of Jeremiah is really a chapter 96 00:05:22,560 --> 00:05:26,000 that gives a summarization. It is a chapter that comes to 97 00:05:26,000 --> 00:05:29,680 bear upon every word and every prophecy that Jeremiah had given 98 00:05:29,680 --> 00:05:31,600 through his time of being a prophet. 99 00:05:32,040 --> 00:05:35,280 Chapter 52 is really there to verify Jeremiah's. 100 00:05:35,280 --> 00:05:38,360 Words to confirm. The words of the Lord that was 101 00:05:38,360 --> 00:05:42,480 spoken through him again, He had long proclaimed the impending 102 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:46,120 judgment of Jerusalem. Had they not changed their ways? 103 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:50,440 And so the prophecies, according to chapter 52, were sure. 104 00:05:50,440 --> 00:05:52,480 And so to know that they were sure. 105 00:05:52,480 --> 00:05:56,480 We then read about the siege of Jerusalem and the fall of 106 00:05:56,480 --> 00:05:59,840 Jerusalem and the burning of the temple and the city of 107 00:05:59,840 --> 00:06:02,200 Jerusalem. We read here in these scriptures 108 00:06:02,200 --> 00:06:04,880 that I read, and you're hearing some of the dismantling and the 109 00:06:04,880 --> 00:06:07,960 removal of the temple furnishings that they had. 110 00:06:07,960 --> 00:06:12,160 The Bible tells us in verse #15 of this chapter that the 111 00:06:12,160 --> 00:06:16,040 Chaldean army, which would have been from Babylon, they came and 112 00:06:16,040 --> 00:06:19,160 they took away captives. They took away people, but they 113 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,880 didn't just take people away. They also took away some temple 114 00:06:22,880 --> 00:06:26,520 possessions that the the city of Jerusalem have had. 115 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,000 And they're listed right there in chapter 52. 116 00:06:29,320 --> 00:06:32,720 The Chaldean army came and took away some of the things are 117 00:06:32,720 --> 00:06:36,760 these the bases and the sea, and the cauldrons, and the shovels, 118 00:06:36,760 --> 00:06:41,160 and the and the spoons, and the basins, and the fire pans, and 119 00:06:41,160 --> 00:06:44,680 the candlesticks, and the cups, and the vessels, and the 12 120 00:06:44,680 --> 00:06:47,720 brazen bulls, and the two pillars. 121 00:06:47,840 --> 00:06:51,760 The Bible even says it. It states to us in verse #19 122 00:06:51,760 --> 00:06:55,440 that everything that which was gold and gold they had taken, 123 00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:58,720 and everything which was silver and silver they had taken. 124 00:06:58,960 --> 00:07:03,080 The Bible says in verse 17 that the Chaldeans break and carried 125 00:07:03,080 --> 00:07:07,440 all the brass. Amen unto Babylon, and all all 126 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:10,720 the items that were mentioned that were carried away. 127 00:07:10,880 --> 00:07:14,600 The writer seems to focus, though particularly upon these 128 00:07:14,600 --> 00:07:18,880 two brazen pillars. The reference there in Jeremiah 129 00:07:18,880 --> 00:07:24,520 52 at least three times in verse 17 the Bible says also the 130 00:07:24,520 --> 00:07:29,720 pillars of brass in verse #20 it says the two pillars, and verse 131 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,400 21 it says. And concerning the pillars, it 132 00:07:33,400 --> 00:07:36,840 seems as though God was drawing the attention of whoever may 133 00:07:36,840 --> 00:07:40,720 read the in the present or even in the future for us to 134 00:07:40,720 --> 00:07:46,200 recognize something about these pillars, extra words are given 135 00:07:46,200 --> 00:07:49,040 to them, unlike some of the other items that are mentioned 136 00:07:49,040 --> 00:07:52,240 here in Scripture. As a matter of fact, the, the, 137 00:07:52,320 --> 00:07:55,320 the, the writings and the description of the pillars here 138 00:07:55,440 --> 00:07:59,480 are almost just as specific as they were given when the pillars 139 00:07:59,480 --> 00:08:03,360 were first constructed that we read of in First King 7. 140 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,680 All of the lattice work and all of the pomegranates in the 141 00:08:07,280 --> 00:08:11,120 enumerating of those and the size and the dimensions given to 142 00:08:11,120 --> 00:08:15,680 them at their construction seem to be repeated here again at 143 00:08:15,680 --> 00:08:19,440 their destruction. And please know that in Jeremiah 144 00:08:19,440 --> 00:08:23,600 52, the rider doesn't go in all the specifics of the of the 145 00:08:23,640 --> 00:08:26,120 molten sea. It doesn't go into the specifics 146 00:08:26,120 --> 00:08:29,040 of all of the bases and the candlesticks and everything else 147 00:08:29,240 --> 00:08:33,520 about their dimensions and, and and their layout and their decor 148 00:08:33,520 --> 00:08:36,559 and their embellishment. But he does the pillars, these 149 00:08:36,559 --> 00:08:39,600 pillars again are massive pillars. 150 00:08:39,600 --> 00:08:43,120 They, they flanked either side of the temple that was in the 151 00:08:43,120 --> 00:08:49,160 city of Jerusalem, standing stately at 27 feet tall, 7 1/2 152 00:08:49,160 --> 00:08:52,800 extra feet with those chapters that was on the top of them, 153 00:08:53,120 --> 00:08:57,800 about 5 foot, 8 inches in diameter, a man. 154 00:08:57,800 --> 00:09:02,120 And lastly being about four inches or 4 fingers, 3 inches 155 00:09:02,120 --> 00:09:05,800 thick, a man of brass. These things were cast. 156 00:09:06,080 --> 00:09:09,640 They were made of brass and I know that's not as valuable as 157 00:09:09,640 --> 00:09:14,000 gold and I know that's not as valuable as silver, but I don't 158 00:09:14,000 --> 00:09:16,960 think anybody here tonight would or this morning would complain 159 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:19,520 if they had a brass pillar that size sitting in their front 160 00:09:19,520 --> 00:09:21,200 lawn. You probably melt it down and 161 00:09:21,200 --> 00:09:24,400 try to get the money from the brass, but I don't think anybody 162 00:09:24,400 --> 00:09:26,280 would, would, would just turn an eye from it. 163 00:09:26,480 --> 00:09:29,360 They're still precious. They're still valuable and they 164 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:32,560 joined a list of a lot of other things that were made out of 165 00:09:32,560 --> 00:09:34,800 brass. The Bible describes it. 166 00:09:34,800 --> 00:09:36,560 Just just stay here just for a little bit. 167 00:09:36,560 --> 00:09:40,720 I got to describe these to you, these chapters, the tops of 168 00:09:40,720 --> 00:09:43,360 these pillars. The Bible says they had a very 169 00:09:43,360 --> 00:09:47,800 delicate embellishment of lattice work or network, almost 170 00:09:47,800 --> 00:09:50,800 like a checkered work that was on top of them. 171 00:09:51,000 --> 00:09:55,560 And these little pomegranates of almost 100 that lay all over the 172 00:09:55,560 --> 00:09:58,320 lattice work. And then there's this Lily work, 173 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:01,480 intricate Lily work that's on the top of these. 174 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:05,560 And so they were the most exquisite design. 175 00:10:05,560 --> 00:10:09,200 They they lacked nothing in matching the preciousness of 176 00:10:09,200 --> 00:10:13,160 some of the other items of the temple and the other decor of 177 00:10:13,160 --> 00:10:16,600 the temple that's listed in scripture and the Bible tells us 178 00:10:16,600 --> 00:10:18,720 they were named for significance. 179 00:10:18,960 --> 00:10:22,440 They were emblematic of characters from the past. 180 00:10:22,680 --> 00:10:25,880 One of those pillars was called Jacob and the other one was 181 00:10:25,880 --> 00:10:29,160 called Boaz. People and characters of the 182 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:33,080 past. These pillars symbolize strength 183 00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:38,160 and they symbolize stabilities or whoever may approach the 184 00:10:38,200 --> 00:10:42,280 entrance to the temple. And yet Jeremiah says in this 185 00:10:42,280 --> 00:10:46,040 day, those pillars are being broken down and they are being 186 00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,880 dismantled. What we must understand this 187 00:10:48,880 --> 00:10:52,360 morning, Brother Zach, is that these pillars stood before the 188 00:10:52,360 --> 00:10:57,040 temple for roughly 370 to 400 years. 189 00:10:58,240 --> 00:11:03,880 For 370 to 410 years, they were standing there to the temple of 190 00:11:03,880 --> 00:11:06,440 the Lord before they were ever broken down. 191 00:11:06,720 --> 00:11:10,840 Every every core narrative in Scripture that talks about the 192 00:11:10,840 --> 00:11:14,880 Temple of Solomon, every core Amen narrative that talks about 193 00:11:14,880 --> 00:11:19,680 that building contains the description of these two pillars 194 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:22,760 and the major bronze work that they were. 195 00:11:22,920 --> 00:11:26,080 There was a man by the name of Hiram that constructed him, and 196 00:11:26,080 --> 00:11:29,920 he constructed everything that was made of brass, Amen. 197 00:11:29,960 --> 00:11:33,720 And he made these pillars of brass for the purpose of the 198 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:36,680 House of the Lord. And it seems like these pillars 199 00:11:36,680 --> 00:11:40,160 then clearly belong to Solomon's temple. 200 00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:43,840 They're named for such. They have a major features to 201 00:11:44,120 --> 00:11:47,160 make them, just like other things that are at the temple. 202 00:11:47,160 --> 00:11:49,600 The way that they are decorated, the way that they are 203 00:11:49,600 --> 00:11:53,120 embellished, they seem just to fit in with the temple. 204 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:57,440 Yet we have nowhere in God's Word that God ever came down and 205 00:11:57,440 --> 00:12:01,200 spoke to Solomon and said Solomon make 2 bronze pillars 206 00:12:01,200 --> 00:12:03,080 and name one that and name one that. 207 00:12:03,240 --> 00:12:06,760 We never have that direct command or that direct mandate 208 00:12:06,760 --> 00:12:09,640 from God. Yet the Bible says that Solomon 209 00:12:09,640 --> 00:12:13,280 did build a temple and that his father David had given the 210 00:12:13,280 --> 00:12:16,280 pattern or the blueprints for the building of the temple. 211 00:12:16,520 --> 00:12:21,280 And so in doing so, Solomon had Hiram construct these brazen 212 00:12:21,280 --> 00:12:25,320 pillars to be put up on the porch of the temple. 213 00:12:25,520 --> 00:12:29,240 And the porch was part of the pattern that David had given and 214 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:32,240 to Solomon. And so we must believe that they 215 00:12:32,280 --> 00:12:35,840 must have been intended to be a part of the temple. 216 00:12:36,040 --> 00:12:39,640 But I believe that God had him a part of the temple to give us a 217 00:12:39,640 --> 00:12:43,520 lesson in the last chapter of Jeremiah, chapter 52. 218 00:12:43,520 --> 00:12:48,200 Some speculate today that among all these items listed, the 219 00:12:48,200 --> 00:12:52,520 pillars are singled out, set apart from everything else that 220 00:12:52,520 --> 00:12:56,880 is listed there because they wanted to us to understand the 221 00:12:56,880 --> 00:13:00,840 great loss of Brad that took place whenever these things were 222 00:13:00,840 --> 00:13:03,720 carried away. The Bible says that all these 223 00:13:03,720 --> 00:13:08,000 vessels in verse 20 were without weight. 224 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:10,840 So these things, they were beyond weighing. 225 00:13:10,840 --> 00:13:13,080 They were too heavy to be weighed. 226 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:17,040 They didn't have a means whereby they could weigh these things 227 00:13:17,040 --> 00:13:20,040 because of the brass that they were made out of. 228 00:13:20,280 --> 00:13:23,040 Even at their construction. Something similar was said that 229 00:13:23,040 --> 00:13:27,160 whenever they were made that it was brass without weight, it was 230 00:13:27,160 --> 00:13:29,000 unweighed. It could not be weighed. 231 00:13:29,000 --> 00:13:32,520 They were immeasurable whenever it came to the Mount of Brass, 232 00:13:32,720 --> 00:13:35,640 that is, that is, that is consisting in them. 233 00:13:35,920 --> 00:13:39,000 And so when you think of that in Jeremiah's day, these things 234 00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:42,400 being broken, these things being put in pieces, these things 235 00:13:42,400 --> 00:13:46,440 being carried away, 27 feet tall, broken down, you begin to 236 00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:51,040 understand the massive loss that Jerusalem experienced that day, 237 00:13:51,280 --> 00:13:53,680 an immeasurable loss. They can't even measure the 238 00:13:53,680 --> 00:13:56,600 weight of these things, the great design. 239 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,920 I mean, there's people today that would want to go to Spain. 240 00:13:59,920 --> 00:14:02,880 They're going to go to Greek cultures to be able to see some 241 00:14:02,880 --> 00:14:06,520 massive pillars, and these are being torn down and carried 242 00:14:06,520 --> 00:14:08,880 away. Now they're gone, it would seem, 243 00:14:08,880 --> 00:14:11,200 forever. But there is a lesson I believe 244 00:14:11,200 --> 00:14:15,400 for us this morning that God is attempting to teach us in 245 00:14:15,400 --> 00:14:20,240 Jeremiah chapter 52, because He's showing us not just that 246 00:14:20,240 --> 00:14:23,480 something that was spectacular or something that seemed to be 247 00:14:23,480 --> 00:14:27,640 integral, Amen, was taken away, but more importantly that 248 00:14:27,640 --> 00:14:32,200 something that was supposedly someone say supposedly something 249 00:14:32,200 --> 00:14:37,440 that was supposedly a part of the temple had been taken away. 250 00:14:37,720 --> 00:14:41,720 As I read this in the past couple weeks, verse 21 is what 251 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:45,000 caught my attention to bring me to this moment standing here 252 00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:47,560 today. And that is the last phrase of 253 00:14:47,560 --> 00:14:51,280 verse 21. It says the thickness thereof 254 00:14:51,280 --> 00:14:54,360 was four fingers. That's not so much that got me 255 00:14:54,600 --> 00:14:58,960 that they were about 3 inches thick as we have here on the the 256 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:02,120 the floor this morning. But it says that they were about 257 00:15:02,120 --> 00:15:05,640 four inches. And yet Speaking of the pillar, 258 00:15:05,760 --> 00:15:12,320 it was hollow for about 3 inches thick of brass. 259 00:15:12,640 --> 00:15:16,600 But there's a big void inside. Big void. 260 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:22,200 It's it's just hollow. It's not solid throughout from 261 00:15:22,200 --> 00:15:26,520 the exterior has all the appearance of belonging to the 262 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:31,040 temple, being a part of the temple, embellished if you will, 263 00:15:31,040 --> 00:15:34,960 to the hilt. But on the inside it's just 264 00:15:34,960 --> 00:15:38,280 hollow. That leaves about 5 feet 2 265 00:15:38,280 --> 00:15:42,800 inches on the inside of these pillars in diameter that it's 266 00:15:42,800 --> 00:15:48,440 just hollow from the very bottom to the tippity top of 27 feet of 267 00:15:48,440 --> 00:15:50,760 its existence. What are you saying? 268 00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,560 I'm saying you look at the other instruments in the temple. 269 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:58,760 The altar has its sacrifices, the molten sea has its water, 270 00:15:58,960 --> 00:16:02,600 the tables of shoe bread have their bread, the lamps have 271 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:06,840 their light, the altar of incense has its incense, the ark 272 00:16:06,840 --> 00:16:10,520 has his presence. But these pillars are just, they 273 00:16:10,520 --> 00:16:13,960 are just symbols. They're void of any substance. 274 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:16,000 They're hollow. Amen. 275 00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,680 And they're unable. And they don't, according to 276 00:16:18,680 --> 00:16:22,360 history, support anyway. Just walk with me here for a 277 00:16:22,360 --> 00:16:24,360 moment. The Bible says in the Book of 278 00:16:24,360 --> 00:16:29,840 Chronicles that he reared up the pillars before the temple. 279 00:16:30,160 --> 00:16:34,960 Hey, man, it tells us all the details about the House of God, 280 00:16:35,200 --> 00:16:38,480 its length, its width, its height, its side rooms, its 281 00:16:38,480 --> 00:16:42,040 beams, the way that other things depended on other things. 282 00:16:42,280 --> 00:16:44,320 Amen. That that that spread the weight 283 00:16:44,320 --> 00:16:47,080 of the structure in the walls and its frame. 284 00:16:47,320 --> 00:16:50,600 All of those things talk about the structural integrity of the 285 00:16:50,600 --> 00:16:52,560 frame. But the pillars are not 286 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:55,800 mentioned in that chapter. It's in the next chapter that 287 00:16:55,800 --> 00:16:59,640 the pillars are when it talks about the furnishings and the 288 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:03,280 decorative works. These from Pillars Amen show up 289 00:17:03,480 --> 00:17:05,760 because they weren't a part of the structure work. 290 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:08,839 They were just part, if you will, of the ornamental work. 291 00:17:09,040 --> 00:17:12,200 They weren't a part of anything that supported anything, had any 292 00:17:12,200 --> 00:17:14,560 weight upon them. They were just there to be 293 00:17:14,560 --> 00:17:16,359 looked at. They looked a part of the 294 00:17:16,359 --> 00:17:18,800 temple, but they weren't supporting the weight of the 295 00:17:18,800 --> 00:17:21,920 temple, Amen. They're massive, they're 296 00:17:21,920 --> 00:17:23,839 decorative. As a matter of fact, when you 297 00:17:23,839 --> 00:17:27,960 read that the, the, the Babylon came in to destroy the temple, 298 00:17:28,240 --> 00:17:31,800 Amen, We read that there is a distinguishment, Amen, between 299 00:17:31,800 --> 00:17:35,360 the burning of the temple and the breaking down of the 300 00:17:35,360 --> 00:17:37,840 pillars. It's not as though it describes, 301 00:17:37,960 --> 00:17:41,160 well, they took the, they took the two massive pillars and so 302 00:17:41,160 --> 00:17:43,240 the house fell as a result of that. 303 00:17:43,480 --> 00:17:47,040 No, they were able to burn the house without the pillars being 304 00:17:47,040 --> 00:17:49,080 impacted. And they were able to break down 305 00:17:49,080 --> 00:17:52,440 the pillars without the house being impacted because the 306 00:17:52,440 --> 00:17:54,680 pillars were there, but they supported nothing. 307 00:17:56,360 --> 00:17:58,080 They were there, but they supported nothing. 308 00:17:58,280 --> 00:18:00,960 According to Scripture, they belong to the temple. 309 00:18:01,080 --> 00:18:02,480 Why? Because they had some of the 310 00:18:02,480 --> 00:18:05,600 same pomegranates on them that other things had upon them. 311 00:18:05,880 --> 00:18:08,640 They were made of brass like other things were made of brass. 312 00:18:08,800 --> 00:18:11,720 In material and design. They look just like other things 313 00:18:11,720 --> 00:18:13,400 that were part of the tip. They're massive. 314 00:18:13,600 --> 00:18:16,040 They got to be important. They're massive. 315 00:18:16,040 --> 00:18:18,080 They they got to serve some type of purpose. 316 00:18:18,240 --> 00:18:21,960 But the Bible tells us that when the Babylon colonians came in 317 00:18:22,120 --> 00:18:25,800 that those pillars could not uphold any of the pressure of 318 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:30,040 Babylon essentially because they never supported anything. 319 00:18:31,320 --> 00:18:35,960 Someone say, man, they have the names of Jacob and the names of 320 00:18:36,160 --> 00:18:39,800 Boaz upon them, symbolizing strength and stability. 321 00:18:39,920 --> 00:18:43,640 Yet the Bible says these pillars are hollow, Amen. 322 00:18:43,640 --> 00:18:47,200 They have all these marvelous traits, if you will, Amen. 323 00:18:47,200 --> 00:18:50,680 But they are impressively embellished, if you will. 324 00:18:50,920 --> 00:18:55,080 Yet they are useless. They are really serving no solid 325 00:18:55,120 --> 00:18:56,800 purpose. They're hollow. 326 00:18:56,800 --> 00:18:59,400 And here's the story. It's not as though they're just 327 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:03,720 hollow here on Destruction Day. For their entire existence of 328 00:19:03,720 --> 00:19:10,040 370 to 410 years, they have never been bearing a load. 329 00:19:10,360 --> 00:19:13,560 Hey man, whenever you talk about real construction and you have 330 00:19:13,560 --> 00:19:18,000 load bearing walls, load bearing walls are taking the weight of 331 00:19:18,000 --> 00:19:20,240 everything that's above them. Hey man. 332 00:19:20,240 --> 00:19:23,280 And they are transferring that weight to the foundation. 333 00:19:23,560 --> 00:19:26,480 And if you were to remove a load bearing wall, you might 334 00:19:26,480 --> 00:19:30,120 compromise the whole structure. But when you have something that 335 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:33,120 is not load bearing, you know what it does? 336 00:19:33,320 --> 00:19:36,200 It only supports its own way and nothing else. 337 00:19:37,480 --> 00:19:39,640 Supports its own way and nothing else. 338 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:43,160 And you can remove it without affecting the overall structure 339 00:19:43,320 --> 00:19:46,280 because it doesn't support anything, uphold anything. 340 00:19:46,640 --> 00:19:49,600 It's just there. Hey man, these pillars were 341 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:54,240 ornamental, they were symbolic, they were hollow, but they could 342 00:19:54,240 --> 00:19:58,240 prevent nothing and they could support nothing. 343 00:19:58,480 --> 00:20:02,760 That's the reason why Jeremiah came in those days of prophecy 344 00:20:02,960 --> 00:20:05,200 like. Jeremiah Chapter 7 and verse 345 00:20:05,200 --> 00:20:09,320 four, he warned the Jews. He said don't put your trust in 346 00:20:09,320 --> 00:20:13,160 just the material buildings of the temple and the things of 347 00:20:13,160 --> 00:20:17,280 objects around about you. He said trust not in line words 348 00:20:17,280 --> 00:20:21,520 saying the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the 349 00:20:21,520 --> 00:20:24,680 temple of the Lord. Jeremiah told them, he said, you 350 00:20:24,680 --> 00:20:28,800 need to amend your ways because you can't do wrong and just say, 351 00:20:28,800 --> 00:20:31,640 well, we got the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, 352 00:20:31,640 --> 00:20:35,480 and rebut with that Hallelujah. You just can't have amends. 353 00:20:35,480 --> 00:20:38,840 This intense confidence in everything that pertains to the 354 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:43,240 temple, your buildings and your observances and your ceremonies 355 00:20:43,240 --> 00:20:46,840 and all your activities. He says, listen, because there 356 00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:50,000 are some things that look like the temple, look like they 357 00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:53,000 belong to the temple, look like they're there supporting the 358 00:20:53,000 --> 00:20:56,640 temple, he said, but they're hollow, they're vain, they're 359 00:20:56,640 --> 00:21:00,520 empty forever and ever. Their ancestors passed by them 360 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,760 and ran their hands along their sides. 361 00:21:03,000 --> 00:21:05,080 Amen. But they had no power to help. 362 00:21:05,280 --> 00:21:08,760 They had no power to support. They had all the optics that 363 00:21:08,760 --> 00:21:11,760 they were a part of it, but they really were not supporting 364 00:21:11,800 --> 00:21:16,080 anything. It is it is, if you will, the 365 00:21:16,080 --> 00:21:20,720 story of biblical scripture in history that both people and 366 00:21:20,720 --> 00:21:25,800 practices at time appeared to be pillar like, but in reality 367 00:21:25,800 --> 00:21:29,520 they're hollow. Bible tells us Isaiah 1. 368 00:21:29,520 --> 00:21:33,440 You just get your feet wet in the 1st chapter of Isaiah and 369 00:21:33,440 --> 00:21:36,240 God begins to call Judah, Sodom and Gomorrah. 370 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,480 God's being kind of forward here, the destruction of a 371 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:41,160 wicked city like Sodom and Gomorrah. 372 00:21:41,320 --> 00:21:44,320 You're going to call the beloved Judah city, Amen. 373 00:21:44,320 --> 00:21:48,240 And people that he calls them Sodom and Gomorrah and he tells 374 00:21:48,240 --> 00:21:51,280 it this, this doesn't make sense if you just hear it Amen. 375 00:21:51,280 --> 00:21:54,200 Out of context. But he tells him, he says don't, 376 00:21:54,200 --> 00:21:57,120 don't be bringing any more vain offerings to me. 377 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:01,280 What? Don't be bringing any more vain 378 00:22:01,280 --> 00:22:03,160 offerings to me. You know what he said? 379 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:04,960 He said. I'm sick of your Rams. 380 00:22:05,360 --> 00:22:07,520 What? I mean, you, you put up the 381 00:22:07,520 --> 00:22:10,280 sacrificial system. God, you, you, you, you, you put 382 00:22:10,280 --> 00:22:12,120 that in place. Back in Levine, he says, I'm 383 00:22:12,120 --> 00:22:15,200 tired of I'm tired of the Rams and I'm tired of the goats and 384 00:22:15,440 --> 00:22:18,120 I'm tired of the blood. He says, All these solemn 385 00:22:18,120 --> 00:22:20,840 assemblies that you're having, God, you want us to have it. 386 00:22:20,920 --> 00:22:23,760 He says. I'm tired of it all because all 387 00:22:23,760 --> 00:22:25,920 these things you're doing look like they're a part of the 388 00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:27,840 church. He says. 389 00:22:27,840 --> 00:22:32,560 But they're empty, they're vain. There's no passion, there's no 390 00:22:32,560 --> 00:22:36,600 feeling, there's no connection. They're not supporting. 391 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:38,760 You're going through all the calisthenics. 392 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:40,560 Of what you. Think I want. 393 00:22:44,560 --> 00:22:47,440 Going through all the modes of what you think I want, he says. 394 00:22:47,440 --> 00:22:50,800 But whenever they come and they're hollow and they're empty 395 00:22:50,920 --> 00:22:52,320 and they're meaningless, he said. 396 00:22:52,320 --> 00:22:53,960 They're just vain offerings, Folks. 397 00:22:53,960 --> 00:22:55,800 What are you saying this morning, Pastor McGee? 398 00:22:56,000 --> 00:22:58,480 I'm saying this. We got to be cautious and we got 399 00:22:58,480 --> 00:23:00,960 to be careful. Because if we don't watch it, a 400 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:06,160 raised hand can be nothing but a hollow pillar just because we 401 00:23:06,160 --> 00:23:09,200 lose the passion and the connection with what its purpose 402 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:13,280 and reason, Amen. There's nothing wrong with 403 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:15,560 offerings, there's nothing wrong with assemblies. 404 00:23:15,720 --> 00:23:19,080 But if they are just there to have all the embellishment and 405 00:23:19,080 --> 00:23:23,880 looking like it's apart, but it has no support of any of the way 406 00:23:23,880 --> 00:23:27,240 and the gratitude and the emphasis of where it needs to 407 00:23:27,280 --> 00:23:30,600 be, we're just hollow pillars that look good, Amen. 408 00:23:30,600 --> 00:23:34,600 With no purpose not be able to prevent anything, not be able to 409 00:23:34,600 --> 00:23:40,440 support anything. Amen. 410 00:23:41,240 --> 00:23:44,680 He said your whole system. He told him vain offerings. 411 00:23:45,040 --> 00:23:48,000 He says what you have. He said you you spilled over a 412 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,640 line that you just have a ritual. 413 00:23:52,680 --> 00:23:55,600 That has no waitingness of morality to it. 414 00:23:56,480 --> 00:23:58,600 You do it because this is what you do. 415 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:05,200 How many times? Is it easy to slip over the line 416 00:24:06,200 --> 00:24:08,560 that we just come because that's what that's what we do. 417 00:24:09,680 --> 00:24:12,600 We just clap our hands because that's just what you do. 418 00:24:13,600 --> 00:24:15,240 You say man, because that's just what. 419 00:24:15,840 --> 00:24:18,360 That's what you do. That's how the tip, that's how 420 00:24:18,360 --> 00:24:21,200 the pillar supposed to look. That's how the lattice work is 421 00:24:21,200 --> 00:24:26,240 supposed to fall. But is there anything? 422 00:24:26,400 --> 00:24:28,840 Is there is there a void area inside? 423 00:24:29,720 --> 00:24:32,960 Is it hollow? The Bible says God spoke to 424 00:24:32,960 --> 00:24:34,520 them. Basically what what's up with 425 00:24:34,520 --> 00:24:37,160 your sacrifices? This is This is not no version 426 00:24:37,160 --> 00:24:39,440 of the Bible except. CRM right here. 427 00:24:39,640 --> 00:24:43,320 What's up with your sacrifices? I'm over your offerings. 428 00:24:43,840 --> 00:24:46,720 I'm weary of them all. You know, he said he told them 429 00:24:46,720 --> 00:24:50,080 this isn't Isaiah. He said I hid my eyes from your 430 00:24:50,080 --> 00:24:54,520 spread out hands. He said, and this I know we 431 00:24:54,520 --> 00:24:57,400 don't think about this Sister Cox, He said, I don't hear your 432 00:24:57,400 --> 00:25:03,400 prayers when you pray them because they were praying 433 00:25:03,400 --> 00:25:07,480 prayers that had no sincerity. They were just mouth moving and 434 00:25:07,480 --> 00:25:11,920 words spoken through the tradition of praying. 435 00:25:11,920 --> 00:25:19,120 He said, no, no, no. He said it's it's it's hollow 436 00:25:19,400 --> 00:25:23,080 that seems forward for God to say that to a people, but he was 437 00:25:23,080 --> 00:25:26,080 just trying to let them know. I'm a little weary of just 438 00:25:26,080 --> 00:25:29,760 peeler like temple like activities that just have hollow 439 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:33,880 mechanics behind them. He said in Amos, another 440 00:25:33,880 --> 00:25:38,120 prophet, Amos five, you look at it verses 21 on God said this 441 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:40,600 and this is hard for us to understand or even maybe to 442 00:25:40,600 --> 00:25:45,440 compute, but God said I hate, I despise your feast days. 443 00:25:46,600 --> 00:25:49,120 He says though you offer me burnt offerings. 444 00:25:49,280 --> 00:25:54,280 He said I will not accept them. He says look at this. 445 00:25:54,280 --> 00:26:00,480 He says, Take away from me the noise of thy songs, take away 446 00:26:00,480 --> 00:26:04,040 from me the noise of thy songs, for I will not hear the melody 447 00:26:04,040 --> 00:26:08,080 of thy vials. This is God speaking to God's 448 00:26:08,080 --> 00:26:09,280 people. He says, if you're bringing 449 00:26:09,280 --> 00:26:12,600 burnt offerings, I hate, I despise him, I won't accept him. 450 00:26:12,600 --> 00:26:15,160 Why God? He says, because when you bring 451 00:26:15,160 --> 00:26:18,320 a burnt offering, you're essentially saying to me, this 452 00:26:18,320 --> 00:26:20,240 was the purpose of a whole burnt offering. 453 00:26:20,440 --> 00:26:24,200 The whole animal was offered to God upon the fire. 454 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:27,320 He says when you do that, you're identifying with that and 455 00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:29,600 saying, God, I totally surrender to you. 456 00:26:30,280 --> 00:26:33,320 He says, but you're doing that on the surface, but I know 457 00:26:33,320 --> 00:26:36,480 you're hollow inside. I know you've kept back parts of 458 00:26:36,480 --> 00:26:38,160 you. He says, I'm not going to accept 459 00:26:38,160 --> 00:26:40,840 your total surrender because it's a farce. 460 00:26:43,800 --> 00:26:46,680 You're doing it for show. You're doing it so bubble over 461 00:26:46,680 --> 00:26:49,000 there thinks you're totally surrendering when you're not 462 00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,600 totally surrendering. He says I'm not going to accept 463 00:26:51,600 --> 00:26:52,800 that. I hate that. 464 00:26:53,200 --> 00:26:58,400 I hate the lie. He said it's hollow. 465 00:26:58,720 --> 00:27:01,440 He said you're you're, you're all of your all of your little 466 00:27:01,840 --> 00:27:06,520 noise of thy songs. This hit me for the Mason. 467 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:10,920 He said I'm not going to accept I'm I'm take away from me the 468 00:27:10,920 --> 00:27:16,400 noise of thy songs. I start. 469 00:27:16,400 --> 00:27:18,320 Thinking Brother Reese, noise, noise, noise. 470 00:27:18,880 --> 00:27:23,520 A lot of times he speaks about noise in psalms, about our songs 471 00:27:23,520 --> 00:27:25,760 and praise. And then I notice a distinction. 472 00:27:26,200 --> 00:27:29,400 I look through the songs almost every time he speaks about our 473 00:27:29,400 --> 00:27:33,080 songs or our worship or even instrumentation in the songs. 474 00:27:33,320 --> 00:27:38,160 He always calls it either joyful noise or loud noise accompanied 475 00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:40,840 with joyful noise. Never just noise. 476 00:27:46,640 --> 00:27:52,760 Because when it's not hollow, it's a joyful loud noise. 477 00:27:53,560 --> 00:27:58,480 But whenever it subjects itself just to mechanics, it falls just 478 00:27:58,480 --> 00:28:01,160 to noise. And he says, you can take away 479 00:28:01,160 --> 00:28:05,720 from me the noise of your song. What I desire is the joyful, 480 00:28:05,720 --> 00:28:10,120 loud noise of your song. I don't want to hear the melody 481 00:28:10,120 --> 00:28:16,760 of a hollow vial. I want to hear the can we clap 482 00:28:16,760 --> 00:28:21,240 our hands right now? Can someone make a joyful noise? 483 00:28:22,240 --> 00:28:31,240 Out to the Lord, because what we have here is that's a grand 484 00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:33,880 ceremony, but it supports nothing. 485 00:28:36,960 --> 00:28:41,480 It's meaningless. And if you've ever been a singer 486 00:28:41,640 --> 00:28:43,800 or you ever been a musician. You know when. 487 00:28:43,800 --> 00:28:49,400 You offer joyful noise and when you offer noise if you've ever 488 00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:54,600 been a preacher. You ever evangelize and preach 489 00:28:54,600 --> 00:28:57,640 some 300 times out of a year been there. 490 00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:07,200 You know when it has meaning and when it's not just some oratory 491 00:29:07,200 --> 00:29:15,680 speech that tickles the years of the here, you know, you know 492 00:29:15,680 --> 00:29:19,160 when you knelt down and pray if you were satisfying the time 493 00:29:19,160 --> 00:29:23,520 slot or you were shut in with God in that secret place. 494 00:29:23,520 --> 00:29:27,440 You know when he says I'm not interested in just the 495 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:29,920 mechanics. I'm interested something that 496 00:29:29,920 --> 00:29:34,640 has a integral sound. Hey man, it was Solomon even in 497 00:29:34,640 --> 00:29:38,360 the book of Ecclesiastes almost in and really was in a 498 00:29:38,400 --> 00:29:41,760 backslidden state. King Solomon Amen was in this 499 00:29:41,760 --> 00:29:45,280 state and he says, you know what, I, I, I began to, I began 500 00:29:45,480 --> 00:29:49,240 to just survey and I began to intermingle with all the things 501 00:29:49,240 --> 00:29:52,840 of the world in this life. And he had grand hanging gardens 502 00:29:52,840 --> 00:29:56,400 and he had grand Amen, things that he accomplished during his 503 00:29:56,400 --> 00:29:59,040 lifetime. And he, he told us this is his 504 00:29:59,040 --> 00:30:02,840 word in his, his summation of all things of life in this 505 00:30:02,840 --> 00:30:05,080 world. He said, there's the toil and 506 00:30:05,080 --> 00:30:07,560 there's the pleasure and there's the wisdom. 507 00:30:07,720 --> 00:30:10,480 And he said in the achievement of all this life in this world 508 00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:14,600 that he called life under the sun, which was life without God. 509 00:30:14,720 --> 00:30:18,200 He said it's. All vanity of vanities and 510 00:30:18,200 --> 00:30:22,320 vexation of the Spirit. He described it as breath and 511 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,080 vapor and futility and emptiness. 512 00:30:25,240 --> 00:30:28,560 That was a description that he pertained to living in this 513 00:30:28,560 --> 00:30:29,760 world. Amen. 514 00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,240 Without God. For sure, though, we don't need 515 00:30:32,240 --> 00:30:36,680 to adopt that same type of label upon the church, because there 516 00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:39,720 should be meaning here. There should be substance here. 517 00:30:39,880 --> 00:30:43,080 There should be desire here. There should be passion here. 518 00:30:43,240 --> 00:30:53,720 There should be a connect. Supporting the loud God List 519 00:30:53,720 --> 00:30:58,480 these fielders in Jeremiah 52 because I think he wanted to 520 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:04,920 emphasize how seemingly undetected parts of the temple 521 00:31:05,320 --> 00:31:12,240 life can exist. Supporting No wait of the 522 00:31:12,240 --> 00:31:17,160 structure and essentially being hollow, but they can seemingly 523 00:31:17,160 --> 00:31:24,440 exist undetected as though they are contributing something, Paul 524 00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:28,720 warned Timothy. He said in the last days 525 00:31:30,200 --> 00:31:35,280 perilous times would come and among the things that he 526 00:31:35,280 --> 00:31:42,520 cautions is this he cautioned against those that had a form of 527 00:31:42,520 --> 00:31:45,760 godliness but deny. The. 528 00:31:45,760 --> 00:31:51,200 Power thereof, he says. They'll come a day in the last 529 00:31:51,200 --> 00:31:53,680 days. They'll be some that have and 530 00:31:53,680 --> 00:31:58,440 will retain all the religious shape, all the religious 531 00:31:58,560 --> 00:32:02,440 language. Maybe the religious community 532 00:32:02,440 --> 00:32:06,440 rose that they have, but their lives will be driven by other 533 00:32:06,440 --> 00:32:09,200 things. Rather than the transformative 534 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:13,000 power of God, what he's saying, he said they'll be 3 inches 535 00:32:13,000 --> 00:32:17,320 thick, but they'll be hollow. They'll be standing there 536 00:32:17,320 --> 00:32:20,200 embellished, as though they look apart, but they're not 537 00:32:20,200 --> 00:32:24,520 supporting. Anything I tell you what makes 538 00:32:24,520 --> 00:32:29,240 this this moment in Scripture just a little bit more startling 539 00:32:29,240 --> 00:32:33,320 and striking is that when this temple was totally demolished 540 00:32:33,320 --> 00:32:35,360 and these pillars are demolished and taken away. 541 00:32:35,720 --> 00:32:40,000 Jerusalem is burned and it lays in it lies in in ruins. 542 00:32:40,680 --> 00:32:43,920 Bible says later the the children of Israel be able to 543 00:32:43,920 --> 00:32:48,640 return back to Jerusalem and under the command of the decree 544 00:32:48,640 --> 00:32:53,520 of a king that will be given the opportunity to rebuild a temple. 545 00:32:54,320 --> 00:32:57,720 The Bible says whenever they go back to rebuild the temple, the 546 00:32:57,720 --> 00:33:00,880 second temple, some call it Zerubbabel's temple, others call 547 00:33:00,880 --> 00:33:04,320 it when they go back to rebuild the temple, the Scripture 548 00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:08,480 records that they rebuild the altar, they rebuild the 549 00:33:08,480 --> 00:33:13,400 foundation, they rebuild the walls, they rebuild the courts, 550 00:33:13,560 --> 00:33:15,640 they rebuild the vessels of service. 551 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:20,040 But the Bible never records that they're recasting those two 552 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:24,720 great bronze pillars. They're not being put back in 553 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:28,520 action. The temple was rebuilt without 554 00:33:28,520 --> 00:33:32,520 them. Namely, if they never carried 555 00:33:32,520 --> 00:33:41,080 the load for 370 to 410 years, if all that process of time they 556 00:33:41,080 --> 00:33:47,200 were simply and only ornamental and symbolic, then why would it 557 00:33:47,200 --> 00:33:54,960 be essential to rebuild them and make them a part of a rebuilt 558 00:33:55,000 --> 00:33:57,320 temple? God, I believe Brother Ethan is 559 00:33:57,320 --> 00:34:01,640 silently teaching us a lesson that things that just merely 560 00:34:01,640 --> 00:34:06,080 look impressive but support nothing are not necessarily 561 00:34:06,080 --> 00:34:09,639 important or essential for the future of His house. 562 00:34:12,000 --> 00:34:15,440 Can I say it again that things that look impressive and 563 00:34:15,440 --> 00:34:19,239 seemingly support nothing are not necessarily essential for 564 00:34:19,239 --> 00:34:22,520 the future of His house? I don't need a 27 foot pillar. 565 00:34:22,760 --> 00:34:24,239 Amen. That looks like it's a part of 566 00:34:24,239 --> 00:34:27,560 the temple, but it's holding no way to the temple and hollow 567 00:34:27,560 --> 00:34:29,600 inside. I need something that's going to 568 00:34:29,600 --> 00:34:31,840 be supportive. I need something that's going to 569 00:34:31,840 --> 00:34:33,239 contribute. I need some. 570 00:34:35,880 --> 00:34:39,880 I did all right, And that's great for Old Testament 571 00:34:39,880 --> 00:34:43,199 sermonizing. But folks, something different 572 00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:47,320 happens when we move into the New Testament. 573 00:34:47,840 --> 00:34:52,880 Something remarkable happens as we move into the New Testament, 574 00:34:53,360 --> 00:34:57,440 because this whole idea and concept really of pillars does 575 00:34:57,440 --> 00:35:03,360 not disappear, but the pillars themselves change. 576 00:35:04,480 --> 00:35:09,480 The pillars now are not some bronze, large, massive ornate 577 00:35:09,480 --> 00:35:13,720 decorative structures that standing outside the temple 578 00:35:13,720 --> 00:35:16,880 entrance. They're no longer these objects 579 00:35:16,880 --> 00:35:21,920 that are ascribed some name of Jacob or Boaz, of some patriarch 580 00:35:21,920 --> 00:35:25,000 or some member of the body from the past. 581 00:35:25,720 --> 00:35:29,360 The pulers in the New Testament Scripture, Bishop, can you come 582 00:35:29,360 --> 00:35:32,160 here? The pulers in the New Testament 583 00:35:32,160 --> 00:35:35,640 scripture. The pulers become people. 584 00:35:38,320 --> 00:35:40,640 Brother Zach, stand right there in the in the middle of this 585 00:35:40,640 --> 00:35:42,800 void pillar. Brother Zach, stand right there 586 00:35:42,800 --> 00:35:44,640 in the middle of that void. You can stand right there. 587 00:35:44,640 --> 00:35:46,640 Get over there on that dot. He'll stand over there. 588 00:35:46,640 --> 00:35:48,400 Amen. In the New Testament scripture, 589 00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:50,600 we're not talking about brass. We're not talking about 590 00:35:50,600 --> 00:35:52,200 latticework. We're not talking about any of 591 00:35:52,200 --> 00:35:54,320 that. We're talking about people. 592 00:35:54,480 --> 00:35:59,680 The Book of Galatians chapter #2 it describes, it says James and 593 00:35:59,680 --> 00:36:05,080 Cephas, which was Peter and John are described as fuelers in the 594 00:36:05,080 --> 00:36:07,320 church. Hey man, that old Peter that 595 00:36:07,320 --> 00:36:10,920 preached that day of Pentecost message, he said you want a 596 00:36:10,920 --> 00:36:12,520 pillar? I'll show you one. 597 00:36:12,680 --> 00:36:16,040 This is not from the past, this is from the now, the from the 598 00:36:16,040 --> 00:36:17,040 current. Amen. 599 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:19,320 This is the man that said repent. 600 00:36:19,680 --> 00:36:22,840 And be baptized, everyone of you, in the name of the Lord 601 00:36:22,880 --> 00:36:26,400 Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive 602 00:36:26,400 --> 00:36:29,640 the gift of the Holy Ghost. Some of these men are the one 603 00:36:29,880 --> 00:36:33,360 that walked by in their shadow, brought healing to bodies. 604 00:36:33,640 --> 00:36:36,760 Some of these men are the one that said, Amen. 605 00:36:36,840 --> 00:36:39,360 Jesus said I am my Father. Other are one. 606 00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:42,480 These are the pillars. They're not outside the front 607 00:36:42,480 --> 00:36:44,360 entrance. They're in the church. 608 00:36:44,680 --> 00:36:46,680 They're supporting the weight of the doctrine. 609 00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:48,840 They're supporting the weight of his name. 610 00:36:49,080 --> 00:36:57,400 There's they're not hollow. Just look at their lives. 611 00:36:57,720 --> 00:37:00,360 They're not hollow. Just look at what they teach. 612 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:02,920 They're not hollow. Just hear their message. 613 00:37:03,120 --> 00:37:07,040 They're not. They're people. 614 00:37:08,280 --> 00:37:12,600 The Bible says in Revelations 312 the Lord promises this, that 615 00:37:12,600 --> 00:37:17,640 he that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God? 616 00:37:17,880 --> 00:37:19,320 He said. I'll establish. 617 00:37:19,400 --> 00:37:21,080 Them. I'll make them a pillar. 618 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:24,360 They're not up here for show. They're not up here just to look 619 00:37:24,360 --> 00:37:26,160 apart. They're not up here to look as 620 00:37:26,160 --> 00:37:28,520 though they belong. They do belong. 621 00:37:28,880 --> 00:37:31,000 Amen. About 2/3 of the New Testament 622 00:37:31,240 --> 00:37:33,960 written by the Apostle Paul. They do belong. 623 00:37:47,760 --> 00:37:51,160 Under the Old Covenant, just symbolic. 624 00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:57,760 At the entrance under the New Covenant, God raises up living 625 00:37:57,760 --> 00:38:06,880 pillars within his temple, men and women whose lives actually 626 00:38:06,880 --> 00:38:17,120 bear the weight of his work. We're not here elevating the 627 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:20,120 people, but we're elevating the God of the people. 628 00:38:21,520 --> 00:38:24,720 Hear me, 1990 again. I told you I'm going to say it 629 00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:28,760 again. 16 months before Dad ever became pastor of what is now 630 00:38:28,760 --> 00:38:31,320 this church. Hey, man, we help that church. 631 00:38:31,320 --> 00:38:34,680 Every other weekend we would leave our home church and go 632 00:38:34,680 --> 00:38:36,960 there and have church. Hey, man, they didn't have a 633 00:38:36,960 --> 00:38:38,960 Sunday school. They didn't have a midweek 634 00:38:38,960 --> 00:38:41,440 service, but we would go there and we would help. 635 00:38:41,600 --> 00:38:44,920 In 1990, he was voted in unanimously as the pastor. 636 00:38:45,120 --> 00:38:47,080 Our first service, Katie, that we had. 637 00:38:47,320 --> 00:38:49,240 Amen. When Dad was pastor, us kids 638 00:38:49,240 --> 00:38:50,240 were small. I was like 12. 639 00:38:50,240 --> 00:38:53,280 Years old and we went to church. There were 15 members in 640 00:38:53,280 --> 00:39:00,200 attendance and five of them was our family in 1990, then around 641 00:39:00,200 --> 00:39:04,200 1996 right in that area. In 1997, we moved from our first 642 00:39:04,200 --> 00:39:06,120 building to our second building. Amen. 643 00:39:06,120 --> 00:39:09,120 That first year we had several in the beginning of those first 644 00:39:09,120 --> 00:39:12,160 few months get baptized in the lovely name of Jesus Christ. 645 00:39:12,320 --> 00:39:15,080 Whenever Dad first took over the church, we started Sunday 646 00:39:15,080 --> 00:39:17,200 school. We started a midweek service on 647 00:39:17,200 --> 00:39:19,360 Tuesday. Our mayor would regularly come 648 00:39:19,360 --> 00:39:21,400 to service and sit in our services. 649 00:39:21,400 --> 00:39:24,440 What are you talking about? I'm saying this isn't void, this 650 00:39:24,440 --> 00:39:28,120 isn't empty, this isn't vain. We didn't have the best looking 651 00:39:28,120 --> 00:39:30,280 building. It wasn't the most rich building 652 00:39:30,280 --> 00:39:33,960 in town, but when you walked inside, there was no void. 653 00:39:34,160 --> 00:39:37,680 There was something there. It was the power of the Holy 654 00:39:37,680 --> 00:39:41,200 Ghost and God's Spirit. It wasn't just trying to look 655 00:39:41,200 --> 00:39:45,440 the part, it was trying to let that which was above flow into 656 00:39:45,440 --> 00:39:47,560 it. It was supporting the weight, 657 00:39:50,600 --> 00:39:58,200 yes. RPS, my sister Tony, our pews. 658 00:39:58,200 --> 00:40:01,440 Then in that first church, there wasn't enough space really to 659 00:40:01,440 --> 00:40:06,120 walk around the pews. It just wasn't happening. 660 00:40:07,120 --> 00:40:10,560 So, so and really we just had a middle aisle. 661 00:40:10,560 --> 00:40:14,920 So that just seemed like it'd be a little weird, Holly we had. 662 00:40:14,920 --> 00:40:19,800 Pulpit up there. And in those days, you had 663 00:40:19,800 --> 00:40:22,680 marches. We just had one at mission 664 00:40:22,680 --> 00:40:26,840 service this past Friday night. Huge church had on the 665 00:40:26,840 --> 00:40:30,320 battlefield for my Lord March. We didn't have enough room in 666 00:40:30,320 --> 00:40:32,520 the audience to do it. So here we are. 667 00:40:33,120 --> 00:40:35,000 Our members are marching around the pulpit. 668 00:40:38,200 --> 00:40:39,600 Now that's not pretty lattice work. 669 00:40:39,600 --> 00:40:43,400 It don't look like to see a congregation marching around the 670 00:40:43,400 --> 00:40:50,400 pulpit of a church doesn't have all the oh, look at the optics 671 00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:52,480 of a congregation marching around the pulpit. 672 00:40:54,200 --> 00:41:00,400 It looks a little weird, honestly, but it wasn't 673 00:41:00,400 --> 00:41:04,640 meaningless. My Grandma McGee was still 674 00:41:04,640 --> 00:41:06,400 alive, honey. She ran up. 675 00:41:06,400 --> 00:41:08,400 She run out of room on the inside of the church. 676 00:41:08,880 --> 00:41:10,720 She'd run out the double back doors. 677 00:41:10,720 --> 00:41:13,160 Katie, I tell you not this is the truth. 678 00:41:13,440 --> 00:41:14,920 She'd run out the double back doors. 679 00:41:15,080 --> 00:41:16,920 She marched around the exterior of the church. 680 00:41:17,360 --> 00:41:19,400 They don't got enough room in on the inside for me. 681 00:41:19,400 --> 00:41:21,000 March around the pews. I'll still March around the 682 00:41:21,000 --> 00:41:22,200 pews. I go on the outside, I'll March 683 00:41:22,200 --> 00:41:24,880 around the whole building. There's grandma right there in 684 00:41:24,880 --> 00:41:27,080 this population. Neighbors on all around. 685 00:41:27,200 --> 00:41:28,640 What's that crazy lady? Dude? 686 00:41:28,800 --> 00:41:30,640 She's marching for Jesus. Amen. 687 00:41:30,640 --> 00:41:32,520 The optics. It wasn't a lattice work. 688 00:41:32,680 --> 00:41:34,200 It wasn't bronze, gold and silver. 689 00:41:34,200 --> 00:41:37,080 It seemed to the modern eye, but it wasn't void. 690 00:41:37,280 --> 00:41:39,960 It supported something. It stood for something. 691 00:41:40,280 --> 00:41:50,280 It was definitely a part. Come on, Hallelujah. 692 00:41:50,280 --> 00:41:58,280 Someone say, man, am I doing OK? We don't watch it. 693 00:41:58,280 --> 00:42:01,440 We'll fall to the we'll fall to the weakness. 694 00:42:03,240 --> 00:42:04,800 They don't have the proper appeal. 695 00:42:08,000 --> 00:42:12,400 They don't have the proper appeal and we should probably 696 00:42:12,400 --> 00:42:17,640 just steer away from that. Listen, I'd rather work just to 697 00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:23,280 look a little funky and be meaningful, then look pristine 698 00:42:23,720 --> 00:42:30,800 and be void of meaning. Oh, look at that Church of hand. 699 00:42:30,920 --> 00:42:33,800 They sing so good, their music so good, their transition so 700 00:42:33,800 --> 00:42:36,000 good. Look at that leader of service. 701 00:42:36,000 --> 00:42:37,920 Isn't she a hot fox? Yes, that's my wife. 702 00:42:38,080 --> 00:42:40,400 Hey, man, look at that Lady. Look at her doing that. 703 00:42:40,520 --> 00:42:42,680 Look at her. Just leave that service and and 704 00:42:42,680 --> 00:42:45,240 use just the right words and do all these things. 705 00:42:45,240 --> 00:42:48,720 And my what about that altar call and how they people come? 706 00:42:48,920 --> 00:42:51,640 Hey, man, and they'll come and stand in the altar because they 707 00:42:51,640 --> 00:42:56,680 asked them to come. We can have all the objects, 708 00:42:56,960 --> 00:43:00,040 Bishop, we can get pushing cushion seats and we can get a 709 00:43:00,040 --> 00:43:03,280 new program and we can get a better sign out front and we can 710 00:43:03,280 --> 00:43:06,720 asphalt the driveway. But folks, if we do all of that 711 00:43:06,720 --> 00:43:11,040 and it's hollow, then forget it. Give me a gravel out there and 712 00:43:11,040 --> 00:43:14,240 give me something meaningful here if it's one or the other. 713 00:43:14,440 --> 00:43:17,480 But I am saying it can still be pristine. 714 00:43:17,720 --> 00:43:22,920 And it can still be meaningful. It can still you can have bow. 715 00:43:25,520 --> 00:43:27,760 What does it mean? You have to sacrifice for the 716 00:43:27,800 --> 00:43:29,440 other. You can have bow. 717 00:43:33,480 --> 00:43:36,960 Someone say glory. You guys can sit down. 718 00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:40,440 I don't want to wear you out of stepping out of the void. 719 00:43:40,440 --> 00:43:52,560 There they have both see for about 400 years Israel had grown 720 00:43:52,560 --> 00:44:01,280 comfortable with pillars that look strong but carried no load. 721 00:44:05,120 --> 00:44:08,800 No doubt some religious forms according to Isaiah and Amos, 722 00:44:09,120 --> 00:44:12,680 some religious forms and ceremonies, temple language if 723 00:44:12,680 --> 00:44:16,440 you will, that gave them the connection as. 724 00:44:16,440 --> 00:44:17,760 Though they're a part of the temple, the. 725 00:44:17,760 --> 00:44:21,480 Appearance of strength, but much of that God's calling out in the 726 00:44:21,480 --> 00:44:25,960 last chapters. It's hallow, it's vain 727 00:44:25,960 --> 00:44:28,880 offerings. I don't even want any of that. 728 00:44:33,640 --> 00:44:39,840 Because real pillars, people in God's house, are those who still 729 00:44:39,840 --> 00:44:47,200 bear the load of prayer, those who still carry the weight of 730 00:44:47,200 --> 00:44:52,320 His Holiness, who are still responsible to His truth. 731 00:44:53,240 --> 00:44:57,840 They still have the burden upon their shoulders of loving others 732 00:44:58,480 --> 00:45:04,080 and serving others. These are the people who quietly 733 00:45:04,080 --> 00:45:09,120 uphold the things when the pressure comes to try to break 734 00:45:09,120 --> 00:45:13,840 them down. Every generation when the 735 00:45:13,840 --> 00:45:17,480 pressure comes to the church, God proves there's some that's 736 00:45:17,480 --> 00:45:21,720 just there in appearance, just there seemingly to be a part, 737 00:45:22,360 --> 00:45:25,600 something that do not sustain, if you will, His house. 738 00:45:26,160 --> 00:45:29,480 But I tell you, where it does stand, stands on men and women 739 00:45:29,480 --> 00:45:32,880 such as are here this morning. Who says you know what? 740 00:45:33,200 --> 00:45:34,680 I'm not just here to look pretty. 741 00:45:35,120 --> 00:45:38,120 I'm here to function. I'm here to carry the load, 742 00:45:38,600 --> 00:45:40,160 pastor. I'm here to pray when no one 743 00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:43,760 else is willing to pray, Pastor. I'm here to stand when 744 00:45:43,760 --> 00:45:46,440 compromise would be easier than it would be to stand. 745 00:45:46,720 --> 00:45:49,880 I'm here, pastor, to forgive whenever it hurts, to make 746 00:45:49,880 --> 00:45:53,320 things right, whenever there's been some type of incongruity. 747 00:45:53,520 --> 00:45:56,640 I'm here, Lord. I'm here pastor, to live a man 748 00:45:56,640 --> 00:46:00,040 in the world but not of the world and not have forgotten 749 00:46:00,040 --> 00:46:02,120 your traits. And your truth and your glory. 750 00:46:02,400 --> 00:46:06,280 I'm here, pastor, to bear the burden not just of my own way, 751 00:46:06,520 --> 00:46:09,320 but the weight of my brothers and sisters that are next to me 752 00:46:09,480 --> 00:46:11,520 and help keep the House of God erect. 753 00:46:11,760 --> 00:46:17,040 Overall, I'm a pillar, not empty, not void, not without. 754 00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:21,080 So the question this morning for us is not simply this, and I'm 755 00:46:21,080 --> 00:46:22,120 closing. You can stand. 756 00:46:22,400 --> 00:46:24,760 The question this morning is not this. 757 00:46:26,000 --> 00:46:32,160 Not if we can just simply stand near the temple or participate 758 00:46:32,160 --> 00:46:36,240 in its activities and look, brother to Reese, as though we 759 00:46:36,440 --> 00:46:42,320 belong. The deeper question is this, as 760 00:46:42,320 --> 00:46:44,960 people, are we are we carrying anything? 761 00:46:46,120 --> 00:46:50,680 We supporting the weight of anything? 762 00:46:51,720 --> 00:46:58,360 I don't just want to be an ornamental part, ornamental part 763 00:46:58,840 --> 00:47:03,880 of the church, present, visible, maybe even sometimes a little 764 00:47:03,880 --> 00:47:08,080 impressive. No, I don't want to be that. 765 00:47:08,080 --> 00:47:15,320 Rather Ethan yet be hollow Bishop should be our desire that 766 00:47:15,320 --> 00:47:20,880 we want to be pillars, that God would shape us into pillars, not 767 00:47:20,880 --> 00:47:25,360 hollow pillars, but pillars that actually support his work. 768 00:47:25,720 --> 00:47:28,080 That I'm not just getting caught in the tradition of a church. 769 00:47:31,280 --> 00:47:33,720 He told him the book of Mark, some of those tribes and 770 00:47:33,720 --> 00:47:36,560 Pharisees that caught up just in the traditionalism of church 771 00:47:36,560 --> 00:47:39,480 life. He said you've made the word of 772 00:47:39,480 --> 00:47:42,600 God of none effect because of your traditions. 773 00:47:43,640 --> 00:47:45,760 Why? Because what you got going on 774 00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:50,880 there is just a hollow mechanism, has no purpose. 775 00:47:52,120 --> 00:47:55,000 You've separated yourself from the connection of the purpose. 776 00:47:55,720 --> 00:47:57,120 Why are you saying all this this morning? 777 00:47:57,120 --> 00:48:00,080 But I'm telling you why? Because God is still building a 778 00:48:00,120 --> 00:48:04,400 temple today. God is still building his temple 779 00:48:04,400 --> 00:48:08,480 today, and the pillars, Brother Reese, that he's raising today, 780 00:48:09,480 --> 00:48:12,160 it's not brass, it's not silver, it's not gold. 781 00:48:13,400 --> 00:48:17,200 Pillars that he's raising today, Sister Tony, they're surrendered 782 00:48:17,200 --> 00:48:22,400 lives. Surrendered lives that Sister 783 00:48:22,400 --> 00:48:25,120 Cox, he don't want them to be void or hollow. 784 00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:31,040 He wants them to be filled with his spirit. 785 00:48:34,120 --> 00:48:38,120 God's not looking for hallowed pillars that carry nothing. 786 00:48:39,440 --> 00:48:43,800 He's raising up pillars that will support and carry his his 787 00:48:43,800 --> 00:48:50,800 house, his purpose, his dream, his vision for the world in the 788 00:48:50,800 --> 00:48:56,600 current era that we live. 3 inches thick. 789 00:48:56,600 --> 00:49:00,080 If you did the math, Yes, Mariah. 790 00:49:00,080 --> 00:49:04,880 If you did the math and did the volume of both cylinders and 791 00:49:04,880 --> 00:49:10,400 subtract the inner cylinder from the larger cylinder, the void 792 00:49:10,400 --> 00:49:16,360 space in that pillar is about five times the amount of the 793 00:49:16,360 --> 00:49:20,560 brass that was in the pillar. In other words, it was five 794 00:49:20,560 --> 00:49:22,560 times more empty than it was full. 795 00:49:28,720 --> 00:49:31,000 You can get by with that when you just 'cause that to be the 796 00:49:31,000 --> 00:49:35,000 exterior and cause the emptiness to remain unseen. 797 00:49:37,600 --> 00:49:40,040 But the eyes of the Lord that run to and fro over all the 798 00:49:40,040 --> 00:49:43,560 earth, he's not just looking at Paul Mcgee's balding head. 799 00:49:46,560 --> 00:49:48,280 He's looking at the spirit of the man. 800 00:49:50,120 --> 00:49:53,280 He goes beyond man, looks at the outward appearance. 801 00:49:53,800 --> 00:49:56,480 That's what was spoken there to Samuel, he said. 802 00:49:56,480 --> 00:50:03,000 But God sees the heart. He can look inside the void. 803 00:50:03,680 --> 00:50:06,200 Is there anything there meaningful or useful? 804 00:50:06,920 --> 00:50:09,200 Or is it just all smoke and mirrors? 805 00:50:13,480 --> 00:50:17,240 I don't want First Apostolic Church to just have the 806 00:50:17,240 --> 00:50:22,960 appearance of being the church. All they have service three 807 00:50:22,960 --> 00:50:24,680 times a week. They must be a great church. 808 00:50:25,960 --> 00:50:27,920 All they take up offerings. That's a great church thing to 809 00:50:27,920 --> 00:50:29,560 do. Well, they support missions. 810 00:50:29,560 --> 00:50:31,080 That's a great you hearing what I'm saying. 811 00:50:32,360 --> 00:50:36,920 I don't want to just have all the appearances, but to be 812 00:50:36,920 --> 00:50:42,640 hollow, meaningless, useless. No, I want there to be 813 00:50:42,640 --> 00:50:45,160 integrity. I don't want to have been in 814 00:50:45,160 --> 00:50:47,360 this community. We've been here now in this 815 00:50:47,360 --> 00:50:53,000 particular community since 2007. This church this year has been 816 00:50:53,000 --> 00:51:03,960 in existence for 85 years, 1941. I don't want 85 years to go on 817 00:51:03,960 --> 00:51:06,160 binds. Well, there's what used to be 818 00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:08,680 Kingsburg Pentecostal Church, what used to be 3 Pentecostal 819 00:51:08,680 --> 00:51:11,240 Church to Kingsburg Pentecostal Church, the first Apostolic 820 00:51:11,240 --> 00:51:13,040 Church. Well, they're still going. 821 00:51:13,480 --> 00:51:18,440 Yeah, but if the pressure come and you broke them down, is 822 00:51:18,440 --> 00:51:26,520 there anything really inside? Because if it was just based 823 00:51:26,760 --> 00:51:30,680 upon longevity of existence, man, those pillars would have 824 00:51:30,680 --> 00:51:35,960 won 410 years. But all those years, they're 825 00:51:35,960 --> 00:51:41,480 hollow. Man. 826 00:51:41,480 --> 00:51:44,320 I feel the Holy Ghost here. We can just bow our heads, 827 00:51:45,200 --> 00:51:47,360 Hallelujah, cross here, close our eyes. 828 00:51:48,360 --> 00:51:51,280 Man, I, I'd hope that we'd get very introspective here for a 829 00:51:51,280 --> 00:51:54,840 moment this morning, Not just as individuals, but overall as a 830 00:51:54,840 --> 00:51:57,800 church God. I don't want to just go through 831 00:51:57,800 --> 00:52:02,240 the mechanics of church life, the mechanics of church life 832 00:52:02,720 --> 00:52:06,640 that gives all the appearance of church life, gives all the 833 00:52:06,640 --> 00:52:10,200 appearance of vibrant church or what's expected from a church, 834 00:52:10,200 --> 00:52:12,480 and the duties and obligations of the church. 835 00:52:12,480 --> 00:52:17,120 God, I don't want all of that. For there to be hollowness, 836 00:52:18,080 --> 00:52:22,480 meaninglessness, just to be a pillar that's there for the ID 837 00:52:22,480 --> 00:52:24,320 to see, but it don't support anything. 838 00:52:26,000 --> 00:52:28,080 It don't support the weight of anything. 839 00:52:28,560 --> 00:52:31,040 Ladies and gentlemen, he's wanting to make pillars of you 840 00:52:31,040 --> 00:52:33,520 and I today. Pillars in the assembly, the 841 00:52:33,520 --> 00:52:36,080 Johns, the Cephas's. He wants those that would 842 00:52:36,080 --> 00:52:37,640 overcome. I will make a pillar in the 843 00:52:37,640 --> 00:52:40,040 temple of my God. He's wanting to make pillars 844 00:52:40,040 --> 00:52:43,040 today. Meaningful pillars, meaningful 845 00:52:43,040 --> 00:52:45,360 pillars. That's not only going to last, 846 00:52:45,640 --> 00:52:47,880 Amen, but their offering is going to mean something. 847 00:52:48,600 --> 00:52:51,840 Their music and their miles are going to mean it's not just 848 00:52:51,840 --> 00:52:54,560 going to be noise, it's going to be joyful noise, loud noises. 849 00:52:54,560 --> 00:52:57,200 The psalmist said Amen. It's going to be meaningful. 850 00:52:57,800 --> 00:53:00,400 Can we raise our hands across this place, if you're willing 851 00:53:00,400 --> 00:53:03,880 today and say, God make me one of those type of pillars. 852 00:53:04,400 --> 00:53:07,560 God make me one of those type of pillars in the sanctuary. 853 00:53:07,920 --> 00:53:10,440 Make me one of those type of. Pillars in the church. 854 00:53:10,840 --> 00:53:14,160 Let me not be caught up, Lord, in just all the calisthenics of 855 00:53:14,160 --> 00:53:16,320 Christianity. Lord, no, no, no, no. 856 00:53:16,520 --> 00:53:18,120 I want a connection with the heavens. 857 00:53:18,480 --> 00:53:21,040 I want to support the wake, God, of your purpose and of your 858 00:53:21,040 --> 00:53:23,760 dream and of your vision, Lord, God for the world. 859 00:53:24,000 --> 00:53:26,040 I want to get under the load of a God. 860 00:53:26,240 --> 00:53:29,720 I don't want to just stand there and look apart and look pretty 861 00:53:29,720 --> 00:53:32,520 and look impressive and be large and in charge. 862 00:53:32,720 --> 00:53:41,400 Yet inside I'm hollow now. Can't have that because your 863 00:53:41,400 --> 00:53:43,600 children need to be raised. That they're not hollow, but 864 00:53:43,600 --> 00:53:45,360 they're solid. They're sure footed. 865 00:53:46,400 --> 00:53:49,080 My grandchildren need to be raised that they're sure footed. 866 00:53:49,320 --> 00:53:50,600 They don't need to get caught up. 867 00:53:50,760 --> 00:53:53,320 That all that matters is what the appearances and what it's 868 00:53:53,320 --> 00:53:56,240 looking like. And and if it looks like you're 869 00:53:56,240 --> 00:53:59,360 pardon if you show up at least one one service every month. 870 00:53:59,360 --> 00:54:04,120 No, no, no, no, no, no. Want to be peelers in the House 871 00:54:04,120 --> 00:54:08,360 of God? Oh, someone talk to him right 872 00:54:08,360 --> 00:54:09,760 now. They're going to prepare a song. 873 00:54:10,080 --> 00:54:13,800 God, let my life have meaning, My offerings have meaning. 874 00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:17,960 Let my prayer, God not just be void words God into the 875 00:54:17,960 --> 00:54:19,600 atmosphere. Help them. 876 00:54:19,600 --> 00:54:21,480 Lord Jesus, I want to stay connected. 877 00:54:21,480 --> 00:54:24,240 To the one to whom I'm praying. I don't want to just be a 878 00:54:24,240 --> 00:54:27,280 multitude of words. I don't want it just to be vain 879 00:54:27,280 --> 00:54:30,160 repetitions. But God, let it be useful. 880 00:54:30,160 --> 00:54:34,320 Let it be meaningful. Oh Lord, hear my hearts cry. 881 00:54:34,800 --> 00:54:40,320 Investigate my life, Oh God, God, Hallelujah, Sharabahi. 882 00:54:41,320 --> 00:54:44,000 Oh yes, yes, yes. These altars are open. 883 00:54:44,240 --> 00:54:47,680 If anybody would like to pray, if anybody first Apostolic 884 00:54:47,680 --> 00:54:51,000 Church, if you would want to pray today and say God, let us 885 00:54:51,000 --> 00:54:55,880 know as a church just have the label of a church. 886 00:54:56,120 --> 00:54:59,720 No Help us to stay attached to the apostles doctrine. 887 00:54:59,880 --> 00:55:03,720 Help us to stay attached. Amen to the meaning Lord of the 888 00:55:03,720 --> 00:55:06,760 first church. Let us not just get into the 889 00:55:06,760 --> 00:55:10,200 mechanics of it. All no God, let our praise and 890 00:55:10,200 --> 00:55:13,840 our worship be meaningful. Let our prayers and our voices 891 00:55:13,840 --> 00:55:17,640 raised in the sanctuary not just be filling void space. 892 00:55:17,880 --> 00:55:19,880 Let it be meaningful.