Get into your second temple – Let Go, Let God!
How can you truly access and walk in your God-ordained calling and purpose?
The Bible tells us of Solomon’s temple, the first temple, which was destroyed by the Neo-Babylonian empire when Jerusalem was conquered, and part of the population of the Kingdom of Judah was taken into exile to Babylon. “By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept. When we remembered Zion. We hung our harps upon the willows in the midst of it. For there those who carried us away captive asked of us a song, And those who plundered us requested mirth, saying, “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!” How shall we sing the Lord’s song In a foreign land?” Ps.137:1-4
The second temple was constructed by some of the Jewish exile groups after they returned from Babylon under the leadership of Zerubbabel…
Interesting though…“As the second temple was being built, there was a group of Jews in Jerusalem who were rather disappointed. Older Jews who recalled the size and grandeur of the first temple regarded Zerubbabel’s temple as a poor substitute for the original. To their minds, it did not even begin to compare with the splendor of Solomon’s temple. Even so, Haggai prophesied that the second temple would one day have a magnificence to outshine the glory of the first (Haggai 2:3–9). Haggai’s word was fulfilled 500 years later when Jesus Christ arrived on the scene (Luke 2:22, 46; 19:45). Zerubbabel’s temple was not as outwardly impressive as Solomon’s, but it had a greater glory: the Messiah Himself walked the courts of the temple that Zerubbabel built.” – www.gotquestions.org
Our “first temple” (first Adam) from our old life is in the past and it included good and bad times. “But, Jesus said, ‘No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Luk.9:62) No, we need to look forward to our “second temple” and “forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead” (Phil.3:13).
The “first temple” is also symbolic to some of us, who even though already been reborn into the Kingdom, still looks back to it (mourning over the difficult times or longing for the good times that used to be, the splendor or comforts that it had) and as a result – have not really been able to enter the “second temple”. What is this “second temple”?
The second temple is your journey on earth WITH Christ, fanning into flame your growing passion for Him in RELATIONSHIP with Him.
In this second temple, you will “surely see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Ps.27:13). It is built in the shadow of the Almighty (Ps91:1) and you can only enter through its gates with thanksgiving and praise (Ps.100:4). It is built with blocks of faith (Heb.11:1) cemented with gold (daily intimacy with God) – take note, though, that without the gold between the blocks, it will all fall apart. This is the most important ingredient – time with God EVERY DAY! Inside it is filled with all the promises God has for your life. Each of our temples will look different and be unique because we are unique. It is the only place where you can access your unique promises and really start walking in them in your own way. In the Presence of the Creator, the created (you) truly functions in his/her full potential. It is actually a really simple concept but few grasp it and therefore few truly embrace and walk in it. Spending time in this temple, in His Presence, you will enjoy different seasons, learn to love fervently (1 Peter4:8) discover gifts and enjoy surprises as well. You will hear and grow into what He says about you, grow in maturity and enjoy deeper richness in your relationship with God – the same God who created through speaking a word. In this temple, you will reap in due season when you do not give up (Gal.6:9). It will require strength and great courage at times (Josh1:9) but you will learn to glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance character; and character, hope… and Hope does not disappoint, because the love of the King is then being poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit (Rom.5:3-5). To live from this “second temple” means that we may have life in abundance – this is exactly why Jesus came(John10:10).
To enter into your new temple will require more than once, that you need to choose to. That you make a choice to hide in the shelter of the Most High instead of instant escapes which the world will also offer. That you make a choice some days to enter the gates with thanksgiving and praise especially when you least feel like it. That you make a choice not to long for what was in the past because at the present moment the present seems too hard to face. That you make a choice to, even though your armor is full of holes and you are bloody and dirty after a day in the battlefield, to still, even if you have to crawl over the steps, enter the second temple to receive comfort and healing from your Creator – instead of turning to worldly avenues.
In the second temple, you will discover Your Father with open arms, always heartily welcoming you back. After a hot bath and new fresh clothes, you will relax with Him on the couch in front of the fireplace with a warm cup of hot chocolate – pouring your heart out as well as listening to what He has to say. Entering a new day you will find yourself ready and rested, wearing the armor of God and on your way into the world again – joining the Rider on the white horse with many crowns on His head, called Faithful and True, clothed in a robe dipped in blood Whose Name is the Word of God (Rev.19:11-16) followed by the heavenly armies.
So stop looking back and longing for what is in the past. Go and find your harp which
you had hung on the tree in Babylon, enter the gates of the second temple with thanksgiving and praise … and soon you will find that your second temple will outshine the first. A greater glory will be found here – The Messiah Himself walking with you in its courts, His love brooding out of you His purpose and calling for your life.