In this sermon, the preacher focuses on the story of King Solomon and the dedication of the temple. He describes how the people witnessed the fire of God coming down and the glory of the Lord upon the house. The people responded by bowing down, worshiping, and praising God. King Solomon offered a massive sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep. The preacher emphasizes that although this was a remarkable experience, Solomon was not satisfied and continued to seek more from God. The sermon encourages listeners to not settle for past experiences but to continually seek a deeper relationship with God and be willing to sacrifice everything for Him.

You will be aware, of course, in this opening chapters of this book anyway, we have the record, and I think it's why it is primarily recorded, of the building of the temple. It's a subject, you know, that has thrilled my heart over the years. I can remember preaching over these things, or twenty or more years ago, and how thrilled my heart was with them then. And tonight I want to share with you something of the greatness and wonder of this man Solomon and his movement at this time. You will remember, of course, that he is undoubtedly, historically, great David's greater son. He was greater than David in that David, as you know, just longed to build this temple for God, and he was not allowed to do so. The reason being given is that he was a man of blood, and because he was a man of blood, God would not let him handle anything to do with building the temple, and it had to be built by this man Solomon, who was a man of peace. You will remember this. There was never a war in Solomon's day, when he was on the earth. God brought great and profound peace, as though to say, my temple can only be reared in an atmosphere of rest and of peace and of quietness, and I want my residence to be there, and I want the worship to go on in that atmosphere. Doubtless, had he, and all Israel with him, continued as they should have done, that's what would have happened. Unfortunately, the temple worship had to continue under the stress and strains of war. Later on, it didn't immediately collapse. It did in the end, of course, as you very well know, and the temple was destroyed. Now, I want to investigate with you something of the wonder of what was taking place in Solomon's time. I have an idea that at some time or another, we might have looked into the fifth chapter. You can remind me afterwards. If not, perhaps we'll do it together this weekend. But in this great fifth chapter, you will see quite clearly that Solomon brings up the Ark of the Covenant and the tabernacle too, into the great temple. And you will know that he took and placed the Ark in the holiest of all. And there, when the Ark was put there, and they withdrew themselves, we're told, if we read, say, at the verse 13 of chapter 5, it came to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the Lord. And when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of music, and praised the Lord, saying, For he is good, for his mercy endureth forever, that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of God. Amen. What a glorious thing. Here, then, is everything, it seems, in complete order. For this, you may remember, is what happened when Moses and the children of Israel, in his day, had put together, rather than build it, of course, because, as you will know, it wasn't a building at all, the tabernacle. At that time also, God was pleased to come in all his glory and fill his house. Now, let every one of us be assured about this, that since Jesus said, in John 2, destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it again, and they mistook what he was saying for the outer building of Herod's temple, but he meant his own body, that when we read about the temple, we are to think about ourselves, our bodies. Now, I don't know whether you have such an experience from God, that you've been glorified, utterly glorified, by the presence of the Lord within. If I started, say, with you, and went round each one of you individually, and then you could all ask me individually, yourselves, afterwards, don't, let's try and hide in the anonymity of a crowd. Let's understand that we are individuals in the sight of God. Don't get running away from this personal application, losing yourself in the morass of theology and doctrines and just religion. But if I was to come round and ask you individually and say, have you ever known a time in your life when God came into you, in your body, now that's where you are. I'm not particularly, I'm not thinking about a merely physical experience, but within this physique of ours, within these bodies of ours, here and now, where we are, on the earth. Have you ever had an experience whereby God has come and absolutely glorified you within? Because if you haven't, you must know that you have missed what God wants you to have and how in the world can we talk about that great last verse of 2 Corinthians 3, which talks about where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty, and we all ask with unveiled face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed from glory to glory even as by the spirit of the Lord. You can't talk about that unless you've had an initial experience of the great glorifying power, an entrance of the Lord that glorifies your being in such a way as this, not to get mixed up with the sort of pause of the ancient mystics, but to know this, that verse 14 at the end of that chapter, the priest could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud, because of the glory of the Lord filling God's house. Have you ever had an experience where you just couldn't stand to minister? Well if you couldn't stand to minister, I reckon you were on your face, that's where I was when God met me. That's the great tremendous thing and know this whoever you are, this is why God has come to you in mercy and in grace and in forgiveness and cleansing and all the other things that may have happened to you. In order to bring you to this place where you will know the glory of the Lord, because who can know the presence of the Lord who hasn't known his glory? Who can? That we are going to know more of his glory is wonderful. And of course we'll have to be out of these bodies for that. But blessed be the name of the Lord while we're here, down on this earth, God intends us to have somewhat of an experience of the incoming of the glory of the Lord, leaving us in awe and wonder whether we can't sing a chorus or speak a word or hardly breathe a breath. But know that God's come. He's come. Hallelujah. Have you ever done that? Have you ever known it? Have you ever lain in his presence? Watch the glorious roll over and over your soul. Not a momentary glimpse, but something that comes and comes and comes after a while you get used to it. But in its initial experience is overwhelming. Well now, you might be excused as anybody may to think well now this is it, this is the great consummating thing, it's happened. But you may also be surprised to know that this man Solomon, he wasn't satisfied with that. This is the tragedy, that there are too many people settling down for an experience and being satisfied with that, that they can talk about it and put the finger on a date perhaps and be very sure and very clear and it could be so far ahead of other people's experience that they may be left with a mouth wide open saying well I want that. Show me how I can get there. And beloved if you've never come there, you keep going. Hallelujah. It's so wonderful to know these glorious things. And don't be put off by people who talk about your peddling experiences. I was once talking to a, well he was one of, this man, I don't know whether anybody in the room was clever as him, he was one of the sort of boffin boys of the atoms research units and I don't know what he was, and he was that clever, I don't know whether he was sort of up in the air or down on the floor, and we were talking one night, he'd come to a meeting where I was, this was years ago now, and when I was speaking about this great truth of being baptised in the Holy Ghost, and he stayed on afterwards drinking coffee, they were, and he said, you see aren't you peddling experiences? So it sounded so good, that's where I got the phrase from by the way, I've remembered it ever since. So he went on and sort of, I don't think then, then I said to him, but you do believe in being converted to Jesus Christ don't you? Oh yes he said, I said do you ever talk about it? He said yes. I said well aren't you peddling an experience then? To Jay he said alright. The whole glory of seeing is that we are not peddling experience, that's the word of the sinning. But there are experiences that God has for us, and without them you cannot come to what God has for you. And that is why the Lord has put them out for us in the book, so that we should seek. So we find that contrary to what we might think, Solomon did not say, well now this is marvellous, just what we wanted of course, be seeking this, knew it would happen, you know that we, well at least he talks about it this way, I think we can read his own words, chapter 6 verse 1. Then said Solomon, the Lord hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness, but I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place for thy dwelling forever. Blessed be the name of the Lord. He had accomplished it. And we can go right through this great truth. And in its parallel scripture in 1st Kings, how Solomon was so thrilled that it happened. But he knew better than to stop there. There are too many people settling down for a full house filled with God. That didn't satisfy Solomon. And he knew it wouldn't satisfy God either. And this again is why so many people do not seem to have a proper issue from their experience of this mighty thing. Because that seems to be all. And they are struggling from then on to sort of maintain their experience. Sort of, let God do it, then watch it don't backslide and wait for Jesus to come. You know, this sort of thing. Now God forbid that you and I should ever settle down into that perilous kind of thinking. Solomon didn't. You may be aware that in this great 6th chapter he has come to a tremendous prayer position. In fact he could hardly believe the thing that had happened. You look at verse 18 of chapter 6. But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? He couldn't believe it when it had happened hardly. Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain it. How much less this house which I have built. It seemed too great for him when in the evening it had happened. I think that's good too, don't you? That we should ever be taken up with the majesty and the greatness and the glory of God. You know, this is what you'll discover when you read the Old Testament. They had a marvelous view of the greatness of God, you know. Don't let's get carried away too much by this over familiarity that's here, that's taking place, you know. I've heard fellows walking around till I got a little bit sick of it saying Daddy, Daddy, he calls himself Daddy. I don't know what you think about him. You mustn't get over familiar with God, you know. You won't even find that Jesus walked about talking like that. If ever anybody had a right to, I suppose it would have been him. Whatever you do, keep sane, keep balanced, keep right. Don't be so stiff upright that you're sort of afraid to move one way or another. But let God teach us something of his awe and of his majesty and his wonder. Let him bring us into his greatness. Praise the Lord. Ever treat him as God, almighty and eternal. Ever remember that it's only his grace that brings you anywhere with him. Ever remember that it's the astounding miracle of the ages that God should ever want someone like you. When I look at myself and I think that God ever wanted me and called me and loved me, it brings me down in awe and wonder and glory wherever I am. I want to pitch down on my face somewhere and start worshipping and magnifying the Lord. God, take us out of this over familiarity of this reactive age in which we are living. Where all sense of majesty and awe and wonder is thrown aside by the world and it's seeping into the church. Remember that the church isn't run by a parliament with a nominal head called the Queen. Remember it's being run by God, his majesty. You keep that well in your heart and treasure him. And know the proper relationship. Amen. I read of the great ones in Isaiah with six wings and with twain they covered their faces. I read of Moses, that great man of the Old Testament who was afraid to look upon God. You remember it. And remember that Jesus now is not in a veil of flesh. So that you could look upon him in a veil of flesh. Remember he's there in all his glory. Blessed Lord, doesn't it make the love and wonder rise in your heart and bring us out of this turgid stream that people are trying to sort of work up to enthuse us with the idea that we're children of God. Not that we haven't a free access to him. Not that the way isn't there. Oh, hallelujah. If you love him, you treasure him even for the wonder that he's allowed you to love him. So may God bring us into reality. He said, is it true? Will God really dwell on the earth? The heaven of heavens cannot contain it. Much less this temple and that great building was filled with the glory of God. What if you'd have been there? And you'd have seen the glory of God surging out of that building from the holiest place of all where to he had descended to take his seat between the cherubim upon the mercy seat stained with blood and then billowed right out through the temple where everything was engraved with the glory of God. Can you imagine it? What would you have done? Down on your face you'd have gone. Wouldn't you? You'd have been struck with awe. Wonder. You'd have been overpowered by it all. Glory, glory, glory. We're not told how long elapsed between what happened in chapter 5 and Solomon took up his great prayer in chapter 6. But I want you to notice something. In verse 12 of this 6th chapter we read this. Then he stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the congregation of Israel and spread forth his hands for Solomon had made a brazen scaffold of five cubits long and five cubits broad and three cubits high and had set it in the midst of the court and upon it he stood and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel and spread forth his hands toward heaven until this moment he'd been standing there with his hands outstretched to the people thrilled with what we would say was the crowning glory of his achievements. Then he sinks down on his knees with his hands spread to heaven. What are you doing, Solomon? Aren't you satisfied? No. What are you wanting now? Can you have anything more than this? Yes. And I'm going to have it. Praise the name of the Lord. And what was he seeking? We shall find out. Because, beloved, this is the thing that's missing in so many lives today. I, as you know, am very privileged to move about in all companies in lots and lots of countries of the world I've just recently come back from Spain and Sicily and I find that everywhere I go I'm not making any wild guesses of this I'm in all sorts of companies where they call themselves Evangelical, Pentecostal or what it is all sorts of companies and it's this that I find missing so often Paul Solomon knew what he was after supposing I came round to you and I said what are you after? You remember that when people started to follow Jesus upon the earth the first people that started to follow him he turned around and he said what are you seeking? What are you seeking? Come on, what are you seeking? Is Jesus speaking? That's the thing. That was the first question. Now, beloved, let's face this very, very straightly for God requires this of every one of us I want you to notice where scaffold was and you can interpret the word scaffold whichever way you like it at least has two meanings scaffold is sort of a framework that you build in which you build something inside scaffold is also used for a death place they hang people on scaffolds you may interpret it which way you like or they used to of course, they don't do it now but Solomon is standing on this thing and notice it's by the altar not very far away from it and it's raised up tells you it's there and he gets down on his knees and he spreads his hand toward heaven and he finishes up his prayer like this in the end of chapter 6 verse 40 Now my God, let I beseech thee thine eyes be open and let thine ears be attentive to the prayer that is made in this place now therefore arise O Lord God into thy resting place thou and the ark of thy strength let thy priests O Lord God be clothed with salvation and let thy saints rejoice in goodness O Lord God turn not away the face of thine anointed remember the mercies of David thy servant now when Solomon had made an end of praying the fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices and the glory of the Lord filled the house again now that's it so I've learned the secret of retaining the glory I've learned the secret of repetitious fillings and glorifying in the inner man from God you learned it what is it not glory in the house but fire on the altar if the fire is on the altar the glory is in the house if the fire isn't there where it's visible outside then the glory isn't inside don't let anybody deceive themselves this is one of the basic deceptions amongst people who talk about being baptized in the Holy Ghost God has put his finger right on it hallelujah I'm going to ask you then where's the fire in your life I'm pointing at you where's the fire do you notice that Solomon had his he had his scaffold built right up there where he could look down on the altar and notice that the altar was already filled filled glory you know why the fire doesn't fall because the altar is not filled God doesn't believe you you see God's got to be able to believe us he's got eyes he looked down and he saw that this man Solomon hadn't just been content with putting the ark in the house he was expecting something to happen I suppose he'd been able to read Moses writings or hear of them how that when everything was put in order in the tabernacle the glory of the Lord filled the house expect so this man he knew that it needed more than that he was expecting the fire of where so it got all there now here then is the great secret of Solomon's life he understood the altar do you understand the altar? did you know that before the temple could be built even and the house of God thought of the temple had to be raised the altar had to be raised go back with me chapter 2 verse 1 Solomon determined to build a house for the name of the Lord and a house for his kingdom praise God you ready? in verse 4 he says behold I build a house for the name of the Lord my God to dedicate it to him and to burn before him to burn before him Solomon knew that God would not dwell anywhere unless the fire was there now he knew that to burn before him sweet incense and for the continual showbread and for the burnt offering morning and evening on the sabbath and on the new moons and on the solemn feasts of the Lord our God this is an ordinance forever to Israel and the house which I build is great for great is our God above all gods and who is able to build him a house seeing the heaven and heaven and heavens cannot contain him who am I then that I should build him a house save only to burn sacrifice before him there it is clear as anything he knew exactly what it was all about he got this altar principle in his heart he knew praise God listen go back with me to the first book of Proverbs in the chapter 21 and 22 if you are familiar with scriptures and I hope you are you will know that in chapter 21 we have the account of one of David's major sins now I hope you don't read it in order to pry into the sins that men or women commit they are written for our learning and our instruction beloved but I hope you see the grace of God too when you read David didn't commit a lot of sins if all your sins were recorded in a book I don't know whether you'd like us to stand up and read in it tonight here is a big thing for us to understand that David made one of his great big mistakes it was over the numbering of the children of Israel and it was all wrong and God had to punish him because not only did he do it but when he did it, he did it wrongly it was all away from God and God had to judge in Israel and you will remember the story how that David sees the angel of God verse 16 of chapter 21 he lifts up his eyes he sees the angel of the Lord between the earth and the heaven having a drawn sword in his hand stretched out over Jerusalem then David and the elders of Israel who were clothed in sackcloth fell upon their faces verse 18 then the angel of the Lord commanded Gab to say to David that David should go up and set up an altar unto the Lord in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite and that's what happened in verse 25 David gave to Ornan for the place 600 shekels of gold by weight and David built there an altar unto the Lord and offered burnt offerings and peace offerings and called upon the Lord and he answered him from heaven by fire upon the altar of the burnt offering Solomon was young and tender at that time and Solomon possibly had heard his father say Oh Lord God don't punish these people let thy judgments be upon me and my house and Solomon is standing there he knew he knew that because God in mercy forgave and David built an altar there in the threshing floor of Ornan that Solomon was still alive he knew it he knew it it was as clear as anything God answered David by fire these men of old you know they weren't content with some of the things that people are content with today he went up and built that altar there and he didn't put any light under it fire had to come down from heaven he wasn't going to work up anything from earth he wasn't going to strike a match nothing it had got to come from heaven what a tremendous place these people reached and was so tremendous that time verse 28 when David saw that the Lord had answered him in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite that he sacrificed there for the tabernacle of the Lord which Moses made in the wilderness and the altar of the burnt offering were at that season in the high place of Gibeon that David could not go before it to inquire of God for he was afraid of the sword of the angel of the Lord then David said this is the house of the Lord God and this is the altar of the burnt offering for Israel there it is there before the house the altar in the great threshing floor of Ornan Solomon never got away from there he seen something God open your eyes you seen something then you are responsible for it better be blind remember that when Jesus once this is Jesus not me I've not imagined it I'll show you the exact place to find it in John's Gospel chapter 9 last verse you may read it yourself Solomon thought that this beloved this beloved wasn't new today it wasn't something new in Israel turn back with me to 2 Chronicles and in 2 Chronicles chapter 3 you remember that David said now this is the house of God this is the altar it's the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite now we are going to see where it was Solomon chapter 3 verse 1 began to build the house of the Lord at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah where the Lord appeared under David his father in the place that David had prepared in the threshing floor of Ornan the Jebusite so Ornan the Jebusite had built his threshing floor or made his threshing floor on Mount Moriah Genesis chapter 22 it came to pass after these things that God did test Abraham and said unto him Abraham and he said behold here I am and he said take now thy son thine only son Isaac whom thou lovest God didn't let him off the hook whom thou lovest and get thee into the land of Moriah it was only the land of Moriah there no Jerusalem not there isn't it a marvelous thing and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of you know the rest of the story don't you Abraham built the altar Abraham Abraham laid his son on the altar Abraham was going to kill his son on the altar and God stopped him but nevertheless in his heart he offered his son to God and in faith he received him back from the dead Hebrews 11 will tell you and you know that he called that place that altar Jehovah Jireh verse 14 as it is said to this day in the mouth of the Lord it shall be seen hear that that's where David saw it he saw it in the mouth of the Lord that's where Solomon saw it in the mouth of the Lord David saw an altar Solomon saw a temple the altar before the temple my friend the altar before the temple and the temple is only for the altar if you've been thinking the altar is for the temple you've got it the wrong way around don't know whether you've ever seen it turn with me into the last book of the Bible and John now takes up the vision and the revelation in chapter 21 he sees the new heaven he sees the new earth he sees New Jerusalem verse 2 and in New Jerusalem there's a Moriah in New Jerusalem there is a temple at least we'll look and see verse 22 I saw no temple therein for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it Hallelujah right there that God and His Lamb God and His Lamb God and the altar the building itself didn't especially matter it's the temple the heart of the temple the secret of it all is the altar first Abraham then David then Solomon I can't rest until the fire is on the altar that's Solomon and neither can God God wouldn't have stopped there unless there had been an altar that was the most important thing before ever there was a temple built on the earth there was an altar raised Genesis 4 Abel there was no temple an altar before the temple was built starting from Acts chapter 2 Calvary the altar before there was any real baptism in the Holy Ghost before anything of this glory there had to be the fire Oh Lord help us to see it where is the fire in your life Solomon knew he only wanted to live to burn burn, that's all he wanted for burn, burn, burn that's God and here then is spelled out the secret and the open secret of failure where is the fire any fire in ready much talk about glory any talk about fire much talk about blessing any talk about fire I hear, I go around let's pray, everybody's jumping on this bandwagon of praise they've read the right books the whole tremendous thing was done the fire beloved glory be to the name of the Lord once this grips your heart and gets hold of your beloved you see what it's all about Solomon had this temple, this altar just piled with his sacrifices let's do a little more reading, shall we pray God that his word will speak to our hearts so clearly go back to chapter 1 of 2nd Chronicles Amen he's speaking is Solomon he's come to the throne let's start at verse 1, shall we David said I can go on to 10 o'clock so if you're tired, it's only just turned half past nine you can just relax or relax or whatever it is Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom and the Lord his God was with him and magnified him exceedingly then Solomon spake unto all Israel to the captains of thousands and of hundreds and to the judges and to every governor in all Israel and the chief of the fathers so Solomon and all the congregation with him went to the high place that was at Gibeon for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God which Moses the servant of the Lord had made in the wilderness but the ark of God had David brought up from to the place where David which David had prepared for it for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem moreover the brazen altar that Bezalel the son of Uri the son of her had made he put before the tabernacle of the Lord and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it and Solomon went up thither to the brazen altar before the Lord which was at the tabernacle of the congregation and offered, listen a thousand burnt offerings of body let it sink into your heart see what this man did see the kind of man he was at that time glory be to the name of the Lord he didn't particularly seek unto the ark he sought to the altar has that sunk into your hearts unto the altar hallelujah he got the vision straight he didn't say now let's all go out and sing these marvellous psalms my father's you know, he didn't say that, no let's go up there and put all these burnt offerings on the altar God doesn't want your psalms if the offerings aren't there doesn't want them God won't abide well done here is the great tragedy that's overtaken the hearts of men and women he didn't say let's all go up there and play all the marvellous instruments let's go up and offer some sacrifices shall we let's go up and get the altar to me get trumpet at home amen I find him again he got this thing absolutely straight let's go to chapter 7 when the great fire came down verse 3 when all the children of Israel saw how the fire came down have you seen how the fire comes down have you seen how it comes down and the glory of the Lord upon the house they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement and worshipped and praised the Lord saying for his good for his mercy endure it forever then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the Lord and king Solomon, listen to this one offered a sacrifice of 22,000 oxen and 120,000 sheep well how could a man do that he was no liar he said I only want to build this house to burn he showed what he meant God was utterly persuaded of this man's genuineness it's that that is the basis of answer from God it's that, this is the ground of true faith God's persuasion that you mean it 22,000 oxen, think of it well he must have got everybody in on it have you got anyone, have you got one soul in have you got one soul to be an altar person just one soul, tell me is it the one you are married to your own children, anybody else in the church have you got one soul to love the altar golden temple massive pillars and cold wet glittering jewels all that rubbish now Lord, God doesn't believe you here is the tragedy that's where it lies I don't know many people of fire hold your hand up, count on your fingers how many do you know who are people of fire people of niceness and sweetness and filthy tongues and messages and all this where is the fire glory be to God he got everybody organised imagine, where ever were all these animals he knew he knew he got them all ready God's got no answer by fire and you know the only way to keep the fire going is with your gun, don't you feel it he knew, he set the fire praise God he was right up on that scaffold he got it all there fire in town hallelujah go on, bring those other oxen, bring those sheep get to it you Levites come on you priests, come on all you other people feed the altar, God's come hallelujah, but how many of us have seen it all and how many of us know and how the world languishes because there is no fire well the fire is death, it's the fire that made it live unless they were all dead carcasses the fire God help us blood, blood, gallons of it without the fire, useless am I right or wrong a wasted death lives laid down in vain, no fire without the fire, beloved that's what Jesus said he didn't say, I've come to send glory on the earth he said, I've come to send the fire if you can see the fire, you know the man's got the glory if you don't see the fire, nobody's got the glory man hasn't got it simple, logical the glory burst forth, flooded the place and then receded how did they know the glory was there afterwards the fire was there that's all the glory wasn't always gushing forth in clouds of prostrating everybody that wasn't what the glory was for the glory abode way back in the holiest of all and God sat there in his majesty it was when the fire was burning at the gate that's right now hope you've seen this in the mount of the Lord it shall be seen in the mountain of his holiness glory, glory, glory, glory in David's day it was just a threshing floor the sacred place of Abraham's offering had just become a common place a Jebusite had it a Jebusite whether he was a proselytite to what we'll call Judaism Judaism had emerged then of course Israel was one complete nation or whether he was occupying a place of the old never to have been in God or in the clouds but God insisted he said to Gad you tell David of God's own law once the altar was there and the fire was there he said now Lord let me build your house glory, he saw it when the fire was there let me build your house hallelujah hallelujah I trust that God has clarified things to your heart and mine beloved and I tell you the history of his church on earth will be marked by this preaching without fire is spreading death going through the right and the wrong of worshippers another sort of death without fire praise God when a man's got fire in him and it's too hot for the devil to handle but I don't mold many people on the fire as I say I move about in many places yes I see this and I see that charismatic these are sort of words like rubbing a magic lamp where's the fire? where's the fire? the light glistening to God burning, burning, burning that's it other things aside other things don't matter anything that hinders this is sin that's the way you've got to regard it God help us all God's got a fire program for the earth bless him and how many of you are going to be in the fire if I said have you prepared your sacrifices, your bullets, your sheep have you? have you mapped it all out ahead? yes Lord, I know we don't plan our lives and sort of we're going to do this and that but there are great broad lines of principles of truth in scripture don't expect God to do the things he's going to do unless you and I come down on his level or up on to it by it was such a holocaust let's read on, I think we must soon finish in the seventh chapter blessed be the name of the Lord the king, verse 5 at the end of that verse and all the people dedicated the house of God they dedicated God's house yeah, that's right, he sanctified it they dedicated it that's right, and how did they dedicate it? sacrifice sacrifice and what sacrifice? let's look at it the priest waited on their offices the Levite also with instruments of music of the Lord hallelujah which David the king had made to praise the Lord because his mercy endured forever what's this business about his mercy come on well you see that's it well he's merciful and he forgives and we know all the sort of things now why do you keep on re-introducing this? listen beloved in verse 3 they're worshipping and praising God and they say at the end of verse 3 he's good, his mercy endures forever what do they mean? well, it was the mercy of God that the fire had come down don't you see the mercy that God ever gives you inside? don't you see? we come boldly to the throne of grace we're told in the great priestly epistle that is Hebrews in the New Testament that we may obtain mercy hallelujah for merciful God give me the fire let me burn Lord I know where thy mercy lies this isn't just the mercy of forgiveness it's the mercy of service that I should be in his great kingdom and live and serve him and burn for God night and day that's what it's all about why should he have me to serve him when he's got a million angels created for the work to serve him why let me I read that angels come out of the temple in heaven you can read all about it in the book of Revelation the angels come out of the temple why does he want me? I tell you son to serve me on the earth be a fire of Jesus be a fire for God sacrifice, sacrifice everything you've got sacrifice it you'll soon find out whether you've got anything that God wouldn't touch or won't have that'll sort out your belongings hallelujah let's read on the priest sounded with the trumpets before them I'm in the end of verse 6 all Israel stood glory to God their faces on the pavement shouting glory to God now they're all standing amen and listen Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the Lord for there he offered burnt offerings and the fat of the peace offerings because the brazen order which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings and the meat offerings end of that how about that it got so much it was eating too much for the fire if I may so say the fire came on the altar Solomon said let's dedicate a center of the court all around that great big brazen scaffold he'd been kneeling on wasn't Solomon the sacrifice that's where he built the scaffold in the middle and they used the scaffold and they piled the things round it on it hallelujah a second altar unto God surely that carnal surely God only sanctified the altar God sanctified everything whether life is fire or dirt and given to God he wasn't concerned to keep his lovely temple shining like a new thing all brand new keep off, keep off, keep off before they were out the place was blackened with smoke blackened with the smoke of their sacrifices God blackened everything you've got let's see it in use let's see it real let the flames go up to heaven let the sacrifices be piled everywhere come away from drawing in your skirt to try and walk a narrow line God sanctified everything when a man's there hallelujah and if you'd have been there you'd have thought the whole temple was an altar you'd have thought the whole temple was ablaze you'd have thought the whole temple was running with blood you'd have thought that every man was a priest that's what you would have thought and that's what God wants and anything less than that is not good enough surely beyond the glory the fire I don't mean fleshly enthusiasm death come and go like a wave of a sea carrying seaweed driftwood and jellyfish for steady glorious purpose for heart as a flame for God life burning no hesitations no fears no withdrawings no excuses nothing give them over to God I don't know about you are you as hungry for it as God is? are you hungry for it? do you know what that order means? it means that God is hungry has a great appetite and he burns it up into himself so may the Lord do this great thing in your heart are you ready? I'm not trying to switch you on to something tonight as in five minutes we need to know where it lies, beloved if we hear the crackle of the flames we won't hear the cackle of backbiting and small talk nothing no wood on the altar nothing no kindling material nothing hey the sacrifice is God's work, son oh Lord that's it I think I want to pray come on, let's get it together