1 Kings 8:3, 4, 11 "And all the elders of Israel came, and the priest took up the ark. And they brought up the ark of the Lord, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. So that the priests could not sand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had filled the house of the Lord."
Many believers are still trying to serve God in David's Tabernacle, while God is trying to move us into the anointing of Solomon's Temple, the completion of David's ministry.
David's Tabernacle was a place without pattern, a place of spontaneity, a place of praise and abandoned worship. There can be no doubt that God was honored there. David's desire was to build a House or a Temple for the Mighty One of Israel.
When the Temple was finished, the utensils were brought from Mt. Bibeon, which represents the law, the form and structure of God's House. The Ark was also brought up from David's Tabernacle, which represents the flow and spontaniety of the Spirit. Then these were united in one place. That day the glory of God manifested itself in the new Temple. It was so strong that the Bible says that the priests could not stand to minister by reson of the cloud.
God is calling the Church into balance. He will combine in us the structure of Mt. Gibeon with the spontaneity evident on Mt. Zion. He doesn't want us to quench the Spirit, but to be a foundation or structure that will contain the flow of the Spirit. What some people call "liberty," God calls "confusion."
Life is wonderful, but without structure we cannot maintain it. Jesus lived by God's laws, and god want us to live by them. They'll give us stability. If we know His Word, He can trust us with His power. The fulness of God will be achieved by combining the holiness of God with the power of God. If we want the glory to fall as it did in Solomon's Temple, we need the union of the structural foundation in the Word of God with the liberty of the Spirit and His gifts.
God wants us to be free and uninhibited, but He also wants us to be strong and discerning. We need a marriage of responsibility and intimacy. God is calling us to responsibility in this hour. We're not serious enought about this thing. God is calling us to accountability. This is not legalism. this is mature Christianity evidenced by a demonstratin of both power and purity.
Matthew 3:11, 12 "I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire: whose fan is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat intot he garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire."
We are only beginning to see the great things that God has prepared for us. We are going to experience the same miracles that Jesus did, that Paul did, and that many in the Church are experiencing today.
We don't have to do everything perfectly. We may make some mistakes. God's grace will be sufficient. We should culitvate the fear of God, developing a true attitude of humility, and God will bring us through. Peter "blew it" several times, but he was there on the Day of Pentecost when the fire of God fell.
Be patient. It takes time to develop a supernatural, miraculous lifestyle. We all expect to be walking in our high calling overnight. It takes time and patience to learn God's ways and flow with God's structure. As we move into a balane between God's Spirit and God's order, we will experience the glory of a new anointing.
