Togetherness Brings God's Glory

Following the chapters of King Solomon building and furnishing the Temple of the Lord, chapter 5 is about the dedication. The Ark of the Covenant was placed in the section of the Temple called The Most Holy Place. This room was only entered once a year by the high priest on the Day of Atonement. This particular day was unusual as more than one priest was needed to help carry the Ark. Each priest had to consecrate himself before entering the The Most Holy Place. Consecration was done by anointing the priest from head to toe with anointing oil. Every article placed in the Temple had to be anointed with oil as well. The articles were made by man, who is unholy, so the only way to make them holy was to anoint them. Nothing unholy could be in this place. The only articles inside the Ark were the two stone tablets that were put there at Horeb, where the Lord had made the covenant with the Israelites after leaving Egypt. When I read about the Ark, I always think about that scene in Indiana Jones when the bad guys opened up the Ark and they melt because they are so evil.

King Solomon gathered all the musicians and singers together to sing praise to the Lord and to celebrate the arrival of the Ark's new dwelling place. Verses 13-14 says, "The trumpeters and singers joined in unison, as with one voice, to give praise and thanks to the LORD. Accompanied by trumpets, cymbals and other instruments, they raised their voices in praise to the LORD and sang: "He is good; his love endures forever." Then the temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud, 14 and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the LORD filled the temple of God."

God's glory was so intense and so overwhelming that the priests were unable to do anything. What is interesting is what brought this amazing glory to this place was not only the worship of the people, but it was their unity. It says "they joined in unison, as with one voice." Wouldn't it be so neat to see Sunday morning worship services be filled with a cloud of glory like that?

A similar event happened in the New Testament after Jesus had ascended to Heaven. Again, God's Spirit came to visit, but this time for good. This event is found in Acts 2. It reads, "1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues^[a] as the Spirit enabled them." The New King James says "they were in one accord, in one place." Doesn't that sound similar to 2 Chronicles? Now I'm not a Bible scholar, as I have mentioned before, but to me, that says that God's glory shows up when people are in unity.

I've often wondered myself why we don't see the power of God glory in our Sunday morning services, mid week services or really every time we as believers gather. I'm not looking for emotion and anything man made, but a presence that can only come from the Lord. There have been seasons in certain churches where the power of God is so overwhelming that people can't even stand up. Like when there was the revival in Toronto, Pensacola, FL and recently in Lakeland , FL. I wonder why it only happens in certain places and not in more church services. I've come to the conclusion that it is because we "the church" are not coming together as "one" body. Or in one accord. The dictionary definition for accord is "in agreement or harmony." Harmony is a good word.

In music, harmony is when everyone has a different musical part, yet they sing the same song. I almost wonder, now I'm stepping out of the box here, if we aren't seeing God's glory in this powerful way because the average church attender, isn't using his gift to serve the body as a whole. I suppose you could say, not "singing" his part. So the "music" is off beat. So many believers who just attend church and have so much to offer, but don't because they are either insecure about their gift, afraid to try, or just plain lazy. By the way, I've been guilty of this. I know that on certain Sunday mornings, especially in summer when people are on vacation, we tend to have "flat" services. Partly because we are missing the momentum that fuels the service. When we all do our part, the service is like being at the greatest symphony. I have this Donna Summer Live CD that I love to listen too. Not necessarily because of Donna's voice or even the songs, but I LOVE listening to the musicians play. In musician lingo they say the band is "tight." This means the musicians are so in tune with one another that it you can't even tell what instrument is playing because they all complement each other. I believe that is what it is like when a church body is so in tune with one another.

Being in tune with one another doesn't mean just being nice to each other. I think it means knowing each other. Sharing life with together, not hiding. I know people who come to church late and leave early just because they don't want anyone to "know" who they really are. Or those who come and take from the service, but never step up and serve. If we are all doing our part, then no one would ever have to work in a ministry that they are not called to do. I think that is another part of the problem. On the flip side, we have those few who do everything and are serving in ministries that they were not gifted or designed for. So to some degree they are compensating for that person who should be there. This too causes, complaining, bitterness against the church and the biggest culprit of them all, burn out! I've been guilty of this too. If we are all doing what we are supposed to we would never have church burn out.

When King Solomon gathered all who were going to be apart of this special service, each one was given a job and that job was chosen because of what tribe they were from and what specific ministry they were called too. The priests were not playing the cymbals, harps and lyres, their job was to sound the trumpets. The singers were to sing and the musicians were to play. So all of that to say, if we are all doing our part, then together we can bring God's glory and fill our churches with His presence every time we gather. After all, we are the new temples where His Spirit dwells.