PENTECOST 2
June 6/7, 2010
Pastor Timothy J. Spaude
Text: 1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43

OUR FAITHFUL GOD
1. Gets praise from His faithful people.
2. Gets fame from His faithful people.

1 Kings 8:22-23, 41-43 “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven 23 and said: "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.” 41 "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name- 42 for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.”

What are we doing here? What is our reason for existing? Every once in a while it is good for any organization of people to ask themselves that question. Sometimes what happens with businesses and organizations is that they lose sight of the reason they exist and over time their purpose for existing is simply to exist. They serve themselves. Certainly that can happen with churches. Generally when God’s people gather they want to have a dedicated place to worship Him so they build buildings. Buildings take work and upkeep and money. Over time the reason for existing can be to keep the buildings maintained and to meet the budget. What about us at St. Jacobi? Is that us? Why do we exist? What is our purpose in being here? To answer that question we turn to the word of the Lord written at a time when a building was being dedicated, the great Temple built by Solomon.
Let’s talk about that Temple a little bit. Perhaps you recall that it was King Solomon’s dad, King David, that originally wanted to build that Temple but God said, “No.” Solomon would build it. David did gather materials though. Let me describe some of them. In addition to the iron and bronze and copper and carefully cut timbers and dressed stone, David collected over 100,000 talents of gold. At today’s values that would be about 122 million dollars worth of gold. David also collected over 1,000,000 talents of silver. At today’s values that would be about 11.5 million dollars. Now that’s just materials. We’re not talking labor or furnishings. Certainly an impressive building.
But why? What was the purpose for such an impressive building? Solomon tells us. “Then Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in front of the whole assembly of Israel, spread out his hands toward heaven 23 and said: "O LORD, God of Israel, there is no God like you in heaven above or on earth below—you who keep your covenant of love with your servants who continue wholeheartedly in your way.” Here is the reason. Solomon served a faithful God. He understood the privilege of serving wholeheartedly the only true God, the Savior God who keeps a covenant of love. He’s talking about the God who keeps His side of the covenant no matter what the cost. Solomon didn’t know all the details then but we do. We know the fullness of the plan God committed Himself to because He so loved the world that turned its back on Him and continues to do so. It cost Him His Son. That’s faithfulness, sticking with His people in spite of their sins, their fickleness, their laziness, their betrayal, their unbelief.
Now what do those who recognize God’s faithfulness who respond to a faithful God with faithfulness of their own, what do they want to give Him? First of all praise. That’s what Solomon was doing. You notice he didn’t simply repeat “Hallelujah!” over and over again. He declared the greatness of God and the great things He had done. That was the purpose for the Temple. That’s why it was so magnificent. It was built for the magnificent God of faithfulness so His faithful people could give Him praise.
And there was another purpose too. Solomon went on. "As for the foreigner who does not belong to your people Israel but has come from a distant land because of your name- 42 for men will hear of your great name and your mighty hand and your outstretched arm—when he comes and prays toward this temple, 43 then hear from heaven, your dwelling place, and do whatever the foreigner asks of you, so that all the peoples of the earth may know your name and fear you, as do your own people Israel, and may know that this house I have built bears your Name.” Solomon anticipated a time when people outside of the nation of Israel, foreigners, would hear about the God of faithfulness and they would want to seek His face. They would hear about a God who saved His people, a God who had forgiveness, a God you wanted to obey. They would want to worship Him and pray to Him. Since then, as now, God did not choose to appear in visible form, the Temple would serve as a focal point for the fame of God, a place to gather more and more into the family of faith. That was its purpose, its reason for being there.
Now remember we began today talking about us and what we are doing here. Why does St. Jacobi congregation exist? Isn’t it the same reason as why the Temple was built—so that God’s faithful people can give their faithful God praise and fame? Yes, that’s why we exist. It’s why we operate a school. It’s why meeting our budgeted needs is important. We are here as a gathering place to give praise to God and spread the fame of His name.
Now how are we doing in fulfilling our purpose? Let’s talk praise a little bit. We do that together corporately in what we call worship. To be honest worship services are designed for God to give to His people, feeding their faith in Word and Sacrament. He is a faithful God after all! But what about our attitudes when we come here? I wonder sometimes if the Devil’s clever use of the modern entertainment industry to feed selfishness is robbing God of some of our praise. What I mean by that is this. Modern entertainment options subtly teach people, “It’s all about me! What I like. What I want.” 500 satellite radio stations. 900 TV channels. Computer and video games by the thousands. If you are not being entertained you turn the channel. Fine for TV. But then when we leave the mundane things of the world and cross the threshold of God’s house we take the same mindset with us. Will I be entertained today? What’s in it for me? Do you see something there that directly opposes our purpose of a gathering place to give God praise? How about instead of seeking to be entertained we seek to entertain God with our heartfelt praise and our devotion to His word that He has faithfully preserved for us? Children do you see why your parents want you to behave so well, why they want you to know the Lord’s Prayer and the Creeds and other songs? They want you to entertain God by giving Him praise and He loves it when you do.
And now let’s talk about giving God fame. I don’t mean to pick on anyone or their posture but what do you think an unbeliever might think about how great God is if they walked into our building dedicated to the glory of God and instead of seeing us give God praise they would see us texting, or reading the paper, or slouching, or giving the bored sign? Wouldn’t they be forced to think, “They serve a tiny god.” But we actually serve a faithful God who has the power to destroy us instantly, who has the right to punish us eternally but instead forgives us for Jesus’ sake and loves us beyond our ability to comprehend . That’s why we want to behave well and have our property and grounds kept up. Not so that St. Jacobi gets a good name but so that God does, so that people think, “Their god must be a great God. I want Him too!” That’s the reason the Temple existed, so that our faithful God could get praise and fame from His faithful people. It’s why St. Jacobi exists.
It’s also why you exist too. Remember that you are temples of the Holy Spirit who lives in you. You are living, breathing temples. You can do something this building we are in cannot. You can move from place to place with all kinds of opportunities to give God praise and fame. And you are doing it. You are testifying appropriately at work. We have young saints talking about their faith at Little League and telling other kids in the park. We have older saints giving God the glory for answering prayers and for giving blessings, clinging to Him in trouble and distress. Way to go. As was said about the Temple when it was dedicated and this church when it was dedicated and this congregation when it was started may it be said about each one of us and the way we live, “To God be the glory!” Amen.