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[music] [Bell ringing] [Bell ringing] [Bell ringing]

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[Bell ringing] [Bell ringing] [Bell ringing] [Bell ringing]

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[Bell ringing] [Bell ringing] [Bell ringing] Gracious God our Father, speak now to our hearts, and grant that we may have listening ears.

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And may we be not only hearers of the word but doers also. We ask in Jesus' name, amen. I want to lift up to just a few of the verses that were part of our scripture lesson in 2nd Kings chapter 12, we shall use just verses 4 through 7.

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"And Joash said to the priests, 'All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the Lord, even the money of every one that passes the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man's heart to bring into the house of the Lord. Let the priests take it to them, every man of his

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acquaintance, and let them repair the breaches of the house, where so ever any breach shall be found. But it was so that in the three and twentieth year of King Jehoash, the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house then King Jehoash called for Jehor to the priest and the other priests and said unto them why repair ye not the breaches of the house now

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therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance but deliver it for the breaches of the house. The subject of the message, repairing the temple, repairing the temple. The temple is the central place of worship. The temple is the dwelling place of the Lord. The temple is the meeting place of God's people. The temple is where wise men teach others

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about the divine revelation. The temple beautifully situated on Mount Zion, the temple where gifts are brought and dedicated for the upkeep of the temple. The temple is in need of repair. There are loose stones.

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There are stones that have been removed. There are cracks in the wall. The temple must be repaired if it is to fully serve the purpose for which it was constructed. Jehoash, King of Judah, commands that the temple be repaired.

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The house of the Lord should not be permitted to remain in a deteriorating condition. It should be kept in order. should not be neglected. The priests of the temple have neglected the care and beauty of the Lord's house.

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The king is concerned about the rehabilitation of the temple. Strange as it seems, adequate resources are available for the repair of the temple,

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but as I said earlier, the temple has been neglected. First of all, let's consider the King's command. It is the King who commands that the temple be repaired. The resources are available. There are those who have dedicated gifts. The arrangement is already

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made for the temple to be repaired because those who follow the order of worship and who set aside gifts for the temple are to bring those gifts to the temple. And according to the record here, they have been bringing the gifts to the temple but the funds that have been brought have not been used for the purpose for which they were given. They

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have been mismanaged, the funds have been misappropriated and that is why the the temple is not properly cared for. The keepers of the temple have used for themselves that which should be dedicated to the temple. That which should have been used for the temple of the Lord has been used for the temple of

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of Baal, the keepers of the temple, have used for themselves that which is to be set apart for the temple. That which is dedicated to God is to be used only for the purpose for which it is set apart. In fact, it is a consecrated gift. It is put aside in a special way. And while this has been done, in some part it has not been done

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unfully, there have been those who have set it apart and who have brought it and then it didn't get placed in the proper way and so the temple is run down. It's in a state of

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need for attention, repairs need to be made, the house needs to be set in order, and

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the king is concerned about the love of his people for God's house. The king is concerned about their love and loyalty, the care and beauty of God's house. So the king

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reprimands the keepers of the temple for using for themselves that which should have been dedicated to God. It seems to me that there is a lesson from this particular narrative that happened in the long ago that is applicable to us today as we consider our situation and

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our responsibility. The church is God's temple in the world. In fact, the universe itself is in a sense God's temple. We can look at the various institutions, every strata of life,

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and we can recognize the fact that there are breaches in the wall, there are cracks in the wall, there are gaps in the wall, that there is a gap that seems to separate our preachment from our practice.

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There are gaps in the wall. At every level of life we look at, we can see that there are certain gaps in the wall. We know far more than we do. There are some gaps there in the wall, some cracks in the wall. We are a nation that proclaims freedom for all, but at the same time when we proclaim our freedom and we are known as being one of the most prosperous, if not the richest,

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country in the world, we recognize that there are still many hungry people in this country. So there gaps in the wall. We recognize that while we say that this is the home of the free, there are some gaps in the wall because there are many, many homeless people in this world. In fact, I listened just a few days ago at a presentation before the City Council in which

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it was stated that some 2,000 people here in Austin are homeless. Many of them are sleeping under the bridge and here and there. There's some gaps in the wall. And we look at our university with all of its greatness and we recognize that while it is designed to serve all of the people of this state that there are some

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gaps in the wall. Our representative, Willa Minadelco, said in a speech a few days ago that there were more Anglos attending Texas Southern University and Prairie View than we have blacks attending the University of Texas. There There's some gaps in the wall.

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And when we look at our church family, we recognize that there's some cracks in the wall. There are some threats to our fellowship. There's some cracks in the wall.

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You know, some of us come here Sunday after Sunday, and we get up and we march right on out that door without meeting anybody else who's here. There's some gaps in the way. They even walk by me and I'm standing there with my hand.

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They walk right on by. There's some gaps in the wall, breaches in the wall when it comes to our fellowship, some gaps in the wall. When we consider our relationship to each other, there's some gaps in the wall.

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we consider what our responsibility is as disciples of Jesus Christ, there are gaps in the wall. The King has given the command and the King's command is go preach the gospel to every living creature. There are some gaps in the wall and sometimes the gaps appear in the wall because we just neglect them. We

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become so satisfied, we become so content, we get a soft cushion, pew, and we go to sleep. You know, some gaps in the wall. The church, you see, is situated between the already and the not yet. So any way you look at your life, if you really understand. There's some gaps in the wall. There's some gaps between the already

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and the not yet. I have already accepted Jesus Christ but I have not, I am not yet what I will be. That's true of every one of us. There's some gaps in the wall. And so the King's command is to repair the temple, repair the breaches in the wall. when it comes to the inequality that exists in the world, when it comes to our

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inhumanity, when it comes to our immorality, all of these suggest that there are gaps in the wall. And the King says, "Repair the temple, repair the temple the King's command is let him that heareth come the kingdom of God does not consist just in talk but in power doesn't matter how much I talk but

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unless the power of God is in us unless the power of God is in you and me then then there is no manifestation of the kingdom of God. No matter how many of us come here Sunday after Sunday, the kingdom of God is expressed

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by the power of God in our lives. If there is none of the power of God manifested in what we do, then the kingdom of God is not with us.

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So there's some gaps in the wall. So the kingdom of God does not consist in food and drink, but in righteousness, in peace, and in joy, there are some gaps in the wall.

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So the word comes here to build the temple, repair the temple. This is the king's command. The king says to us that the harvest truly is plenteous,

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but the laborers are few. There are breaches in the wall when it comes to our performance, as to our carrying out our evangelistic responsibility.

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There are breaches in the wall of our commitment, breaches in the wall when it comes to our love and our loyalty. And the king says, "Repair the temple."

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Our relationship to the king, our relationship to the rule of God in our hearts, as an expression of the kingdom of God, depends upon our response to the king's command, "Repair the wall." So there must be a radical change in the arrangements here. Something radical must happen.

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They've been going through the routine. been bringing their offerings there, that the priests have been receiving the offerings, but the temple still needs to be repaired. The cracks are all there. They've had service Sunday after Sunday, but the money has been brought,

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but the condition has remained the same. So something radical must happen. So the King says now to the priests that you're not to take any more money except to have this money that is brought put in a chest that was placed there near the altar and have the people to put it in there. It was a radical change that that

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the money was to be brought it was to be set aside and that the workers that were to engage in the task were to be diligent workers and they were to repair the temple. Well how do we repair the temple? Oh we can easily understand when we have some cracks that we can look at when the water is coming through and all

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of that and we get a carpenter or some construction worker to come and assist us with that and see that the repairs are made. What does it really mean to us to repair the temple? There was a man who saw men working at a construction site And he went up to one of them and he said, "What are you doing?"

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The man said, "Well, I'm working for $7.50 an hour." He went to another and said, "What are you doing?" He said, "Well, I'm cutting stone." And he went to another and he said, "What are you doing?"

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And this one answered, "I am building a cathedral." And so the question may be asked of us today, "What are you doing?" What are we really doing when it comes to carrying out our responsibility in the world? What are we doing? The King says to them, "Repair the

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temple." This is the King's command, to repair the temple. And so because they obeyed the King's command, because they were obedient to the word of the King, the temple is repaired. Temple is repaired. Well the church is the church when we are obedient to the Word of God. When we are obedient to the Word of God.

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And there are certain gaps that we find in the wall, gaps that between the already and the not yet and those gaps we must somehow begin to deal with. Gaps in the wall. Gaps in the wall when it comes to our prayer life. Gaps in the wall. Gaps in the wall when it comes to our commitment to really say that I am

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committed to fulfilling the will of God in my life. Every one of us must recognize that somehow, some way, there are gaps in that wall. The temple needs to be repaired. Gaps in the wall. When it comes to our giving, gaps in the wall. We look at our commitment that we express in our giving from Sunday to Sunday. About one

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One half of our members fail to contribute. Gaps in the wall. Gaps in the wall. Some come to wherever, "Are you sure my name is on the roll?"

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They like for their names to be on the roll, but they're not sure that they want to do all the things that are related to that. There are gaps in the wall. Gaps in that wall.

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The king says, "Repair the temple." I suspect there may be some gaps in the wall when it comes to our love life, how we love one another. Gaps in the wall.

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Gaps in the wall when it comes to how we reach out to those who are unfortunate. Gaps in the wall. in the wall. But the church becomes the church when those who are committed to doing the King's work are out there working on the walls, covering the cracks,

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seeing to it that the gaps are filled. You know when I was a young preacher without a church I'd go to this church talk to some people here and they said well you know you seem like you're fine young man but I would sure hate to see you with this church, Reverend, this is a mess you know I'd hate to see you with this

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church and I'd go to the next and they said well you know Reverend you you know you seem to be fine but not this church you know with all the problems that it has I wouldn't want to see you with that and on and on and I said to myself if I ever get a church it's gonna always be one that has a whole lot of problems

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there always a lot of gaps that are in the wall always and finally I got a church and I found out there's some gaps in the wall I found out that there would be Sunday school teachers who were committed to teaching but they didn't want to be taught. They didn't want to come and be taught. There's some gaps in the wall. I found out that there were deacons who wanted to be lay leaders, but they didn't want to come to prayer meetings. They didn't want to really be students of the Bible, come to Sunday school and church training. They didn't think that was for them. They only wanted to come to business meetings, deacons meetings. Some gaps in the wall. And I found out that there were choir members who wanted to sing in the choir, but they didn't think that they needed to do anything else but just sing when the choir was singing.

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some gaps in the wall. And I found out that there were members who wanted to see sure that their names were on the roll, but all they were really concerned about was really being able to have a decent barrel so that the Reverend would preach their funeral when they died. [inaudible] That's right.

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Gaps in the wall. In fact, here a few years ago, there was one person I had never heard of during the whole 15 years I had been here,

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and when he died, they said, "Oh yeah, yeah, he was here when he was a little boy," and all of that. And I went, finally, when I got to the home and went there,

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they had made some other arrangements because they knew that he hadn't been active. some gaps in the wall and our forefathers recognized it and I think they expressed it in the language of one of the black spirituals that says God's going to build up Zion's walls. If these gaps ever get filled, they're not going to get filled with some of our strategies.

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They're going to be filled by the Spirit of God at work in our lives. That's the only way it's going to happen. A lot of us are concerned about a whole lot of other things, but the church is only the church when the Spirit of God is with us and in us and moving us.

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That's what makes the church. else is less than the church. Doesn't matter how I preach, how many words I put together, no matter how we sing, unless the spirit of God is in it, it's not the church. The people out there at all of these spots, on 6th Street and other places, they can do all the singing, music, but ours is the commitment of God. And God is gonna do it. Whatever God wants to happen in the world when we

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identify with him, God works and makes that possible. It's God's Spirit that works in us and moves us to do his will. It's God's Spirit. God's going to build up Zion walls no matter how stubborn the opposition. God's going to build up Zion No matter how wide may be the breach, God's going to build up Zion's walls.

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And no matter how long the gap may have been there, God Himself is going to build up Zion's walls. And that happens. That happens.

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That happens. That happens. You read this story, it's a rather interesting story because Joash, he has two names, Joash or Jehoash,

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was miraculously preserved. His grandmother became queen. When her son died, Jehoiach's father, she had all of the other royal seed killed.

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But Jehoiada, the priest, was instrumental in seeing to it with the cooperation of Jehoiach's aunt that he was snatched and hidden

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in the temple for six years. And then after six years it was revealed that he was alive and he was put on the throne at the age of seven. And the very temple that that had been instrumental in preserving his life now he's concerned about repairing the temple.

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And after a while the temple is repaired as you read the story the temple is repaired and after the temple is repaired it said that the king of Syria came and took all of the vessels out took all of the precious vessels the treasured vessels of the temple and took them back to his country so the king

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that had such a wonderful beginning seems to have such a tragic end. We have a king who had such a wonderful beginning, beginning of his life wise men came from afar and worshipped at his feet. He had a wave of popularity but as he comes to the close of his life we see that he dies on a cross, a skull-shaped hill called Calvary.

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He has a tragic end. But God's going to build up Zion's walls, no matter how wide may be the breach God builds it up and so he dies and is buried but he gets up on Easter morn and the resurrection is the very beginning of our faith God's going to build up Zion's walls no matter no matter how dark may be the night the

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morning will come no matter how heavy may be that burden God's gonna lift it No matter how wide may be the breaches in the world, God's gonna fill them, he's gonna build them up. And John gives us a vision of that, gives us a vision of that as God pushes back the curtain and gets John to receive a vision of the future. He says,

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I saw, I saw, I saw the new Jerusalem coming down from heaven. He said that I saw this city that was made of gold, incorruptible city. I saw this city beyond this veil of wrath and tears I saw he said that it had 12 gates to the city and then he talked about the foundation of the city that was made of precious gems the 12

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gates were made of pearl and then he said that was no temple there that was no temple and I stopped when I read that I said that was no temple no need for a temple anymore in this Jerusalem because God himself is the dwelling place. God himself, the Lord God Almighty is the dwelling place and there's no need for a temple because all

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will be dwelling with God and in God. That's a great day. That's a great day. That gives you hope to go on. Oh I know we have some breaches in our lives. Every one of us has some breaches. All of the institutions we identified with, there's some gaps there, but we know that if we work with God that the day will come

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when he will fill those gaps. Someday, somewhere, justice will roll down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream. God's gonna fix it. Someday, somewhere. Savior, more than life to me. That's the commitment. That's the opportunity, that's the invitation, God. It is for every one of us to work together with him

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so that he can say, "You are God's people. "You are the people of God." And that's what's written in the wall. (soft music)

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(orchestral music) [MUSIC] [Music] ♪ We give, we give all to thee ♪

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♪ And our prayers, O God, O God ♪ ♪ Keep thee ever, ever true ♪ ♪ Where love lives once more ♪ ♪ Every day ♪

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♪ Every hour ♪ ♪ Every dream ♪ ♪ I will keep on ♪ ♪ Day by day ♪

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♪ I'll come to thee ♪ ♪ My people stand ♪ ♪ Oh, stand ♪ ♪ Born to live ♪

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♪ Through this change ♪ ♪ He will be known ♪ ♪ He, he, can claim ♪ ♪ 'Tis thee, ♪

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♪ and I know ♪ ♪ that I'll sing thee ♪ ♪ I can not say ♪ ♪ I can never, ♪

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♪ Ever true, my savior ♪ ♪ Every day, every hour ♪ [Music] ♪ In the blue ♪

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♪ May thy name ♪ ♪ Run out through me ♪ ♪ I'll be close at ♪ ♪ Close at ♪

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♪ Born to thee ♪ ♪ Every day ♪ ♪ Every hour ♪ ♪ That we live ♪

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♪ I miss you ♪ ♪ I'm glimpsing out ♪ ♪ When I take ♪ ♪ The love to me ♪

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♪ I need no sound ♪ ♪ No sound ♪ ♪ I will ♪ [Music]

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