How to Pray When It Seems Like Nothing Is Going on Inside

Carter Conlon from the historic Times Square Church in New York City. If you call upon Jesus Christ and he comes by his Holy Spirit after forgiving you to enjoy your life you will not be overcome by dark is the promise of God. That's Carter, with an insight in this week's program with glad you're with us today on a call to the nation in first Kings chapter 5, King Solomon begins to run the first Temple in Jerusalem.

Today's message Carter will show you how God would use a church on the earth, but not a building. You will work in the temple of his chosen people. Let's join Carter as he explains further I got a message from first Corinthians chapter 6 verses 19 and 20 and is called how to pray when it seems like nothing is going on inside pulses. These words in verses 19 and 20. Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own. You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's seed was God's plan from before the foundation of the world to redeem you and I and and to enthrall us as his temple on the earth can imagine, we are actually living something that the Old Testament saints could only dream about the anointing of God that that specific anointing of God that empowers people to be more than they could be in their natural state that anointing that came on Sampson for example the anointing that obviously was on King David. The anointing that was on profits of old the prophet Joel made a statement one day that one day the spirit of God is not going to come down just on the select few but on all flesh. Everyone returns to Christ. Everyone returns to God's Holy Spirit is not just going to be outside of us in some physical cosmos or some building made with men's hands, but the spirit of God is actually going to end well us are our human body on this earth and we are going to become the temple of God. So here we are the fulfillment of a promise that in the Old Testament was only a dream can imagine people reading in those days the book of the prophet Joel talking about an interior presence of God coming upon us in our ordinary humanity and making us extraordinary and giving us the strength that only a select few that they had ever known in their lifetime had ever had come upon them. This was God's plan. Everything in the Old Testament was a type and pattern because this is what God had in his mind from before the creation of the world is going to have a bride, a people that was going to be a bride for his son. God, in the third person of his got it was going to indwell the bride by the power of his Holy Spirit and Paul the apostle in Colossians chapter 1 Libby just read this to you.

You called it a mystery chapter 1 verse 26 and 27 the mystery, which is been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to his saints using we have what they could only dream about the new meds. Imagine if we were in that place where God is is is saying there's something coming for a people on a certain day and another time, but it's not for you, not right now and how are disheartening in some measure that would be but here we are the recipients in the sense of God indwelling, our physical bodies were we become the physical dwelling place of God on the earth.

If that truly sinks in. Something happens to you inside that truly sinks into begin to realize, oh God I don't have to shout the ugly cosmos to pray to you, I don't have to get all fancy in my speech you actually live with me all day you walk with me when I brush my teeth through there in my temple you still God inside of me when I'm drinking my coffee in the morning your God when I'm on the bus, your God, when I get up in the morning your God inside of me when I go to bed at night you got. I can talk to you anytime I want and you are doing your work inside of me. Whether I see it.

Whether I understand whether I know that you are still God, you are still doing a work inside of me that if I could fully comprehend it.

I would be on my face to sudden glory is somebody said in a pretty day we would just be shouting hallelujah we would need to know what else to say.

Glory to God. That's all we could do this out hallelujah the mystery which is been hidden from ages and generations now revealed to his saints to them. God will to make known what are the riches of the glory of the mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you the hope of glory know when you look up the word glory in the original text in the Greek at Stokes, which means there's a lot of definitions if it goes almost 1/3 of the page, but realistically if you if you bring it down to a statement it means something that catches the eye and draws attention to God. Christ in you the hope of glory mimic a personal Christ in you Christ in me doing something in me that causes people it catches there. I and causes them to give glory to God. It causes them to be drawn to God because they see something going on inside this earthly temple that can only be attributed to God's is not just the accumulation of knowledge it's it's the transformation it's the it's the indwelling power it's it's the creative power of God being incense release inside of our lives.

Polishing out the rough edges removing the old foundations re-creating us innocence into the image of God. Yes, we would not attending, you have a need to revive but as Paul the apostle once said, we leave behind those things that need to be left behind and we move forward to this incredible high calling of God in Christ Jesus you think of the original Temple that physical temple built by King Solomon given to his father David by the pattern of the Holy Spirit.

David gave it to Solomon and Solomon built.

It was a foreshadow. It was a type in the sense of physical type on the earth of God one day coming in indwelling a body of people.

He was no longer going to live in the building. This was this was an event was a one time thing that was so glorious the Scriptures is the Queen of Sheba first Kings chapter 10 verses four and 5000 is the Queen of Sheba. She walked in to the temple this place that God had designed God had built God and given the pattern got it.

Given the tradesman even inside the skill to do what they were doing and when she saw how people moved when these when she saw his pulses were in him we live and move and have our big and when when she saw just the way people moved in the temple when she saw how the cupbearer's served when she saw how the attendance did he do their duties when when she saw the throne of Solomon.

Once she just looked around and she knew she was a queen decision at all that she would've had some kind of even temple, ensuring entertainment, she would've had a policy had servants, but she didn't have this and when she saw it. The Scriptures that there was no more breath in her.

She saw something that this world can't produce now the world can produce a fancy building, but the world cannot imitate the presence of God.

You see the world can make itself look good even through religion but this world cannot imitate the presence of God inside an earthen vessel and if there ever was a cry in my life and in your life. It ought to be all Jesus Christ son of God bring glory to your name through my life, I yield to you God I heal the rights to my life. I healed my future. I give my dog. I yield my unbelief. I yield my struggles. I yield my failures and I yield my strengths, I yield my victories, I yield it all to you in a mouse to God. Rearrange it anywhere you want, and glorify your name to something in me that causes me to say only God could have done this. Only God when somebody says is Peter the apostle said, be ready to give an answer for those who ask you a reason for the hope that is in you, how much more in this generation.

This hopeless, hopeless time in history that were now entering into, which is I believe you get darker and darker and darker as time goes on. What a time for the people of God to recognize where the temple of God, but God has chosen to dwell on the earth in us and express his glory through us will hallelujah will hallelujah will hallelujah no as we take a moment just to look at the building of this first temple that David did the pattern to his son Solomon and we and we look at it as a type and pattern of that which was the, which is you and I so want you to look at it that way. Just as we were not to go through a lot of Scripture understood. I encourage you to go to first Kings and read chapter 5 and chapter 6 on your own when you have the time and read it in the context of God you were showing a pattern you had one thing in mind.

It wasn't about building a physical building necessarily, is as important as that was at the time you had one thing in mind. You were going to have a church on the earth that the people that you were going to indwell.

Now these people of this time could never fully comprehended that you had them to give them the design of a physical building that you were going to literally have your glory indwell that physical building, but it was at that was a pattern. It was a type of what you do.

It was a pattern of of how you establish a life and how you exhibit your glory through it. So as we read it. What can we learn from it will first of all when when God was about to build this temple where his glory was going to be house the first thing that they would have to do realistically is find a place and then clear out the rubble and that's exactly what happens when you not come to Christ defines us in our mess before the construction didn't begin. See, he declares us righteous.

He cleanses us he cleanses us from all iniquity. It clears out in a sense the rubble he destroys its power to occupy the place where he is now going to occupy and we may not think it's cleared, but it is our sin is put away our iniquity no longer has the right to govern our lives. The presence of God is now inside of us and he has now determined to bring glory to his name through us, and so I see you in my minds eye. Knowing Doug Binder actually been in Israel and Jerusalem. Not seeing the location of this first temple, but you can see, there were a lot of people assigned this to in this building, this is King Solomon raised up chapter 5 verse 13 the labor force out of all Israel in the labor force was 30,000 men in verse 15 city at 70,000 carried burdens 80,000 quarried stone in the mountains. Did you imagine that's a lot of people, and that the Bible tells us that we have a great cloud of witnesses that have gone before us a great number of people been involved in the work of God in in in passing on as it is that the understanding the history all of what needs to happen in your life and in mind and are our generation and the stone squares when into the court recently. The they cut out these incredibly huge absolutely monstrous stones perfectly rectangular or square. Whatever the case was and they began to bring them in and lay the foundation of this temple known in the New Testament pulses we are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone. In other words in Christ's.

We are being built into a house that is standing on things that have been proven. Standing on lives that trusted and were not let down.

People have gone through flood and fire and trial and difficulty in markings and scourging shipwrecks and whatever it was, and being part of that foundation that was built on the cornerstone of Jesus Christ. They have triumphed. So we are part of the house where part of a temple that will not be overcome by the storms of life we are built on the rock. We are not built on sand were not built under subjective religious experience but were built on the truth of God's word and were built on the faithfulness of God through past generations. He kept his saints. Yes, they went to jail. Some of them died. Some were torn apart by lions, some finished out with a relatively easy walk but nevertheless whoever it was, he kept all those that have gone before us, because God is faithful and Jesus Christ that I'm building my church on this foundation, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

Hallelujah, you will not be triumphed over.

This is a great promise of God as frail as you think you are is as flawed as you might think your life is when you have put yourself on that foundation of trusting in God, you will not be overcome. God has proven himself faithful over the generations. If you turn to trust in Jesus Christ for your future if you call upon him, and he comes by his Holy Spirit after forgiving you to indwell your life you will not be overcome by darkness. That is the promise of God trial and difficulty will come your way. Most likely, but it will not take you down as the Scripture says you go to the father won't drown you. You want to the fire and it won't burn you, not even the smell of that will get upon your God promises to be in you, and to be with you. We look at the construction of this temple and we see after the stones cedarwood was was brought in and and cedarwood covered the whole of the inside of the temple and to the point where the stones were no longer visible.

It was really just all about the cedarwood stones were there but the cedarwood covered covered covered the whole of the inside and it it speaks to me about a life that is come to Christ through the cross. The cross and the victory of the cross and the triumph of God's son on the cross is is at the center core of our life. We trust that the sacrifice that he made for us is sufficient for our sin for our trial for our struggles. The inside of the temple is his built and covered in the victory of another Victor. The cross is not my victory to get good evidence is victory in smart trust inside of my heart. Just as I been looking at this I got covered the inside of my heart with the word of the cross again. Don't let anything else be in there but but but trust in your victory that you took captivity captive you destroyed the power of hell you paid the penalty for sin and you broke the cords of iniquity that felt they had a right to govern my life and my future and my eternity. But you gave me the victory and after the cedarwood covered the inside the temple you think they'll be good enough. And after that, all of it was covered with gold on the inside you imagine walking so we got stones and we get cedarwood and we got gold. Jesus Christ said to the church… You in Revelation. He says I counsel you to buy me gold tried in the fire as it speaks of the like. It's built on the foundation of God's faithfulness in Christ Jesus and how faithful he is been to all of trusted in him through the generations. It's built on the personal victory, but the victory of the cross and then the gold represents the promises of God for the future. It's a heartless as well and not what I ought to be yet, but I'm going to be different. More than I am today. I'm going to grow in grace my life. I am going to be changed from image image and glory to glory, even as by the spirit of God go back to the temple with me just for a moment in Solomon's day that the Scripture says inside the temple there were workers and they were they were skilled workers. Obviously, given their skill by God himself and the workers were carving roses and flowers.

See, there's a skilled worker inside of you right now called the spirit of God and is annoyed some of us to help in his work in carving the little roses in your life in the little cherubim's and all of the things we read it.

This carving is going on inside the temple.

The whole time the interior the temple is being made beautiful and an incredible thing in verse seven of chapter 6 it says in the temple when it was being built was built with stone finished at the quarry so that no hammer, chisel or any iron tool was heard in the temple while it was being built.

So this is incredible work is going on in the temple, but it's incredibly quiet at the same time that would take you just imagine this this this magnificent dwelling place of God is being built, but when you walk in you don't hear any hammering is no jackhammers. This of chisels is no noise that this was huge stones or dart are just being slid in and put into place. The timber is being attached to the walls. There's people up on scaffolds and their carving roses and the carving emblems and that the places is the means of beautiful. It's amazing what really would've taken the stranger back walked in as the absence of noise in the place we in America are uncomfortable with silence is to teach cross-cultural communication on the police department before Lefton I member this this one part of the teaching was that in traditional traditional Japanese society if it was a an old-school traditional Japanese person.

If you ask them a question to show that they respect your question in the respect you as the questioner a Japanese. A typical older Japanese person adjusting the question will stand there close their eyes folder hands and sit quietly and stand there quietly for maybe 2 to 3 minutes just to show you that they respect you and the respective question and they are thoughtfully pursuing an answer to your question in Western society, we are uncomfortable with silence.

So what happens when you have a traditional Asian person Japanese version and a traditional Western American meet in an elevator.

The Western American says so are you enjoying your time here in New York City. The Asian person the Japanese person close their eyes and folds her hands in the American presence.

As I said are you enjoy your time here in New York City. Did you hear what I said because were we are not comfortable with silence. We haven't been raised with silence.

We don't understand the purpose of silence in the Christian church we made the mistake of thinking that for God to be working there has to be noise and end and God's people all over the Western world have been running for the last two decades the places to shake fish out the screen.

Whatever the everywhere or anywhere that there's noise because we're so unfamiliar with the way God actually works and we so got alienated from the presence in the in the in the spirit of God member in the book of Isaiah understood and read it to you. Please for time sake. But in Isaiah chapter 30 is what God said to his people and it was in a time of crisis and he said, for thus says the Lord God.

That's Isaiah 30 beginning at verse 15, the holy one of Israel and returning and rest you shall be saved in quietness and confidence shall be your strength and coming back to me and simply resting in my faithfulness.

This would be your strength.

Then he said to the people, but you would not use it now willfully on horses so therefore you shall find others we we got awake. We know how this should be done.

We have a plan.

So what were you going to get up to do something with our own strength by our own ingenuity and he said no willfully on horses so therefore you will sleep and we they said we will ride on swing forces and then he said. Therefore, those who pursue you will be swift thousand will flee at the threat of one and the threat of five you shall flee to your left is a poll on top of mountain and is a banner on the hill others. If you want to do it your own way. God says go ahead and do it your own way until there's nowhere else to go but to the high ground until you have nowhere left to go back to Calvary again back to the place of the cross back to where the real victory has been won and is therefore the Lord will wait to be gracious to you and therefore he will be exalted. The degree have mercy on you for the Lord is a God of justice, and blessed are all those who wait for him. God's is okay. Try it your own way to do it your own way to find peace in the middle your storm run if you must run hereunder do this do that. I'll wait for you. I'll be I'll be at the place of victory and when you have nowhere left to go, but the cross I will meet you there and I will show you mercy there is that amazing.

I thank God for that with all my heart. In Psalm 46 I'm going to close with this one thought the psalmist is God is our refuge and strength a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried in the midst of the sea, the waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling. God is in the midst of her. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge and behold the works of the Lord was made does relations in the earth it makes wars to cease to the end of the year as he breaks the bone cuts the spirit into it burns the chariot in the fire. Then he says at the end of Psalm 46 is speaking of a time of of global upheaval really is is be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. Now we visit. We know there's a final day, where he returns and sets everything back in its right order, but until that day.

He is exalted through his people so that expectation is the still be still. How do I pray when nothing seems to be going on inside. Well first of all, something is going on inside you just can't hear the carvers are carving the painters of painting cedar boards are being put up the stones, are being slid in the place. But you see you can hear it because the work of God is done in times of quiet confidence work of God is done in times of stillness hundred and 58 times in the Old Testament God exhorts us to trust. Trust. Thank you for joining us this week for a call to the nation with Carter, from Times Square Church in New York City. For more information log onto TSC.NYC TSC.NYC you can count on a powerful message each week on a call to the nation with Carter,