Within every Christian there is a secret place, a sanctuary we must prepare for the Lord. This holy place is not unlike the Holy of Holies in the Jewish temple. Not until this place is cleansed will the Lord dwell with us in the fullness of His Spirit; not until this room is pure will we truly become a house for the Lord.
BRING OUT THE UNCLEAN THING
"And it was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ" (II Thess 2:14).
The Lord is cleansing us for the distinct purpose of bringing His people into His glory. Yes, out of His desire to present a pure bride to His Son, the Father is purging the church of its sin. He is refusing to allow our inter-church relationships to continue without love. According to the Scriptures, before Jesus returns, the body of Christ will be holy and blameless (see Eph 5:27; Titus 2:14; I Thess 5:23; Col 1:22; Phil 2:15; etc.). Through new and successive levels of purification, the house of the Lord will again receive and display the glory of God.
To facilitate this process of cleansing, by way of example, we are going to study one of the greatest periods of restoration and renewal in the Bible: the rule of King Hezekiah. Prior to Hezekiah's reign, his father, King Ahaz, brought the very worst forms of idolatry into Israel. Ahaz shut the temple doors and persecuted the priests. Those whom he did not kill, he corrupted. Without the influence of a godly priesthood, Israel soon followed Ahaz into idolatry and unrestrained sin.
Although Hezekiah was a relatively young man when he succeeded Ahaz, he courageously sought revival and healing to the nation. In the very first month of his reign he "opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them" (II Chron 29:3). He then consecrated the priesthood and began to restore the temple. Hezekiah's first priority was to restore true worship. We read, "And he brought in the priests and the Levites and gathered them into the square on the east. Then he said to them, 'Listen to me, O Levites. Consecrate yourselves now, and consecrate the house of the Lord... (2 Chron 29:4-5).
God initiated His plan to redeem the nation by consecrating the priests and cleansing the house of the Lord. For this task, Hezekiah had been prepared. As a young man he watched Israel's "fathers . . . fallen by the sword." The men who were not slain on the battlefield could be heard weeping in the grainfields: "our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity!" (II Chron 29:9). Hezekiah knew only one option, one plan, was offered to Israel: return to God. In obedience, he began His reign by consecrating the house of the Lord.
Hezekiah next ordered the priests to "...carry the uncleanness out from the Holy Place." Before the Eternal One moves visibly in power, He moves invisibly in holiness; He cleanses His house. Then the outward signs of restoration and revival, the miracles and true conversions, follow. If God will touch our cities with His fire, He must put that fire within us. Everything the Almighty does for us as individuals will work to deliver others. He will deliver those who are not innocent, and they will be delivered through the cleanness of your hands (see Job 22:30).
Hezekiah never stopped thinking of Israel, but knew he must begin the restoration of the nation with the consecration of the priesthood. It is significant that he made no appeal or effort to win the nation itself; he had no program of reform other than restoring true worship. The king's focus was not on turning the heart of the people, but drawing the heart of God. If the Lord is lifted up, He will of His own will and power, draw all men unto Himself.
Even as Hezekiah reopened the temple doors, so also in us there is a door which we must open daily unto the Lord. David wrote, "I was always beholding the Lord in my presence" (Acts 2:25). Within the psalmist's heart was a dwelling place for the Lord; David was always beholding the Lord. Similarly, there is something in our presence, in our spirit, which can be opened or closed to God. We must not assume that simply because we are Christians this gate toward God is automatically opened. Jesus stood "at the door" of the Laodicean church and knocked, desiring to enter their lives. We must choose to unlock this door and swing it wide toward Christ.
Yet, opening this chamber of our hearts can, indeed, be a frightening thing. For it requires we not only talk to God, but hear from Him as well. It is one thing for us to speak honestly with the Lord; but quite another when He speaks without restraint to us. Therefore, the most essential commodity for stimulating revival is a tender, open heart before God.
Is the door of your heart opened toward God? Can the Spirit of Jesus Christ come in and speak with you? Are you defenseless to His voice? Can you sense what displeases Him and what draws His pleasure? For us to become sensitive to divine realities, we must live with the door of our hearts open. It is impossible to do the will of God otherwise.
King Hezekiah commanded the priests to carry the uncleanness out from the holy place. The call to clean the holy place was not an option, it was a command. "So the priests went in to the inner part of the house of the Lord to cleanse it, and every unclean thing which they found in the temple of the Lord they brought out to the court of the house of the Lord" (2 Chron 29:16).