First Thing

Ezra 3:¹⁰ When the builders completed the foundation of the Lord’s Temple, the priests put on their robes and took their places to blow their trumpets. And the Levites, descendants of Asaph, clashed their cymbals to praise the Lord….” [emphasis added]

Ezra 3:¹¹ With praise and thanks, they sang this song to the Lord: “He is so good! His faithful love for Israel endures forever!” Then all the people gave a great shout, praising the Lord because the foundation of the Lord’s Temple had been laid. ¹² But many of the older priests, Levites, and other leaders who had seen the first Temple wept aloud when they saw the new Temple’s foundation. The others, however, were shouting for joy. ¹³ The joyful shouting and weeping mingled together in a loud noise that could be heard far in the distance. [emphasis added]

I pray that in Jesus Name, the sound that proceeds from your house will not be the mingled sound of weeping and joyful shouting. It will only be the sound of undiluted joy that will proceed from your house, in the Mighty Name of Jesus. We took time to understand the context of this story. As a nation, they had gone through a lot and finally it was time to move forward. And the first thing they did was to build the temple. They built the temple before they built their homes, their schools, the markets, and their hospitals.

The priority was to build the temple. To go forward, the first thing you must do is to build the temple. Our bodies are the temples of the Holy Spirit. For you to go forward, your first priority must be the dwelling of God in you. Your first priority must be to build the temple of God in you and that is your body. The truth is that everything that is trying to defile your body, is actually coming after your destiny. If the enemy can succeed in destroying your temple, the enemy can succeed in destroying your destiny. But if the enemy cannot succeed in defiling your temple, the enemy will not succeed in eroding your destiny.

The first thing you need to build is your temple, your body – the temple of the Holy Spirit. It is your personal relationship with God – your devotion. When was the last time you read the Bible? When was the last time you fellowshipped with your Father? If you and I must go forward, then we must consider and treat temple building as priority.

Prayer [song]: My body is Your Sanctuary. My body is Your Sanctuary. Purify me as gold so I may be bold to say my body is Your Sanctuary. Amen!