Sanctifying the Sanctuary

Exodus 29:43

And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.

One area where God was specific concerning the temple was that it was not to be treated like every other place, but it was to be treated with respect. How Israel treated the sanctuary of the tabernacle always showed how they treated God. When they became careless in their treatment of the place where God met with them, their lifestyle always trended toward other gods and worldly lifestyles. However, whenever their treatment toward the tabernacle was with respect, you see the children of Israel doing right and gaining God’s favor on their lives and country.

God commanded Moses to sanctify the tabernacle, meaning to set it apart, so He could meet with Israel. The key to Israel serving God as He commanded often started with them keeping the tabernacle set apart or sanctified.

We live in days when most churches are not treated with respect. Sadly, we live in times when the church sanctuary is often a place that is no different from the movie house or a coffee shop. People come to church dressed sloppily with their coffee mugs in their hands, and they sit and want to be entertained by the preacher instead of coming to be changed by God. We wonder why our nation is going to Hell, and one of the biggest reasons is that we have lost respect for the church sanctuary. Let me share some thoughts on treating the sanctuary with respect.

First, let the church sanctuary be a place of reverence. Because the sanctuary is where we often hear preaching and make decisions for God, we ought to treat it as if we will meet with Him face to face. Every time someone in the Scriptures faced God’s presence, they fell to their face as unworthy to be in His presence. We ought never to treat the church sanctuary as a social place, but a place where we meet with a holy God. Children ought not to play inside the sanctuary, and adults ought to treat the sanctuary as a place where the only sustenance they need is God. We ought not to come into the sanctuary to drink coffee and be casual, for that is not the respect that God deserves. When we walk into the church sanctuary, there ought to be a difference of attitude that we are about to meet with a holy God.

Second, dress right as you enter the sanctuary. Our attire does matter! You may not have the best of clothing, but you ought to dress with your best to meet with God. Your clothing shows your mindset about the place you attend. I would hate to think that people dress up more for banquets than they do for God. Dressing right is a mindset; a mindset that we are about to meet with a holy God.

Third, set the sanctuary apart to make decisions. You ought to walk into the church sanctuary with a mindset that you will make a decision in the service. Any time someone has been in the presence of God they made a decision that caused them to be closer to God. If you plan to make a decision when you go into the church sanctuary, you will find it easy to make a decision to be closer to God.

Fourth, set the sanctuary apart by making it a place of miracles. If the church attempts great things for God, they will see the results in the church sanctuary. When God does the miraculous through a church, it will set that church sanctuary apart in the minds of those who come to visit.