CAC Building Dedication
by Gary Hodum
August 16, 2026 · Cornerstone Apostolic Church (Chattanooga, TN)
Kind: sermon
Scripture: Mark 2:1-5, 1 Kings 3, 1 Kings 5:3-5, 1 Kings 8:27-29, Ezra 3:9-13, Haggai 2:9, Genesis 49, Isaiah 9:6, 1 Chronicles 22:6-10, 1 Chronicles 22:14-16, 2 Chronicles 7:1-3, Joel 1:1-3, Hebrews 11:21

Source: https://acts238.life/repository/sermons/gary-hodum--cac-building-dedication
Published by Acts 2:38 Life from the sermon transcript on that page.
Free to copy and share with attribution.

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You may be seated. I'm going to try and get through quickly. Everybody kept joking with me all weekend. get 45 minutes, an hour ready. So, that's what I got. So, if you're ready for it, I'm going to try and go. Um, shut the mic off if you need to, but we're going to get into the word of the Lord. Amen. I'm going to start my message tonight or tonight, this afternoon, in the book of Mark, chapter 2, um, verses 1-5. It reads, "And again he entered Capernium after some days." We're speaking of Jesus here. And it was heard that he was in the house. Everybody say house. Immediately many gathered together so that there was no longer room to receive them, not even near the door. And he preached the word to them.

Then they came to him bringing a paralytic who was carried by four men. And when they could not come near him because of the crowd, they uncovered the roof where he was. So when they had broken through, they let down the bed on which the paralytic was lying. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Please don't forget that scripture because we're going to come back to it later. But for just a moment, I'd like to bring your attention to King Solomon. We we spoke about him earlier in our dedication portion, but he was the son of David. He was the king of Israel. He he was the first one to build the temple, build the house of God. He he was a a good man.

The the Bible says that in in First Kings chapter 3 that he lived after the Lord and he sought to live after his father in the ways that his father brought him up in in wisdom. But but we the further we get in his story, the the more we understand him. And a big part of Solomon's story is he prayed one day for wisdom. You remember that part of his story? He was sacrificing to God and and and the Lord came to him and said, "Ask of anything and I will give it to you." And and and Solomon could have asked for anything, but he asked for wisdom. Wisdom to lead, wisdom to to speak to situations, wisdom to help those in his kingdom. And and God honored this and blessed him.

He he gave him the wisdom, but he also blessed his house and he blessed hi the the the the city or the the the city of Israel as they continued down the road. But what I want to pay attention to this morning is before he was blessed with the wisdom of God, before that moment ever came to pass, Solomon had two things that he was trying to live his life after. One, he was trying to live his life after the Lord. And two, he was trying to live his life after the legacy his father lived before him.

Before I move on any further in this lesson, and I'm speaking to my generation, the younger generation, I'd like to speak to the youth and and the young married couples and and the the college students and and the ones with young families here in the room. I I I want us to be very careful as we grow up not to forget the legacy of those that have gone before us. The saints have built the church. The saints had a a life of passion towards the things of God. This building here was built off of saints uh who were here because God gave them a word and a vision. I I was thinking about this lesson or this message earlier in the week and I thought of grandma sister Joyce. If he doesn't know, I'm that man's uh nephew.

All right, so we're related by blood. Um, but I remember when I was young, my my me and my parents got to church super early. And my parents were the music directors at the time, and we would get there early to get going with practice. And my job was, "Hey, get out of the car and go help grandma get her stuff in to our Sunday school class. I was the manual labor. I helped get everything into the room." And so I would go over there and I would sit there and I would talk with grandma and I would help her bring in her bags and the snacks she had for the the Sunday school that day and all this the super cool things. She she was a visual learner so she brought props and things like that to teach.

And the whole time we were sitting there talking she had CAC live stream on her phone as we talked. And and if you didn't think anybody used those live streams, grandma used those live streams. And so why do I bring that up? There are people like grandma and there's people that have gone before us that have built this church. Uh and I would be ashamed to say if I move past that I am thankful. I am thankful for those who have gone before me who have laid their life out that that have put blood, sweat, and tears into this place. Uh they had a passion and we must see their passion through. Uh grandma hasn't is not here today. She hasn't seen this dedication service or this building but she has made it possible.

People like her may never see the fruits that come from their labor, but we're here to continue it down the road. Amen. We have to honor those who labored before us. And so, let's continue down Solomon's life and his his journey from that one prayer of wisdom that he desired from God. and and with the the thought of David and and David's life in the back of his mind, he he came to the conclusion and the decision I have to build a temple. King David, he fought his life. Uh it it says in the Bible on on the left of him and the right of him and before him and behind him, people were trying to come and kill them and take the ark, take the presence of God. And he fought his whole life to protect that ark.

And so with this in the back of his mind, Solomon decided, I've got to build a temple. I've got to build a place where his presence can dwell. In First Kings 5 uh verses three, it says, "You know how my father David could not build a house for the name of the Lord his God, because of the wars which were fought against him on every side until the Lord put his foes under the souls of his feet. But now the Lord my God has given me rest on every side. There is neither adversary nor evil occurrence. And behold, I propose to build a house for the name of the Lord my God. As the Lord spoke to my father David, saying, "Your son whom I will set on your throne in your place. He shall build the house for my name." So Solomon got to work.

He got to work building the beautiful temple. If you continue reading in this story, you see the beauty of the be the building begin to come up and and and the dimensions and and the beautiful wood and and all the great things that made it such a beautiful place. Uh the details, he he did not miss them. I I inside the walls there were cedar boards lining this the sanctuary and and there were ornaments and flowers and and beauty spread throughout the temple. There there were pure gold o overlays throughout the building. All the money and and resources and labor were at Solomon's fingertips. There was nothing that Solomon could not do. There was no building he could not build.

There was no dollar sign that he could not pay for this place to look beautiful. And and as a man a as flesh begins to control us sometimes, Solomon had every right to take credit for this building. Solomon had every right to say, you know what, it's it was my money and my resources and and my men and my labor that created this house. He had every chance to do this. But before bringing the ark to the house, Solomon could have celebrated. Look what I have done. Look, look what I have done. But he had one thing on his mind. And this is my point here this morning. I must get his presence here. Solomon wanted to build the temple. He wanted it to look beautiful. And I am so thankful for this beautiful building we stand in today.

I'm thankful for those who have labored to make it look the way it looks. And I I'm thankful this morning, but we this is just a building, just a place in Chattanooga unless his presence is dwelling here. I don't know about you, but I don't want to go to a church where his presence doesn't dwell. I don't want to be in a placeh where his presence isn't there. Second, first kings 8 and10 talks about, let me get to it. It says, "But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain you. How much less this temple which I have built?

Yet regard the prayer of your servant and his supplication, oh Lord my God, and listen to the cry and the prayer which your servant is praying before you today, that your eyes may be open toward this temple night and day toward the place of which you said, "My name shall be there that you may hear the prayer which your servant makes towards this place." Uh I must have his presence here. If I don't have his presence, I have nothing. Uh if he does not dwell here, I have nothing. My point is very simple this morning. Uh we have got to have him here. We have got to have him here. Not just for us, but for those who need to find him.

I am thankful for all of our systems and and our our our programs and our outreaches and the ways we reach the city and those that are around us. I'm thankful for for Instagram and social media that we can reach those around us. I'm thankful. But the thing that's going to change their life is not how we appeal this place, not the the curb appeal of the sanctuary, but what's going to change their life uh is the presence of God. is the spirit of the Lord that dwells here can change their life. This building is not just for me, but it's a place where others can encounter him. They can encounter the one true living God.

Solomon's dedication prayer could have been to him and his house, but if you read his dedication prayer, he was dedicating it to the ones that had sinned. He was dedicating to the ones that had afflictions and and had shortcomings and and had things going on in their life. He dedicated it to them that said, "You know what? Come come here. This is where the presence dwells. Uh this is where the cloud uh the spirit of God dwells. You have sin in your life, come you have afflictions in your life, uh come. You have things going wrong. You can't see a way. Come. Uh if you'll come to the house of God, you can meet him here. And this brings me back to my my first scripture in Mark chapter 2. 24 hours prior to Jesus being in that house.

It was just a house. It was just a building. Normal things were going on. They were cooking dinner and supper and they were having a good time. But the moment Jesus stepped into that room, uh I'm I'm trying to tell somebody, the moment Jesus stepped into that room, uh people just began to flock and come, hey, there's something different about that house. Uh there's something different about that house. I I've been looking all over. I've been looking all over. And and just the other day, it was just a normal house. But because he is dwelling here, I can come and I can be healed. I can come and I can be set free. I can come and my body can be healed. I can come and my mind can be healed. That's what I'm talking about this morning.

This temple is beautiful. This temple is gorgeous. And I'm so thankful for what you've built. Uh but what's going to draw men near is the presence of God. Uh I've got to have the presence of God. I've got to have him. if I don't have him, uh, that I'm just here speaking a bunch of words. Uh, but I need him to fill this house. Uh, and not just this physical house, but I need him to fill this house. I need him to fill my heart. Uh, and in the Old Testament, they didn't get that privilege, but you and I, we get that privilege. He can dwell in our hearts. I'm so thankful. I'm so thankful. And I know it's very simple this morning, and I'm wrapping up. if you'd like to get ready, brother Sam. But we have nothing without him.

I want to wipe up with this story. Last week, I I led worship at our church, and I had been feeling to sing this song, and it was Jesus be the center. Jesus be the center of my life. Uh Jesus be the center of my heart. Uh Jesus be the center of this church. Uh and I was singing that song this morning because guess what? That's all I desire. And that's my plea to you this morning. Do you desire his presence to dwell here? Do you desire his presence to fill this house? Uh do you desire him to come in and change a life? Uh do you desire him to come in and change a circumstance? Cuz that is what our God is capable of. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you, Jesus. What a surreal day we're in. What a surreal time. I know.

Uh if you if you look down at at some some people's hands, they've got that great stuff that doesn't come off. Still tuck stuck to it. If you look at Seth's hands, they're pretty soft, but but he's been laying some carpet, so you know, he was doing really good with it. All around the house there's people that have taken time, talent, and treasure and given it to the Lord. Thank you. Thank you for doing that. Ezra chapter 3 verse 9 is a very simple or very very known scripture when it comes to dedication. It was the dedication of the second temple.

Ezra chapter 3:9 says, "Then then stood Jesua with his sons and his brethren, Cadmile and his sons and the sons of Judah, together they set forth the workmen in the house of God, the sons of Henad and their sons, their brethren, the Levites. And when the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, they set the priests in their app peril with trumpets and the Levites, the sons of Asaf, with symbols to praise the Lord after the ordinance of David, king of Israel. And they sang together by course and painting, praising, giving thanks unto the Lord because he is good, for his mercy endureth forever toward Israel.

And all the people shouted with a great shout, and they praised the Lord because the foundations of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the priests and Levites and chiefs of their fathers who were ancient men that had seen the first house, when the foundations of the house of this house was laid before their eyes, wept with a loud voice, and many shouted aloud for joy, so that the people could not discern between the noise of the shout of joy and from the noise of weeping of the people. For the people shouted with a loud shout, and the noise was heard a found off. I want to I want to look at something here. The builders laid the foundations of the temple of the Lord. This is the second temple.

He talked about the first temple and the and the dedication of it. And we think of that as Solomon's temple. We think of David's worship as David's temple. It's that's how Jesus referred to it, the tabernacle. or and we think of Moses's tabernacle in the wilderness. All of those things were the house of the Lord. But this one, the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord. Can I tell you this is the foundation of the temple of the Lord. This is not Solomon's temple. This is not Sam's temple. This is not Pastor Sloan's temple. It's not Herb's temple. It's not Jess's temple. It's not even Chris's temple. It's not Logan's temple. It's not Justin's. It's not Israel. It's not yours, not mine. It's the temple of the house of the Lord.

THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE HOUSE of the Lord. This is the foundation that the Lord has formed and made for us. CAN I TELL YOU THE LITERAL FOUNDATION OF THIS BUILDING WAS LAID BEFORE ANY OF US IN THIS room were born. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE HOUSE OF THE LORD. You see, GOD HAS BUILT THIS CHURCH. HE HAS FORMED THIS CHURCH. HE has made this church IN HIS IMAGE, IN HIS LIKENESS. It's not my church. It's not your church. IT'S NOT HIS CHURCH OR IT'S NOT OUR CHURCH. IT'S HIS CHURCH. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF REVIVAL IN THIS REGION. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE REVELATION OF WHO JESUS IS. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF CHRISTIAN LIVING, CHRISTIAN TRAINING AND DISCIPLEHIP IN THIS REGION.

THIS IS THIS IS NOT THE COMPLETE THIS IS NOT THE COMPLETE PICTURE. THIS IS NOT THE FINISHED PRODUCT. THIS IS NOT THE FINAL BUILDING. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF A MOVE OF GOD LIKE WE HAVE NEVER SEEN. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION TO A MOVE OF IN THIS REGION A REVELATION OF JESUS NAMED BAPTISM LIKE YOU HAVE NEVER SEEN IN YOUR LIFE. THIS WILL BE THE REVIVAL THAT YOUR GRANDCHILDREN HEAR ABOUT. THIS WILL BE THE REVIVAL WE WRITE ABOUT AND WE TALK ABOUT AND WE SEE THE MIRACLES. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE LORD. I usually use a Walkman, so I about dropped the microphone there. This region is like a dried up, plowed up, run over field of religiosity. That's true.

If you want to know a mixed up bag of religious opinions, you just walk out on the street and you're going to find like everything. But I'm going to tell you this, the familiarity with the moving of the spirit has led to a contempt of the moving of the spirit in this region. I'm going to speak to it for a minute. We're like a bunch of sunlies that spring up but bear no fruit. They spring up, but they dry up quickly. But can I tell you, this is the foundation of the temple of the Lord. THIS IS NOT MY CHURCH. THIS IS NOT YOUR CHURCH. IT'S NOT OUR CHURCH. IT'S HIS CHURCH. THIS IS THE FOUNDATION THAT GOD HAS LAID UP TO BRING a deep genuine LOVE FOR HIM TO BE BIRTHED in this region. You see, I SAY THIS BECAUSE THE BUILDING IS NOT THE FOUNDATION.

The church IS THE FOUNDATION. GOD has worked on us and he has molded us and he has shaped us. Can I tell you WHAT HE'S WORKED OUT OF US? He's worked our sacred cow. He's slaughtered every sacred cow we ever thought existed. He's killed every tradition that we could invent. HE HAS WORKED IT OUT OF US. YOU DO YOU KNOW THAT WE LEARNED HOW Hang on. Hang on. Ian, stand up for just a second. You know, Ian, stand up. I had a conversation with him yesterday. What are you doing, buddy? They're working at a church plant in North Carolina. You know what he's doing? He's doing propresenter, sound, piano, leading, doing things that he learned here that WE PUT SO MUCH PRESSURE ON HIM. THOUGHT HE WAS GOING TO GET MAD. WE PRESSURED HIM.

NO, YOU GOT TO DO IT. THIS, YOU GOT TO DO IT. AND I TOLD HIM, I SAID, I WASN'T BEING MEAN TO YOU, IAN. I WAS TRYING TO PREPARE YOU IN BECAUSE THAT IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE LORD. THAT IS REVIVAL IN OUR REGION. HE'S NOT BRINGING REVIVAL TO THIS CITY. HE'S bringing revival to that city. I drove by I drove by the 7602 Lee Highway location yes or Friday. You know what I thought? Man, our sign's still up there. I already took it down once. I I can't get that sign down. Our sign's still up there. I was like, you know what? Maybe we just need to put a campus right there. I drove by I drove by an empty nice building this morning and you know what I thought? It's not a church building, but you know what I thought?

That'd be a good place for a neighborhood campus right there. Every time I drive by a warehouse, you see, God has changed us. He has changed the way we think about church. He's changed the WAY WE WHAT WE THINK IS POSSIBLE ABOUT CHURCH. Every warehouse, every storefront, EVERY BUILDING IN THIS CITY, GOD CAN PUT A CHURCH IN IT. AND LET ME TELL YOU, HE'S THE BUILDING AT THE FOUNDATION IS NOT THIS BUILDING. THE BLUEPRINT IS NOT WHAT ARCHITECTURE SET BACK IN 1940 AND DREW UP. THE FOUNDATION AND THE BLUEPRINT IS WHAT GOD HAS MADE OUT OF US. WE CAN HAVE CHURCH ANYWHERE AND EVERYWHERE. OUR IMAGINATION KNOWS NO BOUNDS. WE CAN HAVE A POP-UP TENT TOMORROW AND READY TO GO. THAT'S THE BLUEPRINT FOR REVIVAL.

WHEN I TELL YOU THERE'S WAREHOUSES SITTING EMPTY RIGHT NOW THAT DON'T NEED ANOTHER PALLET IN THEM. THEY NEED A CHURCH IN THEM. THAT'S REVIVAL. YOU SEE, THAT IS THE FOUNDATION THAT THE LORD HAS MADE. CAN I TELL YOU THIS IS GOING TO BE THE THE THE start the start of something that changes a region. Can I tell you there will I believe that God will allow businesses to BE STARTED IN THIS church and THEN PEOPLE OUT OF THIS CHURCH THAT WILL FUND THE NEXT GREAT REVIVAL THAT WE SEE. IT WILL FUND EVERY CAMPUS. It will fund every ministry. YOU JUST STAND WITH YOU JUST WALK WITH ME RIGHT THERE. I KNOW THAT DOESN'T SOUND LIKE CHURCH, BUT WHEN PEOPLE ARE PAYING US TO DISCIPLE THEIR CHILDREN, THAT'S CHURCH. THAT'S THE FOUNDATION THAT THE LORD HAS LAID.

WHEN PEOPLE ARE PAYING US TO TEACH THEM HOW TO PLAY MUSIC AND THE HOLY GHOST MOVES UPON THEM AND OH, AND SOMEBODY AND THE ANOINTING GETS A HOLD OF THEM, THAT'S THE FOUNDATION THAT THE LORD HAS MADE. WHEN PEOPLE ARE PAYING US TO TEACH THEM HOW TO RUN PRODUCTION AND AND SOUND AND TECHNOLOGY AND ALL THOSE THINGS AND GUESS WHAT THEY GET THE HOLY GHOST DOING IT. THAT'S THE FOUNDATION THAT THE LORD HAS LAID. I'm going to tell you right now, this ain't it. You know that. I know that. I just want to make sure I said it out loud. The blue the blueprint is the boot camp that God has sent us through. I hope we learned our lesson. Very important part right here.

The last the last verse I read says, "But many of the priests and the Levites and the chief of the fathers who were ancient men, this was 70 plus years since the temple had been destroyed. They had seen the first house when the foundation of the house was laid before their eyes. Wet with a loud voice and shouted and many shouted aloud for joy. You can take that however you want. It's really hard to prove it one way or the other. But when I see the goodness of God, sometimes I want to shout, but my Lord, sometimes the deepness of the move of God overwhelms me. Can I tell you, don't mistake my love for the things of God. the deep movings of the things of God.

Just because I'm not standing upside down on my head, can I tell you church, allow God to move on you deeply because in he in Hagi chapter 2 verse 9 says, "The glory of this latter house should be greater than the former, sayith the Lord of hosts. This is the place I will give peace, sayith the Lord of hosts." This is the He was he was referencing the coming of the Messiah right there. This is the place where I WILL GIVE PEACE.

GENESIS CHAPTER 49 THE WHAT WHAT PEACE OR SHALLOW SHALL COME ISAIAH CHAPTER 9:6 THE P THE PRINCE OF PEACE this is where HE IS SAYING IN THE LATTER rain in the latter rain I'm going to prepare can I TELL YOU WE'VE HAD BUILDINGS WE'VE HAD THIS WE'VE HAD THAT BUT WHEN GOD STEPS ON TO THE picture when the prince of peace steps into the room everything changes I'm sorry Lincoln why'd you steal that part right there Okay. WHEN GOD STEPS INTO THIS PLACE, the prophecy says, "And peace will come." Peace will come. Can I tell you right now, all the things in your life that you deal with, this generation deals with, it needs the prince of peace to walk into it.

God has laid the foundation of the temple so that peace can walk into our lives, into our homes, our families, our friends, our neighbors. It's not for us alone. It's the foundation for what God would do here. Oh, come on, somebody. Would you love the Lord? Would you love the Lord? First Chronicles 22 and6. Then he called for Solomon his son, charged him to build an house for the Lord God of Israel. David said to Solomon, "My son, as for me, it was in my mind to build an house unto the name of the Lord my God." But the word of the Lord came to me, saying, "Thou hast shed blood abundantly, and hast made great wars. Thou shalt not build an house unto my name, because thou hast shed much blood upon the earth in my sight." Verse nine.

Behold, a son shall be born to thee, who shall be a man of rest, and I will give him rest from his all his enemies roundabout. For his name shall be Solomon, and I will give him peace and quietness unto Israel in his days. He shall build an house for my name, and he shall be my son. I will be his father, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for over Israel forever. Thank you, Lincoln. Thank you, Sam. Amen. David was loved by all of Israel. He was anointed. He was appointed above God by the hand of the prophet Samuel. David though had great challenges as a king. He was a songwriter. He was a leader of the people. Yes, he was also a man of war. But he was also known as the man after God's heart.

A name badge that is not easily acquired. I am sure that with all the challenges that David faced, HE SOMEHOW ALWAYS found his way back to the face of God, hungry for the blessing of the Lord and the peace of God that could only come from the hand of God. Listen carefully. David after years as the post of the king, it was his decision somehow to build a place for God. He wanted this holy place for Jehovah. A place where sacrifices could be offered. A place where the majestic and the beautiful could be constructed unto the Lord God. But something happened in the life of David. And God would not allow for David to build that place.

David though understood if the next generation is going to do what I want to do, it is not going to be up to the hand of someone else to do it. BUT DAVID DECIDED WITHIN HIMSELF, I WILL MAKE PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT GENERATION. 1 Coronicles, let's continue. 22:14. Now behold, in my trouble I have prepared for the house of the Lord and 100,000 talents of gold, A TH00AND,000 TALENTS OF SILVER AND OF BRASS. LISTEN, AND IRON WITHOUT WEIGHT, for it is in abundance. timber also and stone have I prepared THAT THAT THOU MAYEST ADD THERE TOO. MOREOVER, there are workmen that with thee in abundance, heers and workers of stone and timber, all the manner of cunning men for every manner of work, listen, OF THE GOLD, THE SILVER, THE BRASS, THE IRON.

THERE IS NO NUMBER. ARISE, THEREFORE, AND BE DOING UH AND THE LORD BE WITH THEE. DAVID SAID, "I CAN'T DO IT MYSELF, BUT I CAN MAKE SURE THERE'S A GENERATION THAT'S COMING AFTER ME UH THAT CAN HAVE EVERYTHING AT THEIR DISPOSAL TO ACCOMPLISH THE THINGS THAT GOD IS LEADING. UH 100,000 TALANTS OF GOLD UH IN TODAY'S TECHNOLOGY, ONE TALENT OF GOLD IS WORTH $4.9 MILLION." HALLELUJAH. AND GOD DAVID SAID, "I'M GOING TO BRING IT TO PASS, SOLOMON, AND IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN BY THESE HANDS, BUT IT WILL HAPPEN BY THIS HEART. I WILL ESTABLISH WITHIN YOU UH THE KINGDOM OF GOD. UH BECAUSE ALTHOUGH I HAVE SHED BLOOD, UH I'M GOING TO GIVE YOU EVERYTHING YOU NEED UH TO ACCOMPLISH WHAT GOD IS LEADING YOU TO.

UH 1 MILLION TALENTS OF SILVER, BRASS, IRON, TIMBERS, WORKERS. David could not build it. But Solomon could TAKE WHAT HIS FATHER did and could assemble it. Seven years it took to build Solomon's temple. An additional 13 history says to build his house connected to it. And what a sight it would have been to behold. The detail, the craftsmanship was unparalleled. The hours of man labor that was you could not calculate that. The vastness and the sheer amount of hours invested to construct the facility was unheard of. History indicates, listen, history tells us that God ordained Solomon to build. But Solomon was so sure that he was going to do it correctly, he told the stone workers, "You will not chisel that stone here on site.

You will not cut the timber here on site. You will do it elsewhere. And reverently, you will bring by the multitudes the things that are required to assemble this building." I've come to tell somebody, the splendor and the excellence does not even need to be mentioned. But Solomon took his father's commission and went to work for the honor and the glory of God. Solomon took the challenge AND HE COMPLETED THE TASK. HISTORIANS DECLARE, I need to tell this today. I wondered why God was giving this to me. And then after I hear these two, listen carefully. If you were to build, historians would declare if you were to build the temple of Solomon today, it would cost upwards to 50 billion dollars.

I need somebody in this house to write a check today. One place, one God, no expense spared, all for the GLORY OF THE GOD that created all things. And yet with all of THE SPLENDOR AND THE MAJESTY OF THE HOUSE OF GOD, it would have simply stood THERE AS A PLACE THAT A LOT OF MONEY WAS SPENT AND A bunch of people worked really hard and it would look good. But I've come to tell somebody today that was not all of the story. But 2 Chronicles 7:1 Now when Solomon had made an END OF PRAYING, THE FIRE CAME DOWN from heaven CONSUMED THE BURNT OFFERING, THE SACRIFICES, AND THE GLORY OF THE LORD FILLED the house. LISTEN, THE PRIESTS COULD NOT ENTER INTO THE HOUSE OF THE LORD BECAUSE THE GLORY OF THE LORD HAD FILLED THE LORD'S HOUSE.

AND WHEN ALL THE CHILDREN SAW HOW THE FIRE CAME DOWN AND THE GLORY OF THE Lord upon THE HOUSE, THEY BOWED THEMSELVES WITH THEIR FACES TO THE GROUND UPON THE PAVEMENT AND WORSHIP. HEAR ME TODAY, FRIEND. AND ALL THAT GOD HAS ALLOWED US TO ACCOMPLISH ON THIS CORNER, ON THIS PARTICULAR STREET, IT DOESN'T MEAN ANYTHING UH AS PRETTY AS IT COULD BE. BUT WHAT GOD IS DESIRING IS FOR US TO BECOME THE FOUNDATIONAL THINGS AND FOR US TO BE WHAT IS BUILT IN THIS COMMUNITY. I AM CONVINCED THAT CHATTANOOGA'S GOT A REVIVAL THAT IS UNPARALLELED FROM TIMES BEFORE. I AM CONVINCED THAT GOD IS WORKING THINGS IN SOME OF YOU THAT'S GOING TO LIFT THIS CITY INTO THE ATMOSPHERE OF THE SUPERNATURAL.

I AM CONVINCED THAT MIRACLES, SIGNS, AND WONDERS WILL STILL FOLLOW THOSE WHO BELIEVE. WHAT WOULD IT BE LIKE TODAY UH TO NOT BE ABLE TO WALK THROUGH THE DOOR OF THIS PLACE BECAUSE THE SPIRIT OF GOD WOULD BE SO THICK AND HEAVY IN HERE? THIS WHOLE CITY IS TURNED UPSIDE DOWN BECAUSE THERE'S A CHURCH right here today. Yeah. Come on. You better know something, church. You better know something. Cornerstone. THERE ARE PEOPLE YOU WORK WITH, PEOPLE YOU SHOP WITH, PEOPLE YOU DRIVE DOWN THE SAME ROAD WITH. THEY DON'T KNOW IT, BUT WHAT YOU ARE PRESENTING TO THEM IS THE POWER OF A RISEN SAVIOR. AND FOR SOME REASON, THEY STILL FEEL THE HOPE THAT SOMETHING CAN BE BETTER. SOMETHING CAN BE DIFFERENT. THAT'S BECAUSE THE CHURCH OF THE LIVING GOD IS STILL HERE.

A TORNADO COULDN'T TAKE IT AWAY. A WAREHOUSE COULDN'T WIPE IT OUT. A LITTLE STUDIO SOMEWHERE COULD NOT ELIMINATE IT. IT COULD NOT BE DONE. WHY? BECAUSE THERE WAS A GROUP OF PEOPLE THAT DECIDED COME WHAT MAY HELL OR HIGH WATER, WE'RE GOING TO BE THE CHURCH IN CHATTANOOGA. WE'RE GOING TO PLANT SEEDS. UH WE'RE GOING TO KNOCK DOORS. UH WE'RE GOING TO BUILD THE THINGS OF GOD. The presence of the Lord God is here. In all of the hidden spaces, in all of the things that we have tried to do, it becomes more than a building, Sam. It becomes a place that God is pleased. And if God is pleased, anything can happen. If God is pleased, as we dedicate this facility today unto the Lord, we are given to God.

What large or small portion that we have given, God will take that and God has blessed that and his spirit will abide in his house. I'm convinced that this neck of the woods for us southerners is in desperate need of prayer warriors and intercessors miracles. And what God has declared in this house is going to change the entirety of the future of Chattanooga. I do not stand here today ashamed. I don't stand here today wondering, but I have already prayed over my children and my grandchildren. God, whatever future you have for them, I pray that somehow someway I can invest in it. I will tell you my wife and I when we found out that we were pregnant with our first child. That was Stephen, the guy. He see running around with a camera somewhere.

She and I when we found out we were pregnant with him, we started praying, Brother Ellingsworth, God, let our son be a man of power and passion and principle. Let him be a man, Lord, that'll stand on his own two feet and declare the whole council of God. Let let him be, Lord God, what you want him to be. And when he was born, the first prayer we prayed, God, you have answered. you have answered. I will tell you when he married his lovely wife, I stood there that day when he proposed to her and I looked her in the eye and I said, "Sweetie, you need to know something. I have prayed for you from the time this baby him, he was in his mother's womb.

I have prayed for his future to be blessed and I'm believing that God is going to bring that out." And she looked at me and said, "What? I didn't even know who you were, but I knew there was a God who had a plan for that son that we've been praying for. You tell me my three-year-old up here doing this right here is crazy. Say it if you want to, but there's going to come a day when she's going to stand at the waters OF BAPTISM AND SHE'S GOING TO SAY, "POPPY, CAN YOU BE THERE FOR ME TODAY? I WANT TO BE BAPTIZED IN JESUS." THAT GENERATION IS GOING TO HAVE TOOLS IN HAND TO BE ABLE TO ACCOMPLISH I GOT A LITTLE BOY RUNNING AROUND HERE. HE'S MY GRANDSON, AG. EVERYBODY KNOWS AG. YEAH.

AND I AM THRILLED TO DEATH TO KNOW THAT HE IS A LITTLE GUY THAT IS STRONG WILLED, ALL RIGHT, and purposed AND A SENSE OF HUMOR. BROTHER LORENZO, THAT STRONG WILL IS GOING TO STAND ONE DAY. AND WHEN HIS LITTLE FRIENDS ARE GOING TO LOOK HIM IN THE EYE, SAY, "YOU'RE WRONG." HE'S GOING TO SAY, "THAT'S NOT WHAT MY GRANDPA SAID. THAT'S NOT WHAT MY GREAT-GRANDPA SAID. THAT'S NOT WHAT MY DAD SAID. MY DAD SAID THAT I'M WALKING IN JESUS. THEREFORE, YOU SAY, "HEY, I BELIEVE IT. HE MIGHT BE THIS TALL NOW, BUT BROTHER TIM, HE'S GOING TO GROW LIKE THIS." UH, AND THERE'S GOING TO BE SOMETHING IN HIM. WHY? BECAUSE I HAVE PLANTED IN HIM AND GOD GAVE THE INCREASE. WOULD YOU LIFT YOUR HAND TO THE LORD? HALLELUJAH. WELL, CAN EVERYBODY SHOUT HALLELUJAH?

HALLELUJAH. Come on, do it again. Hallelujah. One more time. Hallelujah. Praise God. I I had an old Jewish minister one time tell me that hallelujah meant 10,000 praises to God. So, you just praised him about 30,000 times each. Don't it feel good to praise God? Hallelujah. Well, I think I'll just close my Bible. I All I was going to preach nearly has already been preached. But the word of the Lord that came unto Joah the son of Bethule. Hear this ye old men. And all you inhabitants of the land, give ear. Have this been in your day? Tell your children of it. Let them tell their children. And let them tell another generation. Keep it alive, folks. Keep it alive. HALLELUJAH. THIS IS THE WORK OF GOD. KEEP IT ALIVE. Praise God.

When you stop and consider, just take it away if you will. When you stop and consider that we've got dead churches in America. Amen. We need live churches. I The generation that's coming along needs to know what it's like to hear somebody worship God, speak in tongues, baptize in Jesus' name. THE GENERATION THAT'S COMING ALONG NEEDS TO KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO SEE SOMEBODY SHOUT ACROSS THE AISLE. I I GREW UP SLEEPING UNDER the back pew, an old wooden floor church, and I I would wake up in the middle of a service sometime over in the night, and there would be a high heel shoe sound like a gatling gun right just right outside from under that pew, stirring up dust. That's what I thought church was ALL ABOUT.

I STILL THINK church is all about that, minus the dust. Praise God. In the book of Hebrews, you're going to find where Paul, well, his brother Ellensworth said, "If it were Paul, I believe it was Paul, but what do I mean?" But anyway, he said, "By faith, Jacob when he was a dying." I said it just that way. When he was a dying sound like old folks, don't it? That's old folks talk. You just said when he was dying, but the generation before me said when he was a dying. So Jacob when he was a dying blessed both the sons of Joseph and worshiped leaning on his staff. Now if you if you go back to get that story, he's an old old man now. He can't stand alone.

He took that staff and leaned on the top of it and reached out and crossed his hands wittingly and put the right hand on the younger child and the left hand on the older child. In so much that Joseph said, "No, no, no, not not so father. Ephraim is my younger manasse." He said, "I know it, son. I know what I'm doing." Ain't it amazing? Isaac was blind in his old age. And he blessed both of his children, but he didn't know what he was doing. He blessed the younger instead of the elder, but he didn't understand that he had done it until it was all over with. But Jacob knew what he was doing. A generation away ought to know more than we do now. a generation away.

You know, they should be able to build standing on the shoulders and on the foundational stones of something this generation has left behind. Hallelujah. Now then, let's go with Jacob for just a few minutes, if you will. I I don't know how these men do it. They they quit in 15 minutes. I'm going to try to be very timely, but Jacob was a a scoundrel of a lad. When he was born, he was born holding to his brother's heel. When he was in the womb, he had struggled to get in the place to be born first. And his mother said to God, "If I am going to have children, why am I so sick?" And God said to her, "There's two children in your womb, two manner of nations in there, and the elder shall serve the younger." The elder usually got the birthright.

He got the blessing. The birthright meant twice the portion of the other children. In this case, it would have been twothirds of all that Abraham had left Isaac and Isaac had left his children. It would have been a large portion. Talk about those billions of dollars that went in. You you think of the richness of Abraham. Amen. Well, Abraham could take 300 Confederate soldier. I'm sorry, Yankees. He could take 300 Confederate soldiers and his servants and whip five kings. This was a mighty man. Hallelujah. Praise God. You'll have found out what a Confederate soldier is. But that's what the Bible said. Amen. But he left it all to Isaac. Then Isaac gave twothirds of it unto Jacob.

But Jacob had fooled his dad, lied to his dad, dressed up in his brother's clothes, put goat skins around his neck and on the back of his hands to be sure that if dad felt of him, he'd feel just like Esau. He had took a bowl of pea soup and let Isaac smell of it when he was real hungry and charged him for his birthright. Yeah. I mean, he was not a good brother. He was not even a good child. I said he was a scoundrel. His name was Jacob, and that meant a heel grabber. One that overthrows his brother by grabbing his heel. A tripper upper. Amen. He was a mean scoundrel. However, if you'll remember what I said, Jacob when he was a dying, it was a different story then. Let's see what happened to Jacob. Jacob was sent on a journey for a wife.

Oh, what a what a what a journey. I mean, you know, no vacation. I'm hunting a wife. For a young man that don't even like girls for a fellow that hadn't seen nothing but chaos other than mom and daddy now. They're all right. But here's his brother's done married the daughters of Heth. And finally, uh, Rebecca rises up and said to Isaac, "If Jacob marries the daughters of Heth, my life ain't no good to me." What she's saying is these daughter-in-laws is worrying me to death. And if it goes on this way through our other child, I just soon to die. So Isaac said, "Son, I want you to go get you a wife where I got your mother. They're good down there. Now, I'd like for you to get a good woman because God's got something good for you.

When I laid my hands on you and blessed you and told you that you was going to have the dew of heaven and the fatness of the earth, it wasn't just me talking. That was the Holy Ghost through me putting the blessings of Abraham, the almighty of God's son that he had chose, called out from the rest of the world, separated him. Hallelujah. Let me tell you, THE CHURCH HAS BEEN CALLED OUT EVER SINCE GOD CALLED ABRAHAM OUT. And if we're going to be the blessed of God, there's some stipulations for us. Hallelujah. Amen. We can't earn this. But I'm going to tell you, there's a process for you and I to go through. A walk that we must walk, a talk that we must talk. Hallelujah. The old saying come when I was coming up in this.

If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck and looks like a duck, it's probably a duck. If it walks like the world and looks like the world and acts like the world, it's probably of the world. AREN'T YOU GLAD THAT GOD called us out of darkness into his marvelous light? Jacob, we've got to do something different around here. We can't go on acting like a Esau. sent him on a journey from Beerseba unto Pedanaram. There was a little place in between those two on that ridge road. There was three main roads that of trade down through the promised land or near the promised land. One was a way of the sea over by the Mediterranean. The other one was a ridge route.

The other one was the king's highway and it was over in the valley, Jordan Valley across Jordan. He went the ridge route because that was direct. and he went a day's journey and because the sun was set, he said, "I tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to find me a place to rest and this looks like a good camping spot for the night." And he gathered of the pillar of the stones of that place for a pillow. Now, some of you as country as I am, I'm sure most of you couldn't be. But when we was young, we had pillar fights. We had a bedroom. There was 10 of us kids. 10 in my wife's family. We didn't know her family at that time, but you know, there was seven boys and three girls. Seven boys.

And on Sunday, we'd carry the pastor's kids home with us and sometimes other kids home with us. And we'd get locked up back there in that barracks, which is the boy's bedroom. And we'd get mama's pillows and we'd have pillar fights. That's all we knew. Pillar. Well, Jacob got these stones. Why would anybody get a stone for a pillow? I don't believe he wanted to rest well at night. I believe he was want to afflict himself. I believe he wanted to wake up during the night, but he didn't want to wake up in the presence of God. He He was running from all that God HAD CALLED HIM. FOR JACOB had God loved and Esau had God hated. But Jacob WAS WANTING TO BE LIKE ESAU was human nature. We've got to have a change in nature, folks.

I can remember when I was first converted and for many years after that, I'd tell my wife, "I won't be in to bed tonight. I'm going to sleep in the floor." Didn't have a pallet. Just laid in the floor. You think, "You crazy." Yeah, I was. But I was hungry for God. My desire was that God would let me sleep lightly and wake up and pray quite a bit during the night. That he would visit me with some of the scriptures that I'd been praying about. And that he would talk to me about some of the things that we had going on in the future that I knew nothing about over and over and over again. It worked. Hallelujah. I believe Jacob was troubled enough till he said, "I don't like it like it is. Don't know what I'm doing.

Don't know where where I'm going. All I know is that mama's not pleased with my girlfriends. Daddy's mad at me because I deceived him and lied to an old blind dad. I'm in trouble. I'm in trouble in my soul. I I I need something to happen different in my life. Come on. Every one of us have been there. Hallelujah. Took that stone and laid it down there for a pillow. I I'd have pulled my shirt off and made a pillow out of it. But while he was sleeping there on that stone, he had a vision. There was a great ladder and the bottom of it sat on the earth. The top of it reached all the way to heaven. There were angels ascending and descending. Folks, if you can never just get on the ladder. If you can just get on the ladder, there's help.

You're groping for help right now. Let me tell you, if you'll just ever make that first run, get on that ladder. Make a start toward God. God's got angels there to help you. There's people there that are that'll help you right along the way. And at the top of that ladder, he saw God. God said unto him, I am the God of Abraham, thy father. I am the God of Isaac, thy father. Now, these are my words, but this is what God was telling him. Jacob, I want to be Jacob's God also. I want you, son. I want to give you this land that you're laying on. And I tell you what I'm going to do to prove to you that I want to give it to you. Wherever you go, I'm going to be with you until I bring you back unto this land.

And when Jacob woke up, HE SAID, "HOW DREADFUL IS THIS PLACE? Surely the Lord is in this place." And I knew it not. If I had have, I'd moved on over to the next little village. But I I I met God RIGHT HERE. AND HE TOOK THAT STONE THAT he had made a pillar out of and stood it up for a pillar. You know what I'm talking about? And he said, "This is none other than the house of God." And he poured oil on it. The first time that the house of God's mentioned in the scripture, he poured oil on that stone and dedicated it for a house of God because that's where God met with man. Hallelujah. That's where God met with man. Praise God. I wanted to talk to you about the temple.

What good could I say about the temple after these other preachers have preached? I wanted to tell you about the sacrifice at the temple. And I will just briefly when Solomon got ready to dedicate that temple, he got so many sheep, thousands upon thousands of sheep to sacrifice. And that brazen altar that stood out in the front was not sufficient. He had to make a choice. I can either cut down on my sacrifice or I can open up more altar space. He made the right choice. He opened up more altar space. Hallelujah. Folks, I believe you in Chattanooga, Tennessee right now are made with that same choice. Amen. I even thought while ago, and I believe I felt it of the Lord. I everything I say I don't blame on God.

But while brother Sloan was preaching, I thought you folks are not through building. This is not the finished work. It's not over with here. Amen. It may COME A TIME YOU SELL this for a million or two million profit and move out into some new facilities somewhere. It's not over with. IF YOU'RE TIRED RIGHT NOW, go ahead and rest up CUZ IT'S COMING AGAIN. HALLELUJAH. Praise God. HALLELUJAH. THANK GOD FOR A CHURCH THAT'S ON THE MOVE. Increase your sacrifice. Don't decrease the sacrifice. Enlarge the borders of your tent. Stretch forth your uh cords. LENGTHEN THE CORDS. STRENGTHEN the stakes. Amen. Let's say, God, fill this house and we'll build another one. God, you pour it out upon us. We're here to work for you. Praise God.

Jacob left there still a scoundrel. But God said, "Jacob, I'm going to show you. I'll be with you. I'll bring you back. Jacob said, "If you do, I'm going to give a tenth to you." Now, you know, it ain't it ain't hard to offer God a tenth if you ain't got nothing. I mean, what's you know, if you even a half of something's better than a whole of nothing. And Jacob said, "All that thou givest me, I'll give you a tenth." He later said, "I crossed this brook with all but a staff in my hand, and now I've got flocks, and I've got herds." Hallelujah. Amen. When God called him back across that brook, he had everything that his eye could desire, but he had said, "God, I'm going to give you a tenth." You know, I knew a man one time. Made God a promise.

If you'll give me a job, I'll give you a tenth. I I'll pay my ties. I'll go to church. He got a job. Got a very good job. Construction job building the first union plant that we had in Corinth, Mississippi. Big plastic plant. Some of the best paying jobs that there were in our whole area was there. The plant was almost finished. It had took a long time to build it and he had already decided I'm making too much money to pay a tenth. We had a preacher come by. I was just I was just a boy at this time, but we had a preacher come by and he preached and after he preached went home with the pastor. That's the way it always was back then.

And this man's little baby was very sick and he and his wife brought the baby for prayer that night after church. And when the preacher took it in his hands to pray for it, he stopped and he said, "I'm going to pray for the child and God's going to heal it, but I've got to talk to this boy's daddy." Said, "Where's his daddy at?" And his mother said, "He's sitting out in the car." He said, "Go get him. I won't pray until he comes. When he come in, he said, "Sir, you've made some promises to God and you hadn't kept them." God's angry at you. God's going to heal this child, but you need to get back in the house of God and fulfill those promises that you made to God. He didn't do it. I hate to tell a story like this, but it's true.

I want to I'd like to save some, but fear He went back out there and they were just finishing up a big huge press at that plant and it malfunctioned and he stuck his head under it to look up and see just maybe he could see the obstruction and that press came down. Those that were around him said it his head popped like a watermelon. He didn't see that little baby grow up. Amen. I'm going to tell you promises to God are very serious things. Amen. It's very serious things. We've dedicated not only this building. Brother Ellensworth did such a a stately job with this, but he had you dedicating your own self. I want to tell this one story, and I'm quitting. I promise you.

Dwight El Moody, the great Chicago preacher, was called to dedicate a baby. And back then, you walked where you went usually or had a horse and buggy. The house was near and he walked to this house and just as he got to the gate around the yard. He heard them cussing and swearing inside the house. And when he got there, he found the father drunk and his mother or the wife, the baby's mother was cursing because her husband was drunk. And he took the little baby in his arms and he said, "Well, I've been called to dedicate this child Shall I ask God to make it a drunkard like its mother? And she cried out, "No, brother Moody, no.

Ask God to make it a child of God, a saint." HE SAID, "SHOULD I ASK GOD TO MAKE IT a drunkard like his father, a curser like his mother?" And again, they cried, "No, no, no, no, brother Moody. Ask God to make it a saint." He said, "I need to dedicate the parents today, folks. Our church houses will be no more dedicated than we are. But let me remind you, they'll be no less dedicated than we are. Hallelujah. Every Sunday morning or every this midweek service, every time you come to this house of God, I don't know your schedule, but I'm going to tell you, he said, "If there's two or three gathered together, I'll be there in the midst of them." Now, God's usually very specific with his numbers. Even up in thousands, he's specific.

But he said, "Here, it don't matter if they ain't but two of you or maybe three of you. It could be a dozen of you, but two or three would bring my presence in your midst. I'd love you to stand with me." Amen. It's so good to be with you folks. I Let me just say, y'all have more equipment here than some Hollywood studios. I do believe. And if equipment can get the job done, y'all got it paid. But it's going to take labor, sweat, tears, prayer, fasting. But let me tell you, it's worth every bit of it. I said it's worth every bit of it. What would you give in exchange for a soul? If it was your child, you'd give everything you had. Hallelujah. If it was your soul, you'd give everything you had.

Did you not know that that other little soul's worth just as much as your soul is? Amen. This is a soulsaving station. Jacob, I want you to rise and go back to Bethl where I met you in your distress, and I want you to dwell there. Jacob looked around on his wives and his 12 children that he had by this time. And he said to them, "I want you to wash, be clean, and change your garments, cuz it ain't like where we've been living. We're going to the house of God, and God's going to meet us there, and we're going to have to look different than we have out here. We we've kind of went astray and done things like your father's done them out here. And we we've lived like everybody else out here, but God is meticulous in the house of God. Hallelujah.

So, I want you to change things up. We're going to Bethl and live there. Let's pray. God in heaven, I'm so thankful, Lord, that you've allowed me to be a part of this. Thank you for this pastor, Brother Sloan, for all this ministry team. God, I thank you for every laboring hand that has been involved in bringing this church to its current position. Thank you, dear God, for brother Ellingsworth and the mighty leadership that he provides for the state of Tennessee. Thank you, Lord, for all the blessings of life that you have given unto us. Lord, I want to thank you for the word of God. But now, Lord, I pray that that word be alive in each of our hearts.

And these little simple things that we have done, I pray God that you turn them into mighty things in the kingdom of God. The things that we have labored for with our own hands. The pillows that we have stood up for pillars, the dedication we have done, the oil that we have poured on. God, I pray that you'd let the anointing be in the oil. Let it run down upon the beard, even to the skirts of the garments. I pray Lord that it be upon every head Lord that your anointing destroy every yoke. We'll give you praise and glory and honor as we see this church prosper and go forward for it is in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of this folks.