Glorious Ruins Message

Pastor Houston’s prayer over the congregation as he starts preaching:

Father I thank you for every person in this church this morning. We thank you Lord that we focus on Jesus, the author and finisher of faith. Holy Spirit I thank you for Your presence here. Lord I pray that every person will know that Your Holy Spirit is evident in their lives, in their spirit Father, working Your purpose. Lord I pray that every single person in the room today will know that they are important to God that You have a purpose and You have a plan to every life. Father I thank you in Jesus name. Amen!!!

Hillsong will release a new album in July in time for the Hillsong Conference. The album is titled Glorious Ruins.

Pastor Houston preached on Glorious Ruins today.

Man takes what is glorious and makes it into a ruin. God takes what is a ruin and makes it glorious.

Zechariah 11:3 (NKJV)

3 There is the sound of wailing shepherds!

For their glory is in ruins.

There is the sound of roaring lions!

For the pride of the Jordan is in ruins.

These scriptures speak of the great and huge cedar trees in Lebanon.

The glory is in ruins.

Ruins can speak of various things.

In the Old Testament, the house of God was left in ruins. King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon conquered Israel and left the temple in ruins.

God’s heart and glory resided in His temple.

Ruins can speak also of humanity. What God created in humanity was glorious. God created us in His own image. What God created was glorious.

Man’s sin ruined what God has made.

Glorious ruin can also be like a picture in people’s world. Your world may be caving in. Some people may be in financial ruins. Some people are in reputation ruins. People can ruin your reputation. People may have shattered dreams or relationship. There are ruin marriages.

The good news is ruins can come to life with God. In the beauty of His name, God can cause you to rise up from the ashes.

Jesus Christ is the most glorious. Mankind took all the glory on the cross and creates the scandals of grace and ruined Jesus body.

The ruins come to life in the beauty of His name. The resurrected Jesus is alive in the hearts of the people.

Ruin speaks of past glory. Ruins often speak of past battle or disaster, neglect or abandonment.

There are many people who can relate to past ruins.

In the power of The Lord Jesus Christ, ruins can back to glory. God want to take what is ruin in your world, in your finances, your home, and your life and bring life to it.

Job 19:25-26 (NKJV)

25 For I know that my Redeemer lives,

And He shall stand at last on the earth;

26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,

That in my flesh I shall see God,

Ezra 9:8-9 (NKJV)

8 And now for a little while grace has been shown from the Lord our God, to leave us a remnant to escape, and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and give us a measure of revival in our bondage. 9 For we were slaves. Yet our God did not forsake us in our bondage; but He extended mercy to us in the sight of the kings of Persia, to revive us, to repair the house of our God, to rebuild its ruins, and to give us a wall in Judah and Jerusalem.

The temple was in ruins.

God can bring ruins back to life.

Three things to do if you want to see ruin comes to glorious life:

1. Praise power.

2. Prophetic power

3. Personal power or devotion

1. Praise Power

Never underestimate the power of praise.

Ezra 3:10-11 (NKJV)

10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the Lord, the priests stood in their apparel with trumpets, and the Levites, the sons of Asaph, with cymbals, to praise the Lord, according to the ordinance of David king of Israel. 11 And they sang responsively, praising and giving thanks to the Lord:

“For He is good,

For His mercy endures forever toward Israel.”

Then all the people shouted with a great shout, when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid.

The foundation was laid in waste.

The people praise God before the miracle. When you praise, you are laying down the foundation for God’s miracle to happen.

If you want to see ruins come to life, never underestimate the power of praise.

Recognize the praise is the entry point to the promises of God. This is a recurring theme in the scriptures.

Psalm 100:4 (NKJV)

4 Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,

And into His courts with praise.

Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.

If you are facing the ruins of anything, don’t underestimate praise. You can praise yourself happy. You can praise your way into a God given miracle.

Moses praised God before the opening of the Red Sea. The people complained before the Red Sea open but praise Him after the miracle.

Praise God early in the morning. Praise God on the way to work. Put the iPod in your ears. Praise God in the bus, on the trains.

Don’t underestimate the power of praise.

John 11:38 (NKJV)

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

Lazarus

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