Be Committed & Faithful to God's 'House,' His Church
- Summary: We'll look at the Psalmist's great love for the “house of God.” In the New Testament, the Church is the house of God!
1 Timothy 3:15, KJV
- •• Paul wrote to Timothy that “the house of God ... is the church” of God.
•• Jesus Himself had great respect for the house of the living God:- •
Matthew 21:13 “It is written,” he said to them, “ ‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it a ‘den of robbers.’ ”
• At age 12, found by His parents in the Temple, Jesus said, “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” (Luke 2:49) Even as a preteen, Jesus Himself was dedicated to being in God's house.
• “...Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her...” (Ephesians 5:25).
- •
- •• [vs. 4] “One thing I ask...” — a single-minded focus. I am a “house of the Lord” believer.
•• “This is what I seek” — His House! Not a casual, random following after God. No, but a focused, targeted goal: the House of the Lord.- • Not just letting it happen, but pursuing it.
• “...to dwell in” His house. An unflagging commitment before God to be in church. And that means being a faithful participant in a local church, not just some vague feeling of belonging to the Lord's universal church without ever gathering with His people.
- •• “All the days of my life” — a lifelong priority.
- • I thank God for the gray hairs I see in church ... and the younger saints, too.
- •• “to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord” — the Church is a place where we are brought into contact with, and into manifestation of, God’s “beauty,” His glory, His splendor, His majesty...
•• “to seek Him in His temple” —- • “to seek Him” = an active pursuing of the Lord
• “to seek Him” = we come together as a church to seek the Lord, not the meeting of our needs!
[vs. 5] If you approach the house of the Lord as above —
- •• You will be blessed.
•• “In the day of trouble He will keep [you] safe.”
•• “...safe in His dwelling” — there is a corporate safety and strength in the congregation of the Lord.
•• “He will hide [you] in the shelter of His tabernacle” — that hints at a closeness to His presence ... “hidden” under His wings (Ps. 91).- • Again, “shelter [in] His tabernacle.” The New Testament counterpart, the church, is a place of safety, of security, of well-being.
- •• You’ll find yourself “set...high upon a rock” — Christ the Rock, on whom the Church is built.
[vs. 6] “Then,” anchored and rooted in God's house —
- •• You’ll be “exalted above the enemies who surround [you]” — physical enemies, spiritual enemies, circumstantial ones...
•• You’ll find yourself giving “shouts of joy” — where? ... “at His tabernacle.” Church is a joy-inducing thing.
•• Your heart will overflow with “sing[ing] and mak[ing] music to the Lord” — one of the evidences of the Spirit-filled life (Ephesians 5:18-19).
We invite you to read our related sermon: The House of God Is Christ's Church.
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©2005, James H. Feeney.
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Pentecostal Sermons and Bible Studies
by Pastor Jim Feeney, Ph.D.