"How lovely is your dwelling place, o Lord of Heaven's Armies. I long, yes, I faint with longing to enter the courts of the Lord. With my whole being, body and soul, I will shout joyfully to the living God." - Psalms 84:1-2
Can you hear the passion in the Psalmist's voice? The yearning to be in the courts of the Lord, the place of God's very presence. His whole being longing just to be with God. His heart and flesh crying out, shouting joyfully to the Lord who is alive and living and present there. Have you ever felt so desperate to get to church, to enter into worship that you thought you might just faint dead away? you know, if we're honest, most of us don't approach worship that expectantly, with that depth of feeling, that desperately even. The Psalmist tells us that his entire being longed to be at the house of God! His soul, his body and his heart longed to be in the place of worship! Perhaps he remembered what many saints of God have forgotten that the house of the Lord is an oasis in the desert of this world and it is safe haven from the storms of life. Whatever thoughts occupied his mind, when he thought of the house of God, his pulse quickened, his eyes brightened and he longed to be there more than anything else in his life. How did the Psalmist knows loveliness of the dwelling places of the Lord unless he had been there? Furthermore besides enjoying the glorious presence of God, the following reasons reveal why he was so desperate to be in God's dwelling place: Psalm 84:2 : There are many courts - different dimensions of His presence Psalm 84:4 : Blessings for those who dwell in His house Psalm 84:7 : Spiritual renewal growing from strength to strength We also know that all through King David's life, he exhibited this same passionate desire to be in the house of the Lord. "The one thing I ask of the Lord - the thing I seek most - is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord's perfections and meditating in his temple." - Psalm 27:4 "And now, because of my devotion to the Temple of my God..." - I Chronicles 29:3 The whole idea from David's experience is that he was a man who loved the house of the Lord and longed for it when he couldn't be there! As worshipers, what are our motives for going to the house of the Lord? There is a difference between going there for Him to please our hearts and going there for us to please His heart. We touch a higher dimension in God's presence when we are desperate for more of Him. As we take a page out of King David's intimate journey with God, we wonder why would a king want to be a gatekeeper? As a passionate "God chaser", King David was saying, "No, I've learned something: A gatekeeper at the house of God has more influence in the world than a king on his throne! A gatekeeper in the house of God is a gatekeeper at the gate of Heaven. Now if I can find that opening in Heaven..." "A single day in your courts is better than a thousand anywhere else! I would rather be a gatekeeper in the house of my God than live the good life in the homes of the wicked." - Psalm 84:10 King David discovered a key that we need to rediscover in our day. He did more than return God's presence to Jerusalem. He did more than display God's glory in an open tent without walls or veil of separation. Somehow he managed to entertain God's presence in his humble tent and keep an open heaven over all Israel for almost 36 years! When we open the windows of heaven through our worship, we also need to post a guard - a gatekeeper - inside the dimension of God (worship) to hold open the windows of Heaven. In David's day, the Levitical worshipers surrounded the Ark of the Covenant with continuous worship and praise. They enjoyed the benefits of a continuous open heaven because somebody stood in the gate and held it open. A gatekeeper can be anyone who has the responsibility of opening the windows of Heaven to a city, a church or a community. They could be leaders, intercessors, worship leaders, worship musicians, worship singers, and every worshipers. An open heaven refers to the free access of God's presence to man and to the free flow of God's glory to man's dimension. As a gatekeeper, King David understood the importance of his office. When he penned Psalm 84:10, I feel that he was saying, "I would rather be a gatekeeper at the house of God, because that is the place of real influence." Never underestimate the power of God's presence. If you can be a gatekeeper and open the gate of the manifest presence of God to your church and your community, understand that you have been placed in the most influential position in the entire world. Like the Levites of old, we are all called to be a gatekeeper people, the people of His presence. You can literally become a walking doorway to God's presence. People can sense the glory light shining under the door. We need people who know how to access His presence and open door for the glory of God to come into our homes, churches, cities, and nations. King David again writes the vision so we can run: "Open up, ancient gates! open up, ancient doors, and let the King of glory enter." - Psalm 24:7 Gates don't have heads. It is obvious that we are the gates in this Psalm. If we lift up our heads, what happens? The Hebrew literalization of the phrase is "be opened up you everlasting doors." When we obey this command, the King of glory Himself will come in. What does all this mean? We as church, are literally the gateway for the rest of the world to have an encounter with God. When you stand in the place of worship, you are literally opening up and swinging wide a spiritual gate, an entrance for the risen Lord. If we ever want to move from a visitation of God to a habitation of God, someone has to learn how to open the door to the heavenlies.
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"This message was kept secret for centuries past, but now it has been revealed to God's people. For God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you gentiles too. And this is the secret: Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory" - Colossians 1:26-27
As I meditate on this verse, one phrase strikes in my heart and spirit: "Christ lives in you". As Born again Christians we all know that once we received Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior we are saved, He resides in us and guides our daily life. In Colossians 1:15 says: "Christ is the visible image of the invisible God" so if Christ lives in us, we can also say that we are the visible image of the invisible God. Many Christians today are entangled in a situation called "Identity Crisis". Instead they show that they are the follower of Jesus Christ, they compromise their faith through the way they think, speak, manner of dressing, etc. Romans 12:2 says: "Don't copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect". How can we live in Christ like image? 1. The Christ like image will grow in us by reading and meditating God's word. "Three days later they finally discovered him in the temple, sitting among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. All who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers" - Luke 2:46-47 It is very evident that the young boy Jesus sets an example in reading and meditating the word of God. He sits among the religious teachers and they are discussing the word of God. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding. Jesus, even though he is the Son of God sets an example for us to follow. As a human, he fills his mind with the knowledge that comes from the word of God. As a result: "Jesus grew in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and all the people" - Luke 2:52 We must fill our mind with the knowledge that comes from the word of God as Jesus did. "To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them" - Matthew 13:12 It is our benefit if we meditate on God's word daily for it gives us victory in our daily life. "Study this book of instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do" - Joshua 1:8 God promise us a victorious living, we are the head not the tail. But other believers became defeated because they don't know the word of God. "Your mistake is that you don't know the scriptures, and you don't know the power of God" - Matthew 22:29 "My people are being destroyed because they don't know me" - Hosea 4:6 Is it possible that a person who is a "Christian" that "Serve" God but actually doesn't know who he is serving? YES! the bible has an example: "Meanwhile, the boy Samuel served the Lord by assisting Eli" - 1 Samuel 3:1a In this verse, the young boy Samuel is "serving" God by assisting Eli in the temple. But in verse 7... "Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before" - 1 Samuel 3:7 The word of God is very important in our life. Because God reveals who he is through his word. We cannot say that we serve God but we are not connected to his word. The word of God is Jesus himself. "In the beginning the word already existed. The word was with God and the word was God" - John 1:1 "So the word became human and made his home among us. He was full of unfailing love and faithfulness. And we have seen his glory, the glory of the Father's one and only son" - John 1:14 "People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" - Matthew 4:4 2. "I" must die so that the fullness of Christ may live. "My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" - Galatians 2:20 Who is this "I" that must die? It is our flesh who always contradicts the will of God in our lives. It is not literally that we kill ourselves and end up this life God gave us, this is a big NO! don't mis-interpret me! What I mean is... like Paul, he forgets his personal desires and principles in order for him to follow Christ and fully control his life. He is totally surrendered to God. He crucified his old life, his old nature, and starts living in Christ likeness. "Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your creator, and become like him" - Colossians 3:10 "Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them" -2 Corinthians 5:14-15 "This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!" - 2 Corinthians 5:17 "For to me, living means living for Christ, and dying is even better" -Philippians 1:21 In Isaiah 14:13-14, this passage is the word of Lucifer when he starts rebellion against God. Notice that the "I" is always on his words as an evident sign of pride. "For you said to yourself I will ascend to heaven and set my throne above God's stars. I will preside on the mountain of the gods far away in the North. I will climb to the highest heavens and be the most high" - Isaiah 14:13-14 As a result, Lucifer who once an angel of God, becomes Satan God's enemy. 3. The Christ like image will grow in us by obeying God's word. "Jesus replied: All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them" - John 14:23 It is our privilege to be God's home. Surely we will experience heaven while we are still here on earth. Obeying God's word will bring heaven here on earth. In Genesis 3:1-7 is the story when the serpent deceives eve by disobeying God's word and eat the forbidden fruit. In our present time, we can compare eve to "Christians" who are compromising their faith in exchange of the things that this world offers. They are disregarding the word of God for their own sake. "Do not love this world nor the things it offers you, for when you love the world, you do not have the love of the Father in you. For the world offers only craving for physical pleasure, a craving for everything we see, and pride in our achievements and possessions. These are not from the Father, but are from this world. And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will live forever" - 1 John 2:15-17 In Matthew 4:1-11, Jesus fasted for 40 days & nights. As a human being, he became hungry. The devil came and tempted him to make the stones into bread, but Jesus rebuked the devil and said: "People do not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God" - John 4:4 As the scripture continues, Satan tempted Jesus for the second and third time. But one thing that you should see in the story, Jesus has the power to turn those stones into bread but he did not do it. Why? because the word does not come from God... It is the word of Satan. Jesus always do what pleases God. "...I do nothing on my own but say only what the Father taught me. And the one who sent me is with me - he has not deserted me. For I always do what pleases him" - John 8:28b-29 This must be the pattern of our church today. To raise up Christians living in Christ like image in order for us to take dominion and become rulers of the nations to fulfill God's original plan since the beginning. "Then God said, let us make human beings in our image to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth and the small animals that scurry along the ground. So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them, Male and Female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it" - Genesis 1;26-28a |
AuthorWarren Jhun Ocampo Archives
September 2017
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