"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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AuthorWarren Jhun Ocampo Archives
September 2017
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