‘God’s House’? - Psalm 26:8

Text:  “Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth (dwells, and continues to dwell).”

Psalm 26:8.

Good morning, constantly worshipping Christian!  Not for you, the Sunday-going-to-meeting-house worship; no, your worship of the Living Lord God requires no particular place in which to perform it; and no man-made building to perform it in!  You worship the Living Lord God in a living and Spiritually regenerate manner - and that can take place just wherever you are; whenever you desire; in whatever form your Spirit-led heart dictates; and at all times of the day, every day, or night!  Praise the Lord!  Amen.

That’s the liberty that the Lord Jesus has bought and paid for, for ’His people’, with His own precious Blood at Calvary.  Hallelujah!  We know THE TRUTH (Christ Jesus) and He has made us FREE.  Glory to His Name!  We love and worship you, Lord Jesus!  What a Saviour! (John 8:32; 36) (John 14:6)  Jesus Christ IS the Truth!

“But Solomon built Him an house.  Howbeit the most High dwelleth NOT in temples made with hands; as saith the prophet, Heaven is My throne, and earth is My footstool; what house will ye build Me? Saith the Lord; or what is the place of My rest?  Hath not My hands made ALL these things?  Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did, so do ye.”  (Acts 7:47-51)

Hear Solomon’s own God-inspired word on the subject: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth?  Behold, the Heaven and Heaven of Heavens cannot contain Thee; how much less this house that I have builded?”  (1 Kings 8:27)

So, with these Scriptural facts in mind, we now must realise that we, as born again believers, do not need to go to any particular place designated by mere man in order to present our worship and our praise to the Living Lord God.  We need only the right spirit and position in Christ Jesus to do it.  We are to shun all ‘legalism’ like the plague that it most definitely is in this increasingly apostate 21^st Century.  We are FREE!

I hear of many genuine regenerate Christians today, myself included, who are finding it increasingly difficult to find a ’local church group or denomination’ with whom to worship the Lord.  Fact.  Why is this so? 

Well, in my own case, and in the case of many others that have spoken to me, the reason for this reluctance to ’go out into local churches’ on the Lord’s Day stems from the degree of open apostasy, false doctrine, and legalistic practices we find in such places.  To attend such places increasingly becomes impossible - unless we boldly stand up during the ’church services’, ‘…contend for the faith…‘; and honestly proclaim - ’Excuse me, Sir, you do err in your Scriptures!’, and thus disrupt the meeting.

If we are seeking to be true to the Word of God, true to the Gospel of Jesus Christ; true to the teaching of sound doctrine - we are placing ourselves in the position of ’trouble-makers’ if we attend such gatherings!  Crazy situation, but true!  Bible-believing Christians are being shunned by ‘ear-tickling’ Pastors.

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned into fables.  But watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry.”  (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

Nor is this current situation throughout so-called Christendom a new phenomenon, a very similar situation was brought into existence and noted in the 1^st Century AD, when the true Gospel message was proclaimed in Thessalonica!  Only the charge then levelled at sound-doctrine, constantly worshipping, Christians was not one of ’trouble-makers’, but those ’…that have turned the world upside-down are come hither also’!            (Acts 17:6)

 

Verse 8. “Lord, I have loved the habitation of Thy house, and the place where Thine honour dwelleth (dwells, and continues to dwell).” 

Now, let us ask ourselves some very sobering questions, ‘constantly worshipping Christian’:  If apostasy, false doctrine, or blatant legalism (petty rules about hats, and tongues, and tithing to the denomination, ‘means of grace’ communion services, infant baptisms, etc.) are being practiced, and taught to be truth in any local ‘church-gatherings’ - is God’s ‘honour’ to be found there in that place?  I don’t think so!  In fact, I know God’s honour is never promoted by the propagation of error, or the practice of apostasy.  Too many so-called ‘ministries’ are merely making merchandise of sincere Christian believers; too many are seeking to ‘serve’ Mammon instead of God.

“And He (Christ Jesus) found in the temple those that sold oxen and sheep and doves, and the changers of money sitting; and when He had made a scourge of cords, He drove them all out of the temple…and said unto them that sold doves, Take these things hence; make not My Father’s house an house of merchandise.”  (John 2:13-16)

God’s ‘honour’ dwells within His church, that is within ‘His people’, not a man-made building!  Constantly worshipping Christians can worship the Lord at any time and in any place that they be - for the Lord lives within the temples of our hearts.  Amen.

Thought:  Every place is the place of worship - for the true child of God!