His House

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 19 Issue 24 August 23, 2009

We really don’t understand very much about the richness of the Lord’s presence! In the Old Testament - God’s presence was around them. For us however - we not only have God’s presence around us we also have him in us!

John 14:17 he dwells with you and shall be in you.

Brothers and sisters - we actually house the presence of Almighty God! “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost?” I Corinthians 6:19

There is a very interesting set of verses in Matthew 12:43-45 When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walks through dry places, seeking rest, and finds none. Then he says, I will return into my house from where I came out and when he arrives he finds it empty, swept, and decorated. He then goes and gets seven other spirits more wicked than himself and they enter in and dwell there: the last state of that man is worse than the first.

What points stand out for you in these scriptures?

Hezekiah’s desire for the people’s well being started in God’s house. “In the first year of his reign, in the first month, he opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. Also in Ezekiel 9:6 ....begin at my sanctuary.

Hezekiah had no programs to win the people’s votes. In fact he made no appeals to the people at all. He only reinstituted true worship.

The king’s focus was not on turning the heart of the people, but drawing out to the heart of God.

If the Lord is lifted up, He will of His own will and power draw all men unto Himself!

That is why we must focus on JESUS!
Revelation 3:20 I stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to him and will fellowship with him, and he with me.

Jesus will not come in uninvited.

Jesus won’t pull a B&E!

Do not make the mistake to think that this door to God is automatically opened. We must choose to unlock this door and swing it wide toward Christ!

¨ Is the door of your heart open toward God?
¨ Can the Spirit of Jesus Christ come in and speak with you?
¨ Are you defenseless to His voice?
¨ Can you sense both His pleasure and His displeasure?

Within every Christian there is a secret place, a sanctuary.

We must work with the Holy Spirit in preparing this house for the Lord.

The Spirit desires to cleanse us - His purpose is - “To prepare the Bride for Jesus the Holy Bridegroom!”

It is out of this desire to present a pure bride to the Son of God that we must be willing to deal with sin!

As impossible as it seems - according to scriptures, before Jesus returns, the Body of Christ will be holy and blameless!


Ephesians 5:27 That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle.. holy and without blemish.

I Thessalonians 5:23 May God sanctify you completely, so that your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless to the coming of our Lord Jesus..

You have probably discovered that a house reflects the character of those living inside.

When purity is evident in the house of the Lord it will once again see and reflect the glory of God!

Your goal should be:
· to know Jesus and to be known of Him!
· to see the character of Jesus Christ, His meekness, authority and love manifested in your life.

The Holy Spirit needs to prepare you to be living sanctuary for His presence. A resting place, a holy house for Jesus!

We must submit ourselves passionately and solely to the Spirit and Words of Jesus!

Any focus or goal other than Jesus will become a source of deception in the days ahead! We are living in the age of great deceptions.

Look at what Jesus did with common men. In just 3 1/2 years average men and women were transformed into fearless disciples, literally filled with the Spirit of God!

These ordinary people didn’t wince at suffering, nor hold back from sacrifice. These ordinary people were equipped with spiritual authority over demons and exercised power over illness.

Living proof that Christ transforms people.

3 1/2 years of undiluted Jesus will produce in us what it did in them!

Listen, God can use practically any church structure, if the people in that congregation are seeking hard after Christ!

Outward form is not the issue with the Almighty; the true issue is the posture of the human heart before Him!

Philippians 2:7 Jesus made himself of no reputation taking on the form of a servant

May the Holy Spirit show us that true fullness is always preceded by true emptiness!

Matthew 5:3 Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

May we become desperate in our search and hunger for God?

May we never settle with religion, may we seek to be a house filled with Jesus!

John 15:4 Abide in me and I in you.

John 15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you…
The word “abide” refers to an abode… “to dwell in - to be at home in”

John 14:20 I am in my Father, you are in me and I am in you.

We at The Gathering Place are seeking to be that place where the Spirit of God can dwell. We desire to be in the Father and to have Him in us!

We want to walk as Jesus walked.

We want Jesus to find His house to be Our house!

May Jesus be the fullness of our house!

Isaiah 66:1-2 Thus says the LORD, The heaven [is] my throne, and the earth [is] my footstool: where [is] the house that you build for me? and where [is] the place of my rest? For all those [things] has my hand made, and all those [things] have been, says the LORD: but to this [man] will I look, [even] to [him that is] poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word.