God’s House and Place
of Rest
“Thus says the LORD:
‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My
footstool. Where is the house that you
will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?’ ” (Isa.
66:1)
The
universe that God created is so vast that even scientists and astronomers cannot be sure where
it ends. They call it the limitless or
infinite universe. The
earth that we live is only one of the planets amongst the countless number of other planets in space. How can we build a house big enough for God to
dwell? Impossible!
The House of
God that is
set up
on Earth and
reaches to Heaven
gof God that
is set up Earth and reac
Jacob’s
Dream: “Then he dreamed, and behold,
a ladder was set up on the earth, and its top reached to heaven; and there the
angels of God were ascending on it.” (Gen. 28:12)
The ladder is the Lord
Jesus Christ: “And He said to him,
‘Most assuredly, I say to you, hereafter you shall see heaven open, and the
angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’ ” (Jn. 1:51)
Jacob’s dream
of a Ladder set up
from Earth to
Heaven
>Heaven is God’s throne
where He reigns
The Ladder that connects
mankind to God is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Earth is God’s footstool
where He reigns over His subjects
The Cross of Jesus Christ
is the
Ladder
that connects
Earth to Heaven
The
Lord Jesus Christ is the only connection between God and mankind. “For there is one God and one Mediator between
God and men, the Man Christ Jesus,” (1 Tim. 2:5)Th
The House
of God that
is
set up
on Earth
and reaches to
Heaven
“Then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said, ‘Surely the LORD is
in this place, and I did not know it.’
And he was afraid and said, ‘How awesome is this place! This is none other than the House of God, and
this is the gate of heaven.’ ” (Gen. 28:16-17)
The House of
God is the
Church
The
apostle Paul wrote: “the house of God,
which is the church of the living God, the pillar of the ground of the truth.” (1 Tim. 3:15)
"Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (Jn. 14:6)
The
church must preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ (Mk. 1:1; 1 Cor. 2:2; Eph. 1:13-14)he
Church is built
by Jesus Christ in
the Spirit
t.
16:18)
“And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I
will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not
prevail against it.” (Mt. 16:18)
The
church consists of believers who “are being built together for a habitation
of God in the Spirit.” (Eph. 2:22)
God does not
dwell in buildings
Stephen
preached: “But Solomon built Him
a house. However, the Most High does not
dwell in temples made with hands, as the prophet says: ‘Heaven is My
throne, And earth is My footstool. What
house will you build for Me? says
the LORD, or what is the place of My rest?
Has My hand not made all these things?” (Acts 7:47-50)
The
apostle Paul preached in
The
Lord Jesus Christ and the Early Christians assembled and worshiped God in
buildings called synagogues on the Sabbath day (Lk.
4:16; Acts 13:14-15). God does not dwell in
buildings.
God dwells in
Men’s hearts
“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his
Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6)
The
Lord Jesus Christ said: “Even the Spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him,
for He dwells with you and will be in you.” (Jn. 14:17)
“Jesus answered said to him, ‘If anyone
loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come
to him and make Our home with him.” (Jn.
14:23)
Place of
Rest
God’s
Place of
Rest
“Thus the heavens and the earth, and all the host of them were
finished. And on the seventh day God
ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His
work which He had done. Then God blessed
the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work
which God had created and made.” (Gen. 2:1-3)after
He created the
Universe ?
God’s
place of rest is in heaven after He created the universe.
God’s Rest in
the Sabbath
“For we who have believed do enter that rest, as He has
said: ‘So I swore in My
wrath, they shall not enter My rest.’ although the works were finished from the
foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this
way. ‘ And
God rested on the seventh day from all His works’; and again in this place:
‘They shall not enter My rest.” (Heb. 4:3-5)
“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself
ceased from his works as God did from His.
Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall after
the same example of disobedience.” (Heb. 4:9-11)
We will have
God’s Rest when
we
believe in the
Lord Jesus Christ
“Come to Me, all you
who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon
you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find
rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy
and My burden is light.” (Mt. 11:28-30)
We can have
real peace
in the
Lord Jesus Christ
“These things I have spoken to you, that in Me
you may have peace. In the world you
will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.” (Jn. 16:33)
What kind
of person is
God looking for ?
“Thus says the LORD:
‘Heaven is My throne, and earth is My
footstool. Where is the house that you
will build Me?
And where is the place of My rest?’ ” (Isaiah 66:1)
For all those things My hand has made,
And all those things exist," Says the LORD. "But on this one will I
look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And
who trembles at My word. (Isaiah 66:2)
God is looking for a person who
has a poor and contrite spirit
“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saved as
have a contrite spirit.” (Psm.
34:18)
“And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as
raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God be merciful to me a
sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down
to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself
will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Lk.
18:13-14)
Jesus saved a
contrite sinner
“But when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, ‘He has gone
to be a guest with a man who is a sinner.
Then Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord,
‘Look, Lord, I give half my goods to the poor; and if I have taken anything
from anyone by false accusation, I restore fourfold.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has
come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham; for the Son of Man has
come to seek and save that which was lost.” (Lk.
19:8-10)
God is looking
for Christians
who tremble at
His word
“Let all the earth fear the LORD; Let all the inhabitants of the world
stand in awe of Him. For He spoke, and
it was done; He
commanded, and it stood fast.” (Psm.
33:8-9)
“God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time
past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His
Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things through whom also He made the
worlds.” (Heb. 1:1-2)
We should all tremble
at God’s Word
“He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is
called The Word of God. And the armies
in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white
horses. Now out of His mouth goes a
sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of
iron. He Himself treads the winepress of
the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.” (Rev. 19:13-16)
The Word of
God judges us now
“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than
any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and the
joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the
heart. And there is no creature hidden
from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we
must give account.” (Heb. 4:12-13)
We must be
careful of every
word that we
say at all
times
“But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they
will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and
by your words you will be condemned.” (Mt. 12:36-37)
The words
of Jesus will
judge us
at the Last
day
“And if anyone hears My words and does
not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to
save the world. He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him
– the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.” (Jn.
12:47-48)
May God bless you
A sermon based on this article was preached by Paul Wong
to a
Congregation in
For comments please write first to: arkpw@sbcglobal.net
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Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the
President of ARK International. |
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