A Habitation of God
by David Wilkerson

September 4, 2000



"In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God
through the Spirit" (Ephesians 2:22). A habitation is a dwelling
place. The Greek word for habitation in this verse means "a
permanent residence."

Every Christian knows that God doesn't dwell in manmade temples or
buildings. Instead, our Lord has chosen to live in human vessels -
that is, in the hearts and bodies of his people. All who are in
Christ make up his temple - his abode, his permanent residence.
Every believer can boast with confidence, "God lives in me."

God has no other physical residence - no nation, no capital (not
even Jerusalem), no mountaintop. He doesn't reside in the clouds or
sky, the darkness or daylight, the sun, moon or stars. Of course,
the Lord is everywhere, his presence filling all things. But
according to his word, God makes his home in his people. The
blood-cleansed heart is his permanent dwelling.

When did God begin to abide in us? He did so when we first gave our
heart to Jesus. At that moment, Christ's abiding presence filled
our being. Moreover, Jesus brought to us the fullness of the
Godhead - the father, son and Holy Spirit. He testifies, "I am in
my Father...If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father
will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with
him" (John 14:20-23).


Proverbs 8 Gloriously Reveals
The Covenant Plan Between God
And His Son Concerning Their
Habitation of Humankind.

Long before the world was created, the heavenly father and his son
agreed that humankind would be their dwelling place. They made a
covenant that Jesus would come to earth to inhabit the hearts and
bodies of a chosen people. Let me show you this from scripture.

The apostle Paul refers to Christ as being wisdom: "Of him are ye
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and
righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians
1:30).

Proverbs 8 also speaks of wisdom, in a way that could refer only to
Jesus. In verse 30, wisdom says, "Then I was by him, as one brought
up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before
him." How do we know this verse is about Jesus? He alone was his
father's delight. God didn't delight in wisdom, but in his son.

We know Christ was with God even before the earth was created. "The
Lord possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of
old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the
earth was" (Proverbs 8:22-23). Can you imagine the delight the
father and son enjoyed in each other then? They were together in
the glory of heaven, in great bliss.

Remember - this was before Jesus knew anything of human sadness. He
hadn't yet walked in the flesh, with all of its burdens and trials.
He had yet to be touched by any of man's infirmities - to be
rejected, scorned, mocked, spit upon, weighed down by man's sin.
And he had yet to face the cross. He hadn't experienced the hiding
of his heavenly father's face. And he'd never tasted death.

Then came the plan of the New Covenant. In this plan, God - having
created man to have a free will - saw that if man failed, he would
need a redeemer. So the father asked his son to mediate the New
Covenant. The Lord asked, "Will you take on human flesh, and become
the sacrifice that redeems fallen humankind? Will you take their
sins upon yourself, and deliver them from the evil one's claim on
their lives?"

Jesus fully understood the awful prospects. He foresaw the
beatings, the crown of thorns, the hatred and rejection by God's
own people. And he saw the cross looming before him. Yet, scripture
says, Jesus delighted to give his life for us. He counted the cost
and answered: "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is
within my heart" (Psalm 40:8).

The son also spoke these incredible words: "Rejoicing in the
habitable part of his earth; and my delights were with the sons of
men" (Proverbs 8:31). Do you see what Christ is saying? Of all the
marvelous galaxies still undiscovered by man, and all the planets
beyond number, God chose to dwell on this tiny sphere called earth.
And he chose man as the place he would inhabit here. We were to be
the "habitable part of his earth."

Here is the key to my message: Jesus knew he would no longer enjoy
the blissful, face-to-face communion he had with his father. Yet he
delighted in the prospect of coming to dwell in us: "And my
delights were with the sons of men" (8:31). He was saying, "I'm
going to bring a people to my heart. And I'm going to be one with
them, to enjoy their fellowship." He took delight at the thought of
sweet communion - with us!


Why Did Jesus Rejoice at the
Prospect of Man Becoming a
Temple He Could Dwell In?

I believe in the absolute foreknowledge of God. And I believe our
Lord knew, long before we existed, how each person was going to
respond to his gospel. Now, I don't believe in a limited atonement;
God didn't choose to damn some people and save others. Jesus died
for all, and whoever comes to him may be saved. Our Lord is not
willing for anyone to perish (see John 3:15-17, 2 Peter 3:9). Yet,
if he foreknew our names, he also knew whether we would embrace or
reject his sacrifice.

As the very essence of God, Christ shared this foreknowledge. And I
believe he foresaw every person who would receive him as king and
Lord in their hearts. He knew about every one of us, whether we
live in China, Russia, America, the African countries or any other
nation. And he rejoiced at the prospect of coming to abide in us.

Do you remember the day you were saved? Do you recall the feelings
you experienced - the pledges you made to Jesus, promising to
forsake all others and follow him? Jesus saw it happening, eons ago
in eternity - and he delighted in you. He knew you were going to
receive him, even before you were formed in your mother's womb.

David writes, "Thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst
make me hope when I was upon my mother's breasts. I was cast upon
thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother's belly" (Psalm
22:9-10). "Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect;
and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance
were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them" (139:16).

When you weren't yet even a seed, God was recording all your body's
members in his book. He knew all about you. And his son, Jesus,
delighted in knowing you would grow to be his habitation.


Let Me Offer Three Reasons
Why Jesus Delighted That You
Would Be His Habitation.

1. Jesus rejoiced over you as your bridegroom. He anticipated
having intimacy and communion with his bride.

The Bible offers numerous descriptions of our identity in Christ.
We're called his body, his sheep, virgins, sons, servants, friends.
But the most intimate of all these descriptions is this: we are the
bride of Christ. "As the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so
shall thy God rejoice over thee" (Isaiah 62:5).

If you're married, you remember the time when you and your beloved
were engaged. You were head over heels in love with each other. And
you counted the days till you could finally be one, in perfect
union with your mate.

So it was with Jesus. He so looked forward to being with you, he
agreed to leave his perfect communion with the father. He thought
ahead to the day when you would finally be his bride. And in his
eyes, it was a love match. He would be the apple of your eye, and
he'd have you all to himself. That was the cause of his rejoicing.

Your bridegroom anticipated the time when you would come to him in
the secret closet daily, delighting in him. You would spend hours
together - shut off from the world, sharing each other's love,
enjoying sweet communion. And he would happily take you into his
care, rejoicing over you: "He will rejoice over you with joy; he
will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing"
(Zephaniah 3:17).

Now think back to the time when you first loved Jesus. You sought
him with all your heart. You read his word with pure delight. You
were excited about going to God's house to love and worship him.

In Jesus' eyes, every day with you would be a wedding day. He
declared, "Here is where I'm going to make my home. I'm going to
live in someone who wants me more than anything in the world."

My wife, Gwen, and I have had this kind of love in our marriage. If
we're apart for just twenty-four hours, we end up calling each
other three times a day. This has lasted through fifty years of
marriage - and we're but humans. Can you imagine the kind of love
Jesus anticipated having with you?

2. Jesus rejoiced at the thought of sharing his innermost secrets
with you.

One of the greatest expressions of true love is to share intimate
secrets with your beloved - things no one else knows. Like any
bridegroom, Christ anticipated sharing his secrets with you. And he
anticipated that you would share your heart's secrets with him.

This is what lovers do, even in carnal relationships. Although
Samson's delight in Delilah was carnal, he didn't hide anything
from her (see Judges 16:4). His love for Delilah caused him to tell
her the secret of his strength - and it cost him his life.

As Jesus rejoiced over you, he anticipated your being not only his
bride but also his bosom friend. He foresaw you in your secret
closet of prayer, wholly devoted to him. And he rejoiced at the
thought of opening his word to you, revealing things other
believers would never see or hear. "I have called you friends: for
all things that I have heard of my Father I have made known unto
you" (John 15:15).

He looked forward to sharing with you the innermost secrets of the
Godhead. His word says, "His secret is with the righteous"
(Proverbs 3:32). Indeed, the Lord doesn't make any major moves
without foretelling his actions to those who love him. Amos writes,
"Surely the Lord God will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret
unto his servants the prophets" (Amos 3:7).

Jesus wanted to speak to you intimate revelations of God's mind:
what he desires to accomplish, in the world and in your life...the
glories of the New Covenant and of his hallowed names...the beauty
of his sacrifice. In turn, he anticipated that you would share with
him your every need and problem, hurt and failure, hope and desire,
dream and nightmare. He would be someone to whom you could unburden
your heart.

3. Jesus rejoiced that his bride would delight in his word.

"Blessed is the man that heareth me, watching daily at my gates,
waiting at the posts of my doors" (Proverbs 8:34). Christ is
telling us, "This is the person I'll live and abide in - someone
who hangs on my every word. Every morning, my beloved one waits at
my gate, just to get a word from me. He anxiously awaits my voice.
And he delights in everything I say to him."

As his bride, we are to echo these words: "O my dove, that art in
the clefts of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs, let me
see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice; for sweet is thy voice,
and thy countenance is comely" (Song of Solomon 2:14).

David was one such believer who waited daily to receive God's word.
And he delighted in the word he received. He testified, "I will
delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word" (Psalm
119:16). "Thy testimonies also are my delight and my counselors"
(119:24). "I will delight myself in thy commandments, which I have
loved" (119:47). "Thy law is my delight" (119:77). The literal
Hebrew meaning of this last verse is, "I enjoy your word."

I want to focus now on two phrases from the verse mentioned above,
Proverbs 8:34 - "watching daily at my gates," and "waiting at the
posts of my doors." First, what is the gate referred to here?

The psalmist gives us the answer: "Open to me the gates of
righteousness: I will go into them, and I will praise the Lord"
(118:19). I believe these "gates of righteousness" are also the
"strait gate" Jesus speaks of. They refer to anyone who turns daily
to God's word to learn his righteousness.

Such a believer is determined to walk upright before the Lord. He
gets excited at every revelation that points him on the path to a
holy walk. He tells himself, "I want truth in my inner man. I know
I won't get it just by listening to sermon tapes or reading books.
I have to wait patiently on the Lord, so he'll open his gates to
me."

Faithfully, God's Holy Spirit comes out to meet this believer every
morning. And he invites him inside, whispering, "Welcome, friend.
Let me show you something new today about God's righteousness."

Second, what does it mean to "wait at the posts of my doors"? This
refers to every believer who trembles at God's word. The phrase
comes from Isaiah 6, when the prophet waited at the door posts of
the temple, longing to hear from God.

As Isaiah stood there, he heard the seraphims singing, "Holy,
holy," the skies ringing with their praises. Then, suddenly, a
mighty voice boomed forth from heaven. The voice was so loud and
clear, it shook everything: "The posts of the door moved at the
voice of him that cried, and the house was filled with smoke"
(Isaiah 6:4).

This great voice shook Isaiah to the core. It so stirred and
convicted him, he cried out, "Woe is me! For I am undone" (6:5).
The prophet trembled as he heard God's voice.

Isaiah is an example of someone who "waits at the posts of my
doors." This believer longs to hear God's word. And when the word
comes, he allows its conviction to sink into his soul. God's word
says of such a person, "To this man will I look, even to him that
is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word" (66:2).

We've seen how Jesus rejoiced over us before the world was made. He
anticipated coming to dwell in us and make us his habitation. And
he rejoiced that we would cling to him, forsaking all others. We
would seek him daily and spend quality time with him. He would
share his secrets with us, and we would unburden our hearts to him.
We would delight in his ways, searching his word for revelations of
his righteousness. And we would tremble at the revelations his word
gave us.


How Does Your Life Measure
Up to This Description?

The Bible states clearly what Jesus expected to find in us, his
habitation. So, are you fulfilling his expectation? He anticipated
spending a lifetime with you. Is your intimacy with him increasing?
Or, do you neglect him for days on end?

Your bridegroom had it in mind to draw you close to himself. He
wanted to open his heart to you, to have sweet fellowship with you
daily. He longed to show you many things, things no one else had
seen. He desired to mold your life, to bring forth the fruit of the
Spirit in you. And he wanted to take away your weaknesses, your
fears, your feelings of inadequacy.

In turn, you were to be a delight to his heart - by your tears,
your intimacy, your clinging devotion. Your words to him were to be
those of a bride: "I sat down under his shadow with great delight,
and his fruit was sweet to my taste" (Song of Solomon 2:3). "Let me
see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice" (2:14).

The very thought of this relationship with you caused Christ to
rejoice, long before the world was created. Yet, now that the time
has come to enjoy that relationship, you neglect and ignore the
Lord. You have time to watch TV, shop, surf the Internet, garden -
but you have no time for Jesus. I ask you - do you believe he'll
inhabit the heart of a bride who's bored with him? Why would he
continue to dwell in someone who has no time to be with him, talk
to him, listen to him?

Here is a solemn warning: Jesus will not abide in those who neglect
and ignore him. You may object, "But I love my Lord. I haven't
given him the cold shoulder." The fact is, if you've neglected
prayer and his word for weeks at a time - if you have no private,
intimate relationship with him - you've made your statement. You've
declared, "My actions prove I don't have a passionate love for
Jesus. My family, career and personal desires come first."


Beware of Being Given
Over to Salt.

God's word clearly warns: "How shall we escape, if we neglect so
great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3). There is a great price to pay for
ignoring Christ. The Bible warns that if we neglect his gift of
salvation, we'll turn into salt. Let me explain.

Ezekiel 47 speaks of a river of life that issues from God's throne.
This river is made up of holy, healing waters. And as it flows
through the desert, it brings life to everything it touches. It
expands ever wider and deeper, until there's enough water to swim
in.

"These waters...go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which
being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And
it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth,
whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live" (Ezekiel 47:8-9).

This river of life represents the preached gospel. Christ's good
news began as just a small trickle, through the preaching of his
twelve disciples. Then the word spread. It was preached widely by
the apostle Paul, and later by his converts. Soon it spread
throughout the whole world. Today, thousands upon thousands of
God's servants preach his gospel all across the earth. So, now
there are rivers to swim in. "Every thing shall live whither the
river cometh" (47:9).

This river has been flowing since Calvary. And today, millions who
hear and receive God's word are being healed. The truth of Christ
is waking them up to their neglect, sloth and apathy. Now their
eyes are wide open, and they delight in Jesus. They seek him daily,
love his word, share intimacy with him. They're learning things in
the Spirit they'd never known. They're being given the secrets of
God's heart - and it's healing them.

So, what has happened to you? Are you swimming in God's healing
waters? Or, do you allow this river to flow right past you? Note
what happens to the desert areas where these waters don't flow:
"But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be
healed; they shall be given to salt" (47:11).

Maybe you're guilty of ignoring Jesus. You've been prayerless,
disobedient, neglectful of his word. You've heard convicting
sermons and allowed them to stir you, but you've continually turned
back to your complacency. Now your neglect has become a way of
life. In truth, you've aborted all the anticipation Jesus once had
for you.

What does it mean to be "given to salt," as Ezekiel states? It
means total barrenness - fruitlessness, emptiness, dryness,
loneliness. Think of the Dead Sea in Israel. It's a body of water
totally given over to salt. No fish can survive in it. No plant can
grow in it or around it. It's completely barren.

Have you become this kind of miry place - an isolated, dried-up
marsh? Is your life barren of fruit for God? Is your daily
existence empty, dry, lonely? Perhaps you've been given over to
salt. All around you, others are bearing fruit and growing in
Christ. They've been healed by God's holy waters. But you don't
possess any of the resources they have. You've become a Christian
in name only.

If this message is stirring or convicting you, I have good news for
you:


It's Never Too Late to Start
Over. When God's Healing River
Flows, It Heals All Deadness.

As the New Covenant was being made, the heavenly father and his son
foresaw that many would neglect Christ. These people would grow
lukewarm or cold, eventually falling away. So, the father and the
son made an agreement: if any sheep got lost or went astray, Jesus
would go after it and bring it back to the fold.

The truth is, dead humanity can be brought back to life by a fresh
flow of healing waters. "These waters...go into the sea: which
being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed"
(Ezekiel 47:8). When God's healing waters begin to flow, green
things start springing up all around - a blade of grass here, a
small plant there. Soon an entire garden is thriving.

Dear saint, God still yearns over you. And he still has plans for
you. In fact, you can start your life over today. He promises to
restore everything that has been eaten and wasted from your life,
no matter how long it's been. "I will restore to you the years that
the locust hath eaten" (Joel 2:25).

You can still be his habitation - still learn his secrets and
receive his revelations. Here is your way back: Acknowledge you've
neglected him. Admit you've been busy, with time for everything but
him. Confess you haven't listened when he has called you. "Awake
thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give
thee light" (Ephesians 5:14).

Cry out to him now: "Oh, God - heal me. Awaken my soul. Shake me
out of this slumber. I want to change. I know you have to do the
work in me, Lord. I long for your fresh touch."

Jeremiah shows us God's heart toward a people who neglected and
forgot him: "Return, thou backsliding Israel...and I will not cause
mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the
Lord...only acknowledge thine iniquity. Turn, O backsliding
children, saith the Lord; for I am married unto you...and I will
heal your backslidings" (Jeremiah 3:12-14, 22).

Isaiah adds this reassurance: "I dwell in the high and holy place,
with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive
the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite
ones. For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always
wroth...I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is
far off...and I will heal him" (Isaiah 57:15-19).

God is saying to you, "My child, for a while I was angry with you.
I gave you over to your emptiness and loneliness. But now I'm going
to restore to you everything the devil has destroyed."

Your life can be a garden again. It's never too late to start over.
Let the Lord make this the first day of a new beginning for you.

---
Used with permission granted by World Challenge,
P. O. Box 260, Lindale, TX 75771, USA.


Jan Ross
jross@...
http://focusontheword.com
ICQ#18767082

"Sha'alu Shalom Yerushalayim"
(Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem) Psalm 122:6

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