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BY PASTOR BRANDON YOUNG
During The Wizard of Oz, Dorothy coined the phrase, “There is no place like home.” No truer words! Home is a special place. It is a place of comfort and peace. King David felt the Lord needed a home. In 2 Samuel 7:1-3 the Bible says, “And it came to pass, when the king sat in his house, and the Lord had given him rest round about from all his enemies; That the king said unto Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in an house of cedar, but the ark of God dwelleth within curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go, do all that is in thine heart; for the Lord is with thee.” Later that night, God told David (through the prophet) that he chose Solomon, David’s son, to build the temple, but in verse 12 the Bible says, “I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom.” God told David that God would establish a Kingdom from his lineage that will last forever. Solomon built the temple and Israel no longer travelled around with a tent; however, this temple was not God’s home. So, where would the Lord feel most at home? Where does the Lord want to live? You may have already answered that question, but let’s investigate further.
Out of the lineage of David came the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the one and only Son of the Living God! Jesus lived a sinless life and died on the cross as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. He resurrected from the dead, and He ascended back to the right hand of Father. We wait upon His second coming, but until then, he said that he would not leave us comfortless, but that he would come to us. When Christ was on the earth, he was Emmanuel, God with us, but there is a major difference between God with us and God within us. Why would Jesus become a sacrifice? Jesus was making a place for God’s Spirit to live permanently. When we accept the Lord as our Savior and begin a relationship with Him, He moves into our hearts. Our hearts become the residence of the Lord. How powerful is that? We are not facing life alone. 1 Peter 2:5 says, “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” We become the house of the Lord. 1 Corinthians 3:16-17 proclaims, “Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy; for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are.” Once the blood of Christ is applied to our sin, and our name is written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, his Spirit moves into our hearts, and we are his holy temple. He cleans out all the sin and sets up his home in our hearts. Have we fully comprehended the God who spoke the heavens and the earth into existence lives in those that have a relationship with His Son Jesus? I accepted the Lord at age 9 and I announced my calling to preach the gospel at age 18, but to be honest, sometimes I forget about the power of God that lies within me. If you recall, Peter and John were on their way to pray when they met a lame man. This man was laid by the gate called Beautiful every day and he would beg for money. When he sees Peter and John, he asked for money. Peter tells the man to look at him and then he says in Acts 3:6, “Silver and gold have I none; but such as I have give I thee: In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth rise up and walk.” Peter did not have any money, but he did realize who it was that lived with him. He had Jesus and that was far better than any money. The man leaps up and walks into the temple worshipping the Lord. The Lord was right at home inside Peter and John, and they acknowledge His presence.
If you are a follower of Christ, do you realize that presently the Spirit of Jesus Christ is dwelling inside of you? Do you fully understand the power you possess? If you are not a believer, you are facing life completely alone, and all your problems are just that, they are yours! You are going through life alone, and that is scary. You can choose to follow Jesus Christ and He will find His home inside of you. Then all your issues, worries, and concerns are also His. You will never be alone. I am bewildered and astonished that the great God of heaven and earth lives in my heart. 1 John 4:4 says, “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” There is no one or nothing that I will ever face that is greater than the God that lives in me. He is home in my heart!
(The Solution Column is provided by Pastor Brandon Young of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church, Hampton)