By J.W. Arnold
Exodus 25:8, “And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them.”
Exodus 25:22, “And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.”
Exodus 29:43, “And there I will meet with the children of Israel,…” now listen here it goes, “…and the tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.”
Exodus 40:34, “Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. (35) And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because of the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”
1 Kings 8:9, “There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the Lord made a covenant with the children of Israel,…” this is the dedication of Solomon’s Temple, “…when they came out of the land of Egypt (10) And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of the Lord. (11) So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud; for the glory of the Lord had filled the house the Lord. (12) Then spake Solomon, The Lord said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. (13) I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever.” Verse 17, Solomon’s talking; “And it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name…” remember, now we’re changing categories; first you got a house for the glory, now you got a house for the name; “…build an house for the name of the Lord God of Israel. (18) And the Lord said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. (19) Nevertheless, thou shalt
not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name.”
Where Did Jesus Go To Prepare A Place For Us? — And Why?
John 14:2, “In my Father’s house are many mansions….” Mansions — the word mansions is rooms — places of dwelling. It’s the same word used that God told Noah to build the ark and make in it rooms. Same word — rooms, cubicles, places to dwell. “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.” Now we always say he went away to go to Heaven. No, no, no, no, no. He went to Calvary to prepare a place for us, because until he washed us in His blood and redeemed us and bought us, we were not fit for Heaven. Boy, when I teach this at the Florida Camp this year…will I mess their little psychological minds up. “In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”
When God speaks, He oftentimes speaks in duality; in a two-fold fulfillment of one prediction. He initially came to his people at Pentecost; He will come in finality and fulfillment at the rapture. God must do everything judicially and legally. He cannot dwell in houses that are not blood-bought and blood-washed. That’s why you need Calvary. If we didn’t need Calvary, He could have given us the Holy Ghost without going to Calvary. But see; God’s got to have a legal right to do stuff. It’s what Abraham said, “Shall not the Judge of all the Earth do right?” Of course he will. You got to get this. Although God is almighty, He cannot take unfair advantage of the devil.
Come on, stop thinking that the devil is equal to God. Man, that’s crazy. He’s like a mosquito compared to God. He’s not going to box with God. Like Brother Tenney said, “You can’t box with God; your arms are too short” You can’t box with God. You can’t wrestle with God. He’s too big for you. Ain’t no way God’s going to say, “Oh no, the devil’s going to attack my throne.” The dummy had that thought once and he left faster than lightning. Jesus
said, “I beheld Satan fall as lightning.” That’s one hundred eighty-six thousand miles per second. That’s how fast God can get rid of people that have an agenda other than His.
You want to know why God seems to be far away from some of you? Because when you have another agenda than worshiping Him, He don’t draw close to you. He ain’t going to let nothing close to Him that wants to worship themselves, or their concepts, or their perceptions, or their ideologies. It won’t happen. He’ll always keep a distance. You get me? Watch, I’ll make this so simple that a college graduate can understand…God gave the Earth into man’s hands. Genesis 1:28, “You shall have dominion.” There wasn’t anything that he didn’t have dominion over. All he had to do is speak it. He had authority, he had dominion, he had power. He could’ve cast the serpent out of the Garden. He could’ve rebuked him off of the Earth. He had dominion. Every creature was subject to him. He wasn’t a sharecropper. He was the Vice regent of the planet. He was God’s extended ruler ship.
See, you can have power and authority; and be intimidated or seduced by your enemy…and you blow it. Haven’t you ever seen a big kid get bullied by a little kid? So, watch; Adam chooses — he was not deceived. The Bible says that Eve was deceived. Adam trespassed willingly and the whole human race fell in Adam. We fell in Adam; we were in Adam’s loins. We fell in Adam. We didn’t fall in Eve; she ain’t in charge of nothing. I’m not being insulting, ladies. She’s just not the federal head of the race. Adam is the federal head of the race — she came out of Adam.
So, she makes the decision. Yes, it’s monumental, but it’s not everlasting. Adam could’ve let her go. I taught you a lesson on that. Adam loved his bride so much; he said, “I’m willing to die with you.” That was dumb, because he couldn’t resurrect either one of them. Watch — it’s the bride. …Oh, you’re looking for sermons? I’ll give you some! That’s why Jesus died for the bride, because the bride was damned and doomed without Him. He said; …I’ll die for you, but I’ve got power to raise you and I got power to raise me…. That’s what makes Calvary such a monumental sacrifice. He loved us even when we were lost in our sins. He loved us so much He died for us, because He knew He could fix us.
So now Adam commits trespass: He sells us, and the entire human race, into the dominion of the devil, who is called the god of this world. He literally is in charge; unless he deceived and fooled Jesus, which I don’t think so. In Matthew 4 and Luke 4; when he spreads the kingdoms of the whole world in front of Jesus and said, “All these are mine and all their splendor and all their glory and all their power, and I can give it to whomsoever I will — bow down and worship me.” Now, either he snookered Jesus and fooled Him, or he told Jesus the truth. Some of you are going, “I don’t know which one he did.” Well, I’ll tell you which one he did. He told Him the truth. He’s the god of this world. That’s what Adam was—small “g”; the god of this world. But he gave away his rulership through sin. So now, this fallen prince of glory is now the ruler. Watch what he’s saying. You’ll understand why it’s easy…it’s easier for churches of dumb doctrines, of theologies, to grow thousands and thousands. You know why? The god of this world gives them his stuff, because they, in their ignorance and darkness, worship and serve him.
The only way you get your stuff back is to demand in back. And only people baptized in Jesus’ name and filled with the Holy Ghost have got the authority and power to demand it back. You need to run up to the devil’s house sometime and say, “Hey listen, Dirtbag, I want my stuff back!” You think I’m kidding you? You have a right to run up to him and say, “I want my kids back.” “I want my marriage back.” “I want my health back.” “I want my finance back.” “I want my joy back.” “I want my peace back.” “I want my security back.” “I want my faith back.” Cause he’s a thief. He steals.
So now, he’s become the god of this world and he’s looking for worshipers. Isn’t that funny? The real God incarnated himself in the body of Jesus, plopped out of that little teenage Hebrew girl and walked out and goes, “I want worship.” So now the issue is all about who are you going to worship? ‘Cause you got real Deity and a false deity, and they both want worship_
“For the father seeketh such to worship him.” The issue is worship. Okay? Now watch; God has got to buy back what Adam gave away. Now, He’s not at the poker table with Satan. He’s at the blood-table of Calvary and says:
“I’m going to buy back the souls of the human race. What you want for them?”
Satan says, “Well, being they’re eternal and they never die…what do you got that’s sinless and eternal and never dies?”
God says, “I’ve got blood.”
Satan replies, “Okay, I’ll take the blood.”
So Jesus sheds the blood of God according to Acts 20:28; the blood of God, sinless blood to redeem, which means to buy back. Why does God want to buy back the human race? Here’s why: He wants a house to live in.
The Issue Is—God Wants To Indwell What He Bought
Come on, God does everything legal. He doesn’t live in somebody’s house that He didn’t buy. You’re not allowed to live in somebody’s house that you didn’t buy. You gotta buy it Don’t you get it? Look, contrary to what the TV bimbos and the radio idiots are telling you, there’s more to this thing than Calvary. Calvary is where God buys you back; Pentecost is where God lives in what He bought We got a lot of wonderful, precious, people that are being told to just go to Calvary camp there and set up a condominium. It’s not enough! God wants to live in the house that He purchased.
What good is it if you paid $50,000 and bought a house and never lived in it and told everybody in the neighborhood, “Yeah, that’s my house, I paid for that” “Well, why don’t you live in it?” “Oh no, I just like to own stuff.” How dumb could it be for God to say, “Oh, I bought all these people, but you see, their preachers and their priests and their rabbi’s and all their teachers…they teach them that I don’t live in people any more, so I’m stuck back here in Heaven. I’d really like to move in, but they won’t let me, ’cause their dumb preachers tell them, ‘Oh, that Holy Ghost stuff was just at Pentecost, ain’t goin’ on no more’.”
So that means that God bought all these houses and He ain’t allowed to move in them? That’s why Jesus said in John 14, “For he dwelleth with you, and I shall be in you.” That’s God’s desire: to move in us. Why? Because God doesn’t want the Earth without a visible witness. Don’t you get it? That’s why He had the temple. That’s why He had the tabernacle. That’s why He had David’s tent. That’s why He had the body of Jesus. That’s why He’s got the church. God wants a visible manifestation and representation of Himself. If He doesn’t have that, then all people have is theory; “…Wonder what God’s like?” Jesus stood and said, “Oh, well, look at me; this is exactly what God’s like.” “Seen me, seen the father.”
Have I made sense for you yet? Do you understand where we are? This issue folks, is that God’s wanting a dwelling place. “Let them make me a sanctuary.” “I want a sanctuary.” “I want a place where I can come and we can just chew the fat.” “I want to come where we can just drink coffee and drink ice tea and talk about stuff and be pals and friends and have a learning experience.” “I want a place where there can be interaction.” “I don’t want to live off in Heaven and you live here down in a bunch of hell and craziness.” “I want to be in your mess, so you won’t lose your mind.”
Last chapter we studied that God’s house had two purposes. Anybody remember what they were? It was on glory and it was on His name. I just read these scriptures that they had the tabernacle, the sanctuary, built so that God’s glory could dwell there. I told you what glory is: Glory is the exhibition of the excellence ascribed to any subject. God’s glory is His attributes; man’s glory is the qualities of his being. The Bible says the youth’s glory is their strength, the glory of the sun, the moon and the stars is certain splendor that each displays. It’s the characteristics of that object that emanate from that object and give it splendor. God’s glory can be physically manifested. It can be emotionally experienced. Haven’t you ever sat there and said, “Whoa, I feel the glory of the Lord.” What are you doing? You’re feeling an extension of His excellence touching you. Haven’t you ever been somewhere without any kind of great forethought and all of a sudden God’s Spirit goes…PFEW…and tears run down your face as He quickens a scripture, or a memory, or a prayer, or a situation, or a circumstance? Goose bumps run up your neck. There’s no choir singing, you don’t got no tape on, God just went PFEW. And you said, “Whoa, what was that?” That was the glory. I felt it in Shoney’s, Burger King, my car. I don’t have to be in the building, ’cause the building’s just mortar and paint. This building ain’t no church, this is just the place that houses the church. You are the church.
That’s why it behooves us to live Godly and righteous and holy, because wherever we go we carry God with us. I know so many times you say, “Well, are you going to church?” No, I’m taking the church to the building. Believe me, you’ll think I’m an egotist, but I’ll tell you what; if I don’t show up, the church don’t come. If you don’t show up, the church ain’t here. We didn’t have anybody in this building today; there was no church here. You’re the church. What? 1 Corinthians 6:19, “Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God.” You’re not your own, (20) “…glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” What? Paul is saying; …Hey looneytoons, don’t you understand who you are?” Don’t let the world tell you you’re second rate, ’cause you can’t slide into second base and make a million dollars throwing a hoop. Most of those morons can’t spell. Shows you how whacked we are in America.
We’ll give eight million dollars to some moron who’s got the morals of a roach, and can’t spell. Have forty million people chanting up and down; and the guy can’t spell. Listen to them on an interview, “duhh, when I finish my career I’m going to be a brain surgeon.” Well, I hope you find yourself one first. Now I know that sounds funny, but you see; we are fulfilling a prophetic word from Timothy that Paul wrote; that in the last days that generation will be absolutely prostituting themselves for pleasure. Okay. The Shekinah that I read in the scripture where he said; over the mercy seat, between the cherubims, I will meet you. The Shekinah was the manifested presence of God. The glory showed up on that mercy seat. In Psalm 26:8, one translation reads this way; I love thy habitation of thy house–a place where thy glory dwells. That’s why I firmly stand and believe we have no right to have dead church… that we don’t prove anything by showing up here with perfume and aftershave on. It says; where thy glory dwells.
The Bible says that the glory of God, 2 Corinthians 4:6, was manifested in the face of Jesus. And only one time in His ministry, on the mount of transfiguration, He went up and He extended the glory from His face through His whole body. So that He said; …hey boys, just before they beat up on me and spit on me and curse me and drag me naked and hang me like a piece of meat on a stick, I’m going to show you who’s really inside this box…. And the Bible says that while he prayed, he was metamorphosed, transfigured. You know what actually happened? His whole outer being took on the molecular structure of His inner being and He was total light. So light… the Bible says it outshone the noonday sun. Guess what? When God gave you the baptism of the Holy Ghost, you got an earnest of that. You got a little bit of that, inside. But you got a lot more coming. It behooves us to enjoy the baptism of the Holy Ghost, because it’s “Christ in you, the hope of Glory.” Paul says we have this treasure in these clay pots. I may look like trash to the world, but if they knew how much I was worth, they’d take out their wallet and start bidding. I’m worth more than the NFL, I’m worth more than the United States, I’m worth more than Wall Street, I’m worth more than Fort Knox. You think I’m kidding you. I promise you, when the Lord comes back, He ain’t coming back for a ballgame, He ain’t coming back for an investment, He’s not coming for stocks and bonds. I’ll tell you who He’s coming back for; He’s coming back for Jeffrey Wayne Arnold and everybody else who’s been water baptized in His Name and filled with His Spirit and looking for His appearing. Well, I got your attention now.
John 7:37-39, “when that last day…the great day…the feast; Jesus cried and stood, stood and cried aloud; saying, If any man thirst let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive…” not would — should receive, “…for the Holy Ghost…” that’s the Spirit, “…was not yet given.” Why was it not yet given? Jesus, was not yet glorified. So, without the dying of Jesus and the glorifying of Jesus, there can’t be any Holy Ghost given. Is that indicative of a procedure that we should go through?
John 12:24, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abides alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Could it be that the glory that we have inside of us is not flowing out to touch other people, because we’re not dying out yet? You know what Jesus was saying? …I got inside me the stuff that you need, but I can’t legally give you this stuff until I die and wash you in my blood, and now that cleanses the house and now I can put my stuff in you…. Oh folks, listen; this thing is not a Pentecostal thing. We put this name up…”We’re the Pentecostals.” It ain’t a Pentecostal thing. It’s a Jesus thing. It’s that Jesus couldn’t pour out the Holy Ghost at Pentecost until judicially the wrath of God had been satisfied and the justice of God had been satisfied. That’s why he says, “This, which you now see and hear.” (Acts 2:33) God has poured out the Holy Ghost. If you read the scripture, what actually happened is; the Almighty Spirit gave the resurrected man the baptism of the Holy Ghost as a gift to give to you.
And I’m not trinity. Ain’t but one God. Don’t even get me started on that foolishness. That’s the dumbest thing that’s ever been talked about. Don’t even believe that foolishness. You can’t divide God into three equal pieces. You don’t know where He starts and you don’t know where He ends. How you going to divide Him into three equal pieces? Psalm 90:2, “From everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.” 1 Kings 8:27, “The heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee.” Well, if He can’t be contained, how can you possibly divide Him into three equal pieces? Co-equal, co-eternal, co-existing…that’s a bunch of foolishness. Deuteronomy 6:4, Mark 12:29, “Hear 0 Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord.” God is Spirit, Jesus was flesh. Jesus was the manifested container of the Spirit. That’s why He said, (John 14:10) “…the Father that dwelleth in me….” Well now, if His Father dwelled in Him, I guess there’s no room for the Son to dwell in Him, ’cause when you’re full, you’re full. And if He’s full of the father, he can’t be full of the Holy Spirit, because there’s no room. It’s getting crowded in there. Two of em’s gotta stay outside. He say’s I’m full of the Father. Why? Because the Father is that spirit. The Father is listed in the scripture as the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost is the Father poured forth in emanation. You don’t have one Spirit pouring out another Spirit. Come on!!
In my ignorance, I used to think that concept of a triune, trinity God was so ignorant. It insulated me; it gave me a headache. And here’s why; I was an old, unregenerate bum, drinking beer, smoking cigarettes, doing dirty, nasty things, but I never could understand how one God could send another God to get bumped off:
“…I want you to go down there and get your brains beat out and let ’em spit on you, nail you to a cross, bleed all over the joint, because I really love them.”
“Well, if you love them so much, get your own carcass down there and you get beat up and you die for them!”
Don’t make no sense. How can one God ask another God…if they’re coequal, co-eternal, co-existent…. Oh, man, get off that.
The house, the purpose of God’s house, is for His glory. John 12:27, “Now is my soul troubled: and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” That ain’t one God saying to another God, “…HELP!!” If you ever hear a god say help, kick him in the teeth, he ain’t a god. If you ever hear a god, or a person, or spirit, playing to be God, and then say, “You know, there’s some stuff I don’t know”; punch him in the face — he ain’t God. If you ever find a god praying to another god, you can rest assured the first one’s inferior. Boy, I sense a nervous spirit here.
We Need The Glory Manifested
(28) “Father, glorify thy name…” watch; now Jesus says, “Father.” …Well, it sounds like two Gods to me…. No, it sounds like flesh asking Spirit. “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying,…” hey, the spirit can talk, “…I have both glorified,…” here it is, wait, “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” Remember, glory is the display, the exhibition of excellence of a described subject. So the Spirit is saying; …I have glorified him and I’m fixing to do it again…. How? …I’m going to let that carcass that I’m dwelling in get bumped off, put it in a pit, keep it three days, I’m going to go into Hell, I’m going to beat everybody’s brains out in Hell, I’m going to take the keys that death held in the grave, I’m going to upset the devils’ kingdom, I’m going to turn topsy-turvy the kingdom and spirit world of darkness, and I’m coming belching out of that grave and I’m taking all the souls of the righteous with me and I’m busting through the heavens…I have glorified him, but I’m fixin’ to glorify him again. (29) “The people therefore,…” watch this, watch this: And the people that stood by said; …hey it sounded like thunder…. “Others said, An angel spake to him.? Others said an angel spake? So what happens is that when glory manifests itself, even the unregenerated can say, “Something just happened.” That’s what needs to happen in our church services.
People who visit us need to go, “Something just happened, I felt something, did you feel, did you hear, did you??” But if saints can sit next to sinners—some supposed to go to hell, some go to heaven—they all walk out arm in arm saying, “Wasn’t that a nice little nifty service?” There ain’t been no glory manifested, because when God’s glory gets manifested, people recognize it. You hear it, you sense it, you feel it. I didn’t say you gotta go ballistic and run into the wall and break your neck. I’m saying you sense it. It may just be a brief feeling. It may be some of that little short shimmy and a shake-shake. I kinda tell sometimes when there’s glory in the house when some of the duds in the house go, “Hey…!” I know God’s moving. When I see some people bow their head in this church and pray; I know God’s working, ’cause you can see it. I feel sometimes the glory of God is working when some of you people just smile. I know God’s trying to break loose.
John 12:39, “Therefore they could not believe, because that Esaias said again, (40) He hath blinded their eyes, and hardened their heart;…” talking about Israel, “…that they should not see with their eyes, nor understand with their heart, and be converted, and I should heal them. (41) These things said Esaias, when he saw his glory, and spake of him.” Did you hear that? It is possible to visually see glory. You can see glory. How? How it affects the object it shines on, or through. You want to cross-reference that scripture, you’ll find it referenced to Isaiah 6:1, “In the year King Uziah died, I saw also the Lord, High and lifted up and His train filled the temple.” He saw the glory. Remember, the glory is a display, or exhibition, of the excellence of a subject. He also saw the glory, contrary to a lot of so-called, self-appointed, theologians; he also made reference and saw the glory in Isaiah 53. When he saw the suffering servant standing in the place of wicked people. That was also God’s glory being manifested. Because it’s the excellence on exhibition. Remember, glory, God’s glory, is His attributes working. What greater glory could you have for divine attributes than long-suffering and pity and kindness and forgiveness and mercy and gentleness and goodness and “Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.” That’s glory.
We usually think of glory as some giant thunderstorm, or some majestic surge where you’re rocketed into the spirit world. Oh friend, I’m telling you; if you ever sat anywhere and the Spirit of God in its kindness, pricked your heart and brought something to your awareness or your conscious, that He was displeased with, that possibly you needed to alter or make an apology, change or repent about—you just experienced glory. The Bible says that it’s the glory of God to conceal a thing, but the honor of princes and kings to search out a matter. God hides stuff and says, “Come on, dig a little.” That’s why you don’t find diamonds sitting on the surface. You’ve got to dig for them. You’re going, “That’s right Brother Arnold.” Well, what do you think about spiritual treasure? You think you’re going to find it in some dumb conference? You going to go there and get yourself a fix and buy six more sermons? Man, you got to dig for the things of God.
If there is anything that I learned in the little bit of time that I’ve been the privileged Pastor of this assembly, is that, with this assembly and traveling across this movement, the majority of the people that I know do not dig in the things of God. I didn’t say we didn’t love God, didn’t say we don’t read the Bible; I’m talking about dig. Can I help you? You want to be a student of the Book? Study is hard work. Study will wear you slap out. Yes, it will. Now, you just want to casually browse, like you’re going to the mall here and just read big long Psalms, like 133…or your favorite one, I think I’ll read a New Testament scripture, “Jesus wept.” Now, you’re finished with your study for the day? You’re not going to get much out of that! The scary part of that is that when we do that, God, as much as He wants us to grow, just steps back and says, “Fine, you set your own parameters for your life, stay where you are.” That’s what’s scary. He’ll let you stay small.
The Lord’s Name To Be Magnified
The Bible says the Lord’s house was also to magnify his name. I read that to you in the scripture in 1 Kings. He was to magnify his name. Why? ‘Cause when God’s name was put in something, it was a revelation of Himself and an indicator of His authority. Remember last week when I gave you that scripture in Exodus 23:20-21, when the Lord sent an angel to lead Israel? Remember that? He said, “Beware of him.” Don’t mess with Him, don’t provoke Him for my name is in Him, and He will not pardon your foolishness. What was he saying? “He carries my authority.” I wish we could learn, I’m trying. I prayed all week, “God, help me to understand and break through to a level of comprehension to realize that when I stepped in that tank and got water baptized in Jesus name and had the name of Jesus put over me and called over me and put upon me, I literally have divine authority.” It’s in His name. That’s why he said in Mark 16, “In my name they’ll cast out devils, in my name shall they speak with new tongues. They’ll take up serpents, they drink any deadly thing it won’t harm them. In my name.” Why? Because it’s the “power of attorney.” It’s not a little magic rabbit’s foot…you say “in Jesus name….” The seven sons of Sceva tried that. Man, they found themselves a full-grown devil. They didn’t just get some little sissified dude; they got one that beat the fire out them.
“We adjure thee by Jesus who Paul preaches.” You cannot have power by proxy. You can’t just say, “Well, I know the name of Jesus has power. Yes, it does. Don’t touch it unless you’re able to hold it “We adjure thee by Jesus who Paul preaches”, and that spirit snapped to attention and said, “You got my attention now with the name of Jesus.” “Paul we know, Jesus we know, hey baby, who are you?” They said, “Oh, we’re unregenerated little charlatans playing a little charismatic cowboy game. That’s who we are.” And that devil jumped up and said, “Really? Let me show you how unimpressed we all are.” And they beat the fire out of them, stripped their clothes off and they ran out of the place naked. Guess what happened? Something good came out of it. And the fear of God fell on everybody and they said, “We ain’t playing that game no more.” It’s a scary thing.
Let me just say something while I’m pastoring here tonight and not making any points. As the Pastor of this church, listen to me; when we call people up here to pray for them, I’ve been noticing lately, we’re having a bunch of bimbos coming up here and laying hands on folks. Now, I’m being kind as a can be, folks, you need to take it real careful about who you lay your hands on if you’re not where you ought to be with God. You better be careful about that. I don’t appreciate this…bunch of half-backslidden charlatans coming around here…show up here every once in a while…going to come up here and pray for somebody. Can’t ever pray for themselves! Be careful. If you feel God leading you up here to pray for somebody, you’re just welcome. If I call somebody out, you’re welcome. But I don’t think you oughta just be wandering up here saying, “I’m going to pray for all these folks.” Well, I’m going to wait on you now. I don’t think that’s a healthy thing to do. You say, “Well, I’m baptized in Jesus name, I have the Holy Ghost, or, I had the Holy Ghost, or, I got the Holy Ghost” Yeah, but where are you now? I just said that as Pastor, it’s not part of the Bible study. Just pastoring…just been bothering me here lately. Just been kind of watching a few people just kind of wandering around.
Folks, the old-timers scared the fire out of us. Teaching us about laying hands on people and messing around with people. You go messing around with somebody that’s got a devil, he’ll beat your brains out I sure enough am telling the truth. I’m talking about the House of the Lord is for His glory and the house of the Lord is for His name. And if you and I claim to be the house of God, we need to guard carefully how we live, what we do, what we say, where we go; because we have authority and we have God’s honor attached to us. And if we send out a mixed message to some poor soul trying to get saved, woe be to us. We need to walk as Paul said: circumspectly. That’s like a kitty cat walking between broken glass; real carefully. His name, His name, His name.
The church is God’s house, Hebrews 3:6. The church is God’s building, 1 Corinthians 3:7-9. The church is God’s temple, 1 Corinthians 3:16. It is a place for God to demonstrate His glory and to demonstrate the authority of His name. The glory is His presence; the name is His authority. There is a third aspect and purpose for God’s house. Here’s what it is: Exodus 25:22. I’ll read it to you. “Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among them and there will I meet with you.” The purpose of God’s house is 1) for His glory; 2) for His name; 3) a meeting place — where God and man can come together and enjoy sweet communion. The believers’ purpose for coming together, here it is: Ephesians 2:19-22, it is to build God a habitation through the Spirit. You got to get that If I don’t finish anything else, you got to get that. The purpose for all of us coming together, collectively, is to build God a building, a temple, a house, a place of holy habitation through the Spirit. That’s what you got to get— why we come together.
The Purpose Of The Collective Assembly
Ephesians 2:19, “Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household God;…” notice that word, the “household” of God, (20) “And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; (21) In whom all the building…” wait a minute; now notice what he’s calling the church — the church is a building; “…all the building fitly framed together…” whoa…fitly framed together! In other words; each stone contributes, …groweth…” now wait a minute; it ain’t like mortar, concrete and brick. These stones are alive, ’cause they “…groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: (22) In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.” There it is; “for an habitation of God through the Spirit” That’s the purpose of collective assembly: That we, through the Spirit, create a habitation for God. Why? He wants a special place to manifest His glory and demonstrate His name. We form a sanctuary, we form a temple, we form a meeting place.
Three things occur…three things. Believers are given the privilege to offer acceptable sacrifice to God. God benefits and blesses the believer. Finally, the believers’ coming together as a holy habitation fulfill Exodus 25:8 and 25:22; “Let them make me a sanctuary that I may meet with them there and there will I commune with them.” In other words; when we come together, God wants to talk to us. He wants to hear from us. Hebrews 13 tells us that we are to offer up to Him spiritual sacrifices — the fruit of our lips.
1 Peter 2:5…remember that in the Garden it was the first meeting place between the Creator and the creation. And they experienced mutual pleasure. God gets pleasure out of our praise. He gets pleasure out of our honesty and our confession and our repentance. He gets pleasure when we say, “You can do it, we can’t” He’s not an ego trip. He gets pleasure…we’re his children. Like any father that gets pleasure out of his children saying, “We’re glad you’re home, daddy.” “Daddy, would you fix the bike?” “Daddy, would you play catch with me?” “Dad, would you talk to me?” See, a lot of families are lousy, ’cause they have the concept that “I’m a father, ’cause I can produce a baby.” A roach can do that!! A chimpanzee can do that. A snake can do that. An ostrich can do that. And the Bible says that God deprived the ostrich, so that she hides her head and doesn’t understand that when she hides her eggs, that a foot can crush the eggs and kill it’s offspring. It says, “I’ve hardened her heart against her offspring.” But we’ve got a generation that has hardened their own heart against their offspring. So that they produce two kids, five kids, eight kids. Leave that girl, leave town, catch a bus and they go produce three or four more. And they somehow think they’re Noah reincarnated called to replenish the Earth. But it’s not so — they’re never fathers to their children. They just fathered the child, but they don’t father the children, ’cause they don’t communicate with the child. And that’s why the kid goes into the bedroom and slams the door and listens to some funky rock music ’til their ear wax falls out and their nostrils flair and their hair jumps up and they want to go rape and murder and kill everybody. And you say, “I don’t understand what’s a matter with that dumb kid.” It’s real easy —you never communicate!
My hat’s off to everybody that goes to a church that’s dead as a hammer. I don’t know why in the name of God they go. They don’t talk and He don’t talk. Just ease your conscience…”Well, I’ve been to church this week.” What good is a God to me who has all power, all wisdom, all knowledge, all glory, all majesty and He won’t talk to me? I mean, what is He doing for me? “Well, He lives in the glory world.” Yeah, but there’s no cancer up there, it’s down here. There ain’t no devils messing with Him up there, they’re down here. Ain’t nobody up there havin’ a nervous breakdown, they’re fallin’ apart down here. Ain’t nobody raping and murdering up there and killing people, that’s all happening down here! “Hey, would you come down?” Don’t you get it?
Look; sin took man’s privilege of meeting God away — separated them— He was driven out. But God gave them a promise in Genesis 3:15 of a Redeemer who would come. What would the Redeemer do? Restore man back to his legal status and reinstate the meeting place. Redemption: what is it? Redemption is only the first step in God’s purpose to grant a reunion, legally and actually. You see, the cross is the legal aspect; Pentecost is the actual aspect. That’s why when people say, “Just go to the cross and be saved”, they’re looneytoons. They don’t know what they’re talking about, because the cross was not an end in itself. The cross was the first step of redemption. The cross made a way for God to legally and judicially forgive us, and then to step out of His glory world and inhabit our bodies.
Contrary to the message being preached today, Calvary was not just there to save us. It is the first step in God’s process to grant God a house, a building, a temple, a shrine, a sanctuary, a facility, that He could meet with His creation and interact. Okay. I’m so glad you kept your shouting down to a minimum. You’ve been so gracious to listen to me. I will stop right here.
The above article, “The Glory and the Lord’s Name Manifested” is written by J.W. Arnold. The article was excerpted from the sixth chapter of Arnold’s book God is Building Himself a House.
The material is most likely copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.
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