This sermon emphasizes the importance of surrendering to God, drawing parallels to the story of Joseph and his brothers. It highlights the need for unity in the family of God, breaking down barriers and embracing the truth that we are all redeemed by the same blood, regardless of our backgrounds. The speaker calls for a shift from mere visitation to habitation, where God dwells in our lives, creating an atmosphere of worship, holiness, gratitude, and true worship centered on God alone.

Tonight I often think of the story of Joseph who after many many years of being separated from his family finally met up with his brothers and of course he was anxious not disclosing who he was to find out if his father was still alive and so on began to pry a little bit and eventually of course you know he wanted to see the whole family and he asked about his younger brother Benjamin and could they bring Benjamin down to prove that they were telling the truth and so on and they basically said no if we brought Benjamin down you know dad would die because he's already been separated from one son and not realizing they were talking to that son and Joseph finally said he said you will not see my face again until all your brothers be with you you know I think there's a greater Joseph that is saying you'll never see my face until the whole family is together and I thank God that God is breaking down those barriers those dividing walls and beginning to bring us to the realization that we are redeemed by the same blood we're brothers and sisters no matter what the tag we may we wear we're still redeemed and part of the family of God and I believe the more we come together the more we're going to see his face and so thank you for coming it's been my joy to be here the last number of days with you and tonight just before I begin let's pray again father once again we acknowledge again your headship your lordship the Lord these are your people again redeemed by your blood we ask Lord that you would take your word this word that has everything that pertains to life and godliness all the exceeding great and precious promises that Lord you'd breathe life into them father come and teach us your ways give us understanding and revelation insight father let there be an open heaven over this congregation that Lord you would do what you want to do tonight father we take our hands off and Lord we say have your way common brood over this congregation Lord even as you brooded in the beginning and brought forth that which was a delight and a pleasure to you father we ask at the end of the service tonight the Lord you would see and say again it is good because of what you've done so blessed this time we pray in Jesus name amen want to speak to you tonight on the habitation of God I am convinced that one of the things that God is wanting to do is take the church from visitation to habitation there have been some wonderful moves of the Spirit of God in recent years in various parts of the country we've seen see the visitation of God God coming down touching lives transforming lives and yet I'm convinced there is something greater than visitation its habitation Jesus gave us a promise in John chapter 14 he says we will come and we will make our abode in you and God doesn't want to just visit he doesn't want visitation rights he wants habitation rights we familiar these days with visitation rights because families have been divided more rapidly than ever before the divorce rate now is unbelievable in this land I travel every weekend somewhere and of course this time of the year you see children being put on the plane by one parent picked up by the other parent right across the country you see them going back again wearing a little tag around their neck mother picking them up a father picking them up and fathers got visitation rights and mothers got visitation rights for the next two weeks next three weeks or whatever and children don't need visitation rights they want habitation rights as we heard tonight and I believe God is wanting habitation rights there's a vast difference between visiting a place and dwelling in that place I have been visiting and very wonderfully hosted by our brother here brother Michael and sister Mona they've been very very gracious hosts and they provided us with a wonderful room and a king-sized bed but you know I am visiting and so I'm not fussy about where I dwell even though it's been great but you see if they were to invite me to abide with them I may make some changes I may rearrange the room I may redecorate I may bring it to my liking and maybe my color scheme and so on and so forth and rearrange the knickknacks and hang some different pictures up and so on why because this is now my abode and I'm not visiting I'm now dwelling there and I think God is wanting to make some changes in our life and there needs to be some changes made if we are to know what it is to have the abiding presence of God the first part of this service I'm going to be somewhat light-hearted bear with me there's a reason for it and then we will get into the word but I want to take three or four words the word atmosphere the word environment the word culture the word habitation we can create in this room an atmosphere there's already a wonderful atmosphere here because of the time of worship but we could change the atmosphere we could turn down the lights dim the lights maybe light the candle if that's a real one I'm not sure but anyway we can light the candle we could have somebody stroll around with some music playing the violin and we could create a very romantic atmosphere on the other hand we could brighten the lights open the windows bring somebody up on the organ you know pull out all the stops and have a militant atmosphere where there's a sense of marching and militancy and so on we can change the atmosphere I believe God is looking and requires a certain atmosphere he dwells in a certain atmosphere the word environment is very similar to atmosphere these days the environmentalists are alive and well I passed it up in the Northwest as did brother Michael and while there is the beauty of the Northwest with all the magnificent trees and Puget Sound and mountains and so on I think there are as many environmentalists up there as there are trees and all you have to do is spit and they rope it off and declare it a national wetlands they are fanatics not quite but almost and they will tell you if you destroy those trees that then you are going to destroy the habitation of certain plants or birds or bugs or whatever it is that they're trying to protect and they will tell you that there are certain elements that need to be in place if those elements are in place and that plant or animal or whatever it is can survive if those elements are destroyed those components if you like are not together then again that particular thing that they're trying to protect is not going to make it you see I believe again God is looking for a certain environment there are certain elements that need to be in place again that are conducive if you like to God thriving in our lives corporately and individually the word habitation according to the dictionary means the usual place that a plant or an animal or a person is found the usual place a zoo is not normally a good habitation years ago my wife and I took the children to San Diego not too far from here it was in those days and maybe still is reputed to be one of the best zoos in the world and I remember walking around looking in the enclosures there were lions and giraffes and tigers and zebras and hippos and so on I took a little bit of comfort in thinking well at least this is Southern California you know 80 90 degrees 100 degrees these animals are from South Africa they're used to this sort of temperature and so while they may not have the vastness of the plains to roam in at least they've got the temperature they've got got part of their sort of normal habitation then I came to another enclosure and there was a polar bear great big beautiful specimen and my heart went out to that polar bear I thought this is not a good habitation for a polar bear you know ship at 2,000 or more miles north put it on a block of ice it may be a little happier than here in Southern California on a block of cement turn down the temperature about 100 degrees then minus it another 20 and that animal will be in its normal environment a habitation God is looking for a certain habitation the Bible says in Ephesians we are becoming or growing into the habitation of God in other words we are to be God's habitation and again habitation the usual place that someone or something is found we need to find out what is God's habitation finally the word culture the word culture is an interesting study I have lived in different countries born in England raised in Ireland lived in America various parts of America seven years in Minnesota with all the Norwegians and a Minnesotans here down to New Zealand to New Guinea traveled quite a bit and so I've been in various cultures and you see different cultures have different values what is accepted in one culture and maybe even considered important in one culture can be terrible in another culture I first became aware of the difference in culture when my parents moved us as a family I was 14 years of age from England to America my father settled in the Bible school holiness Bible school strong message on sanctification I had only been there a matter of days playing with some kids my own age 13 14 15 year old kids staff members kids and I was horrified to hear them swearing terrible swear words swear words that I could not believe anybody was uttering especially at that age and let alone in the environment of a supposedly holiness Bible school but then I was surprised to find out that they were horrified to find out that Leonard Ravenhill son was swearing also now the problem was I was not swearing in my culture I was in yours they were not swearing in your culture but they were in mine and I realized that even though we may speak a similar language that there is a difference in our cultures swear words in England are not necessarily swear words in America and vice versa and I'm not about now to try and differentiate between the two lest this tape brings my ministry to an abrupt halt my wife and I lived in New Guinea we had a friend who was translating the scriptures in that very remote country if you know anything about New Guinea one of the most primitive countries in the world three million people 700 languages not dialects distinct languages you can have a mountain a little village on one side and on the other side another village and they speak two totally different languages cannot communicate and this gentleman was translating the scriptures working with one of the national workers there and he had been there for some time and the national worker noticed that when he blew his nose he took out a handkerchief of course he didn't know it as a handkerchief and he proceeded to blow his nose and then very carefully of course he would fold it up and put it in his pocket and this went on day after day and finally you know he had to get an answer and so he said to the missionary said I need to ask you a question why do you say that stuff and what you do with it you see he had never seen a handkerchief before he had seen that substance wasted I won't demonstrate and being a budding entrepreneur I guess he thought listen I can cash this crop if I can figure out why he says you know what he does with it and what value it has now again we laugh it is humorous but we grow up don't we were somebody grabbing a tissue rubbing our nose and we never think anything of it but if you've never seen a handkerchief you see that cloth represented something of value it was always nice and clean and you know the man very carefully saved this stuff and wrapped it up and so obviously it had value but he just wanted to know what value after all was a whole village there that he could reap a harvest from when we were living in New Zealand our oldest daughter who is now a missionary in China was in college at the time and I went down one weekend to the city of Dunedin an old Scottish town to minister and to see her we were staying with some friends I picked up the morning newspaper while I was waiting for the breakfast to be made and there on the front page of the Otago Daily Times the local newspaper there was a very interesting article it talked about a museum exhibit that was going through New Zealand on to Australia up to Malaysia it was a museum exhibit from the Inca civilization going back hundreds and hundreds of years they had all sorts of artifacts various implements agricultural implements various weavings jewelry bits of gold you know pottery all sorts of things but the pride and joy of this exhibit according to the article was the mummified remains of an Inca person this mummy was again five six seven eight hundred years of age but the article said that in New Zealand it was not being displayed anywhere in New Zealand the New Zealand government had decided that it would not be put on public display for one reason less to defend the Maori people the Maoris are the equivalent of our Native Americans are the original inhabitants of New Zealand they're very superstitious I guess when it comes to things concerning death and so the New Zealand government was sensitive to their culture and rather than offend them chose not to put that offensive item on display even though it was a sort of a pride and joy of that exhibit see the as a brother offended it's harder to be one than a strong city and we can offend God because we don't understand God's culture you see what is right in one culture is not necessarily right in another in some cultures it's appropriate in the middle of your meal to belch and the louder and the longer the bells the more you are saying to your host I'm enjoying this this is a great meal it's basically your tummy saying thank you but we don't do that in this culture at least not when visitors are there and if we do father looks at us a particular way mother kicks us under the table or vice versa brother nudges us and reminds us listen be on your best behavior you know there's company here and try and suppress that next time and so what we sort of disdain in some cultures is important now I could stand here all night tell you stories about culture just fascinating things I go to Germany periodically and in Germany all the men where their wedding band on the right hand instead of the left little things like that now I share that with you to say this that God has a culture the Bible simply calls it the ways of God let me say that again the Bible calls it the ways of God your ways are not my ways Lord your culture is not my culture your way of doing things it's not my way of doing things Lord why do you put value on that we don't so Lord teach me about your culture I hope that I'm gives you an understanding as to that little phrase because time after time we see it in the Word of God Moses said Lord teach me your ways and Jesus God said of course there in the Word of God you know my thoughts are not your thoughts my ways are not your ways and so on so forth we have a difference in culture what you think is important I don't think is important what I think is important you don't think it is important and if two are going to walk together we need to agree and what fellowship can light have with darkness and guess what we have to change to God's culture he doesn't adapt to ours very well now turn with me if you have your Bible tonight to the book of Exodus in Exodus chapter 25 we have the Lord appearing to Moses and he says to Moses in verse 8 I want you to construct a sanctuary for me that I may dwell among them now notice this is not man beseeching begging God it's not Moses at the end of 40 days of prayer and fasting saying God it's about time you came and paid us a visit after all you're supposed to be our father we're supposed to be your kids and you know why don't you show up once in a while and so on no this is God taking the initiative this is God saying to Moses I want to dwell with you he is father and he loves his children and so in verse 8 God expresses his desires or his request make me a sanctuary that I may dwell among you now I believe that's an eternal desire on the part of God I believe because he has no variableness no shadow of turning that he still longs to be with his family even as he did in the Old Testament he wants to dwell with us again notice he wants to dwell not visit he doesn't say to Moses listen just book me into Motel 6 for a couple nights I just happen to be passing through thought I'd drop in for a visit no he says listen build me a house I'm going to dwell there so this is an eternal request an eternal desire verse 9 according to all that I will show you as to the pattern of the house of the tabernacle and the pattern of all the furniture just so you shall construct it verse 8 God's desire verse 9 God's demands verse 8 God's best verse 9 God's requirements you see if one eternal the other is eternal now we're learning something I trust about God the nature of God God is fussy use a good sort of Irish expression he's finicky about where he dwells and he says listen Moses build me a house but Moses before you get any idea of constructing something I'm going to give you the blueprint and I want you to make it exactly the way I tell you to make it now of course God told Moses I want you to come up the mountain Moses ascended the mountain left behind the children of Israel got up to the top a cloud came down and I believe that God sort of parted the heavens and almost like he did with John he took Moses there into the dwelling place his eternal dwelling place and said Moses get a good look this is my home this is my eternal dwelling I want you to replicate that on earth I want you to duplicate it on earth I want to feel just as much at home as I do in heaven I want the same environment that I have up here down here I want the same conditions you see up here down here we know that to be a fact because the book of Hebrews says that the true tabernacle which is in heaven and the earthly tabernacle was a copy of the true tabernacle which is in heaven according to the word of God and so it was an exact replica if you like or it may have been condensed somewhat but the ingredients the atmosphere the elements were exactly the same now we're talking of course in the New Testament sense God wants to come and he wants to make his abode in us but you see this is also an eternal principle make it exactly according to the pattern you see God doesn't change he hasn't sort of mellowed out so to speak over the centuries and he says you know I used to be incredibly fussy I can't believe I was that fussy in the Old Testament you know now listen anything will do you know futons are in that's fine just now he says the same thing his desire hasn't changed his demands haven't changed make it exactly according to the pattern now you can tell a lot about a person by visiting their home this is where those that I've been staying with get nervous so I won't embarrass them but you know you can walk into a home and there's been times as I travel where a pastor has picked me up at the airport taking me to a home and said this is where you're going to be for the weekend they're board members and both of them are working right now but they've given me the key they're gonna be home in just a little while maybe it's four o'clock and they said they should be home by five o'clock and they plan on taking you out for a meal and bringing you to the church and so we'll see you later and he ushers me into the house maybe shows me where the bedroom is and said listen feel free to have a rest you know unpack if you like and here I am in somebody's house I have not met these people but I can tell you what they're like the moment I step into that house I can tell they're rich or poor they're clean they're unclean they're neat they're sloppy they've got kids so they don't have kids I can tell you the age of their kids or grandkids I can tell you their likes and dislikes I can tell you whether they like fine art or modern art I can tell you whether they're musical or not all I got to do is be observant if there's a piano then a violin and a guitar or whatever I think somebody in this family is very musical sometimes I look in the bookcase and I think well you know all these books are about law this is the home of a lawyer maybe the books are about medicine I think this is a you know doctor's home maybe I stroll into the den and you know there's some bass on the wall and on this side of the wall there's a couple of deer and some other animals mounted I think this guy obviously enjoys hunting and fishing maybe we come in through the garage and there's some skis and different things and I think these guys are into water sports and all I've got to do is look around that home I want you know I never pry into anything private but at least the general area if they told me to make myself at home and I could observe what sort of person lives there just by looking at the environment turn with me to the book of Revelation what we want to do now we want to have a good look at God's home God's dwelling place because if we are going to become the earthly dwelling place of God it behooves us then to understand what his requirements are and where he dwells right now if you and I this very moment could be transported into heaven this is exactly what we would see and he says see to it you make it according to the pattern you'll notice as we work our way through this chapter that nothing ever varies with God so let's begin in Revelation 4 in verse 1 after these things I looked John said and behold the door standing open in heaven so even God's house has got a door obviously this is somewhat figurative I'm sure but the door opens and from inside there is a voice and John is welcomed beckoned to come in he says there was a voice that I heard like the sound of a trumpet and it said come up here and I will show you what must take place after these things and so John is invited into the house of God the door of heaven opens the voice of the the Spirit of God says John come on I and immediately John finds himself there in the presence of God he begins to describe to us now what he sees verse 2 immediately I was in the spirit and behold the throne was standing in heaven and one sitting on the throne before John goes anywhere else before he tells us any other details he says the moment I stepped through that door the very first thing that caught my attention the thing that's overwhelmed me he said there was a throne and there was one sitting on the throne what is the throne of God it's the seat of power the seat of authority the seat of government the place of his kingdom place of his lordship his kingship his dominion place from which he reigns and rules a place in which he extends his scepter all of those things of course are typified by the throne the seat of power the seat of government and you'll notice that the throne is occupied and there was one sitting on the throne you never find anywhere in the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation you never ever ever find a vacant throne there is always somebody on the throne and that somebody never varies either now if you and I are going to move from visitation to habitation and if that verse and that principle is eternal and it is see to it that you make it according to the pattern because I want to come down I want to dwell with you I want the same conditions on earth that there are in heaven that I will be done on earth as it is in heaven God demands the throne let me say that again if we're going to move from visitation to habitation the very first issue that you and I have to settle is who is going to have the throne and that's the big tough question isn't it oh we so readily if you were there the other night I spoke on the cross we so readily sort of dump our sins at the altar and ask for forgiveness but to make him king to make him Lord to make him master is another step altogether isn't it that's where the real battle is because you see I've been the king of my castle all my life and nobody's going to usurp my authority nobody's going to take over nobody's going to tell me that they're going to dominate my life and tell me that this money that is my money is no longer my money and this time that has been my time is no longer my time and so on I don't want any king ruling over my little kingdom and so I'll welcome Jesus Christ as my friend as my Savior and I'll say listen Jesus you're welcome in this house of mine you can sit anywhere you want and let's get one thing straight right now I'm the king of the castle so don't mess with the throne oh we would never say it in so many words of course but we do it don't we we protect our little kingdom our little financial kingdom our little emotional kingdom our little will kingdom our little gold kingdom whatever it is you know it's my plans my purpose my dreams my goals and I don't want anybody interfering I want don't want anybody ruling and reigning over my life and we wonder why we don't have revival we wonder why we never moved from visitation to habitation why we don't have the conscious presence of God with us there was only one being that really challenged the throne of God one day he got so full of himself I guess and his beauty and his wisdom and he looked at the throne of God he says I want to sit where you're sitting you know I can run this show as well as you can run this show look at all my beauty look at all my talent look at all my wisdom and so on and so forth we know what happened of course he became Lucifer he was thrown out of heaven or he became Satan stripped of his rank stripped of his authority you see nobody really challenges the throne of God and gets by with it and yet it's amazing isn't it the people that call themselves Christians and can pray so easily thy kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven have absolutely no idea what it really is to have his kingdom come let me ask you this is this issue settled in your life is he really Lord and master does he really reign and rule have you honestly bowed the knee to his lordship if not you will never ever know the abiding presence of God see to it that you make it exactly according to the pattern the next thing we find out is that John becomes conscious now in verse 8 it says there are four living creatures each one of them having six wings full of eyes around and within and day and night they do not cease but to say holy holy holy is the Lord God the Almighty who was who is and who is to come John now becomes aware that he has stepped into a holy place and that everything about that atmosphere that he finds himself in is one of absolute holiness thrice holy be holy as I am holy you see there's never any variance no matter where you find God in the word of God he is always a holy God and he always dwells in the holy police whether you go to the tabernacle the temple wherever it is you see this is the this is the genuine article if you like everything else was a copy of this was a shadow of this this is the true tabernacle we're looking at this is the eternal dwelling place of God but he wants that same atmosphere on earth as he does in heaven he wants that same environment that same culture in your life and my life because he no longer dwells in temples made with hands in the New Testament whose house we are and he wants this house radically changed modified refurbished if you like according to his specifications according to his color scheme like according to the way he wants it notice something if you will about this holiness it says they do not cease by day or by night to cry holy holy holy you see there's never any shadow of turning there's no variableness doesn't matter whether you go into the house of God in the middle of the night two o'clock in the morning or two o'clock in the afternoon it's always a holy place let me ask you about your house is it always holy if I were to visit you late in the evening would I find a holy place I had the privilege of being part of the wonderful move of God there in Brownsville Pensacola revival and the evangelist Steve Hill night after night would thunder out he says listen if you can sit at home on a Friday night and slip a video into your VCR and watch it without feeling ashamed and yet you could not take that same video and watch it on a large screen with the rest of the congregation on Sunday morning without feeling ashamed you're not even saved you see we have different standards don't we we have a standard for the house of God where we put on our piety and we act you know religiously and so on and then we go home we kick back and we watch any filth but you see the atmosphere that God's looking for it never varies neither by day nor by night see to it again you make it according to the pattern what is holiness holiness my simple definition is spiritual health we are obsessed as a nation with health aren't we physical health I'm talking about I forget how many billions of dollars a year we spend on health related products whether it's you know Reebok Nike or whatever it is a popping vitamin pills and exercise equipment and so on I mean we are a nation as Americans obsessed with maintaining our health and all you have to do is get a little twinge of sickness little pain that persists for a matter of hours and we're soon on the phone calling the chiropractor the doctor the dentist whoever it may be whatever sort of discernment we have and we want that thing dealt with as soon as possible and we say to the receptionist listen I've been you know got some major chest pains or whatever and I just really want to see the doctor and she said well I'm sorry he's extremely busy this week but I think we could fit you in on Friday this is Monday morning so what do we do we say listen if there's a cancellation please tell me here's my cell phone here you know please notify me if I can get in earlier I mean we want that thing dealt with immediately don't we why we know our very life may be at stake our physical life we want that thing treated we want medication prescribed we want to get on with the healing process but when it comes with a sickness of sin we will go years and years and years with that cancer working its way in our life and never go to the great physician and ask for cleansing we'll hold resentment and bitterness and pride and lust and allow that thing to fester away within us and yet never ever go to the great physician and say I need the blood of Jesus Christ to cleanse me holiness again spiritual health there is a story in the Old Testament about Noah you know the story well Noah is told by God to build an ark of course you know how after completing that at the end of a hundred years God's patience not Noah's slowness in building the ark but God not willing that any should perish finally the torrential rains common after the rains cease then Noah has a predicament is it safe to our got to outside at the water settled at the waters abated you see there was no light apart from divine light there were no port holes in the windows he can just look out and say well you know the waters recessed I think we can go out it looks dry out there there was only light from above and so the Bible says Noah took a raven and he released that raven and the Bible says the raven flew here and there came back and Noah was not able to determine whether the waters are debated why because the raven is an unclean bird and the raven will settle on any sort of environment any sort of debris it may be a bloated carcass floating on the surface of the deep and that raven will settle on it doesn't care if it's clean or unclean because it's an unclean bird and poor old Noah could not determine that the waters are settled and then the Bible says that Noah took a dove first mention of the dove apart from God brooding over the surface of the deep but in sort of typology here he releases the dove symbolic of the Holy Spirit and the dove flies around and the Bible says the dove came back because there was no resting place for the soul of her feet the dove would not settle where the raven would settle he takes that dove he brings it into the ark he waits for seven days he releases that dove again the dove flies around it comes back at the end of the day with a freshly picked olive leaf in his in her mouth and Noah knew that the waters are settled why because there's life there's vegetation there's freshness newness and Noah knew now it's safe to go out the earth has begun to dry up life is beginning to spring forth I can open the ark I can go out and there's total safety interesting isn't it that the dove is mentioned very specifically as being female I have a little pet theory don't hold me fast to it I don't set it in concrete but I think if you take the Godhead Father Son and Holy Spirit I think the Holy Spirit is the feminine member of the Godhead again take that with a grain of salt you see the Bible says you can blaspheme the Father it will be forgiven blaspheme the Son it will be forgiven but if you blaspheme the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven in this life or the life to come and there is a sensitivity the Holy Spirit has there is a sort of a feminine sensitivity if you like and it's interesting that that dove specifically is referred to as a female God is not all masculine we know that don't we because he said let us make man in our image male and female he created them he's El Shaddai the breasted one but aside from that here we are back now at this matter of holiness God is looking again for a clean place see to it you make it exactly according to a pattern when our children were smaller we lived in New Zealand New Zealand has three million people and between 50 and 70 million sheep and so you see sheep everywhere and we lived in the South Island which is not nearly as populated as the North Island and beautiful towering mountains and sheep everywhere and they have what they call farm holidays these are places that you can call you can call the Bureau and they will tell you where there are places you can rent on some sheep station and you can go and spend a week there or two weeks or however long you want as long as you pay for it and what happens is a farmer will have a successful year maybe the property adjacent to his becomes available and he will buy that adjacent property in order to expand his operation maybe the farmers retiring or maybe he dies or something or it's just wanting to give up on you know the farm life and so here is a man now with added acreage but also he's got an extra house what do I do with the extra house if the house is in reasonably good repair he will make it available either rent it out or make it available to this Bureau where you can go and spend a holiday or vacation and rent one of these places and my wife and I have been told about a particular place that we could rent down a very gorgeous Valley gravel road working its way in for miles towering mountains snow-capped beautiful river down there and great fishing and so on way you know back where nobody could ever see you we were in a very busy active church and so we called and plan to book this place for I think it was about seven or eight days and the day came when we packed our children in the car we drove about 150 plus miles found this Valley follow this gravel road all the way in sure enough here are these towering mountains beautiful river we pulled up at the first farmhouse we had directions and the lady gave us the key and she said there how she want is the next one down it's just about a quarter mile half mile down the road there on the left and so we got back in the car drove down to it pulled in the driveway open the door stepped inside and we were shocked it was nothing like it had been described to be it was absolutely filthy Oh beautiful setting towering mountains beautiful river but the inside was unbelievable we went into the bedroom and my wife took one look at the mattress and said I will not sleep there and according to the law of the Medes and the Persians that was fixed there was a multicolored mattress but not originally we went into the kitchen there was every conceivable sort of bottle around the edge of that kitchen I mean dozens and dozens of empty beer bottles or whatever they were alcoholic beverages anyway there were springs coming up through the couch thread their carpeting it was a rough rough place now we'd be missionaries and I was raised on a farm and so I'm not you know I can rough it a little bit when I need to but something about that place was just not conducive to settling but we'd driven a long way and children were tired so we finally got them settled down we put down a number of blankets on top of that mattress put brought our own bedding and covered up that mattress as best we can we fell asleep and I thought well at least in the morning we can get out we don't have to be cooped up in this place beautiful place we can go for walks and go fishing and so on woke up in the morning to the pitter patter of rain all the old houses in New Zealand are made of corrugated roofs like you have on the old barns or old farms and so you could hear the rain coming down and it got stronger and stronger and it rained all day long and every time I sat down in one of those chairs you know I just felt I was gonna get the plague there was just something about it full of creepy crawlies or something you know we went to bed that night woke up the next morning rain went to bed the next night woke up the next morning rain we had four solid days if I remember of torrential rain and we were never able to get out of that house we finally had enough we packed the kids in the car dropped the key off at the lady and said listen the weather's terrible we're going home that wasn't the full reason but at least we weren't lying you see if that had been a nice environment nice clean place with comfortable furniture and so on we could have looked out there at the river and the mountains and you know settled down and read some books and just had some fun together as a family play some games or something but it just was not conducive it was so foreign now my wife happens to have German blood in her a little bit of that BMW mentality and so she's a perfectionist and the kids and I have sought to modify that somewhat over the years but it hasn't worked too well but but I remember going home that night and walking into our house and you could eat off the floor and I never felt home as I did after that particular trip this was my house I sat down and I enjoyed sitting in the environment that I was used to you know God's like like that have you ever thought what sort of environment you're asking him to dwell in the Holy God the Holy One of Israel the one that has eyes that can no longer behold a canoe cannot behold iniquity the one that says two can't walk together unless they're in agreement have you ever thought again as he comes to make his abode in you what it must feel like for God who is used to an absolute holy place every time you see him all the way through the Word of God whether you see him inside the house of God or outside whether it's Moses of the burning bush making his way over and all of a sudden the Spirit of God says Moses take your shoes off your feet the place you're standing is holy ground wherever God is this holy ground or the captain of the host there's Joshua was out there in the fields no doubt wondering how do I take over Jericho and all of a sudden confronted by the angel Lord and the angel Lord says take your shoes off the place you're standing is holy ground God's always found in the holy place you see if we're going to move again and understand the ways of God the culture of God this is it this is God's culture there's no variableness with God he doesn't sort of kick back every once in a while say listen you know let's break a few rules it doesn't matter you know no day and night it never ceases holy holy holy let's move on because the next thing we find is in verse 9 and the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to him that sits on the throne everything in heaven glorifies God everything and the Bible says whatever you do in word or deed do all to the glory of God whatever you did oh we have this way of departmentalizing our lives don't we were spiritual you know on Saturday or Sunday whatever the case may be and then the rest of life you know week we sort of well you know it's back to normal this week and then I and then we have the clergy laity separation you know well you know that's okay you know we expect the past to be holy and you know and glorify God and so on but I'm just a plumber or I'm just a nurse or no whatever you do in word or deed do all to the glory of God I mentioned I think Jack Hayford this morning in the message and I remember listening to Jack take a little phrase and Jack's an expert at this and he said it was a little phrase is this not Jesus the carpenter of Nazareth and Jack said I believe there were many carpenters in Nazareth and if you wanted a job done maybe you made inquiry listen you know we want to do our kitchen refurbish it or build some furniture or whatever and you know we've had a sort of a shoddy job done in the past and we want a real good job some man that's really got integrity and does a good job can you recommend anybody and they would say you know there's only one carpenter in Nazareth the carpenter of Nazareth is Jesus Christ and while that may not be the exact interpretation certainly the principle is there because he does all things well and God never had to apologize for shoddy workmanship and Jesus came to express the Father which you know we should be the schoolteacher of Hammett the lawyer the plumber the mechanic the nurse the policeman whatever it is whatever you do in word or deed do all to the glory of God Jesus said I glorified to the unearth not only that but they were to honor him and then they were to give him thanks let me just move to the area of Thanksgiving God is a real stickler when it comes to Thanksgiving in everything give thanks this is his will in Christ Jesus concerning you in everything or not for some things not when the going gets good thank you Lord it's been a great week you know now in everything give thanks he said to the children of Israel in the Old Testament because you've not served the Lord your God with thankfulness for all the abundance that I've given you therefore you will serve your enemies part of the blessing and the cursing listen if you don't learn to appreciate my benefits that's a new every morning I'll turn you over you'll serve your enemies and then maybe you'll come back and you'll be a little more appreciative of my blessings God's a father isn't it sounds like a father dealing with maybe some rebellious sort of son who's complaining about mother's cooking and always whining and so on dad says okay get out of here I don't want to see you again until your attitude change go sleep down the park there for a few nights and so on you know a week or so later after the kids gone from friend to friend and they're getting sick and tired of him and he's out on the street maybe slept under an underpass for a couple of nights he comes back with his head sort of down and all of a sudden he appreciates now mother's cooking and what mother does God's that way if you don't appreciate what I've done I'll turn you over you'll serve your enemies he numbered the times that Israel murmured and complained lo these ten times you've grumbled and murmured against me therefore you're not going into the promised land why is it so important because what God dwells in the praises of these people God what inhabits it's the habitation that's why it's so important if you want him to inhabit your life you better learn some of these principles you better learn about the culture the ways of God it's imperative to can't get along unless they're in agreement and one thing that God loves he loves praise reveler Romans 1 when they knew God they honored him not as God neither were they what thankful therefore God turn them over to a reprobate mind it's the beginning of the end and how many times we whine and murmur and complain and so on boy the psalmist knew what it was knew every morning your mercies he daily loads us with benefits thank you Lord you know for all your abundance and so on we've got to learn that you see right now in heaven does not one single person whining not one I guarantee if we could be transported there instantly there's that great cloud of witnesses magnifying the Lord Bible says we're surrounded by a wonderful cloud of witnesses and you know not one of them's murmuring not one of them's complaining and you and I could be in the very presence of God and when he won't dare allow us to grumble so why don't we get used to it now why because we are becoming the habitation of God build it and I will come Paul and Silas are in prison they're chained maybe to the wall I don't know some of those Roman prisons Paul says you know would the God you're like me except for these chains they can't sleep and Silas says to Paul hey why don't we sing for a while I can't sleep either so here they are at midnight you know maybe got those chains rattling a little bit you know for a stomp group in history and they get going you know all of a sudden God says boy that sounds like home yep God shows up prison doors open what God inhabits you see you can create an atmosphere that draws the presence of God that's why praise and worship is so important the last one verse 10 the 24 elders will fall down before him that sits on the throne will worship him this whole area of worship worship is a topic that's my father said he has never seen in any syllabus in any Bible school all this music but not any real teaching on worship and worship is something I really don't think very many of us know very much about I was in the ministry many many years until finally maybe eight or nine years ago I began at least to study a little bit about worship it may surprise you that the greatest acts of worship in the Word of God had no association with music you see we think of worship and music being tied together inseparable and I'm not saying you can't of course worship with music but the greatest acts of worship were never in association with music and we get so used to sort of interchanging them sort of juggling them around don't we we've got a new worship leader tonight it wasn't that a wonderful time of worship or you know we've got a brother coming to lead us in some praise and you know we just get used to sort of the two sort of become synonymous there is an old law a Bible interpretation called the law first mention this simply means that when you find a scripture or a principle that is mentioned for the very first time in the Word of God it establishes if you like a precedent as to how that particular principle is used throughout the Word of God for instance it's the first time that flesh is ever mentioned in the Bible God saw that man was only flesh now it doesn't refer to this sort of flesh this sort of flesh is not sinful God says you know he's going to start all over again because man's heart is only evil continually but in the margin it says in going astray he is flesh see when the Bible says that we have to crucify the flesh it doesn't mean this it's that tendency within us to want to do our way or do our thing as opposed to the will of God and so right from the very beginning in going astray he is flesh it sets up a precedent as to how we understand flesh throughout the rest of the Word of God used at least in that that way and the very first time that worship is ever mentioned in the Bible we find it in conjunction with the life of Abraham Abraham this wonderful man I love the life of Abraham but God has tested this man repeatedly to see where his affections are he really is the first disciple in the Bible he is the father of all those that believe the Bible says he is the prototype he is the role model he is the example of what a true believer is and the first thing that God does he tests him on the area of discipleship and he says you've got to be willing to forsake father mother brother sister or he doesn't put it in quite that terminology but he says get out of your father's house away from your friends your relatives your kindred and so on take up your cross and follow me you see he's the first disciple he is the father of all those that believe and of course he proves to God that his love for God is greater than his love for his father his love for his mother his love for his relatives his love for his culture and he is prepared to go out looking for a city whose builder and maker is gone and then later on of course when he's a hundred years of age he has not had any children at least any according to God's purpose and finally his wife conceives and here is this little boy Isaac Isaac begins to grow and there's this incredible bond between father and son Isaac's around 14 17 years of age when God looks down one day maybe they were playing of singing together whatever and God looks he says you know there is such an incredible affection between these two what an incredible bond they love each other with a deep deep love and I wonder if his love for Isaac is greater than his love for me I know he loves me more than his mother and his father his brothers his sisters I've proved him over there but I'm not so sure that he loves me more than Isaac so he says Abraham yes Lord I want you to take your only son whom thou lovest and put him on the altar the Bible says Abraham rose early in the morning don't you love that little phrase doesn't it tell you a lot about this man oh I'd have pulled the blinds taken a couple of Tylenol PM pull the covers of my head you know knock myself out good and hope I don't wake up at all type thing after all this is the day when I've got to put my daughter on the altar and my son on the altar not Abraham he bounds out of bed early in the morning settles his donkey take some wood take some men with him goes on a three-day journey comes to Mount Moriah says to his men you guys stay here wait for us I and the lad will go yonder and we will worship first mention of worship no choir no musical instruments no vocalists no guitars just radical obedience lavish sacrifice he binds his son he places him there on the altar he takes that dagger that knife and he's ready to plunge it into the chest of that young boy and God says stop now I know that you honor me you fear me you reveal me you love me more than you love this boy because you've not withheld your son only son and God no longer adds whom thou lovest why because his love for God surpassed the love of Isaac all he begins differently take your son your only son whom thou lovest put him on the altar now he says because you've not withheld your son your only son but not whom thou lovest anymore you see that's worship worship is when we're able to put our Isaac on the altar whatever that Isaac may be it may be a relationship that may be a position that may be the ministry it may be financial it may be some other security that you know that thing has become an idol in your life that thing has become the very passion of your life and you don't want to let go of it but here he was willing to put it on the altar that's the first mention of worship in the Bible then we have worship in the life of David of course David is the great worship leader but there's one incident in particular David commits a terrible sin with Bathsheba you know the story nine months later a little baby comes on the scene born out of wedlock that baby lives for a matter of days maybe weeks baby comes home one day he's notified the baby's deathly ill David goes into his room for seven days prays begs God for the spare the life of that baby at the end of seven days he's notified that the baby's dead what does he do going to attempt a tantrum he could have he could have said God why have you done this I thought we'd settle the score I confessed you know purge me with his sup and I shall be clean I've acknowledged my sin my sin is ever before me Lord I'm asking for forgiveness I'm asking for cleansing and so on and now you've taken the life of this innocent child God I thought your blood had cleansed me already why take the life of this child it's not fair no David goes back into his room the Bible said he washed himself clothed himself went right back in got down on his face and he worshiped you see worship is not questioning God the clay can never say to the pot of wine as for God his ways are perfect and David was able to bow there in total adoration and say Lord I may not understand this is painful but Lord your worship never changes and I think maybe one of the greatest acts of worship has to be in the life of Job here is this man great man men that feared God turned away from evil hated evil an honest honest man an upright man were introduced to him there in Job chapter 1 and one day the devil comes to pay a visit to the Lord I don't know how all that works and before he goes the Lord just can't help it he's just finished off a little bit of workmanship and he says hey Satan before you go have you considered my servant Job look at the integrity this man look at the honesty of this man look at the holiness of this man's life you know Satan I took him from your scrap heap you see Job wasn't born the way was it was the grace of God for all of sin and comes short of the glory of God there's none righteous no not one but you know God like anybody he is a craftsman and when you make something that you're so proud of you can't wait to show it off look at this can you believe that I I made this thing you know and God sort of bragging a little bit and he says look what I did with your I mean I picked this guy up he was a foul-mouthed filthy alcoholic and you'd given up on the guy he was full of AIDS or whatever it is I took him and I redeemed him and I cleansed him and I've been working in his life and now he reflects my nature and so on the devil says I don't buy it when I corrupt I absolutely corrupt your grace is not sufficient God says yes it is he said no it isn't he says the only way this man the only reason he's acting the way is you've made him a multimillionaire and so he's keeping you know this religious air about him because he doesn't want to lose his millions but I'll show you what he's really like you can't straighten what I've made crooked God says yes I can this is genuine no it's not yes it is okay I'll tell you what I'll turn him over to you you can do whatever you want and I'll prove to you that this is a changed man devil says okay one condition spares life and the next day Joe buries ten children there they are one casket two caskets three caskets four caskets five six seven eight nine ten seven sons three daughters he wakes up the next morning covered in boils not only that but we find him sitting on an ash heap why an ash heap why does a multimillionaire sit on an ash heap why doesn't he sit back and he's nice recliner because I believe that those same winds and fires that destroyed the house of his children saw and destroyed his own mansion and he's sitting there on the mound of rubble that once was his pride and joy and his wife's pride and joy the medicine cabinets gone he doesn't have anything to relieve the itching because from the head down to the feet he's covered in boils running oozing sores dry scabs everywhere and he's just writhing with agony and he reaches into the ashes and he pulls out a little bit of pottery his wife's favorite set of dishes that now are broken to smithereens maybe an anniversary gift and all there are are fragments and he takes one of those fragments and he begins to use it to scratch himself takes that ash because he doesn't have any talcum powder or anything and throws it over his body to try and get a little bit of relief and his wife says darling why don't you just get it over curse God and die Bible says Job got on his face and worshipped no choir no musical instruments just a man on his face before God Lord you're still worthy as for God his ways are perfect that's worship see we really don't know too much doing about worship my father used to have a saying the prayer is preoccupation with our needs praise is preoccupation with our blessings worship is preoccupation with God alone you see most of our prayers are self-centered God heal me God bless me God protect me God provide for me God God God and in our praises God thank you for healing me thank you for protecting me thank you for blessing me thank you for but worship is when we forget about ourselves and concentrate on him and worship him as the song says and his worship never varies day or night catastrophe or whatever it may be he's still worthy and there's a posture about worship because all the way through God it never varies they're always bowing down or prostrating themselves what does that mean it means that I've got a decrease it's a posture that puts you in a lower position because you're acknowledging the one you're addressing is so much greater than you are and in many cultures even to this day we do that don't we we used to in the British culture it was the women or the men would bow and the women would curtsy and it was a form of lowering yourself you go to the Oriens and you greet people and they will bow way down in front of you why because they're lowering themselves and giving you the dignity that they think you deserve but in the Bible it's always one of bowing down and exalting him there's always a posture there's a word that is used for worship in the Bible at least used in conjunction it's the word amen the end of chapter 5 you see it it says they worshiped and said amen or they said amen and they worshiped Kittel who is a great expert on Greek words says this the word amen means to concur with to be in harmony with you see a worshiper is somebody who concurs with God he's in harmony with God he's not in any sort of discord in other words you resonate if you like on the same frequency as God take your son yes Lord put him on the altar amen Lord now let's just close but let me look at one last thing verse 10 again the 24 elders will fall down before him who sits on the throne and we'll worship him worship is always tied to the throne now let me say something you will never ever ever ever be a worshiper until he's on the throne because what is on the throne is what you worship let me say that again whatever is on the throne of your life is ultimately what you worship and I don't care how well you sing I don't care how gifted you are at playing an instrument I don't care if you've got perfect pitch you will never ever ever be a worshiper until he has absolute Lordship they bow down and they worship the one who sits on the throne and if we are going to move from visitation to habitation see to it we make it according to the pattern let's close in prayer father in the stillness of this moment Lord we're aware more than ever before of your desire to dwell with us your longing to dwell with us and your Lord we're also aware that you said see to it that it's made according to the pattern Lord you want a certain atmosphere you want a certain habitation a certain dwelling place Lord we can't take any liberties we can't make any changes that Lord you're the unchanging God and therefore these principles remain unchanging and father I pray for everybody within the sound of my voice tonight that Lord you would bring them to that place of surrender if they've never ever given you the throne of their life they've never consciously crowned you king master Lord as the words of that song say king of my life I crown thee now thine shall the glory be Lord we make you King we acknowledge you as King not just Savior but King Lord master creator the one that's the alpha the one that's the Omega the one that's worthy of all of our worship you that sit above the vault of the earth you reduce rulers to nothing we think of your greatness your splendor your majesty tonight Lord you call the stars by name not one of them is missing you're the one that sets up kings and kingdoms you can speak Lord even tomorrow and devastate this nation or you can see her established for some more years it's all in your power to do that the Lord you regard that once the throne you regard that once a holy place be holy as I am holy Lord give us the grace to bring our lives in accordance with your purpose your pattern Lord for the blood of Jesus Christ tonight that cleanses from all sin no matter how vile how filthy this house is that we can know what it is to have every trace of sin gone father teach us what it is to be grateful Lord we're in a nation that is so full of blessings we don't deserve it Lord we compare ourselves to other nations nations at war nations where bombs are flying and there's all sorts of things starvation famine and Lord we're in the lap of luxury a place of abundance we can even gather in this meeting tonight and fellowship without fear of reprisal and yet Lord we're so mute when it comes to thanking you and then Lord teach us how to worship Lord to forget about ourselves and concentrate on him and worship him Lord we take off the throne the things that have preoccupied us those things that we vitalize those things that we've coveted those things that we've desired those things that we've worshipped in our own way whether it's sports whether it's fashion whether it's position whether it's some other relationship whatever it is Lord that has had first place in our life we take it away and we give you the rightful place to you alone be the glory the honor the praise the majesty to you alone be the worship tonight Lord fill our hearts with a fresh adoration fresh love fresh passion for your presence Lord day or night we want to be holy when we leave the sanctuary tonight we want to Lord keep again the very atmosphere that is here Lord as we commence the workweek tomorrow pray Lord that you keep your hand upon us put the fear of God in us keep us from sin keep us from evil that I pray that this valley would be known as a place where God dwells the Lord as people come in over these mountains and down into this valley that Lord the very atmosphere of this place would be different because there's a people that have made you their habitation so have your way Lord again while our heads are bound why don't we just stand quietly I'm going to ask you I know it's late if you need to go they feel free to go but you know we can sit and watch a ball game for hours because we enjoy it and if you don't enjoy the house of God the people of God the Word of God the presence of God something's wrong but I'm going to make these altars available if you're serious about moving from visitation to habitation if there's an area that God has been dealing with tonight if you've never given him the throne why don't you do it all you may be say 20 years 30 years I don't care if you've never consciously said king of my life I crown thee now thine shall the glory be why don't you do it if you're in a place of compromise sin in your life maybe you're addicted to the web you know there's 25 million pornographic websites today 25 million and all over this nation I'm seeing men in the house of God absolutely bound by the world wide web their minds absolutely polluted the enemy knows his time is short and he's called to come down pulled out all the stops and he's found again a place of weakness because they're in the privacy of your own office where your wife can't see you and the kids can't see you with a click of a mouse you can be in a whole new world and maybe there's some in this room because of the amount of people there's got to be and you're addicted already you don't know how to shake it you're condemned you're ashamed listen Jesus Christ can set you free he wants a holy place day and night never cease some of you are whiners always complaining that's the area God wants to deal with some of you have never learned to worship whatever it is why don't you come and say Lord tonight I'm gonna put things right tonight Lord I want to make this house suitable for your presence Lord I want you to feel so at home here I want you to order say you know my permanent address in Hammett is this person and that person and so on oh I don't just visit anymore that's what I do well if you want that calm I'm not gonna beg you just make your way forward find a place find a one of the pews here there's plenty of place available and as the Bible says take with you words meaning don't just come and expect somehow the atmosphere to change you vocalize verbalize what you're coming for why you're coming what the problem is if there's a need of cleansing the blood of Jesus Christ will cleanse what if we confess our sin and you can know that freedom you can know that Liberty you can know that joy come and let God be gone don't put it off don't worry about the person on the left of you the right of you you know where you're at God sees you knows you all things are naked and bare before the eyes of him with whom we have to do he knows your life you can't fool him you may be able to fool people around about you you'll never fool God if he doesn't have that place of absolute Lordship give it to him tonight this can change the valley this is revival this is personal revival or it may not be corporate revival yet but it's personal revival it's what lays the foundation for corporate revival when people start getting right individually where they're not worried about this person that person they're worried about themselves Lord my life is not the way it should be Oh just come