Jehovah, Who Will Dwell In Your Tabernacle?

STUDY: #946- CHURCH IN THE HOUSES FROM: JULY 4 @ 10, 2017

TOPIC: "Jehovah, Who Will Dwell In Your Tabernacle?" Psalm 15:1-5 This psalm was probably written when the Ark of the Covenant was being transported to the holy mountain of Zion. Who is fit to be where God is? Those who have been filled with the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace, patience, faith, kindness, meekness, etc. (Galatians 5:22-23) On the other hand, who is not prepared to dwell where God is? Those whose life is ruled by the work of the flesh: fornication, strife, jealousy, anger, rivalries, envy, etc. (Galatians 5:19-21) If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:25). This happens when we want the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit. THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT CLEARLY SHOW WHEN THE SPIRIT OF GOD GUIDES A PERSON. We should seriously study this in order to die to the works of the flesh, and have a new life. This is how we can begin to prepare to dwell in His Tabernacle. The psalmist asks the Lord this question: Who will dwell in your tabernacle? Not everyone is fit to live where God is. There are more rules to be where God is than to be in any other place. It refers to God’s dwelling by the Holy Spirit. It is not just any place to come and go. The answer to the question begins, "He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart." Psalm 15:2 Let us understand well who are the accepted. Let us study the walk or behavior, actions and words of the man whom God accepts. It is said that actions speak louder than words. But people love to speak, and do little work! A person is righteous when "... he walks in integrity and does justice ..." The faith of the righteous is evident when there are good works, and therefore it is not a dead faith! We must work in the House of God as in a beehive, where the working bees are constantly at toil. The opposite of these working bees are the drones, which are the males that do not work. It is the difference between those who work, and those who do not; those who do justice and those who do not. When a man's heart experiences a healthy conversion, his life will be beautiful: his works, his justice, his testimony on this earth. "...do justice..." Someone once said that a righteous man can do righteous deeds, but an unjust man doing righteous deeds will not make him just. Another preacher also said: Jacob's ladder had rungs in which he saw NO ONE WHO WAS STILL. Everyone was either ascending or descending. If you ascend, at the same time at the end of the stairway to heaven, there you will hear one who says, "My Father is WORKING until now, and I am WORKING." (John 5:17) He who dwells in the Tabernacle of God is the one who "...does justice." He who does justice does not speak about it, nor thinks or hears about it. They DO IT! They are not LISTENERS OF THE LAW, but DOERS OF THE LAW who will be justified (Romans 2:13). "And he speaks truth in his heart." Anatomists (those who study the structure of living things) have observed that the tongue in man is tied with a double string to the heart. I am thankful for any conviction and sense I have of the evil of lying; Lord, increase my abhorrence of it. I would endeavor to cleanse myself from all filthiness: “there will never be a mortified tongue when there is an unmortified heart." (Thomas Boston and Benjamin Bennett). Psalm 15:3 "He who does not slander with his tongue..." Slander is a false accusation made against someone with intent to harm. It is like the devil’s bellows (used to blow and fan the fire of a furnace) to increase conflicts. Those who let themselves blow with those bellows are of the worst kind. It is said that gossipers carry the devil on their tongue, and those who listen carry the devil in their ears. A just person does not slander. Psalm 15:4 "In whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord ..." When you are able to despise the vile (who work with great wickedness), you will please God.

Psalm 15:5 "Who does not put out his money at interest." He who lends and demands excessive interest commits an abominable sin because this is contrary to the law of love. "... and does not take a bribe against the innocent." Bribery is the compensation to corrupt someone and obtain a favor. He who does so has already violated the law of love. Whoever does not abuse those in need will please the Lord. In short, "He who does these things shall never be moved." He will not be one who talks a lot about religion, nor portray himself as perfect. He will not be the one who speaks without ceasing, neither the hardworking teacher, nor the "gifted and brilliant” brother. He WHO IS HONEST AND FAIR will be firm in the test and will not slip. It is not to speak about what we are. But let ourselves be seen: FOR OUR FRUITS! Jehovah, Who Will Abide In Your Tabernacle? Let us walk in the Spirit and bear fruit, faithful and righteous in our walk on the Way, and we will come to dwell with God. Amen.