Living Hope Fellowship Church...Sermons From the Pastor

THY HABITATION
by Pastor Kevin Badgley

Every time Jesus taught, he performed miracles to demonstrate it. Praise the Lord! I'm believing God that at the end of one of these times together, we'll get a demonstration. The Bible says Jesus was teaching one day in the synagogue and the power of God was present to heal them, so he did. I'm believing God for that time. It may be right now. Could it be at night? There are several places in the Bible where he did it all night long. He couldn't get any sleep. If you have got anointing like that on you, you wouldn't care to sleep. I probably couldn't sleep.

We'll read Psalm 91:1, 9, 13, and 14 to get us to the next phase of this message. (1) "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty." You may say, Well, how did he do it? "(9) Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;" God is speaking: (14) Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name."

Now we see the three phases of it. We see the beginning of it here. We have the promise and some instruction therein. Verse nine says that after a man has gone to this length and has done this thing by faith that verse one would be performed to them. Then in verse 14 God speaks after a person has got in that particular position and says what he is going to do with him further. There are various levels in this. God wants us to attain the highest place he has prepared for each one of us.

Go to Ephesians 2:18. Where it is talking about "we both", it is talking about both the Jews and Gentiles. It is also talking about those that understand, those who are in the church regularly or those who are new converts (that are just coming in and believing in the anointing that these other folks are supposed to be carrying). "For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father." Access means an open door. The S in Spirit is capitalized so it is talking about the Spirit of God. Through Jesus, we have, by the Holy Ghost power, access to the Father. If people could grasp that, I believe we'd stay with Jesus.

Ephesians 2:19, "Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God;" Now in this verse means right now, saved and filled with the Holy Ghost . . . and so are not strangers considering the things of heaven. Part of the promise is that we are of the household of God. This is talking about you and me.

Ephesians 2:20, "And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;" Now we know the builders, the church world, rejected him. Even today they are still rejecting him, but he is still the chief corner stone. If you are gonna build anything, you're gonna have to build it by Jesus or you build in vain. Jesus said a man that heareth his words and refuses them is like a foolish man who built his house upon the sand. The floods came and the winds blew and knocked it down and great was the fall of it. But they that builded upon the rock Christ Jesus, the floods and the storms came and didn't knock it over. It was hit. It wasn't exempt from being hit. It got hit, but it stood! Praise the Lord.

Ephesians 2:21-22, (21) "In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:" It says groweth. The temple is growing! (22) "In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit." Jesus said he and his Father would come in you as you search out the word of God and obey it. As you fast and pray and obey God's word, living this life of Christ, Jesus said they would make their abode in you. Here it is again in Ephesians 2:22 where he says that we are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. We know that God does not inhabit temples made with hands. You can find that in Acts and 2 Corinthians Chapter 5. So . . . we know that God, the God of all the heavens and the earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. He dwells in every believer.

We find that we have access back to God. We know that God can get to anybody. Amen? We have access, we can get to God by his Spirit. Not by might . . . many try. Not by power . . . and they certainly try that . . . but by God's Spirit we have access to the Father. Praise the Lord! John 14:5 says, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." If you are in Christ, you can come to the Father.

We are made a habitation of God by his Spirit. God wants to inhabit you and take over you. First when you are saved, the Spirit of the living God comes in to you. Galatians 4:6 tells us this, "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." It cries Abba, Father, with groanings and utterings in our souls to the Father. I believe it is a cry that he would fill the whole house, not just the heart. Many people love the Lord, but there are parts of their house that just are not all of God. I'm not talking about overt sin. I'm talking about where they've not yielded over everything to God. We are being sanctified day by day.

God wants it to where he will fill us with the Holy Ghost and completely take over these temples. He wants to completely take over our lives and that we would then obediently and yielding to God live the life of Christ before God. He would be well pleased and make his abode there. God is not going to live in a ratty neighborhood. He is going to live where there is faith, joy, peace, and where the power of God can move freely without interruptions! That is where God is going to dwell! If he gets anything contrariwise . . . we know how easy it is for a dove to move away. He can leave in a moment's notice if he is too much grieved. By the Spirit of the living God you can build yourself up in the Lord. Don't we find it interesting in Jude 20, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." I see two words there that let us know we are building an habitation for God.

He sent forth the earnest of his Spirit by the baptism of the Holy Ghost. He sent forth the Spirit of his dear Son to touch us and deal with us so that we will receive that. God wants it to grow. Why? It says here in Ephesians 2:21 that he wants us to grow ". . . unto an holy temple in the Lord." That is where God lives. He is building a habitation that is worthy for God to live there! Like I said, God is not going to live in a ratty house, a house that is handled with hands, carnal, and stained with wrong doing. He is going to live in a holy house. As we yield over to the Spirit of the Lord according to God's word: praying, fasting, seeking God, and obeying his Word, then we can begin to build that holy habitation in the Lord.

Go back to Jude 20 again. "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." On here is a foundation word! You build a building on something! What is it on? It is supposed to be on the rock, Christ Jesus. By his Spirit we build on this rock, Jesus the Son of God. We build on it; we live it and yield over to it and do it and that is how we build that habitation for God. It is that simple. He comes from time to time and visits us to see how things are progressing. How many have ever had a visit from God? Have you ever been touched by the Lord when he moves on you? He wants to see how you are doing. When he come to inspect the house, some people close the door. They know they didn't sweep that day, or they let the dog in and it made a mess and they haven't had time to clean it up yet . . . It may be worse than housatosis, it is halitosis, unclean.

God will visit to see if there is any progress being made in that temple. If it is too bad he will pull the workers out and say "forget it." Some people count the cost and say it costs too much to build this house of God. Jesus said to count the cost to see if you have sufficient to finish it, lest you begin to build and suddenly you just quit. Then everybody goes around and mocks, "He used to live for God. He was Pentecostal. Now look at him." When you start building, you're going to have to finish. If you haven't got enough to finish, ask Jesus to give you more. He said in Isaiah 55:1, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price."

We are builded together for an habitation of God. When God moves in, you move out and he has full control! God will move in you now as a Christian in a few things: a gift here, or a blessing there, or a word there. He will move in a few things.

We were moving one time. The folks that were moving in were in such a hurry to get there that they were moving in some of their stuff in the front door while we were moving out the back door. God does that and I am glad he does. I've told him many times to shove me right on out the door, and just fill me up, and bless me. God won't do it because we have a free will and we have to yield it over to God. God will not kick you out of your house. He will move in if you move out, if you let him cleanse it, wash it, and make it pure. He will give you a Holy Ghost master. He will clean it out and make it right, white, and spotless and ready for the deep things of God. Praise the Lord. In the presence of the Lord are pleasures ever more. This world has nothing compared to what Jesus has got.

We are made an habitation. We are being changed then! 2 Corinthians 3:18, "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." If you are going to stick with God, the Bible says you are going to change. When you get saved, there is going to be a change. When you get filled with the Holy Ghost, there will be more change. When God starts moving in furniture (gifts, blessings, power, anointing, and understanding of the deeper things of God) there is going to be some more change. The day you stop changing toward the things of God, and getting out of the world, and stop becoming sanctified, is the day God stops moving in. He will start pulling his furniture back out. He won't leave anything behind.

We are made a habitation of God by the Spirit. We are being changed by the Spirit. We are building up ourselves by the Spirit. We ought to be praying in tongues. Paul said, "I thank my God, I speak with tongues more than ye all:" He was talking to a Corinthian church, one of the biggest ones in the world at that time. The man, by himself, prayed more than they all. I don't think that was an exaggeration. I think God gave him a word. That was a shame, because they were being changed and he was trying to direct them in the change and the yielding over according to his two long letters to the church in the Bible. That man had made some changes! He used to kill Christians. He used to have men and women taken to jail . . . but something got a hold of him. Something began to change him and he kept on going with it. He didn't stop along the way, saying, I don't know if I like this.

A lot of people don't like the image of Christ! They don't like the image he portrays. If you want to see exactly what Christ is supposed to act like and look like, read it in the Bible. Don't look at the preacher, the world, or a movie of Moses or of Jesus. Some of those movies are made by cold-blooded sinners. Look in the Bible where you will get an accurate description of the King of kings and Lord of lords. Change to be like Him! A lot of people don't want God because God has been mis-portrayed. People will judge God through you.

If you are weak, stupid, fearful, prideful, murmuring, complaining, nagging, chewing, biting, and devouring one another, that is the way they figure God is. They don't want anything to do with you and they don't want anything to do with God. You may say, I do it. I am compelled; I don't know how to stop. Then start making some changes and let God turn you around. He may turn you inside out. He may burn you down. He may stand you on your head and you don't know what is going on, but God is making a change for the better. I'm telling you that when God moves in, he is going to clear you out. He is going to clean us out and make us right before the Lord.

We are going to be changed. If you start doing what we are preaching, you are going to make some changes. If you stay the same in thirty days, then you haven't made the change! Lots of people don't like changes. We are creatures of habit. We get our security from the humdrum. Yet we set around and complain about it! People will complain about being in the grind, but you try to get them out of the grind and they will eat on you like a dog! You try to get them to change into something by the supernatural blessing of God that can make a difference in their lives, and they go right back to the grind. I am believing God to make a change in me. I am expecting a change. I may not understand it or like it, but God is going to make some changes in me. People around me may not like it so much, but if I'm gonna be like Jesus, I've got to make some changes. If I was like Jesus enough . . . I'd be doing what Jesus did! The church doesn't look anything like Jesus, but she is supposed to. The church is supposed to be doing the same thing her Master has done.

We are changed by the Spirit of the Lord. We know it by prayer. Colossians 3:1-4, "(1) If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (2) Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth." We are supposed to be seeking something up there on the right hand of God. What you desire should be things above. You will spend a whole lot less time with the things of the earth if you will set your affection on things above. He is trying to give us instruction. These things are written for our admonition. "(3) For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God." Verse 3 says we are dead! Wait a minute, he just said we are risen with Christ! Many people and even most of the church world believe that you are crucified with Christ so you can live your life any way in the name of the Lord! You can't live your life the way you used to live it. How can you live your life the way you used to live it and then live it again in the name of the Lord? It doesn't make any sense.

I'm not talking about overt sin. We know that won't work. I'm talking about the day to day mentality that we have, the carnality. If we had problems with anything at all when we first came to the Lord, whether it was a weight or sin that easily beset us or turned us away from God, and today we are still doing it, then we haven't made the necessary changes! We are not any different than we were. If you are still sinning then you are not saved! If you are not sanctified . . . Jesus said in Revelation 3:15-16, "(15) I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (16) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." If you are not being sanctified and are just floating along (and have been for some time), that is kind of like lukewarm to me! What does the Lord do with lukewarm? He will spit you out!

If you are risen with Christ, you are dead. The only way to stay risen with Christ is for you to stay dead. The minute you resurrect, he leaves. What can then be seen is just you, the flesh. Some people glory in the flesh, but we are supposed to be dead according to Colossians 3:3, "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God."

We know that it is by faith, but we must attain to that. Who in their right mind would want to get rid of their own life? Who would want to have it to where they couldn't boast a little bit? For instance, I prayed the prayer of faith and they got healed. We can testify and that is all right, but a lot of times people come and tell you how saintly they are and how God is moving so marvelously in their life. If they pray for you, you may as well have a corncob pray for you because you are not going to get anything out of it.

If we make these changes according to God's Word and start living the life of Christ we won't have to tell anybody that we have been fasting, praying, or anything. Jesus will be standing right there. God will testify of you. Remember what the Bible says in Hebrews 11:5. God testified of Enoch.

Oh, Brother, I've got a gift to impart to you. I think the Lord has got a word for you. Have you had anybody do this to you? They have a word for you. They are doing it in the name of the Lord, but the Lord has not spoken. The church is full of this. You can't advance in God until you die with Christ and stay dead. Let your life be hid. It doesn't mean that you don't let your light shine, but let the Light of Christ shine: His light, anointing, blessing, word, glory, and praise.

You are dead and your life is hid with Christ in God. It's got to stay that way. Every once in a while we peek out from under, Hey, Lord, can I have a little credit for this latest move? How many people know what I am talking about? Your life is supposed to be hid. You may say, Well, I don't think I'm worthy. You're supposed to be dead. You shouldn't have any problem with worthiness. Jesus is worthy, though. Hallelujah! If it is no longer you that liveth, but Christ is living in you, then anything you ask God for . . .He says you are worthy. Why? because he doesn't see you anymore. He sees Jesus. The first time he sees you pop your pretty little head up, he will refuse your request, no matter how desperate. Someone may be dying of cancer or a child just got hit by a car. If you poke your head out from under, God will not answer your prayer. He will consider it the man praying, not his Son.

It is dangerous to look back on our memories and say, Oh, the way I used to live. . . .! We leave the sin out in this remembering . . . because we kind forget the sin sometimes. Boy, it was carefree and fancy-free when I was a teenager . . . yea, and I was full of the devil too! I ain't looking back. After a while you start thinking it was easier then than it is now. Matthew 7:13 says, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: "

Your life has got to stay hidden, even to you. Well, isn't it wonderful, at the same time, when you say, God I'm sorry for what I did when I was fifteen, and God tells you that he forgave you at an altar of prayer; he says he doesn't know what you are talking about!

Colossians 3:4, "When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." Christ is your life. I thought I had a life. It is a popular thing now to say, Get a life! Hallelujah, I did! The life I now live, I don't live unto myself. I live unto him that died and rose again for me. You and I have got to do it. I got a life. I got a hold of Jesus and He got a hold of my life.

It says Christ shall appear. The Bible says he will manifest himself to us. We shall also appear with him in glory. In John 17:24 Jesus said, "Father, I will that they also, whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am. . . ." When Christ appears, we will appear. Look at the last two words ". . . in glory."

Paul appeared in glory. Angels were walking the streets of gold one day and all of a sudden Paul popped in. I reckon they looked him over. Paul was praying one day and he was caught away. He said he didn't know if he was in this body or out. He saw things and the angels were scratching their heads, wondering how he did that. 1 Peter 1:12 says the angels desire to look into the things of the Holy Ghost. They can't understand it because they are just spirit beings. They don't have all the advantages you and I do. You say, Well, they are with the Lord all the time! That is right, but Jesus didn't die for them. He died for you and me. Praise the Lord. He filled us with the Holy Ghost. He didn't fill them. The angels just looked at Paul. They wondered how he got there. He wasn't dead.

Paul had been down praying. He appeared, through Jesus, in glory. Remember Luke 9:28, ". . . And as he prayed, the fashion of his countenance was altered, and his raiment was white and glistering." Then it says that Moses and Elias appeared in glory. The Mount of Transfiguration (Luke 9:28-31) lets us know that Jesus, as a Holy Ghost filled man, subject to like passions as you and I are, prayed. His countenance changed and he appeared in glory. He talked to Elijah and Moses. He did it. Yeah, but he was God! You can't kill God on a cross!!! He is God all right but that is not the part that he worked in this body with.

He lowered himself to our form. He took on sinful flesh, but he didn't sin. He became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God through him. This is what I am talking about: this reconciliation, this righteousness of Christ. We can take it on. God wants us to. John 4:23-24 says, "(23) But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. (24) God is a spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth."

God is calling out of heaven saying, "COME UP HITHER." God wants us to get up out of this lackadaisical, beaten body of death that we yield to day in and day out. By yourself, you couldn't live for God if you screamed for it. You couldn't do anything straight, but if you yield to the Lord, by his Spirit he will translate you and put you in the clift of the rock where nothing shall be impossible to you. You can give God glory for a change! I am tired of disappointing God, because it disappoints me. I want to get into the place where I don't disappoint him, where I can have confidence toward God.

Psalm 84:11, ". . . no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly." I want to appear with him in glory. Well, you will when you die. Hebrews lists some, saying, ". . . These all died in faith. . . ." If we yield over to God, I believe we can die in faith. Our life will be hid with Christ in God. That is where I want to be! I don't mind going to the mall once in a while; I get some popcorn there. I don't mind eating out, but God has got things in heaven I want a whole lot more. I'm willing to give up quite a bit just to get it. In fact, I'll give it all up just to get it!

You've got to hunger and thirst after righteousness. Jesus said the water that the worldly well will give you . . . you will thirst again in a little while. The food you eat . . . you will get hungry again in a little while. If you don't take good care of it, it will make you sick. John 4:14, "But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." What are you doing with that drink of water? just letting it run?

We're building a habitation for God. 1 Peter 2:4-5 " (4) To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious. (5) Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." The priesthood is those who stand before God to intercede. We are acceptable to God by Jesus Christ! Christ is in you the hope of glory. We're supposed to be offering up spiritual sacrifices by praying in the Spirit! If you have the Holy Ghost, it is an actual luxury, if you will use it. It is also a tremendous responsibility. We are built up a spiritual house. That is a habitation for God. Jesus said he was going to prepare a place for us. He said in his Father's house were many mansions.

1 Peter 2:6, "Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded." Jesus is the chief corner stone and he starts the building. Then God makes us lively stones and he slips us in there with tempered mortar to make us part of the building, fitly joined together. Remember Ephesians 2:21, "In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord:" Fitly framed (properly, perfectly) to make up a house. I'm gonna show you how this will come to pass.

Isaiah 56:1, "Thus saith the LORD, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for my salvation is near to come, and my righteousness to be revealed." This is a wonderful promise. Luke 21:28, "And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."

Remember, he wants you to be a lively stone! Isaiah 56:5, "Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off." Remember, he said that in his house are many mansions. The walls it is talking about are in new Jerusalem. The place is the place he is going to prepare for us according to John 14. He will give a name better than of sons and of daughters. According to Galatians, we start out as servants and are under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the Father. We must begin to put away childish things and become men. As we go on into the deep things of God, we can be called a son of God. God said, ". . . This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased." God is not well pleased in some, so he leaves them.

There is a place that goes beyond being called a son or a daughter of God!!! He will give a place in his walls. You are a lively stone and he just mortars you right in. He has a place in the wall for you! Isaiah 49:16 says, ". . . thy walls are continually before me." He said he will give them an everlasting name! Now you are a stone and he wants to put you in that place with an everlasting name! When he kills you and he raises you back up a new man, that is not the same man, so he can't call you the same name. I've heard people say, That ain't the Kevin Badgley I know! I thank God for it. You tellin' me he's a preacher? In the area where I used to run around, somebody said, We talkin' about THE Kevin Badgley--he is a preacher? That's not the one I know! Well, he's not the same man. You are not the same person either, if you're living for God. You are different. Day by day you're going to change. A lot of people get upset because their spouse is changing. They might be saved along with the spouse, but they don't understand it and say their spouse is getting weird. You know why? because they are changing faster than the other one. They are yielding over to God more than the other one.

Read Isaiah 56:5 again. Then look at verses 6-7. "(6) Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant; (7) Even them will I bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of prayer. . . ." Jude 1:20, "But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost." By prayer in the Holy Ghost, God puts you in that place. Didn't know what you had, did you? Isaiah 56:7 continued, ". . . their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar; for mine house shall be called an house of prayer for all people." Whosoever will may come.

Now you are lively stones, mortared in, put in that place in God. He gives you an everlasting name. Jesus prepared us a place; we're lively stones; we're fitly joined together. We are supposed to be on the wall of God with an everlasting name. What is this thing? I have a sure word of prophecy found in Revelations. The devil tells you that you will never amount to nothin'. I will tell what you could amount to if you would. Everything I'm talking about here is conditional. If you hear this message and you think you will obtain these things just by floating along with the rest of the church . . . no. This is all conditional.

Now these scriptures should all start fitting together. Get out of the natural and get into the things of God. Revelation 2:17, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." That stone is a lively stone! If it comes from heaven, it is lively! There is no death in heaven. The rocks we got down here are dead! They just lay there and look at you. A rock can stare you down. Did you ever stare at a rock? Jesus said we need to be praising him. He said the rocks would cry out if the people didn't praise him. Luke 19:40, "I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out." The rocks will cry out and praise the Lord if you don't! Some people have had visions of heaven. One common thread that runs through every vision and every testimony I ever heard was that "everything was alive!"

You and I were dead in trespasses and sins. We made a part of hell's foundation. When you got saved, God turned that around and he made you a lively stone by the power that is in Christ Jesus. He has made a place for you to be fitly joined together to make up a habitation of God in yourself, in the church, in your family, and wherever two or three are gathered together in the name of Jesus. It is a habitation for God. Here we see that if we overcome we can go deeper, and we will be given a white stone, and in the stone a new name written. Isaiah 56:5, "Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off." No man knoweth that new name but he that receiveth it. You are the only one that is going to get that name. Nobody is going to pray it in for you; it is to him that overcometh.

Look at Revelation 3:12. "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God. . . ." I don't mind being a brick in the wall, but if I can be a pillar in the temple of my God . . . Whew! The Bible says you can grow! You can come out from among them. You can even go further than just being an old rock or a stone. You can grow up into a holy habitation of the Lord. God can make you a fenced brazen wall like he did one of the prophets. Here we see we can go further and be a pillar. A pillar holds up the roof, the covering. You might say, I've got God, but in that day, God will have you!

Revelation 3:12, "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." The name of God is the everlasting name. I believe Jesus will write upon him his new name.

Get a hold of God. You can only chase after God so long and then he will catch you. That is the way I did with my wife. I chased after so long, and then she caught me. It feels good to be wanted. Some cases are dead or alive. If you want them, want them, want them, and you don't get it back, it ain't much. God wanted you a long time before you ever wanted him. He said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you. . . ." Jesus sought us first. We cannot even come to God except the Father draw us. That is why it is so precious to have God pulling on your heart and dealing with you to come. Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." It is a precious thing to have God deal with you, no matter how miserable you are. Come to Jesus. Then when he says to come on more, go with it.

When God deals with some people, they break out in a sweat and get nervous, and have to go potty, and all these things. The time will come when God will quit. He will leave you alone. You won't read his Book, you won't listen, and you won't care. You can go to sleep when the power of God is just plastering everybody else out. You will never see God. People think in their heart that they will come to God when they see miracles. It could be that God is dealing with you tonight, before you see any miracles. The biggest one is gonna be in you. You may never see a miracle till you see that one first. Pray they don't wait too long. I pray they haven't already.

Hebrews 11:16, "But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly: wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God: for he hath prepared for them a city." This is talking about those that died in faith. He's talking about those that are deceased, yet he is talking in present tense. Notice that? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. Amen. The building material for this city is his sons and daughters. Jesus is the door. We are the temple of the Holy Ghost. We are not our own; we are bought with a price. We are building materials. We are designed by the hand of God to hold the Spirit of the living God.

God has prepared a place for us and a whole city to hold all those places in. Jesus said in John 14:2, "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." His house is made up of many mansions. Do you see it? We are the body of Christ. When we start getting closer to God down here we start building a habitation for God (beginning down here). Some day soon we are going to be finishing it up there. It is gonna be a place where God is. We are the body of Christ, but it is built like a holy temple, a building fitly joined together in the Lord. Some people aren't an arm, or a leg, or a hand, or an ear. Some people are a cancer in the body of Christ. God is either going to get them converted or he is going to root them out. I don't want to grow and be a cancer in the body.

Remember the city and the place in the wall he has prepared. Now, get your mind off of bricks and stuff like that. I use the terms but I want you to think about the body of Christ. Revelation 21:1-5, "(1) And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. (2) And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (3) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. (4) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. (5) And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful."

Old things are passed away. The first heaven and earth passed away. The new Jerusalem was as a bride. How many cities have you ever seen with a veil on? How many guys do you know that marry cities? 2 Corinthians 5:17, "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." Jesus is the one that does it. As you yield over to God you become new.

Some things they were told not to write but he told him to write this down so we would know and learn. These words are true and faithful. These words are true. You can hold on to it; you know it's so. These words are faithful, and if you obey it, it will come to pass in your life. It is going to come to pass soon.

Revelation 21:9-11, "(9) And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife." We are the bride of Christ. "(10) And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, (11) Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;" It was common for John to be out in the Spirit. This whole passage of scripture shows a translation. The great and high mountain is Mount Zion. Verse 11 says it has the glory of God . . . not of flesh and blood.

Revelation 21, verse 12 says the city had a wall. It had a wall? Isaiah 56 mentions a wall. Revelation 21:12-14. "(12) And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:" These are peoples, nations, tongues, and individuals that make up the wall of the Lord in Jerusalem. This city had walls with twelve gates in it and there were twelve angels; an angel was at each gate. "(13) On the east three gates; on the north three gates; on the south three gates; and on the west three gates. (14) And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb." The wall had twelve foundations. That is how many layers the walls were sitting on. The walls were built on twelve foundations. We just have one foundation under this church, and it is plenty, but God's city will never fall! It has twelve foundations. In the foundations are the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb. Jesus is the Lamb. Remember, you had a stone and a new name written therein? These are whole foundations that have names written in them.

Revelation 21: 15-17, "(15) And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. (16) And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal." He that talked with John was the angel. The length, breadth, and height are equal; it is like a cube. "(17) And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel." Every stone is the measure of a man. We are lively stones. The angel is a witness. Verse 18-21 talks more about the building of it all.

Revelation 21:22, "And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it." Jesus said in John 14:2, "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." Every house has an exterior wall. Within this house there are other mansions, we find out from Jesus. There is no temple therein so it is all of God. The Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it. There is no need of the sun because God and the Lamb are the light of it. The glory is so bright, they don't need the sun. The one who created the sun is there.

This is the condition! Hear me! Revelation 21:27, "And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life." You know what defileth the whole body? the flapping tongue of a man or a woman (or a young person). The Bible says so. Your carnal tongue cannot enter the kingdom of heaven; mine can't either. Psalm 50:23, "Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me: and to him that ordereth his conversation aright, will I show the salvation of God." Matthew 12:34, ". . . for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. It speaks by the tongue. We've got to be changed into the same image of Christ. We'd better let God do it.

We are builded together for a habitation of God. It doesn't stop here. As you are building the house of God here, that is how big your house will be in heaven. When you get to heaven, you will be part of the largest house, which is God's house, his body, his structure. If we have a problem with being like Jesus and think his image is a bit below us, then we need to re-examine the Christ that is in the Bible.

Christ is too meek for some. They want to be more brazen. Some people like to be the life of the party. Sometimes that gets in the way of God. What if you are making a jest and the anointing and the power of God was on you and you jested that, You know, you are a real idiot! They become an idiot forever. You may say, Well, I don't want to live a straight and narrow life like that. I'll try to go another way. You need to pray about it. You say, Well, Brother Kevin, you sound to me like you are making it tougher than it's ever been. It has always been this way. Nobody ever told you!

In Luke 10:19 Jesus said, "Behold I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you." The Bible also declares in John 1:12, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:" We can go beyond that and become a stone in the temple of our God. You can go beyond that and become a pillar in the house of our God. How far do you want to go? Let's go all the way with Christ.

Father, I ask you to bless this word. God, let it sink down deep in their ears. We certainly do not understand it all, but I know you want to reveal and open your word more so that folks will quit questioning and will start believing God. Lord, there are many things that we will not know until Glory, but thank you Lord for opening up the scriptures and letting us know that it is possible for whosoever will to come in to the deeper things of God and to live there all the days of this life and in eternity. God, it is available to us, and is calling to us, and it is possible for us. God, let us not be satisfied where we're at. God, don't let a soul that hears this message by any means or time, be satisfied with what they are eating now, what they are doing now, but let them seek first the kingdom of God, in Jesus name. Amen.

References: Psalm 91:1,9,13, & 14, Revelation 3:20, John 15:4, Ephesians 2:18-22, John 14:1-6, Acts, 2 Corinthians 5, Galatians 4:6, Jude 1:20, Luke 14:27-30, Isaiah 55:1, 2 Corinthians 3:18, Colossians 3:1-4, Revelation 3:15-16, Hebrews 11:5, Matthew 7:13, John 17:24, 1 Peter 1:12, Luke 9:28-31, John 4:23-24, Psalm 84:11, Hebrews 11:13, Matthew 5:6, John 4:14, 1 Peter 2:4-6, Luke 21:28, Isaiah 56:1-5, Matthew 3:17, Isaiah 49:16, Revelation 2:17, Luke 19:38-40, Matthew 18:20, 2 Corinthians 6:16, 2 Peter 3:18, Jeremiah 15:20, John 6:44, Revelation 3:12, John 15:16, Matthew 11:28, Hebrews 11:16, Matthew 22:32, 1 Corinthians 6:18, 2 Corinthians 5:17, Revelation 21, Revelation 21:9-17, Revelation 21:22, John 14:2, Revelation 21:27, Psalm 50:23, Matthew 12:34, Luke 10:19, John 1:12.

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