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February 17th, 2008
“A People For His Name”
We are the most fortunate and
blessed people who live upon the
earth. Through Jesus Christ,
God’s only begotten Son, we now
have unfettered access to the
Father and have received the
blessed promise of the Holy
Spirit.
We have an Old Testament
picture of our access to the
“Presence of God” in David’s
Tabernacle. David had gone to
the house of Abinadab at Kirjath
Jearim to bring the Ark to
Jerusalem. They placed it upon
a new cart, thinking this to be
a great honor for the Ark.
Along the way, one of the oxen
stumbled and Uzza placed his
hand on the Ark to steady it and
died suddenly. David became
angry with God and refused to
bring it to Jerusalem but left
it with Obed-Edom for three
months. These three month
brought unprecedented blessings
to Obed-Edom’s home.
David repented of his anger
toward God and inquired of the
priests the manner in which the
Ark should be transported. They
brought it to Jerusalem upon the
shoulders of the Priests and
placed it in a tent that David
had erected for it. The Ark of
God was not behind a curtain but
in the middle of the tent.
Let’s explore the New
Testament significance. In Acts
15:6-21, we find that this
tabernacle prefigured our place
in God’s Kingdom. The Scripture
says, “. . . After much dispute,
Peter rose up and said to them:
men and brethren, you know that
a good while ago God chose among
us, that by my mouth the
Gentiles should hear the Word of
the Gospel and believe.” Peter
went on to say that God made no
distinction between Jew and
Gentile by giving both the Holy
Spirit and purifying their
hearts by faith.
James made an important
decision saying, “Men and
brethren listen to me: Simon
has declared how God at the
first visited the Gentiles to
take out of them a people for
His name.” We are the people
for His name! We are brought
forth to bear His name with all
of its blessings and
responsibilities!
The giving of the Holy Spirit
was seen by the Apostles as the
restoration of David’s
tabernacle that had fallen
down. Acts 15:16-17 says,
“after this, I will return and
will rebuild the tabernacle of
David, which has fallen down; I
will rebuild its ruins, and I
will set it up; So that the rest
of mankind may seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who are
called by My name, says the Lord
who does all these things.”
Let us as His own special
people seek Him with
unprecedented vigor, knowing our
purpose as we pursue our God.
In Christ,
Pastor Don |
