Heart For The House

God wanted a house

So in Exodus chapter 25, to catch you up, there’s this amazing man, Moses. And Moses is on a mountain with God. There’s been a lot of amazing things that have happened. Israel has been delivered from Egyptian 400 years of Egyptian captivity and slavery. The Red Sea was split, the plagues came, you know, Pharaoh was humbled, let’s say, and God came and rescued his people. And it’s just interesting to see that after all of that has happened, the very first instruction that God gives his people, it’s not a law. He didn’t say, don’t do that. It’s not a law, it’s not a worship style telling them how to worship. It’s not even like a political structure now that they’re on their own and they have to figure out how they’re gonna form. But God says something very different. The first instruction that he gives them. Look at this, Exodus chapter 25 and verse 8. He says this:

then have them make a sanctuary for me, and I will dwell among them. Make this tabernacle and all its furnishings exactly like the pattern I show you.

So it’s interesting. What God says is he says this, hey, make me a sanctuary. Make me a place, build me a house. And then he says this, and I will live with you. I don’t know if y’all remember the movie Field of Dreams. Classic. I used to watch it with my dad growing up, The Field of Dreams, great movie. The hot dog scene always scared me where the kid almost chokes on the hot dog. That was a little traumatic when I was a kid. But I’m sure what if you even if you don’t know anything about Field of Dreams, you know Kevin Costner there in the cornfield saying, If you build it, he will come. Apparently, people think it’s they will come, but it’s actually he will come, about I believe his deceased father. Is that right? But if you build it, he will come. And I just want to let you know that God said that first. You know what I mean? Like thousands of years first. That’s not a Hollywood line, that’s a Bible line. I’m gonna read it one more time. God says this build me a sanctuary, and I will dwell among them. God is the original, if you build it, he will come.

And then the entire Bible, from Genesis all the way to Revelation, the story is God trying to get back into the house with his people. And it starts in Genesis in a garden and it ends in the book of Revelation in a city. But the entire Bible is about God trying to get back into dwelling with his people. So Eden, you can if you know this, the Garden of Eden, God is walking with man. It says that he walked with Adam in the cool of the day. He so he was he was there. He started out in relationship, co-inhabiting with his people. And the rest of scripture is all about trying to recover that relational intimacy that happened with us in Eden, where God and His people dwell together. Are you with me?

Okay, and so in Scripture, that kind of takes a little bit of a timeline kind of thing. The first one is called the Tabernacle. That’s what we just read. It’s like the tabernacle is basically a tent. So it’s like God’s starter home. You know what I mean? Me and Jordan, we bought 9th Street. That was our first house, 960 square feet. We bought it for 111,000, which apparently doesn’t even buy you a bathtub anymore. Yeah, so it had cinder block walls, and so like whenever it was really cold on the outside, the water would like run down the inside of the walls. It was really kind of a place. Well, that’s sort of like the tabernacle. It’s like God’s starter home. But it’s cool because they’re able to take it with them. So it moves with Moses and the people through the wilderness. And the reason that the tabernacle came to be was that God commanded them. He says, build me a place and I’m gonna show up. That’s right. He says, build me a place and I’ll be with you. And he does, and the glory of God fills the temple.

Well, after a while, the tabernacle is replaced by something called the temple. Y’all probably know the temple. And what’s interesting about the temple, though, is God never commanded the temple. God didn’t even ever ask for the temple. The temple, the temple was we read about it first chronicles chapter 28. King David, he’s a great man. It’s probably the most rich biblical narrative in the entire Old Testament. Well, he’s a king, and he finally gets a palace. And one day he looks around and he’s like, wait a second, I live in this amazing palace, and God lives in a tent. That ain’t right. He says, that that shouldn’t be. That doesn’t seem fair. And look at what David says, 1 Chronicles chapter 28, verse 2.

I had it in my heart to build a house as a place of rest for the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord.

So this is the Genesis, the creation of the temple is that God is that David says, I had it in my heart to build God a temple. So the tabernacle was God’s command, but the temple was a result of God’s heart. And at first, God says, like, I kind of like the tent. That’s what he said. He says, I he says, I it’s easy, it’s portable, the great great symbolism, it goes with you, my presence goes with you wherever you go. I really I’m really more of an outdoor deity. You know? David’s like, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. He says, I’m building you a temple, and it’s gonna be amazing. So God says, okay, he God goes with it, he blesses it, he uses it. And even look at what God says once the temple is built. He says this, 2 Chronicles chapter 7, verse 16.

I have chosen and consecrated this temple so that my name may be there forever.

And then listen to this sentence: My eyes and my heart will always be there. Isn’t that amazing? My heart, my eyes, and my heart will always be there. I want you to know this that God has a heart for his house. God has a heart for his house.

And then in the New Testament, you fast forward, the house gets transferred again. But it’s a little different in the New Testament because now the house of God isn’t built with stones and wood. Look at what Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 3.

God’s household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and the foundation of truth.

So here he’s saying this that the house of God is no longer the tabernacle, and the house of God is no longer the temple. Now the house of God is this new thing called the church. It’s the same word, it’s the same heart, but it’s a new form, and it’s made, again, not of wood, not of metal, not of stone. It’s made of human flesh. And so instead of God dwelling in a specific place, he dwells on the inside of this entity called the church. And so God’s house, God has always wanted a house, but it’s transferred. It started as the temple, it transitioned to, or it started as the tabernacle, it switched to the temple, and then it switched to the church. But God has always wanted to dwell with his people.

And I want you to know this. Buildings matter to God. And some people are gonna say, and I say this often, well, you know, the church is not a building, and that’s true. The church is not a building. But the church is a gathering, and people gather in buildings. You know what I’m saying? Like it doesn’t have to be pretty, it doesn’t have to be perfect, but it’s but it’s God has always had an agreed upon place that if you go there, I’ll meet you there. He’s always had that. It doesn’t have to be beautiful, it doesn’t have to be nice, doesn’t have to have screens, doesn’t have to sound have a sound system. Like I remember years ago, decades ago now, good Lord. I went on a mission trip to Russia when I was, I think 20. And so we were on the plane, and they said, Oh, here’s what we’re gonna do. Y’all are gonna, you know, y’all little little seminary students here, you guys are gonna preach in these revival, and we’re like, awesome! We’re so we’re you know, we’re full of Jesus, we’re we’re pumped up on it, we’re thinking, oh my gosh, it’s probably gonna be these arenas, revival, listen to the sound of that. And so, you know, we so we show up, and that’s not exactly what it is. Instead, we go to these small little villages and we do these revivals in like these broken down, abandoned buildings, broke-out windows, like graffiti on them, and we’re like, whose building is this? I don’t even know, I don’t even know where I am right now. I’m not even sure I’m safe. And they the way that they did the they had pews, the pews were just two buckets and a two by four. And these things were packed, and we would do there was no worship, there was no music, there was no sound system, but we would talk because we all got to talk. We would talk for four hours with an interpreter, and they loved it every minute of it. They loved it, but the lights were terrible, the sound was terrible, no air conditioning, it you know, it stunk, nothing was great. But you know what? They it wasn’t about the building, they it wasn’t about the quality of the building, it was about the quality of the heart. And so it doesn’t have to be a pretty place, but just understand this principle that God has always had an agreed upon place where he would come and meet with his people. And God didn’t start wanting that in the book of Acts. He has been building towards the church ever since the beginning of the Bible. But tabernacle, temple to the church. Are you with me?

Jesus built the house

Okay, number one, God wanted a house. Number two is this Jesus built the house. God wanted a house, and Jesus built the house. So if we think we’re in Exodus, we jump like a few thousand years later, God had the tabernacle, God had the temple. But now one day Jesus is with his disciples, and he puts them on the spot. I love when Jesus does this. Here’s what he says, Matthew chapter 16, verse 13.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, who do people say the Son of Man is?

So basically he’s saying this what’s the talk of the town about me? What do people say about me? What do you what do y’all think people think about me? And look, look at what they say.

Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.

So these are all wrong, right? People who don’t know Jesus always underestimate him. Right? It’s like, oh, he’s just a teacher. Oh, he’s just a philosopher. Like you hear that today, too. Like, oh, he’s a great teacher, blah, blah, blah. But that was even happening then. But people don’t who don’t know Jesus don’t understand how much and how big Jesus is. Oh, he’s a wide say, you know, you listen to Buddhist teachings, and it’s like, oh yeah, Jesus was very smart. But this is what he actually meant. This was people who don’t know Jesus don’t understand how big and how significant he is and his kingdom is. So that’s what they say. They say, yeah, people think you’re like maybe John the Baptist or you know, a prophet or something. And then look at this.

But what about you? He asked. Who do you say that I am?

And I love this question. Because I think every Christian hits this moment with Jesus where it’s like, it’s not about what your parents say about me. Right? It’s not about what your church says about me. It’s not about what culture says about me. It’s not enough that your parents believe in me. Right? Who do you say that I am? Who am I to you? I’ve done youth ministry for a long time, and I tell all youth ministers that what you got when you got a youth ministry, which is great, is you got a bunch of God’s grandkids in there. And that’s cool. Grandkids are cool, right? But they’re God’s kids because their parents are God’s kids. But at some point, hopefully the transition happens where these amazing teenagers stop being God’s grandkids and they start being God’s kids. Right? It’s not enough that your parents believe what you say about me. So that’s what Jesus asks the disciples.

Simon Peter answered, You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

It’s amazing. He’s saying this, the Messiah, he’s saying, You’re the king. You have authority over heaven. You came to save your people, establish your kingdom on earth. And now watch what Jesus says.

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it.

I will build my church. I could do a whole sermon series on that sentence, but I’m not gonna, but I’ve just got a couple things that I want to point out in it. First, notice this. He says this, I will build my church. Right? So notice he didn’t say, You build my church. Right? He didn’t it’s he says, he says, I will build my church. It’s not, oh, we’re gonna put a committee together and they’re gonna build the church, a denomination’s gonna come and build the church, the Pope’s gonna build the church. He says this, I will build my church. I’m gonna do it. I just want I want you to know this that as you sit in a church, just understand this. This is his project. This is his church. It’s not yours, it’s not mine, it’s not the founding pastors as much as I love them, right? It’s not the new pastors as incredible as they are. Just kidding. Right? It’s not that Jesus says this, I will build my church. I’m gonna do it. Right? So just understand that when you see the church historically, generation after generation after generation after generation, this is not a man-made work. Right? We get to partner with it, but it’s his church. I will build my church.

And then notice he says this, will, will, right? So this is future tense. When he says this, there isn’t a church yet. Right? They’re like, they’re like, oh, what? They’re like, cool, cool, cool. What I will build my church. Paul hasn’t been converted, the book of Acts hadn’t been written. But what’s happening is that Jesus is looking 2,000 years into the future. And he’s saying, watch this. I’m gonna build something, not just for a generation, not just for a single people, but I’m gonna build it through the generations. And he’s still saying it. He’s still building the church right now. Like again, think about six middle schoolers last week giving their life to Jesus. That’s not a man-made work. Jesus is still building his church.

And then he says something amazing in the scripture. I wonder if you notice, he said this, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I think lots of people, when they think of the church, what they think of is like this tiny little fortress. You know what I mean? That’s just like taking arrows, like we’re in a tiny little bunker, and like hell is on the outside, battering the doors in, and let’s us in inside, which like hoping to survive. But actually, when you look at scripture, it’s the exact opposite. Hell has the gates. Right, right, right. And the church is charging hell. It’s not a defensive verse, right? It’s an offensive verse. The church is the army of God on the move, and hell is playing defense. Right? So it’s not, we’re not hiding away, we’re attacking. We’re on the offense. So just understand that it’s like what you don’t want to do is don’t think like, oh, I come to this church and it’s cool, and it’s kind of like a cool, safe space, and the world is so scary, but we can just come in here and hide. That’s the wrong way to think about it. Right? That it’s like we come in here to get equipped, to get filled up, to get built, but then we’re the ones attacking. Right? We’re fighting, we’re fighting the forces of darkness. We’re fighting wickedness, we’re fighting the world, we’re fighting our flesh, right? But we’re the ones going on the attack.

And I always think about I like to joke like this, and I think there’s I think there’s two kinds of men in the world. One, it’s men who build stuff, and the other is men who hire people to build stuff. And I am squarely in the second camp. So let y’all know. Right, like people like Donald Preston. These guys shame me. Because they build things with their own hand, they install tile, they knock down walls, they build gazebos, and they build stuff. But you know what? I here’s what I’ve noticed. I’ve never gone into a remodeled bathroom and praised the hammer. You see what I’m saying? Like I’ve never gone into a nice bathroom, and it’s like, wow, where is the screwdriver? I need to tell him. Good job. Right. No, no, the praise goes to the one using the tool. But it’s not about it’s not the tool. And I think about that when Jesus says this, I will build my church, right? Jesus is the builder. We’re not the builders, right? We’re the hammer. We’re the screwdriver, we’re the tool in his hand, but he’s the one doing the work. And what’s amazing is this is that he uses us, and that he even allows us, invites us to build with him. He even calls us co-laborers, which is a very gracious thing to say. Just so long as you understand it’s not 50, 50. Right? But we are building with him. Look at this, 1 Corinthians chapter 3, verse 9.

For we are co-workers in God’s service. You are God’s field, God’s building.

More building talk, right? He says, you are God’s building. We’re co-workers, so but we’re not the architect, we’re not the general contractor. But he lets us and invites us to put our hands on what he’s building. We’re partnering with Jesus to build this church. And I just want you to think about the scale of what he’s building. Because you look at any one church and it’s like, yeah, that’s pretty, you know, it’s cool, it’s impressive, or whatever. But just understand this, that there are over four currently over four million Christian churches in the world. Four million. Contrast that with something like Starbucks. You think Starbucks in every corner, yeah. There’s about 35,000 of them. Right? And so that means that for every Starbucks, there’s a hundred and fourteen Christian churches. Currently. Right? And that’s just currently because Starbucks has been around for 50 years. But the church has been around for 2,000 years. And so Jesus is building this church, but Jesus is also building the church. A great and glorious church that impacts the world and becomes the vehicle through which the kingdom of God comes to the world. And so when you show up to a local church, you know what I mean? It’s like you’re not joining a human organization. Yeah, I guess I should become a member, so I’m in their database or whatever. It’s like not, it’s not a cost co-membership. When you’re taking your part in the local church, you are becoming a piece of the of, I’m not even say organization, the organism that God uses to bring his kingdom into the world. You’re taking your place in what Jesus builds with his own hands.

Jesus loves the house

Number one, God wanted a house. Number two, Jesus built the house. Number three, and I’m done, Jesus loves the house. Jesus loves the house. Amen. You know, the book of Ephesians chapter five, y’all many of you know it, but these are like classic husband and wife, vow renewal, wedding type of scriptures. But what’s interesting about the scriptures in Ephesians chapter five is it’s talking about a husband and a wife, but it’s contrasting that with Jesus and his church. And so if you in one way you can say this is mostly about husbands and wives, but if you flip it, you can see that it also says something about Jesus and the church. I would like to read it for you. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 25 says this:

husbands love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

So Jesus didn’t just want the church, Jesus didn’t just build the church, but Jesus loves the church. And he gave himself up for her. And I want you to hear this because I think this is easy to miss. That a lot of people understand Jesus died for me. Do you understand that? Jesus died for me. And they also understand Jesus died for you. But I think a lot of people at least don’t think about it like this. It says here that Jesus died for the church. He gave himself up, not only individually for us, he gave himself up for the church. The imperfect church. That he would come and like for me, I just I’m what I’m wanting to communicate to you this morning is this is that like you gotta decide at the end of the day if the church is valuable to you. And if it is, then you can’t let anyone take that from you. Because you gotta understand that it’s like the church is deeply imperfect. It is like, you know, I’ve been going to this church my entire adult life, and I can tell you like the most profound wounds that I have as a person has come from this church. Right? Or at least come on the inside of this church, come from people in this church. I’ve the most profound betrayals I’ve ever experienced has come from people in this church, right? The most agony that I have felt has come from the people of this church. But you know what? This the same is true on the other side too. That it’s like my best, my best experiences in life have come from the people that I’ve met in this church. My best friends are in this church. I met my wife at this church. I met my best friends at this church. And so for me, it’s like I what I don’t want to do is I don’t want to pretend like this church is gonna ever be perfect for you. I know that’s not gonna be the case, right? Because if for no other reason I’m leading it, you know what I mean? Like there’s just gonna be times when I say things that you don’t like, and there’s gonna be times when I don’t say something and you think I should have. You know, people leave, something crazy happens in the world, and I say something, and people leave the church. Come on, crazy happens in the world, and I don’t say something, people leave the church. It’s like just understand this. That it’s like I’m gonna let you down. I’m gonna even, you know, Pastor Marshall, Pastor, they’re gonna let you down. And like I think about Tommy Barnett is a cool pastor, pastor for a long time. He talks to pastors now, he’s up in age. And he talks about how pastors like how it’s just so common for pastors on Monday morning to want to quit. And he said, he says, you can enjoy the luxury of wanting to quit so long as you’ve decided you’re not gonna quit. He says, but if you’ve already decided you’re not gonna quit, then you can enjoy wanting to quit all you want. And like I think of it, I think like that’s how church should be. You know what I mean? That it’s like you can wanna leave just so long as you’ve already decided you’re not gonna leave. You know what I mean? Because there’s nothing that a person can do that’s gonna pull you away from this thing that Jesus so deeply loves. And you’re gonna do your best, and I’m gonna do my best, and I’m gonna like do something, and it’s not gonna be right, and it’s not gonna work, and we’re gonna adjust and we’re gonna figure it out. But just understand this that it’s like what we need to have is devotion, not to not you you don’t need devotion to me, but what you need is devotion to what God is doing in the world. And like, and like I just can’t imagine someone who says, like, what I want to do is I want to build the kingdom of God in the world and aren’t part of the church. It’s just it doesn’t make any sense. But because we can do so much more together than we can individually. And so when you come, I just want a resolution as one of your pastors. I want you to just decide this. This is like David’s gonna let me down, worship’s gonna be weird sometimes. I’m not gonna like the sound, I’m not gonna care for the new logo, I’m not gonna care for this, I’m gonna, I wish they did this. You can do all of that. That’s fine, totally fine. But just decide that it’s like I’m not gonna let any of that take me out of what God wants to do in me and through me. Because this place isn’t where you come to consume. This is a place where you come to experience and live out your purpose. Right? That it’s like a lot of people think that it’s like the church is a service you provide. Like this is where you come when you get married, this is when you come when you get broken up with. This is where you come when you’re having a bad day, and like we provide a service that somehow, but it’s like no, no, this is where we come to serve, right? We fill up here, and so that we get clear on how we’re supposed to spend Monday through Saturday, and it’s not perfect, it’s just never gonna be perfect.

And I’ve learned this as a dad, like I’ve got an eight-year-old daughter whose name is Grace, y’all know that. And when Grace is sweet and she’s obedient and she’s doing what I say, I love her and I feel like her dad. But you know when I feel most like her dad is when she’s acting terribly. I think every parent knows this. That it’s like, you know when I when when the undying devotion really comes out of you is when they’re disobeying and they’re not doing what you say and they make you want to scream. You know what I mean? Like that’s when you feel the most like their parent. Why? Because if Grace was an employee, she’d be fired by now. You know what I’m saying? I fired her a long time ago. You know what I’m saying? Like, but she but she’s not my employee. She’s my eight-year-old daughter, right? And daughters don’t just fall out of the family. Come on, right? And so it’s like Jesus, Jesus loves the church, not because she always gets it right. Jesus loves the church in spite of the fact that we so often get it wrong. Even when the church stumbles, even when the church is disobedient, even when the church like forgets for a season what it’s even here for, you know, like through all of that, right? We don’t just we don’t just fall out. We’re where Jesus is just done with us, right? Because the church isn’t Jesus’ employee. The church is Jesus’ bride. Amen. And a bride doesn’t just fall out of the family. Right? Right? And watch, I’m sure, I’m sure husbands in the room might feel me on this, but it’s like, look, if you say you love me and you constantly disrespect my wife, I don’t like you. That’s right. You know what I’m saying? Like, like maybe you’re like, man, Pessy David, I just love you, but Jordan, not a fan. That’s a fictional person. I’d be like, get out of here. Like, who even are you? And that’s not because I think my wife is perfect. I know my wife isn’t perfect. She’s closer than me, but she’s still not perfect. Right? But you can’t badmouth her and be cool with me. You know what I’m saying? She could be dead wrong, but if you badmouth her, you can’t have me. If I’m not, if you’re not a fan of my wife, I’m not a fan of you. You don’t get me without her. Right. Why? Because September 26th, 2008, I looked it up. Yeah, I just had to look out. She’s got a tattoo, and I should. That date, Jordan and I entered into a covenant. We’re two become one, and what I have with her surpasses anything that I have with you. Right? And so you don’t get David without Jordan. Oh, I just like David, but I don’t like Jordan. Yeah, it’s cool. That’s not on the table. That’s not what’s being offered. And I just want you to know that in the same way, Jesus entered into a covenant with his church. Doesn’t mean she’s always right. She’s not, right? But he entered into a covenant sealed by his blood. He died for the church, and he is committed to her beauty. He is committed to her flourishing. And like, if you want to say, like, man, I just love Jesus, but I just like to badmouth the church. I just want to tell you like you don’t get him without her. Right? Because what he has with the church surpasses anything that he has with individual people. Like that, you know what I mean? Like you might, you might be a beloved son or daughter, but the church is his bride. Amen. Right? And so I people who just want to dis dissolve that, I just want to say that it’s like, that’s just not how it works. Right? Was it Augustine? Someone famously said, like anyone who has God as his father must have the church as his mother. Right? That it’s like it’s a relationship that you can’t get between. God and his church.

And you know, like my generation is obsessed with church hurt and church trauma. And I’m so I’m not minimizing any of that, but it’s like, oh, yeah, I serves like there are lives who have been genuinely damaged in churches, and that’s true, and that’s real. But I’m just making a simple distinction here, which is this the church has never traumatized anybody, people in the church did. Come on. The church has never hurt anybody. People in the church did. And that’s and you know what? That’s why it’s so sharp on the inside of us when someone hurts you at the church. Right? It’s different than like if someone hurts you at work, it’s like, but man, when someone hurts you in the church, it’s profoundly sharp. The pain is sharp, it can live for a long time. Why? Because it’s so contrary to what the church is designed to be. But I’m not ignoring any of that, but I’m just saying I think the church deserves more than just hate and criticism. That’s right. I think the church deserves more than just having the same bad experience replayed online over and over and over and over and over. Because why, not because the church, the people in the church don’t do things wrong. The reason I think it deserves more than that is there is so much good that wouldn’t have happened that never would have happened without the church. The global church is God’s choice to bring the kingdom of heaven to the earth. Why? Because he chose it. And there’s thousands of expressions of church. I’m not saying this church, I’m not saying that church. There’s thousands of expressions. A tiny house church in Thailand to a megachurch in America, and there’s like everything in between. But church, all sorts of different expressions, all sorts of different places, different ages, different ethnicities, different backgrounds, like that is all the church. But God chose the church to bring his message of love and light to the world.

I’ve got one more picture for you. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 26, one more time. Talking about the church, it says this:

to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church. Radiant church without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish.

Isn’t that interesting? So what Jesus is doing is he’s presenting the church to himself, which is interesting language, right? That I’m presenting this to myself. That’s what a lot of people they’ve kind of like confused this because it says like no stain, no wrinkle, no blemish. And people mean it’s like, well, the church has to be sinless before Christ comes back. It’s like, well, I hope you have a long, I mean you have a big watch. Because it’s like that’s gonna take forever. That will never happen. It’s never gonna be the case where the church is suddenly perfect and Christ can finally return. Like that’s not what it’s saying. What I think it’s saying is something more like this. So I have officiated a lot of weddings. Libby and Luis, very early on. I can even look, I’m probably probably 40 people in here that I’ve done your weddings. I get to do a lot of weddings, it’s a great privilege. But if you I wonder if you can think about this, that at the wedding, there’s lots of guests, but there’s one angle that only the pastor sees. What do I mean? Okay, so let’s say, you know, we’re standing up there, I’m right next to the groom, and the bride comes out, and suddenly you can see the bride. Everyone turns in their seats, right? So like I see, I see everyone’s bald spots at that point in the wedding because they’re all looking away from me towards the bride. And at that moment, nobody’s looking at me, right? And I get a view that no one else gets, and it’s this, I get to see the groom. Because everyone else is looking away, right? And almost like without exception, when that happens, the groom is like overcome with her beauty. Right? That there’s just something profound about this moment where he sees her, and it’s like no matter what she thinks about herself, because she knows about every imperfection that she has, right? So she knows, man, I’m I don’t fit in this dress like I thought I should, and I can’t believe I have a zit and my hair and blah blah blah, and you know, my nose, and I hate it. Like she’s feeling all of that about herself at that moment, but in that moment, it’s like he doesn’t see any of that. He and he’s like overcome, he’s undone by her beauty. And I just think that’s the picture of like Jesus and his church. That he’s not, I think all this language is saying like he’s not tolerating you. He’s not putting up with you, he’s not settling, he’s not second guessing his choice up there, like they’re walking down, like should I actually no? No, he sees the church as radiant, right? As beautiful, and not because she’s perfect, right? But because that’s how he presents them to himself. That’s how he sees us.

Do we have a heart for what he has a heart for?

And so just what I’m wanting to get is like a really simple message this morning, but what I’m wanting to get is this that Jesus has a heart for the house. Jesus has a heart for the church, Jesus has a heart for like every local congregation meeting this morning worldwide. There’s pastors right now, all across the world that hate themselves because their church is 12 people. Right? And then they’re thinking, like, what did I do wrong? I’m not good at this, I must be blah, blah, blah, blah. And I just, what I want to communicate to everybody that I can is this is it’s like Jesus looks at that bride as beautiful. Right? As something sacred, spotless. How by the washing of the word. The reason that we’re able to stand boldly before God is not because we always get it right. It’s because of the sacrifice that Jesus made. And so here’s where I’m kind of wanting to land is this like none of this is about BC 2026, right? Because we’re like raising money and blah blah blah. It’s way bigger than that. The thing that I want to challenge you on this morning is this, and I’ve got it on the screen. Do we have a heart for what he has a heart for? Do we have a heart for what he has a heart for? Because here’s what I’ve noticed that people can like love Jesus in theory, but be cold to his church in practice. Right? Like they can show up for him on YouTube, but never show up for his people. Why because it’s easy. And so, like, you know, it’s like there’s people that say that they’re a Christian, but they have no covenant with like a local family of believers anywhere. And you might think, well, they’re too messed up. It’s like, well, so are you. You’re messed up too. Right? But it’s not about us being perfect. It’s about understanding that this gathering as imperfect and broken and frail and fragile and schizophrenic as it is, is the bride of Christ. And it’s something that should be important to us.

Psalm 92 is the last verse I have.

The righteous will flourish like a palm tree. Planted in the house of the Lord, they will flourish in the courts of our God.

I want you to watch that word planted. That’s the word planted. Right? Notice it doesn’t say, it doesn’t say those who attend will flourish. Those who visit will flourish. No, those who are planted will flourish. And this is just basic imagery that we see everywhere in the world. Like a tree that’s in a pot at the store doesn’t flourish. It’s not until you buy the tree and you come and you dig a hole and you put it in there, and it’s like where it can get roots. That’s when it can grow, that’s when it can produce fruit. That’s when a tree can provide shade for the next person. And so, like, so like if you’re a part of this house, what I’m asking you as one of the pastors is this love what Jesus loves. Right? Plant yourself here, show up, serve, invite your friends, give, right? But it’s not just, I’m not just coming here to consume. I’m not just here because it makes me feel good and it sets my week up right. No, no, I’m here because I’m part of the bride of Christ. And I’m gonna be disappointed and my heart’s gonna be wrung, I’m gonna be wounded. Spoiler alert, if you’re in a church long enough, you’re also gonna do some wounding yourself. Right? Like that’s gonna happen. Like you’re gonna be hurt and you’re gonna hurt other people. Right? That happens for me. It’s like sometimes people will say, look, boom, boom, boom, boom, and you said this, and I was like, Yeah, that was a joke, and that was horrible of me. You know what I mean? Like, I understand that I’m wounded, but I also wound. But I’ve just decided that it’s worth it. It’s worth it to stay a part of what God is doing. And so, like what I want you to have, what I’m hoping you have, is just like a bigger heart for the church. Right? And I’d rather you leave this place having a bigger heart than just a smaller wallet. It’s like, you know, I want you to give. We’re in a fundraising campaign. I want you to give. But I would rather you leave with a big heart for the church. Because when the heart is right, the rest follows. It’s like when you have a heart for Jesus, an affection for his house, you just become ready to build something. It’s just good news for you, and it’s good news to keep to yourself. Right? It’s too good for that. So you want to share it. And if you take care of your heart, God can take care of this house. Can I get a good amen there? Amen.

Here’s my closing statement. Having a heart for the house starts with seeing it the way Jesus does. God wanted a house from the tabernacle in Exodus to the temple in Jerusalem. He wasn’t after a building, he was after a place to dwell, right in the middle of his people’s lives. Two, Jesus built the house. He’s still building his church, living stone by living stone. And he’s inviting us to put our hands on it with him. And three, Jesus loves the house. And if that’s his heart, it should be ours too. Amen.