Bring the Praise Back to Zion Part 3
Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe
Isaiah 35:8-10
“A highway shall be there, and a road, and it shall be
called the Highway of Holiness. The unclean shall not pass over it, but it
shall be for others. Whoever walks the road, although a fool, shall not go
astray. No lion shall be there, nor
shall any ravenous beast go up on it; it shall not be found there. But the
redeemed shall walk there, And the
ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with singing, with
everlasting joy on their heads. They shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow
and sighing shall flee away.”
The Church has held itself in captivity to
worldliness. Now is the time to walk
again the Highway of Holiness. It is the time to rebuild and restore.
The rebuilding and restoration must begin with the Church,
the spiritual Israel. In the rebuilding
process, it is good to reexamine the tabernacle in the wilderness which became
the design of the Temple in Jerusalem. God’s presence, His glory, rested there
in the Holy of Holies.
The tabernacle
is a picture of both Jesus Christ and the believer. Jesus
is the true Tabernacle. In Him we see
the fullness of God. Believers, too, are the dwelling place of God: Christ is in us, the hope of glory (Colossians
1:27).
M.R. DeHaan,
founder of the Radio Bible Class, compared believers to the tabernacle:
“The redeemed
person is composed of body, soul, and spirit. The body corresponds to the court
of the tabernacle. It is the outer, the visible part of our personality. It is
the place of sacrifice (Rom. 12:1-2). The soul answers to the holy place and is
the place of worship and fellowship with other believers, feeding about the
table, walking in the light, interceding for others. Finally, the spirit of the
believer is the inner holy of holies, the deepest, hidden life of perfect,
individual, personal communion with God beneath the blood. It is the place of
spiritual victory.”
Keep this in
mind as we walk through the restoration of the Church, the spiritual
tabernacle.
The linen fence
around the tabernacle and the courtyard remind us that we must put a guard
around our hearts. We must protect our
spirituality. We must hold fast to our
relationship with God. Proverbs 4:23:
“Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.”
What are we
watching? What are we reading? To whom are we listening? The fence was made of
white linen representing purity. Is our
fence pure? Are we walking in holiness?
Believers can
enter the courtyard only through the door. We must enter in order to have relationship
with Him. Jesus is that door. "I am the door. If anyone enters by Me,
he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture” John 10:9.
Jesus is the
door. Not Allah. Not Vishnu.
Not Buddha. Jesus, only Jesus. “Thomas
said to Him, "Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we
know the way?'' Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:5-6). Jesus is not “a”
way. He is “the” way.
To bring the
song back to Zion, we must walk that Highway of Holiness that begins with our
acceptance of Jesus as not only our Savior, but as our Lord as well. "Enter
by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to
destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and
difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it” (Matthew
7:13-14).
Entering that
narrow gate brings a promise. “"The thief does not come except to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they
may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives
His life for the sheep” John 10:10-11.
Are we willing
to guard our hearts and enter into fellowship with Him?
Psalms 100:1-5:
“Make a joyful shout to the Lord, all you lands! Serve the Lord with gladness;
Come before His presence with singing. Know that the Lord, He is God; It is He
who has made us, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the sheep of His
pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving,
And into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For
the Lord is good; His mercy is everlasting, And His truth endures to all
generations.
