doorkeeper_prelude

Consider the magnificence of God's house. Think of it's construction, what it is made of, the materials He used to build it. The myriad precious stones described in the book of Revelation would undoubtedly be used throughout; jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, carnelian, chrysolite, beryl, topaz and many others. The door frames, window sills and delicate trim are formed of pure gold; the doors are of huge slabs of solid pearl, cut and beveled and shaved thin in some places to allow God's radiance to escape outside; massive pillars of gold as transparent as glass stand at attention in a majestic line across the front.

Around the house would be a moat, no, a river, a living and flowing river! It would be alive with it's own life. To simply glimpse this river would bring life itself! The path leading up to the door is paved with bricks that are formed, not surprisingly, of pure gold. An image of the Cross is cast into each golden block. The Way to this house is clear -- the Way of the Cross of Jesus.

As I approach God's House, I can feel the pure spiritual power and presence of the place; no imperfect thoughts or attitudes dare contemplate an approach. To do so would be impossible it would be death! It is utter foolishness to even consider such a notion.

As I draw near, all that is within me tries to reach out and grab hold of this place; I can't move towards it fast enough. My heart, were it not constrained within me, would leap from my chest like a missile towards it's target; caged in what now seems like painful and cruel bondage inside me. As I approach, this heart of mine begins to fail in desperation, growing weak and faint with joy unfulfilled. My inner being shouts aloud with joy, singing out to my Lord and Love. Can you see that it is not the house itself that is drawing my heart, but it is the owner, the architect, the builder, the maintainer, the master. He is why I press on towards that place.

V 3: Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God.

The closer I get to God's house, the more detail I can make out. Jealousy can not exist in this place, and yet I long, almost jealously, for the regular closeness of the tiny sparrow I see nesting near the door. She has not made a messy, unkempt nest, but a neat and compact home. Oh, to be that close to God all the time. What an experience for children to live in God's presence just as those delicate little baby sparrows do.

To be near your altar Father, to be in Your presence, to smell the sacred fragrant incense as I draw close to the place where my Lord and Savior kneels and intercedes for me. Praise you Lord. Praise your holy name.

V 4-5: Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage.

[Note: The Amplified Bible says that "selah" occurs in the Psalms at points in which we are to pause and calmly think about what was just read or sung.]

I can hear the songs and hymns and praises of those saints inside now! I can even see the praise as if it were visible! Why, it is visible! I can see my Lord, hands held high, standing in the midst of that praise, standing as if in a river and leaning into the current. It is carrying Him along; so mighty and powerful are the praises of God's people!

Those who are present in God's house, joyfully praising His name, have made a long journey to get here. I can see their bags and luggage piled by the door. Shoes and coats and bags and hats and valuables of every kind that were once thought of as important are left at the door to God's house, abandoned and unneeded. Inside, His children are so intent on praise, love and worship that their once precious commodities are no longer given a second thought. As I look outside towards the walk leading up to the front door, I see even more of the refuse of people's lives strewn along the golden path of the Cross. "Things" mean little here, and increasingly less when you approach the Place of God.

V 10: Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked.

Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah

Who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart

He who has clean hands -- This means innocent, guiltless and blameless hands. How can we ever achieve this on our own? We can't. So how can we approach God's place? The way of the Cross of Jesus Christ. There are many pathways, but this one is well marked; you can easily tell which one it is. It begins with bloody stains and blood-smeared footprints, but it ends in white-as-snow glory!

He who has a pure heart -- Jesus Himself preached, "the pure in heart shall see God." The pure in heart are those whose hearts are singularly devoted to Jesus. There is nothing else mixed in those pure hearts with which to make the mixture impure. They are purely DEVOTED.

He whose walk is blameless -- How can we who are born in sin, born of the first Adam, products of the dust of the earth, ever become blameless? Through the blood of Jesus, and no other way.

In Psalm 73 we see the story of a man frustrated by the prosperity of sinners; a man tempted to join in and take part in their lifestyle and become a part of their world because of the ease and abundance he saw them living in. He was a man who walked the paths of God, his Lord, but he was reaching the end of his righteous rope.

In v. 17 we see it: "till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood." He entered God's House, His Sanctuary; he stepped through the door and into God's Place!

Psalm 65:4 says of God and of us: Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple.

Can you even begin to imagine the "good things" that are contained in God's house?! In order to contain all those good things, His place must be just awesome!

Psalm 36:5-8 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights.

Now, some people feel it might be difficult to find God's place, but I know its location will be quite evident even without a "map to the stars":

Psalm 43:3-4 Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight.




					God's Doorkeeper - Psalm 84 Prelude A Message Preached March 18, 1998 Bro. A. Madonio




			V 1: How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD Almighty! Consider the magnificence of God's house. Think of it's construction, what it is made of, the materials He used to build it. The myriad precious stones described in the book of Revelation would undoubtedly be used throughout; jasper, sapphire, chalcedony, emerald, sardonyx, carnelian, chrysolite, beryl, topaz and many others. The door frames, window sills and delicate trim are formed of pure gold; the doors are of huge slabs of solid pearl, cut and beveled and shaved thin in some places to allow God's radiance to escape outside; massive pillars of gold as transparent as glass stand at attention in a majestic line across the front. Around the house would be a moat, no, a river, a living and flowing river! It would be alive with it's own life. To simply glimpse this river would bring life itself! The path leading up to the door is paved with bricks that are formed, not surprisingly, of pure gold. An image of the Cross is cast into each golden block. The Way to this house is clear -- the Way of the Cross of Jesus. Wow! God's house -- who else would live there? V 2: My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the LORD; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God. As I approach God's House, I can feel the pure spiritual power and presence of the place; no imperfect thoughts or attitudes dare contemplate an approach. To do so would be impossible it would be death! It is utter foolishness to even consider such a notion. As I draw near, all that is within me tries to reach out and grab hold of this place; I can't move towards it fast enough. My heart, were it not constrained within me, would leap from my chest like a missile towards it's target; caged in what now seems like painful and cruel bondage inside me. As I approach, this heart of mine begins to fail in desperation, growing weak and faint with joy unfulfilled. My inner being shouts aloud with joy, singing out to my Lord and Love. Can you see that it is not the house itself that is drawing my heart, but it is the owner, the architect, the builder, the maintainer, the master. He is why I press on towards that place. V 3: Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young-- a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. The closer I get to God's house, the more detail I can make out. Jealousy can not exist in this place, and yet I long, almost jealously, for the regular closeness of the tiny sparrow I see nesting near the door. She has not made a messy, unkempt nest, but a neat and compact home. Oh, to be that close to God all the time. What an experience for children to live in God's presence just as those delicate little baby sparrows do. To be near your altar Father, to be in Your presence, to smell the sacred fragrant incense as I draw close to the place where my Lord and Savior kneels and intercedes for me. Praise you Lord. Praise your holy name. V 4-5: Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Selah. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. [Note: The Amplified Bible says that "selah" occurs in the Psalms at points in which we are to pause and calmly think about what was just read or sung.] I can hear the songs and hymns and praises of those saints inside now! I can even see the praise as if it were visible! Why, it is visible! I can see my Lord, hands held high, standing in the midst of that praise, standing as if in a river and leaning into the current. It is carrying Him along; so mighty and powerful are the praises of God's people! Those who are present in God's house, joyfully praising His name, have made a long journey to get here. I can see their bags and luggage piled by the door. Shoes and coats and bags and hats and valuables of every kind that were once thought of as important are left at the door to God's house, abandoned and unneeded. Inside, His children are so intent on praise, love and worship that their once precious commodities are no longer given a second thought. As I look outside towards the walk leading up to the front door, I see even more of the refuse of people's lives strewn along the golden path of the Cross. "Things" mean little here, and increasingly less when you approach the Place of God. V 10: Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. Psalm 24 asks this important question: Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to an idol or swear by what is false. He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, O God of Jacob. Selah Psalm 15 similarly asks: Who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill? He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart WHO may ascend the hill that leads to God's place? WHO may reside on God's Holy Hill? WHO may live in God's House? He who has clean hands -- This means innocent, guiltless and blameless hands. How can we ever achieve this on our own? We can't. So how can we approach God's place? The way of the Cross of Jesus Christ. There are many pathways, but this one is well marked; you can easily tell which one it is. It begins with bloody stains and blood-smeared footprints, but it ends in white-as-snow glory! He who has a pure heart -- Jesus Himself preached, "the pure in heart shall see God." The pure in heart are those whose hearts are singularly devoted to Jesus. There is nothing else mixed in those pure hearts with which to make the mixture impure. They are purely DEVOTED. He whose walk is blameless -- How can we who are born in sin, born of the first Adam, products of the dust of the earth, ever become blameless? Through the blood of Jesus, and no other way. In Psalm 73 we see the story of a man frustrated by the prosperity of sinners; a man tempted to join in and take part in their lifestyle and become a part of their world because of the ease and abundance he saw them living in. He was a man who walked the paths of God, his Lord, but he was reaching the end of his righteous rope. What saved him? What kept him on the right path What kept him on God's narrow Way? In v. 17 we see it: "till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood." He entered God's House, His Sanctuary; he stepped through the door and into God's Place! Psalm 65:4 says of God and of us: Blessed are those you choose and bring near to live in your courts! We are filled with the good things of your house, of your holy temple. Can you even begin to imagine the "good things" that are contained in God's house?! In order to contain all those good things, His place must be just awesome! Psalm 36:5-8 Your love, O LORD, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice like the great deep. O LORD, you preserve both man and beast. How priceless is your unfailing love! Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. Now, some people feel it might be difficult to find God's place, but I know its location will be quite evident even without a "map to the stars": Psalm 43:3-4 Send forth your light and your truth, let them guide me; let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell. Then will I go to the altar of God, to God, my joy and my delight. (I invite you to continue and read "The Doorkeeper" which was originally preached following this prelude. Thanx -- Andy Madonio.)

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