All right, let's take our Bibles
and turn back to Psalm 122 Psalm 122 Spirit of God Moved on King David To pin that which truly is the
heart of the desire, the longing of every regenerated child of
God. I was glad when they said unto
me, let us go into the house of the Lord. Believers rejoice
in the blessing of being able to assemble together, to assemble
together with others of like faith for the single purpose. We're here for one reason only,
one reason. We're here to worship and to
praise the Lord in the hearing of the gospel. That's, that's
why we're here. We're not here for any other
reason. We're here to praise the Father
who chose a people and gave them to the Lord Jesus Christ. Chose
them in Christ before the foundation of the world for this reason.
Loved them. He is by choice and He's going
to make them in Christ. They're gonna be holy and without
blame before Him in love. They want to come and hear just
like that song we just sang. Tell me the story of Jesus right
on my heart everywhere. Tell me the story most precious.
We want to hear rehearsed again the glorious thought and truth
that the Lord Jesus Christ truly bore the sins of his people in
his own body. Sin that we don't even realize. Shortcomings that we fail to
comprehend. And he actually bore in his own
body and forever answered the law's demand for justice on their
behalf. He truly put away the debt of
his people by shedding his own blood. Tell me the truth of salvation
by the regenerating grace of the Holy Spirit. Tell me again,
I've heard it before, tell me again how he removed a heart
of stone, gave me a new heart, crossing
our path with the gospel of God's grace and teaching in heart. Spirit of God teaching, he's
gonna bring back to your memories all the things that I've said
unto you. He'll guide you. Tell me again how God has been
pleased to show mercy and compassion. Now God's people know that it's
a miracle of his loving kindness that anyone wants to be turned
within Matthew 13. It's a miracle of God's grace
that anybody wants to be in the house of the Lord totally. of the Lord's sake. That's a
miracle of God's grace. The Lord Jesus, Matthew 13, verses
one to nine, gave a parable. This is what it says, same day,
Matthew 13. Same day went Jesus out of the
house, set by the seaside, and great multitudes were gathered
together unto him so that he went into a ship and sat, and
the whole multitude stood on the shore. And he spake many
things unto them in parables, saying, Behold a sower, went
forth to sow. And when he sowed, some seeds
fell by the wayside and the fowls came and devoured them up. Some
fell upon stony places where they had not much earth. And
forthwith they sprung up because they had no deepness of earth.
And when the sun was up, they were scorched and because they
had no root, they withered away. Some fell among thorns, and thorns
sprung up and choked, but other fell into good ground and brought
forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold.
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." I'm telling you, a believer
is glad because they're glad to be in the house of the Lord. They're glad that they're glad.
I'm glad. that I won't be here. This gladness
is something that the world knows nothing of. And I have three
simply stated points concerning this gladness, I'm glad when
they said to me, let's go to the house of the Lord. First,
a believer's glad because the Lord's there. According to the promise of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Matthew, I'll read this to you,
Matthew 18, 20. We quote this all the time, but what a blessed
truth. For where two or three are gathered
together in my name, there am I in the midst of them. Now, I want you to turn to Psalm
139. Turn to Psalm 139. Now we know that the Lord is
omnipresent. We know that. He's omnipresent. Psalm 139, verse three. Thou compassest my path and my
lying down, and art acquainted with all my ways. For there's
not a word in my tongue, but, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether. Thou hast beset me behind and
before and laid thy hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful
for me, it's high. I cannot attain unto it. Whether
shall I go from thy spirit, or whether shall I flee from thy
presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I
make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the
wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the
sea, even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall
hold me. So we know that the Lord is omnipresent. But there is something that is
especially binded when we consider how the Lord's people have been
taught that when they meet together, though the number be ever so
few." He said, were two or three are gathered together. To hear
His Word proclaimed, to hear the truth of His glory for the
good of the souls of His people, there's something that takes
place that's especially wonderful. The Lord said, I am in the midst
of them. I looked up the word I. He said,
I. It means first person, singular,
present. To be, exist, present. Where two or three are gathered
together, the Lord who we know is in the heart of his people,
he's omnipresent, I know he's at the right hand of the majesty
on high, but there's something that I can only comprehend by
faith. First person singular, he said,
I'm there. Now I'm standing right here. I'm in one spot. Right here. I'm not there. I'm right here.
I'm standing right here. This is me. You know me. I'm one person. The Lord who made all things. The Lord by whom all things consist. First person singular. It's here. And wherever two or three are
meeting together in his presence, first person singular, he's right
there. He's there. Himself. He walked up, when he walked
on this earth in flesh, blood, he told his disciples one time,
he said, I'm not a spirit. Touch me. Touch me. The spirit doesn't have flesh
and bone. Touch me. This is me. This is
really me. This is me. He was right there. But now,
the first person singular, he said, well, two or three are
gathered. I'm there. I am there. There's no other
passage that sets forth so clearly the singular presence of the
Lord being every place himself. where two or three are gathered
together in his name. Put that one right there. He
said, where two or three are gathered, that's me, I'm there. I am there. And what a blessing when we're
meeting together in his presence with each other. What may be missed? if we're
absent from assembling ourselves together with his people. This
happened. This happened to Thomas. I want
you to turn to John 20. John chapter 20. I was glad when they said to me,
let's go to the house of the Lord. Well, we're not there.
For whatever reason, I don't know. I don't know what Thomas's
reason was, but here's what happened. John 20, 19 to 29. The same day at evening, being
the first day of the week, when the doors were shut and the disciples
were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in
the midst and said unto them, peace be unto you. And when he
so said, he showed unto them his hands, his side. Then were
the disciples glad when they saw the Lord. This said Jesus,
to them again peace be unto you, as my father hath sent me, even
so send I you. And when he had said this, he
breathed on them, and saith unto them, receive ye the Holy Ghost. Not for the regenerating grace
of receiving. They were believers, not for
the you know, ordination into the ministry, they were called
of the Lord. He'd already called them. They were his disciples.
But for that breathing, they received the Spirit of God for
the giving of that Holy Spirit for the supply of their need,
their necessity for what would be happening not many days after
at Pentecost. He breathed on them. So here
they were. He, verse 22, when he had thus said, he said, peace
be unto you as my father has sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, I'm
going to send you. And now he's going to communicate unto them
their need. What are they going to need?
They need the spirit of God to, in the commissioning and the
sending and the powering. And he, when he said this, he
breathed on them and saith unto them, receive you the Holy Ghost.
Whosoever sins you remit, they are remitted unto them. And whosoever
sins you retain, they are retained. But Thomas, one of the 12 called
Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came. Now you think about
what was missed on that meeting. Again, I don't know why he wasn't
there. I don't know. It doesn't say why he wasn't there. He just
wasn't there. The other disciples therefore
said unto him, we've seen the Lord. He saith unto them, except
I see in his hands the print of the nails, put my finger in
the print of nails and thrust my hand into a side, I will not
believe. And after eight days again his
disciples were within and Thomas with them. Then came Jesus, the
doors being shut, stood in the midst and said, peace be unto
you. And of course the Lord, who heard
Thomas say, if I can't put my finger into the nail prints in
his hand. If I can't touch his side, I'm
not gonna believe it, I'm not gonna believe it. The Lord heard
him. Because he said, then said he
to Thomas, reach hither thy finger and behold my hands. And reach
hither thy hand and thrust it into my side. And be not faithless,
but believe him. And Thomas answered and said
unto him, my Lord and my God. And Jesus said unto him, Thomas,
because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed. Blessed are they
that have not seen. and yet have belief. So a believer, first of all,
is glad to be in the house of the Lord because the Lord's there. The Lord has appointed that meeting
together. He's gathered them together. The Lord gathered them. The Lord
approved of it. He approves of this meeting right
here because he's glorified. in this assembly. He's there. This was, turn with me to Luke,
Luke 4. This was his, this was his custom. This was his custom. When he
walked on this earth, Luke chapter 4. Luke 4, verse 16. Luke 4, 16. And he came to Nazareth where
he had been brought up. And listen to these words. And
as his custom was, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue
on the Sabbath day and stood up to read. And there was delivered
unto him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened
the book, he found the place wherein it was written, Spirit
of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight
to the blind, and set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord. This was his custom. What did
the Lord do while he was on this earth? What was his custom? Well,
his custom was to be in the assembly where the truth of himself was
being preached. That was his custom. David said,
I'm glad. I was glad when they said to
me, let's go to the house of the Lord. The Lord's there. Secondly,
the Lord's people are glad for the joy of public worship for
therein is the evidence of God's mercy and grace being shown to
others. I'm glad. I'm glad because the
Lord's here. I'm glad because you're here.
led because we can meet together. I was glad when they said, they
said unto me, I was glad. I'm glad when someone else would
express to me the desire that they would have for us to be
able to go and worship together. But I think of the joy of the
spirit and the bride say come. I'm glad what they said to me
in my heart. I was glad, let us go to the
house of the Lord. All God's people know that the
Lord's gonna save His own. They know that. John 6, 37, all
that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that cometh
to me I will in no wise cast out. I'm thankful for the truth
that the Lord is going to save His people. And we know that
the people of God are known of the Lord. I know my sheep. They hear His voice. They know
that, and as I've said so many times before, you can't explain
that to somebody. What do you mean you hear the
voice of the Lord? I hear it in his word, I hear it
in providence, I hear it in my heart, I hear it, they hear the
voice of the Lord. And they know that the Lord is
going to give his people, he's given them a life eternal and
they're not gonna perish. And they know that he's gonna
make all of his sheep willing in the day of his power. They're
gonna walk in his statutes, and these regenerated sinners are
glad to see the promise of the Lord. I'm glad when they said
to me, turn to Acts 11, when the Lord's people heard of the
blessing. I've told you before, every time
somebody comes here, somebody shows up, I don't know who they
are. I go up and ask them afterward, how'd you hear about us? You
know, glad you're here. The first thing, and I know you're
like this too, you think, could this be one of the Lord's, you
know, they're here. Somebody has come, who knows?
Who knows, it's happened before, where somebody showed up and
time proved the Lord's mercy, but the Lord's people had heard
of the blessing of the gospel in Pharncy, Cyprus, and Antioch,
and they sent a man called Barnabas that he should go as far as Antioch. In Acts 11, Acts chapter 11,
and verse 23, Acts 11, verse 23, it says, who, when he came
and had seen the grace of God, he was glad. and exhorted them all that with
purpose of heart they would cleave unto the Lord. God's people are
glad when they hear the desire of others and they long to meet
together in the name of the Lord. They want to come because they
want to come. You're glad. I'm glad because
the Lord's here. I'm glad because God's people are here, and they
love each other. Turn to Acts 2, Acts chapter
2. This is what happens when God
calls his people out of darkness, and they see others. Acts chapter 2, verse 41. They're birds of a feather, flock
together. Acts 2, verse 41. Then they that
gladly received the word were baptized. Same day, there were
added unto them about 3,000 souls, and they continued steadfastly
in the apostles' doctrine, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.
Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were
done by the apostles, and all that believed were together.
They had all things common, sold their possessions, and good parted
them to all men as every man had need, And they continuing daily with
one accord in the temple, breaking bread from house to house, did
eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising
God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added
to the church daily, such as should be saved. So God's people,
they're glad. They're glad when one says to
them, let's go to the house of the Lord. That's where God's
been pleased to meet with his own, where the evidence of his
grace has been magnified, manifested. And then thirdly, they're glad
not only because the Lord's there, and God's people, other people
are there. They're glad because they're
there. I'm glad because I'm here. And you think, you that know
Him, you're glad, you're glad you're here. You think, I wouldn't
want to miss, I wouldn't want to miss a blessing of the Lord. Now, we know, when he says, let's
go to the house of the Lord, that the house of the Lord truly
is a spiritual house. It's spiritual. 1 Corinthians
3, 16, know ye not that ye are the temple of God and that the
Spirit of God dwelleth in you? 1 Corinthians 6, 19, what? Know ye not that your body is
the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have
of God, and you're not your own? We're a spiritual house, building
lively stones, building together, building together. That's the
house of the Lord. But there's a way in which the
Lord has been pleased to assemble those that are His. There's a
place of assembly. There's a place where the Lord's
pleased to raise up a pastor for the good of his people, a
pastor that has been one called of God, one sin of God, and there's
a people that are gathered, where two or three are gathered together. I know that the house of the
Lord is not this wood and this pselitex, whatever that is, I
know that, I know that, but there is a way in which the Lord gathers
His people together and He places them in a place where the preaching
of His gospel and the singing of praises unto His name is heard. And that place, it's a special
place of assembly. We don't put any significance
of anything upon the building, but there is a place. It could
be a cave. A lot of them met in caves. But
the Lord ascended. And the Spirit of God turned
over to Revelation 1. Revelation chapter 1. The Lord
made mention of these places. Speaking of this beholding of
the Lord Jesus Christ, John saw on the Isle of Patmos, verse
20, the mystery of the seven stars which thou sawest in my
right hand, the seven golden candlesticks, the seven stars
of the angels of the seven churches, and the seven candlesticks which
thou sawest are the seven churches. And John was gonna write a letter.
seven churches, he was writing them to people, he was writing
them to believers, the church, the church, but they were in
places, they were somewhere. There was one in Philadelphia,
and Thyatira, and Sardis, and Ephesus, you know, there was
places, and we're here, we're here, we're a spiritual body.
The Lord is in this place, this is where he's gathered, Katie
Baptist Church, in this building right here. But here's his temple. Here's his temple. I'm glad. I'm glad because the Lord's here.
I'm glad you're here. I'm glad I'm here. I'm glad we're
here together. Psalm 8410, I'll just read this.
For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. Better than
a thousand, David, meant without being there. A day in a court's
better than a thousand. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in
the house of God and to dwell in the tents of wickedness. You
know, this world offers everything that's fading, perishing. But the scripture says, blessed
is the man that thou chooseth and causeth to approach unto
thee that he may dwell in thy courts and be satisfied with
the goodness of thy house, even thy holy temple. Psalm 26, eight,
Lord, I've loved habitation of thy house in the place where
thine honor dwelleth. Where's the house of the Lord? What does the Lord do for those
that are his temple? He gathers them together in a
place where he's honored. I was glad when they said to
me, let's go to the house of the Lord. I pray God bless this
to our hearts for Christ's sake.