WHERE'S YOUR ZEAL FOR SOUL WINNING?
TEXT:
"Surely I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, nor go up into my bed; I will not give sleep to mine eyes, or slumber to mine eyelids, Until I find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob." (Psalms 132 stanzas 3 to 5, King James Version).
The Scripture reading for today was King David's vow to the Lord, and for this, the Psalmist prayed that he should be remembered by Him (see Psalms 132 verse 1)
Somehow, King David seemed to have known that the Lord's rejoicing was in the inhabitable parts of His earth and His delights being with the sons of men (Proverbs chapter 8 verse 31).
It was King David's fervent desire therefore to build a Temple for the Lord his God, "a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob". In other words, David's quest was to provide a dwelling place for God on earth. Until he accomplished this, he vowed not to go into the tabernacle of his house, or go up into his bed or give sleep or slumber to his eyes. To me, this was a pretty serious affair between David and God; culminating in taking an oath unto the Lord God of Israel! Accounts from the Bible reveal that King David didn't stop at that! Indeed, he had begun to make good preparation for the project and would have executed it had the Lord not stopped him, and told him in 1st Chronicles chapter 28 verse 6 that He preferred his son Solomon to do it instead.
"And he said unto me, Solomon thy son, he shall build my house and my courts: for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father."
As Christians, King David's zeal towards finding a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob, should serve to provoke us to be like-minded, zealous for the work of the Lord. It was so with the Lord Jesus, the Anti-type of King David. In the Gospel of Saint John chapter 2 verse 17, it was said of Jesus,
"The zeal of thine house hath eaten me up."
Today, and as it's revealed in the Holy Scriptures, God doesn't dwell in tabernacles made with hands anymore (see Acts chapter 7 verse 48 and Acts chapter 17 verse 24). Rather, He dwells now in mortal bodies. This was the crux of Apostle Paul's message to the Corinthian Church who seemed to be ignorant of their new status in Christ He wrote saying,.
"What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you," (1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse 19). Again, in 2nd Corinthians chapter 6 verse 16, the same Apostle wrote reminding them saying,
"for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (2nd Corinthians chapter 6 verse 16).
It follows that if like King David we are to "find out a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob.", it translates invariably to evangelizing and winning souls for the Lord. This is so because the Lord now dwells in mortal bodies. He doesn't dwell in physical structures again like it was in King David's days. It means that for every soul that's evangelized and won to Christ, "a place for the LORD, an habitation for the mighty God of Jacob" is found. The questions are, have you ever provided a dwelling place for the Lord by winning a soul for Him? What is it that has dampened the doggedness you once exhibited towards winning souls for God? With the Lord's coming being very imminent, what are you doing about the numerous people around you who are yet to receive Christ as Lord and Savior?
Knowing that "he that winneth souls is wise" and that effective evangelism translates to finding a temple for the Lord to dwell in, we ought, like King David, to be zealous about it. Let this morning's devotional message serve to awaken your zeal to win souls for the Master. Truth is, the world would be a better place should the Lord dwell in all of us.
PRAYER:
Lord, I pledge to intensify my efforts to provide a dwelling place for You in men, in Jesus name.