Where do you live? Well, in a sense, I live where I am. So at this moment, I'm living in State College. But usually when we ask that question or when someone asks us that question, we think about where do you dwell or where is your residence? Our residence is 109 Sumner Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Where does God live? Where does God dwell? Open your Bibles with me to Psalm 48. As I mentioned this morning, we're going to look at a little series connected to some study I've been doing for a class at the seminary on worship. And the particular topic that I've been considering is the special presence of God with his people in the assembly of worship. As it was this morning, perhaps even more so this evening, we'll be looking at a number of different texts, hopefully in a clear way, as we consider this question of where does he live? To follow up from this morning, who does he love? So we'll begin with Psalm 48. I'll read the whole psalm, though we won't be going through it verse by verse. Hear God's word. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised in the city of our God. His holy mountain, beautiful in elevation, is the joy of all the earth. Mount Zion is in the far north, the city of the great king. Within her citadels, God has made himself known as a fortress. For behold, the kings assembled. They came on together. As soon as they saw it, they were astounded. They were in panic. They took to flight. Trembling took hold of them there, anguish as of a woman in labor. By the east wind, you shattered the ships of Tarshish. As we have heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God, which God will establish forever. We have thought on your steadfast love, O God, in the midst of your temple. As your name, O God, so your praise reaches to the ends of the earth. Your right hand is filled with righteousness. Let Mount Zion be glad. Let the daughters of Judah rejoice because of your judgments. Walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers. Consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God, forever and ever. He will guide us forever. Having heard from God in his word, let's seek him in prayer. Father, having been revealed here as the God who will guide us forever, would you guide us now into your word by your spirit that we might understand and that it might impact the way we live our lives to know where it is that you live. We ask this in Jesus name. Amen. Where does God live? Where is his place of residence? And again, I've been looking at this in the particular question of God's special presence with his people in worship. And what we see here in Psalm 48, we see all throughout the scripture, is that God lives in Zion. God lives in his holy city. And again, as I mentioned this morning, the whole points to the specific. The particular focus, and we'll see, it narrows even from the city to a particular place in the city. But Zion is the place that God has said He would dwell on the earth. Psalm 2, verse 6, I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill. So it's the place of his king. It's the place of his throne. Psalm 9, verse 11, sing praises to the Lord who sits enthroned in Zion. Tell among the peoples his deeds. I've been considering in a series of three messages at the seminary that I've preached over the last two, and Lord willing, coming up in a few weeks, the third, on Hebrews 5, in this question of, the end of Hebrews 4 and the beginning of Hebrews 5, of coming boldly to his throne of grace. And I believe we live in a day, and maybe it's always been true of Christians, where we take, where we individualize the scripture too much. And so the sense of, well, I go to God and his throne of grace when I kneel in prayer, whether literally or figuratively, wherever I am. And yet I believe there's a sense throughout the scripture. And even in that verse in Hebrews four, the end of Hebrews four, that's pointing to a particular place where God's throne of grace is, where God is enthroned, even in Zion. Zion is the place of his home. We looked at that this morning. The Lord has desired from Psalm 132. He has chosen Zion. He has desired it for his dwelling place. And he desired it because he desired it, not because of anything in us, not because of anything that's particularly of itself praise worthy. And that's one of, I think, the puzzling things, at least to an outsider about, in the Old Testament, about the city of God. It's praised here as if it were the most amazing city in all of the world. But apparently it really wasn't. It was dwarfed in comparison by other major cities of the world. It's spoken of as these majestic mountains that weren't all that tall. And yet it was special because God was there. And so today the church, the world looks at the church and thinks, well, the church isn't all that special. I mean, it's just an assembly of people. And, you know, we assemble for various kinds of things, whether it's athletic events or, um, you know, social gatherings and, and we can have a more significant gathering. Uh, the world thinks then the church does the church. Isn't all that special. And just to look at it, it isn't, but it's special because it's where God is. That's where God has said. that he would make his home. It's where God has said that he would command his blessing. We often sing Psalm 133. It's there from Zion that the Lord commands his blessing, that the Lord makes his commanded blessing. But interestingly, in Psalm 48, it's not just told that it's a place where God is, but there's a sense in which in the Psalm it begins to describe God as It begins to describe the city as if it were God Himself. So verse 3, within her citadels, God has made Himself known as a fortress. So it's in the place that we come to know God Himself. We see that again in verse 13 as we go through her citadels and tell the next generation that this is God. Zion, Mount Zion, is the place where God lives. But the more specific place within the city of Zion is the temple in the city. Verses 8 and 9 tell us about in the city of our God, the Lord establishes a city and we think about him in the midst of his temple. God has chosen to dwell with his people, to live with his people, to do that in particular places. He chose to settle in with them and he did that in his temple. As you know, we've had a bit of a health scare with our daughter Tamra and we were out there. I was there for a week and Nancy for two weeks and other family members for another week and a half and we settled in. And I think in some ways, our daughter and son-in-law are ready for the family to go home. Relatives are like fish, they start to stink after three days, so it's sad. But God settles in with his people. And yet even that, there's a sense of temporary. God's dwelling with his people on earth is in some ways temporary. We saw that pictured clearly in the Old Testament in the tabernacle that prefigured the temple. It was a tent. They picked it up and moved it. They assembled it. They disassembled it. They carried it by God's command and God's instruction to the place where God said he would take them. And then they re pitched that tent. Of course, the temple was a more permanent structure, but we know that both the tabernacle and the tent pointed to Christ. And yet Christ in the New Testament, we're told, tented among us in John 1 14. He made his tabernacle among us. There's a sense in which he came to visit us here on this earth. He had a temporary visit on the earth. He was here for some 33 years. But of course, we look forward to a more permanent dwelling. That's the promise of the scripture all through. John 14, one of those famous passages, in my father's house are many rooms or many mansions. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? It's that permanent place that we look forward to. And yet even that permanent place is something that we can, in some ways, experience now. Later in John 14, Jesus said, if anyone loves me, he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and we will dwell with him or we will make our home with him. It's it's the more permanent abode, not the tabernacle, not the temporary. And so it is for the Christian that we have eternal life now. It's not just something that we'll have someday. There will be a difference. One day all sin and sorrow and tears will be gone. One day we will be with the Lord forever. But the Lord is, in a sense, with us even now. And we're reminded of that when we come to assemble with him. The Old Testament pointed to that more permanent dwelling, that place that God would dwell with his people, even the tabernacle, the ark that was made according to God's specifications. What was it that he said? It was there between the cherubim in a space that he would meet with his people. They were not to have in mind an image of God. Even these cherubim were not to make them think about God. But the space between the cherubim was where God said that he would meet with his people. And so the scripture points to this hope for permanence. The temple itself, far more permanent, described as a place where God would dwell forever. You can turn, if you'd like, in your Bibles to First Kings, chapter eight. We have the dedication, the building in chapter 7 of the temple. And then in chapter 8, the bringing of the ark into the temple at God's instruction. And they were told that when the ark was brought in, that the cloud, the glory cloud of God filled the temple. And look in verse 13. Beginning in verse 12, then Solomon said, the Lord has said that he would dwell in thick darkness. I have indeed built for you an exalted house, a place for you to dwell forever. But then turn over to chapter nine. Solomon recognized that. Let me find the find the verse. Verse 3, the Lord said to him, I have heard your prayer and your plea which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house that you have built by putting my name there forever. A place that God was going to make his presence known, make his presence known to his people. Even though, as Solomon acknowledged, the heavens cannot contain God, how much less this house that I have built. And yet it's pointed to this permanence, it's it's pointing to this long term, eternal relationship and the presence of God with his people. And yet this temple is majestic, it was as it was after Solomon built it, we know was destroyed. The Jews rebelled against God, they turned from God. Judah and Israel both sent into captivity and the temple torn down stone by stone. And then God brought the exiles back. And they rebuilt the temple. And when the foundation of the temple was laid, they wept. And Haggai seems to suggest that the reason for their weeping was that it was a smaller temple. It had less glory. And God told Israel through the prophet, don't despair because this place will have more glory. Of course, we know that it was pointing to the glorious one who would be in that temple, that Christ himself would come and be in that temple. But just like God identified himself as being the temple in the Old Testament, so Christ would identify himself as being the temple in the New Testament. What was it that he said in John 2? Destroy this temple and I will raise it up in three days. He said, how can that be? It would take 46 years to build this. How can you raise it up in three days? But he was speaking of the temple of his body. And so Christ is dwelling in his temple, in his church. Because the church is the temple of God. Again, turn with me in your Bibles to 2 Corinthians 6. There are two references in Corinthians, one in 1 Corinthians 3, but we'll look at a little bit longer one in 2 Corinthians 6. 1 Corinthians 3. Verse 16, do you not know that you are God's temple and God's spirit dwells in you? And again, it's you all, you plural, you collective, you the assembly are God's temple and the spirit of God dwells in you. But here in second Corinthians chapter six, beginning in verse 14, reading through chapter seven, verse one. Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers, for what partnership has righteousness with lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness? What accord has Christ with Belial, or what portion does a believer share with an unbeliever? What agreement has the temple of God with idols? For we are the temple of the living God. And some of your Bible translations may say, for you are the temple of the living God. There's a question in the precise pronoun, but no real significant change in whether it's you, plural, or we, collective, plural as well. For we are the temple of the living God. As God said, I will make my dwelling among them and walk about them. I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore, go out from their midst and be separate from them, says the Lord, and touch no unclean thing. Then I would welcome you, and I will be a father to you, and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty. Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. We too often think of church as the building, the structure that we go to from time to time, maybe with some regular frequency and hopefully with that, but it's far more serious a place than that. It's where God's people assemble with God. And so this place is special, not because of the physical structure, but because God has said he will meet here in his temple with his people. There's a real sense in which we, when we come to church, are coming to visit with God in his home. We love it when the grandkids come to visit. And for the most part, our grandkids love it when they come to visit. Sometimes they want mommy and daddy. But it's a special thing to come and visit in Nana's house, to be with Nana in Nana's house. And usually once a week, Nancy takes one of the grandkids that are local there in Pittsburgh and has them over to the house. And they look forward to being there with her. In a far greater way, we look forward to being in God's house, to assembling with him, to meet with him, to come to his house and be with him. And so if the temple is, if the church is the temple, if the people of God are the place where God dwells, what should we do about it? Well, at least three things, and I'm sure there are far more that I'll suggest by application. The first is just to be in God's house. I've heard and probably sometimes used the strangest of reasons for not being in church. Well, I was a bit tired and I knew I had a busy week coming up at work, so I stayed home. Or I felt like I was getting a little bit sick and I didn't want to miss work, so I stayed home from church. Or I have to be at a meeting on Monday, and so I'm going to miss church to be at that meeting. And all sorts of unusual reasons that we give at times to not be in God's house. But let's be those Psalm 122 believers. I was glad when they said to me, let's go to the house of the Lord. A second point of application and comes back to Psalm 48 is walk about the church. Have a look. We sometimes in Australia called Psalm 48 the walk about Psalm. That picture of walking about the city of God and taking notice of it, of considering the beauty so that we could tell the next generation. And as we consider the beauty of the church, as these Old Testament believers were to consider the beauty of the temple, we see what God is like. Notice again, if you have Psalm 48 open, walk about Zion, go around her, number her towers, consider well her ramparts, go through her citadels, that you may tell the next generation that this is God, our God forever. He will guide us forever. As you consider the temple these Old Testament believers were taught, you see what God is like. And I think the application, the extension of that in the New Testament is as you consider the church, you see what Christ is like. Within the church, Christ has made himself known as a savior. You got to be sure Christ is still building his church. I mentioned this morning, there's always a project at my house. I want it to be better. I want it to be more functional. I want it to be a better place for us to live. And I think at some point maybe I'll just have to retire from projects because I was working on the one this week and felt my age crawling under the eaves of a second floor bedroom. But Christ is still building his church. So when we look at the church and we think, well, she's not all that beautiful. I mean, we're not all that beautiful. We're not looking with the eyes of faith. We're not seeing the church as Christ sees her. He died for her. He's working to make her more beautiful. And so look at the church. Think about the church. Tell the next generation what Christ is like and how they can see that in the church. Be in God's house, walk about it, consider his house. And then lastly, by way of application, live in holiness. That's the end of the passage in 2 Corinthians 6. Therefore, since we have these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God. You see, coming to church reminds us of the need for holy living. Coming into God's house reminds us of the sin that we that we still bear in the flesh and the longing for that sin to be washed away and the longing to turn away from that sin and find ourselves living righteous and holy lives because of the one who dwells with his people in his church. Now, when I say that God dwells particularly in his church and there's a special presence of God with his people in worship, I'm not implying that God is not with his people always. On whatever day Tamara had her surgery, as we spent 13 or 14 long hours and we ended up waiting in the ICU waiting room because it was more, it was suggested to us it would be more available throughout the day. It was in some ways a very hard day. I'd put it in the top five or the bottom five difficult days of my life. But in other ways it was a blessed day. She went into surgery at about eight, and at nine we decided to sing a psalm and pray. And then somebody, I think it might have been Stephen's mother, said, let's do this every hour. And so we decided at the top of the hour, as close to it as we could get, not woodenly, but as 10 o'clock approached, as 11 o'clock approached, as 12 o'clock approached, we'd stop what we were doing, we'd sing a psalm, and we'd pray. God was with us in that place. But the only reason that we could have confidence that God was with us in that place is because we had met with God regularly in his temple, in his church. The presence of God with his people all the time is built upon the special presence of God with his people in worship. And so for the one who can't remember where they go to church, Tamara would ask even the day, two days after her surgery, she asked the physical therapist, are you a Christian? Yes. They talked a bit. She said, where do you go to church? I go to the Catholic church in town. Oh, I don't think she even knew where she went to church. Hadn't gone often enough, at least to know what the name of it was. I wouldn't want her to be confident that the Lord is with her all the time. It's in the assembly that we come to meet with God and his people. And then we carry with us the certainty and the encouragement and the hope that God will be with us and will guide us forever. You see the place that God loves the most, his church is the place where God lives the most. And so let's delight to live there with him. Please join me in prayer. Our father, thank you that you have decided to live with us. And there's a sense in which that won't be complete this side of heaven, this side of eternity. But even now, week by week, encourage us as we come to worship that we're coming to your house, that we're coming to meet with you and that you have said that you would meet with us and help us see your beauty, even your beauty in the church as as imperfect and failed as we are in we are as we are the church. Lord, help us to delight in your presence and to tell others and invite them to take part in being with you in the place where you live. We pray in Jesus name. Amen.