You Are Standing On Holy Ground
Sunday Morning Sermon September 21, 2003
Iglesia Biblica, McAllen, Texan
originally preached in Spanish, adapted to English and written in article form by Jim Ost
You Are Standing On Holy Ground
Sunday Morning Sermon September 21, 2003
Iglesia Biblica, McAllen, Texan
originally preached in Spanish, adapted to English and written in article form by Jim Ost
Our first text this morning is found in Exodus 3:1-5. Moses has been working as a shepherd, in the desert, for his father-in-law (poor guy). On an ordinary day, in the middle of his routine, Moses sees a burning bush and hears a voice say, "Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground." Holy ground? Really? Moses wasn't in church, he wasn't in a temple, he wasn't in a sanctuary. Holy ground? Huh? THIS IS THE VERY GATE OF HEAVEN
In Genesis 28, we read the story of Jacob, who while traveling in the country, laid down to sleep under the stars (like a cowboy) with his head on a rock. During the night, he has a vision of angels going up to heaven and back down on a stairway and the Lord Himself spoke to Jacob from the gate of heaven. Listen to Jacob's words when he woke up: "Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it...How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." (verses 16-17)
What was he talking about? Jacob wasn't in church. Jacob wasn't in the temple. Jacob hadn't spent the night in the Crystal Cathedral! "Awesome place"? -- "gate of heaven"? Really?
GOD'S PRESENCE IS NOT LIMITED TO YOUR CHURCH BUILDING
Many times in our culture we come face to face with an artificial separation between the spiritual and the secular, the holy and the routine. We meet in church (God's house) to be "spiritual", feel holy and experience God's presence, then we walk out these doors and return to the "secular" world -- our house, our job, our school. How many times have you heard teachers and politicians say, "My religion is a private matter for the church; this is politics and public policy." Another favorite of mine is, "Oh, Jim, this is business, not church!"
Many people come to church to do their "religious" duty. They "endure" the worship time and the sermon, then they breathe a sigh of relief and head back to their "normal" routine. I've got a newsflash for you: Your house, your job, the grocery store, your school and your neighborhood can all be "holy ground". There is nothing more holy and sacred about any particular building or location. "Holy ground" is anywhere that you meet God. Don't you dare ever limit God by placing Him exclusively in your "holy" buildings or limiting His influence to Sunday services.
God spoke to Moses in the desert, out of a bush, in the midst of his routine workday and told Moses that he was standing on "holy ground". God spoke to Jacob in the country with his head on a rock, and turned that remote campsite into an "awesome place" and "the very gate of heaven".
FORGET RELIGION AND LOOK FOR GOD'S PRESENCE
Do you remember a few years ago when a lady burned a tortilla in Hidalgo, Texas and saw the holy image of the Virgin Mary in the tortilla? They immediately set up an altar and charged admission to see the "holy place". Listen, I love tortillas, but there was nothing "holy" about that burned chunk of corn meal. A real "holy place" is where we communicate with Almighty God, and listen, God really does want to turn your home into real "holy ground" by meeting you in your house during the week, and filling it up with His awesome presence.
Sixteen years ago I spent my summer in Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico, where I assisted a local pastor. In the days before e-mail, we had to send real paper and envelopes (remember those days?), so one afternoon I walked to the plaza to mail some letters at the post office. Once my errands were completed, I bought an English newspaper and sat down to have my shoes shined. As was my custom, I handed the little boy a cartoon Gospel tract I was carrying, then began to read about President Reagan and the Iran Contra scandal. As I read the paper, absorbed in the news, the boy finished the shoe-shine job and quietly started reading the tract (Barney and the Barrel). I heard someone crying, put my paper down, and saw the boy look up at me with his eyes full of tears. "Sir," he said, "I am so far away from God. My dad beats me when he gets drunk and God doesn't live in my house." I sat down on the step and prayed with Martin to receive Jesus, both of us crying by now. There we were, two people in a busy Mexican plaza, on "holy ground" at the very "gate of heaven." We weren't in church, but God had met us in the routine of life.
STEPHEN TELLS IT LIKE IT IS!
The first martyr of the church, Stephen, preached a magnificent sermon to a group of hateful, closed-minded, religious people in Acts 7. This is probably one of my top two favorite sermons of the Bible, direct and unflinching. In a very succinct sermon, Stephen reminds these religious weenies that "God does not live in buildings built by human hands: However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says: "Heaven is My throne and the earth is My footstool. What kind of house will you build for Me? says the Lord. Or where will My resting place be? Has not my hand made all these things?" Then he ratchets up his language about 5 notches and really speaks directly to their religious hearts: "You stiff-necked people, with uncircumcised hearts and ears! You are just like your fathers: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Was there ever a prophet your fathers did not persecute? They even killed those who predicted the coming of the Righteous One. And now you have betrayed and murdered him -- you who have received the law that was put into effect through angels but have not obeyed it." When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city, and began to stone him."
In the midst of evil, religious fools, surrounded by so much hatred, Stephen was standing on "holy ground", at the very "gate of heaven". He had a vision of Almighty God and saw Jesus, His Savior, waiting to receive him. God turned a patch of ground outside the city into "holy ground" where Stephen committed his spirit to Jesus.
IS YOUR HOME THE VERY "GATE OF HEAVEN"?
I don't like religion any more than Stephen did. Empty religious exercises are a worthless waste of time. I'm not impressed by shows of spirituality on Sunday; I'm hungry for a relationship with the Living God; I must know God's presence in every area of my life. What about you? Would you like to experience the presence of Jesus in your home, at work, in your school, in your neighborhood, at the grocery store? So many places are full of hatred and screaming and anger. Wouldn't it be great to have people leave your home and say, "How awesome is this place. It is the very gate of heaven!" Wouldn't it be nice to have people say, "The Ramirez home? That's the gate of heaven!" "The Rodriguez home? That's the gate of heaven!" "The Salinas home? God is awesome in that place!"
In I Corinthians 3:16, Paul says, "Don't you know that your body is the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God lives in you?" We can't leave Jesus within these church walls, because He goes everywhere we go! Haven't you had the experience of listening to a worship cd in your car, and as you begin to sing along with the words, God's presence becomes very real to you, and sometimes you even began to cry when you think of Jesus' love and mercy? Your car has just become "holy ground", and "awesome place", the very "gate of heaven."
As I close, I can't help but think of one other ordinary plot of ground. A place where murderers and criminals were executed -- Calvary. On another routine day, they hung another man on a wooden cross, but something was different about that man, Jesus Christ. After he had carried our sins on the cross and suffered all afternoon, the Bible says that he cried out with a loud voice, "It is finished!" and died. The earth shook, the sun was eclipsed, the veil of the temple was torn, the dead rose up out of their tombs, and everybody realized that Calvary had been transformed into "holy ground" -- an "awesome place" and the very "gate of heaven" for all who would believe.
Let Jesus walk into your ordinary routine of life this week and turn your "normal", "secular" places into "holy ground". He's here right now....ready to fill your home with His love. He's here right now....ready to make your office cubicle "holy ground". He's here right now...ready to make your classroom the very "gate of heaven." Why not welcome him?
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Surely the Lord is in this place and I was not aware of it...How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven." - Genesis 28:16-17