Who Can Dwell with God?

Scripture Passage: Psalm 15

What is Trinity Fellowship - North Jefferson, AL?

In recent years, members of Redeemer Community Church from across north Jefferson County began praying and dreaming together about seeing a similar church planted in their community. This had already happened once before in Homewood when Grace Fellowship was planted in 2017 and they wondered whether it could happen where they lived. The more they prayed and discussed this with the leadership of these two churches, the more it became clear that God was leading them to partner together to plant Trinity Fellowship.

The long-term aim is for Trinity to be an independent church that continues to partner with the Redeemer family of churches in celebrating and declaring the gospel across the region.

[candidate_1]
Peace to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of Creation.
O my soul, praise and for he is thy health and salvation.
O ye who here, now to his temple drawn near,
praise him in glad adoration.
And praise to the Lord above all things,
so wondrously reigneth,
sheltering thee under his wings,
and so gently sustaineth.
Has there not seen how the desires have been?
Granted in what he ordainedeth.
Praise to the Lord, your death prosper,
thy work and defend thee.
Surely his goodness and mercy shall day thee attend.
Under anew, what the Almighty can do,
if with his love he befriends thee.
Praise to the Lord, O let all that is in me adore him.
All that have life and breath come now with praises before him.
Let the amen sound from his people again.
Gladly forever adore him.
Let the amen sound from his people again.
Gladly forever adore him.
Amen.
We have seen.
Go ahead and go out to their classes as we come to God's Word together.
We're going to be reading Psalm 15 here in just a moment.
So this summer we're returning to the book of Psalms.
So for those who've joined us over the course of this past year or so,
we last summer began a series in the book of Psalms
aiming to cover the entire book,
and believe it or not, we did not get through the entire book last summer.
So we looked at Psalm 1 to 15,
and this summer we're looking at Psalm 15 to 24.
And just so you know, we do recognize that that is a kind of long term commitment for us as a church
to make our way through 150 Psalms.
And just a few things to say why we're totally okay with that.
One is the Psalms faithfully point us to Jesus in so many ways.
This is the Word of the Lord, and Jesus comes through so clearly.
And so love the book of Psalms.
Another thing about the book of Psalms is it's a book that really teaches us how to pray.
It meets us right where we are.
It connects with a full range of human emotions,
and it meets us there and brings us all the way to the throne of God.
And the third thing about why we're totally okay with having such a long term series
is that we're praying that Trinity will be a church with deep roots that lasts
not just for a short time, but for even generations to come.
So long series is no problem at all.
Well, let me read Psalm 15, and then we'll pray together.
So Psalm 15.
Oh Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
He who walks blamelessly, and does what is right, and speaks truth in his heart.
Who does not slander with his tongue, and does no evil to his neighbor,
nor takes up a reproach against his friend, and whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors the Lord, or who honors those who fear the Lord.
Who swears to his own hurt, and does not change.
Who does not put out his money at interest, and does not take a bribe against the innocent?
He who does these things shall never be moved.
This is the word of the Lord.
Let's pray.
Lord, thank you so much for the gift of your word, and Lord, thank you that your word is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword, and Lord, as we gather around your word this morning,
we can be confident that you are at work by your spirit, because your word is living and powerful.
And so Lord, we pray that you would be at work in our midst as we come to your word.
Lord, we pray that that would be the case, not only in here, as we look at Psalm 15,
but also next door in the classrooms as the children come around your word as well.
So we pray that you would be the help of all of the Sunday school teachers this morning
who were teaching your word.
And Lord, we pray not only for ourselves, but for all the churches around North Jefferson,
and greater Birmingham area, who are faithfully proclaiming your gospel,
where we thank you that we do not stand alone in this at Trinity Fellowship,
but Lord, you have raised up so many faithful churches locally.
And Lord, I pray specifically for a Fulton Springs Methodist Church,
Lord, thank you so much for their willingness to partner with us in the gospel
by opening up their facilities to us.
And Lord, we thank you for their generosity.
And Lord, I pray that they too would know you're blessing this morning as they gather around your word.
Lord, I pray that you'd be forming them as well into a people who are reflecting the glory of Christ in this area.
So Lord, we commit our time to you now and pray that you would speak for your servants who are listening in Jesus' name. Amen.
Well, when a family and I lived in West Africa, there was one day early on when we first moved there,
when we were in a car with a guy that we were working with, and this man was driving,
and we were driving through an area that was by far the most affluent area in Burkina Faso.
And there was this one particular neighborhood in the capital city,
and as we were making our way through this neighborhood, I don't know why somewhere else,
he pulled over just for a second, and as he pulled over, somebody opened up a gate from one of these mansions that were there,
and they came out, and they came right up to the window, and they said,
are you here to see the house? And we didn't know that that's where they're saying they're speaking in a local language to him,
and he spoke in a local language back, and what we found out, he said,
well, absolutely, we would love to see the house, if you don't mind showing us around.
And so he told us to get out of the car, and so we got out of the car, what are we doing?
And he said, this guy's going to show us around the house, it's a realtor.
And so Julia and I walked around this ginormous mansion, and we just had to keep our mouths shut,
they didn't know otherwise, there was no way we could have possibly afforded this house.
The thing that sticks out my mind that I remember is one of those libraries,
several kind of stories, and it has one of those rolling ladders that goes around the different libraries.
And so as we looked at it, we enjoyed it when we thought there's no way we could ever live in a place like this.
Well, Psalm 15, as we're coming this morning, we're actually looking at an even greater house,
we're looking at God's house. So you see that there in verse 1 of the Psalm.
And the thing about God's house isn't that it's too expensive for us to live in, it's that it is holy.
The thing that is needed to dwell in God's presence is not money, but true righteousness.
That is what is needed. And so there's a big question that's put before us here.
So what we're going to look at, we're going to just look at that question in verse 1,
and we're going to see how the Psalm and the rest of Scripture presents the answer to that question,
and to see where we find ourselves here in the Psalm as well.
So first of all, let's just see this question that's asked about this dwelling.
It says, oh Lord, who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
By the way, that's a question that's going to be repeated in Psalm 24,
which is where we're going to end up this summer. So we're looking at 15,
and we're going to end with 24 at the end, both kind of looking at this similar question.
So what is this place that's speaking about here? Well, you see a progression in how it describes the place.
First of all, it talks about this, a movable space or a tent,
who shall sojourn in your tent. But then it goes from this movable space to this fixed space,
which is a hill or literally a mountain.
And you see that progression when it comes to God's dwelling place,
as He makes His presence known amongst the people of Israel.
So we've just got through Exodus. We ended where at the tabernacle, right?
So He had this tent where God's presence dwelled among His people.
The Psalm 15 is a psalm of David. David came many years later.
So in 2 Samuel, chapter 6, something very interesting happens.
After David was anointed king of Israel, he brings the ark to Jerusalem.
Now this was the same ark that was in the holy of holies in the tabernacle where God's holy presence dwells.
And so David takes this to Mount Zion, and there he erects a tent for this ark to be in.
And in generation later, by the way, in this same place, King Solomon would build the temple there.
God's glorious presence would be made known on this holy mountain.
So this place is associated with kings, but hold that thought.
We'll get back there in a moment. But here in verse 1, we see that,
what's at the center of this holy mountain? It is God. This is God's tent.
This is His holy hill.
So David here is thinking about the location where heaven and earth meet.
This is where God dwells among us.
So what's that place like where God dwells among us?
Well, makes it clear this is a holy place. It's a holy hill.
So when we talk about God, we're not talking about someone who is, say, righteous for the most part.
We talk about God, we're talking about the one in whom there are no imperfections.
No improvements can be made upon Him.
To say that He is holy is to say that He is totally set apart.
And the more we see of His holiness, the more we see that it's not only true that He is holy,
but His holiness is also good and beautiful.
We want to see Him in His holiness, which we'll see, by the way, in Psalm 16.
Not to steal Matt's tutel's thunder, who's going to be preaching next week.
But His presence is a joyful place.
But since God is holy, His presence is a holy place.
So if you go back to Psalm 5 and verse 4, it says,
you are not a God who delights in wickedness.
Evil may not dwell with you.
So God's presence is not a place where evil can dwell with Him.
So imagine, I don't know, you've just moved into a nice new house,
and it's got brand new carpets, and like everything is spotless,
and you want to keep it that way.
Well, if you want to keep it that way, the last thing you want to do is to invite my family there,
because it's not going to be that way for much longer.
It's like there's going to be stains on the carpet or whatever,
as much as we try for that not to be the case.
Well, if God's dwelling place is holy,
well, how can it remain holy?
If unholy people are dwelling there.
So that's the question here.
Who can gain access into God's holy presence,
and it still be this holy place?
And the big question being asked, and I keep saying it's a big question,
because you get the repetition of the word, who there?
It's almost like, you know, if we put a word in all caps kind of today,
it's repeating it, who, who, who can dwell in the presence of the holy God?
And not only that, we move from so journey to dwelling.
It's one thing to have, you know, to be the neighbor of somebody.
It's another thing to visit in their home.
It's another thing entirely to then dwell with them in that residence.
That's the progression here.
Who can dwell in God's presence?
That's when you get to the answer, which is in verses 2 to 5.
Well, verses 2 to 5, we've got this portrait, this picture of this exemplary man
who shows us the person who can dwell in God's presence.
So what does this person like?
Well, verse 2, he who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart.
So if I had to choose one word, by the way, not just based on verse 2, but all of these verses,
on what this man is like, the word would have to be integrity, integrity.
That's who can dwell with the Lord, the man of integrity.
So what is integrity?
Integrity is a life of, you might say, godly congruence,
where who we are on the outside matches up with who we are on the inside.
Okay? Speaking of looking at houses, let's visit one more house.
I remember going to look at a house with the possibility of living there,
and we saw, I don't know, on Zillow, like these beautiful pictures,
that we realized it obviously had been kind of doctored up by the time we got there.
Because it was all facade.
The place looked beautiful, but we had questions about its structural integrity.
The place was kind of falling apart.
The appearance was one thing, but the actual integrity was another thing.
And so what we have here is a person of true integrity,
where the outside and the inside line up, so you have his walk.
His walk speaks of his way of life.
He does what is right, and he's blameless.
You can't find fault with his way of life here.
It also says he speaks truth in his heart.
So his public life aligns with his private life.
It also goes on to speak about his eyes.
We're having this window into who he truly is.
So righteousness can be seen in his walk and his heart.
I couldn't always be sad about King David.
For David's sin with Bathsheba.
And then he sinned terribly, and then he carried on with his kingly duties
as though nothing had happened.
But then he eventually was brought to a place of repentance,
which we read about in Psalm 51, his psalm of repentance.
But here's what he says in that psalm.
He says this to the Lord, you desire truth in the inward parts.
So it wasn't just about all that kind of external things that he was doing
that other people could see, but that inward place.
That's where God wants to see truth.
You know, it's sobering, as well as nauseating.
How many times people who appear righteous outwardly
are then exposed to be living?

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[candidate_2]
With a throne of God above, I have a throne in perfect play.
A great high priest who's name is earth, whoever lives in place for me,
whoever lives in place for me.
My name is craving for His hand.
My name is craving for His heart.
I know that while in heaven He stands,
no tongue can bid me events.
Deep heart, no tongue can bid me events.
Deep heart.
When Satan tips me to despair
and tells me of a guilt within,
a foot I look and see in there,
who made it into all my sin,
who made it into all my sin.
Because the sinless saved your death,
my sinful soul is counted free.
For God that's justice set his right
to look on Him and pardon me.
To look on Him and pardon me.
We hold in there the reason,
my perfect spotless righteousness,
a great and changeable I am.
The king of glory and of grace,
the king of glory and of grace,
only with himself I cannot die.
My soul is purged by His blood,
my life is healed with Christ on high,
with Christ my Savior and my God,
with Christ my Savior and my God.
What gift of grace is Jesus marrying?
There is no more for heaven now to care,
He is my joy, my righteousness and freedom,
my steadfast love, my deep and boundless peace.
To this I hope, my hope is only Jesus,
for my mind is fully bound to this.
All how strange and divine I can see,
all is mighty and that I,
but through Christ in me.
The night is dark, but I am not forsaken,
for by my sight the Savior He will stay.
I labor on in weakness and rejoicing,
for in my need His power is displayed,
to this I hope, my shepherd will defend me,
for the deepest valley He will leave.
All the night has been one,
and I shall overcome the night I,
but through Christ in me.
No faith I shed, I know I am forgiven.
The future sure, the price it has been paid,
for Jesus' blood is suffered for my pardon,
and He was raised to all withdraw the grain.
To this I hope, my sin has been defeated,
Jesus now and ever is my plea.
All the chains are released,
I can see I am free and that I,
but through Christ in me.
With every breath I long to follow Jesus,
for He has said that He will bring me home,
and day by day I know He will renew me,
until I stand with joy before the throne.
To this I hope, my hope is only Jesus,
for the glory ever more to end.
When the race is complete,
still my lips shall repeat it not I,
but through Christ in me.
When the race is complete,
still my lips shall repeat it not I,
but through Christ in me.
I am mercy, my God,
is the theme of my song,
the joy of my heart,
and the boost of my tongue,
that I free greased along from the first to the last,
have won my affection,
and bound my soul fast.
Without the sweet mercy I could not live here,
my sin would reduce me to utter despair,
but through the free goodness my spirits revived,
and He that first made me still keeps me alive.
And the mercy is more than a match for my heart,
which wonders to feel its own hardness deep heart,
dissolved by the goodness of fall to the ground,
and weep for the praise of the mercy I have found.
Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah,
hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah
Sills mercy and pardon and righteousness mine
Oh
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
Hallelujah
One more time
Hallelujah

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[candidate_3]
Well, what if you noticed about what these all had in common?
They all have to do with how he treats other people.
And the fact is true integrity isn't made visible
by our outward religiosity.
That can easily be be faked, can't it?
Now it's seen in how we view and treat other people.
That's where true integrity is seen.
But there's something else I wonder if you've seen.
And I've had trouble biting my tongue here,
not getting ahead of myself.
Is that if this is the criterion for getting into God's house,
then we're all in trouble.
Because the fact is, when we all look at ourselves
in the mirror of this exemplary man here, we don't match up.
I know I don't.
Like, have you always guarded your tongue in every conversation?
I haven't.
Have you always kept your word?
I haven't.
Do your outer life and inner life always match up perfectly
in perfect integrity?
Of course not.
The fact is, this list, if we're looking at it honestly,
exposes our sinfulness in the ways in which we've fallen short.
I show the reason why we actually don't deserve
to dwell in the house of the Lord.
So we return to that original question in verse one.
Perhaps when, with even more of a desperate plea,
who shall sojourn in your tent?
Who shall dwell in your holy hill?
Perhaps we see how desperate our situation is.
So what's the answer there?
Who is this man of integrity?
Well, this points to the Christ.
God's appointed king.
You know, back in Psalm one and two,
when we started, we saw that they serve as gateways
into the book of Psalms.
And in Psalm two, we're told exactly who the Lord
was going to place on his holy hill.
So the question here in this Psalm has already been answered
back in Psalm two.
He says this in Psalm two, verse six.
As for me, this is the Lord speaking.
I have set my king on Zion, my holy hill.
So God has appointed a man who dwells in his holy presence
and rules over the nations with perfect justice and integrity.
And there he's referred to, not only as God's king,
but also his son.
Look at David, you think, well, look at all the failures there.
It can't be him.
You look at Solomon, it's not much better.
After the kingdom splits, you see all the kings
that are listed out later than in the Old Testament.
You see, well, surely it's not any one of them.
So who is this king?
It is King Jesus.
It is Jesus the Christ.
Jesus showed himself to be the true and better king
that this Psalm points to.
So Jesus is the man of perfect integrity who dwells
in God's presence.
In fact, he came as God's very presence dwelling with us.
So God came dwelling not in a structure made with human hands,
like the tabernacle or like the temple,
but in a body.
This is who Jesus is.
And Jesus is kingly authority.
And his integrity can be seen in how he spoke to people.
It can be seen in how he faithfully loved them.
I love John 13 in verse 1 when it says,
having loved his disciples, he loved them to the end.
That's steadfastness that we saw in Psalm 15.
And yet that was rewarded not by being lifted up upon a throne.
He was lifted up upon a cross and there above the cross,
what was nailed, the king of the Jews.
And there we see Jesus being self-giving.
Rather than a relationship for what he can get out of it,
he is giving himself that he might pour out his grace upon us.
Because on the cross there, the holy Son of God
became the substitutionary sacrifice for our sins.
And it's what he did for us on the cross
that enables us to enter God's holy presence,
knowing that we are cleansed and welcomed home as children of God.
Because of what Jesus has done for us.
You see Jesus not only died, he also rose again
and ascended to his heavenly throne.
You hear the kingdom language there.
He ascended the Holy Hill.
The fact is that when you put your faith in Jesus
as your king, as your Savior,
you are brought into a living union with Him.
Our lives are united to Him in His death
and in His resurrection and in His ascension
to the Holy Hill and to God's very presence.
Colossians 3 and verse 3 says,
this way, your life is hidden with Christ in God.
You are there in God's presence if you are in Christ
no matter where He goes, you go.
And His righteousness is counted to you and I.
So who's this song about?
It's first of all about Christ and His righteousness.
But it's also about Christians.
It's about the righteousness that's been given to us in Him.
Knowing what Jesus has done for us
should humble us, thinking like it's only through Christ
that I'm able to enter into God's presence.
So we come humbly to the Lord.
And yet, as we see in Hebrews,
chapter 4, we come confidently to the Lord.
Hebrews 4, 15 and 16,
talks about Jesus as being one who is tempted
in all ways like we are yet without sin,
perfect integrity.
And it says, therefore, because He has perfect integrity,
let us draw near in confidence to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy and grace to help in our time of need.
So our confidence is in our Savior.
It's about us drawing near to God through Him.
But also know this, that God's presence with us
and this union with Jesus transforms our lives
to reflect His own.
You see, when we trust in Jesus,
God's Spirit comes to dwell within us
and transforms us to be what?
To be people of integrity.
The thing is, God doesn't look for people
who are knocking it out of the park.
And then invites them to dwell with Him.
No, God comes to us in Jesus and by His Spirit.
And He changes us so that we can be the kind of people
who both live and think and speak in ways
that reflect the very holiness of Jesus.
The fact is, the path of integrity
of who we are on the outside,
lining up with who we are on the inside,
is Christ reigning on the throne of our hearts.
I guess He changes us from the inside out.
Several years ago,
after living in Britain for a long time,
I made the step to move towards getting British citizenship.
And part of that British citizenship
was a test called the Life in Britain test.
And you were given a book that tells you all about
what Britain's like and what it means to live there
as a citizen and what the expectations were in all the rest.
They wanted to make sure we knew what living
as a British citizen would entail.
And that was to just leave me to a very interesting statement
from an early church father called Athanasius.
Here's what he said about Psalm 15.
He says, if you want to learn what citizenship
in the kingdom of heaven looks like, sing Psalm 15.
Psalm 15 is showing us what it looks like
to truly live under the reign of our Savior and King
as He transforms our thoughts.

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[candidate_4]
you know, when it comes to articles online,
it's the most shocking titles that are out there
that often get the quickest clicks on them.
No matter how misleading it might be,
we want the juicy new information.
This is why James wrote about the power of the tongue,
both for good and for evil too, in James.
He speaks about the tongue being like a fire.
So you look him, chapter three of James,
verses eight and nine, it says that the tongue
is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.
With it, we bless our Lord and Father,
and with it, we curse people who are made
in the likeness of God.
And as much as it pains me to say this,
to just return to the church,
churches can sometimes be the worst of places for this.
The hunger to hear or share something juicy
about someone else in a church circle
can come across not as a put down,
but as a righteous or at least a pseudo-righteous concern
for that person.
But a man or woman of integrity is careful to guard their tongue.
Or let's move on to the next description there in verse four.
He celebrates the honorable.
You can summarize it in that way.
Says he's someone in whose eyes a vile person is despised,
but who honors those who fear the Lord.
So what is going on here?
He will celebrate the righteous, not the unrighteous.
So to bring this up to modern times,
we live in a celebrity-obsessed culture
that is quick to imbibe and even celebrate ungodliness.
And especially when it comes to a celebrity
that we like what they do in some other sense,
we can be quick to overlook some of those other things.
You've got an ungodly example in pop culture or politics.
And they can be lifted up kind of above the fray
because of their celebrity status
as though they were beyond reproach.
And they can be so widely admired
that the things that they say or do are all sudden,
oh, they're not really shocking.
They can be overlooked or downplayed.
And before long, we find that we are being shaped by
those things that we are admiring
in the celebrities we follow.
A godly man, a man of integrity, however,
is not enamored by whoever is flashy and popular
at the moment, but rather,
he's someone who celebrates those who exemplify
a life that is honoring to the Lord.
People who might be otherwise overlooked.
People that people may have never heard of,
but they want to lift those up as a godly example
for us to follow.
They celebrate those godly examples
and honor them because that's honoring to the Lord.
Another thing, the second half of verse four,
we could say that he remains faithful
even when things get difficult.
Says he swears not, or it's a man who swears to his own hurt.
I love the way the NIV translates that, by the way,
it says, he's a man who keeps an oath even when it hurts.
And that's the idea of what's being put across here.
It says, and does not change.
So another way of saying this is to say that he is a man
of his word, to say that he doesn't change,
doesn't mean there's not areas that he changes in,
it's saying that he's not changeable.
Especially when it comes to those things,
he is, he's vowed or committed himself to.
We also live in a culture where many are quick
to drop their commitments when things get difficult
or just at the, on a whim, if something looks more appealing,
well, let's just go in that direction instead,
whereas this man of integrity is instead in contrast marked
by a steady, persistent faithfulness that endures.
He holds fast.
People of integrity are marked by a steady faithfulness
to the Lord and to others.
Let's keep moving.
Verse five, another description,
he isn't enthralled by money.
He's a man who does not put out his money at interest
and does not take a bribe against the innocence.
Now this isn't saying you shouldn't,
you know, if you're earning interest in your bank account,
you should close that account immediately
because earning interest is always wrong.
Now remember, this is talking about our relationships
with other people and when money comes into play.
And actually when you look at the law in Israel,
the God gave, they were not to charge
their brothers and sisters' interest
when they kind of longed out when they were seeking
to lend a helping hand.
They weren't to do that so that they could actually get more
for themselves in the long run.
So that was the rule that was in place there.
But we can say this about the man of integrity.
His heart isn't ruled by the desire for money.
That's not in the driver's seat in his relationship.
Somebody is loaning out money to somebody.
He doesn't do it so that he can take advantage of them
and get more for himself actually.
And he's not a man who can be bribed.
He will do what is right,
no matter what he stands to gain or what he stands to lose.
So he can't be bribed to act injusticely against someone
who is truly innocent.
So his integrity cannot be bought.
And this is reflected in the teaching of Jesus
in Luke chapter six.
In the sermon on the Mount Jesus said this,
if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive,
what credit is that to you?
Even sinners lend to sinners to get back the same amount.
But here's what Jesus said,
love your enemies and do good.
Land expecting nothing in return.
So people of integrity aren't motivated by selfish gain
in how they treat other people.
You can broaden that principle out further
and say, for person of integrity,
their relationships are not transactional.
There's a genuine love for the people.