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[ Silence ] [MUSIC PLAYING] ♪ Lord, how dirty little baby ♪ ♪ How dirty little baby ♪

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♪ Born in a manger ♪ ♪ Lord, how dirty little baby ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus, baby ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪

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♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪ ♪ Jesus ♪

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♪ Oh, baby, leave them now ♪ ♪ For life, for hope, to all we bring ♪ ♪ Listen, listen to the angels singing ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, glory to the newborn King ♪

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♪ Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, what a wonderful child ♪ ♪ Jesus, Jesus ♪ ♪ He's golden now, the baby boy ♪

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♪ The man who will hold me ♪ ♪ Oh, we praise you, listen, listen ♪ ♪ To the angels singing ♪ ♪ Glory, glory, glory to the new born King ♪

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♪ A virgin lady, a virgin lady ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ ♪ Glory of eternal ♪ ♪ God, how great you have to be ♪

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♪ Jesus, Jesus, praise Him ♪ - Amen. O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tent? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

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The subject of the message, guests of God. 15, 1, "Lord, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall dwell in thy holy hill?" Guess of God.

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This question raised by the psalmist concerns pilgrims who journey to Jerusalem coming from villages and hamlets situated throughout the land. Who shall worship in the house of the Lord? To whom is the invitation extended to worship in God's house?

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When there is an occasion of great significance, often engraved invitations are sent saying, "I desire the pleasure of your presence at such and such a time the address is given." To whom does the Lord extend his gracious invitations? Most people today are somewhat particular about those whom they invite to their house.

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The more prominent the person during the inviting, the more highly valued is the invitation. I remember a number of years ago when Lyndon Baines Johnson was president of these United States, a number of us received invitations to attend the barbecue at the LBJ Ranch. How elated, how delighted we were to receive an invitation from the president,

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the number one man in the land. Now, the 15th Psalm begins with a question, "O Lord, who shall sojourn in thy tent?" Who is chosen? To whom is the invitation extended?

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We recognize that these persons are privileged to be the guests of God. When we consider what it means to be the guest in the Lord's tent, it's good for us to consider the customs that prevailed during those times in the ancient world, particularly in the East.

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The custom that prevailed then still to a great extent prevails now. I remember when we were in Israel a number of years ago. were taken to the tent of a Bedouin. The tent was somewhat humble, it was out in the desert. He had in the tent his meager belongings and there was a goat that was

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there. But among the things that he had was an old coffee pot and as we came inside the tent he offered us a cup of coffee. All of us declined and the guide said to us not to do so. Someone should drink coffee because to refuse to accept the hospitality of your host under such conditions was considered an inso. So the

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The most gracious thing has been done when one is invited into another's tent and all of the hospitality that one has to offer as the host is extended. So what does it really mean to be invited into the tent of God? What does it mean?

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This is the question the psalmist is asking, "Who shall reside in the Lord's tent?" It's a question for pilgrims. It's a question for people who are on a journey. The people of Israel were always pilgrims, always on the move, journeying from place

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to place, on the move to the kingdom of God. In the wilderness, God is present with his people in the tent which Moses erected for him. Each morning the people pulled up their own tent pegs and continued on the journey a day's

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march nearer the promised land. But the Lord's tent pegs were pulled up also, not only each family's tent, but the tent of the tabernacle, so to speak. And he then went with his people on that day's march as they marched onward with a pillar

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of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And then when the day was over once more, they erected that tent again, the tent for the people, the tent for the Lord. But now here they are, many years later, they have a sanctuary, they have a more permanent

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building, they have a building that is stationary now, a building that is erected upon that high and holy hill called Mount Zion. And here is the question that is raised by the psalmist concerning those who are invited to enter the sacred precincts of the temple. Who are the guests of God? That's the question. Who shall ascend

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unto the heel of the Lord. Or who shall stand in his holy place? Who shall abide in thy tabernacle? Who shall reside in the dwelling place of the Almighty? Now Now for the answer to this question, we are given some specifics. The answer tells us about those who meet the requirements.

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Well the answer really gives us the kind of people who are on God's guest list. The answer is in the form of ten conditions that may be compared to the Ten Commandments. The psalmist gives us, so to speak, a decalogue for the individual who is the worthy worshiper. The first three have to do with positive conditions.

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He that walketh uprightly. That's the first. positive. "He that walketh uprightly." This is a condition for the one who would be on God's guest list. "He that walketh uprightly." It has to do with morality in

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worship. To walk uprightly, to do that which has to do with the kind of stance of the worshiper who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord? Who is it that really celebrates the goodness of God? Who is it today that really enters into the real meaning of Christmas? Who is that person who is on God's guest list?

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The person whom God invites into his tent, that person whom God selects to dwell in his heart or her heart and to rule in that life. Who is such a person? Well, he that walketh uprightly. And the second is he that worketh righteousness. He that worketh righteousness. You know, a great deal of the time some person may

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feel that if I just do as I ought to do, if I read my Bible and I pray and I don't do anything else, I don't need to go to church, I don't need to do this, that's not enough. It's more to be done than that. only is the person to walk uprightly but that person is one who worketh

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righteousness. That we are to be engaged in doing something that has to do with human uplift, doing what is right. In other words, entering into right relationships with people. It's not enough just to say, "Well, I'm gonna go on to heaven by myself. It doesn't matter what other people may do." Well, if we are on

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that journey toward heaven, it means that we are concerned about carrying someone else with us. Thirdly, he who speaks truth in his heart. It's rather easy for one to give certain impressions externally.

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That's rather easy for us to do, and so often our judgments are based on these externals. But what the psalmist says, "He that speaketh truth in his heart." In other words, the person who is what he is, who's not really just acting a part, but who somehow is true to himself.

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He speaketh truth. He is identified with the eternal truth. He who speaketh truth in his heart. For as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.

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So you will note that there are three positive things that the psalmist selects here and then he gives three negative things. In other words, we are known by what we do as well as what we do not do. In other words, he that backbites not with his tongue.

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To be the guest of God, backbites not with his tongue. You know, I've seen some people who will come to church every time the door opens almost, but they're engaged in just as much mischief as you could ever dream of. I remember having a brother who was there every time, every worship service.

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He was always there. He sat right near the front seat. He was always there. But he was always identified with tearing the church down.

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If there was something that was going out wrong about the church, he was always the one out there telling it. And he did more harm to that church during all those years, and he stayed there about some 50 years, but he did more harm than goodness by just being there looking and listening

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to the service. And this is what God is talking about through the psalmist. talking about, who is on God's guest list? There's one thing to come within the walls of the sanctuary and to be seated and there's one thing to be here

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morning and evening time and time again. That's good as far as that goes, but it doesn't go far enough. Who is on God's guest list? Well, the one that has no falsity, he that backbites not with his tongue. Now the person who's always smiling in your face and shaking your hand but backbiting you, time your back is turned he's always tearing you

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down. That's that that person is not on God's guest list. He that backbiteth not, these are the things that are not to be done. He that doeth no evil to his neighbor. No evil. That's the meaning of Christmas. Not whether or not one has a great number of gifts under the tree in a material sense. Most of the people in the world don't have

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those things, but there are certain things that one is not to do, and it is that he will do no evil toward his neighbor for the real meaning of this season is to have goodwill toward all men. And so most of the time when we begin to look in our heart of hearts some of us have some

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old prejudices, some old grudges that we are harboring from time to time and so often from year to year, but the one on God's guest list is the one that does no evil to his neighbor. He was not involved in any reproach against his neighbor, seeking to destroy his neighbor. Three positive things, three negative things. And so when

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we look again there are two more positive things. One is despise reprobates as we consider this passage. Despise reprobates in whose eyes a vile person is condemned But he honoreth them that fear the Lord. He seeks to do that which is good.

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He swears to do good. And then there are two negative conditions that close it. He doesn't put his money out for interest. When we consider the practice of those times,

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there were those who were poor. And then there were people who took advantage of the poor. Because they found themselves in a tight, they charged them high interest rates, exorbitant interest rates.

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And this is condemned in the scripture. I've known a number of people who loaned money out for people who found themselves in a financial crisis well they could go to them and you could sometimes get a dollar and pay back two dollars and the people who were doing that were the people who were

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really in a strain and every time they would borrow a hundred dollars they had to pay back two hundred dollars they didn't have to sign anything but but they had they had to pay back two hundred which was their life blood this is what the Scripture is condemning and it matters not how many times the person who does that

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frequents the temple and how loudly that person may engage in the anthems and the songs that this person is really not the guest of God. This person is not on God's guest list. person does not really enter into the temple of the Spirit of God. So you know

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there's some extremes that we consider about God. Some people say, "Well, you know God is so high, He's so far removed from the human scene that you can't have any association with him. He's so holy and we're just human creatures, we're finite creatures and so God doesn't have anything to do with us. That's one

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extreme view. And then there is the other extreme view that was, you know, God is right here with us. He's so near us, he's so commonplace and we become so familiar with him that that kind of familiarity breeds contempt. Well, both of those are extreme views.

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For the psalmist is telling us that we can come to God. And that's really the meaning of this season. Not only the fact that we have come, we can come to God, but that God comes to us. That God comes right where we are.

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God has invaded our lives and he comes right where we are. draw nigh unto God, and he will draw nigh unto you. But what is required in order for us to be the guest of God? Oh, the colleges and universities of this nation have certain requirements for entrance, and the more prestigious the college, the higher the requirements.

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certain grades that you have to make on the SAT, the certain score that's required on the graduate record exam, or if it's law school, the LSAT test, whatever it may be. The more prestigious the school, the more one has to be concerned about those scores, the entrance requirements. And then there are other colleges that have an

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open-door policy. If you're a graduate of a bona fide high school you can enter. That's all that's necessary. Well here is the one who is far above us. Here is the one who has made us and who loves us. And here he has given us his requirements and his requirements are that we will be upright, that we will work righteousness, that we will be rightly related to our neighbor, that in

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our heart of hearts we will be true to ourselves so that we will not be false to others. And God has come, he's come and he says to us, "Be my guest." That's the meaning of this season, "Be my guest." The God who has who has come to us from heaven who has come down to walk this earth with us. He says be my guest. So he

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wraps himself in human flesh. He's with us. He's with us wherever we are. The daily issues of our lives. He's with us in our joys and in our sorrows. He's with us in our sickness and in health. He's with us in our success as well as in our defeat. He's with us and the tragedy of Christmas is that there were those who found no room for him, no room. He says be my guest to us and we find no room in

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our hearts. When he came to that wayside inn when Joseph and Mary came there Mary was expecting that the Christ child to be born, but they had no room. But God somehow does not stop there. When we reject him, we find that he goes to the back door and the child is born in a humble stable shed. So that the door is

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open. God says to us, "Come in. Come in. My admission standards are reasonable. They are gracious. Come in." Who comes? Who comes? Who comes? Who comes to that holy place? Who comes? Well, there are many milling about. There are many around in Jerusalem. There is Herod's court with all of its bedlam, but who comes? Who comes and bows and worships?

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Who comes? Who are the guests of God? Who comes? Well, wise men from the East. Wise men. They're pilgrims. They're on a journey. And those who come, who bow there, who are the guests of God, are on the move for him, moving toward the fullness of his kingdom. Who comes? Who comes? Those who come there are not only the wise, but those who come are

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simple shepherds. And that's the wonderful thing about God. He takes the highest and and the lowest. He accepts the greatest and the least. Who comes? The door is open. Everyone can come. If you come in the right spirit, if you somehow embrace God in your love, in your concern. For even now God says, "Come, come unto me.

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Be my guest. All you who labor and are heavy laden, come. Come. Come!

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And this is the joy! This is the joy of the season! I came!" Can you say that in your heart of hearts today?

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That's what really makes the celebration real, to be able to say, "I came! I came, I came to Jesus as I was, wearing worn and sad. I found in him a resting place and he has made me glad. Come today, come. The Spirit says come. Come ye sinners

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poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore, Jesus stands ready to save you, full of pity, love, and power. Come! Come and be the guest of God! If you really want your life to be blessed, come. If you really want to have peace, peace that surpasses all that the world is able to give us, come. If you really want to have your burden lifted and to live in the light of God, come.

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Come. Who shall ascend to the hill of the Lord? Well, that answer is in your heart. You have the answer.

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We extend now the privilege of the church to accept Jesus Christ as Lord of your life. We invite you to come now. We extend the invitation. [ Music ]

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[ Music & Singing ] Come to Jesus, come to Jesus, come to Jesus just now. Just now, come to Jesus. Come to Jesus just now.

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He will save you. He will save you. He will save you just now. Just now.

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He will save you. He will save you just now. He's able. He's able.

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He's able just now. Just now. He's able. He's able just now.

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He is willing. He's willing. He's willing just now. Just now.

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He is willing. He is willing just now. [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]