“One Thing I Ask of the Lord”

Psalms 27

4 One thing I have desired of the LORD, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in His temple.

Here David says that the one thing he asks of the Lord is that he may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. It is what he seeks. This reminds us of Martha and Mary. Martha was hosting people, seeing to the catering and running up and down with many things to do. Mary sat at the Lord Jesus’ feet. One thing was necessary and Mary grasped it. The amount that you do is not important, but one thing is necessary and that is to listen to the Lord Jesus.

The psalmist asked for one thing. How many things do we seek for? Are you single-minded?

Previously, people knew the tabernacle of God and the Holy of Holies was the place where the presence of God dwelt. Others knew the temple that Solomon built and it was a house of worship. In the new covenant and dispensation, however, God is not in a building of bricks. People are the temple of God. It is marvelous to say “Lord I want to abide in the house of the Lord forever; to dwell with people who walk with the Lord.”

Paul sent for Timothy to come to him because he was alive spiritually – he sought the Lord. The other people sought their own thing. Don’t just stick to any Christian. Seek those who are alive spiritually.

Who do you identify with? You should identify with Mary because Martha will take you off the track.

When Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus, was expecting Him she went to visit Elizabeth in the hills. Mary was young but Elizabeth was old. Mary, unlike other young people, sought people who were alive spiritually. Other young people want to have their own meetings without any older person there so that they can carry on with their sinful ways but Mary wasn’t like that.

When Jesus was at Mary and Martha’s home, a woman poured expensive perfume on His feet. Judas and some of the other disciples were critical. They said, “How could the Lord allow this to happen? It is such a waste.” Carnal Christians are a curse to the work of God. The carnal mind seem so right. They can work out the exact cost but the Lord Jesus said, “Leave her. She does it for my burial.” How ashamed will you be when you realize that you have spent your time with people who are carnally minded and not spiritually minded.

People say that they only listen to God. They are foolish and can not say with David that they seek to be in God’s house with many others. God wants true unity, not with all kinds of rubbish. There is a saying that says “tell me your friends, and I will tell you who you are.” This is true. You are seen by your friends. Some gossip and share grudges. You should disassociate with evil company. The life of an eagle, it renews its youth so to say. It looks like it is about to die and then it shakes itself and sheds its feathers. It looks as if it is plucked, then new feathers come and it lives for another forty years. When it flies and another bird harass it, it flies straight into the sun and the other bird lose sight of it.

If you do not look at the Lord Jesus, you will go rotten. There will be many temptations. Joseph’s brothers wanted to kill him. They put him in a pit and stripped him of his jacket which they then dipped in the blood of an animal. The father grieved for him. Joseph was sold to foreigners. Later when the brothers saw Joseph in government, maybe they were terribly afraid but Joseph said that they should not be afraid and that it wasn’t them but God that allowed it to happen. Joseph did not hold a grudge against his brothers.

A spiritual person sees God in everything. A Zulu proverb says that a new bride loves her husband but later she gets used to things and kicks the husband by gossiping about him to the neighbours. If you get over-familiar and become sick of things, it will be a woe in your life. It is like when the Israelites became sick of the manna in the wilderness.

Where do you see the beauty of the Lord? It is where the children of God love one another and treat the other better than themselves. The world repents when they see how we love each other.

We must set our vision on Him and when He returns, some will be snatched away and others will be left behind. Let him who has ears hear or you will continue in your sinful ways.