A Living Habitation - Pastor Sandra Roach

What does it mean for the Church to become a true habitation of God's presence? In this powerful message, Pastor Sandra Roach explores the Father's desire for His people to move beyond religious structures and into a lifestyle of transformation and transfiguration through the Holy Spirit. 

Discover how God's presence changes believers from the inside out, reveals His glory through His Church, and empowers sons and daughters to shine as lights in a dark world. This episode will challenge you to make room for God's presence, embrace your identity in Christ, and carry His glory wherever you go.

Transcript

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Welcome to the Summit Church Podcast. Thank you for joining us as we share weekly sermons and teachings from Summit Church in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Our prayer is that today's message encourages your faith and helps you grow in your relationship with Jesus. Check out our website at summitchurchtn.com. Thanks for listening, and we pray this message encourages you today. Oh my goodness, today is a good day. Because I am bringing a word from the Lord from our Wednesday morning intercessors. I've been carrying in this word in my heart for a couple of weeks, and it's time for it to be released. This prayer meeting of Wednesday morning intercessors has uh been constant for almost 22 years. We pray and see God move in this house. Hallelujah. Not saying all the other prayer meetings that we have here doesn't, but I'm telling you, God does something beautiful and shows us the direction and where he is moving right now. God's heart is for Summit Church to be a place of his presence, a habitation and a place for encounter. And I'm going to read Isaiah 61, verses 1 and 2. This is what the Lord says. Heaven is my throne and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house you will build for me? Where will be my resting place? Has not my hand made all these things? And so they came into being, declares the Lord. These are the ones I look on favor. Those who are humble and contrite in spirit and who tremble at my word. So he made it clear a few Wednesdays ago, I think it was two, maybe three Wednesdays ago, that he wanted us to make space, to make a place for himself, to be a habitation, a resting place, and continually experience his presence in this house. You may be thinking, well, all churches are that way, Pastor. They're all that way, but they're not. There are many places, I grew up in a lot of them, where it's not a habitation for God, it's a habitation for religion. And so I'm not about that. Ephesians 2 and verse 22 says, in whom ye also were builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Something glorious happens when people come together for no other reason than to be in his presence and to hear a word from him. We come together. We're not here coming together as a social club as so many do. No, we're here, although I love you all, I think you're wonderful, even you visitors, I owe you a debt, and that's to love you. Because, see, we're brothers and sisters in the Lord. Hallelujah. Glory to God. So we're not here to please man. We are here to make a place for his presence. Glory to God. David said it this way in Psalms 27, 4 through 6. The one thing I ask of the Lord, the thing I seek most, is to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, delighting in the Lord's perfection and meditating in his temple. For he will conceal me there when trouble comes. Come on, somebody needs to be shouting about that. I will hold my head high above all my enemies. That is so good. Hallelujah. Who surround me. How many of you know that there are forces of darkness surrounding us right now? And the world is not getting brighter and brighter except in the church. And we've got to understand we carry the light of God in us. We carry his glory and his presence in us. But we have to cultivate a place where we can shine with the light of his glory. Come on. I'm just talking about the church today. I'm not talking about some television show, some movie. I'm talking about the church of the living God today. I'm talking about the church that deserves the manifested presence of God in the earth in these last days. Amen. Hallelujah. I'm gonna have to read that part again, for he will conceal me there when trouble comes. He will hide me in his sanctuary, he will place me out of reach on a high rock. Then I will hold my head high above my enemies who surround me. At his sanctuary I will offer sacrifices and shouts of joy, singing and praising the Lord with music. As sons and daughters of God, it's our great honor to make space and a place for his presence. You see, that's what the church was. Back in the early days of the church with great persecution going on, they never neglected coming together with other believers. They would go into the catacombs. Somebody in here needs to read the book of martyrs. They would go into the catacombs and it would be darkness, and the one who was bringing the word would walk in with a lamp, and it would fill, that was the very presence of God, would fill the place. They didn't worry about what would happen if they were caught. They were concerned that if they weren't there, what might happen to the light that was in them? Come on, church. You see, he comes and dwells among us and in us. Oh, hallelujah! So we're saying yes to the desire that has always been in the heart of the Father. It's not in any other place than his church, his sons and daughters. It's not in another church service, it's not in great praise and worship, although that's where we lift him up and glorify and magnify his name. But beloved, it is in us when we make a place, when we say this is going to be no other than a habitation for God. And when we come together, our light is so strong. Come on. Our light is so strong. The glory of God in us is so powerful, it can be seen out there. Oh, hallelujah. I'm not talking about just any kind of light, I'm talking about the supernatural light of God. He said, You are no, you are no longer darkness, but you are now light in the Lord. Walk as children of light. Hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. You see, this is holy. So what we're saying yes to is to tear down every man-made structure we have established in this house. Are you hearing me? To tear down every man-made structure in this house that was a good idea. That was absent the Holy Spirit, that might woo, woo people in and keep them the way they are. No, we're allowing God to tear down every man-made structure we have established and create his holy habitation. Oh, thank you, Lord. In doing this, beloved, he will come and bring transformation, which will lead us to transfiguration. Now, see, that word can sometimes confuse or strike a little bit of fear in the church. I know about transformation, but this transfiguration was only for Jesus Himself. But you see, that's not what the word says. So let's be worried people, shall we? You see, I'm not, I don't have a desire burning within me to look like church as usual. I don't have that desire in me. I love you all, and I come to be a part of the light you carry. I come for us to come together, and when we come together and pray, this region will light up with the very fire and presence of God. Isn't that the call? You know, can we revisit the call of God on the church's life to be a light, to establish the kingdom? The Bible tells us that don't say, where is the kingdom? The kingdom of God is where? It's in us. Hallelujah. Is the world seeing the kingdom of God in you? Hallelujah. Really great question, Pastor. So when I say this, it sounds like a lot. And it is. And you may leave here and say, that was a lot. Out of somebody who is a lot. I'm not sure, can I stand a double lot here? Can I really get into that much? But I want to tell you, the way the church is living and functioning is far below who we really are. As sons and daughters of the living God, we're so much more. I hope to break it down as simply as He spoke it to us. Now, isn't that wonderful? I want to break down what God has said as simply as He spoke to us. Let me just say this. I hear a lot of sermons, and after I finish listening to them, I'm going, Lord, what did they just say? I'm not real sure about what they said. It sounded good and they were fiery. Woo-hoo. But if all you're looking for is fire, it'll burn out quick. About the time you get in your car. But if you're looking for the very presence and passion and fire of God, it will never go out and it will totally transform your life and lead you into living a life of transfiguration. Hallelujah. Glory to God. His presence in our lives brings transformation. Only the Holy Spirit's presence in our life can bring transformation. A program will be a good idea. Come on, somebody. It's been in church a while. Come on. A program is a great idea of your own. But presence. And listen, I'm not saying that every program is wrong. I'm not. I'm just saying that 90% of the programs churches come up with are man-driven instead of God ordained. Beloved, I don't know if you know this, so I'm going to go ahead and break it to you. We are living in the last of the last days. They're not burning and shining with the light of God. They're going out. I remember when I was young, Steve and I were young, and we were, uh, our church had a good idea. Take these tracks, knock on doors. Steve and I were on a team. We were going to knock on doors, had it down. You had five points. Ding, ding, ding, ding. You have five points, and when the door opens, you couldn't remember the first three. And so you're going up. And I'm looking over at the smart one. Got nothing. So we're we're just, hey, we're here to see if you want to come to our church. See, guys, that's no good. That's no good. We would actually walk to the door and pray no one would be home. Now you all are probably thinking, none of you have ever done that before. I can tell you all are too young to have ever been in a situation where you prayed they wouldn't answer the door. But I'm telling you, if you're empty and you're shooting blanks, you're praying, they're not coming to the door. Come on. Anyway. Then when the spirit came upon us, come on. I didn't have to have anyone tell me what to do. Just point me. Come on. Just point me. Just tell me what Ari, what you want. And it happens all the time. It happened all the time. It's still happening all the time. Come on. But it's in a church that believes the word. It's in a church that is filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. It's in a church that is hungry to see God's kingdom come, his will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Oh, some come on. Jesus gave us a model prayer. He did. And for years we've prayed, Lord, that your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us his day. Come on. We run through it, but do you realize that was the heart of Father? That through his church, heaven would come through us. Oh, somebody's got to get happy in here. Come on. So we're going to talk first about transformation because transfiguration will never happen in your life without first being touched by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit. Look with me at 2 Peter chapter 1. And I'm going to start reading in verse 3. Everything we could ever need for life and godliness has already been deposited in us by his divine power. What? Yes. Did I read that right? Have you read that before? Everything. How many how many people say, I'm, I'm, I, I'm, I'm a Christian? Let's just bring it down to that. I'm a Christian. Hallelujah. If you're not today, oh, we got a plan at the end of the service. And if you're desperate, you can come on down now. We'll have one of our one of our prayer servants will tackle you before you get here and start praying for you. Come on. We believe in salvation. We believe in pulling people out of the very mouth of hell. So they will be sons and daughters of the living God. Oh, come on. Hallelujah. For all this was lavished upon us through the rich experience of knowing Him who has called us by name and invited us to come to Him through the glorious manifestation of His goodness. I want to tell you something. If anybody ever tells you that God is not good, they're a liar. The word says He is. Actually, the Bible says goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I, beloved. And you will dwell in his house, in his presence forever. See, I don't have to, I'm not waiting on that to happen in heaven. That's my reality. My reality is that I live in the house of the Lord. I live in the very presence. The house is in me. I come to the house expecting God to move. Now you won't ever hear me say this. I'm not expecting God to come here and show up and show out. Now, those of you that know me know I hate that phrase. Because God never intended to be looked at as a spoilt child. When children show out, you think, yeah, they're being kids. When you tell me that God is showing out, I'm telling you, you're blaspheming the name of the Lord. Okay, if that hurts your feelings and that's one of your pet phrases, change it. No. It's up to you. Okay. As a result of this, he has given you magnificent promises that are beyond all price, so that through the power of these tremendous promises, we can experience partnership with the divine nature by which you have escaped the corrupt desires that are in the world. You've escaped those corrupt desires. You carry within you a divine nature. Let me talk to these people. You carry within you a divine nature. See, I'm gonna talk to him. I'll be back. Do you know whose divine nature you carry in you? Jesus. Oh, hallelujah. We don't have to wonder what Jesus was like, we just have to read the New Testament to find out what he's like. Hallelujah. Funerals became resurrection celebrations when Jesus was around. Come on. Okay, I'll tell it again. Do you know that a testimony is never to be just told one time? You just tell it over and over again, especially if the Holy Spirit is telling you to. I was preaching at a um, I was preaching, was I preaching? Is that what they call a funeral? Who's gonna preach that funeral? It sounds like Southern, doesn't it? Okay, well, anyway, my spiritual mother passed away. And they asked me to come and preach her service, and I did. Went to the church, it was great, blah, blah, blah. We got to the graveside service, and one of the sons came up and said, Can we turn this into a healing service? I said, Excuse me. Now, no one had ever asked me right there where the casket was. And friends, he said, we got a family member that has cancer, and we're believing for them to be healed. Can we pray that they get healed? Sure. So I got up and I wanted to start out with something awesome and very powerful. And I said something like this: we're gonna have a healing service today. I didn't mean to lead with that, but it happened, okay? You know when the Holy Spirit's leading things, you'll say things you think that was undignified. Okay. God doesn't care about your dignity, he cares about his honor. So we started praying. This woman, I've got cancer, and so we started praying, believing for God, and then another one had something, and another one had something, and it turns into a shouting, praising, healing service right there over a coffin. And I could hear Miss Louise going, Glory to God, glory to God. She said to me when I was a youth pastor, she and her husband would say, they would talk to me all the time, and they would lean over and they would say, Honey, all you need is the Holy Ghost. You know in the Bible where they said I didn't know there was a Holy Ghost. That was my experience. I had read about the Holy Spirit, but you see, I hadn't experienced the Holy Spirit. So when I did, it changed everything. Okay? I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation. I want you all to know something. I'm not afraid of the Holy Spirit. I lived without the Holy Spirit for a long time in my life. And if you think I'm gonna shut up about him now, you're wrong. Because I saw someone who didn't have any power then be able to talk, to pray, to speak to people, to minister to people in power. Not my power, the power of the Holy Spirit. Come on. That's what we're talking about today. You're not just empty. Don't say, I just feel so empty. Don't ever say that. I just feel so empty. You are never empty. The world is empty, but you are never empty. Your emotions may be fooling you. The devil may be lying to you, but I want you to know you are filled with him. You are filled with his presence. Oh, glory to God. So let me see if I can find my place. So devote yourself to lavishly supplementing your faith with goodness. And to goodness add understanding. And to understanding, add the strength of self-control. And to self-control, add patient endurance. And to patient endurance, add godliness. And to godliness, add mercy toward your brothers and sisters, and to mercy toward others, add unending love. Are you wait a minute? Let me see if you heard that one, okay? You know, you can brag about having all those others, but it's a telltale sign of who you're carrying if you're absent of unending love. Oh, come on. Since these virtues are already planted deep within and you possess them in abundant supply, they will keep you from being inactive or fruitless in your pursuit of knowing Jesus Christ more intimately. But if anyone lacks these things, he is blind, constantly closing his eyes to the mysteries of our faith and forgetting his innocence. For his past sins have been washed away. Oh, somebody shout about that. You're not who you used to be. Now, let me tell you something. I love people that God pulled out of the pit. Because they're not like church people. You know how church people are? Oh, hallelujah. Oh, yes. I remember the day I was saved walking down the aisle. What'd you do yesterday for the Lord? Hallelujah. Let me tell you something. When you've been pulled out of the pit, when you were so far down, you didn't know if anyone could hear your cry. But when you cried to the Lord, he reached down and pulled you out and he washed you. Do y'all hear me? He washed you. He washed you clean. He washed you forever clean. You, you, he washed you forever. Oh, come on. Hallelujah. You see, if we're just trying to maintain something, we're never going to shine with the light of his glory. If you're constantly working on your salvation instead of living it, instead of walking it out. Come on, instead of walking it out. I heard all my life I had to worry about losing what God had given me and that it would be taken. Let me tell you something, the devil can't have none of my stuff. And what in the world is he going to do with my salvation? Because he's not saved. And he's not getting there. Listen, I don't have to give you mine, he's given it all. Hallelujah. Okay. When you were saved, you came into union with Jesus. One with Jesus. That's good news. Y'all ought to be happy about that. When you were saved, you came into union with Jesus. You became a son or a daughter of God. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. All that He has became available to you as sons and daughters of God. Everything we could ever need for life and godliness has already been deposited in us by his divine power. Somebody's going to get that about six o'clock tonight. Whoa. Whoa! Did I hear right? Whoa. I'll call a religious friend and see if it's right. Listen to this. Romans 12 and verse 2 says, don't copy the behavior and customs of this world. But let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God's will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect. Oh, hallelujah. God wants to change your mind about you. When I got filled with the Holy Spirit, I'm saying that to be polite. Now I'm gonna say it to Pentecostals. When I got filled with the Holy Ghost, I always like saying that because my Pentecostal friends, I'd be around them and changed everything. Changed everything in my life. The word came alive. His presence became tangible. Come on, church. His presence became tangible to me. Was he always there? Yes, he was. Yes, he was. See, you can get in your car and drive down the street, and you can visit with some pastors that are and some churches that are of Baptist persuasion and that don't quite believe in the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Some do, but not all. And they might disagree, but I want to tell you something. I remember before and after. Anybody in here remember before and after? Glory to God. Hallelujah. Talk about transformation. You see, he wants to use us to impact the world. You see, when we allow God to start the process of transformation in our lives, what he does is begin to dismantle every worldly stronghold in your life. And your response to the demonic deceptions and temptations that are surrounding you and in the world will begin to diminish. Wait a minute. That power doesn't have a hold on me. Now let me tell you when the power does have a hold on you, when you don't know who you are. When you don't know that transformation is available for you. Transformation is for the church. Which one's in the church? All of the church. You see, when we make this a habitation, you will also become a habitation. Hallelujah. And what that is, is a temple for his glory. For his glory. Hallelujah. Glory to God. You see, that's always been the heart of the Father, that we become a dwelling place for his presence. Romans 8 and 14 says, for all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Isn't that good? If you're led by the Spirit in heaven and on earth, you are known as a son or a daughter of God. Hallelujah. Completely transformed by his presence and power. We were created to live in the awareness of his presence with us and in us. In Genesis, see, God started at the beginning by telling us that we were created in his image. That's a reality. But the Bible says that through Adam all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We lived in a state of fallen, falling short of the glory. But Jesus, the captain of our salvation, came to bring many sons and daughters to glory. That's good news, people. Y'all ought to be shouting about that. He came and he brought us, he captured, he got us away, he paid the price. Devil had no hold on us any longer. Jesus said, I break that hold, and now I'll get my sons and daughters back. Oh, hallelujah. Thank you, Jesus. Glory to God. Which leads us to the good news of the reality of transfiguration. Matthew 17 and verse 2 says, Then Jesus appeared. Then Jesus' appearance was dramatically altered. A radiant light as bright as the sun poured from his face. And his clothing became luminous. How do you say that? Luminescent? Luminescent, praise the Lord. Dazzling like lightning, he was transfigured their very eyes. Transfiguration is not just changed. Change. It's not like transformation. When transformation happens, then his glory will be revealed in you. Oh, it's such good news. Jesus modeled this by living in obedience to the Father. A transformed lifestyle. A transformed lifestyle. You see, there can never be glory revealed without surrender. You must surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. God, if it's not you, I don't want it. Problem is, we are mesmerized by what we know we shouldn't have. But our appetites are still being fed by the devil. Yeah, I used his name. I'm not afraid to tell you you have a number one enemy. And if you don't know who you are, you walk around with a target on your back. Listen, I've told this to you all many times. If the devil comes to my house and wakes me up at the middle of the night and starts accusing me, I get up out of bed. I don't lay there, I get out of bed. There's some work that's to be done. I have an interloper in my house. I don't know how he got in there, but he'd stay. How many times do you have to do that, Pastor, before he leaves? All I've ever counted is to one. When you know who you are, come on, somebody. When you know who you are, he has no power over your life. Oh, hallelujah. Praise the name of the Lord. Glory to God. Transformation prepares us to see and carry the glory of God. Listen to this scripture. That day in prayer, God gave us this scripture. 2 Corinthians 3, 18. We can all draw close, draw close to him with the veil removed from our faces. And with no veil, we all become like mirrors who brightly reflect the glory of the Lord Jesus. We are being transfigured into his very image. As we move from one brighter level of glory to another, and this glorious transfiguration comes from the Lord who is spirit. And then transfiguration, the glory revealed through his church. Oh, come on. Second Corinthians 4 and 1 says this. Now it's because of God's mercy that we have been entrusted with the privilege of this new covenant ministry. And we will not quit or faint with weariness. God's glory comes and is seen through his church. Hallelujah. Problem is, people stop before transformation. They get saved. Woo woo! I got saved. Praise the Lord. Oh, praise the Lord. People's family starts crying. I didn't think they'd ever get saved. This is wonderful. People are just crying, and it's just, oh, it's wonderful. They got saved. And they camp on the day you got saved. Instead of last week when you walked into a store and the glory of God was so revealed on you, people began to say, I don't know what you have, but I want it. Have you ever had anybody say that to you? I don't know what it is you have, but I want it. I've gone to church all my life and they didn't give me that. What you have is not in church. It's from God Himself. And you see, He always wanted us to have it. He said, I'll change you from glory to glory to glory. And you see, it's like this from glory to glory to glory to glory to glory. And one day, one day, I'll just walk on in. It always amazes me when people talk about being afraid of death. Let me introduce you to Jesus. Let me introduce you to the Christian life. Let me tell you. He said we're going to rule and reign with him. I'm not going to get a set of angel wings because I was made in his image. To carry the glory of God. I wasn't meant to come down here at Christmas time and get my wings. You know what always amazed me about that story? What angel would want to leave a place like that to come to a place like this? And yet, and yet, God says that He has sent us ministering angels. Every one of us, do you realize it where you're sitting right now? Right next to you is your ministering angel? Okay, now you're getting a little sci-fi here. You're getting a little crazy here. No, no. Do you know that in Psalms 103 it says that angels, my angel, hearkens to the voice of the word. Who's going to be speaking the word? We are. Angels hearken to the voice of the word and go and do. Go and do what God says, what his word says. Hallelujah. Thank you, Lord. God's glory becomes visible on you. Colossians 1 and verse 27 says, for God wanted them to know that the riches and glory of Christ are for you, Gentiles too. And this is the secret. Christ lives in you. This gives you assurance of sharing his glory. It gives you the assurance, Christ in me, the hope of glory. You see, it's not when it says Christ in you, the hope of glory. It's not like this. Well, I hope so. Well, I hope God's gonna bless me. I just hope. Let me tell you something. You've got a wrong understanding of hope. Hope means white hot expectancy. Hope means what God says will be mine. I'm expecting it. Hey, there it comes. Come on. Hallelujah. Every come on every day. Every day. Well, I use three of my days up in a row. I hope somebody around me has got some more days. Come on. That's the way we think. We we act as if we're running out. We run out of the glory. Beloved, you'll never run out of the glory. You'll go from glory to glory to glory until you're up there with Him. And then there'll be a time we'll come back here and we won't have to open doors. Yeah, that's right. We'll walk through them. Hallelujah. We'll be like Jesus was. Jesus never said, knocked on the door, I wish they'd hurry up and come, because when he came back, he just walked through the door. Whoa. Can you imagine? First time you've seen somebody walk through the door? Whoa. That's pretty awesome. Okay. I'm stretching you all. Some of you all have been in regular church too long. You see, I'm not just talking about visible to the church. I'm talking about visible to the world. You see, beloved, you become what you behold. That's right. If you're beholding trash, I'll leave it at alone. But if you're beholding the face of Christ, oh come on. For too long, their church has only pursued behavioral change in believers. Church acts like it's a 12-step program. After we get saved, here, let me give now you you go over those, you check them, and you'll have meetings where you can get up and talk about how you've fallen. I don't want to hear about how you've fallen. I want to hear that you repented. It's as simple as that. Come on. Hallelujah. You see, this isn't scriptural. Behavior modification works on very few, if any. When we're transformed by the living Christ, we become like him. Then and only then can his glory be revealed in us through us. Oh come on. It's not a good sermon or good worship or gathering with fixed people. Did y'all hear that? Nothing sadder than a gathering of fixed people. All we all look alike. Everything's good. There's no danger of anybody that smells bad coming, defauling my space. Come on. Fixed people. What church do you go to? Well, I go down to the first Baptist Church of Fixed People, or the First Methodist Church of Fixed People, or how about this one, the first Pentecostal church of fixed people. The first charismatic church of fixed people. How about I spent time in his presence this morning? And I'm looking for somebody who's going to have an encounter with Jesus. Because the glory that I carry is going to be revealed, and they're going to be hungry for him and only him. Listen, I'm not talking about you looking great. You know what I'm talking about? Christ in you being revealed. His glory in you being revealed. His goodness, his mercy, his grace, his, get this one, his love being revealed through you, the Church of the Living God. Oh see, this is what Jesus came to establish a holy habitation. That can only come through sons and daughters of God. Listen to this. But as many as received him to them, he gave power to become sons of God. Even to them that believe on his name, which were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. That's qualification. The qualification to be a carrier. I'm a carrier of the Holy Ghost. I'm a representative of the kingdom. I have been transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit. I'm just talking about who you are now. I'm not up here bragging about me. I'm up here bragging about the church. I'm a walking transfiguration of God Himself. That's who we are. Hallelujah.