IS YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER 

 

II KINGS 20:1-7 

            When some one is told to get their house in order it means to get prepared, to make sure that all of your affairs are straight, to organize so that anyone coming behind you can easily step in and cause things to function smoothly.  One might also be told to get their literal house, the place were they abide, in order.  Two reasons why one might be told to get their house in order are death and the fact that one is expecting a visitor.  No man who really understands the role of a man would purposely not assure that everything was in order if he knew he was going to die.  He would check his insurance, and make sure that all the accounts were balanced.  He would want to know that his family was going to be taken care of and would be all right after he was gone.  No woman who would consider herself a good woman, knowing that guest were coming, would kick back in a messy house and wait on them to arrive.  She would be cleaning the house and trying to make sure it was presentable.  Being warned that we were going to die soon as Hezekiah was, or knowing that quest were on the way to our house, we would be furiously working to get prepared.  Well we have been warned that we are going to die (Hebrews 9:24-28), and we have been told that there is a visitor or quest coming to see us.   The question that I would like for you to ponder is, “Is My House In Order”.

            Now if we look in the natural, there are several stages in which one might find a house.  You might go to someone’s house and find it completely in shambles, the yard is cluttered with junk, and there is absolutely no order inside or out.  Now if you just dropped in on someone and found the house messy, you might be a bit tolerant.  But if the owners were expecting you and you arrived and found the house in shambles, messy and filthy, you would wonder about the owners.  And if you arrived and found them laying around chilling in the mess, making no attempt to clean up, you would probably be very uncomfortable, and feel the need to leave and go home.  You might be fearful of something crawling out and getting on you and you certainly would be leery of accepting anything to eat or drink in that house.  You would not feel like a welcome quest, especially since nothing had been done to prepare for your arrival.  The house in shambles to me represents the unsaved person.  He has been warned over and over again that death is coming, and been told on countless occasions that Jesus is soon to return.  Yet he continues to live in his unrighteous state and makes no effort to prepare for the arrival of this very important guest.

Psalms 52:1-7 - The unrighteous get comfortable in their unrighteous living.  If you have heard the salvation message before, and you are yet unsaved, you are exalting your will above God’s will.  You love evil more than you do good.  You are laying in the filth of your sin, knowing that you are outside of the will of God; knowing that Jesus will one day return and you will not be prepared.  Now you may say that your life is not in shambles.  You are simply enjoying life.  Do you know that a person can live in a messy, nasty house for so long that if does not even appear to them that there is anything wrong with the house.  A child being born and raised under such conditions, knowing no better would think it a normal situation.  Such is the problem with sin.  Because we were born sinful and may live in sin for much of our lives, many will see nothing wrong with their sinful state.  Though you may be comfortable in your sin, there is something wrong with it.   A sinful state of living is not what God our creator intended for us.  Though you may be comfortable and even enjoying it, a life of sin is not God’s best.  Where God is concerned, your house is in shambles and you continue to make no preparations for the arrival of Jesus or for your own impending death.

Matt. 23:27-28 - Imagine riding down a street and seeing this house that was beautifully painted and where the yard was nicely trimmed and cut; flowers in a beautiful array of colors, sculptured shrubs, just a beautiful landscaped yard.  The yard makes you feel like you just can’t wait to get on the inside and see how nicely it is decorated.  But then you get out of the car and enter the house to find a junky mess.  What a disappointment.  This type of a living arrangement represents the religious person.  He makes an effort to look good on the outside, but has taken little consideration for the inside.  He is going to church regularly, blesses his food before eating and even says his prayers before going to bed.  But it is all in vain because he is still dead in his sin.  Proverbs 15:8 says the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord: but the prayer of the upright is His delight.  The religious person will practice all the rituals but will not commit to relationship with Jesus.  His house appears to be in order from the outside, but it to is in shambles.

            Matt. 19:16-22 - The rich young ruler wanted eternal life and he was willing to give up some things to get it, but we could not bring himself to give all and completely surrender his life to God.  You see he was willing to keep the law and on the outside he looked like the perfect Jew.  He was a Jew in religious acts, but his heart was not turned to God.  We live in a country and society that is thought to be Christian, and yet many who call themselves Christians have no relationship with Christ.  But Christ demands relationship not rituals.  God said that He would be our God and that we would be His people.  If you are coming to church each Sunday, and doing a lot of simply religious act, but have no relationship with God, your house may not appear to be in shambles, but in truth it is.

            If you are not living in shambles, you might be living in what I call the tidy house.  Now there are two types of tidy houses.  First there is the tidy house where if you look around everything appears to be neat and in order but it appears that way because all the trash and mess has been hidden. Some areas might really be clean, but rather than cleaning some areas, the dirty has been swept under the rug, the paper is pushed under the sofa, the dirty clothes are hidden under the pillow or in a closet.  But to the naked eye, all might appear to be clean.  This represents to me, the babe in Christ and the carnal Christian.

            I Cor. 3:1-3 - He has made a commitment to Christ and therefore has made some steps to clean up his life.  He knows that there are still ungodly attitudes, feeling an actions present in his life, but rather than face them with the help of God, he seeks to hid them, deny them and pretend that they do not exist.  This baby or carnal state God tolerates for a season, but one should not continue in this state for his entire Christian life.  Just as in a house you can not continue to hid dirty laundry and sweep dirt under the rug, so in our Christian lives we can not continue to hide sin from God and not work with the Spirit of God who is trying to perfect us.  A natural baby can not stay a baby forever.  He must grow into a child and then into an adult.  Yes there are stages through which he must pass.  But if he remains alive he must grow to adulthood.  So it is in the spiritual realm.  The baby Christian also has stages through which he must grow.  And there is a natural rate at which each individual should grow.  The rates may vary, but all should be progressing to adulthood.  In Heb. 5:11-14, Paul rebuked the believers because when they  should have been able to handle certain teachings they were still eating baby food.  In fact rather than growing stronger and progressing they were becoming weaker,  needing to be re-taught some of the same things.  If you are a baby Christian or a carnal Christian God may allow you to hide the dirt for a season, but sooner or later the pile becomes to great and the closet begins to smell.  I Cor. 4:5 says that the Lord will one day bring to light the hidden things of darkness and will make manifest the counsels of the heart..  If you are a carnal or baby Christian, you may have a tidy house, but this form of tidiness is still not God’s will for you.

            The second type of tidy house is one where the owners know that the house is not perfect; everything is not in its’ proper place, but the owner is steadily working at improving the condition.  He does not make a conscious effort to hide what is undone, but establishes and follows a systematic plan to clean the house; sometimes working on only one task at a time and at other times working on several task, but always working.   This to me represents the growing, maturing Christian.

            II Peter 1:5-11 - This believer has gone beyond the initial conversion step and has committed himself to growing to spiritual maturity.  He is adding to the faith that saved him moral excellence and righteous living, knowledge of God’s will, self control, long suffering, kindness and concern for fellow Christians, and love for all mankind.  As he grows he is producing fruit to the glory of God.  He is daily seeking to walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh.  He is steadily striving to put to death all unrighteous actions and attitudes, and to lay aside every weight and sin that tries to tie him down.  As commanded in Col. 3: this Christian is not only striving to put off that which is unlike God, but also to put on the character of God.  He may not have every thing in order, but he continues to press towards the mark.  He recognizes that the house is only tidy, and he sets a goal to make it clean.

            The final stage in which a house can be is spotless.  Every item is in its proper place.  The clothes are all wash, folded and neatly put away. The floors are swept, carpet vacuumed, and the furniture is dusted.  There are no cob webs and every trash can is empty and clean.  The garage is organized and clean; the yard cut, trimmed and edged.   It passes the white glove test on the inside and has both the good house keeping and the home and garden seal of approval.  It is spotless, both inside and out.  This represents the Christian who has reached perfection.

Eph. 5:25-27 - Christ is coming back for a church without spot or wrinkle.  He has set the mark of perfection for the church.  Perfection is not a state that one can hit and then do nothing to stay there.  One must work each day to maintain a state of perfection in the sight of God.  If one had a spotless house on January 1st and did not even live in it again until February 1, it would not maintain its spotless condition.  Dust will enter, bugs will come in, etc.  The house even when spotless must be constantly cleans to maintain its perfection.  As Christians we can be seen as perfect in the sight of God, but still must work daily to maintain the level of perfection that we have reached.

            Hezekiah was warned that death was on its way and that he should get his house in order.  Unfortunately, we are not often warned of deaths arrival.  We simply know that one day it may come.  Also, we know not the time when Jesus will return, but we know for sure that he will return.  Is your house in order?  When Christ returns will he find your house completely or partially in shambles.   Will he find your house tidy but with hidden dirt and trash.  Or will he find you steadily cleaning and working to reach perfection.  Get your house in order for death may come or we may soon be visited by Christ.