Lift Up Your Heads! See The King Of Glory!

Text: Psalm 24:1-10

Theme: Lift Up Your Heads! See the King of Glory!

A. How can we dare to? Only because his blood washes us clean

B. How do we? By seeking him as our mighty Hero

Season: Lent 6c -- Palm Sunday

Date: March 28, 2010

Web page: http://hancocklutheran.org/sermons/Lift-Up-Your-Heads_-See-the-King-of-Glory_-Psalm24_1-10.html

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The Word from God through which the Holy Spirit lifts up our hearts is Psalm 24

"A psalm of David

"The earth and its fullness belong to the LORD -- the world and all who live in it. For he founded it by the seas and established it by the currents.

"Who can ascend the hill of the LORD? Who can stand in his holy place? He whose hands are clean and whose heart is pure. He who does not use his life in vain and does not swear deceitfully. He will receive blessing from the LORD and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This kind of people are searching for him. They are seeking your face -- Jacob. Selah.

"Lift up your heads, you gates. Be lifted up, you everlasting doors. And the King of glory will enter. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, you gates. Lift up, you everlasting doors. And the King of glory will enter. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD of hosts. He is the King of glory. Selah." (Psalm 24:1-10)

Dear friends in Christ, fellow saints washed clean in the blood of our risen Savior:

As the buzzer sounded and the visiting opponents last-second shot circled the rim and fell throw the net, the home fans fell silent. Their heads drooped. Hopes for a championship dashed by a one-point lose.

A family gathers at the grave sight, checks stained with tears, eyes downcast, faces staring at the ground.

How many scenarios can you imagine when our heads droop in disappoint, sadness, or heartache? How often haven't the burden of your troubles and toils weighed down your eyes? If your life stumbles along from one frustration to the next, don't let that surprise you. The Lord God said to Adam, "By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return" (Genesis 3:19 NIV). That's the inheritance Adam passed down to us. No wonder our eyes droop and our faces are downcast.

But dear friends, lift up your heads. Yes, lift up your heads in joy and celebration. For the Holy Spirit lifts your hearts as his words here fill you. For his words bring you the King of glory. Yes! Lift up your heads! See the King of glory!

A. How can we dare to? Only because his blood washes us clean

1. Explain the two great reasons we dare not lift up our heads.

But how dare we lift up our heads in the presence of such a glorious King? Even in many earthly throne rooms people bow their heads and avert their eyes. How much more before him who reigns over all things! "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Psalm 24:1 NIV). From the massless photon to the largest super cluster of galaxies, it all belongs to the Lord. From the smallest virus to the great blue whale, it all belongs to the Lord. Even the human achievements that fill the modern world belong to the Lord. For who gave humanity its abilities and opportunities? "The earth is the LORD's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it" (Psalm 24:1 NIV).

"For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters" (Psalm 24:2 NIV). He is the Creator of all. On the third day of creation he had the dry ground rise up as he gathered the waters together. He called the dry ground "land" and the waters "seas." He covered the land with green plants and fruitful trees, bearings seeds after their own kinds. On the fifth day he filled the seas and the air with fish and birds, and the next day he filled the land. (Genesis 1:9-13, 20-28). How dare we mere creatures, formed out of the dust of the earth, lift up our heads in the presence of the King of glory, through whom all things were created!

But what is more, he is the holy One. "Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?" (Psalm 24:3 NIV). When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord seated on a throne, high and exalted, even the holy Seraphim covered there faces with a pair of their wings as they called out "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory" (Isaiah 6:3 NIV). How dare we lift up our heads!