Practicing His Presence
Psalm 84
Why do we go to church? Why do we worship God? The excuses and attitudes of people are interesting to say the least. Church, for some is pure drudgery, a boring necessity that must be endured. For others, church attendance is an obligation must like paying bills and creditors. Excuses vary like “the sermon is too long and the pastor is boring,” or “the people aren’t friendly.” And let’s not forget the good old excuse of “I don’t know the songs and the music is too loud.” Perhaps the reason some have little desire for God’s House on Sunday is because they have had little desire for God throughout the week…
How about this letter addressed to a pastor.
“Dear Pastor: You often stress attendance at worship as being important for a Christian, but I think a person has a right to miss now and then. I think every person ought to be excused for the following reasons and the number of times indicated.
1. Christmas holidays (the Sunday before and after -- 2
2. New Years Day (the party lasted too long) -- 1
3. Easter (must get away for the holidays) – 2
4. July 4th (National holiday) – 1
5. Labor Day (Need to get away period!) – 2
6. Memorial Day (Visit hometown folk) – 1
7. School closing (kids need a break) – 1
8. Family Reunions (mine and wife’s) – 3
9. Sleep late (up too long Saturday night) – 9
10. Deaths in family – 2
11. Anniversary (2nd honeymoon) – 1
12. Sickness (1 per family member) – 5
13. Business trip (a must) – 1
14. Vacation (3-4 weeks) – 6
15. Bad weather (ice, snow, rain, clouds) – 2
16. Ball games – 2
17. Races – 2
18. Unexpected company (just can’t walk out on them) – 2
19. Time changes (Spring and Fall) – 2
20. Specials on TV (Super Bowl, etc.) – 3
Pastor, that leaves two Sundays per year. So you can count on us being in church on the fourth Sunday in February and the third Sunday in August unless we are providentially hindered.
Sincerely, A Faithful Member”
(Source: Unknown)
Excuses are truly amazing! Excuses are much like a rocking chair: it gives you something to do, but doesn’t take you any where.
Yet, for many worshipping God is pure joy. It is a normal part of their lives. The practice God’s presence is as familiar and natural as breathing. They come to church enthused about worshipping God and being with His people. These kinds of people don’t come because of the pastor, or the music, or the people. Their main motivation is to meet with and worship God. If we get in the right attitude and motivation we too will enjoy coming to church.
David speaks to this issue in Psalm 84. This Psalm was apparently written when David was forced to leave Jerusalem during Absalom’s rebellion, and David is distressed about leaving God’s house. In this Psalm we see three observations concerning practicing God’s presence.
(Read Psalm 84)
1. David had a strong desire for God’s House vv.1-2 “How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord Almighty! My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” (NIV)
David would rather be in God’s House than any where else. In our modern vernacular David would rather be in church than on the golf course, Disney World, a football/baseball game, or even at a NASCAR race. He would rather be at church than at the campground or sitting home in his recliner watching reruns on TV. He desires to be in God’s House. Why?
A. David desires to be God’s house. Notice verse 1 “how lovely is your dwelling place.” The word “lovely” is best translated “loved.” David loved God’s presence. He wasn’t yearning for the building, but for the presence of the Lord.
1. God’s House represented the place where he could go to meet with God.
2. Do we feel this way today? Is there a longing for God’s house?
3. Today, more than anything else we need God’s presence. Jim Cymbala writes, “Too much of our religious life is made up of programs and human ideas, talents and strategies. While these have value, they pitifully fail to meet the need of the house. What is missing today is something from heaven itself, something from God the Holy Spirit that fills and floods our lives. This has always been God’s design for His church.”
B. David longed for God’s presence. V.2 “my soul…my heart…my flesh…” These words express David’s longing for the living God. He desperately wanted to be in God’s presence; the living God Himself. “As the deer pants for the water brooks, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?” (Ps 42:1 NIV).
1. David was seeking the presence of God with everything within him. He is putting everything he was and had into seeking and experiencing God.
2. What about you? Are you enjoying church? If not, what are you efforts are you engaged in, in order to experience God’s presence? What are you doing to make the worship experience meaningful? When the praise team attempts to lead us in meaningful worship do you participate? When we stand to read the Word of God do you stand on your feet, but not with your heart? When the offering is taken, do you worship God with your tithes and offerings cheerfully, or do you just tip God? When there is something to do at the church, do you jump in and do it, or do you expect someone else to do it?
Illus: This is a story of four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody, and Nobody. There was an important job to be done and Everybody was sure that Somebody would do it. Anybody could have done it, but Nobody did it. Somebody got angry about that because it was Everybody’s job. Everybody thought Anybody could do it, but nobody realized that Everybody wouldn’t do it. It ended up that Everybody blamed Somebody, when Nobody did what Anybody could have done.”
3. If we get our motivation and attitude right we will enjoy coming to church just as the psalmist did. We are not here to impress or to be impressed. We are here to meet with and worship God. He is here because He promised that “where two or three come together in My name, there I am with them” (Matt. 18:20 NIV).
C. The lesson for us is simple: if you seek God with your whole heart, you will walk away from worship celebrations with a fresh encounter with God. And if you seek God daily in that same degree, you will no longer be satisfied with mediocrity in your life.
D. The birds were doing what David longed for. V. 3 “Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young—a place near your altar.” (NIV)
1. The birds were at ease in God’s presence, and David longed for the same close, precious relationship.
2. David would rather nest near God’s altar than dwell in his palace far away.
3. True worship involves pursuing God. Singing songs and choruses, listening to powerful messages and prayers, are only part of worship. Worship is meeting with God. When we come to church in pursuit of God, our souls will be filled upon meeting with Him. We are to come to honor, praise, and worship our heavenly Father. How much of that REALLY takes place?
2. Worship is a lifestyle. Vv.4-7 “Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. Blessed are those whose strength is in you, who have set their hearts on pilgrimage. As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” (NIV)
A. When you love God, you naturally desire to serve Him.
1. David blessed those who practiced God’s presence.
B. Worship provides strength for the day. Vv. 5, “Blessed are those whose strength is in you… v.7 They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion.” (NIV) 1. We gain strength from God’s presence and fellowship with His people. The more you desire to come to the house of worship, the stronger you will become. Conversely, the more you stay away, the weaker you become. There is nothing mystical or magical about that. It’s a fact of life. 2. Worship is not just a spiritual "warm fuzzy" on Sunday morning. It is God’s people actively responding to him. Worship is not a spectator sport. Worship is not something done to us or for us but by us.
Time spent daily in worship with the Lord strengthens your inner spiritual man. Begin by being faithful to the Lord and His church, and watch yourself become strengthened spiritually.
C. Worship renews our spirits. V. 6 “As they pass through the Valley of Baca, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.” (NIV)
Isa. 40:31 “But those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (NIV).
1. When I worship God, my spirit is being repaired, restored and refreshed. I can meet my trials in His power after worship. The presence of God revives refreshes and renews our spirits. Thus, His presence enables us to encourage others; lifting them up.
2. Surviving difficulties and trials depends on our closeness to Christ. The valley of Baca represents weeping and difficulties. We experience rough journeys and difficult days. This world pounds us, beats us up, wounds us and then leaves us for dead. We are battered by busyness, by disease, by financial hardships, by our frailties, by family problems, etc. We come to church burdened down with the problems we’ve faced all week and find it hard to concentrate much less participate in worship. We pack all this extra baggage on our shoulders and carry it to church with us, and it’s killing us.
(Illus: Dragging all combat gear, C-bag, and luggage around in desert)
Pack light when coming to worship. Drop the weights and burdens at the feet of Jesus. He told us to “cast all our cares upon Him, for He cares for us.” When we come to worship lets bring the essentials: an eager heart, a willing mind, a joyful spirit, and the Word of God!
3. God hears and answers prayer. V.8 “Hear my prayer, O Lord God Almighty; listen to me, O God of Jacob (NIV). God desires us to pray, to communicate with Him, to discover the joy of prayer. He has much more for us than we even realize.
Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” (NIV)
1 Cor. 2:9-10 “However, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him”—but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” (NIV) 4. The presence of God brings spiritual warmth and satisfaction. V.11 “For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good things does he withhold from those whose walk in blameless.” (NIV). As we walk closely with the Lord, He walks close to us. He comforts us on life’s journey. Like the sun, the Lord lights our way and warms our path. He gives guidance and protection. He gives help for today, hope for tomorrow, and goodness all along the way. If you come to a corporate worship service and find it impossible to center your thoughts on God, chances are great that you have not spent much time alone with the Lord through the week.
3. David made the right choice. Vv. 10-11 “Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in tents of the wicked. For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good things does he withhold from those whose walk in blameless.” (NIV)
Life is filled with choices: some bad, some good, some even better. Most of us don’t need help in choosing between good and bad, but we do need help making choices between good and better, or good and best. Notice the psalmist’s decision.
A. He decided to use his time in an excellent manner. He said a day with God is better than a thousand in this world. He is saying that he would rather spend one day in God’s presence than a thousand in His absence. He enjoyed being in God’s presence.
B. He decided that to be in God’s presence was the most excellent place to be. He is saying that he’d rather sit in the doorway of the church than to run in the circles the crowd prone to wickedness. The psalmist would rather sit in the doorway of the church than to share in the lives of those who do not honor God.
C. Is Christ your dwelling place? Max Lucado writes in his book The Great House of God, “God can be your dwelling place. God wants to be your dwelling place. He has no interest in being a weekend getaway or a Sunday bungalow or a summer cottage. Don’t consider using God as a vacation cabin or an eventual retirement home. He wants you under his roof now and always. He wants to be your mailing address, your point of reference; he wants to be your home. Listen to the promises of His Son, “If my people love me they will obey my teaching. My Father will love them and we will come to them and make our home with them” (John 14:23). For many this is a new thought. We think of God as a deity to discuss, not a place to dwell. We think of God as a mysterious miracle worker, not a house to live in. We think of God as a creator to call on, not a home to reside in. But our Father wants to be much more. He wants to be the One in who “we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28 NIV). When Jehovah led the children of Israel through the wilderness, he didn’t just appear once a day and then abandon them. The pillar of fire was present all night; the cloud was present all day. Our God never leaves us. “I will be with you always,” he promised (Matt 28:20). Our faith takes a quantum leap when we understand the perpetual presence of the Father. Our Jehovah is the fire of our night and the cloud of our day. He never leaves us. Heaven knows no difference between Sunday morning and Wednesday afternoon. God longs to speak in the workplace as he does in the sanctuary. He longs to be worshipped when we sit at the dinner table and not just when we come to his communion table. You may go for days without thinking of him, but there’s never a moment when he’s not thinking of you.”
Are you happy dwelling in the house of the Lord? Do you have a meaningful worship experience? Do you get excited about coming to the Lord’s house on the Lord’s Day? Would you rather be a happy doorkeeper in the house of the Lord, or would you rather hang with the wicked?
The psalmist concludes with “blessed in the man who trust in you” (v.12 NIV). Those who practice His presence, learn to trust Him, praise Him, walk with Him, discover life’s best. Let’s begin to approach Christ to build our relationship with Him that enables us to practice His presence daily.
