Psalm 24:1-10 “Worship”
The 24th Psalm is an interesting Psalm.
It’s a praise song that David is said to have written when he went to get the Ark of the Covenant from the house of Obed-Edom.
This was an exciting time for David and the Hebrew nation.
The Ark had been out of Israel’s possession for about 50 years, and David was going to get it back. It was a time of celebration!
2 Samuel 6:5 says that "David and the whole house of Israel were celebrating with all their might before the LORD, with songs and with harps, lyres, tambourines, sistrums and cymbals."
If you continue reading the account in 2 Samuel, you’ll see that this is the occasion when David danced in the street.
David worshiped, but his wife, Michal, got angry.
David knew how to worship, and he experienced the joy of worshipping his God.
We come to church on Sunday mornings to worship God.
As a matter of fact, we refer to our services as "morning worship service" or "evening worship service."
To most people worship and going to church are the same thing.
Going to church is very important.
Church is a haven from the outside world where we can put away all our troubles and focus on something more pleasant for a little while.
Going to church gives us a chance to enjoy some healthy fellowship with people who share a similar belief system.
We can laugh, sing, cry, all in the same hour.
We can enjoy each other’s company.
We can find comfort and encouragement by going to church.
Going to church makes us feel good about ourselves, like we’ve done something commendable and praiseworthy.
But worship is more than going to church.
Worship is the act of entering God’s presence for the sole purpose of exalting Him.
Each worship service should be an experience we’ll never forget because we enter into the very presence of God Almighty each time we worship.
Many times we leave church the same as when we entered.
We sit in church, unmoved and unemotional because, to us, attendance and worship are the same thing.
We even say, "I attend worship services on Sunday."
Just because we attend the service doesn’t mean we worship.
We worship when we enter into his presence to express our humility, our respect, our adoration, our gratitude, and our love for him.
We don’t need to wait until Sunday to do that, but there are some conditions we must meet before we can truly worship God.
The first condition is this:
I. God must be the focus of our worship. (1-2)
Now, I know you’re saying, "No kidding...that’s obvious."
But the fact is that what we say and what we do are often entirely different.
Listen to the excitement in David’s words:
1 The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2 for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters.
David’s focus was God - and only God.
He understood that everything in the world - the earth, everything in it, everyone who lives in it - everything belongs to God.
He made the world out of nothing.
He preserves it, he sustains it, he provides for it.
He has the deed to this property.
He is the sole owner.
David makes a special point to say that everything living on the earth belongs to God.
He is talking specifically about people.
We live on the earth because God allows it, not because we deserve it.
We are special to God, but we aren’t God.
We the stewards of His stuff.
Knowing that it all belongs to God should help us see life from a different perspective.
• The late Bishop Edwin Hughes once delivered a rousing sermon on "God’s Ownership" that put a rich parishioner’s nose out-of-joint. The wealthy man took the Bishop off for lunch, and then walked him through his elaborate gardens, woodlands, and farm. "Now are you going to tell me," he demanded when the tour was completed, "that all this land does not belong to me?" Bishop Hughes smiled and suggested, "Ask me that same question a hundred years from now." (Bennett Cerf, Leadership, Vol. 1, no. 2)
If we focus on praising God as the Creator of everything then our worship will be different.
We will have the same excitement that David had.
David acted like a little boy trying to please his daddy.
Is your worship like that?
When you worship do you realize that you didn’t have anything to do with any of this?
Do you realize that if not for God’s grace, you wouldn’t be here?
Why did David worship God with all his might?
It’s because he understood the glorious majesty of Almighty God.
He understood his insignificance before a holy God.
He had respect for God.
He loved his God.
Do you love God enough this morning to focus only on Him?
God must be the focus of our worship.
Condition Number 2:
II. We must be spiritually prepared to worship God (v 3-6)
Verse 3, "Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?"
What we are being asked is this: "Are you worthy to stand before God and worship him?"
The answer is found in Verse 4.
If you are spiritually prepared you are worthy to stand before him and worship him.
What does that mean?
It means this: if you aren’t right with God then you aren’t spiritually prepared to worship Him.
The person who can stand in his presence has clean hands and a pure heart.
His attitude as well as his actions are right with God.
Do you do what’s pleasing to God?
How about your thoughts?
Are they in check?
How about your attitudes?
Have you accepted God’s rule as the supreme authority in your life?
Have you given yourself completely to Him?
Have you detached yourself from all sorts of evil as God sees it?
Have you given up all those idols you place before God?
Have you stopped lying to yourself about those idols you have in your life?
Have you removed yourself from all sorts of immorality?
How about your relationships with other people?
Are you always honest with them?
Do you love them enough to put their needs ahead of yours?
Do you love them enough to lead them to God?
Have you confessed and repented of your sin so that you might be found worthy to worship God?
If so, then God says you’ll receive a blessing AND vindication from God your Savior.
But, you can’t worship the Lord if you aren’t right with Him.
You aren’t prepared spiritually.
It’s impossible to worship a holy God when you are carrying a suitcase full of unconfessed sin.
Sin causes unclean hands and an impure heart.
Matthew 5:8, "Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."
We should be able to see God when we worship him.
We should be able to feel his presence in our lives.
Spiritual preparation removes that wall of unconfessed sin we build that prevents us from seeing God and feeling his presence.
We must prepare ourselves spiritually every day.
Once or twice a week just isn’t enough.
We must read and study God’s word daily.
We must set aside time daily to be alone with the Lord in prayer.
We must give the Lord the best part of our day to prepare us spiritually for his worship.
And then, Jeremiah 29:13 says, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
We must prepare spiritually to worship and we must focus on God when we worship.
A third condition is this:
III. We must desire to worship God (v 7-10)
The call goes out to us first in Verse 7 and again, with more fervor, in Verse 9: "Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in."
This is a reference to the gates of the Temple.
The gates of the Temple were beautifully adorned and sculptured, yet they were designed to provide protection from all enemies.
This passage suggests that there was a desire to throw open these gates so that the great and mighty King of Glory could come in.
He would provide all of the protection needed against the enemy.
This is also a reference to us.
Paul said, "Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit,..." (1 Corinthians 6:19)
In order to worship God you have to want it.
You must have a desire for Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, to dwell within you.
You must lift up your head and look toward the things of Christ.
You must have a desire to throw open the door to your heart and allow him to enter in and fill you so that you may be found worthy to stand in his presence.
He is strong and mighty in battle.
He has conquered sin, Satan, death, hell, all his enemies.
He reigns victoriously and has overcome the world.
You must desire to worship the King of Glory.
Without a desire to humble yourself before him, you place yourself on his level.
You didn’t triumph over sin, Jesus did.
Without a desire to exalt him, you exalt yourself.
He is the Creator; we are his creation.
Without a desire to worship him, we will worship ourselves.
We must desire to worship the King of Glory.
Conclusion:
We have plenty of reasons to worship God.
The most important of all of them is that we love him.
If we love him he will be the focus of our worship.
If we love him we will prepare ourselves spiritually to worship him.
If we love him the desire of our hearts will be to worship him.
We need to understand what is involved in worship, that it is not just going to church, but it is experiencing God through a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
When we worship we must recognize our unworthiness, but at the same time, we must recognize the high calling we have as children of God.
Do you worship God, or do you just attend church services?
Invitation:
Maybe you are here today and have never really worshipped the King of Glory.
If you have never accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior, it is impossible for you to worship.
The most you can do is enjoy the service.
Come forward and let us show you how to ask Jesus into your heart so that you can worship the King.
Maybe you have never thought about preparing spiritually to worship the Lord.
You have a desire, but aren’t sure what you need to do.
You come forward.
The first thing you need is prayer, then we can help you with your need to prepare spiritually for worship.
Maybe you have no desire to worship the Lord.
It is imperative that you come forward because you need prayer more than anything.
A Christian with no desire to worship the Lord is a dangerous thing.
As always, if you just want to come pray, the altar is open.
