Sermon Psalm 84 05/2013…
Psalm 84
Psalm 84:1 To the chief Musician upon Gittith, A Psalm for the sons of Korah. How amiable are thy tabernacles, O LORD of hosts!
2 My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the LORD: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.
3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee. Selah.
5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well; the rain also filleth the pools.
7 They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God.
8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer: give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah.
9 Behold, O God our shield, and look upon the face of thine anointed.
10 For a day in thy courts is better than a thousand. I had rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God, than to dwell in the tents of wickedness.
11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield: the LORD will give grace and glory: no good thing will he withhold from them that walk uprightly.
12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee.
I’m sure you’ve had a memory of a church service or a revival when God’s blessings was being poured out and the Holy Spirit seem to be in control of everything from the singers to the fellowship with others and when the Preacher began to preach it seemed as though your heart was opened and all of the troubles and heart breaks of life just seem to disappear …
And you just didn’t want it to end.
But, when it did and you returned home and the memory of it just wouldn’t go away.
Then you couldn’t wait until you got to church the next time to see what God had in store
…that was the joy of this Psalmist in Psalm 84 was experiencing.
***But, every trip to Gods house should be filled with joy….because joy is not a product of the world…joy can only be produced by the Holy Spirit.
*Psalm 84 is about a journey to the temple in Jerusalem and the writer was remembering the year before when he made the same trip to a festival there called The Feast of Tabernacles.
Every year around late September or early October thousands would go to Jerusalem for this feast.
**The Feast of Tabernacles was celebrating the end of a harvest and thanking God for His blessings upon their crop.
It is also a memorial in remembrance when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness, living in tents on their way to the Promised Land.
It had to be a joyous time because thousands would make the journey from every part of Israel to worship at the Temple during the festival.
There would be great fellowship and everyone looking forward to praising God and thanking Him together for their blessings and harvest……there would be sacrifices to God…..singing and praising Him.
As a matter of fact Psalm 84 was written to the musician that played the Gittith..a string instrument like a harp…(verse 1)…some think it was King David who wrote this Psalm….but, no one knows for sure….but whoever it was it was a song written for the sons of Korah which were singers in the Temple.
…..Psalm 84 is a great Psalm….. It’s been called a “Psalm of Pilgrimage” or “Psalm of journey”…..
We are going to look at what the Bible says in Psalm 84 that will help on our journey….
The journey we are traveling through this earth....
The Bible says we are Pilgrims and strangers.
On any journey we are aped to have trouble....like any other vehicle the older it is the more problems we are subject to have.
****We are on a journey in these fragile bodies of ours ..
Apostle Paul called them many times in the New Testament a tabernacle or tent.
Have you ever wondered why Apostle Paul called our bodies a tabernacle or tent?
Paul understood what a tent was because, he made tents to make a few dollars to survive and help support his missions.
*****A tent is a temporary dwelling place...our body is a temporary dwelling place for us traveling through this world.
It’s also a place where our soul is united with the Holy Spirit when we except Jesus as our Saviour…. to be with us Jesus said in John 14…forever!
It was also a dwelling place for God...remember what John said in: John 1:14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth…..A temporary tabernacle of flesh for God to suffer and die for the world ….why?....because He loves us.
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But, the Journey to The Feast of The Tabernacle each year was a joyous journey to the Temple at the end of the harvest session…..when all the hard work of the crops was done.
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There are 4 important things we can learn in Psalm 84 that can help us in our journey through this life.
1. LOOK TO GOD FOR OUR STRENGTH.
Verse 5 says ..Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee;
***How many have found that the Christian life is impossible without God’s strength?
BUT YET… many times our greatest battle is about learning to trust Him …most of the time we try to make it in our own strength. But, that’s just human nature.
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I thought about Apostle Paul here also who was one who had a rough journey, didn’t he?..
Paul was beaten many times and left for dead….He says in:
2 Corinthians 11:24 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.
25 Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;
26 In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;
The Jews had a method in those days of beating of thirty-nine stripes, and to prevent killing the person, they would apply thirteen stripes on one side, thirteen stripes on the other side, and thirteen stripes on the back. Paul had this kind of torture five times.
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Paul said in his journey he faced some perilous times...he was beaten by his own people...left for dead ...robbed ...ship wrecked...he traveled through wilderness...most of the time.. cold and hungry.
But, with all of those troubles during his journey he said in Philippians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.
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You know, I used to look for God to give me the answers on how to defeat all my enemies and how to get around all those mountains in my life.
But, after several years of studying and growing I discovered that if I disciplined myself to do the BASICS of a Christian life like (going to church) (studying the Bible, (prayer), (witnessing) and (doing what I believe God called me to do) ….Many times my enemies fled and those mountains turned out to be smaller than I thought.
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I believe that if you’re consistent with the Christian basics….God will bless you with His strength.
“Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee.” Verse 5 says in Psalm 84
That is the first thing to make an easier journey through this life:
**Look to God for your strength****
Number 2. PUT YOUR HEART INTO THE JOURNEY
I’m one of those people who hates stopping when I have to drive a long distance.
When I get in the vehicle . . . my heart is set on my destination.
It’s the same in life’s journey…..
We need to have our eyes on the finish line with our strength in Jesus.
Apostle Paul said: “For me to LIVE is Christ”.
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It should be a joyous journey because, we as Christians also know what to expect at the end of our trip…..like the Psalmist wanted to live there with God in the temple.
He said in verse.
3 Yea, the sparrow hath found an house, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, even thine altars, O LORD of hosts, my King, and my God.
4 Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee.
The Temple court yard had high eaves and this Psalmist was remembering the last visit to the great Temple and that birds built nest in those eaves and raised their young there at God house.
He is saying ….oh to be one of those birds who make their homes right there in the house of God...what a blessing that would be.
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Do we have a longing to come to church like the Psalmist did to the temple?
Is it a joy to come to Gods house …..or is it just the right thing to do?
**Do we feel guilty if we don't go just because it is a meeting place or do we have joy in praising God....joy in fellowship with other Christians?
You know …I think the church as a whole has lost the true meaning of fellowship….true fellowship is not just eating a hotdog together…it coming together and talk about the goodness of God and what He has done and what He is going to do for His children!
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Blessed are they that dwell in thy house....
Happy are they that dwell in thy house...Happy are they that come together and praise the King of Kings and Lord of Lords and thank Him…and giving Him honor and glory for His blessings on us…. Amen?
Number 3. (Here is one we miss most of the time) SEE AN OPPORTUNITY IN EVERY TRIAL
Psalm 84 Verse 5 Blessed is the man whose strength is in thee; in whose heart are the ways of them.
6 Who passing through the valley of Baca make it a well;
The Valley of Baca” The Hebrew word “Baca” ..means: “to mourn, wail,
The Valley of Baca” literally means ...“THE VALLEY OF WEEPING”.
We all have passed through some Valleys of Baca…….Some Valleys of Weeping.
But the Psalmist says that, if the Lord is your Strength #1.. if your heart is set on the journey #2, you can see the Valley of Weeping become a well of water to quench your thrust and see it as rich ground to make you stronger.
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Those things we go through sometimes…is a place of bitterness but, it can become a place of blessing.
A place of growth in our walk with the Lord…...thats where we get our strength when we look to the Lord to help us.
***We don't grow in our Christian life if we are on the mountain top all the time.
Most country people know that the best farm land is bottom land.... land next to a river or creek.
We all love the “mountain top” experiences; times of blessing and sunshine - but where does the fruit grow?
You won’t find farm land on a rocky mountain top - Oh, the view is nice up there, BUT THE FRUIT GROWS IN THE VALLEYS!
And it’s those trials in our lives that God can use best… to bring us “from glory to glory” by His Spirit....the Bible says.
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Do you think Joseph the Joseph with the coat of many colors saw the whole picture of opportunity?
He was sold into slavery by his brothers - carried off to a foreign land all alone.
Wrongfully accused and imprisoned. You think he could have ever imagined that it would lead to him becoming Prime Minister of Egypt, and the Saviour of his entire family? ….I’m sure he didn't see that.
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Joseph trusted God and said in: Genisis 50:19-20 for am I in the place of God.....But as for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good,
..Paul said in Romans 8:28-29“All things work together for good to them that love God and are the called according to His purpose”
*****Illus:
One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well.
The old donkey cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do.
Finally the farmer decided the donkey was old and the well needed filling in anyway..the donkey just wasn't worth all the trouble.
So he invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well.
At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried and braid.
Then he was quiet. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well and was amazed at what he saw.
With every shovel of dirt that hit the donkeys back, the donkey was he would shake it off and take a step up.
As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the donkey, he would shake it off and take a step up.
Pretty soon, the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and trotted off!
Moral of the story: Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt.
The trick to getting out of the well or valley is to shake it off and take a step up.
Each of our troubles is a stepping stone.
We can get out of the deepest valleys just by not stopping, never giving up!
Shake it off and take a step up!
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So we……...1. LOOK TO GOD FOR OUR STRENGTH…
Number 2….. PUT OUR HEART INTO THE JOURNEY.
Number 3….SEE AN OPPORTUNITY IN EVERY TRIAL
*** Last thing Number 4. REMEMBER THAT GOD IS IN CONTROL.
You lay on a cold stainless steel table and a doctor runs a manmade wire through your veins toward you heart to unstop them like a plumber would unstop a drain....
You should have some trust in that doctor …..but most of all…
You should have trust in God who started your heart and gives you life ....
He is also the one who will stop it.
*****He is also the one who gives eternal life.....there is no one else you can turn to at the dawn of death...but, God
When there is nothing left but God ...then you find that God is all you need.....
Verse 12 of Psalm 84 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee
So let’s be encouraged by the writer in Psalm 84 and put our heart into our journey while we are here and trust God to give us strength …..so we can grow through those trials …
Trust Jesus and let Him take the wheel…
*******************Invatation*****************Psalm 84
You know, our trip as Christians was planned by God in advance when we trust Jesus as our Saviour and designated driver.
Just because we trust Jesus doesn’t mean our rode through life will be an easy one…
But, it does mean we will get home safe and sound.
It does mean it can be a joyous journey when we trust Him for strength to help us keep our eyes on the road…..focus on our destination….also like any joyous trip….you want to invite everyone to come along.
But, Jesus is the only way to Heaven …which is our destination.
But, some still think they can drive the entire trip and somehow find the way on their own.
But, they are deceived by the Devil….deceived by their own goodness.
The vehicle they are on is called destruction and their destination is Hell.
There are only 2 roads in life…..and only 2 destinations…..and only 2 vehicles for the journey
One road is called damnation….the other is eternal life…
One destination is called Hell the other is called Heaven….
One vehicle is called destruction….the other is called grace.
If you haven’t made a decision to trust Jesus …then you are on the road of damnation and Hell is your destination…choose Jesus …ask for grace and pardon of yours sins today….
Or if you want to come and thank Him for that Heavenly home that He has prepared for you.
*****Amazing grace….Amazing Saviour….Jesus Christ****
Love in Christ Jesus, Ronnie Miller www.themillersbiblestudy.com
