SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). My Delight is in the Lord (vs 1-4)
(2). My Strength is in the Lord (vs 5-8)
(3). My Trust is in the Lord (vs 9-12)
SERMON BODY:
Ill:
• I know many of you are familiar with the poem ‘Footprints’.
• And I know that it has blessed many a Christian.
• Someone has penned a light-hearted version, called ‘But prints’.
• And although it is a parody, it does make some very good points.
• Butt Prints In The Sand
• A.C. Rose
“One night I had a wondrous dream,
One set of footprints there was seen,
The footprints of my precious Lord,
But mine were not along the shore.
But then some stranger prints appeared,
And I asked the Lord, “What have we here?
Those prints are large and round and neat,
But, Lord, they are too big for feet.”
“My child,” He said is sombre tones,
“For miles I carried you alone.
I challenged you to walk in faith,
But you refused and made me wait.”
“You disobeyed, you would not grow,
The walk of faith, you would not know,
So I got tired, I got fed up,
And there I dropped you on your butt.”
“Because in life, there comes a time,
When one must fight, and one must climb,
When one must rise and take a stand,
Or leave their butt prints in the sand.”
• TRANSITION: Growing old is inevitable it is happening to us all;
• But growing up is optional, it is a choice we must often make.
• To encourage us all to mature,
• We are starting a mini-series on growing;
• Growing deeper in God (Psalm 84)
• Growing deeper in the Bible (Psalm 119)
• Growing deeper in prayer (Psalm 86)
Ill:
• Pablo Casals (December 29, 1876 – October 22, 1973),
• Was a Spanish cellist and conductor from Catalonia.
• He is generally regarded as one of the greatest cellists of all time.
• When Pablo Casals reached 95, a young reported threw him a question:
• "Mr. Casals, you are 95 and the greatest cellist that ever lived.
• Why do you still practice six hours a day?"
• And Mr. Casals answered, "Because I think I'm making progress."
• TRANSITION: Our desire as leaders of this Church is that we all;
• Might keep-on making progress in our Christian lives.
ill:
• I would guess everyone in this room has said it to someone at some time,
• Or someone has said it o them:
• Those immortal words; “Grow up!”
• Or a similar phrase; “Why don’t you act your age?”
• Growth is natural and growth is of course the norm;
• ill: From the moment you were born you were weighed and measured.
• ill: As children how many of you had a growth chart or marks on the wall/door frame?
• Growth is the sign of a healthy child;
• And if a child is stunted in their growth;
• It usually it means that something is seriously wrong
Ill:
• This week the TV news & newspapers;
• All highlighted the fact that Prince George (aged 2);
• This week attended his first day at nursery school;
• The last time I mentioned him in a sermon was two years ago at the Carol Service;
• When he had just been born.
• And I took the theme ‘A Royal Birth’.
• But the photos are a reminder that he is growing up fast!
• Growth is natural and growth is of course the norm;
• TRANSITION: What is true in a physical sense has a spiritual parallel.
• But in the spiritual realm the growth experience can be very different.
• The number of years you have been a Christian does not mean you are growing!
• We can grow old but not grow up!
• Too many Churches are full of grey haired babies.
• People who have come to faith; that is been ‘born again’.
• But have stayed as babies or children and not moved on to maturity.
ill:
• A man, after 25 years with one company,
• Was still doing the same old job and drawing the same salary.
• Finally he went to his boss and told him he felt he had been neglected.
• “After all,” he said, “I’ve had 25 of experience.”
• His boss sighed and said:
• “You haven’t had 25 of experience, you’ve had one experience for 25 years.”
• TRANSITION: Psalm 84 gives to us three ways to grow;
• Three ways to deepen our walk with God in the year ahead.
(1). My Delight is in the Lord (vs 1-4)
How lovely is your dwelling-place,
Lord Almighty!
2 My soul yearns, even faints,
for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out
for the living God.
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,
Lord Almighty, my King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house;
they are ever praising you”.
Ill;
• Longing is written all over this Psalm – longing for God,
• The words of a secular song came to mind when I was studying this.
• The words go like this (play video clip):
• “and I would walk 500 miles and I would walk 500 more,
• Just to be the man who walks a thousand miles to fall down at your door…”
• That song by the Proclaimers is not complicated;
• They are singing that they are willing to go to great lengths,
• And endure much hardship, to get to the person that they love.
• They’ll do whatever it takes even if it means they are too tired to do anything but fall down when they reach their destination – at least they are with the one they love.
• TRANSITION: And that is what Psalm 84 is all about;
• It is as simple and straightforward as that.
• A longing, a desire, a determination to be with the one you love!
At this moment in time the psalmist is evidently cut off from God’s house.
• He begins this psalm by saying to God,
• "How lovely is your dwelling place..."
• In Old Testament times God's dwelling place was the temple in Jerusalem.
• So the psalmist's longing, his desire is to be there.
• Look at the passionate, descriptive strong words he uses:
• "My soul yearns, even faints for the courts of the Lord;
• My heart and my flesh cry out."
Ill:
• If you've ever been really homesick;
• Maybe away from your family for a long period of time;
• You might begin to understand what he's feeling.
• He's consumed with this desire.
Note:
• I love the fact the he is even jealous of the little swallows;
• These little swallows fly around the temple grounds,
• And they build their nests and hatch their young near the altar of sacrifice.
• The psalmist longs to be as close to God as these birds are,
• In that place of intimacy and safety.
ill:
• A sparrows nest is messy but cosy,
• A sparrow adapts, it makes its nest from whatever is available in its surroundings;
• So it can use grass, feathers, leaves, paper, string, anything it finds.
• However, the sparrow’s main instinct;
• Is not to be concerned with what the nest is composed of,
• But rather, where the nest is located – is it safe and secure!
• And there is no safer place to be than in the house of God;
• In the care of the creator!
ill:
• I love the fact that these verses mention two worthless birds.
• A sparrow and a swallow.
• Throughout the Bible sparrow and a swallows are seen as worthless.
• You might remember Jesus is telling the disciples (Matthew chapter 10 verse 29);
• “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny?
• Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.”
• Even worthless sparrows and swallows are welcome;
• And they have found themselves a safe place to make their nest;
• And these birds have found a resting place in the presence of God.
Note:
• The psalmist finishes this first section with a benediction:
• Verse 4 is the first of three blessings in this psalm:
• "Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are forever praising you."
• Now the temple was an impressive and a beautiful sight,
• But the psalmist is not longing to be there because of the architecture!
• He's longing to be in God's presence, continuously praising him.
• Note: He yearns "for the living God ... the Lord Almighty."
• God is not unfamiliar to him because he calls him "my King and my God."
• Always note and enjoy the personal pronouns of the Bible text.
Ill:
• This verse reads like two lovers who want to go out to dinner together.
• It doesn't matter where they go.
• What matters is they're together!
• The person you're with is far more important than the place you go.
APPLICATION:
• If we want to grow in God we must first have the desire!
• Can we speak or pray these words as if they are our own?
• Do you long to be in his presence?
• Does your heart yearn after him?
• Notice the emphasis in this psalm is not private devotions;
• We can of course meet with God anywhere;
• But here the psalmist is quite specific.
• We experience the Lord in a special way when we meet with his people!
• ill: Jesus himself said (Matthew chapter 18 verse 20):
• “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."
Both Judaism and Christianity is community based;
• ill: Jesus in the habit of regular times of fellowship with other believers,
• If you were looking for him you could often find him in the synagogue.
• Luke chapter 4 verse 16: “As was his custom”
• ill: The apostle Paul was in the habit of regular times of fellowship with other believers:
• He met with believers both in the synagogue and in the Church.
• Acts chapter 17 verse 2: “As was his custom”
• Just as bad habits shape our lives negatively;
• Good habits shape our lives positively!
• Bad habits stick with us and so often spoil our lives.
• Good habits also affect us by contributing to our lives!
Ill:
• Talking of bad habits;
• I did hear the story of an elderly couple called Mr & Mrs Smith.
• Mrs Smith was so happy because after many, many years of marriage;
• She had at long last cured her husband of biting his nails.
• When asked how she had accomplished this;
• She replied; “Simple, every morning I hide his teeth”.
• TRANSITION: Don’t forget:
• Just as bad habits shape our lives negatively;
• Good habits also shape our lives positively!
• So get into the habit (if you are not already):
• Of meeting with God’s people as regularly as you can!
The New Testament gives very clear reasons why Church is important:
• (1). Learning together – Bible teaching.
• (2). Living together – fellowship.
• (3). Praying together.
• (4). Sharing together.
• (5). Serving together.
• (6). Giving together.
• (7). Worshipping together.
• (8). Evangelising together.
(2). My Strength is in the Lord (vs 5-8)
“Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baka,
they make it a place of springs;
the autumn rains also cover it with pools.
7 They go from strength to strength,
till each appears before God in Zion.
8 Hear my prayer, Lord God Almighty;
listen to me, God of Jacob.
9 Look on our shield, O God;
look with favour on your anointed one”.
• The psalmist may be at home but his heart was set on pilgrimage,
• His desire is to join the people of God.
• Going on pilgrimage was an existing experience;
• As you walked up to Jerusalem and the Temple,
• You went in groups and the closer to Jerusalem you got;
• The larger those groups became as travellers encountered travellers etc.
• Together you sang and chanted the psalms of ascent;
• (Fifteen psalms, #120 to #134 of the Book of Psalms were used,
• Each one begin with the words, "A song of ascents.")
Note:
• Although it was an exhilarating experience, it was also tough.
• It was hard work walking uphill in the heat of the day.
• It took sacrifice of effort, of time and money as you forfeited work for worship.
• Quote: Leonard Ravenhill :
• “An experience of God that costs nothing does nothing, and is worth nothing.”
• Quote: David the Psalmist once said (1 Chronicles chapter 21 verse 24):
• "I will not present burnt offerings that have cost me nothing!"
• TRANSITION: David was not looking for what he got from God;
• But was concerned with what he gave to God!
• And that thought is also found in this psalm.
• Verse 6 of this Psalm introduces a strange expression to us:
• “As they pass through the valley of Baca”
Note:
• The exact translation of Baca, used as a noun in Psalm 84, is unknown,
• Most Bible scholars equate it with a Hebrew verb;
• That is identified with weeping or a state of misery of one kind or another.
• So Baca is seen as a possible place of suffering or deep sorrow.
• Which seems at odds with the happiness of this psalm.
• I mentioned earlier that it contains three beatitudes.
• Verse 4: “Blessed” (Happy, contented, enriched, many times over)
• “Happy are those who live in your house, ever singing your praise.”
• Verse 5: “Blessed” (Happy, contented, enriched, many times over)
• “Happy are those whose strength is in you”
• Verse 7: “Blessed” (Happy, contented, enriched, many times over)
• “Happy is everyone who trusts in you.”
• TRANSITION: Faith digs blessings out of hardship.
• Often we can grow in our faith and grow closer to God through difficulties.
Ill:
“The tree that never had to fight
For sun and sky and air and light,
That stood out in the open plain
And always got its share of rain,
Never became a forest king
But lived and died a scrubby thing.
The man who never had to toil
To heaven from the common soil,
Who never had to win his share
Of sun and sky and light and air,
Never became a manly man,
But lived and died as he began.
Good timber does not grow in ease;
The stronger wind, the tougher trees;
The farther sky, the greater length;
The more the storm, the more the strength;
By sun and cold, by rain and snows,
In tree or man, good timber grows.
Where thickest stands the forest growth
We find the patriarchs of them both;
And they hold converse with the stars
Whose broken branches show the scars
Of many winds and of much strife —
This is the common law of life”.
God’s people must expect to pass through ‘The Valley of Bacca”:
• Both Christian and non-Christian experiences the problems of life;
• But the Christian finds a strength and a joy in God;
• Despite those hardships.
• Notice that in verse 7 it says; “They go from strength to strength”.
• That is the difference trust in the Lord will bring.
• So, what appears to be a challenge and an obstacle to the pilgrim;
• Will in hindsight really be a source of blessing.
• We are used to hearing the expression “no pain no gain.”
• Normally it is in the context of getting physically fit.
• But there is a spiritual parallel to that expression;
• Often through pain we gain.
• And we know as Christians these problems will help shape our character;
• And also help us grow closer and depend more and more on God.
• Quote: Samuel Rutherford
• “When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines.”
• These verses remain us that in times of pain seek God;
• And that is the prayer of the pilgrim in verses 8-9.
(3). My Trust is in the Lord (vs 9-12)
“Look on our shield, O God;
look with favour on your anointed one.
10 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 the tents of the wicked.
11 For the Lord God is a sun and shield;
the Lord bestows favour and honour;
no good thing does he withhold
from those whose way of life is blameless.
12 Lord Almighty,
blessed is the one who trusts in you.”
• I love that verse (#10):
• Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere (Psalm 84:10).
• The psalmist would rather have a lowly menial job like a doorkeeper in God’s house;
• Than live in the palaces of the wicked, with all their luxury and wealth.
Ill:
• None of us will trust a stranger.
• We teach our kids not to speak to strangers;
• And we are always cautious of salespeople knocking on the door.
• We only really trust people we know.
• TRANSITION: The psalmist knows the character of God;
• And therefore knows he is trustworthy!
• Look at his description of God in verses 9&1: “sun and shield.”
• The Lord is like the ‘sun’. He gives light and warmth.
• That is, he shines on our lives like the sun;
• A sun that enables crops to grow and the land to flourish.
• The Lord is like the ‘shield’. He gives protection and security.
• There are eight different Hebrew words for shield in the Bible.
• The word used here is for a “large rectangular shield" covering the whole body.
• These are such good promises to hang onto at the start of a new year;
• We have a God who keeps his promises.
Ill:
• When I ran my weekly market stall in Fareham;
• (Selling second-hand books and Bibles);
• One popular item among elderly Christian ladies who popped along;
• Was a promise box,
• Now if you have never encountered one let me explain:
• A promise box contained lots of pieces of paper with promises from God’s word,
• Rolled into tiny cylinders with the aid of a pencil.
• The idea is you pulled one out of the box;
• As a daily encouragement, a daily blessing.
• On one occasion a lady picked up the box,
• It fell, and all 300 scattered on her lap and on the floor.
• In that moment, it was as if God told her something;
• All His promises are yes and amen in Christ Jesus.
• We need not view them as a lucky dip but rather as steps of faith!
Verse 11 reminds as we walk under his protection enjoying his fellowship:
• “No good thing does he withhold”
• In other words all we need he provides (note: needs not greed)
Conclusion:
• Long for God’s house (meet often with his people),
• Appreciate God’s blessings (give thanks in all circumstances good or bad),
• And enjoy the blessedness of trust in Him (each day make him your focus).
Quote: The great reformer Martin Luther once wrote,
“Let the world have rich ones, powerful ones, wise ones, and consolations in this world.
Let them trust and glory in their wisdom, might, wealth and possessions.
My heart triumphs in the living God.”
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=66lzajw5VppV9paJvKc2SQWZEqqiWfs7
