PSALM 27:4-5 “COME TO CHURCH WITH A PURPOSE”
A) There does need to be a purpose behind why we come to church.
* And there needs to be some reasons we do the things we do as they
relate to the church.
B) In our text the Psalmist, David, had a purpose, or some reasons
for coming to the house of the Lord.
* There are really three reasons he gives, but in v.4a, he refers to them as,
“one thing.”
C) The one thing he refers to is this: “That I may dwell in the house
of the LORD all the days of my life,”
* The other two reasons are sub points ... They are the benefits of dwelling
in the house of the Lord.
* And what are they? – That he may “behold the beauty of the Lord,”
and that he “may enquire in His temple.”
D) This morning I want to give you these three things – These three
purposes of David:
(1) DWELLING IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD * Two things:
A) His Desire (v.4a): “One thing have I desired of the LORD,”
* Throughout the Psalms we find David talking about the house of the Lord.
B) It was always his desire to worship in God’s Holy Temple.
* Psa. 61:4 “I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will .......”
* Psa. 122:1 “I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go .......”
C) I want to ask you a question? – Are you glad when someone in
your home says to you, “Let’s go into the house of the Lord?”
* Was it your desire to come to church this morning to be in the
presence of the Lord, and to fellowship with His saints?
* What is your purpose for being here today?
D) Keep the word “desire” before you, for desire is the
thing that drives us.
* It’s the thing that causes us to want to come to church, or for
that matter, to do anything at all for God.
E) As Pastors, we often wonder why some people come to church.
* We often see folks dozing ... Some are daydreaming ... Some occupy
themselves by talking to the person sitting next to them.
F) Some are distracted by reading Facebook on their phone rather
than listening to the message that God has for them that day.
* I can tell you, if you allow him to, satan will do whatever is necessary
to distract you from what God has for you.
DO YOU KNOW THESE GUYS? – SHOW THEIR NAMES
A) There is an interesting story that is told about the legendary
baseball players Hank Aaron and Yogi Berra.
* Hank Aaron was new to the Major Leagues but was already one
of the best homerun hitters in baseball.
* Yogi Berra was the colorful catcher for the New York Yankees,
and they were playing each other in the World Series.
B) Yogi Berra was famous for distracting batters with his constant chatter.
* Hank Aaron steps up to the plate ... It was the first time he and Yogi Berra
had ever faced each other.
* Berra starts in on him: “Hank, you’re holding the bat all wrong ... You’re
supposed to hold it so that you can read the label.”
C) Aaron ignored him ... He then proceeds to hit the first pitch
over the fence into the left field bleachers for a homerun.
* He runs around the bases, comes back to home plate, and says to
Yogi Berra, “I didn’t come up here to read.”
D) Our purpose for coming to church is, to worship God and to receive
something in order to help us better know Him and to better serve Him.
* Anything that distracts from that is a spiritual liability.
* David’s desire – Then .......
HIS DETERMINATION – v.4a “THAT WILL I SEEK AFTER;”
A) David’s desire was for God’s house.
* He was determined to be there ... He was determined that nothing
would keep him away – He had a purpose for coming.
B) You will never grow beyond what you know .......
* You’ll never do more than what you desire to do ... And you’ll
never be more than what you determine to be.
C) Determination was high on David’s list when it came
to the house of the Lord.
* He was purpose driven ... He had a purpose for coming.
D) Quite different than the lady who was talking to her neighbor
over the fence.
* She said, “I really don’t know what you see in the church.”
E) Her friend said, “Oh, you really don’t know what you’re missing.”
* “It’s such a wonderful rest after a hard week’s work, to sit in the pews
and think about nothing.”
* This woman didn’t have a clue as to why she came to church, did she?
F) What was David seeking? ... Why was he so determined to
“dwell in the house of the Lord?”
* David knew that the house of the Lord was a special place,
and that it was a place where he could meet God.
G) The house of the Lord was a place of refuge.
* Keep in mind, in the context of this chapter, David was still
concerned about his enemies – v.2 ....... v.12 .......
H) The church is a wonderful place of refuge for us, isn’t it?
* Thank God, when life is tough, and when our enemies assail us,
we can take refuge in the house of the Lord.
* Notice what else David said in v.4b ......
(2) TO BEHOLD THE BEAUTY OF THE LORD
A) In the Old Testament Tabernacle and in the Temple later built
by David’s son, Solomon .......
* The manifestation of God was present, not only in the Ark of the Covenant,
but also in the typology found in every aspect of its construction.
FIRST: THERE WAS THE MERCY SEAT
A) The Mercy Seat was where the blood of the sacrifice was
applied for the sins of the people.
* Notice in v.7, David said, “Have mercy also upon me.”
B) I’m glad this morning for His mercy, aren’t you?
* Mercy is what I need – Mercy means grace – It means forgiveness.
* I come to the house of the Lord because there is mercy here.
* Psalm 5:7 “But as for me, I will come into thy house in the .......”
C) May I ask you, have you been to the Mercy Seat?
* I mean, have you ever had the blood applied to your heart and life?
* Has Jesus cleansed you from sin?
THEN THERE WAS THE TABLE OF SHEWBREAD
A) There were 12 cakes of bread, each representing one of the
12 tribes of Israel – The bread, of course, speaks of Jesus.
* John 6:35 “And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread .......”
B) When I make the statement, “Come to church with a purpose,”
I can tell you, my purpose for coming is to meet Jesus.”
* And also to “behold the beauty of the Lord, and to partake of
the Bread of Life.
C) Today we live in the era of the “seeker sensitive” or the
“market driven” church .......
* I’m talking about the church that pulls out all the stops in order
to get people in the doors .......
* But what do they serve up when they get them there?
D) I’m thinking, how contemporary can we really be?
* How in the world will we ever get the unchurched to come when
virtually all they know comes through worldly atmosphere?
E) We all know they’ll not listen to sermons for more
than 20-25 minutes.
* The contemporary plan is plain for all to see ... Create a worship
service that is fast-paced ... Light on Bible doctrine .......
* And very heavy on music, light shows, and drama.
* We are preoccupied with being “trendier-than-thou.”
F) Let me give you a few examples of sermon titles I found in some of
the typical seeker sensitive churches on an average Sunday morning.
* How Can I Get More Time for Myself?
* How Can I Feel Better About Myself?
* What Would Jesus Say to Madonna? (Hank Williams Jr.)
G) The preacher of todays’ Mega Church, instead of looking out upon
the world, looks out upon public opinion.
* And they’re trying to find out what the public would like to hear.
* Then he tries his best to duplicate that, and bring his finished product
into a marketplace in which others are trying to do the same.
H) The world today is drifting blindly into the future.
* It’s getting pretty bad when the unsaved world can see the problem,
but many of our own churches can’t.
I) I must confess, I am a purpose-driven preacher.
* My purpose for preaching is Jesus, and the Person I preach is Jesus.
* 2 Cor. 4:5, Paul said, “For we preach not ourselves, but .......”
J) My purpose for coming to church is to “behold the beauty of the Lord.”
* Like David, I want to see God ... I want the Bread of Life.
K) Let’s review: In the Tabernacle there was the Mercy Seat – There was
the Table of Shewbread .......
* And there were enumerable other symbols of the Lord’s presence,
all revealing the beauty of the Lord.
L) This is why David came – He had a purpose.
* Do you have a purpose for being here this morning?
* Psalm 92:13-15 “Those that be planted in the house of the .......”
(3) ENQUIRING IN THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD
A) First: His burden ... What was David’s burden?
* His burden was in dealing with people who opposed him, people who
had become his enemies – v.11-12 .......
* Notice the weight of his burden – v.13 .......
B) Today your burden may be somewhat different.
* Your burden may completely different than was David’s; and yet,
it is something that weighs heavily upon your heart this morning.
C) Maybe you feel like everything is being dumped on you,
and you want a way out.
* When you here that familiar sound, “beep, beep, beep, beep,” what is it?
* It’s a dump truck backing up, getting ready to dump a load on you.
D) Maybe you’ve heard that sound his week, maybe you’ve been
hearing that sound for quite a while .......
* And the truck just keeps backing up, and the loads just keep getting
dumped on you ... Do not despair, help is on the way.
FIRST: HIS BURDEN: SECONDLY, HIS BURDEN BEARER
* Notice a couple of our verses in our text – v.1 and v.5 .......
A) David’s confidence was not in himself – David’s experience and his
confidence were in the only One who could do something for him.
* Notice what he said in v.1 “The Lord is the strength of my life.”
B) In other words, “God is my burden bearer.”
* v.5b “He shall set me up upon a rock.”
C) Dr. Albert Schweitzer was 85 years old when he visited the
jungle hospital at Lamberene, on the banks of the Ogowe River.
* He was a great humanitarian, theologian, musician, and physician.
* It was about eleven in the morning – The sun was beating down
mercilessly, as he was walking up a hill with a group of missionaries.
D) Suddenly he left the group and walked across the slope of the hill
to a place where an African woman was struggling upward .......
* She had with her a huge armload of wood for the cook fires.
* This 85 year old man took the entire load of wood and carried it on
up the hill for the relieved woman.
E) When they all reached the top of the hill .......
* One of the members of the group asked Dr. Schweitzer why he did things
like that implying that in that heat and at his age he should not.
* Albert Schweitzer, looking right at all of them and pointing to the woman,
said simply, “No one should ever have to carry a burden like that alone.”
F) David came to the house of the Lord with a purpose, one of which was to
talk to His Burden Bearer.
* By the way, you will notice in v.8, that God encouraged David to come to
bring his burdens: “When thou saidst, Seek ye my .......”
G) This morning, if you bear a burden, if you have a need,
God would encourage you to come.
* Psalm 55:22 “Cast thy burden upon the LORD, and he shall .......”
CLOSE
* Repeat v.4 .......
* Again, in Psalm 63:2-5, David reveals his purpose for coming to
the house of the Lord, wrote these words, “To see thy power .......”
A) Maybe this morning, you never really gave much thought about
“why” you were coming to the house of the Lord.
* It’s easy to get into the rut of, “I come to church because this is what I do
every Sunday morning,” rather than, “I am coming with a purpose.
* “I am coming to behold the beauty of the Lord.”
B) If God is speaking to you this morning – If you have a need,
then please, bring it to Him.
