SCRIPTURE READING:
** (SLIDE 2)“HOW BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE STRENGTH IS IN THEE;
IN WHOSE HEART ARE THE HIGHWAYS TO ZION!
PASSING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF BACA, THEY MAKE IT A SPRING, THE EARLY RAIN ALSO COVERS IT WITH BLESSINGS.
THEY GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH,
EVERY ON OF THEM APPEARS BEFORE GOD IN ZION.”
PSALM 84:5-7
** (SLIDE 3) GETTING FROM POINT A TO POINT B ISN’T WHAT IT USED TO BE. NUMEROUS MAPPING PROGRAMS AVAILABLE ON CD-ROM OR THE INTERNET HELP US NAVIGATE FROM OUR DOOR TO THE DOORSTEP OF OUR DESTINATION.
** (SLIDE 4) MAPQUEST IS ONE OF MY FAVORITES. THEIR SLOGAN IS “WHERE TO GO, HOW TO GET THERE”
IT WILL TELL YOU WHEN TO TURN LEFT OR RIGHT, HOW MANY MILES BEFORE THE NEXT TURN, THE TOTAL NUMBER OF MILES AND THE ESTIMATED TIME THE DRIVE WILL TAKE.
LET ME GIVE YOU A HYPOTHETICAL DAY SO THAT YOU CAN SEE HOW IMPORTANT MAPQUEST IS. I WAKE UP MONDAY MORNING AT 6:45 A.M. I SLEEPILY WALK INTO THE FAMILY ROOM WHERE THE COMPUTER IS LOCATED AND SIGN ONTO THE INTERNET. OPENING UP MY “FAVORITES” MENU, I SELECT MAPQUEST. I TYPE IN MY HOME ADDRESS: **** THIS IS MY POINT OF DEPARTURE. I THEN TYPE IN MY DESTINATION ADDRESS: **** (WORK ADDRESS) I PRINT OUT THE HANDY MAP WITH DIRECTIONS…EQUIPPED FOR MY ADVENTUROUS JOURNEY.
WHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS SCENARIO?
I’VE LIVED HERE FOR 3 YEARS AND DON’T NEED TO PRINT OUT A MAP OR HAVE WRITTEN DIRECTIONS ON HOW TO TRAVEL FROM MY HOUSE TO THE CHURCH. IT’S IN MY HEAD. I COULD PRACTICALLY DRIVE IT BLINDFOLDED. I HAVEN’T TRIED, BY THE WAY.
** (SLIDE 5) PSALM 84:5, “BLESSED IN THE MAN…IN WHOSE HEART ARE THE HIGHWAYS TO ZION.”
THE PSALMIST DOESN’T NEED MAPQUEST OR A MAPSCO WHEN IT COMES TO THE ROAD TO ZION. HE HAS A FAMILIARITY WITH THAT ROAD WHICH DOESN’T LEAD TO SECOND-GUESSING OR UNCERTAINTY.
PSALM 84 IS FOCUSED ON GOD’S SANCTUARY AND HOW THE WRITER LOVED TO SPEND TIME THERE. THE AUTHOR IS ONE OF ’THE SONS OF KORAH’. NOTICE HIS PASSION FOR BEING IN GOD’S PRESENCE.
** (SLIDE 6) V.1 - `HOW LOVELY IS YOUR DWELLING PLACE, O LORD ALMIGHTY!’
V.4 - `BLESSED ARE THEY WHO DWELL IN YOUR HOUSE’
V.7 - `THEY GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH, TILL EACH APPEARS BEFORE GOD IN ZION.’
V.10 - `I WOULD RATHER BE A DOORKEEPER IN THE HOUSE OF MY GOD ...’
THE WRITER OF THIS PSALM CERTAINLY HAD THE ROAD TO ZION IN HIS HEART!
** (SLIDE 7) MOUNT ZION IS ONE OF THE HILLS ON WHICH THE CITY OF JERUSALEM IS FOUNDED. IN THE BIBLE, ZION IS OFTEN USED SYNONYMOUSLY WITH JERUSALEM (ISAIAH 2:2).
THOSE WHO HAD THE ROAD TO ZION IN THEIR HEART KNEW THE PATH FROM THEIR HOME TO THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM BY HEART. THEY DIDN’T NEED A MAPQUEST PROGRAM TO FIGURE OUT HOW TO GET THERE. THEY KNEW IT BY MEMORY. IT WAS WRITTEN ON THEIR HEARTS.
THE BIBLE REPEATEDLY MENTIONS THE TEMPLE IN JERUSALEM AS GOD’S DWELLING PLACE, EVEN THOUGH HE IS NOT LIMITED TO A BUILDING. IN 1 KINGS 8:27, SOLOMON, ON THE COMPLETION OF HIS GREAT TEMPLE, SAID THIS:
** (SLIDE 8) ’BUT WILL GOD REALLY DWELL ON EARTH? THE HEAVENS, EVEN THE HIGHEST HEAVEN, CANNOT CONTAIN YOU. HOW MUCH LESS THIS TEMPLE I HAVE BUILT!’ (NIV)
** (SLIDE 9- BLANK) THE PILGRIM WRITING PSALM 84 KNEW HOW TO TRAVEL FROM HIS HOME—TO THE PLACE WHERE GOD DWELT.
** (SLIDE 10) WITH NEW TESTAMENT GLASSES ON, IT BECOMES CLEAR THAT HAVING THE ROAD TO ZION IN YOUR HEART IS EQUIVALENT TO HAVING JESUS CHRIST IN YOUR HEART. THE TEMPLE AT ZION OR JERUSALEM WAS FULL OF SYMBOLISM THAT POINTED TO THE LAMB OF GOD…JESUS CHRIST.
JESUS FULFILLED THAT SYMBOLISM AND BECAME THE PATHWAY TO ETERNAL LIFE.
JESUS STATED IN JOHN 14:3-6,
** (SLIDE 11) “AND IF I GO AND PREPARE A PLACE FOR YOU, I WILL COME AGAIN AND RECEIVE YOU TO MYSELF; THAT WHERE I AM, THERE YOU MAY BE ALSO. AND WHERE I GO YOU KNOW, AND THE WAY YOU KNOW.”
THOMAS SAID TO HIM, “LORD, WE DO NOT KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING, AND HOW CAN WE KNOW THE WAY?”
JESUS SAID TO HIM, “I AM THE WAY, THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. NO ONE COMES TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME.”
** (SLIDE 12) ACCESS TO GOD WAS NO LONGER THROUGH SACRIFICES AND SANCTUARY SYMBOLISM. JESUS CHRIST PROVIDED A DIRECT LINK TO GOD. HE WAS THE ROAD…THE WAY…TO ZION.
JESUS MAKES IT CLEAR TO HIS DISCIPLES THAT IF THEY ARE TO REACH THE HEAVENLY ZION, THEY MUST KNOW HIM. HE MUST BE IN THEIR HEARTS.
JESUS IS THE MAP FROM RICHARDSON TO ZION…FROM YOUR EARTHLY HOME TO YOUR HEAVENLY HOME. JESUS PROMISES TO BRING YOU INTO THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD.
BETWEEN THEN AND NOW, WE ARE ON A PILGRIM JOURNEY. IN OUR KEY PASSAGE, PSALM 84, WE DISCOVER 3 CHARACTERISTICS OF THE PILGRIM WHO IS ON THIS ROAD TO ZION. THESE 3 CHARACTERISTICS ARE AN OUTGROWTH OF JESUS DWELLING IN THEIR HEARTS.
** (SLIDE 13)
1. BECAUSE THEY ARE BLESSED, THEY ARE A BLESSING.
IN PSALM 84:5 WE READ,
“HOW BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE STRENGTH IS IN THEE…MOVING TO VERSE 6, “PASSING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF BACA, THEY MAKE IT A SPRING, THE EARLY RAIN ALSO COVERS IT WITH BLESSINGS.”
** (SLIDE 14- BLANK) THE PILGRIMAGE TO JERUSALEM INVOLVED PASSING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF BECA.
BACA MEANS "WEEPING." IT WAS A VALLEY OF BUSHES AND THORNS IN PALESTINE WHICH COULD NOT BE PASSED WITHOUT DIFFICULTY AND TEARS. IT WAS A DRY AND ARID LAND.
THE CHRISTIAN PILGRIM IS ABLE TO FACE THE TROUBLES ENCOUNTERED ON THE JOURNEY WITH CONFIDENCE. THE DESTINATION OVERSHADOWS THE DIFFICULTY OF THE JOURNEY. THIS IS NOT A CONTRIVED PERSPECTIVE…IT COMES FROM HAVING THE ROAD TO ZION…JESUS CHRIST… IN THEIR HEARTS.
THE LIFE OF THE CHRISTIAN PILGRIM IS NOT WITHOUT TROUBLE AND TRIALS. IN FACT, THEY ARE GUARANTEED. ONE OF JESUS PROMISES THAT WE DON’T OFTEN CLAIM IS FOUND IN JOHN 16:33, “IN THE WORLD YOU MIGHT HAVE TRIBULATION.” “IN THIS WORLD YOU PROBABLY WILL HAVE TRIBULATION.” “IN THIS WORLD YOU WILL HAVE TRIBULATION.” JESUS THEN ADDS,
** (SLIDE 15) “…BUT, BE OF GOOD CHEER, I HAVE OVERCOME THE WORLD.”
HAVE YOU EXPERIENCED TRIBULATION AND TROUBLE IN YOUR LIFE? ARE YOU PASSING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF BACA RIGHT NOW? AS YOU LOOK AROUND, DO YOU ONLY SEE SCRAGGLY BUSHES, THORNS AND DRY, BARREN LAND? HAVE YOU CRIED TEARS OF BITTERNESS AND DEFEAT?
THE PSALMIST ASKS US TO LOOK UP AND FOCUS ON OUR DESTINATION. CHRIST WILL LEAD US THROUGH THE VALLEY. THROUGH THE TROUBLE, WE MUST CLING ON TO CHRIST.
OVER THIS PAST YEAR AND A HALF, THERE HAVE BEEN TIMES WHERE I’VE BECOME SO ENGULFED BY THE VALLEY OF BACA, THAT I LOST PERSPECTIVE. I’VE HAD TO REMIND MYSELF THAT GOD IS STILL THERE, HE IS WALKING BESIDE ME, AND HE WILL SEE ME THROUGH.
** (SLIDE 16- BLANK) THERE’S AN IMPORTANT DICHOTOMY FOUND IN THIS EXPERIENCE OF PASSING THROUGH THE VALLEY OF BACA. SOMEHOW, THOSE WHO GO THROUGH THE DIFFICULTIES ARE ABLE TO BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS ALONG THE WAY. THE PSALMIST SAYS THAT THE PILGRIM MAKES SPRINGS OF WATER AND COVERS THE DESERT WITH REFRESHING RAIN.
ARE YOU TAKING THE OPPORTUNITY TO BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS? COULD YOU BE COMPARED TO A MOUNTAIN STREAM OR A SUMMER RAIN? IT IS A MIRACLE OF GOD THAT YOU AND I CAN BE A BLESSING TO OTHERS IN THE MIDST OF OUR OWN STRUGGLES AND TRIBULATION.
2. THE PILGRIM HEADED FOR ZION IS GROWING SPIRITUALLY.
** (SLIDE 17) NOTE PSALM 84:7, “THEY GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH.”
** (SLIDE 18- BLANK) WHEN I ATTENDED NEWBOLD COLLEGE JUST OUTSIDE OF LONDON, ENGLAND, I DEVELOPED THE HABIT OF DOING PULL-UPS EVERY MORNING WHEN I TOOK A SHOWER. AT THE TIME, I WAS 19 YEARS OLD AND MORE PHYSICALLY FIT THAN I AM NOW. I BEGAN WITH 10 PULL-UPS AND ENDED THE YEAR BY DOING 23 IN A ROW.
A FEW WEEKS AGO, I TRIED OUT THE PULL-UP BAR IN OUR FELLOWSHIP HALL…WITH A DISMAL RESULT. MY 23 HAD DROPPED TO 6. OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF WEEKS, I’VE BEEN ABLE TO IMPROVE IT TO 10. I’M HOPING TO HIT THE 23 MARK AGAIN.
ANYONE WHO DOES BODY-BUILDING…WHICH I OBVIOUSLY DON’T… KNOWS THAT IT TAKES TIME TO BUILD UP STRENGTH. THEY ALSO KNOW THAT IF YOU BECOME SEDENTARY, YOU CAN QUICKLY LOSE WHAT HAS BEEN GAINED.
IT IS THE SAME WAY WITH THE CHRISTIAN WALK, THERE IS NO NEUTRAL GEAR. WE ARE EITHER GROWING OR SLIPPING AWAY. THE PSALMIST TELLS US THAT THE PILGRIM HEADED FOR ZION GROWS FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH. THIS STRENGTH IS NOT IN OURSELVES. WE READ ABOUT THAT INITIAL STRENGTH IN VERSE 5, “BLESSED IN THE MAN WHOSE STRENGTH IS IN THEE.” JESUS CHRIST PROVIDES THE REQUIRED STRENGTH TO GO THROUGH THE JOURNEY OF LIFE. HOW THEN DO WE GROW IN STRENGTH?
I BELIEVE THIS GROWTH COMES THROUGH INCREASING TRUST AND DEPENDENCE ON GOD. AS WE TRAVEL TO ZION, WE CAN’T SEE WHAT’S UP AHEAD. WE CAN’T PREDICT WHEN WE WILL ENTER THE VALLEY OF BACA. WE CAN’T SEE HOW LIFE’S CHALLENGES WILL WORK OUT.
IN MY LIFE THAT THERE ARE TIMES I QUESTION WHETHER GOD WILL ACT ON MY BEHALF. SOME OF YOU HAVE FACED THIS QUESTION OVER THE PAST WEEK.
THERE ARE OTHER TIMES I RUN AHEAD IN AN ATTEMPT TO RESOLVE ISSUES MYSELF.
HOW DO WE GROW IN STRENGTH?
THE MORE TIMES WE GO THROUGH EXPERIENCES IN LIFE AND SEE HOW GOD LED US…HOW HIS WAY WAS THE BEST…THE GREATER OUR TRUST BECOMES. WE CAN FACE THE UNKNOWN WITH CONFIDENCE THAT GOD HAS OUR BEST INTEREST AT HEART. IN THIS WAY, WE GO FROM STRENGTH TO STRENGTH.
“BUT HE PATH OF THE JUST IS LIKE THE SHINING SUN, THAT SHINES EVER BRIGHTER UNTO THE PERFECT DAY.” PROVERBS 4:18
FINALLY, THE PILGRIM HEADED TO ZION IS GUARANTEED TO
3. RECEIVE ETERNAL LIFE.
NOTE THE LAST PART OF VERSE 7, “EVERY ONE OF THEM APPEARS BEFORE GOD IN ZION.”
REVELATION 21:3-4 PROMISES, “BEHOLD, THE TABERNACLE OF GOD IS WITH MEN, AND HE WILL DWELL WITH THEM, AND THEY SHALL BE HIS PEOPLE. GOD HIMSELF WILL BE WITH THEM AND BE THEIR GOD. AND GOD WILL WIPE AWAY EVERY TEAR FROM THEIR EYES; THERE SHALL BE NO MORE DEATH, NOR SORROW, NOR CRYING. THERE SHALL BE NO MORE PAIN, FOR THE FORMER THINGS HAVE PASSED AWAY.”
WITH SUCH A DESTINATION, THE ROAD TO ZION IS WORTH TRAVELING! THE PAIN AS WE TRAVELED
THROUGH THE VALLEY OF BACA IN THIS LIFE WILL BE GONE. WE WILL BE IN THE VERY PRESENCE OF GOD.
OUR ASSURANCE OF THIS REWARD COMES THROUGH JESUS, WHO IS THE WAY, THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE.
I JOHN 5:12-13 SHARES THIS CONFIDENCE, “HE WHO HAS THE SON HAS LIFE…THESE THINGS I HAVE WRITTEN TO YOU WHO BELIEVE IN THE NAME OF THE SON OF GOD, THAT YOU MAY KNOW THAT YOU HAVE ETERNAL LIFE.”
WE CAN BE CONFIDENT IN THE DESTINATION.
MY PRAYER FOR EACH OF US TODAY IS THAT THE “ROAD TO ZION” IS IN OUR HEARTS.
APPEAL SONG,
“ROAD TO ZION”
