Savior, Like A Shepherd, Lead Us Series

Savior, Like a Shepherd, Lead Us

Griffith Baptist Church – 12/2/07

P.M. Service

Text: Psalm 24

Introduction

Nikita Khrushchev once boasted that he would exhibit the last Soviet Christian on television by 1965. Khrushchev has since gone to give account of himself to the Judge of all mankind, and his deadline for the extinction of Christianity in Russia has also passed. Throughout history, so-called big men and little men have strutted across the stages of life defying God. But as Psalm 145:13 promises, "Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and thy dominion endureth throughout all generations."

We come to the last of the trilogy of these Messianic Psalms

Here, in Psalm 24, we are confronted with the Sovereignty of our God

What does the word, sovereignty, mean?

o According to the dictionary, it means supremacy of authority or rule as exercised by a sovereign or sovereign state. Royal rank, authority, or power.

o As it pertains to God, it is the biblical teaching that God is the source of all creation and that all things come from and depend upon God (Ps. 24:1). Sovereignty means that God is in all and over all.

How much does He rule your life?

Body

First, we need to examine who we are talking about.

1. Who Is This King of Glory?

A. He is Creator and Owner of everything (1-2)

i. There is nothing that God does not possess

ii. Colossians 1:16-17- 16For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. (Ps. 89:11)

B. He is Holy (3)

i. Psalms 15:1 - LORD, who shall abide in thy tabernacle? who shall dwell in thy holy hill?

ii. Perfection and Sinlessness are His greatest attributes

iii. Nothing short of His holiness stands a chance in His presence

C. He is Sovereign (7-10)

i. He is absolute ruler and final authority. Nothing slips past Him without His say so.

ii. His authority is absolute and covers everything - Joshua 2:11 - And as soon as we had heard these things, our hearts did melt, neither did there remain any more courage in any man, because of you: for the LORD your God, he is God in heaven above, and in earth beneath.

iii. The immensity of His reign is limitless - Isaiah 40:22-23 – It is he that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in: 23That bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity.

D. He is Salvation (5)

i. He gave us Jesus Christ, who is God and Savior both

ii. Jonah’s desperate reality as a type of Christ and the resurrection of hope - Jonah 2:9 - But I will sacrifice unto thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay that that I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.

iii. Jesus Christ is the only hope

Second, there are conditions for being in His presence and that is where we spend the remainder of our time.

2. Who Can Belong to This King of Glory?

A. The Question arises from verse 3, Who shall ascend into the hill of the LORD? or who shall stand in his holy place?

i. The hill of the Lord – Mount Zion, where Jerusalem is now and also of the heavenly Jerusalem where Messiah shall reign (Heb. 12:22; Rev. 14:1)

ii. The holy place – His tabernacle, the dwelling place of God in Jerusalem during the time of ancient Israel and also in the divine presence of God and God’s dwelling in man (1 Cor. 6:19). The throne of God in heaven is a holy place as well.

iii. So, the question is, who can stand in the presence of God

iv. The holy ground of Moses is the illustration - Exodus 3:5-6 – 5And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. 6Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God.

v. In the wilderness and the Temple in Jerusalem, God dwelt in the Holy of holies (the sanctuary) and specific instructions were given as to who could enter, when and how.

vi. The instant Christ died, the veil was torn from top to bottom (Matt. 27:51) and the holiest place was opened up.