Seeking The King Of Glory

Sermon

Lanier Christian Church

July 12, 2015

David Simpson

Seeking the King of Glory

Psalm 24

Psalm 24 (NIV)

Of David. A psalm.

1

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it;

2

for he founded it on the seas

and established it on the waters.

3

Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?

Who may stand in his holy place?

4

The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,

who does not trust in an idol

or swear by a false god.[a]

5

They will receive blessing from the Lord

and vindication from God their Savior.

6

Such is the generation of those who seek him,

who seek your face, God of Jacob.[b][c]

7

Lift up your heads, you gates;

be lifted up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

8

Who is this King of glory?

The Lord strong and mighty,

the Lord mighty in battle.

9

Lift up your heads, you gates;

lift them up, you ancient doors,

that the King of glory may come in.

10

Who is he, this King of glory?

The Lord Almighty—

he is the King of glory.

I was inspired by my grandson Jacob to share this message today. He read Psalm 24 to us last Sunday at our family worship time at the beach. And he reminded me of this same psalm this past Thursday after the funeral of my preacher and mentor, Jim Nipper.

When a child can grasp the power of God's Word and remember it, can't we as adults be moved as well? Can't we allow our often hardened hearts to be softened a bit by the piercing truth of what God has to say to us in the Bible?

As you know, our family absolutely loves music. All of us. It is part of our daily routine. So many of the songs we listen to and sing are based directly on scripture. So when I read Psalm 24 again the other day, I was reminded once again that this is a song, an ancient Hebrew song and a powerful one at that. It was written to describe David's triumphant return of the ark of the covenant back to Jerusalem.

David was concerned who was worthy to bring the ark back into the city...or who was worthy to open the gates..or who would stand before the ark in the holy place. As I read the psalm one more time I was reminded that sometimes we are a bit too careless when we come before God. We too should be concerned about how we approach God. I need reminders that he is not my best buddy...he is the King of Glory, the Creator of all things, and the one who holds my future, and yet I am His child. So, as I read the words of Psalm 24, there were several admonitions that jumped out at me that should determine how we approach God on a daily basis.

1. WE SHOULD BE FILLED WITH WONDER AND AWE. SLIDE

I can almost picture David sitting down with his harp and composing this song. Perhaps he had just returned from a trip to the sea of Galilee or the shores of the Mediterannean.

You can't go to the beach and experience the waves and the seemingly endless sea and not be moved. Or, to view the spectacular sunrise over the ocean or behold the stars on a moonless night and not be filled with awe.

Did you see that conjuction of the stars...planets... on July 1st? There were two bright lights in the sky....they appeared like two bright double stars...but they were really the planets Venus and Jupiter.

They were bright - light a headlight in the sky....and it got your attention. In reality the two planets are millions of miles apart, and more than that ... to think Venus is 162 million miles away from earth ...and Saturn is 746 million miles away. Yet, their unique combination in the night sky got my attention. (You can see them still throughout July).

An article about this unique appearance in the heavens was on the CNN website and it began with these words: Put down the cell phone. Go outside. Look up. (Michael Pearson, CNN - "Double Star Moment for Jupiter and Venus - July 1, 2015)

That identifies the problem many of us have. We don't put down our cells phones. We don't go outside after dark. We don't look up. And because of that we miss the wonder and awe of God's creation. So accept the challenge: Put down the cell phone, computer, or TV....Go outside and Look up...and behold how awesome our God really is!

And as this psalm reminds us...to think God started his creation with the seas! You perhaps know Genesis 1:1 "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth." ...but do you know Genesis 1:2 "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters."