WEBVTT 00:00:12.720 --> 00:00:17.440 For today, as we just read, we will be looking at Psalm 24 that he's just read. 00:00:17.679 --> 00:00:23.839 And again, full disclosure, I'll be honest, I have never spent so many hours looking at 10 verses. 00:00:23.920 --> 00:00:26.880 And when I say so many, 10 to 15 hours this week. 00:00:27.200 --> 00:00:34.160 But I am jealous that you could see at least a portion of what the Lord has done in my heart over the last week. 00:00:34.399 --> 00:00:37.840 So I invite you in to hear what the Lord has for us this morning. 00:00:37.920 --> 00:00:40.160 And I'm gonna read one more time and then I'll pray. 00:00:40.320 --> 00:00:45.199 And I'm gonna read the first five verses, because that's really where we'll camp out for the most part this morning. 00:00:45.439 --> 00:00:58.960 So starting in verse one of Psalm 24, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 00:00:59.359 --> 00:01:04.000 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord, and who shall stand in his holy place? 00:01:04.320 --> 00:01:15.760 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up what is sold or what is false, and does not swear deceitfully, he will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 00:01:16.000 --> 00:01:17.519 Let me pray one more time. 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:24.319 God again, we do I am I am thankful for this church this morning. 00:01:24.640 --> 00:01:31.599 And Lord, how how you use our people here just in encouraging and in so many ways. 00:01:31.920 --> 00:01:39.679 And then Father, as I read on this pulpit this morning, uh sir, we wish to see Jesus as we sing in John 12, 21. 00:01:39.920 --> 00:01:45.359 And Father, I also pray that you must increase and that I must decrease in these next few minutes. 00:01:45.599 --> 00:01:47.679 So, Father, help us to see Jesus this morning. 00:01:47.840 --> 00:01:48.799 That's my prayer. 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:51.039 And I pray these things confidently in your name. 00:01:51.280 --> 00:01:51.920 Amen. 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:55.920 We will look at this chapter under three points this morning. 00:01:56.079 --> 00:01:58.159 That was a mandate from Steve before he left. 00:01:58.239 --> 00:01:59.599 Um, honestly, that's what he said. 00:01:59.679 --> 00:02:00.319 No, I'm just kidding. 00:02:00.400 --> 00:02:09.840 But but before we jump in, uh, for me, I will say this there's not a better passage, I think, for us to look at as a church as we do enter into this season of transition. 00:02:10.159 --> 00:02:15.520 We see here at the very beginning God's hand and control immediately in this passage. 00:02:15.680 --> 00:02:18.560 And I am thankful our hearts get to start here. 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:22.319 And I'll share personally for me, like to let you know kind of where I was. 00:02:22.400 --> 00:02:24.479 I mean, we all have those weeks. 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:27.680 Uh, and Thursday for me was just not a good day. 00:02:27.840 --> 00:02:28.719 I'll be honest. 00:02:28.879 --> 00:02:34.319 Uh, I was overwhelmed, I was frustrated, and honestly, I just was exhausted, right? 00:02:34.879 --> 00:02:43.759 But then at the end of the day, when I started to slow down and go through this passage again, I read Psalm 24 and it calmed me and it arrested me. 00:02:43.840 --> 00:02:49.280 And so, again, I'm excited to share a little bit about what the Lord has done in my heart this week with you guys. 00:02:49.439 --> 00:02:56.159 And so, the question I do want to answer today, when you look at the Psalm, look at verse 8, this is the question I want us to answer. 00:02:56.319 --> 00:02:58.560 Who is this king of glory? 00:02:58.800 --> 00:03:04.639 And our purpose statement for this morning is this God is sovereign over all creation. 00:03:05.120 --> 00:03:12.319 He invites his people into a relationship through Jesus Christ so that his name may be glorified. 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:15.759 So let's talk about that and expand on that a little bit. 00:03:15.919 --> 00:03:17.919 I do want to start off a psalm, right? 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:21.359 And I think it's important to know the context of what's going on. 00:03:21.520 --> 00:03:23.680 Why was this psalm written, right? 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:42.000 I love the analogy, you know, when we talk about context, um, it's it's baseball season, and so I love the baseball scoreboard analogy of if you cut on the TV and there's no scoreboard in the corner that you normally see there, and the screen is just showing the child, the crowd cheering at the top of their lungs, right? 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:46.879 You see that, and it points to this idea of something great is going on, right? 00:03:47.039 --> 00:03:51.919 But again, you don't have any idea what inning it is, you don't know what the score is, you don't know how many outs. 00:03:52.080 --> 00:03:57.680 It just shows the crowd going crazy, jumping up and down, making you assume something great has happened. 00:03:57.840 --> 00:03:59.680 You would be a little confused, right? 00:03:59.919 --> 00:04:01.680 Excited, but confused. 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:14.080 However, if the scoreboard was up and it showed it's the bottom of the ninth, with the home team going up by one from the home run, that would explain why the fans are going crazy, right? 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:18.879 And so, again, that's context as we jump into a psalm of what's really going on. 00:04:19.199 --> 00:04:21.360 So I do want to start here again. 00:04:21.840 --> 00:04:25.040 Why did David preach this psalm? 00:04:26.160 --> 00:04:27.680 So, what do we see here? 00:04:27.920 --> 00:04:32.400 This was written, um, they were bringing the Ark of the Covenant into Jerusalem. 00:04:32.640 --> 00:04:39.280 The Philistines had captured it in 1 Samuel 4, and then it was returned in 2 Samuel 6. 00:04:39.440 --> 00:04:49.520 And so David was establishing Jerusalem as its capital, and David wanted the ark, the dwelling place of God, brought back to the center of the nation. 00:04:50.080 --> 00:04:58.240 And um, and also scholars believe often this was read on Ascension Day, which was 40 days after Easter Sunday. 00:04:58.400 --> 00:05:05.920 And this is where Jesus ascended into heaven after defeating death and then returning to glory to establish his kingdom. 00:05:06.240 --> 00:05:14.560 So we see this picture of the Levites bringing the Ark of the Covenant, which was the dwelling place of the Lord, back to God's people. 00:05:14.720 --> 00:05:17.440 And I want to read that again so you can have some context here. 00:05:17.680 --> 00:05:20.560 In 2 Samuel 6, this is verses 12 through 15. 00:05:20.640 --> 00:05:22.320 Feel free to turn there if you would like. 00:05:22.640 --> 00:05:25.440 2 Samuel 6, 12 through 15. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:33.360 And so David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obad Edom to the city of David with rejoicing. 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:42.080 And those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened animal, and David danced before the Lord with all his might. 00:05:42.320 --> 00:05:48.480 So David and all the house of Israel brought the ark of the Lord with shouting and with the sound of the horn. 00:05:48.720 --> 00:05:49.920 So what do we see here? 00:05:50.080 --> 00:05:51.360 This was a joyful time. 00:05:51.520 --> 00:05:52.560 They were excited. 00:05:52.720 --> 00:05:56.160 The dwelling place of the Lord was finally back with God's people. 00:05:56.880 --> 00:06:02.160 And again, I also think there is a reverence here as well, along with joy. 00:06:02.320 --> 00:06:06.240 So again, some context of what's going on, and we're going to look at this under three parts now. 00:06:06.400 --> 00:06:14.240 The first one being God's ownership, the second part being God's requirement that we see in the Psalm and in God's provision. 00:06:14.400 --> 00:06:17.200 So, first, let's start with God's ownership. 00:06:18.080 --> 00:06:20.560 I want us to look at verses one and two here. 00:06:20.880 --> 00:06:22.400 I'll read it again. 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:27.920 The earth is of the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. 00:06:28.080 --> 00:06:32.560 He has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 00:06:32.720 --> 00:06:35.360 So see what we see here first in the Psalm. 00:06:35.680 --> 00:06:39.760 God is establishing the groundwork for who is in control. 00:06:39.840 --> 00:06:41.040 And I think that's important. 00:06:41.280 --> 00:06:44.480 He's establishing the groundwork for who is in control. 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:49.520 Kristen told me not to use any illustrations with our family, and here we're doing it. 00:06:49.680 --> 00:06:50.800 I'm sorry. 00:06:51.520 --> 00:07:04.080 We went to the beach a few weeks ago, and me, as the controlling dad that I am sometimes, I laid out the expectations for my four-year-old and two-year-old as we got buckled in the car seat. 00:07:04.320 --> 00:07:07.920 We were not going to do any electronics until we got to Hattiesburg. 00:07:08.160 --> 00:07:14.080 We would then watch a show until we got to Timothy Maddox's favorite place called Bucky's there. 00:07:14.400 --> 00:07:16.080 You can ask him about that later. 00:07:16.320 --> 00:07:22.720 We would get out there, we would stretch our legs, we would get an Icy, we would wait 45 minutes in line to get out of the parking lot. 00:07:22.960 --> 00:07:24.000 I'm not kidding. 00:07:24.400 --> 00:07:26.560 And then the kids, what would happen after that? 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:30.320 They would sleep for two hours until we got to Destiny. 00:07:31.200 --> 00:07:34.400 There would be no whining, there would be no fighting. 00:07:34.720 --> 00:07:37.120 That was my expectations, right? 00:07:38.320 --> 00:07:41.040 I thought I was in control of the car ride. 00:07:41.280 --> 00:07:44.880 This again, I was laying the groundwork of how I expected the day to go. 00:07:45.040 --> 00:07:47.600 Now, how do we think that actually went, those of us with kids? 00:07:47.760 --> 00:07:49.200 Do we think it went anything like that? 00:07:49.440 --> 00:07:50.640 Absolutely not. 00:07:51.040 --> 00:07:58.960 But in all seriousness, my goal was again to set the expectation in the framework of how the day was going to go. 00:07:59.200 --> 00:08:05.440 So when we look at this psalm, again, should we not start our thoughts and prayers like this every time? 00:08:05.680 --> 00:08:08.720 This is what Jesus calls us to when he models the Lord's Prayer. 00:08:08.880 --> 00:08:12.960 We are establishing that myself is not in control. 00:08:13.520 --> 00:08:15.200 How does the Lord's prayer start? 00:08:15.440 --> 00:08:20.160 Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done. 00:08:20.400 --> 00:08:24.400 Your name is hallowed as acknowledgement and reverence of him. 00:08:25.200 --> 00:08:27.840 And we see this in this psalm here, and I think it's important. 00:08:28.080 --> 00:08:40.240 God is expressing himself through creation, pointing our minds back to Genesis 1, reminding that I am creator, I am sustainer, I speak, and it exists. 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:43.679 I speak and the earth rotates. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:46.720 I speak and mountains are formed. 00:08:46.960 --> 00:08:49.360 I speak and your heart beats. 00:08:49.600 --> 00:08:52.240 Everything exists because of God. 00:08:52.800 --> 00:08:53.600 Period. 00:08:54.000 --> 00:09:00.800 And I know that may sound harsh to some of you, and to me it can sometimes, but praise God this is the case. 00:09:01.040 --> 00:09:05.759 Because I think, again, we all have our forms of admiring creation, we see here in this psalm. 00:09:05.920 --> 00:09:12.160 You know, whether it's the flowers, the sunsets, the sun rises, whether it's the ocean or a peaceful lake. 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:22.879 And I confirmed with Scott on Friday that his view of seeing creation in the Lord is when he's sitting in a blind and a duck comes coming in over the pond. 00:09:23.040 --> 00:09:24.800 I don't get it, but that's him. 00:09:24.960 --> 00:09:26.960 That's how he sees creation, and I love it. 00:09:27.279 --> 00:09:28.000 We're all different. 00:09:28.160 --> 00:09:29.920 For me, it's the Rocky Mountains. 00:09:30.240 --> 00:09:38.160 I love when I get to the top and I look out and I see the peak, hopefully with some snow on it, and the sun rising above it. 00:09:38.399 --> 00:09:45.519 This is where I am stunned, and that's where I'm speechless, and I realize I'm not in control. 00:09:45.920 --> 00:09:49.279 Again, God's speaking through creation that we see here. 00:09:49.519 --> 00:09:51.040 And let's look humbled. 00:09:51.279 --> 00:09:52.000 And we see this. 00:09:52.160 --> 00:09:53.840 Submit yourselves therefore to God. 00:09:54.000 --> 00:09:57.440 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you. 00:09:57.680 --> 00:09:59.600 Now, how do we feel when we are humbled? 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:01.759 Well, we may not like it in the moment. 00:10:02.000 --> 00:10:05.920 I think if we're honest, we walk away with a new perspective, right? 00:10:06.399 --> 00:10:16.160 My first, I mean, I remember getting humbled early on was um, I don't wish this on anybody, but an umpired coach pitch baseball as a senior in high school. 00:10:16.320 --> 00:10:19.440 And you want to get humbled really fast, go do that. 00:10:19.759 --> 00:10:24.240 Let a bunch of parents, when you're 17 years old, scream at you over balls and strikes. 00:10:24.399 --> 00:10:25.600 That's how you'll get humbled. 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:27.279 But what did happen to me after that? 00:10:27.440 --> 00:10:29.519 I have a brand new perspective on umpires. 00:10:29.600 --> 00:10:33.840 And I sometimes I get mad at them, but most of the time I try not to because I've been there. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:37.920 I have a new perspective from being humbled in those moments. 00:10:38.160 --> 00:10:39.680 So we see that we're humbled. 00:10:39.759 --> 00:10:44.240 What also happens when we see the Lord here in creation, I think we're reoriented. 00:10:45.040 --> 00:10:52.399 Reoriented means to change direction, perspective, or focus, to redirect something toward a new goal or understanding. 00:10:52.720 --> 00:10:55.519 Reorientation carries a deeper significance. 00:10:55.920 --> 00:11:01.360 It refers to a fundamental realignment of one's values, priorities, allegiances toward God. 00:11:01.680 --> 00:11:16.000 When a person is reorganed, their entire framework of understanding life, what matters most, how they make decisions, what they pursue shifts from self-centeredness or worldly concerns to God's kingdom and purposes. 00:11:16.320 --> 00:11:18.480 But what's the problem we see here a lot? 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:22.240 The problem is our minds easily drift from the goal. 00:11:23.040 --> 00:11:29.759 It's human nature for us to turn towards selfish ambitions, selfishly thinking we have control, right? 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:31.680 We can do it ourselves. 00:11:31.920 --> 00:11:33.519 I don't need God right now. 00:11:33.759 --> 00:11:37.519 How often does this happen to us and we need to be reoriented? 00:11:37.680 --> 00:11:39.680 I know for me it happens a lot. 00:11:40.240 --> 00:11:44.720 And so, and again, this happens unfortunately when things are going easy. 00:11:44.879 --> 00:11:49.279 And these are the moments that we often drift because again, why do I need to focus? 00:11:49.519 --> 00:11:51.120 Everything is easy. 00:11:51.440 --> 00:11:56.879 An example of this for me is as an accounting major in college, I had to take accounting 201, right? 00:11:56.960 --> 00:11:58.560 The first class for accounting. 00:11:58.720 --> 00:12:01.759 And the first two tests I took, I made an easy A. 00:12:01.840 --> 00:12:02.800 I was proud of myself. 00:12:02.879 --> 00:12:05.120 Now I studied a lot, but I was proud of myself. 00:12:05.279 --> 00:12:06.160 I thought I had it. 00:12:06.320 --> 00:12:09.759 But then test three came around, and I didn't study quite as much. 00:12:09.920 --> 00:12:11.279 What do we think happened? 00:12:11.440 --> 00:12:19.519 I made my first C in college, and of course, because the firstborn child that I am, I cried for some reason in college because I made a C. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:22.720 And I can promise you it wasn't the last one that I made. 00:12:22.960 --> 00:12:25.040 But again, what did that do in the moment? 00:12:25.200 --> 00:12:26.639 I had to be reoriented. 00:12:26.800 --> 00:12:30.240 I had to be brought back to center, and I think we see this in this psalm. 00:12:30.399 --> 00:12:32.160 And then lastly, what do we do? 00:12:32.639 --> 00:12:38.240 We worship in those moments in creation that we see God is in, is over all things. 00:12:38.480 --> 00:12:44.639 Ultimately, I think after we're humbled and our minds are reoriented, I think our actions should lead to worship. 00:12:44.879 --> 00:12:49.360 Showing worth, as Steve says often, to the one who deserves it. 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:53.680 God receives the glory, which is a big part of the psalm and what God wants. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:57.120 And it's the opening question of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:02.480 The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever. 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:05.279 And so we're establishing the groundwork here. 00:13:05.600 --> 00:13:10.320 God's ownership, he is in control, and I am not. 00:13:10.960 --> 00:13:12.080 Let's look at point two. 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:13.920 I think it leads to this. 00:13:14.240 --> 00:13:18.000 We see this that there's a relationship here, God's requirement. 00:13:18.240 --> 00:13:22.000 Alright, so as you go through this psalm, we see, let's look at verses three through five. 00:13:22.160 --> 00:13:27.759 And it starts with this question here: Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? 00:13:28.000 --> 00:13:30.080 Who shall stand in his holy place? 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:39.360 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 00:13:39.680 --> 00:13:44.800 And I want you here, please remember the temple language as we go through this section. 00:13:44.960 --> 00:13:48.240 And I want to let your brains be reminded of Leviticus. 00:13:48.399 --> 00:13:51.200 Steve jokingly said I was going to talk about Leviticus today. 00:13:51.279 --> 00:13:52.000 Well, here you go. 00:13:52.160 --> 00:13:53.279 We get to start here. 00:13:53.519 --> 00:14:00.320 All of the laws, when you go back to the Levitical law, that was required for his people to dwell with him. 00:14:00.960 --> 00:14:04.480 These were how the Levites were meant to be when entering the temple. 00:14:04.639 --> 00:14:06.720 Clean hands, pure heart. 00:14:06.960 --> 00:14:11.440 And so, again, the question here: who can enter God's presence? 00:14:11.759 --> 00:14:18.480 The psalmist poses a fundamental question: who shall ascend the hill of the Lord and who shall stand in his holy place? 00:14:19.040 --> 00:14:21.440 This inquiry isn't merely geographical. 00:14:21.680 --> 00:14:22.879 Hear me, it's not. 00:14:23.040 --> 00:14:27.519 It asks, who is worthy to dwell in God's presence? 00:14:27.759 --> 00:14:29.680 What constitutes true religion? 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:32.560 What's required for acceptable worship? 00:14:32.720 --> 00:14:35.279 And what prepares someone for heaven? 00:14:35.519 --> 00:14:39.920 The question demands a response about spiritual fitness. 00:14:40.720 --> 00:14:42.480 Now, look at the answer. 00:14:42.720 --> 00:14:45.840 It's a two-part requirement we see in verse 4. 00:14:46.080 --> 00:14:51.279 The response addresses both outward behavior but then inward motivation. 00:14:51.680 --> 00:14:54.000 The person who qualifies, what do they have? 00:14:54.160 --> 00:14:57.040 They have clean hands and a pure heart. 00:14:57.279 --> 00:15:03.440 And so we see this groundwork that David is outlining for us, starting first that God is sovereign, right? 00:15:03.680 --> 00:15:08.639 Next, we see the passage flowing into this relationship that's apparent. 00:15:09.040 --> 00:15:14.560 However, the problem, the issue is the standard is not mostly good. 00:15:15.440 --> 00:15:17.600 The standard is perfection. 00:15:17.840 --> 00:15:28.560 The holistic understanding of righteousness, combining both inward devotion and outward honesty, characterizes those worthy to ascend God's holy mountain. 00:15:28.800 --> 00:15:31.040 And so we'll look at these four things real quick. 00:15:31.200 --> 00:15:33.120 Starting with clean hands. 00:15:33.519 --> 00:15:38.960 Clean hands symbolize uprightness, they represent the instruments through which we act. 00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:41.920 So having clean hands means living an upright life. 00:15:42.160 --> 00:15:52.320 Clean hands in Psalm 24 represent far more than physical cleanliness, they embody integrity and righteous conduct flowing from a transformed heart. 00:15:52.560 --> 00:15:57.680 Your hands, as we often know, respond to what your heart directs them to do. 00:15:57.840 --> 00:16:00.800 They're responders, they're not initiators. 00:16:01.040 --> 00:16:03.759 And practically for a minute, let's think about this. 00:16:03.920 --> 00:16:06.639 This can mean many different things for us, right? 00:16:07.040 --> 00:16:10.639 A couple examples are how do we talk about our enemies? 00:16:10.879 --> 00:16:13.840 Do we slander or do we pray? 00:16:14.160 --> 00:16:17.120 How do we treat our coworkers? 00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:20.080 Do we build up or do we talk down? 00:16:20.240 --> 00:16:25.440 How do we treat the vulnerable, the orphans, the widows, the trafficked? 00:16:25.759 --> 00:16:28.960 How do we serve our friends and neighbors? 00:16:29.440 --> 00:16:31.840 Do we serve our friends and neighbors? 00:16:32.080 --> 00:16:37.680 Or are we so selfish, I don't even think about our friends and neighbors sometimes? 00:16:37.920 --> 00:16:40.240 I know I'm guilty of this, right? 00:16:40.960 --> 00:16:44.240 So we see that clean hands, and then it leads to pure hearts. 00:16:44.480 --> 00:16:46.000 And look at this for a second. 00:16:46.160 --> 00:16:50.800 However, clean hands alone are insufficient without a pure heart. 00:16:51.040 --> 00:16:56.560 Since true religion, we know is heartwork, the inward parts matter more than the outward appearance. 00:16:56.800 --> 00:17:06.639 For the heart represents the very life of our being, transformation from within, calling us to a deeper cleansing and not just an outward action. 00:17:06.879 --> 00:17:10.639 So again, it's really getting down to what are our motives behind this. 00:17:11.359 --> 00:17:14.559 And I love this pursuit of a pure heart. 00:17:14.639 --> 00:17:18.640 We see in David's repentance, very famous Psalm, Psalm 51.10. 00:17:18.960 --> 00:17:26.559 Look what David cries out Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 00:17:27.360 --> 00:17:42.240 This prayer reveals someone who recognizes his internal corruption and desperately seeks God's transformative work, not making excuses, but asking God to reconstruct his innermost being. 00:17:43.360 --> 00:17:46.880 Go to the New Testament, for example, to give you an example there. 00:17:47.120 --> 00:17:49.279 We see it all the time in the Sermon on the Mount. 00:17:49.360 --> 00:17:51.440 That's really what chapters 4 through 7 are about. 00:17:51.600 --> 00:17:55.440 It's going into the heart issue rather than the outward action that they were doing. 00:17:55.519 --> 00:18:02.880 And we see the Beatitude standard there, and it clarifies the connection between purity and divine encounter. 00:18:03.120 --> 00:18:08.480 Matthew 5.8 declares, Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:15.519 Pure in heart means that not only our minds, but our feelings and our actions are concentrated on God. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:21.200 If our focus is merely intellectual, we are not pure in heart. 00:18:21.440 --> 00:18:26.319 This requires a radical cleanliness of heart, totally focused on God. 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:34.079 I think a good example of this, if you've ever bought a house before, you've probably had a home inspection done, right? 00:18:34.640 --> 00:18:45.279 As a real estate broker, I've learned a lot that some of the most beautiful houses can often have some of the biggest problems, especially ones that have been flipped, so to speak. 00:18:45.519 --> 00:18:48.559 You walk in and you see quartz countertops, right? 00:18:48.720 --> 00:18:51.519 You see gold fixtures that are very popular now. 00:18:51.680 --> 00:18:56.559 You see fresh paint, and everything looks first class, as I like to call it. 00:18:56.799 --> 00:19:02.319 But when the home inspector gets in and they do their three-hour due diligence, they start digging a little deeper. 00:19:02.480 --> 00:19:07.200 They find a leaking pipe, they find some rotten wood, faulty wiring. 00:19:07.440 --> 00:19:10.720 The finishes may look impressive, right? 00:19:11.120 --> 00:19:13.680 But what really matters is what's underneath. 00:19:13.839 --> 00:19:16.079 Because really that's we know where the money comes in. 00:19:16.240 --> 00:19:18.720 If you've got to start fixing things underneath. 00:19:19.039 --> 00:19:20.559 And so we see this. 00:19:21.680 --> 00:19:23.600 God, hear me on this. 00:19:23.759 --> 00:19:29.120 God is not ultimately concerned with how polished we appear on the outside. 00:19:29.519 --> 00:19:33.200 He looks beneath the surface and he examines the heart. 00:19:33.519 --> 00:19:39.839 Because what matters most is not just clean hands before the people, but a pure heart before him. 00:19:40.400 --> 00:19:45.680 And church, if I needed to hear anything this week, that was it. 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:51.039 And I want you to see here uh an example, what happens when they didn't. 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:58.559 Going back to the Psalm and going back to 2 Samuel, what happens when they didn't have clean hands and a pure heart? 00:19:58.880 --> 00:20:02.640 So, some context, put on your Old Testament hat for a second and go back to the story. 00:20:02.720 --> 00:20:04.400 I had to be reminded of it, to be honest. 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:05.600 I didn't remember. 00:20:05.839 --> 00:20:09.200 This was the second time David had tried to bring the ark into Jerusalem. 00:20:09.279 --> 00:20:10.559 This wasn't the first time. 00:20:10.799 --> 00:20:15.519 When David didn't let the Levites carry the ark, he let Uzzah try to do it. 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:26.880 We see this traumatic story of an oxen stumbling in God, and then God strikes down one of his people because he wasn't able to be within the dwelling place of God. 00:20:27.120 --> 00:20:27.519 Right? 00:20:27.680 --> 00:20:30.319 And so we see this story. 00:20:30.480 --> 00:20:37.120 He didn't have clean hands or a pure heart, he didn't let the Levites carry it, and then we see what the Lord did. 00:20:38.079 --> 00:20:47.120 So, clean hands, pure hearts, and then real quick, as we look at the next verse, it says, Does not lift up his soul to what is false. 00:20:47.360 --> 00:20:50.880 We talk about this a lot at redemption, at least we have over the years. 00:20:51.120 --> 00:20:54.640 This really starts digging into what the motives of the heart are. 00:20:54.880 --> 00:20:57.600 So, what is false in this story? 00:20:57.839 --> 00:20:58.960 It's just idols. 00:20:59.120 --> 00:20:59.920 Think about that. 00:21:00.160 --> 00:21:05.680 A few examples we see your jobs, kids, status, money, put whatever you want in there for idols, right? 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:08.720 Then we see what does it mean to lift up your soul? 00:21:09.600 --> 00:21:16.480 And you know, what I came up with is our eyes see it, and our hands want it, and then our hearts crave it. 00:21:16.640 --> 00:21:22.079 Our inner beings have to have it, and this is a danger that we can fall into. 00:21:22.640 --> 00:21:27.279 And then we see, lastly, it does not swear deceitfully. 00:21:27.519 --> 00:21:33.600 And really, going to the context of the verse, this really focuses on how we deal with others or our neighbors. 00:21:33.839 --> 00:21:41.680 And it has a deeper understanding of a merchant or business dealings exploiting others financially or relationally. 00:21:42.160 --> 00:21:48.079 So we see here, are we truly getting to know this person, or do we just see them as an asset to our business life? 00:21:48.400 --> 00:21:51.839 Talking about not swearing deceitfully, treating others right. 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:56.880 So I know that's a lot, right? 00:21:57.920 --> 00:22:01.680 And I know what you're thinking, because this is what I was thinking, maybe. 00:22:02.079 --> 00:22:03.440 But that's not me. 00:22:03.920 --> 00:22:05.440 I can't do that. 00:22:06.160 --> 00:22:12.319 I would love to enjoy this fellowship with God, to receive his blessing and his righteousness as we. 00:22:12.960 --> 00:22:13.600 In the Psalm. 00:22:13.759 --> 00:22:14.640 But guess what? 00:22:14.799 --> 00:22:16.400 I don't have clean hands. 00:22:16.640 --> 00:22:18.319 I don't have a pure heart. 00:22:18.559 --> 00:22:21.360 And I have often lifted up my soul to idols. 00:22:21.519 --> 00:22:22.880 I can promise you that. 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:25.200 And I haven't always been honest. 00:22:25.600 --> 00:22:33.120 If that's the standard for acceptance into God's favor, I can only hang my head in shame and sorrow. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:38.640 And if we're honest with ourselves, that is what we should be thinking. 00:22:38.960 --> 00:22:41.360 I can't ascend that mountain, right? 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:46.480 So finally, let's look at point three: God's provision. 00:22:47.120 --> 00:22:48.400 And I love this. 00:22:48.799 --> 00:22:51.839 This is where we see the Old Testament connected to the New Testament. 00:22:52.079 --> 00:22:54.720 You're reading through Psalms and you're like, well, how does this connect? 00:22:54.880 --> 00:22:56.319 I don't get it, right? 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:57.920 We'll see it here. 00:22:58.240 --> 00:23:00.640 This is where we see the gospel. 00:23:01.360 --> 00:23:03.440 How did God provide for us? 00:23:05.839 --> 00:23:09.279 How did He give us access to ascend the mountain? 00:23:09.440 --> 00:23:13.200 And I know we've heard this a thousand times, but it is the only way I knew how to explain it. 00:23:13.279 --> 00:23:14.559 So just go with me. 00:23:14.799 --> 00:23:17.120 How did he give us access to ascend the mountain? 00:23:17.279 --> 00:23:18.720 Through Jesus Christ. 00:23:18.960 --> 00:23:21.120 One, he lived the perfect life. 00:23:21.440 --> 00:23:24.880 Jesus lived the sinless, perfect life here on earth. 00:23:25.120 --> 00:23:27.759 He had the clean hands and the pure heart. 00:23:27.920 --> 00:23:30.079 We see that in 1 John 3 5. 00:23:30.240 --> 00:23:36.480 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. 00:23:36.720 --> 00:23:38.319 So one perfect life. 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:41.600 Then we see this big word here called propitiation. 00:23:41.680 --> 00:23:43.200 And you're like, what does that mean? 00:23:43.360 --> 00:23:44.160 Real quick. 00:23:44.319 --> 00:23:57.519 All that means, to keep it simple, means that Jesus, by his sacrificial death on the cross, fully satisfied God's righteous wrath against sin and turned away the judgment that sinners deserved. 00:23:57.759 --> 00:24:01.039 Going back to Gospel 101, we see this. 00:24:01.200 --> 00:24:02.640 I want you to look at Romans 3. 00:24:02.720 --> 00:24:04.400 We'll start in verse 11. 00:24:04.720 --> 00:24:07.440 None is righteous, no not one. 00:24:07.680 --> 00:24:09.200 No one understands. 00:24:09.519 --> 00:24:11.440 No one seeks for God. 00:24:12.000 --> 00:24:15.440 Jump on down a few verses to verse 21 in Romans 3. 00:24:15.680 --> 00:24:22.720 But now, the righteousness of God has been manifested, manifested apart from the law. 00:24:22.960 --> 00:24:47.440 The righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe, for there is no distinction, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom we'll end with this, whom God put forward as a perpetuation by his blood to be received by faith. 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:53.680 This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he has passed over former sins. 00:24:53.920 --> 00:25:02.160 It is to show his righteousness at the present time so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. 00:25:02.319 --> 00:25:08.160 And I know that's weighty, but it but I hope you can see this the simplicity there. 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:14.160 And so think through this for a second, because man, I love this this week. 00:25:14.559 --> 00:25:29.360 It is amazing to think that all my sins of the past, all my sins of the present, and all my sins of the future have been fully and completely covered by the blood of Jesus Christ. 00:25:29.680 --> 00:25:33.440 I do not have to work to excuse what I have done. 00:25:33.680 --> 00:25:39.839 I do not have to construe my conscience with rationalizations that I do way too much. 00:25:40.079 --> 00:25:44.799 I do not have to ease my guilt with arguments for my own righteousness. 00:25:45.120 --> 00:25:50.319 I do not have to try to make myself feel better about what I have done by blaming someone else. 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:50.960 No. 00:25:51.279 --> 00:25:52.640 What can I do? 00:25:52.880 --> 00:26:02.240 I can stand before God just as I am, without fear, because in Christ Jesus I am fully forgiven. 00:26:02.640 --> 00:26:08.559 I now have clean hands and a pure heart through Jesus Christ. 00:26:08.880 --> 00:26:11.600 And so we'll end with this conclusion. 00:26:12.319 --> 00:26:15.360 In conclusion, I want to bring it back full circle here. 00:26:15.519 --> 00:26:17.920 Again, what's the question we are trying to answer? 00:26:18.160 --> 00:26:20.240 It was in verse 8 of the Psalm. 00:26:20.559 --> 00:26:24.400 The question is: who is this king of glory? 00:26:25.120 --> 00:26:29.600 And three things, again, we see here this king, he's in control. 00:26:30.079 --> 00:26:31.039 Praise God. 00:26:31.279 --> 00:26:32.640 We don't like it sometimes. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:33.360 I know it. 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:34.559 I know I don't. 00:26:34.720 --> 00:26:38.000 But praise God, he's in control and we can start there. 00:26:38.640 --> 00:26:42.480 Two, he invites us into a relationship. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:49.839 And then three, this king provides a way for us to have a relationship. 00:26:50.079 --> 00:26:57.440 And so I'll end with a few questions here to maybe ponder or you can take away today to think through this week. 00:26:57.680 --> 00:27:05.920 And the first one is do we trust, do we trust in this God who is sovereign over this earth in your life? 00:27:06.160 --> 00:27:07.440 It starts there. 00:27:07.759 --> 00:27:12.400 That's the foundation for every conversation and thought moving forward. 00:27:13.200 --> 00:27:21.759 Two, do we see our sin and how our hearts and hands are not pure and clean ultimately here? 00:27:21.920 --> 00:27:23.680 What do we need to repent of? 00:27:23.920 --> 00:27:25.360 What's going on in your life? 00:27:25.519 --> 00:27:28.000 What do you need to let go and let God handle? 00:27:28.240 --> 00:27:28.559 Right? 00:27:28.880 --> 00:27:31.680 What do you need to get on our knees and pray about? 00:27:32.319 --> 00:27:34.319 So what do we need to repent from? 00:27:34.880 --> 00:27:43.360 And then three, as we looked at point three a minute ago, do we believe that Jesus lived the perfect life and died for our sins? 00:27:43.600 --> 00:27:51.680 And then finally, application at the end, and do we believe our purpose in life is to enjoy God and glorify him forever? 00:27:51.920 --> 00:27:53.120 Do we see that? 00:27:53.920 --> 00:27:59.120 And I love this Tim Keller quote he frequently talks about in his sermons. 00:27:59.279 --> 00:28:06.640 And it starts with this religion says, I obey, therefore I'm accepted. 00:28:06.799 --> 00:28:07.279 Right? 00:28:07.519 --> 00:28:09.759 I obey, therefore I'm accepted. 00:28:09.920 --> 00:28:11.759 But that's not what the gospel says. 00:28:11.920 --> 00:28:17.759 The gospel says, I'm accepted in Christ, therefore I obey. 00:28:18.160 --> 00:28:20.400 Therefore there is joy. 00:28:20.559 --> 00:28:22.880 The king of glory is here. 00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:24.720 Let's pray. 00:28:27.360 --> 00:28:29.680 Father, I thank you again for this morning. 00:28:29.839 --> 00:28:31.279 I thank you for this psalm. 00:28:31.440 --> 00:28:35.839 I thank you how it is, um, it has changed my heart this week. 00:28:36.240 --> 00:28:42.160 Um, Father, that I have a new perspective and want to show you glory, want to show you worth. 00:28:42.319 --> 00:28:46.480 And I pray that over our church this morning, Father, that they would see that. 00:28:46.640 --> 00:29:02.319 Um Father, that their life would be changed, even as just one degree, it's one degree closer to you and see you a little more this week as we go through the tough parts of the week. 00:29:02.559 --> 00:29:04.480 And Father, I will I will use this time. 00:29:04.559 --> 00:29:09.519 I know there are multiple people in our church hurting right now. 00:29:09.759 --> 00:29:13.519 I know there's pain, there's struggle. 00:29:13.839 --> 00:29:19.279 And so, Father, I we lift that up to you right now, the families here that are struggling today. 00:29:19.600 --> 00:29:25.920 Father, if there's a way that we as a church you'd come around come around and love our families, love them well. 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:29.759 Help them show the love of Christ to them this week, Lord. 00:29:29.839 --> 00:29:30.400 Would you do that? 00:29:30.559 --> 00:29:32.880