SPEAKER_00: Good morning, Proclamation Church.
SPEAKER_00: So, I want to start with this.
SPEAKER_00: I want to ask you a question.
SPEAKER_00: Do any of you have house rules?
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you need to leave your shoes at the door, or maybe you're not allowed to yell in the house, or let any kind of noxious odor come out of your body.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you have to help clean up after a meal or keep your room clean, so on and so on.
SPEAKER_00: My favorite house rule that I've ever heard is that his number one house rule is be cool.
SPEAKER_00: Be cool.
SPEAKER_00: Great house rule.
SPEAKER_00: Now there are some spoken house rules, some unspoken house rules, but if you have an authority over a dwelling, more likely than not, you probably have some house rules.
SPEAKER_00: But what is the purpose of house rules and who determines what the house rules are?
SPEAKER_00: To answer the first question, you must answer the second.
SPEAKER_00: And that the person who determines the house rules, like I said, is that person who has the authority over that dwelling.
SPEAKER_00: You know, maybe you're renting an apartment or a house or you own a house.
SPEAKER_00: If you're if you're living there and you're kind of the head of the household, then you are the one who determines the house rules.
SPEAKER_00: And this person who has the authority sets the house rules because there's a certain way that he wants to live and he wants his family or guests to live under his authority.
SPEAKER_00: And often these house rules are specific to his character.
SPEAKER_00: For example, the person who has the house rule of being cool is in fact a cool guy.
SPEAKER_00: And he just wants others to be cool.
SPEAKER_00: So here we see house rules are set by the authority because he wants his family and guests to live in his house, to be conformed kind of to his character, and to live the way that he wants them to live.
SPEAKER_00: And that's kind of the that's kind of what we're getting at in Psalm 15.
SPEAKER_00: Is that the Lord has house rules because he wants us to live up to his character.
SPEAKER_00: So let me go ahead and read Psalm 15.
SPEAKER_00: A Psalm of David.
SPEAKER_00: Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
SPEAKER_00: He who walks blamelessly and does what is right, and speaks truly in his heart, who does not slander with his tongue and does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against his friend, in whose eyes a vile person is despised, but who honors those who fear the Lord, who swears to his own hurt and does not change, who does not put out his money at interest, and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
SPEAKER_00: He who does these things shall never be moved.
SPEAKER_00: Let's pray.
SPEAKER_00: Father, what a blessing your word is to us.
SPEAKER_00: That you commune with us through your word, that we hear your voice through what you've given us.
SPEAKER_00: And Lord, that you show us the way that we are supposed to dwell with you, that you want to dwell with us and that you show us how we are to do that.
SPEAKER_00: Oh Lord, I pray that we take your word seriously, and that we would hear what you have to say this morning.
SPEAKER_00: Father, as I preach, I pray that I would decrease and that you would increase.
SPEAKER_00: In the name of Jesus, we pray.
SPEAKER_00: Amen.
SPEAKER_00: So, the way the psalm is kind of structured, David asks a question, he then gives the answer, and then finishes with an assurance.
SPEAKER_00: So the question that David asks here in verse one is Who shall sojourn in your tent?
SPEAKER_00: Who shall dwell on your holy hill?
SPEAKER_00: The tent reminding us of the tabernacle in which the Israelites would take with them when they were going to the promised land from Egypt, and God would kind of dwell with them there.
SPEAKER_00: And God's holy hill in the Psalms, either you can either refer it to Mount Moriah, where Solomon would build the temple, where God would dwell permanently right there until it was destroyed, or I could refer to Mount Zion, which is symbolic of God's dwelling place with his people, with Jerusalem and Israel.
SPEAKER_00: And the purpose of the tabernacle in the temple is found in Exodus 25, 8, where God says, Let them make me a sanctuary that I may dwell in their midst.
SPEAKER_00: So, with all that being said, we can narrow down this question to David asking this Who can dwell with God?
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is a really great question that maybe you've never asked before.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you just kind of assumed that you would dwell with God and never really thought about it.
SPEAKER_00: But the question gets down to the root purpose of our whole entire existence.
SPEAKER_00: We were made to dwell with God.
SPEAKER_00: Being made in his image and likeness, being the creature and him the creator, we are meant to dwell with him.
SPEAKER_00: That is why we are made.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this question hits a little deeper than maybe just a kind of a pondering thought, like, oh yeah, who will dwell with God?
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe just assuming, yeah, I will dwell with God.
SPEAKER_00: That's just what's gonna happen.
SPEAKER_00: But now it gets down to a deeper introspection of your own soul.
SPEAKER_00: Like, man, can I dwell with God?
SPEAKER_00: Can I fulfill my purpose for what I was made?
SPEAKER_00: Will I dwell with him?
SPEAKER_00: Now God's presence is much more than just simple house rules that we have.
SPEAKER_00: In ancient Near Eastern law, people had to have certain qualifications about themselves in order to enter a king's palace.
SPEAKER_00: So this was a little bit of a higher notch than just house rules.
SPEAKER_00: For example, I was a biology student and I would have to go to chem lab, chemistry lab, and I had to wear clothes-toed shoes and goggles in order to enter the lab, otherwise, I would not be trusted with the materials.
SPEAKER_00: So I had to wear the right clothes, have the right qualifications, enter the lab, and then I could dwell there.
SPEAKER_00: So to dwell with God means you need to have the right clothes to enter.
SPEAKER_00: If you're going to live in his house, then you need to come in qualified to enter his presence so that you will abide by his house rules.
SPEAKER_00: So now we must determine what are his qualifications.
SPEAKER_00: We must see, are we able to dwell in his presence?
SPEAKER_00: And that's what kind of the rest of Psalm 15 is laid out, verses 2 through 5.
SPEAKER_00: At the beginning, he has kind of like this overarching theme of the person who can dwell with God will walk blamelessly and do what is right.
SPEAKER_00: And then he gives kind of five examples of what that looks like.
SPEAKER_00: Now the examples are not exhaustive, but they point to the heart and character of the person and how this person is supposed to behave and act in order to dwell with God forever.
SPEAKER_00: So, the short answer is that the person who can dwell with God is he who walks blamelessly and does what is right.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it says in verse 2.
SPEAKER_00: Now, the Hebrew word for blamelessly is also translated to integrity or moral wholeness, your whole heart being entirely devoted to God.
SPEAKER_00: This word is actually used to describe David in 2 Samuel 22, verses 21 through 24, where David, toward the end of his life, says this The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands, he rewarded me.
SPEAKER_00: For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
SPEAKER_00: For all his rules were before me, and from his statutes I did not turn aside.
SPEAKER_00: I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from guilt.
SPEAKER_00: So David is blameless because he kept God's laws, he did not depart from them, he did not act wickedly.
SPEAKER_00: Another way that David describes being blameless is in Psalm 1913, where he writes, Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins, let them not have dominion over me, then I shall be blameless, innocent of great transgression.
SPEAKER_00: In that passage we see that being blameless is that you shall not intentionally commit sin.
SPEAKER_00: That's what it means to commit presumptuous sins, intentional sins.
SPEAKER_00: So you must keep your ways to the Lord, do not commit intentional sins, do not act wickedly.
SPEAKER_00: This blameless man also must be just and do what is right.
SPEAKER_00: So what it means to do what is right is to be just, carry out justice.
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord honors that, as we see in Psalm 37, 27 through 28, where the psalmist writes, Turn away from evil and do good, so shall you dwell forever.
SPEAKER_00: For the Lord loves justice, he will not forsake his saints.
SPEAKER_00: Again in Psalm 106 3, Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times.
SPEAKER_00: But what does it really mean to be just?
SPEAKER_00: Well, John Calvin says in his commentary on Psalm 15 that just men should study to do good to their neighbors, hurt nobody, and abstain from all wrong.
SPEAKER_00: So here we have the person who can dwell with God forever, so that they are blameless, they do not commit intentional sins, and they are just, always doing right and not doing evil to their neighbor.
SPEAKER_00: Now the first example, example number one that we'll get into, as it says in verse two at the end of verse two, is that the person who can dwell with God speaks truth in his heart.
SPEAKER_00: Now I looked at a few different commentaries to figure out what this meant, and they all kind of agreed that our first speaking truth into the heart, so that you would speak truth out of the heart and from your mouth.
SPEAKER_00: This is found in Luke 6.45, when Jesus says, The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil.
SPEAKER_00: For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.
SPEAKER_00: So speaking truth comes out of the heart out of honesty, and if you do not speak truth, but speak lies, then it shows that your heart is deceitful, believing and conceiving lies.
SPEAKER_00: Speaking truth is found all throughout the New Testament again in Ephesians 4.25.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore, having put away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth with his neighbor.
SPEAKER_00: Colossians 3 9, do not lie to one another.
SPEAKER_00: So we're called to speak truth, but speaking truth is not simply just beating someone over the head with truth.
SPEAKER_00: Ephesians 4.15 says we need to speak truth in love.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 15.1, a soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
SPEAKER_00: Even if it's true, a harsh word will still stir up anger.
SPEAKER_00: Now, if you tell someone the truth with wrath or from a proud heart, are you really wanting them to know the truth, or do you just want them to know that you are right?
SPEAKER_00: When I am convicted and convinced of a certain doctrine, you know, I'm very zealous about it, I want other people to know it, but I start to enter a sort into a sort of cage stage in which you need to cage me, or else I'm just gonna tell you about this doctrine and every single conversation I have with you, because I believe it's right and I believe it's true, and I want you to know it.
SPEAKER_00: Now it's not wrong to hold on to strong convictions, of course, but through my actions, I was showing that my heart really, at the moment of my heart, I just wanted others to know that I was right, and I did not care for them to know the truth.
SPEAKER_00: If I wanted them to know the truth, maybe I would be more gentle and discerning with my words and conversations.
SPEAKER_00: On the other side, maybe you're afraid to tell the truth because you're worried it could hurt your relationship with a person.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's someone who you know who's walking in unrepentant sin, and you know that they are prideful, may not want to listen, and you're nervous about confronting them because you're like, I don't, I don't know, maybe they won't listen, maybe it's gonna hurt my relationship with them, maybe I should just abstain.
SPEAKER_00: And then you never tell them the truth, and they just grow deeper and deeper into sin.
SPEAKER_00: And this is wicked in the eyes of God.
SPEAKER_00: Abstaining from truth.
SPEAKER_00: And then, of course, just lying in general, to puff yourself up, maybe over-exaggerating a story to make yourself seem better or make someone seem worse.
SPEAKER_00: How often do we over-exaggerate stories and lie to build ourselves up?
SPEAKER_00: So to avoid speaking the truth, to speak truth from a proud or wrathful heart, or to lie, is wrong in the eyes of God, and he will not dwell with those who do such things.
SPEAKER_00: Number two, the blameless and righteous man does not slander with his tongue, does no evil to his neighbor, nor takes up a reproach against a friend.
SPEAKER_00: So slandering refers to speaking uh evil of someone behind their back or revealing their secrets, and you're tearing down their character to someone else and not even letting them have a chance to defend themselves.
SPEAKER_00: And this is problematic.
SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 22, 1 says that a good name is to be chosen rather than great riches.
SPEAKER_00: So when we slander someone, we're tearing down their name and they don't even have a chance to defend themselves.
SPEAKER_00: We are devaluing a person who is made in the image of God, in which case he has infinite value.
SPEAKER_00: And we are condemning them when the Lord desires them to be saved.
SPEAKER_00: Now, when we do slander, it's so easy to make excuses for it.
SPEAKER_00: We may say, Well, if he would have done the same thing to you, you would be saying the exact same thing I'm saying right now.
SPEAKER_00: Or we would maybe we'll say, I won't apologize for my words, it's simply the truth.
SPEAKER_00: Sometimes we'll even add a compliment in there to make it seem like it's not so bad.
SPEAKER_00: You know, one time I was listening to a conversation, and this woman was saying how worthless this manager at a restaurant was.
SPEAKER_00: And because he had done something to one of his co-workers that was wrong.
SPEAKER_00: And the person who had the wrong done to was there, and she said, Well, you shouldn't say someone is worthless, no one is worthless.
SPEAKER_00: To which the woman responded, You're right.
SPEAKER_00: He's worthless as a person, but he is a great cook.
SPEAKER_00: And this is not okay.
SPEAKER_00: We cannot simply just compliment someone behind their back to make it up for a slander that we give them.
SPEAKER_00: We are still painting a bad name on them.
SPEAKER_00: And the Lord will not dwell with those who demean others and tear down their character.
SPEAKER_00: You must not do evil to your neighbor.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this is a general statement, which means a lot can fit into this category.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus says that uh in the second half of the Ten Commandments, the last six, represents loving your neighbor as yourself, which is pretty much not doing evil to your neighbor.
SPEAKER_00: So we can just kind of walk through that and you can see if your heart uh fits into these.
SPEAKER_00: So, number one, you shall not dishonor your father and mother.
SPEAKER_00: You know, do you speak poorly of your parents behind their backs?
SPEAKER_00: Do they frustrate you and upset you?
SPEAKER_00: And then you go to someone saying how much they frustrate and upset you and tell them of these things and slander them.
SPEAKER_00: I think it's so easy to slander our parents and how often we fall into it, and how we do not even realize it, how much how much we do it.
SPEAKER_00: You shall not steal.
SPEAKER_00: You know, do you steal money by lying on your tax returns?
SPEAKER_00: Or by saying that you clocked out later than maybe you did, even if it's by a few minutes.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe you're not even trying very hard at work, because you're trying to steal time from the company just to get money, but you're not giving them your full effort.
SPEAKER_00: You shall not lie.
SPEAKER_00: Uh we are we already talked about this, but you know, when you lie to someone, just straight up lie to someone, you are actually making them out to be a fool, one who is believing something that is not true.
SPEAKER_00: You know the truth, and then you tell some you tell them that they know, or you know that's not the truth, but they think it's the truth, so now you are over them.
SPEAKER_00: You know what's right, they believe uh what's right is actually false, now you have that over them, and you make them out to be a fool.
SPEAKER_00: Do you you shall not commit adultery?
SPEAKER_00: Do you lust after others in your mind or in your heart, someone who's not your wife or husband?
SPEAKER_00: Maybe there's a billboard that you stare at, uh provocative billboard that you stare at for a long time.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe there's a YouTube short or YouTube ad that you look at and you do not take your eyes off.
SPEAKER_00: Do you hate in your heart, commit murder in your heart?
SPEAKER_00: Do you easily get angry with someone and then maybe curse them behind their back, again, either through slander or through our words?
SPEAKER_00: Another way to hate people is to avoid evangelizing.
SPEAKER_00: Maybe you're afraid to talk to someone or to a group of people, and or maybe you don't like them, and so you avoid evangelizing.
SPEAKER_00: Penn Teller, a famous magician who's also an atheist, said this about Christians who do not evangelize.
SPEAKER_00: How much do you have to hate somebody to not evangelize?
SPEAKER_00: How much do you have to hate somebody to believe that everlasting life is possible and not tell them that?
SPEAKER_00: Finally, do you covet in your heart?
SPEAKER_00: Do you wish you had as much money as this person, or maybe as well-behaved kids as that person, or maybe that you had a better job, better sex, better house, a better spouse, or better parents?
SPEAKER_00: Covetousness in your heart will lead you to act and do evil things.
SPEAKER_00: And God will not dwell with those who do evil to their neighbor.
SPEAKER_00: So avoid evil at all costs.
SPEAKER_00: God will also not dwell with those who bring up or take up a reproach against a friend.
SPEAKER_00: This simply means bringing about a false report of someone close to you, or someone giving you a false or slanderous or demeaning report of someone you know, and then you entertain that report and perhaps spread it yourself.
SPEAKER_00: For example, uh, let's say that your spouse hasn't been cleaning the house or doing the dishes or doing the chores that you thought they might, and they're and they're really frustrating you.
SPEAKER_00: And instead of going to your spouse to talk to them through it, you go to a family member or a friend and give them this reproach against them, like, oh my goodness, my spouse is so frustrating.
SPEAKER_00: They never clean the dishes, they never vacuum, they never do any of this stuff.
SPEAKER_00: And you bring this reproach to someone close to you.
SPEAKER_00: That's slander, and then the person hearing it may even take up that reproach, like, yeah, that person is kind of evil.
SPEAKER_00: And they start to dwell on it, think about it, give them a bad name.
SPEAKER_00: Remember, a good name is to be desired more than riches, Proverbs 22, 1.
SPEAKER_00: And so there's this whole ordeal where this spouse is being slandered, there's reproaches being spread about him, all these reports, and maybe it's not even true.
SPEAKER_00: Like maybe they do sometimes clean up, clean up and do the dishes, but it's just an over-exaggeration.
SPEAKER_00: And this is evil in the eyes of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: There are so many sins of the tongue that are so dangerous.
SPEAKER_00: And hear the words of James 3:6.
SPEAKER_00: The tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness.
SPEAKER_00: The tongue is set among our members, staining the whole body, setting on fire the entire course of life, and set on fire by hell.
SPEAKER_00: So God will not dwell with those who bring or take up a reproach against a friend.
SPEAKER_00: Number three, beginning in verse 4, the blameless and righteous man will despise the vile person, but honor those who fear the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Now, at first glance, this seems kind of contradictory because Jesus says in his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, 43 through 44, You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute who persecute you.
SPEAKER_00: So how does Jesus' statement fit with this perfect and righteous and blameless man before God?
SPEAKER_00: Well, despising a vile person doesn't necessarily mean that you don't love them.
SPEAKER_00: You know, often in poetic or wisdom literature like this, that word but can be used as a contrast, and that the first part of this verse is just contrast or compared to the second part.
SPEAKER_00: So instead of saying, in whose eyes a vile person is despised, we could say, someone who does not honor a wicked person.
SPEAKER_00: Or a commentary I read, rewrote it as he who does not celebrate the wicked, but celebrates those who fear the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: Now let me give you an example of how we can celebrate the wicked when we ought not to.
SPEAKER_00: This year I was living in a freshman boy's dorm, and we were watching NBA, and LeBron was playing, and you don't even have to know his last name to know who I'm talking about, if you know anything about sports or basketball.
SPEAKER_00: And LeBron is known to be one of the best basketball players of all time, and he even calls himself the chosen one and the king.
SPEAKER_00: And as I was watching this basketball game, there was someone comment commenting on LeBron, and he was saying things like, dude, LeBron is the goat.
SPEAKER_00: There's no one like him.
SPEAKER_00: Or LeBron is my king, I love him so much, I love LeBron.
SPEAKER_00: And as I was listening, and as he was saying these things, I was thinking, these are attributes that we used to describe Jesus, and yet we are using them to describe LeBron.
SPEAKER_00: And if you follow LeBron, you know he's a good basketball player, but he certainly does not fear the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: And yet it is so easy to want to honor him.
SPEAKER_00: And we could do this with any celebrity, really.
SPEAKER_00: We could do it with Taylor Swift or Elon Musk or even Trump.
SPEAKER_00: We want to lift up these people who are wicked and do not honor the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: In contrast to that, we need to honor those who do fear the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: In my daily devotions, I've read through 2 Timothy, and Paul writes to Timothy in chapter 1, verses 15 through 18, You are aware that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phigellus and Hermogenes.
SPEAKER_00: May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onisaphorus, for he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains.
SPEAKER_00: But when he arrived in Rome, he searched for me earnestly and found me.
SPEAKER_00: May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that day.
SPEAKER_00: Onisaphorus honored Paul because he knew he feared the Lord, even though Paul was deserted by everyone because he was suffering, was going through persecutions.
SPEAKER_00: And Paul prays and says, May the Lord grant him mercy.
SPEAKER_00: So the Lord will only dwell with those who do not honor the wicked, but who honor those who fear the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: So he keeps his promises even if it ends up being costly to him.
SPEAKER_00: The intention of making and keeping promises has always been found in the Old Testament in Leviticus 19, twelve.
SPEAKER_00: I am the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: So back then people would make promises, and they would seal them by saying, Surely as the Lord lives, and then make their promise, or they'd make their promise and at the end say, God, do so to me and more also if I do not fulfill this promise.
SPEAKER_00: So they were using the Lord's name to ensure and make the covenant, they would keep their promise.
SPEAKER_00: An example of someone who made a promise, even to his own hurt, is found in the story of Jacob stealing the birthright from Esau.
SPEAKER_00: Esau was the firstborn by a couple of seconds, and Isaac, his father, loved Esau so much, and he wanted to give him the birthright blessing, as was his due for being the oldest.
SPEAKER_00: But Jacob, wanting the birthright blessing more than Esau, disguised himself as Esau and then went up to Isaac and stole the birthright blessing.
SPEAKER_00: So Isaac gave him a verbal blessing, a birthright blessing, and did not give it to Esau.
SPEAKER_00: Jacob left, Esau came in, he's like, Father, I'm ready to receive my blessing.
SPEAKER_00: And Isaac was like, Oh no, I gave it to the wrong person.
SPEAKER_00: And Isaac loves, loves, loved Esau more than Jacob, and yet he gave it to Jacob by accident.
SPEAKER_00: And Esau was like, please, is there a blessing reserved for me?
SPEAKER_00: And you know, in this day and age, in this culture, we'd probably say, Yeah, why didn't Isaac just say, Oh, I'm sorry, Jacob, you deceived me.
SPEAKER_00: You don't get the birthright blessing.
SPEAKER_00: I'm gonna take it back and just give it to my son Esau instead.
SPEAKER_00: Instead, Isaac said, I've already bestowed it upon Jacob.
SPEAKER_00: There's nothing we can do.
SPEAKER_00: Because you see, Isaac saw the importance of words and covenants, and he made this promise and kept it even to his own hurt.
SPEAKER_00: He did not take it back.
SPEAKER_00: And I think it's very easy today to make promises and not keep them.
SPEAKER_00: For example, we have church softball every Tuesday, and uh a game got canceled, but I said I was gonna go out to practice some church softball anyway, and yet some things came up, and I was like, oh, I'd actually be better if I didn't go and play softball, so I think I'm just gonna say, I can't make it, and I'm gonna go do this other thing.
SPEAKER_00: And I did not keep my promise, even to my own hurt.
SPEAKER_00: But whenever you make a promise, you're making a covenant before the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: He is all knowing, he is ever present, and he is there as a witness, and when we break them, we are breaking them in the eyes of the Lord.
SPEAKER_00: We often become like the man that Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 1 17 when he says this Do I make plans according to the flesh, ready to say yes, yes, and no, no at the same time.
SPEAKER_00: Do you make promises and hold on to them loosely, not keeping them?
SPEAKER_00: The Lord will not dwell with this person who does that.
SPEAKER_00: Almost done.
SPEAKER_00: Number five, the blameless and righteous man does not put out his money at interest and does not take a bribe against the innocent.
SPEAKER_00: Or in other words, he does not idolize his money.
SPEAKER_00: Christopher Ash, a pastor and theologian known for his exposition on the Psalms, said this verse is dealing with the heart issue of covetousness.
SPEAKER_00: You know, many of you probably know this verse in 1 Timothy 6.10, that the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.
SPEAKER_00: And the reason why we love money and covet money is because we place our security and confidence in it.
SPEAKER_00: If I just have enough money, then I'll finally be successful, my family will love me, I'll have all the things I want, I'll feel safe and secure.
SPEAKER_00: And it becomes a God that we end up worshiping.
SPEAKER_00: And worship will always lead to action.
SPEAKER_00: In this case, and according to the Psalm, the action of getting money at any cost, even to the hurt and detriment of others.
SPEAKER_00: Or maybe it's withholding money at any cost, even to the hurt and detriment of others.
SPEAKER_00: By seeking security and confidence in money, we begin to act like the Israelites who would seek shelter in anything but God.
SPEAKER_00: Isaiah 30, verses one through three, the Lord says this stubborn children who carry out a plan, but not mine, and who make an alliance but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin, who set out to go down to Egypt without asking for my direction, to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh, and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt.
SPEAKER_00: Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame, and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.
SPEAKER_00: Now money is not a bad thing, but when we start to place our confidence and trust in it, we begin to act like these Israelites who seek shelter in Egypt and Pharaoh and not in the living God Himself.
SPEAKER_00: Do you place your confidence and trust in your resources?
SPEAKER_00: Are you afraid to give it out to others, worried that if you if you get rid of your resources to others who are in need, that you won't have enough for yourself, and therefore will not feel confident and secure in what you have?
SPEAKER_00: So God will not dwell with those who idolize their money and possessions and place their trust and confidence in it.
SPEAKER_00: So now David asks the question, we get the answer, and he gives us an assurance at the end of verse 5.
SPEAKER_00: He who does these things shall never be moved.
SPEAKER_00: So to kind of recap, the question was who can dwell with God?
SPEAKER_00: And David answers, the blameless and righteous man, one who does not intentionally commit sin, who holds fast to the Lord and does not do evil, who deals justly with his neighbor and friend, who speaks truth in love and avoids slander, who honors those who fear the Lord and does not honor those who do not fear the Lord, who keeps his promises to his own hurt, does not worship money, and does not take advantage of others to receive more wealth.
SPEAKER_00: And the person who does these things, the Lord will dwell with forever, and his steadfast love will not depart from him.
SPEAKER_00: Now, this psalm or psalms like these were often recited when Israelites would go to Mount Moriah to go worship God for festivals, and they would recite them trying to feel like, okay, is my heart right before God?
SPEAKER_00: Am I ready to approach God and to celebrate him in these festivals?
SPEAKER_00: So let me ask you the same thing.
SPEAKER_00: Hearing these commands, do you feel like your heart is right before God?
SPEAKER_00: Do you think you could dwell in God's presence?
SPEAKER_00: Is your character consistently matched with this person in Psalm 15?
SPEAKER_00: And if you're struggling with that answer, let me help you out.
SPEAKER_00: It is a no.
SPEAKER_00: We do not fulfill these commands in Psalm 15 like we ought to.
SPEAKER_00: Daily we fall short and do not have the qualifications to enter God's palace, to enter his throne, and to dwell with him forever like we were made to.
SPEAKER_00: But if that's the case, then how is it that David is described as blameless?
SPEAKER_00: Was he just an egomaniac?
SPEAKER_00: I mean, he calls himself blameless.
SPEAKER_00: Earlier I quoted Psalm 19, 13, which said, Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins, let them not have dominion over me, then I shall be blameless and innocent of transgression.
SPEAKER_00: So right there we see, okay, you're supposed to not intentionally commit sin, then you'll be blameless.
SPEAKER_00: But the verse right before that, David writes this Who can discern his errors, declare me innocent from hidden faults.
SPEAKER_00: So right there we see a part of being blameless is being declared innocent from your faults.
SPEAKER_00: Now David isn't just blameless because he recognizes that he's sinful and gives like a simple verbal apology.
SPEAKER_00: Our penalty for not being able to dwell with God is so much more severe than a simple verbal apology.
SPEAKER_00: We are like the man in Jesus' parable of the wedding feast, when he showed up to the wedding and had no wedding garments and was bound and cast out into the outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
SPEAKER_00: We are not worthy to enter into his presence because we do not fulfill Psalm 15.
SPEAKER_00: But there is a man who did fulfill it, and that is Jesus Christ.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus always spoke with truth and grace.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, when he was being accused before Caiaphas in the council, never slandered his opponents, even though they brought reproaches against him.
SPEAKER_00: And Jesus, when others brought reproaches against tax collectors and sinners, never took them up, but always offered tax collectors and sinners forgiveness.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus will honor those who fear the Lord and not honor the wicked when he separates the wheat from the chaff on judgment day.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus, to the most hurt he could have ever experienced, kept his promise to the Father to endure the Father's wrath so that we could dwell with the Lord forever.
SPEAKER_00: Jesus always places confidence in the Father and gives his grace to the poor in spirit without interest.
SPEAKER_00: You see, Jesus Christ lived righteously on our behalf because God knew that we could not do that.
SPEAKER_00: He knew that we could not have the qualifications to enter into his presence, even though he wanted to.
SPEAKER_00: That's why he created us to enter into his presence and dwell with him forever, but he saw that we were too sinful.
SPEAKER_00: Genesis 6, 5.
SPEAKER_00: The Lord says he saw man's heart and is only evil continually.
SPEAKER_00: But that is why Jesus on the cross cried, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
SPEAKER_00: Why did he cry that?
SPEAKER_00: Because we are supposed to be forsaken by God, cast out into the outer darkness where there's weeping and gnashing of teeth.
SPEAKER_00: But Jesus did that for us.
SPEAKER_00: He fulfilled Psalm 15 perfectly for us.
SPEAKER_00: He took our punishment for us.
SPEAKER_00: He was cast out from God's presence momentarily so that we could dwell with God forever.
SPEAKER_00: If you believe that, if you believe that gospel, then you can be assured that you will enter God's house and you will be clothed in robes of righteousness from Jesus Christ Himself, and you will be counted blameless before Him.
SPEAKER_00: And if you are if you do not believe that, if you have not heard that gospel before, then I want to ask you to maybe consider it and to think about how your character may not line up with Psalm 15 and how you must put your trust in the Lord Jesus.
SPEAKER_00: And not only are we kind of blameless in that way, but when we understand what the Lord has done for us, that we are meant to dwell with him, you also understand we are meant to be zealous for good works.
SPEAKER_00: And that is another great example of Psalm 15.
SPEAKER_00: That is an outline of how we can worship God for making us blameless before his eyes.
SPEAKER_00: That when you understand that we do not deserve to dwell in his house, but that he gave it for us, that you will joyfully want to become more and more like this person in Psalm 15.
SPEAKER_00: What a blessing it is.
SPEAKER_00: So then, let me conclude with this promise from John 14, 1 through 3, this amazing promise that Jesus makes.
SPEAKER_00: And remember, he keeps his promises always.
SPEAKER_00: Let not your hearts be troubled.
SPEAKER_00: Believe in God, believe also in me.
SPEAKER_00: In my Father's house are many rooms.
SPEAKER_00: If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you.
SPEAKER_00: And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.
SPEAKER_00: Let us sink into your hearts that we will dwell in the house of Zion forever.
SPEAKER_00: Let us pray.