WEBVTT 00:00:00.640 --> 00:00:03.680 For reading our scripture passage this morning. 00:00:10.320 --> 00:00:16.719 I would venture that if I were to sit down with each of you and ask you a question, if you could go anywhere in the world right now, where would you want to go? 00:00:16.800 --> 00:00:19.039 We'd probably get a variety of responses. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:23.120 Each person, you know, the Czech team's getting ready to leave, and I would say, I just want to be in the Czech. 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:26.079 If I could be anywhere in the world right now, I want to go to the Czech. 00:00:26.559 --> 00:00:31.600 Some might say, you know, Hawaii, the Caribbean, especially if it were colder out. 00:00:31.839 --> 00:00:36.000 I'm pretty sure that most of us would say, get us someplace warm. 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:52.880 Maybe the Rocky Mountains, if you've never seen the Rocky Mountains or a National Park, or I'm guessing if I would sit down and ask some of the children here, we might hear responses like Disney World or Disneyland they want to go to, maybe Africa or Europe would be a fun place to visit. 00:00:53.119 --> 00:01:00.960 If that same question were asked to our psalmist, he most certainly would have replied, God's house. 00:01:01.119 --> 00:01:05.200 If I could be anywhere in the world, it would be in God's presence. 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:06.959 It's where he wanted to be. 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:11.599 We see that right off the bat in our passage this morning. 00:01:12.640 --> 00:01:18.319 Speaking of traveling, I don't know if you've ever been on a longer trip, maybe a long road trip. 00:01:18.640 --> 00:01:21.760 I've done quite a few road trips in my day, especially on youth trips. 00:01:21.920 --> 00:01:23.599 I know Pastor Greg just returned. 00:01:23.680 --> 00:01:30.640 I think I saw you log like, I don't know how many thousands of miles in the last couple weeks as you travel with the youth and then on vacation. 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:42.159 Um, there's something about when you're getting close to your destination, if you've been sitting in a car for a long time and you're seeing the roadsides come up, you know, only 100 miles away or 50 miles, there's anticipation that grows. 00:01:42.239 --> 00:01:53.680 And even though your body is weary, and even though your mind and mentally you're exhausted, there's something, there's an anticipation that builds as you get closer and closer to your destination. 00:01:53.920 --> 00:01:59.439 And similarly, we see this mindset with the psalmist here in our passage. 00:01:59.599 --> 00:02:01.040 He reflects on the journey. 00:02:01.200 --> 00:02:02.400 This is really what the psalm is about. 00:02:02.480 --> 00:02:08.960 It's a journey toward the house of God, where he will worship and he will commune with God. 00:02:09.520 --> 00:02:16.159 And so we see this whole idea in the psalm of going on a journey in order to be with God. 00:02:17.360 --> 00:02:27.759 And as I mentioned right off the bat, it's easy to see in the first couple verses that the psalmist has this all-consuming, this longing to be with God. 00:02:27.919 --> 00:02:33.360 The prize above all things was to be in God's presence, to be with him. 00:02:34.639 --> 00:02:44.080 And as we see the psalmist's all-consuming desire to be with God, really it forces us to examine our own hearts. 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:48.319 I think questions come to mind like, what do you long for? 00:02:49.039 --> 00:02:55.840 As you think about your life, what are the things that you are passionate about, or what do you look forward to with great anticipation? 00:02:56.000 --> 00:03:01.360 Now, it's certainly not wrong to look forward to things, and I believe God wants us to enjoy life. 00:03:01.520 --> 00:03:04.080 He wants us to enjoy his blessings. 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:05.520 I believe that. 00:03:07.840 --> 00:03:14.319 But sometimes looking at what we're passionate about and what we're really anxious for or excited about can reveal things in us. 00:03:14.479 --> 00:03:18.800 We learn about something about who we are when we reflect on some of those things. 00:03:18.879 --> 00:03:26.000 And we can't help but do that when we look at the psalmist and his passion and his desire and his love for God. 00:03:28.319 --> 00:03:45.439 As I mentioned, none of the things that I talked about before, whether it's pursuing a career or whether it's enjoying going on a trip and traveling like we just got done talking about, none of those things are wrong in and of themselves, but they cannot replace our deepest need and our deepest longing for communion with God. 00:03:45.599 --> 00:03:54.240 And our enthusiasm for such things, really, our enthusiasm for such things should pale in comparison to our enthusiasm to be with God. 00:03:55.680 --> 00:04:02.879 I gotta confess, well, many of you know this, but I'm a huge, huge diehard Vikings fan. 00:04:03.520 --> 00:04:06.719 And I confess it's it's kind of embarrassing how much. 00:04:06.960 --> 00:04:11.120 I really, if I'm if I'm honest, how much I look forward to this time of year, it's brutal. 00:04:11.199 --> 00:04:17.199 I mean, training camps in and uh all the news reports coming out, and this year is gonna be the year that they won the Super Bowl. 00:04:17.279 --> 00:04:18.720 Uh Eternal Optimist. 00:04:18.879 --> 00:04:20.319 Yeah, you laugh, watch. 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:26.720 You're gonna come back, and I'm gonna say, I told you so back in come January, uh February. 00:04:27.360 --> 00:04:28.560 Die Hard Vikings fans. 00:04:28.639 --> 00:04:30.959 It's embarrassing, really, how much I look forward to it. 00:04:31.120 --> 00:04:36.000 I like talking about the Vikings, I like talking about the NFL, and I look forward to it very much. 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:50.160 Now, I'm not saying that my enthusiasm or excitement for the Vikings uh overseeds uh my enthusiasm to worship God, but really our passions and the things that we're excited about reveal something about who we are. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:53.279 And it's not wrong to enjoy those sorts of things. 00:04:53.360 --> 00:04:58.720 It's not wrong to enjoy the NFL or to have a favorite sports team, but there needs to be balance. 00:04:58.879 --> 00:05:03.600 And our enthusiasm for such things needs to pale in comparison. 00:05:05.199 --> 00:05:13.199 As we see the psalmist, he deeply longed for God in this passage, and it forces us to re-examine our own lives. 00:05:13.360 --> 00:05:15.199 And that's what I hope we do this morning. 00:05:15.439 --> 00:05:21.199 I hope that as we walk through this passage, that you have a chance to kind of think through what is it that I'm passionate about? 00:05:21.439 --> 00:05:24.800 What is it that I wake up in the morning and I go, that's what I'm excited about? 00:05:24.879 --> 00:05:30.000 Because that reveals something about where we're at in our heart for the psalmist, it was God. 00:05:31.040 --> 00:05:34.879 Verse 1, how lovely is your dwelling place. 00:05:35.120 --> 00:05:36.399 Hear the language that he says. 00:05:36.480 --> 00:05:40.000 He says, My soul longs. 00:05:40.720 --> 00:05:42.399 Yes, even faints. 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:45.600 For the courts of the Lord. 00:05:45.759 --> 00:05:47.680 This idea of my soul longing. 00:05:47.759 --> 00:05:57.360 In other words, it's his will, his thoughts, his desires, his feelings, all combined to long for God's presence. 00:05:57.600 --> 00:06:01.519 Even to the point where physically he's like, I'm I'm about to faint, man. 00:06:03.360 --> 00:06:08.160 I am weak because I'm so anxious to be in God's presence. 00:06:09.920 --> 00:06:17.600 Then we see he uses this language, my heart, combined with his flesh, sing for joy. 00:06:21.360 --> 00:06:33.120 His heart was the total sum of his thoughts, his emotions, knowledge, combined with his physical body, wanting to sing to the Lord and to cry out to God in song. 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:36.240 True worship incorporates more than just emotions. 00:06:36.319 --> 00:06:37.920 That's not what we're doing on Sunday morning. 00:06:38.079 --> 00:06:40.319 We're not trying to have an emotional experience. 00:06:40.560 --> 00:06:44.480 We're not just trying to fill our minds with truth and knowledge either. 00:06:44.720 --> 00:06:46.160 That's not necessarily the angle. 00:06:46.399 --> 00:06:54.560 The goal is the sum of these things in unison, causing us to cry out to God and to proclaim how great and how mighty and how amazing He is. 00:06:56.240 --> 00:07:20.800 A quick side note before we get into the heart of our passage, we must remember that for Old Testament believers, the setting for worship was directly or really directly linked to the house of the Lord, that the temple in which God's presence was known, the tabernacle or the temple based on the time period, was central to Old Testament worship. 00:07:21.120 --> 00:07:26.480 Now, today, as New Testament believers, we are not bound to a specific location in order to worship. 00:07:26.639 --> 00:07:30.079 And Jesus essentially stated this in John chapter 4. 00:07:31.040 --> 00:07:34.319 When he told the woman at the well, he said, A day is coming. 00:07:35.279 --> 00:07:42.000 A day is coming when people will worship the Father, neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem, a specific location. 00:07:42.160 --> 00:07:47.040 And he goes on to say, he says, true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth. 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:52.639 So we see in even in this passage that Christ is the fulfillment of Old Testament worship. 00:07:52.800 --> 00:07:55.519 And thus worship is no longer tied to a specific location. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:57.920 So I just want to differentiate the difference. 00:07:58.079 --> 00:08:00.000 For us, it's different as New Testament believers. 00:08:00.079 --> 00:08:03.920 We don't have to go to the temple or the tabernacle to worship God. 00:08:04.240 --> 00:08:06.959 It's not bound to a specific location, it's different. 00:08:07.040 --> 00:08:09.199 But for the psalmist, that was his context. 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:15.839 And so he was anxious and excited to go and to worship and to commune with God. 00:08:16.639 --> 00:08:35.600 And even though the mode of how we worship as New Testament believers in comparison to Old Testament believers is different in the sense that it's not tied to a location, the principles that we learn in this passage and what we see and the longings that the psalmist have for God, that the psalmist has for God is very much applicable to us today. 00:08:36.320 --> 00:08:42.159 The psalmist knew the character of God and the blessing that came from wanting to be with him and to worship him. 00:08:42.320 --> 00:08:43.200 It consumed him. 00:08:43.600 --> 00:08:44.879 He was all in. 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:48.960 There is no doubt to which what motivated and drove him. 00:08:49.840 --> 00:08:53.679 Notice that his desire is not out of compulsion or out of duty. 00:08:53.759 --> 00:08:56.960 It was with great joy that he sought God. 00:08:57.120 --> 00:08:59.360 It wasn't, oh, I guess I go up the temple again. 00:08:59.840 --> 00:09:00.080 No. 00:09:00.159 --> 00:09:06.080 I mean, he gets out and he says, My soul longs and even faints for the presence of God. 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:15.120 One person said this we will never feel like worshiping God until we understand something of his greatness. 00:09:16.159 --> 00:09:18.720 We cannot help to worship when we do. 00:09:18.879 --> 00:09:24.799 There's a direct correlation between our understanding of God and our desire to worship. 00:09:25.039 --> 00:09:30.159 The greater God is in our eyes, the greater our desire to worship him will be. 00:09:30.480 --> 00:09:32.320 And it goes far beyond. 00:09:32.960 --> 00:09:36.480 Far beyond styles or mode. 00:09:37.519 --> 00:09:42.080 When our eyes are fixed on him and him alone. 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:51.840 There's a number of things that we learn from this passage about pursuing God and being passionate about him. 00:09:55.279 --> 00:10:06.399 First thing that we see as we look at this passage, a number of things that we learn, we learn that we should not be discouraged by those who have obtained the goal before us. 00:10:07.360 --> 00:10:09.440 Or those who are further along in the journey. 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:10.720 Here's what I mean by that. 00:10:10.879 --> 00:10:17.840 If you look at verse 3 and verse 4, the psalmist is pointing out, and he says, essentially, he says, look at the birds. 00:10:17.919 --> 00:10:20.399 The birds have made their dwelling in the house of the Lord. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:26.639 In one sense, he was envious that their dwelling place was in the same place where God dwelt. 00:10:26.960 --> 00:10:34.480 He wanted to be with God so much that he even recognized and pointed out the blessing that the birds had in the temple. 00:10:37.200 --> 00:10:44.639 We also see reference to the priests who worked and served continuously in the temple. 00:10:46.960 --> 00:10:52.799 The priests served God continuously and held the highest order of worship for the Israelites. 00:10:53.759 --> 00:11:02.240 Here the psalmist declared how blessed that these men were for their opportunity to continually be and to serve in God's presence. 00:11:02.639 --> 00:11:04.559 This doesn't discourage him. 00:11:04.960 --> 00:11:09.279 He doesn't look at the priest's role and he doesn't say, I'll never be like them, so I'm just going to give up. 00:11:09.440 --> 00:11:10.879 Well, I even try. 00:11:11.200 --> 00:11:14.159 And really that's what we need to do. 00:11:14.720 --> 00:11:22.799 When we look at someone who's further along in the journey, I've looked at someone who says, Wow, that person knows so much about God's word. 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:24.960 I don't know if I'll ever know that much. 00:11:25.919 --> 00:11:30.879 Or maybe you've heard someone pray and you go, wow, that person can pray. 00:11:31.519 --> 00:11:33.679 I'll never be able to pray like that. 00:11:34.559 --> 00:11:39.759 Or you've heard someone of someone's faith, and they just have faith in the darkest of situations. 00:11:40.000 --> 00:11:41.440 You go, wow, I don't know if I could ever. 00:11:41.679 --> 00:11:42.879 That's not what the psalmist did. 00:11:43.120 --> 00:11:47.200 He looked at the priest, he looked at the birds, he saw their blessing, and it propelled him. 00:11:47.440 --> 00:11:49.039 Often we're forced with two options. 00:11:49.200 --> 00:11:50.799 We look at people who are further along in the journey. 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:52.240 We either go, oh, I'll give up. 00:11:52.320 --> 00:11:53.360 I'm never going to be like that. 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:56.399 Or it can inspire us and encourage us to press on. 00:11:56.559 --> 00:11:58.320 That's what the psalmist did. 00:11:58.960 --> 00:12:00.080 The psalmist pressed on. 00:12:00.240 --> 00:12:04.480 He said, These people are further along, they've already obtained the goal, they're with God, they're communion with God. 00:12:04.639 --> 00:12:05.919 I'm going for it. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:07.360 It's inspiring. 00:12:09.279 --> 00:12:16.720 He was not discouraged by those who had already obtained the goal of being with God. 00:12:18.399 --> 00:12:20.000 Second thing we learned. 00:12:24.320 --> 00:12:26.000 Second thing we learn. 00:12:26.960 --> 00:12:35.360 We learn not to let the difficult journey hinder us and rob us from our joy. 00:12:35.759 --> 00:12:46.399 As we look at this next section of verses five through seven, we see the journey that is going, that the pilgrims are going to go forth on their way up to the temple to worship. 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:51.759 Verse 5 says, Blessed are those whose strength is in you and whose heart are in the highways to Zion. 00:12:51.919 --> 00:12:56.960 As they go through the valley of Bachah, they make it a place of springs. 00:12:57.120 --> 00:12:59.120 The early rain also covers it with pools. 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:00.639 They go from strength to strength. 00:13:00.799 --> 00:13:03.039 Each one appears before God in Zion. 00:13:03.120 --> 00:13:08.240 This idea of going through the valley of Bacah, it's a dark part of the journey. 00:13:08.399 --> 00:13:09.919 It's a difficult part of the journey. 00:13:10.000 --> 00:13:13.919 It's really the desert, and Bacchah can actually be translated to mean weeping. 00:13:14.080 --> 00:13:17.120 It's a difficult part of the journey. 00:13:17.679 --> 00:13:20.240 And the psalmist isn't hindered by that. 00:13:20.320 --> 00:13:22.559 His joy isn't robbed because of that. 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:33.679 Now, I don't know if you've ever been on a difficult journey, but um part of the picture background here is a journey that I went on with some guys you might recognize here in this photo. 00:13:34.639 --> 00:13:37.039 Look at those uh handsome young men. 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:39.519 At least there's three of them. 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:45.360 That are uh it's a trip that I went on in 2006 journey. 00:13:45.679 --> 00:13:52.480 We traveled uh in the in the mountains of Glacier National Park and in the backcountry. 00:13:52.720 --> 00:13:56.960 I think we traveled about 10 miles a day in our journey. 00:13:57.120 --> 00:14:06.000 In the first part, we it was raining, we got soaked, all our gear got, even though we were prepared for rain, we were not prepared for that kind of rain by any means. 00:14:06.240 --> 00:14:09.039 And uh it was a difficult journey. 00:14:09.919 --> 00:14:16.639 And the first stretch, I mean, the the trail was so muddy and so worn out that it was just treacherous coming in. 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:19.279 I mean, it was just miserable in the first part. 00:14:19.440 --> 00:14:25.039 So on the way out, we kind of did this loop, and on the way out, we didn't want to take that same journey back, that same trail. 00:14:25.120 --> 00:14:26.879 And so we met at the ranger station. 00:14:26.960 --> 00:14:29.120 We're talking to the ranger, said, was there another way around? 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:32.559 I mean, what about this Lee Ridge trail that we're seeing on our map here? 00:14:32.639 --> 00:14:34.240 Uh, what about this way out? 00:14:34.320 --> 00:14:37.039 And they said, Oh, yeah, it's it's phenomenal. 00:14:37.200 --> 00:14:47.679 I mean, the first stretch is pretty brutal, but once you get past the first stretch, it's you know, you know, you get the views are phenomenal and it's it's spectacular. 00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:52.240 And so we thought, hey, we we can hack this. 00:14:52.399 --> 00:15:00.080 We've been uh, you know, tough burly men uh in the backcountry here, we we can do this. 00:15:00.240 --> 00:15:03.679 And uh so we set off to go up the Lee Ridge Trail. 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:14.799 And uh we get going, and after about an hour of literally step by step was like the equivalent of a step in the stairs. 00:15:14.879 --> 00:15:24.240 I mean, that's how high the elevation was gaining as we went, and with the the higher altitude and we had 65-pound backpacks on. 00:15:24.320 --> 00:15:25.759 I mean, it was just crazy. 00:15:25.840 --> 00:15:31.519 We were just exhausted, and after about an hour, we got about this far, we thought we gotta be getting close. 00:15:31.679 --> 00:15:35.600 And that was our view after about an hour. 00:15:36.080 --> 00:15:39.440 We thought, maybe an hour and a half, we gotta be getting getting pretty close. 00:15:39.519 --> 00:15:44.720 And if you notice, I don't know if you can see the valley down there, that's where we kind of hiked around, that's where we started. 00:15:44.960 --> 00:15:50.879 Okay, so we're on our way, and uh we keep keep cranking along, and I think there's another view of it. 00:15:50.960 --> 00:15:52.159 You could see the valley down there. 00:15:52.240 --> 00:15:53.600 It's fantastic. 00:15:53.759 --> 00:16:00.000 We sat there we uh had about an hour and we took a little break and enjoyed ourselves that we gotta be getting pretty close. 00:16:00.320 --> 00:16:04.720 Uh another hour later, absolutely exhausted. 00:16:04.879 --> 00:16:05.759 We keep going. 00:16:05.919 --> 00:16:11.039 Um another hour after that, we're still going, it seemed like straight up. 00:16:11.279 --> 00:16:16.960 And uh finally we find a glacier where we could get some more water because we'd already uh drank all our water. 00:16:17.039 --> 00:16:22.720 We stopped there, and uh near the top it started leveling off a little bit, and it looked kind of like this. 00:16:22.879 --> 00:16:29.519 And so we would hike and we get up to that ridge, and we'd go, okay, it must just be at the top of that ridge, and then it must be it must level up. 00:16:29.759 --> 00:16:35.279 We get to that like ledge or that ridge, and then also we look and we go, Oh my word, there's another one. 00:16:35.440 --> 00:16:38.559 We hiked for four, four and a half hours straight up. 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:39.759 We were absolutely exhausted. 00:16:39.919 --> 00:16:43.279 We got like two miles of our ten miles that we had to pack out. 00:16:43.519 --> 00:16:50.399 So we spent four hours hiking, two miles or so, but when we got to the top, this was the view. 00:16:51.200 --> 00:16:52.720 It was phenomenal. 00:16:52.960 --> 00:16:56.559 It was it was breathtaking to be up there. 00:16:56.720 --> 00:16:57.360 Another pick. 00:16:57.519 --> 00:17:04.960 You could see the trail kind of going off, it did level off, and then we had only eight or so miles at that, and it kind of went down. 00:17:05.119 --> 00:17:07.279 There's the valley down below, you could see. 00:17:07.519 --> 00:17:09.759 Um, absolutely fantastic. 00:17:09.839 --> 00:17:12.160 But I tell you what, it was a difficult journey. 00:17:12.720 --> 00:17:14.880 And in a lot of regards, we weren't prepared. 00:17:15.039 --> 00:17:19.599 We did not have the mindset that this was going to be a four and a half hour hike straight up. 00:17:19.680 --> 00:17:22.319 We thought, well, maybe an hour and we'll be good to go. 00:17:23.039 --> 00:17:28.160 It was intense, it was difficult, it was challenging. 00:17:30.960 --> 00:17:34.240 What about the difficult journeys that we go through in life? 00:17:34.480 --> 00:17:40.160 Okay, that was a fun little story about a journey that went backpacking, but what about in life? 00:17:41.359 --> 00:17:46.079 A lot of times we're not prepared for the things that happen in life. 00:17:46.640 --> 00:17:49.759 You get married and it doesn't pan out the way you thought it was gonna be. 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:55.440 Marriage is a lot more difficult than you thought, or parenthood is a lot more challenging, though there's lots of blessings. 00:17:55.599 --> 00:17:56.400 It's difficult. 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:59.200 You weren't prepared for that type of journey. 00:18:01.680 --> 00:18:03.599 What about your journey? 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:11.920 What about the things that you're experiencing maybe even right now that's weighing heavy on you? 00:18:12.640 --> 00:18:24.799 A child that's gone astray, a loved one that you said goodbye to, a job that maybe you lost and you weren't expecting it. 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:38.079 We can learn from our psalmist here that even the difficult valley of Baka did not rob his joy and his desire to be with God. 00:18:38.160 --> 00:18:42.559 His eyes were set on communion with God. 00:18:43.599 --> 00:18:53.680 Some have suggested here that the pools we see in the springs talked about in verse 6 represent a way in which God provided for them. 00:18:53.759 --> 00:19:10.960 Whether he actually physically provided pools or not, there was something in them that was satisfied by knowing that they're going from strength to strength, that their motivation was to be with God as they made this pilgrimage to the house of God. 00:19:12.559 --> 00:19:26.000 As we studied this passage on Wednesday morning, I believe it was Luke who mentioned that it reminded him of a similar passage in John chapter 7, verse 37, which says, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 00:19:26.079 --> 00:19:33.359 Whoever believes in me, the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow out rivers of living water. 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:45.839 So whether this was a physical reality that God provided springs for them on their journey, or whether it was more of a spiritual reality that God was sustaining them inwardly, we do know this. 00:19:46.480 --> 00:19:48.720 That they were motivated to keep going on. 00:19:48.880 --> 00:19:56.559 That God provided for them, even in the midst of the valley, even in the darkest of days, even in the hardest part of their journey. 00:19:57.599 --> 00:20:02.480 It was God that propelled him with the life-giving waters. 00:20:03.039 --> 00:20:12.480 We see a similar idea in 2 Corinthians 4, verse 16 through 18, which was actually a verse that was read yesterday at Hyang's funeral. 00:20:14.480 --> 00:20:28.400 And I even mentioned this and alluded to this last week, which says, 2 Corinthians, so we do not lose heart, though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. 00:20:28.640 --> 00:20:38.240 For this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. 00:20:38.400 --> 00:20:42.880 As we look not to the things that are seen, but to things that are seen. 00:20:43.119 --> 00:20:47.920 And so in our journey, we don't look at the things that are difficult, we look at what is to come. 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:53.359 Our eyes are set on the things that are unseen, of being with God. 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:05.039 There's no doubt much hardship in this life, and that's reality we cannot deny. 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:09.599 And sometimes a journey to have communion with God is not easy. 00:21:10.079 --> 00:21:13.920 We fight getting our hearts ready for worship sometimes. 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:18.319 We feel beat up by the difficult road that we've traveled. 00:21:18.480 --> 00:21:33.680 Let the greatness of our God, his love for us displayed through the cross and Christ's sacrifice, the very nature of who he is, and the reality that living waters will flow in and through us. 00:21:33.920 --> 00:21:41.680 May those things propel us to respond appropriately through worship, to press on even in the midst of the valley. 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:46.480 And lastly, I'm gonna have you advance the next slide if you would, please. 00:21:47.119 --> 00:21:53.200 Lastly, one of the things that we learn here and we see is we learn not to let temptation distract us. 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:55.440 Verses 10 through uh 12. 00:21:55.599 --> 00:21:59.759 We're not to let uh temptation distract us. 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:00.559 Us. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:11.599 I'm fairly certain that as the Israelites went on and made their pilgrimage to worship God in the house of the Lord, they must have walked by the tents of the wicked that are being described here. 00:22:12.400 --> 00:22:22.640 And I'm sure there was temptation that the wicked would come out and entice the Israelites to compromise their faith by participating in sinful activities. 00:22:23.200 --> 00:22:27.119 And certainly there were those that made the pilgrimage that were just kind of going through the motions. 00:22:27.759 --> 00:22:29.519 Their hearts weren't really in it. 00:22:29.680 --> 00:22:37.839 And when they got to the deep valley and they saw the tents of the wicked, the lure of what they had became more and more apparent. 00:22:38.240 --> 00:22:44.240 And the questions of, wow, what harm will this be, I'm sure, was tempting. 00:22:44.640 --> 00:22:46.079 Not so for our psalmist. 00:22:46.480 --> 00:22:55.519 His eyes were set on the goal of being with God, and he said he would not dwell in the tents of the wicked because his goal was set on something much greater. 00:22:57.200 --> 00:23:06.640 Maybe the psalmist passed by and he noticed the tents of the wicked, those that had given up along the way, those that had pressed on to make the journey toward the house of the Lord thought, you know, it's too difficult. 00:23:06.720 --> 00:23:08.160 And they just set up camp. 00:23:08.319 --> 00:23:10.960 And they just set their tents there and they gave up. 00:23:12.960 --> 00:23:13.920 Not our psalmist. 00:23:14.160 --> 00:23:15.200 It wasn't the difficult journey. 00:23:15.279 --> 00:23:17.519 It wasn't the temptation of the wicked. 00:23:17.839 --> 00:23:19.440 He pressed on. 00:23:20.640 --> 00:23:29.440 Sometimes the battle is hard and that it can be easy to give up, but to give in, the psalmist was empowered by God, not trampled by life's circumstances. 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:32.880 How did the psalmist fight the temptation? 00:23:33.039 --> 00:23:36.160 His eyes were on the prize, the goal. 00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:42.720 He declared that better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. 00:23:42.880 --> 00:23:44.640 Just like we just got done singing. 00:23:44.880 --> 00:23:49.759 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:24:01.359 And even though the enticement of sin, and even through the discouraging valley, was his eyes set on Christ and communion with God that propelled him. 00:24:02.000 --> 00:24:10.400 He knew that the fleeting pleasure of sin, that it failed in comparison to being with God. 00:24:11.119 --> 00:24:15.519 He would rather spend one day with God than a thousand elsewhere. 00:24:16.319 --> 00:24:17.920 Can you say this today? 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:22.400 Can you say that all of your desires rest in God Himself? 00:24:22.480 --> 00:24:24.240 I hope this is a question that we ask. 00:24:24.480 --> 00:24:28.240 I hope that as we leave this place, this is something we're wrestling with. 00:24:28.720 --> 00:24:36.720 Can I say honestly, better is one day in your presence, God, than a thousand elsewhere? 00:24:37.119 --> 00:24:44.799 I believe a big part of spiritual maturity is being able to see the emptiness of a godless life. 00:24:45.039 --> 00:24:48.799 Sure, a life full of sinful activities can be fun for a season. 00:24:48.880 --> 00:24:50.400 That's why it can be tempting. 00:24:50.559 --> 00:24:56.799 But it always leads to emptiness and ultimately our own destruction and peril. 00:24:57.039 --> 00:25:05.680 We learn from the psalmist not to let the enticement of a godless lifestyle deter us from a life of fellowship with God. 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:08.160 Yet so easily we forget this. 00:25:08.480 --> 00:25:17.680 And we stray without a proper view of God, without treasuring who God is and treasuring his designed way for our lives. 00:25:20.400 --> 00:25:22.240 So where do we go from here? 00:25:23.039 --> 00:25:28.319 What if you're here this morning and you recognize that you don't really long for God like the psalmist? 00:25:28.559 --> 00:25:35.039 What if you're here this morning, you know, I that's nice that the psalmist was passionate about God, I don't know, I could take it or leave it. 00:25:35.200 --> 00:25:36.480 I'm just not there. 00:25:38.000 --> 00:25:44.559 I don't mean to be overly simplistic here, but our hearts go astray when we lose sight of the greatness of God. 00:25:46.079 --> 00:25:51.200 We lose sight of how amazing and wonderful our God is and how much he loves us. 00:25:52.000 --> 00:25:59.279 And if you don't long for God, then perhaps your view of who he is is incomplete. 00:25:59.519 --> 00:26:02.880 It's not found in Scripture or it's lacking. 00:26:03.039 --> 00:26:06.400 So I don't mean to be oversimplicity. 00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:10.319 But if we don't long for God, we don't know God. 00:26:11.759 --> 00:26:14.160 Our understanding of who he is is incomplete. 00:26:14.240 --> 00:26:15.359 There's something lacking. 00:26:15.599 --> 00:26:19.599 So if you don't long for God, my encouragement, go back to Scripture. 00:26:19.839 --> 00:26:21.759 Look at what He has done. 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:23.680 Look at who He is. 00:26:24.240 --> 00:26:31.359 Look at His character, His nature, and His love for you and how much He passionately loves you. 00:26:32.559 --> 00:26:37.839 What if you're here this morning and you find yourself camping in the tents of the wicked? 00:26:38.000 --> 00:26:42.799 Perhaps you've bought into the lie that true fulfillment can be found in a life apart from God. 00:26:42.960 --> 00:26:44.079 Maybe that's you. 00:26:44.480 --> 00:26:48.000 But you're starting to see the emptiness of such a life. 00:26:48.240 --> 00:27:03.759 You could start your journey toward communion with God and fellowship with him and a restored relationship by leaving the camp of the wicked and pursuing him through recognizing just how much you've missed out on fellowship with God. 00:27:04.240 --> 00:27:12.720 Through acknowledging your sin toward God and authentically coming before him as we are, I am a sinner before you and I have strayed God. 00:27:14.079 --> 00:27:24.799 Through trusting in Christ's sacrifice on the cross, that though that through his death and resurrection, that your sin is both paid and forgiven. 00:27:25.759 --> 00:27:46.559 And through understanding that your forgiveness by God and that we now have fellowship with him, that he invites and he wants you to enjoy him and to be with him through fellowship of one another and seeking him together, studying God's word through prayer, through spending time in his word. 00:27:48.480 --> 00:27:58.559 And lastly, leave the tents of the wicked and rely on God to change your heart, to change your inner desires to be more like him. 00:27:58.880 --> 00:28:12.880 Let us leave the camp of wickedness and sin that so easily entangles us and let us see how great our God is and how much he desires to be with us and how passionately we can pursue him together. 00:28:13.039 --> 00:28:14.319 Let us pray. 00:28:15.119 --> 00:28:32.160 God, our desire is to be inspired by the psalmist longing for you, that we too would passionately love you and pursue you, that we wouldn't be sidetracked by the lifestyle of the wicked. 00:28:32.960 --> 00:28:41.519 Or that we wouldn't be sidetracked, God, by the difficult journey, but that you would sustain our inner being. 00:28:43.519 --> 00:28:52.559 And that we would taste and see that you are good and you are worth pursuing above all things. 00:28:52.880 --> 00:28:54.480 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:28:55.119 --> 00:28:55.599 Amen.