Judging

Matthew 7 New International Version (NIV)

Judging Others

7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Introduction

Our youngest grandchild Chloe has a bit of a weight problem and like her granddaddy, she wants to eat all the time. Her mom tries to make her more responsible. Chloe knows that she is not to eat between meals. The other day her aunt caught her unwrapping a Debbie cake of sorts and when Chloe caught her aunts stern look she said immediately, “Don’t judge me.” We are talking about a seven year old who has picked up the terminology of the world. The liberals favorite verse in the bible is Matthew 7:1, “Judge not that ye be not judged.”

If you disagree with a liberal–that is judging. For example: lets say you repeat what the bible says about homosexuality: immediately they respond: [1] You are judging [2] You are condemning [3] You are a hater [4] You are a narrow minded bigot, [5] You are intolerant.

Liberals cannot carry on a rational or logically argument: you are not allowed to disagree. If you disagree with their view point, you are all the above. Disagreeing and condemning are two different things.

What’s amazing is that Liberals only know Matthew 7:1, they are not familiar with John 7…

²¹ Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all amazed. ²² Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a boy on the Sabbath. ²³ Now if a boy can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry with me for healing a man’s whole body on the Sabbath? ²⁴ Stop judging by mere appearances, but instead judge correctly.”

Jesus is not teaching us to never make judgments: He is teaching us how to do it correctly…Look at Matthew 7:15-20…

¹⁵ “Beware of false prophets who come disguised as harmless sheep but are really vicious wolves. ¹⁶ You can identify them by their fruit, that is, by the way they act. Can you pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ A good tree produces good fruit, and a bad tree produces bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree can’t produce bad fruit, and a bad tree can’t produce good fruit. ¹⁹ So every tree that does not produce good fruit is chopped down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Yes, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit, so you can identify people by their actions.

We have to discern between good and evil, right and wrong. This is why verse 6 goes with this passage–we all have to make value judgments. You do not give a loaded pistol to a small child. BUT we do need to be cautious and there are scriptural guidelines to guide us.

I. ALWAYS KEEP IN MIND: YOU ARE THE ONE BEING JUDGED

James 2:12-13

¹² So whatever you say or whatever you do, remember that you will be judged by the law that sets you free. ¹³ There will be no mercy for those who have not shown mercy to others. But if you have been merciful, God will be merciful when he judges you.

We will all be judged by the way we judge others which should keep us from being condemning in our judgment.

For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. ¹⁸ Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.

II. REMEMBER: WE DO NOT HAVE ALL THE FACTS AND WE CANNOT SEE HEARTS

Remember what Jesus said in John 7, Stop judging by mere appearances. Things are seldom what they appear to be. You can’t judge a book by looking at the cover. Be very careful: take your time. Don’t be careless or reckless: we can do a lot of damage when we jump to conclusions.

III. RECOGNIZE AND CONFESS YOUR SINS BEFORE CONFRONTING SOMEONE ELSE WITH THEIR SIN

We cannot examine a man’s eye without getting close and the splinter in our eye will hurt him. Before you go trying to help someone else with their sin, you better be aware of your own.

The problem with the Pharisees was they could see the sins of others but could not see their own.

Years ago I was teaching a men’s class and I had one guy who was super critical of almost everyone. One Sunday our lesson was on Matthew 7 and judging. I was shocked when he spoke up and said, “The LORD has shown me through this lesson that my sin of judging others is much worse than the sin I am judging them for.”

My Mother was constantly telling me that the sins I saw in others were the very ones that I was guilty of myself. Back, way back, in my softball days we had a super competitive guy who played second base. One night he hit into a double play and he went bezerk; he threw his cap, screamed and hollowed at himself and came back to the dugout fuming. The dugout got really quiet: we were all too embarrassed to say anything. On the way home, I told June, “I don’t know if I want to continue to play with him with the attitude he has.” She said, “Did you get a good look at him? Did you see what he did?” I said, “Yes, that’s why I brought it up.” She said, “Well good, you were looking at yourself.” Then we argued the rest of the way home over who was worse, he or I. She said I was.

IV. ONE LAST THING: MOTIVE IS EVERYTHING

Don’t dare rebuke or reprove another until you have thoroughly examined your motives. For mutual benefit, for your friend to be helped and you be helped and the relationship strengthened, you have to love a person.

Look at verse 6 again… ⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.

Not everyone can talk reproof or correction so your first judgment is whether or not the person is able to except your counsel.

Proverbs 9:8… Do not reprove a scoffer, or he will hate you,
Reprove a wise man and he will love you.

Remember that ultimately its God responsibility to Judge…Paul said in Romans 14… ⁴ Who are you to judge someone else’s servant? To their own master, servants stand or fall. And they will stand, for the Lord is able to make them stand.

If I show up at Charles work site next week and chew one of his workers out: he is going to be upset with me. We don’t reprove another man’s servant. The LORD is a capable MASTER, He really doesn’t need our help.

CONCLUSION

While I was a young person, an older teenager. There was a family of five that were members of our community. The three children came to church but the parents never came. Both mom and dad were alcoholics and the kids had to defend for themselves. The oldest and youngest were girls and both were attractive, the younger one got pregnant and she was not even 16 years old. We were leaving church and my mother overhead a group of gossipers, they were talking about how horrible it was that this girl got pregnant: they were embroidering her Scarlet Letter life the Puritans. They were branding her as a slut. You would have to know my mother to believe this but she broke into their little gossip session with this rebuke: “If you ladies had been raised like these girls, the same thing might have happened to you.” Two things about Mother: she had a heart for the underdog and she never worried about popularity. As the Indians use to say, “Don’t judge a man till you walk in his moccasins.”

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Overcoming Anxiety

Do Not Worry

²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? ²⁶ Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? ²⁷ Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

²⁸ “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. ²⁹ Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. ³⁰ If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? ³¹ So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ ³² For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. ³³ But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ³⁴ Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Introduction

One out of every five American’s suffer from anxiety, that is over 40,000,000 and only one third are on some sort of treatment plan. Anxiety is a big issue in today’s world but it was a big issue when Jesus stood on the mountain and preached this sermon. It is practically impossible for humans not to worry.

David confessed his anxiety in Psalm 139, Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.

If you have ever read the book of Acts or 2 Corinthians, you know that Paul was a chronic worrier, he says in 2 Corinthians 11:28, “Apart from these external things [ship wrecks, beatings, exposure] there is the responsibility that weighs on me everyday, my anxious concern for all the churches.” You may not understand Paul’s concern, but every pastor knows exactly what he is talking about. If you love people dearly, like Paul did his churches, you are going to worry about their welfare.

Listen to Jesus confession in Luke 12… ⁴⁹ “I have come to set the world on fire, and I wish it were already burning! ⁵⁰ I have a terrible baptism of suffering ahead of me, and I am under a heavy burden until it is accomplished. 

Have you ever had a difficult task assigned to you that caused dread and anxiety? It is human to dread suffering or to be anxious about it. This dread that Jesus had for the cross does not make Him a sinner, it only makes Him human.

It is not so much that you worry, the important thing is what you worry about.

If you look at verse 25, you have the list of things that Jesus mentioned… ²⁵ “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Do we worry about our LIFE, how long we are going to live?

Do we worry about life in terms of provisions–food and water?

Do we worry about our body? Aging, health, dressing it up or covering it up. If God gave you a choice between life itself and a new wardrobe, which would you choose. What good are new clothes if you don’t have a body to put them on?

NOTE: In the world that Jesus lived in, food, clothing and shelter were paramount. These people did not have pantries, closets, or kitchen cabinets filled with food goods. They had the clothes on their back, maybe an additional pair of under garments so they could wash their clothes now and then and they bought their food daily at the market. So don’t be too quick to find fault with them.

The KEY to the entire passage is verse 33…

But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

The Key to a successful life is learning to distinguish between what is essential and what is not and then to distinguish between what matters and what matter most.

Food, water, shelter, clothing are all needed, they are essential, they matter but there is something that MATTER MORE. Mary figured it out way before the others.

³⁸ As Jesus and the disciples continued on their way to Jerusalem, they came to a certain village where a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. ³⁹ Her sister, Mary, sat at the Lord’s feet, listening to what He taught. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by the big dinner she was preparing. She came to Jesus and said, “Lord, doesn’t it seem unfair to you that my sister just sits here while I do all the work? Tell her to come and help me.”

⁴¹ But the Lord said to her, “My dear Martha, you are worried and upset over all these details! ⁴² There is only one thing worth being concerned about. Mary has discovered it, and it will not be taken away from her.”

Dinner is important if we want to live but in this case, JESUS was more important. Both ladies are concerned: one is concerned with dinner be served on time and the other is concerned about Jesus and the cross that lay before Him. Martha was a good woman but her priorities were out of order.

As followers of Christ, our highest priority [WHAT MATTERS MOST] is HIS KINGDOM. Christ and His Kingdom must always be first. Not only do we seek His Kingdom first, we seek His RIGHTEOUSNESS. Herein lies our greatest concern: this is paramount.

Over the years my values have changed. I still have the same base convictions that I had from the start but God’s grace has been at work within me and my PRIORITIES have changed. I have always put CHURCH FIRST. You can ask my wife or my children or anyone who knows me. But the same could be said of any Pharisee.

Whereas it is true that I did not want to be a preacher, I did surrender to the LORD’s will but mostly out of fear of what He might do if I didn’t. When our children were growing up I made sure they understood that CHURCH was more important than anything else. BUT my own priorities were not right…over time God changed me from inside out.

Let me tell you what is most important to me today. I want my children to love Jesus with all their heart and to live Matthew 6:33, to incarnate this verse. None of our children are affluent; they have what they need but none of them can give you a loan…I don’t care about that…my concern is that they be faithful to Jesus.

When God called our son to preach, I did not respond in the right way: but I apologized immediately. I acted like an idiot but God was giving me the desire of my heart and I didn’t have enough sense to realize what He was doing.

Food and clothing are essential: I don’t want to go naked or hungry but JESUS is bigger than both: what good is food if you have no LIFE and Jesus is the LIFE. He is my PEARL of invaluable price and HE is the last thing I would surrender and that would be hell to do. If you are my age, you are running out of time...DON’T SACRIFICE WHAT MATTER MOST FOR WHAT MATTERS LEAST.

Notice verse 33 again… Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. DON’T SACRIFICE THE KING-DOM FOR A THING-DOM.

We are to love Jesus with all our heart and soul and our neighbor as much as we love ourselves. WE LOVE PERSONS AND WE USE THINGS. Don’t get that backwards which is what the great majority of Americans and Baptist do. THEY LOVE MONEY AND USE PEOPLE.

Conclusion

Some 30 years ago, I meet a businessman from Hattisburg, Mississippi. His first name was Charles and I have forgotten his last name. He became a millionaire by manufacturing women’s purses. During the depression, a woman didn’t need a purse but when Americans began to prosper in the 60’s, women fell in love with purses. Most of them have a purse for every outfit. Charles capitalized on this trend and made a fortune. He also became the SS teacher for the Middle Adult Men’s class at First Baptist Hattisburg. Every year at CHRISTMAS, his class would help a family. One year the class decided it was time to set some guidelines because they have never heard one thank you from folks they had helped. Charles let the men set the guidelines. Someone suggested they help a family that was faithful in worship attendance and Sunday School. Somebody else suggest that they tithe: Charles said, “That was ten years ago and we still have the gift, we can’t find a family that meets our qualifications that needs the money.”

Matthew 6:33 AT WORK…You put Jesus first and He will take care of YOU!

Navigating The Storms

Psalm 25 New International Version (NIV)

Psalm 25

Of David.

¹ In you, Lord my God,
    I put my trust.

² I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame,
    nor let my enemies triumph over me.
³ No one who hopes in you will ever be put to shame,
but shame will come on those who are treacherous without cause.

⁴ Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths.
⁵ Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.
⁶ Remember, Lord, your great mercy and love, for they are from of old.
⁷ Do not remember the sins of my youth and my rebellious ways; according to your love remember me, for you, Lord, are good.

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
¹⁰ All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.
¹¹ For the sake of your name, Lord, forgive my iniquity, though it is great.

¹² Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
    He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
¹³ They will spend their days in prosperity,
    and their descendants will inherit the land.
¹⁴ The Lord confides in those who fear him;
    he makes his covenant known to them.
¹⁵ My eyes are ever on the Lord,
    for only he will release my feet from the snare.

¹⁶ Turn to me and be gracious to me,
    for I am lonely and afflicted.
¹⁷ Relieve the troubles of my heart
    and free me from my anguish.
¹⁸ Look on my affliction and my distress
    and take away all my sins.
¹⁹ See how numerous are my enemies
    and how fiercely they hate me!

²⁰ Guard my life and rescue me; do not let me be put to shame, for I take refuge in you.
²¹ May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in you. ²² Deliver Israel, O God, from all their troubles!

Introduction

We know this is a Psalm of David but no one is sure of the background. What was going on when David wrote this Psalm. No question, it was a time of great difficulty and probably related to the rebellion of one of his sons: my guess would be Absalom. We do know that it was a dark and dangerous time for David.

The metaphor of the sea voyage is often used to describe or convey the volatility of life: some days are great, the water is slick, the skies are blue and a gentle breeze fills the sails. We are at the helm and we go as we please but then the storm hits, the blue skies turn black, the slick glassy sea becomes a monster with waves that are higher than vessel we are sailing in and we are tossed to and fro by the merciless wind and waves. Being at the helm is pointless: it is apparent that we have no control over the situation. With this storm–comes all the emotions that David felt…

16…Turn to me and be gracious to me, for I am lonely and afflicted [depressed in mind and circumstances].
¹⁷ Relieve the troubles [tension, tightness] of my heart and free me from my anguish [narrowness].
¹⁸ Look on my affliction [poverty, misery] and my distress
    and take away all my sins.
¹⁹ See how numerous are my enemies
    and how fiercely they hate me!

Do you see what David is feeling here? Lonely, depressed, troubled, tense, anguish [in a bind], poor, miserable, guilty and afraid.

How can any human overcome such negative emotions? How can we weather such a storm?

I. FIRST: WE REALIZE OUR HUMAN LIMITATIONS

David understood clearly that he could not save himself. [1] David’s problem was bigger than he was and he acknowledged his need for greater wisdom and resources. David becomes very transparent, he has no guile or pretense, he needs help and he is not ashamed to confess it.

Have you heard of Bill Wilson and and Dr. Robert Smith…probably not but you may have heard of Bill W. and Dr. Bob. They are the co-founder’s of Alcoholic Anonymous. Bill was a stockbroker from New York and Bob was a surgeon in Akron, Ohio. Both were alcoholics who providentially meet in Akron at a hotel bar in 1935. Both had been sober for a while and were fighting the urge for a drink. Some how they recognized each others plight and decided to help each other and others like them. So they founded AA and have helps millions since.

Bill and Bob came up with TEN STEPS to recovery: would you like to guess what STEP ONE is? ADMIT I [YOU] NEED HELP!

Sometimes God allows problem to come into our lives that takes our hand off the rudder and puts our focus on HIM.

This brings us to the second point….

II. RECOGNIZE GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY

God is in control…we are not. God sees everything from beginning to end…He has infinite wisdom and knowledge…He knows what is going on and what He wants to accomplish.

So our prayer is found in verses 4-5….

Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.

We cannot see through the darkness: He can. We don’t know where we are going, He does.

David trusted God’s ability to guide and direct…

⁸ Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in his ways.
⁹ He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way.
¹⁰ All the ways of the Lord are loving and faithful toward those who keep the demands of his covenant.

There are two basic ways: Right and Wrong or His way and Our Way. His way is always better.

III. RELY ON GOD FOR EVERY NEED

How do we overcome these negative emotions: anguish, fear, guilt, depression, shame [over regrets of past sins, v.7,11]? The same God who gives us our daily bread also forgives our sins. We must learn as David did, to put our absolute TRUST IN GOD and our HOPE IN CHRIST ALONE.

Verse 1…In you, Lord my God, I put my trust.

Verse 2… I trust in you; do not let me be put to shame, nor let my enemies triumph over me.

Twice David affirms his hope…

Verse 5…Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.

Verse 21… May integrity and uprightness protect me, because my hope, Lord, is in You.

Conclusion

F.B. Meyer was a noted 19th century preacher and author…THE EXCHANGED LIFE…he was on a ship from Ireland to England and the night was dark. He happened to be on bridge and so he asks the Captain how he could navigate and get into the harbor safely due to the darkness. The Captain pointed to three distant lights: one to the left, one to the right and one in the middle. He explained that he would move in until the three became one and then straight ahead.

Psalm 22…Why?

Psalm 22

For the director of music. To the tune of “The Doe of the Morning.” A psalm of David.

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
    Why are you so far from saving me,
    so far from my cries of anguish?
² My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer,
    by night, but I find no rest.

³ Yet you are enthroned as the Holy One;
    you are the one Israel praises.
⁴ In you our ancestors put their trust;
    they trusted and you delivered them.
⁵ To you they cried out and were saved;
    in you they trusted and were not put to shame.

Introduction

We are preaching through the Psalms on Wednesday night and when I began my preparation for Psalm 22 I knew it would take me weeks to preach through this Psalm, then it dawned on me that this would make a good series for our COMMUNION services. Today we are going to look at the first five verses and deal primarily with the one phrase that Jesus uttered on the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

By way of introducing the Psalm itself: I do want to point out some fascinating things…things that Wiersbe says are inexplicable.

[1] This Psalm was written by David 1,000 years before Christ and it is a vivid description of a crucifixion. The intriguing thing here is that crucifixion as a form of execution had not been invented.

[2] David’s Psalm always relate to his personal life and experience but there is no experience in his life related to this Psalm: David was never God forsaken or given over to his enemies, so this Psalm is not about David at all.

[3] This Psalm in also not like David in the sense that there is no confession of sin.

[4] This Psalm is certainly not characteristic of David in the sense that there is no call for vindication. Some have called this Psalm, “The Gospel According To David.” David always prayed for vindication; he always invoked curses on his enemies.

By way of introducing today’s message and the phrase, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

[1] This is the fourth of Jesus seven recorded sayings while He was on the cross. [Some believe He may have quoted the entire Psalm]

[2] Jesus quoted this phrase during the three hour period of darkness.

[3] Jesus always began His prayers with FATHER and here it is “My God.”

[4] Jesus never questioned the presence of the Father nor complained on getting no answer to His prayers prior to the cross. In John 16:32, Jesus said, “A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me. “

Transition

Tim Hughes wrote a song in December 2001 entitled HERE I AM TO WORSHIP in which these words appear in the chorus…I’LL NEVER KNOW HOW MUCH IT COST TO SEE MY SIN UPON THE CROSS. Tim Hughes was right, you and I will never know what Jesus suffered in our behalf on the cross.

Two scriptures state clearly that Jesus literally became sin while He was on the cross.

Isaiah 53:4-5… Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on Him, and by his wounds we are healed.

2 Corinthians 5:21… God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Galatians 3:13… Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, because it is written, Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.

I John 2:2… He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

Technically, God does not forgive sin, He judges sin and His judgment on sin is DEATH. Jesus literally became our sin while on the cross and God literally put our sin to death. The CROSS is God’s judgment on SIN.

God is holy and when Jesus became sin, God withdrew fellowship and Jesus suffered hell [separation] while on the cross. This explains His prayer…“My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

If you look closely, you will see three questions…[1] Why have You forsaken me? [2] Why are You so far from saving me? [3] Why are You so far from heeding or hearing my groans?

Do you get upset when God doesn’t answer your prayers?Have you thought about the fact that He did not answer this particular prayer that Jesus prayed?

In order to save us, the Father could not save His only begotten because Jesus was the sacrifice to atone for our sins and if Jesus had not died for our sins, we would die in our sins and be separated eternally. Jesus suffered six hours of hell on the cross so that you and I would not have to spend an eternity in hell as a punishment for our sins. Jesus saved others by refusing to save Himself. He went to the cross voluntarily. They didn’t take His life, He laid it down.

He suffered hell in our behalf: the holy one was separated from the Father in our behalf and that is hell: it is the absence of God. When you have removed every vestige, every trace, every reminder of God, you have hell.

The LORD’s SUPPER is a memorial of His death. It is our constant reminder of what Jesus has done for us. He took our cross, our shame, our sin and our hell and bore it in His own body on the Tree. I cannot fathom such love. It is a river without a bottom: too deep to understand and too wide to comprehend.

Psalm 24

Of David. A psalm. NIV

¹ The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it,
    the world, and all who live in it;
² for He founded it on the seas
    and established it on the waters.

³ Who may ascend the mountain of the Lord?
    Who may stand in His holy place?
⁴ The one who has clean hands and a pure heart,
    who does not trust in an idol
    or swear by a false god.

⁵ They will receive blessing from the Lord
    and vindication from God their Savior.
⁶ Such is the generation of those who seek Him,
    who seek your face, God of Jacob.

⁷ Lift up your heads, you gates;
    be lifted up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
⁸ Who is this King of glory?
    The Lord strong and mighty,
    the Lord mighty in battle.
⁹ Lift up your heads, you gates;
    lift them up, you ancient doors,
    that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰ Who is he, this King of glory?
    The Lord Almighty—
    he is the King of glory.

Introduction

Warren W. Wiersbe sees a connection between Psalm 22-23-24: Jesus the SUFFERING SERVANT, Jesus the GOOD SHEPHERD and Jesus the KING OF GLORY.

Side Note: I do want to point out before we get into the message that Psalm 24:1 states clearly the PRINCIPLE OF DIVINE OWNERSHIP that we mentioned last Sunday. And I want you to know, it is not an isolated verse, there are others like it.

… Exodus 9:29–Moses replied, “When I have gone out of the city, I will spread out my hands in prayer to the LORD. The thunder will stop and there will be no more hail, so you may know that the earth is the LORD’s.

…Leviticus 25:23–‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine’ and you reside in my land as foreigners and strangers.

…Deuteronomy 10:14– To the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, the earth and everything in it.

…Psalm 89:11– The heavens are yours, and yours also the earth; you founded the world and all that is in it.

…Haggai 2:8– ‘The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the LORD Almighty.

…I Corinthians 10:26– “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

…I Chronicles 29:14–“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. “

…Psalm 50:9-12– I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.

The Theme of this Psalm is WORSHIP of the KING OF GLORY

I. THE POWER OF THE KING

Verses 1-2 speak of the Kings power…He is the earth’s founder. He is the creator of all that exist. We cannot fathom the power generated in a thunder storm or a hurricane, not to mention the power it takes to create a star or a universe.

II. THE PURITY AND PERFECTION OF THE KING

Who can approach HIM…Who can stand in His presence?

David’s answer– The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god.

The hands speak of action or behavior and the heart speaks of motive. Remember, the KING is perfect, He is holy and He sees hearts. Yes, He hears words but He also sees hearts. Sometimes our prayer are designed to impress others but we can never impress God–He sees the heart.

Not only is this a test of MOTIVE, but of LOYALTIES. If we have another god, He knows it. Can we stand before Him when we have bowed to the gods of this world? This question sent shock waves through my body–we cannot pretend LOYALTY when standing before God.

Elton True blood pointed out the difference between singular and plural is one, just one. The difference in my marriage is one: one girl friend would do it or in June’s case, one boy friend: I want to be her husband exclusively. Now whether she had one or a dozen, it would make no difference.

You may have only one god other than Yahweh but that is one too many because He is a jealous God. You can stand before Him in good conscience if you have another god.

Now if we have clean hands, pure heart and we are wholly devoted in our worship, we will receive a blessing [v.5-6].

III. THE PRAISE DUE THE KING

How would you prepare to meet a KING?

Verses 7-10 are a doxology…Praise to the King has He enters the gates. I know that the proclamation of the word is important but I am telling you PRAISE is the key to worship; I’m talking about Pure Praise, not lip service. All of you have heard of Handel’s Messiah and the famous Hallelujah Chorus. It was very popular in Europe in the 18th and 19th centuries and was often attended by Kings and Queens. George the II of England was the first to hear and he stood when they began the Hallelujah Chorus, thus it became a tradition to stand during the chorus but some thought it was ill fitting for kings and queens to stand so royal stayed seated during the chorus until Queen Victoria came to the throne. She was told to stay seated but she couldn’t, when it came to the climatic part of the chorus…KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS…she stood with her humble head bowed. This is the heart of worship, laying our crowns before Him.

Conclusion

The level of our living will never rise higher than our view of God. If you have a high and lofty view of God, you will do some high living but if you have a low or demeaning view of God, you will do some low living and worship will be out of the picture. You will never worship anyone you have a low view of.