(Ps 24) The King of Glory is Present.

Psalms  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  28:30
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What would it be like to live in a world where you didn’t have God’s presence with you?
When we talk about the presence of God we have to explain what aspect of his presence that we are talking about.
For God is all-present, called omnipresence.
For our children today -
That means God is everywhere.
On the other hand, we often can talk about God being with me.
The presence of God in a special and particular way.
The special in particular presence of God can be found in many places.
We read about the burning bush,
and later we will read about Mount Sinai.
God is said to be with his people,
and God is certainly on his throne.
God is everywhere, but there are places where God especially reveals himself.
We simply call this the presence of God.
For our children -
that means God is right here with me.
This morning we are talking about is Psalm that rejoices because God in there with them.
Psalm 24 ESV
A Psalm of David. 1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. 3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah 7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O 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, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah
From our Bibles,

We ought to rejoice in the presence of God.

Kids,
That means we ought to have joy that God is with us.
This morning we will examine three questions that will help us understand why we should rejoice presence of God.
Who are they rejoicing at?
Why are they rejoicing at him?
And how should we rejoice at the presence of God?
Let’s begin with –

1) Who are they rejoicing at?

This entire Psalm is built around rejoicing at the presence of a particular person.
We could say this hastily, that they are rejoicing at the presence of God.
But in the world of idolatry - the question must be asked.
Which God? And how big is he?
Our Psalm describes the God they are rejoicing at.
So,
who are they rejoicing at?
God is -
a) The creator. (Psalm 24:1-2)
b) God is king, ruler of Heaven and Earth. (Psalm 24:7-8)
c) God is glorious. King of Glory. (Psalm 24:7-8)
d) God is a mighty warrior. (Psalm 24:8)
They are rejoicing that -
a) He is the creator. (Psalm 24:1-2)
Psalm 24:1–2 ESV
1 The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.
The psalmist opens up this Psalm with the reminder that the God who entering their gates
- is the creator of heaven and earth.
The words themselves are powerful statement about who God is,
But when you imagine that this is who is entering the gates … The whole rest of the Psalm comes alive.
The scholar from the 1800s, Alfred Edersheim, described this Psalm as being used on the first day of the week in the temple.
The God they are rejoicing in is the creator of heaven and earth.
Further,
b) God is king, ruler of Heaven and Earth. (Psalm 24:7-8)
Psalm 24:7–8 ESV
7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O 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!
Psalm 24:7 – 8 pronounces God as king entering their gates.
The emphasis here is that he is a king with unmatched sovereignty.
And in context of v. 1-2- the Ruler of Heaven and Earth.
Children,
- That means God is the strongest king.
- God is a king of all the world.
ILLUSTRATION:
Children,
Put your muscles up for a second.
Show them off.
This means that God is the strongest person in all the world.
There is no one stronger then God.
>> You can put those big muscles down now.
God is the greatest kingdom there is, this Psalm tells us -
c) God is glorious. King of Glory. (Psalm 24:7-8)
What kind of king is our God?
The psalmist describes God being so powerful as king,
That he is called the King of glory.
He saying that our God is an awesome God.
Everything our God did is awesome.
Whether it’s the creation of heaven and earth,
or how he delivers Israel and battle.
It all awesome.
The Psalmist also teaches us -
d) God is a mighty warrior. (Psalm 24:8)
Sometimes I think we consider God,
who has a powerful voice.
ILLUSTRATION:
When you look at the famous paintings of Rome,
they almost always depict God lounging around.
If you look at Michael Angelo’s painting in the Sistine Chapel.
It depicts God lounging, while reaching his hand out to Adam.
But this Psalm describes God as the King of glory, whose actively winning the battle on heaven and earth.
As some put it, God is a warrior king.
That is not a slack God’s lounging around, but a mighty warrior fighting the battles of God’s people.
So, Who are they rejoicing in?
God who is -
a) The creator. (Psalm 24:1-2)
b) God is king, ruler of Heaven and Earth. (Psalm 24:7-8)
c) God is glorious. King of Glory. (Psalm 24:7-8)
d) God is a mighty warrior. (Psalm 24:8)
That is who they are rejoicing in.
Now, Lets consider our second question.

2) Why are they rejoicing?

Consider this chant in our Psalm.
Our passage calls us to lift our heads to the King of Glory coming in.
This history of this Psalm is unclear,
but we do know that it became a chant as people entered the temple.
Children,
- this is the part of the Psalm I want you to draw on your papers.
- and show it to me as you leave.
Psalm 24:7–10 ESV
7 Lift up your heads, O gates! And be lifted up, O 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, O gates! And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Selah
Why is our Psalmist rejoicing?
Why is he calling us to lift up our heads?
Because the king of glory is coming.
They are rejoicing at the presence of God in their city.
There is a long theme of the blessings that come from God’s presence.
Exodus 3:11–12 ESV
11 But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” 12 He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.”
Deuteronomy 31:6 ESV
6 Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.”
John 14:6 ESV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Matthew 28:19–20 ESV
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
To have the presence of God - Is to have his:
His protection
His Blessing
And a personal relationship.
Psalm 24:5 ESV
5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
To have the presence of God
- is to know that no matter what struggle I face,
God is with them.
You can imagine the kind of joy there is, when the -
a) The creator. (Psalm 24:1-2)
b) The king and ruler of Heaven and Earth. (Psalm 24:7-8)
c) Who is glorious. King of Glory. (Psalm 24:7-8)
d) And a mighty warrior. (Psalm 24:8)
Enters your city to dwell.
It would be a site worth stopping whatever you’re doing, and looking up to see the King of glory enter.
ILLUSTRATION:
Kids,
How many of you think it would be awesome to go to Disneyland.
Some of us were able to go to Disneyland as kids.
And even years later – we can remember going seeing Mickey, Donald, and goofy.
If you were able to see the king of glory coming to your city -
it would be something you would remember for the rest of your life.
The Old Testament is filled with struggles and trials.
Ruth described a famine.
Judges and 1/2 Kings described armies raiding Israel.
The Northern kingdom of Israel was exiled to Assyria.
The Southern kingdom of Israel was exiled to Babylon.
Ancient cities faced a constant battle between famine and attack.
But if the King of glory is in your city,
then everything else changes.
So,
Why are they rejoicing?
Because the King of glory was entering their city.
Our Final question today.

3) How should we rejoice at the presence of God in our lives?

The Psalm not only is a chant for the presence of God.
But it models to us how we should live in light of the presence of God.
Ps 24:7-10 - is a joyful praise for God - as he enters their city.
The call to lift up your heads,
and so opened the doors,
communicates the excitement they have for the King of glory.
In order to write Psalm 24:7 – 10 … They had to have -
a) An Awe of God.
They had to consider that God is awesome and worthy of praise.
ILLUSTRATION:
I have always been interested in fighter jets.
We went to one in Duluth, MN when our kids were real young.
- 5 or 6 years old.
And I can remember Matthew,
- being terrified as they buzzed by.
- But then after they pass getting up and saying how awesome they are.
This is how we should be when realize - the King of Glory, God is with us.
His very presence is right here with me.
They were so full of joy and excitement,
that they couldn’t help called others to see the king of Glory.
The presence of God should lead us to be in awe of his presence.
There awe and joy of God’s presence, husband to naturally have -
b) Exuberant witness.
They are calling out to their neighbors to lift up their eyes and see the King of Glory.
They are shouting to the gatekeepers to open the gates.
There are many tools that we can have for witnessing to others.
There are Biblical strategies that can be found in God’s word.
But at the end of the day,
one of the reasons some people are exceptional witnesses for Christ
- is because they are overflowing with excitement and joy the what Christ has done in their lives.
They are excited about the presence of God in there life.
And it is natural, and it is contagious.
The presence of God should lead us to be exuberant witnesses.
Finally, the presence of God will lead them to live-
c) Lives dedicated to obedience and honor of the King.
The psalmist asked the question - who can climb the hill God.
Psalm 24:3–6 ESV
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 4 He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. 5 He will receive blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. 6 Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob. Selah
To briefly summarize this section -
the presence of God in their lives lead them to live lives dedicated to obedience and honor the king.
The Psalm describes them as having -
Clean and pure hearts.
and being Truth tellers.
We should we rejoice in the presence of God by having -
a) an awe of God.
b) an exuberant witness.
c) and Lives dedicated to obedience and honor of the King.
Let me say this to the Children,
- The presence of God should lead us believe God is awesome,
- And it should make us want to follow Jesus with our lives.
CONCLUSION:
I wanted to share this passage for two reasons today.
>>It is been a long time since we have been able to gather together, and I wanted us to remember how mighty our God is.
We worship the King of Glory.
The strongest king out there.
I think one of the things we can naturally forget when we aren’t able to be in church, under God’s Word, and with each other - is Just how big our God is.
>> Secondly, I wanted to remind us just how blessed we are in Christ.
What we are facing right now may be unprecedented in modern history,
but it is the kind of struggle believers endured for centuries.
The Old Testament speaks of famines, diseases like leprosy, poverty, Exile, slavery, and war.
There lives were in constant threat.
The struggles of life often made it impossible to get to the temple, and truly worship the Lord.
Sometimes they were cut off from the city that had the presence of God.
Diseases many times barred them from entering the Temple.
But a NT Christian we do not need a Temple to worship.
Nor does a NT Christian ever have to depart the presence of God.
1 Corinthians 6:19 ESV
19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,
The Believer is the Temple.
And the Believer always has the presence of God with them.
No matter what trial,
whether we can meet or not,
we can live knowing that the blessing of God’s presence and temple is always available to us.
We are all glad to finally meet.
And I know many of us would say that worshiping at home is not the same.
And I would agree.
- God designed the Christian life around a church.
- We gain something by not be lone-ranger Christians.
But I am saying,
that even God allows things into our life where we can’t gather
- we can still be confident that God is with us.
Let’s consider the call to worship the presence of the King of Glory.
May we rejoice in the eternal presence of God in our lives.
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