Going To Church
Psalms 84
September 27, 2020
“Let’s Go To Church”
• It was a common phrase in our home growing up.
• It’s just something we did.
I know we didn’t make every service or every function, but missing certainly wasn’t the norm.
• I grew up on Sunday School, Big Church, Training Union, and Big Church again.
• Wednesday nights were RA’s and Mission Friends along with a meal.
• Summers were VBS and eventually youth trips.
• We attended every night of the Fall and Spring revivals.
• We came to every Lay Renewal that was scheduled.
As kids we didn’t always appreciate that commitment.
As a kid church was never designed to be flashy,
It was supposed to be reverent.
As a result, as kids, we didn’t like church all that much.
• We appreciated the occasional hand bell choir or Lord’s Supper
• To break up what seemed like pointless monotony
• But otherwise church was routine and boring.
And as my generation grew up we’ve seen a decline in church attendance.
I remember as a teenager talking to my 70ish year old pastor about the day when his church scheduled their first half-week revival as opposed to the week-long versions he was used to.
The church decided to stop the revival on Wednesday night because Thursday and Friday night football had routinely squashed late week attendance.
He told me how he went down to the church on Friday night, sat on the outside steps, and glared at everyone driving by to the football game.
We’ve seen it, that people quit wanting to go to church.
The reason of course is because we were in the flesh, not in the Spirit.
THE TRUE DRAW OF CHURCH
Was never supposed to be the gratification of the flesh,
But the satisfaction of a spiritual longing.
Non-believers aren’t supposed to have fun at church.
1 Corinthians 14:24-25 “But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all; the secrets of his heart are disclosed; and so he will fall on his face and worship God, declaring that God is certainly among you.”
But, we’ve all, in one way or another seen how
“Going to church” has been losing its priority.
• Many churches no longer even attempt Sunday night services.
• Those that do see a dramatic fall off in attendance.
• The Live Stream we’ve offered scares me to death because of scattered comments I hear from people who say, “I just decided to watch from home”
I haven’t been nearly as concerned about government restrictions
As I have about apathetic responses from Christians who are ok with it.
Andy Stanley has not only canceled services until January, but has repeatedly stated that going to church is not necessary or even commanded by Jesus.
I’ve read far too many posts that say things like:
• “The Church has left the building”
• “We don’t need a building to be the church”
It is a more spiritualized version of what I heard my dad’s cowboy friends say for years growing up,
“I don’t believe you have to go to church to worship God”
Now, to be certain, not everything I just talked about is bad.
• The church certainly is not a building, it is the people.
• You can and should worship God everywhere.
But what seems to be forgotten in a lot of these circles is this.
1. The draw of going to church should have nothing to do with the
flesh and everything to do with the Spirit.
2. While we can worship Christ anywhere, it is clear that the intent,
and therefore greatest fulfillment comes when we gather together.
And just so we’re clear, the reason for the decline in church attendance
Has nothing to do with the church’s inability to entertain
And everything to do with unregenerate hearts
That don’t love Christ or His church.
I bring that up to you here in the introduction
Because TONIGHT we study the ultimate “Go to Church” Psalm.
There’s really not another like it.
It is dedicated to “the Sons of Korah”,
Who were of course the temple singers.
But it seems to be written by a man
• Who is presently not a part of the corporate assembly,
• But who terribly wants to be,
• And even prays for the strength of God to grant it.
And the simple truth he reminds us of in this great Psalm is that
Genuine believers genuinely love going to church.
And if they don’t, theirs is something desperately wrong.
Now, I would not pretend to be as pure or holy as the Psalmist here,
But I do understand the desire to be a part of corporate worship.
And I’m betting you do too.
• I miss it when we don’t have it.
• I miss it when everyone doesn’t come (especially in this COVID time)
• I missed it when we had to cancel for two weeks last month.
I understand his longing to return to worship.
Tonight, we simply work our way through it
And see the heart of a man who loves corporate worship.
Depending upon the position of your heart,
• This Psalm may encourage you,
• It may convict you, I don’t know,
• But it’s a great plumb line to look at from the heart of God.
There are 3 things we see here about our Psalmist.
#1 HIS DESIRE (to attend corporate worship)
Psalms 84:1-4
Our Psalmist begins with a mouthful regarding the joys of worship.
“How lovely are Your dwelling places, O LORD of hosts! My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD; My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.”
Obviously we’re NOT talking about structural beauty here,
Even though the temple may have indeed been beautiful.
The Psalmist simply spoke of his desire to be where God dwells.
We understand what he means.
We are aware of what Solomon said when he built the temple.
1 Kings 8:27-29 “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain You, how much less this house which I have built! “Yet have regard to the prayer of Your servant and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which Your servant prays before You today; that Your eyes may be open toward this house night and day, toward the place of which You have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ to listen to the prayer which Your servant shall pray toward this place.”
We understand what the Psalmist means by “dwelling places”.
This is the place where God caused His name to dwell.
• This was the place where His glory had moved in to rest.
• This was the appointed place where worship and atonement would occur.
So in the Psalmist’s mind,
This was the greatest location in the world to commune with God.
AND COMMUNING WITH GOD WAS THE GOAL.
Psalms 73:28 “But as for me, the nearness of God is my good; I have made the Lord GOD my refuge, That I may tell of all Your works.”
Psalms 27:4 “One thing I have asked from the LORD, that I shall seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD And to meditate in His temple.”
Psalms 65:4 “How blessed is the one whom You choose and bring near to You To dwell in Your courts. We will be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, Your holy temple.”
Like David and Asaph,
The Psalmist here also desires to be as near to God as possible.
He says, “My soul longed and even yearned for the courts of the LORD”
• This wasn’t a desire for fleshly satisfaction.
• There was a longing and a craving in the soul that could only be satisfied here.
Of all the allurements and attractions the world could offer,
None could satisfy the inner most being like the presence of God.
His soul needed this.
His soul longed for worship.
But of course, who ever heard a soul?
Who ever saw a soul express anything?
That is why he says, “My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the living God.”
His body rises up to allow his soul to express itself.
We see this implied in Ephesians 5.
Ephesians 5:18-20 “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is dissipation, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody with your heart to the Lord; always giving thanks for all things in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God, even the Father;”
The filling of the Spirit was indicated by the outpouring of praise.
So it is with the Psalmist.
He simply has a desire to be where God is
And to allow his soul to be satisfied
With the one thing that truly satisfies it.
In fact, he longs for it so much that he has actually BECOME ENVIOUS.
(3-4) “The bird also has found a house, And the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, Even Your altars, O LORD of hosts, My King and my God. How blessed are those who dwell in Your house! They are ever praising You. Selah.”
• The Psalmist remembers the birds that live under the eve of the temple.
• He remembers how the swallow might come down and land upon God’s altar.
• He thinks of the temple servants and the custodians
• He thinks of the choir singers and priests who live on the grounds
Daily their job is be in the temple, and daily their language is praise,
And daily their soul is in full satisfaction.
Can you see that this man wants to be at the temple?
Derek Kidner pointed out a New Testament application.
He wrote, “The Christian equivalent is ‘love of the brethren’ who are individually and collectively God’s temple.”
(Kidner, Derek [Kidner Classic Commentaries; Psalms 73-150; IVP Academic; Downers Grove, IL; 1975] pg. 334)
What Kidner points out to us is that
• This Psalm takes on a whole new meaning when we realize that the Psalmist
didn’t long for a structure, but the fellowship of God’s dwelling.
• And since the dwelling of God is now the church, or even more accurately the
members of the church, the desire of the Psalmist is for the fellowship of
the saints.
Psalm 84 is not about a man wanting to climb a secluded mountain
So he can spend time alone in prayer,
It is the song of a man who wants to be near the temple of God,
Which today we know as the saints.
It is a hunger for corporate worship and fellowship.
A distinguishing mark of Christianity is love the brethren.
1 John 5:1 “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and whoever loves the Father loves the child born of Him.”
In fact, John had just said:
1 John 4:20-21 “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.”
Beyond that, John even made it clear that
Those who did not endure in the fellowship were not genuine believers.
1 John 2:19 “They went out from us, but they were not really of us; for if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.”
John understood that Biblical Christianity includes a love for the saints.
That is not just a love at a distance, but a love that meets together.
• It is a love where we encourage one another.
• It is a love where we challenge one another.
• In Matthew 18 it is a love where we discipline one another.
• It is a love where we provide for one another.
There is certainly a desire to assemble together.
In fact the Greek word for church is EKKLASIA
It actually means “the assembly”
And the reason we love the assembly of the saints
Is because we are no longer in the flesh,
But we are those who are born again, children of God, spirit filled,
And who desire the fellowship of other redeemed saints.
It’s NEVER been about fleshly satisfaction.
It is about fellowship with those who share our ambition.
2 Corinthians 5:9 “Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.”
• We love to hear the word of God.
• We love to sing the praises of God.
• We share a common view of sin and holiness.
The corporate gathering of the church is a tremendous place of rest.
OF ALL THE PLACES WE GO DURING THE WEEK,
None of them are as fulfilling and as rewarding and as peaceful
And as joyful and restful as the assembly of the saints.
And when we’re not here, we long for it.
It is a soul satisfying fellowship with God through His people.
That is why the Psalmist has such a strong desire to be here.
AND QUITE FRANKLY, TO THAT I MUST SAY,
If your desire is not to be a part of a fellowship with the saints, then not only are you living in sin (because we’re commanded to do it)
But there is also a something way off in your heart.
What do we learn about the body of Christ from Paul?
• None of us have all the spiritual gifts do we?
• None of us can claim to be all the parts of the body can we?
No, regarding gifts:
1 Corinthians 12:4-11 “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. There are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills.”
Paul would even say:
1 Corinthians 12:29-30 “All are not apostles, are they? All are not prophets, are they? All are not teachers, are they? All are not workers of miracles, are they? All do not have gifts of healings, do they? All do not speak with tongues, do they? All do not interpret, do they?”
What am I driving at?
• You may certainly be able to pray on your own, sing on your own, study the Scripture on your own.
• And you certainly have all of the Holy Spirit.
But the Holy Spirit
Has chosen to reveal Himself differently in each believer,
And so in a sense, if you want to enjoy the fullness of who He is,
Then you’re going to have to fellowship with other believers.
We also know that regarding the parts of the body, we are all different.
1 Corinthians 12:17-19 “If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were hearing, where would the sense of smell be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, just as He desired. If they were all one member, where would the body be?”
You need what they offer.
You are incomplete without the body.
So, a believer who has decided that they can “worship God on their own”
And that they don’t need the fellowship of the saints
Is either foolish, deceived, or downright disobedient, and is arrogant.
True Believers Desire Corporate Worship
This Psalmist does.
The desire he has for corporate worship
#2 HIS ENDURANCE (to even arrive at corporate worship)
Psalms 84:5-8
He says, “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You”
So, he’s moved from praising to God to talking about the strength of God.
Why?
Because if he’s going to ever make it to the corporate worship,
He’s going to need the strength that God provides.
“How blessed is the man whose strength is in You, In whose heart are the highways to Zion!”
That is to say, he dreams of making the trip,
But he knows he’ll need God’s strength to do it.
I just wonder how many times in your life you’ve had to ask God for the physical strength to allow you to be able to attend worship?
• I know some of you have.
• I’ve seen many with physical ailments who sit in pain just to be here.
• Many however see any infirmity or sniffle at all to be justifiable reason.
Could you imagine?
• Wanting to go to church so badly,
• But realizing that the trip is physically beyond you,
• And so the only way you can do it is if God gives you the strength?
THIS PSALMIST IS PRAYING FOR THE PHYSICAL STRENGTH
TO BE ABLE TO COME.
WHY?
(6) “Passing through the valley of Baca they make it a spring;”
“Baca” has a sort of concealed interpretation.
It likely either means “weeping” or “thirsty”
Either way, it speaks of a hard journey.
In fact, to get water, they have to dig their own springs.
“they make it a spring”
Now certainly, God in His providence,
Has been known to help them.
“The early rain also covers it with blessings.”
And hence you see why he’s praying.
• He’s going to have to pass through a difficult valley, with no water,
• And he either needs the strength to dig a well
• Or he needs God to send a rain and give him a puddle.
It’s a hard journey and he needs God’s strength to get there.
And he describes the journey like this:
(7) “They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion.”
“strength” is another interesting word.
• The Hebrew language has no vowels.
• Every word is just a series of consonants and vowels are added by interpreters.
The interesting thing is that the consonants for “strength” are the exact same as the consonants for “ramparts” which is a fortified wall.
And it may be that the Psalmist is speaking of
The great struggle of passing over wall after wall
Or hurdle after hurdle to get here.
• It’s not an easy journey.
• It’s a difficult trip through a barren valley and over many walls.
• It is not for the faint of heart, and so he needs God’s strength.
See his prayer?
(8) “O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; Give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah”
That is him begging God for the strength
To be able to go to corporate worship.
Those of you who went to Malawi
Are likely already thinking about our Malawian brothers and sisters.
On Sunday and Monday we had days packed with worship services and preaching.
They were going on in two different locations and we would switch locations at noon.
We were told that Pastor Felix’s congregation from Mozambique would not be there on Monday because in order to come for Sunday they had had to borrow bicycles.
This was so that they could make the 80 mile ride over a mountain to get to church, but they had to return the bicycles and so they would have to leave Monday morning.
And then surprised to see that they loved the services so much that after sleeping on a concrete patio all night, they had decided to stay until lunch and risk getting home after dark.
And then, even further, we see Pastor Felix show up at the afternoon service to hear a sermon he’d already heard once one more time.
Do you think they prayed about the journey?
• God, provide bicycles so we can go…
• God, give our leg’s strength to make it…
• God, keep us safe as we travel at night…
• God, watch over my flock as they leave without me…
Do you understand what these people went through
Just to be able come to corporate worship?
And their story isn’t even strange in Malawi.
What about the UNDERGROUND CHURCH that meets under threat of punishment?
We often read:
Hebrews 10:24-25 “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”
That’s an easy passage for us to read because
• Most of us drive cars to church,
• When we get here we sit on padded pews
• With air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter.
Hebrews was written around AD 64.
Incidentally, it was AD 64 when Rome burned and Nero blamed it on Christians
And started feeding them to the lions.
Do you understand why some of them had gotten in the habit of skipping the assembly?
And still the writer of Hebrews called them back.
CONSIDER THE EARLY CHURCH.
• All of these Jews show up at Pentecost.
• 5,000 of them are saved.
• There is only 1 church in the entire world.
• The apostles and their preaching is in 1 location.
• If you want to hear the teaching of Jesus, you have to be in Jerusalem.
But people didn’t bring enough money to stay.
Where would all these travelers lodge?
What would all these travelers eat?
The cost and inconvenience of corporate worship would be high.
The cost of the assembly would be steep.
What do we read?
Acts 2:43-47 “Everyone kept feeling a sense of awe; and many wonders and signs were taking place through the apostles. And all those who had believed were together and had all things in common; and they began selling their property and possessions and were sharing them with all, as anyone might have need. Day by day continuing with one mind in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they were taking their meals together with gladness and sincerity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord was adding to their number day by day those who were being saved.”
• They didn’t have a building so they commandeered the temple.
• They didn’t have a fellowship hall so they met from house to house.
• They didn’t have a bank account so they started selling property.
Acts 4:32-35 “And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all. For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need.”
How important was corporate worship to them?
Notice not a single citizen of Jerusalem, when asked to sell property, or feed the multitude said, “Why don’t you send them home, after all, you can worship God anywhere.”
There was priority here, even though it was hard.
They endured obstacles to have worship.
That is what the Psalmist prayed for.
I want to be a part of corporate worship, but I need strength just to get there.
That’s loving the assembly isn’t it?
The desire he has for corporate worship
The endurance he shows to attend corporate worship
#3 HIS SATISFACTION (from participating in corporate worship)
Psalms 84:9-12
Now he has arrived.
• He has entered the temple.
• He has made it to worship.
And it also begins with a prayer.
“Behold our shield, O God, And look upon the face of Your anointed.”
In other words,
“I’m here to fellowship with You, please fellowship with me.”
• It’s not a desire for entertainment.
• He doesn’t come in wanting to know if there’s coffee of pizza.
• He just wants fellowship with God.
That’s the attraction church.
(10) “For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
The implications here are rich.
He traveled all this way, through all this hardship, because he longed for worship.
How long is it implied that he gets to stay?
• “a day”
• He says “a day in Your courts”
You rode a borrowed bicycle 80 miles over a mountain
To spend “a day” in church?
Yep.
And if that’s not enough, when he got there all the SEATS WERE TAKEN.
“I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
So you didn’t even get a seat?
Those who went to Malawi are thinking about those ladies who rode from Mozambique who couldn’t even squeeze in the room,
But had to set outside and listen through the window.
That’s what the Psalmist indicates.
All I could do was stand at the threshold and listen.
And don’t you love it,
It was better than anything I could have gotten from this world.
And we live in a day when people skip church for anything.
• I’m tired,
• I went to Lubbock,
• I went fishing,
• I was playing golf,
• The superbowl was on
I don’t talk a lot about attendance.
It’s always felt a little self-serving and maybe even legalistic to harp on it.
But honestly, what runs through my mind
When people aren’t interested in meeting with God’s people
Every chance they get is,
“What’s wrong with you?”
Do you really find more satisfaction, fulfillment, and joy in the tents of Baal than you do in the household of God?
Is a television program or sporting event or anything this world offers really as much a satisfaction to your soul as fellowshipping with the saints?
I can tell you it’s not for this Psalmist.
(11-12) “For the LORD God is a sun and shield; The LORD gives grace and glory; No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in You!”
“a sun and shield” – that is all that is positive and all that is protective.
• Heat
• Life
• Protection
“The LORD gives grace and glory”
Where else can you get those things?
• Do you know any other market for grace?
• Do you know any other market for glory?
“No good thing does He withhold from those who walk uprightly.”
• Is there any other worldly entertainment that can promise you every good thing?
• When did God ever cheat you out of something good?
It is amazing to me how little corporate worship
Seems to mean to the children of God.
The Psalmist says that corporate worship for the redeemed is a blessing.
In fact, he said it THREE TIMES in the Psalm.
(4) “How blessed are those who dwell in Your house!”
(5) “How blessed is the man whose strength is in You.”
(12) “How blessed is the man who trusts in You.”
Where else do you get that?
• This Psalmist didn’t need entertainment.
• This Psalmist didn’t need comfort.
• This Psalmist didn’t need a seat.
All he needed was to be in God’s house with God’s people
And it was the full satisfaction of his soul.
• To be where all the spiritual gifts are manifest among the congregation.
• To be where all the parts of the body of Christ can come together.
• To be where in one accord the entire room is in agreement that Christ deserves glory.
• To be where Christ’s word is proclaimed, and loved, and seized, and praised.
• To be where passions align
• To be where eternal hope is common
• To be where sin is not acceptable
• To be where holiness is the goal
Where else in the world can you be and enjoy that?
And if it’s available to me for 7 or 8 hours a week,
Then I want to be a part of every one of them.
Because nothing this world offers
Can compare with the corporate worship
And fellowship of the saints.
• We desire it when we aren’t there.
• We endure hardship to be there.
• Because we are satisfied in the soul when we are.
“For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather stand at the threshold of the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.”
