Pursuing One Thing

Psalm 27:1-14 “The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident. One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple. For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will lift me high upon a rock. And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord. Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud; be gracious to me and answer me! You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.” “Hide not your face from me. Turn not your servant away in anger, O you who have been my help. Cast me not off; forsake me not, O God of my salvation! For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in. Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”

Parallelism in the Psalm

A. B. A. B. break C.D.C.D

Chiasm The Psalm is structured in such a way where central summary point is found in the middle

Psalm 27:8 “You have said, “Seek my face.” My heart says to you, “Your face, Lord, do I seek.””

verses 12-14 mirror verses 1-3

The Central portion of the text is verses 4-11

Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”

It is desire for the beauty of God that distinguished David’s life

This and confidence in mercy which go hand in hand

We behold the beauty of God in

Creation

The Gospel

Redemption

Regeneration

The Person of Jesus

The Work of the Spirit

To sanctify our desires (Puritans)

One Thing Life Focus

What Mary and the Seraphim had in common

We’re living in an hour where powerless churches and powerless ministry presenting Jesus as an obligation or an addition to our lives.

The great need of the dead church, the compromising church, the lukewarm church, or the church that has left her fist love … the great need of the modern church in the west is for the Spirit to touch our hearts with grace that makes Jesus become more than our obligation but our magnificent obsession!

We can’t teach this, disciple this, or program this into being

We need to get gripped by the Word

“While my hands are occupied, my heart is preoccupied with God.”

Paul’s One Thing

Phil 3:13-14 “... But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Messengers of Beauty

Part of God’s answer to the coming storm at the end of the age is to raise up messengers of beauty

Isa 60:1-3 “Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord has risen upon you. For behold, darkness shall cover the earth, and thick darkness the peoples; but the Lord will arise upon you, and his glory will be seen upon you. And nations shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your rising.”

Isa 4:2 “In that day the branch of the Lord shall be beautiful and glorious, and the fruit of the land shall be the pride and honor of the survivors of Israel.”

Isa 33:17 “Your eyes will behold the king in his beauty; they will see a land that stretches afar.”