The pure heart that dwells in the temple
Notes
Transcript
Scripture reading: Psalm 27:1-6
1 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? 2 When evildoers assail me to eat up my flesh, my adversaries and foes, it is they who stumble and fall. 3 Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war arise against me, yet I will be confident.
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.
5 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. 6 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.
Introduction
Come with me for a moment to the 31st of December, 2026.
We might be able to say many things about this year.
You might say, “2026 was the year I started poly”
“2026 was the year I got baptized, I got married, I got a house.”
There are many things we might say about this year, and I believe the Lord has prepared many blessings for us like this.
But I hope that at the end of this year, we can all say that 2026 was the year that we dwelled in the house of the Lord, and gazed upon His beauty. Amen?
This comes from David’s words in Psalm 27, where he declares in verse 4, there’s only one thing he wants. He says, “I want to dwell and abide in the house of the Lord, not just today, but all the days of my life. I want to gaze upon His beauty, and commune with Him in prayer.”
That was his resolution. And as we come to the Word, I pray we will take this as our resolution also.
Context of Psalm 27
Context of Psalm 27
Psalm 27 is a psalm of confidence. He talks about the enemies who seek to take him down. Do you have such enemies? You have at least one. The devil, who prowls about like a lion, and he has his own new year’s resolution. His resolution is to take you down. To shake up your faith.
But with David, let us declare that no matter what trials may come, God will carry us through this year.
Do you think Psalm 27 was written in a time of peace? With green pastures and quiet waters? This is a psalm of the battlefield. When Jehoshaphat sent the choir into battle ahead of the army, it wouldn’t be a surpise if they sang this psalm.
This psalm could have been written at any time in David’s life. Because his life was full of trouble. He had enemies all around, whether it was the Philistines, King Saul, or even his own son Absalom.
See in verse 5, it says “He will hide me in His shelter in the day of trouble.” It doesn’t say He will hide me from the day of trouble, but in it. So the day of trouble will come. Every year they come. And this year won’t be an exception.
But when it arrives, we must have Psalm 27 at hand.
In the day of darkness, say “The Lord is my light.”
In the day of doubt, say “The Lord is my salvation.”
In the day of anxiety, say “The Lord is the stronghold of my life. Of whom shall I be afraid?”
Christ traded away His own life to make these words ours. So let us declare these words many times throughout the year, and overcome every trial by faith. Amen?
A pure heart desires one thing
A pure heart desires one thing
Now, let’s zoom in on David’s resolution in verse 4. And here we’re going to see what makes for a pure heart.
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.
How many things does he want? Only one thing. To be with the Lord in the house of the Lord. That’s what makes a heart pure.
We call something pure when it isn’t mixed with anything else. It’s only one thing.
Some of your shirts are pure cotton, meaning it’s 100% of cotton and 0% of anything else.
Likewise, for a heart to be pure, it has to have only one driving factor. One governing desire. One love. And it moves only in one direction.
Let us ask ourselves tonight, “Is my heart pure? Or am I being pulled in different directions?”
The Bible often talks about men who serve two masters. God and money. God and comfort. God and myself. Judas Iscariot followed Jesus on the outside, but on the inside, he stole from the money box.
Is that me? Do I follow Jesus because I love Him and something else?
If we live in such a way, it’s like trying to climb two ladders at once. You can only go so high. And in the end you’ll have to let go of one. James talks about this.
8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
See this. Unless our hearts are pure, we cannot draw near to God. Why? Think of it this way.
A religious person is someone who finds God useful. They’ve got their eyes on something they want, and they come to God in order to get it. So they come to church a lot but they never dwell. And they look to the cross a lot but they never gaze. And they pray a lot but they never enjoy it.
On the other hand, a true Christian finds God beautiful. And when they come to God, their eyes are on God. And when they pray, they ask God for things, but they also enjoy the time spent in communion with Him.
So how do we purify our hearts? Is it only about removing distractions?
You recall Jesus talking about a man who saw a treasure in the field, and he sold everything he had, and purchased it. Why? Because he saw the value and worthiness of that treasure. So the point isn’t to sell all that you have. Many religions just stop there. Stop desiring for worldly things. Stop indulging in worldly pleasures, full stop.
Jesus says the point is to obtain the treasure. To take pleasure in the beauty of God, and to press on to make Him yours.
8 Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ
That’s how we ascend the hill of the Lord. Not by our own strength, but because His beauty compels us to climb and bow and kneel and sing.
3 Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? 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.
I pray that this year, we will purify our hearts and ascend the hill of the Lord. Amen?
What happens when we purify our hearts?
What happens when we purify our hearts?
Now, there are two things that happen when we purify our hearts.
First, we will be hidden in the day of trouble.
Second, our heads will be lifted above our enemies.
We will be hidden in the day of trouble
We will be hidden in the day of trouble
5 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.
What does it mean for us to be hidden in the day of trouble? It means that we become difficult targets for the enemy. The enemy will come, and he will find no openings. No opportunities to attack.
See, people go to church for all kinds of reasons. They go to worship God, but they also go to meet their friends, or to find a spouse, or to be recognized by others. There are all kinds of reasons and motivations. And any reason apart from God is a weakness that the enemy will exploit.
If someone goes to church so that God will bless them and make life more comfortable, then what will the enemy do? Make life uncomfortable.
Or if someone goes to church to meet their friends, what will the enemy do? Give them more friends. Make them more distracted from God. Or even take away the friends.
But if our sole focus is to worship God and to receive His Word, then the enemy cannot attack us. Because there’s nothing to attack.
A pastor put it this way. In the midst of your trouble, all the important parts of you will be safe.
We see this in the New Testament.
When Jesus came to visit Martha and Mary, do you remember what happened? Martha is so preoccupied with all the preparations of food and setting the table, and there’s Mary, sitting at the Lord’s feet, listening to His teaching. And Martha loses her peace. So she goes and complains to Jesus. And what does Jesus say?
41 But the Lord answered her, “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”
Only one thing is necessary, and Mary has chosen it, and it will not be taken away from her. It’s the same one thing that David wants. And the question we need to ask ourselves is, “Do I want this same one thing for this year? Or do I want many other things?”
I’ve been in Zion church since 2007, and I’ve seen many people come and go. And I’ll tell you this. The ones who stayed are the ones who truly fell in love with the Word. And they remind me of Peter’s confession in John 6:68.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life,
I pray that this will be our confession today. And in the day of trouble, we will be safe from the enemy, and we will be steadfast in faith until the end. Amen?
Our heads will be lifted above our enemies
Our heads will be lifted above our enemies
Second, if we purify our hearts, our heads will be lifted above our enemies.
6 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.
David’s talking about having victory over his enemies. When is it? It says, “And now my head shall be lifted up.” It is now.
So when we make the firm resolution to worship God alone, and when we place all our confidence in the promises of God, that is the moment of victory. That is the moment our heads are lifted above the enemy, and we will sacrifice unto the Lord with praises and shouts of joy. That’s the true victory. Why? Because that’s what the enemy wants to stop our worship. He wants to silence our praises. That’s his new year resolution. But he will fail, and faith will succeed. Amen?
I’d now like to conclude.
Conclusion: The pure heart abides in Christ
Conclusion: The pure heart abides in Christ
The one thing that David desired was to dwell in the house of the Lord.
Back in the Old Testament, that meant the temple or tabernacle. But in the New Testament, Jesus came as the true temple (John 2:19-21).
So David’s desire to dwell in the temple now takes on a new meaning. It is now the desire to dwell in Christ. To abide in Him.
And how do we do that? It is through His Word.
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
This isn’t talking about reading three chapters a day just to get it over with. Or to sit impatiently through a sermon.
When we come to God’s Word, we must come with a deep yearning to know more about Christ. And at the end of your bible reading, or at the end of a worship service, you pray in response to the Word you’ve received. And you go and live it out, and you witness the victory of faith. That’s abiding in Christ’s Word. When we live out His Word, we make Him our dwelling place. See what Jesus said in Matthew 7.
24 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
So if we obey His Word, we build our house on the rock. In other words, the rock becomes our dwelling place. What is the rock? It is the hill of the Lord, it is the dwelling place of God, it is Jesus Christ, the true temple.
So this year, let us purify our hearts, ascend the hill of the Lord, and make that hill our dwelling place. And when the day of trouble comes, let us stand firm in the Word of God, and lift our head high. And I pray that 2026 will be a year full of obedience sacrifices and joyful praises. Amen?
