Sermon Manuscript112606
Sermon Worksheet & Manuscript
Robert L. Hutcherson, Jr.
Quinn Chapel A.M.E. Church
Sermon Preparation/Delivery
Psalm 132
“Jesus, Be The Center”
The Rev. Karla J. Cooper, Pastor
November 26, 2006
Sermon Worksheet & Manuscript
AUTHOR
1. Who wrote (or is credited with writing) the text?
2. From what perspective does the author write?
TEXT
"And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified." (Hebrews 10:11-14 KJV)
"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; And having an high priest over the house of God; Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:" (Hebrews 10:19-24 KJV)
BODY
All of us desire to have lives of spiritual significance that count for God
and that have authenticity, integrity, and faithfulness. All of us hunger for that kind of significance if we have a relationship with the Lord Jesus. We all want to know that we are in the spiritual mainstream of life and not just drifting in some selfish backwater, wrapped up in ourselves. We want to know that God will give us adventure, influence, purpose, and challenge. Our first question is, "I want to know what God's will is for me." I think what we really want is the
answer to the question, "What makes a life significant?"
That is a burning question for many people, not just college students. Men who find themselves faced with the mid-life crisis wonder if their lives have been significant." As a result, some are changing jobs or even spouses in an effort to find greater significance. The elderly, finding themselves becoming less active and less influential, question their lives and their self-worth. Young mothers who are confined to home with small children ask, "Am I missing out on life? Is my life
significant?"
All of us hunger for significance. We want to be part of the mainstream of life, to live lives that count. Today we will look at Psalm 132, which was written for pilgrims who longed to live significant lives. This psalm declares the good news that as pilgrims who are journeying to their heavenly city, Christians have the privilege of being part of the most significant work in the universe. Psalm 132 was written for pilgrims who longed for significance in life. This Song of Ascents proclaims good news: As pilgrims who are journeying toward the heavenly Zion, the city of God; who are following the upward call of God in Christ Jesus; we have the privilege of being part of the most significant activity in the universe. Psalm 132 is a royal psalm; it is a prayer for God's blessing and activity in the life of the king and his people, Israel. Psalm 132 was written by Solomon at the dedication of the temple. The king regarded this event as one of the greatest moments in Israel's history, the climax of four centuries of the journeying of the Ark of the Covenant through the wilderness to its final resting place in the Holy of Holies in the temple. Now that the temple was complete, God would descend and fill it, and from Zion establish His rule over all nations. He regarded the dedication of the temple and the placement of the ark of the covenant in the most holy place in that temple as one of the greatest moments in the history of the nation Israel. For the ark it was the climax of a journey that had begun in the wilderness at Mount Sinai four hundred years earlier. Solomon remembers his father King David, who had successfully searched for the ark and found it in disrepair and neglect, and had brought it to Jerusalem for placement in the tabernacle. Solomon desires in this prayer that he
experience the same kind of effectiveness that his father enjoyed. This psalm is a prayer for God's presence and power, for a joyful lifestyle of significant ministry, and for God to continue to bless and save in the life of the king. Solomon prays that he would live a life worthy of his calling, and we can pray that with him. Seeing himself as privileged to be part of the very significant flow of Biblical history, Solomon stops to pray that as king he would live a life worthy of the task set before him.
The psalm divides into three sections. First, Solomon looks back and recalls the history of David that led up to this point; then he prays; and then he looks far into the future, to eternity itself, to seethe significance of his work as king. The remembrance of things past; verses 1-7:
Remember, O Lord, on David's behalf, All his affliction;
How he swore to the Lord,
And vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,
"Surely I will not enter my house,
Nor lie on my bed;
I will not give sleep to my eyes,
Or slumber to my eyelids;
Until I find a place for the Lord,
A dwelling place for the Mighty One of Jacob."
Behold, we heard of it in Ephrathah;
We found it in the field of Jaar.
Let us go into His dwelling place;
Let us worship at His footstool.
The first five verses give us the character of King David, Solomon's father. David's character cannot be described in words better than those used by the Scriptures to describe him: "The servant of Yahweh." That is the highest accolade given anyone in the Old Testament. Unlike his predecessor, Saul, who reigned just so he could satisfy his own desires, David had one passion to serve the purposes of God and to use his own kingship to that end. From the moment he became king, David's abiding concern was to bring the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem. That pictures for us that it was David's desire to take the throne of God (that is what the Ark symbolized), to the center of the people. He would not rest until the Lord was at the center of the nation's life.
During Saul's reign, that Ark of the Covenant was captured by the Philistines and left in a field, where it remained for 20 years. "We did not seek it in the days of Saul," David said. (I Chron. 13:3)The Ark lay neglected. Getting it to Jerusalem became such a top priority to him that David afflicted himself by putting himself under an oath to do so: "I will not enter my house nor lie on my bed"- until
the Ark of the Covenant was housed in Jerusalem (verse 3). Nothing would come before that task. And he would undertake it with all speed: "I will not give sleep to my eyes, or slumber to my eyelids" (verse 4). David would not be distracted by other tasks. He was so consumed with zeal for the house of the Lord that he took off his royal kingly garments and put on the humble clothes of a priest, a linen ephod. When the Ark was finally brought to Jerusalem David was so thrilled that he was leaping and dancing before the Lord.
Psalm 132 declares that David's passion for the Lordship of Yahweh to be central in his people'slives brought blessing to many. In verses 6 and 7, the pronouns change from "I" to "we": "Behold,we heard of it in Ephrathah, we found it in the field of Jaar. Let us go into His dwelling place; Let usworship at His footstool. ' One man's heart given solely over to the Lordship of his God caused acontagious reaction, so that he alone turned a whole nation around, he changed their attitude fromone of leaving the Ark of the Covenant neglected and unsought for to one of zeal, worship andservice. David did not bring the Ark into Jerusalem by himself, he had the entire priesthood, choirs,singers, etc., become involved. Some scholars think there were as many as 30,000 people in theprocession up to Jerusalem. One man, David, changed the way the nation thought about the Lord.When somebody is sold out to the Lord his enthusiasm becomes contagious. I want to bepart of that ministry, l want a piece of the action. That is the contagious result when people fall inlove with Jesus Christ and put their lives fully in his hand. That too is what happened to the peopleof Israel as a result of David's zeal.
How do we apply these verses to our own lives? To begin with, if our lives are to have anysignificance we must expand our horizons beyond our own time-frame. When he stood ready to dedicate the temple, Solomon recognized that his opportunity to serve as king in any significant way was due to what others had done before him. He perceived that he was merely a part of the flow of spiritual history. Failure to recognize that fact is the greatest weakness of our generation. Ours is a wandering generation, lacking any sense of our historical roots. We are so preoccupied with the pressures, the problems and the pleasures of the moment. This is also true of us in the spiritual sense. We evangelicals love our independence, but many of us have little awareness of our spiritual roots and the sacrifices others have made to bring these blessings to us. Thus before we look ahead we have to glance back and respond with thankful heart for all the blessings that have come to us by grace.
Then, secondly, by observing the past we can discover what is our present task, what should be our focus. Having accepted Jesus Christ as Lord we reign with him in the heavenlies and we are engaged in doing kingly tasks. Looking at the past, therefore, we are encouraged to adopt the focus of these kings and their passion for what they did. Does that mean we are to go home and construct an ark in our living rooms? Of course not. This incident in the Old Testament foreshadows a deeper spiritual reality. Isaiah 66 tells us what it symbolizes:
"Heaven is My throne, and the earth is My footstool.
Where then is a house you could build for Me?
And where is a place that I may rest?
For My hand made all these things,
Thus all these things came into being,"
declares the Lord.
God declares that his dwelling place is not a house, nor is it an ark. Where, then, does God dwell?
"But to this one I will look,
To him who is humble and contrite of spirit,
and who trembles at My word."
God's desire is to take up permanent residence in the deepest part of the human heart, the spirit. God will dwell in the heart of one who is broken and contrite, one who will listen to his word. As kings, our task is to be part of the great work of taking the throne of God from the periphery, and marching it to the very center of people's lives. Kiriath-jearim, where the Ark lay for 20 years, was not very far from Jerusalem, but that short distance made all the difference in the world because, spiritually speaking, the Ark was on the periphery of the life of the nation. As we go about our tasks in life, we see that God is on the periphery of many lives. Our task as kings is to take the throne of Jesus and place it at the very center of those lives. Thus we have a kingly and a significant task in life.
Solomon sees his place in the spiritual flow of history, and he recognizes his awesome responsibility. Thus as he faces the future he makes three requests. Verses 8 through 10:
Arise, O Lord, to Thy resting place;
Thou and the ark of Thy strength.
Let Thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
And let Thy godly ones sing for joy.
For the sake of David Thy servant,
Do not turn away the face of Thine anointed.
Solomon's first prayer request is, "Arise, O Lord, to thy resting place; thou and the ark of thy strength." He prays that not only will the Ark enter the Holy of Holies, but that God himself will follow. Solomon well knows that ritual means nothing if it is not followed by reality. He learned that by observing the past. In the Book of Samuel we read that the Israelites lost in battle with the Philistines because their hearts were not seeking the Lord. Then somebody came up with the bright idea that they lost because they didn't have the Ark of the Covenant in their midst, so they got the Ark and brought it to the camp. There was such a loud shout of joy to greet its arrival that even the Philistines were scared. But Israel was utterly defeated and the Ark was captured by the Philistines.
Ritual means nothing if reality does not follow. Thus as the king faces his task he prays, "Lord, I can go through all the motions but if you don't show up it's for nothing.'' People can go through all the right motions- they can be baptized, dedicated, re-dedicated- but if nothing happens in their hearts
it's all for naught. Our prayer as kings should be, ''Lord, may you be in the hearts of the people I'm working with.''
Solomon's second prayer is in verse 9:
Let thy priests be clothed with righteousness;
and let thy godly ones sing for joy.
Here he recognizes that if there is to be any joy in what we do, we must do things God's way. Again, he learned this by looking at the past. The first time David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem he made one fatal mistake. Everything was set: the place for the Ark was prepared; David was full of zeal and passion; the choir was ready, but David forgot one thing: the priests. David transported the ark in the same way the Philistines did- in a wagon; he treated it like a piece of furniture, and his action cost a man's life. But the Law said that whenever the Ark of the Covenant was moved, the priests were to carry it.
The symbolism of this is that God cannot be brought to the center of anybody's life without the work of the Priest. The second time David transported the Ark, the priests were involved. They offered sacrifices, they were consecrated with their robes of righteousness, and because they carried the Ark correctly there was joy. The same is true for us. We cannot place the throne of God into the
center of people's lives if they ignore the work and the need of the Priest, Jesus Christ. Solomon's concern is that the people will do things God's way, that they will not ignore the work of the Priest, so that they may have joy in their lives.
Thirdly, Solomon prays for the Messiah. Verse 10:
For the sake of David thy servant,
Do not turn away the face of shine anointed
David was promised that the Kingdom of God would be built by David's seed. David's descendants, the kings of Israel, would be adopted by God into a Father-son relationship, and through them the Kingdom of God would endure forever, culminating in the King, the Messiah, Jesus. Solomon is praying, "Do not reject me. I need access to your presence, to further your rule and Kingdom. Don't turn away the face of your anointed." Notice that all three of Solomon's prayer requests concerning the resting place for the ark, the priests, and God's Messiah are all based on past revelation. Solomon is asking God to fulfill promises he has already committed himself to. Thus being aware of the spiritual flow of history gives us focus and direction as to what to pray for as we face the future.
Solomon now turns from the past to face the future. Word comes to him (probably by means of a prophet), that though the past was rich it could not be compared to the coming glory. Past blessings were based on man's responsive heart to God, but future blessings come because of God's commitment to his people. In structure, verses 11 through 18 exactly parallel the first half of the psalm. The psalm began with David's vow, now that is countered with God's vow to David; we saw
that the people were looking for the Ark, now we find God looking for a resting place; we found three prayer requests concerning a dwelling, a priest and a Messiah, and they are countered with three answers.
Let us look first, then, at God's vow to David. Verses 11 and 12:
The Lord has sworn to David,
A truth from which He will not turn back;
"Of the fruit of your body I will set upon your throne.
If your sons will keep My covenant,
And My testimony which I will teach them,
Their sons also shall sit upon your throne forever. "
There is no point in launching out on future endeavors unless you have a hope that these endeavors will last If you are going to be committed to a task, I thought to myself, there ought to be a future in it or else your labors are insignificant As kings, you and I have a significant future because our future is based on God's binding oath. Verse 11: ''God has sworn to David a truth from which he will not turn back.'' In other words. God's oath is unconditional and irrevocable. Unconditional means it does not matter how men respond- it will' happen; and irrevocable means no matter how bad things get, God cannot change his mind and operate differently. However, verse 12 declares that God's choice cannot be exploited: ''If your sons will keep my covenant and my testimony which I will teach them, their sons shall also sit upon the throne forever." The warmth and wealth of these promises spring from love, and require an answering love for their fulfillment. Instead the human response was all too often cynical, treating God's choice as something to be exploited; a shelter against his judgment or an asset to be commercialized. Will God establish his rule to his anointed king? Yes. Is that unconditional? Yes. Is that irrevocable? Yes. However, if the king did not give his heart to the Lord he did not enjoy that rule. Look at the history of Israel; the testimony is there. How many kings enjoyed the rule of Yahweh in their lives? Over a period of a thousand years they can be numbered on one hand. But did their unfaithfulness destroy the faithfulness of God? No. We have in these two verses this beautiful balance of divine sovereignty and human responsibility. God's choice will stand, but do not exploit it. His choice, then, is an impetus for you to give your whole heart to him in love.
The people had been searching for the Ark (verses 6-7) but now in verse 13 we read,
For the Lord has chosen Zion;
He has desired it for His habitation.
On the one hand Solomon says, "They all went searching for God," but now verse 13 declares that God has chosen Zion. Have you noticed that when young Christians give their testimony it is put in terms like, "I've been searching for God all my life. I tried this and that and nothing seemed to fit. Then I heard this message about Jesus Christ. I found eternal life, I found the God I had been
looking for my whole life." When they grow up a little in the Lord their testimony changes to, "No, I didn't find God. He found me and he put so-and-so in my life. I didn't listen. Then he brought a crisis into my life and I ignored that too. But then He got hold of me and I had to pay attention. I tripped over him. I could not miss him. God found me." That is the way Solomon describes the future.
In verses 14 through 18 come answers to all of Solomon's prayer requests, the first of which concerns the resting place of the Ark and its permanence. Verses 14-15:
"This is My resting place forever;
Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.
I will abundantly bless her provision;
I will satisfy her needy with bread."
Solomon's first prayer, "Arise, O Lord...thou and the ark of thy strength,'' a request for real life, is answered in verse 14, "This is my resting place forever. Here I dwell for I have desired it.'' The words "resting" and ''dwell'' both have connotations of permanence, and so the answer comes to the request, ''You wanted life? Let me tell you something, not only are you going to get life, but you are
going to have life permanently.'' This word "dwell'' is translated in the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) by a word that is used by Paul in his prayer in Ephesians 3: "May Christ dwell in your hearts through faith being rooted and grounded in love." The idea is that when Jesus Christ places His throne at the center of somebody's life he does not come as a guest for the night, he comes to
dwell permanently. To the question, "Will real life come to us?" the answer is, "Yes! Life will come on a permanent basis; and, secondly, it will be abundant life; life will go forth in such a way that even the neediest person will be sated with bread (a symbol for life). Will there be constant joy in your life as you do this significant work? Yes, there will, because God clothes his priests with righteousness. As High Priest, the work of Jesus Christ was so perfect there is nothing that can be added to it. In our priestly work we are clothed with his righteousness, so it is not up to us to figure out how to do that work properly in order to have joy. It is always a joy-filled experience to lead someone to Christ or to further the Lordship of Christ in
someone's life. As priests, we are clothed with his righteousness, therefore we will have joy.
Do you find your life mundane, boring, insignificant? Do you find yourself forever complaining over life's little afflictions worries and troubles? Perhaps our problem is we cannot see beyond our noses. Perhaps our horizons are not broad enough. Let’s get rid of our near-sighted attitudes that deal only with today and open ourselves up to our glorious past. Let’s ask God to grant us the grace to see that we have the significant task of walking in the footsteps of kings, doing kingly tasks. May the examples of Abraham, Moses, David, Paul, and Jesus Christ give us the same focus and the same passion to place the Lord at the center of our lives. Having looked at the past, let us open up our gaze to the future, as far away as eternity, and know that our hope is a glorious one. All our longing for permanence, depth, insight and strength will be realized because of God's commitment to us. Do you desire significance? What greater significance could there be than walking with Jesus Christ our Lord at the center of our lives?
CHILDREN’S LESSON
Order of Worship
Sunday November 26h, 2006
11:00 A.M.
Opening Hymn…………………….” Sing The Wondrous Love Of Jesus, Hymn 511
Doxology………………………………………………..All
Call to Worship……………………………….Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Hymn…………………………………… “I Hear The Saviour Say”, Hymn 271
Prayer…………………………………………..Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Prayer Response………………………………….Give Us This Day”
Scripture Reading……………………………..Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Decalogue………………………………………Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Gloria Patri………………………………………….Congregation
Sermon…………………………………………Bro. Robert Hutcherson
Invitation to Christian Discipleship………...””Christ Is All”, Hymn 363 (Gold)
Altar Call/Offertory………………………………………All
Offertory Response……………………………”All Things Come Of Thee”
Affirmation of Faith…………………………………Congregation
Benediction……………………………………..Bro. Robert Hutcherson