A LONGING FOR GOD'S PRESENCE

INTRODUCTION:

Desire is defined as, “A strong feeling of wanting to have something or wanting something to happen.”

Our hearts desire should be to worship God.

We have been designed by God for this purpose.

If we don’t worship God we will worship something else.

I. MY DELIGHT IS IN THE LORD (1-4)

A. The Psalmist begins by desiring to be where God dwells.

He perceives the dwelling place of the Lord as lovely.

His spirit desires to be in the courts of the Lord

B. In fact, his desire is so powerful that he says that he faints for the chance to be in the courts of the Lord.

C. The Psalmist is not describing a mere love for God, but an appetite for God.

a. His spirit, his soul, and his flesh long for God.

b. We sing the song, “Walking Alone at Eve” “O for home with God a place in his courts to rest...”

D. Verse 3 describes how even the birds find a home in the dwelling place of God.

The birds never have to leave. while the psalmist longs to spend this amount of time in God’s presence.

Psalm 84:4 NKJV

Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Selah

E. How many of us feel the way the Psalmist does?

a. How many of us look at being in God’s presence as an opportunity rather than a duty?

b. How many of us joyfully long to worship the Lord?

c. Too often we are the exact opposite.

F. Why is it that we struggle to give God one hour on Sunday?

G. The Psalmist describes a longing to be in God’s courts to sing His praises.

II. MY STRENGTH IS IN THE LORD (5-7)

A. In verses 5-7 I believe we are supposed to visualize the pilgrimage the people of Israel would have to make three times a year to keep the feasts of the Law of Moses.

We are to picture the difficulties that they endured for the opportunity to worship the Lord.

They go through the valley of Baca (valley of weeping) to the place of springs.

B. The people not only needed to overcome physical hardships, but also the emotional hardships.

The psalmist is picturing the rollercoaster of life.

We go through the valley of weeping between times of strength.

There are times when life is smooth and easy.

But in between those times we walk through the valley of weeping.

When we encounter hardships, we choose not to go to worship.

C. Many times its not even hardships, but rather more of an inconvenience.

When we are inconvenienced we leave God out.

This shows that we do not long for the presence of the Lord.

D. The desires of the heart are the best proofs of salvation.

Examine your desires and this will tell you where your heart is.

E. Life is not going to be easy.

a. We have to stop making excuses for why we choose not to be in the presence of God.

b. We can make excuses all day long, but God is looking in our hearts.

F. Jesus says the same thing about the nature of the Kingdom of God.

Luke 14:15–23 NKJV

Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!” Then He said to him, “A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, ‘Come, for all things are now ready.’ But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.’ And another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.’ Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’ So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’ And the servant said, ‘Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.’ Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled.

Luke

G. God ruled out the excuses that seem rational to us.

These people were busy.

But the Lord responds and declares that none of the will be in the kingdom of God.

We will have disappointments and difficulties, but we must make sacrifices for the kingdom.

III. MY TRUST IS IN THE LORD (8-12)

A. Our love for God should want to make us sacrifice ourselves.

Psalm 84:10 NKJV

For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

B. Our desire will reflect our hearts.

Some people would rather do anything else than be in God’s presence.

The psalmist is not pictured asking when he can leave the temple courts.

The psalmist does not want to be near to God as little as possible.

This reflects a spiritual condition.

C. The psalmist says that he would rather be a “door keeper.”

a. I will do whatever it takes to be in God’s presence.

b. We can’t say that we love the Lord if our desire is to be away from Him.

CONCLUSION:

Psalm 84:12 NKJV

O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!

The psalmist has described the true meaning of putting one’s trust in the Lord.

Putting our trust in the Lord is not simply confessing that we believe that Jesus is the Christ.

We truly trust in the Lord when our hearts desire is to be in His presence.

When we go through the valley of wailing, but enduring from strength to strength, God is our shield.

It’s time to stop making excuses that we think justify us before God.

While you can fake your words and your actions, you can’t fake your heart before God.