Why Going to Church Should Make Us Glad

Turn the song. 122 Psalm 122.

Psalm 122. And begin reading a verse number one.

Simon says, I was glad when they said to me let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet have been standing within your Gates Old Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built as a city that is compact together where the tribes, go up the tribes of the lore to the testimony of Israel to give. Thanks to the name of the Lord for Thrones are set there for judgment. The Throne of the House of David. Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem. May they Prosper. Who love you? Peace. Be within your walls Prosperity within your palaces for the sake of my brethren and companions. I will now say peace. Be within you because of the house of the Lord, Our God will seek your good. Let's pray together. Heavenly Father Lord, we just are thankful Lord for this gathering together. During this meet, at the midweek service, we ask you Lord to meet with us. In a very special way as we consider this particular Psalm this evening and Lord, I pray that you would help us to gain some truth from this and apply these truths are heart. I pray. Lord for your continued blessings upon the youth and the adults as they are at Youth Camp. Prague on your for your protection upon them. And Lord I pray God that you would just meet with us in a special way as we enter into a time of prayer. In just a moment Lord help us to pray fervently and lift up those who stand in need father, we love you with all these things of Christ name. Amen, this particular song is called a song of degrees. There's a several Psalms that are considered to be in this category. A Psalm of degrees, they start in Psalm 120 and go all the way to Psalm 134. They were Psalms that were sung by Jewish pilgrims, as they made their way to Jerusalem to observe the mandatory Feast given to them in the law. The songs were sung as the worshippers made their way to the holy place. Of Jerusalem to worship. And there were called songs of degrees because Jerusalem sat on a hill and no matter where you came to make that pilgrimage, you were always ascending. And so, they were songs of degrees are rescinding higher and higher at geographically speaking, but also they're called songs of the grief. Because the Psalms really were the songs of Sindh. The heights of the glory and Majesty of God, the Psalms were designed to not only glorify the Lord, but also they were designed to help prepare the hearts of the saints of God for worship in the Tabernacle and later on in the temple. This particular song talks about the place of worship that being in Jerusalem, it talks about the purpose of worship and that is the Lord. And then it talks about the power of worship in that it brings gladness to the hearts of the worshippers David Rice. Again, in verse number one, I was glad when they said to me, let us go into the house of the Lord, the word glad they're means to cause to rejoice. It gives reason to rejoice, and when you think about it, there are several things that is mentioned in the Old Testament that was Santa bring gladness to the heart. Several things that were mentioned. Number one, I'll just share a few of those things. Number one, wine wine, Psalm 104 and verse 15 says and wine. That makes glad the heart of man. Proverbs 27 verse 9, point, mint and perfume, makes glad the heart, it says ointment, in perfume Delight, the heart. Now, that was especially true in those days. When not everyone took showers everyday, you could not do that. And so if you lived in these times you were glad that your spouse or the person that you love had a little boy, Matt and perfume on the cover, up the body odor. Proverbs 15, 20. Says a wise son. Makes a father glad but a foolish man despises his mother. How about a kind word? Proverbs 20? And 25 says anxiety in the heart of man causes depression but a good word makes it. Glad How about the increase of righteousness? Proverbs 29 in verse 2, when the righteous are in a 40, the people Rejoice, they are glad, but when a wicked man rules, the people groan, and then Second Chronicles chapter 21, verse 27, says the Lord and his salvation is something that makes us glad. It's then they returned every man of Judah and Jerusalem with Jehoshaphat in front of them, to go back to Jerusalem with joy for the Lord had made them Rejoice over their enemies. I think you'd agree with me that this is one of the primary reasons why we ought to be glad we why we ought to rejoice. When you come to understand that you have been redeemed by God's grace, you have been forgiven of your sins, you have been then adopted into the family of God. You have much reason a lot of reasons for gladness into rejoice in these versus David's houses, that he has found a reason for gladness and going into the house of the Lord. That's we know not everyone. Shares this same emotion. As it pertains to going into the house of the Lord. If they did. His house would be full. Every time we open these doors. Summer, glad when it's time to go to church. But yet some are sad. When it's time to go to go to church and then the others are just plain mad that it's time for sure, but David found overwhelming joy in going to the house of the Lord. And, you know, this the same should be true of each and everyone of us. We don't worship a tabernacle. We do not worship at a temple. We worship in the New Testament under the day of Grace, we worship as the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit lives within us. We do we do not have to make a pilgrimage to to meet at a tabernacle or Temple where the Holy Spirit dwells in the holy of holies. He dwells now within us. so, when we come together, It should definitely make us rejoice, whether it be at Wednesday night or a Sunday. This song gives us really some valid reasons why Going to church should make us. Glad notice number one, the purpose for going, the purpose for going David mentions two primary purposes for going to worship number 1, and verse for to hear God's precepts to hear, God's precepts to hear his statues to hear of his law. His word And this verse David speaks of the testimony of Israel. The testimony of Israel is mentioned their inverse for this is a reference to God's command to Israel to gather at the Tabernacle and later on at the temple for the three great Jewish feasts. Number one, they were to meet and make this pilgrimage for the Feast of unleavened bread. Also, the Feast of Pentecost and then also, the Feast of Tabernacle, the Feast of unleavened bread is also known as Passover. So, the Jews made their pilgrimage to the place of worship because they knew doing so honored, the word of the Lord. And folks, listen, when the primary reasons, we are to come together in a place to worship is to hear and to heed God's word. Loveless in the Bible. Therefore should be at the heart of everything. We do everything we do every service I should be centered around the word of God. Every service should be. I we should have the the the preaching in the teaching of God's were So, we come to worship to hear God's precepts to hear. God speak through his word, but we also worship as David says, don't want to hear God's precepts. But to Harold God's Praises, David says that they are also going there. As it says in verse 4 to give thanks to the name of the Lord. The ancient Jews made their way to the Tabernacle. I think about this at Great personal cost. They made their way to the tavernacle at great difficulty to offer their praises to the Lord.

And it did so because they believed, he was worthy to be praised. He was worthy to be praised because of the grace that he has shown them. He had paid the price.

And they praise His name.

I think about that aspect for us today in modern times, it did not take too much effort for most of us to get here today or any other Given Sunday. No one had to walk. A hundred miles in their sandals to get here. No one had to ride on the back of a donkey to get here. No one had to walk on dirt, roads and rugged roads to get here today. Now, you might have had to rush a bit to get here due to work, and trying to get a mill in before worship. You might had to leave a cool house to get into the Summer's heat for that, walk in the house to your car and then you card to the church about once you get to the church, we have AC but getting here or getting to church on Sunday, normally does not cost us too much. But the ancient Jews. I cost him a lot. They traveled far and it was a dangerous Journey. But they remember what God had done for them. That remember what God had done for their forefathers. They knew what the Lord had done for them, they knew they had ample reason to praise the Lord and so they did. Now, think about that and think about that context of how they made their Pilgrim, pilgrimage to worship. How much more do we have to praise the Lord for I think about the song, Jesus, Paid It all and all to him, I owe. So just stopped to consider everything that he has done for you. All that he has provided the grace, he has provided his protection, his salvation. It helps us to understand why we are to Worship the Lord. It's always see the place they were to gather notice. Secondly, the people Who were together there? The people who gather there. While David found gladness in the purpose of going to the house of God, he also found gladness in whom he would meet and that place. And in doing so he gives us another reason for being glad about going to church, David was glad to go to church because he knew he would meet the people of the Lord there. It tells us something about the people that he would meet their. First of all, David would meet a people that were United in Fellowship? Notice again in verse 1. He said I was glad when they said unto me, let us go into the house of the Lord. When noticed the plural usage of the word is they and us. The Jews saw that their time at the Tabernacle as a time, when they would come together on common ground for a common purpose.

There were even in those days. All the Jews who were gathered together to worship. They would have different personalities. They would have different locations, I would have different interests, different backgrounds, all those things, but yet they worshipped together, they said unto me. Let us go into the house of the Lord. I'll look around at our church today, and I realize the same thing. We're all different personalities. We're all different backgrounds. We have different locations. We come from different families. Yes, we are. Commanded to gather together to Worship the Lord. Hebrews 10:25 tells us, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together.

and of course, if we're going to do this correctly,

there are some principles that we must always remember some characteristics. We must always remember if we're going to meet together and fellowship we must practice. Love, we must practice love course. Paul wrote a whole chapter concerning love and how it was to be seen within the church 1st Corinthians 13. It tells us no, no matter if you have the gift of Prophecy, no matter if you have the gift of tongues and all these things, if you do not have love, you don't have anything. The Church of Jesus Christ should be known. Other people of Love, who practice law, we must demonstrate forgiveness. We must offer restoration to those who have sinned and long to repent. Listen to when we can do these things. From my heart of love and Christ like Unity. We can then experienced true gladness in our time together for the Lord. I notice secondly, a people United by Fellowship.

At people United by Fellowship. David says, Inverse for where the tribes, go up, the tribes of the Lord. Now you speaking about there, in a course the ancient Jews were a people who were connected by Blood there were Twelve Tribes. Of course, they were a family when they came together for worship. It was a family. Affair is tribe was to worship with one another and so therefore, it was a time to renew acquaintances. It was a time to catch up with the latest family news and to meet new members of the family. And so, every time they would meet at the house of the Lord, it was like a family reunions every time they gather together. And beloved listen to church. Is the function in a similar manner. When we come together.

Every Sunday, every Wednesday, whatever day. We meet we come together as a family The family is coming home in a sentence. We think about all the redeemed? Just as the ancient Jews were connected by Blood. So to we who have been redeemed, those of us who have been born again, we to have me connected by Blood and that is the precious blood of Jesus. And so when we come together for a meeting, whether it is to worship or it is just a fellowship, we'd then have the opportunity to strengthen the family bonds. Now notice thirdly

The person. they were to glorify their the person they were to glorify their four times in this song, David mentions, the Lord. And tells us that the Lord was at the heart of all that they did. So, every moment, every event of Life, revolved around the Lord and his worship, he was the centerpiece of everything.

When David calls God, the Lord, he is using the most common name for God. In the Bible. The word used here is Yahweh or Jehovah. The name for God Appears over 6,800 times in the Old Testament. It identifies God. As the Eternal one, as he self-existent one, it reminds that that he had no beginning. God had no beginning and he will have no ending. It is, as it is, the name. God used to make himself known to Moses. Exodus, 3:14 tells us where God said that his name was, I am that. I am. This name also identifies God as the Covenant keeping God, he is a God who keeps cut, who makes covenants with his people and he never breaks his promises. He's a God who keeps every promise he makes he keeps Every Soul. He saves. so this name, identifies him as a God who is worthy of all of our praise and worship

so, in this, Final analysis, you can say.

God is the reason we come to church. The Lord Yahweh Jehovah is the reason we come to church because listen if it were not for God if it were not for the Lord. Not a one of us would care anything about his word. Not a one of us would care anything about his words or his worship. But rather. We know that he has saved us. He keeps us, He blesses us. And therefore, we want to we long to praise him. We long to serve him and worship him and get together with others who feel just like we feel

listen, if you came here just because it's Church time someone wrote this You came for the wrong reason. If you came to see someone you came for the wrong reason. If you just came to do your thing or just because it's what you always do, you came for the wrong reason. But if you came because you loved him, you're here for the right reason. If you came, because he saved you bless you, and you want to thank him for it. You are here for the right reasons. And therefore your worship experience will be real. It will be lasting and it will be fruitful and meaningful. But those who come to church for the wrong reasons. Getting nothing out of church. But those who come because they loved him receive profound dividends in return. So I think it would be good for us to examine how we feel about going to church and how we feel about worshiping the Lord and how we feel about the family of God and the reasons why we come and to worship. So I pray that we come because we love him for what he has done for us knowing that we love him because he first loved us. So, I pray, that's a help in a blessing to you. As we think about why go into church should make us glad we're going to take a few moments for

Prayer request. And I talked to Jason just moments before their service started and everything is going great. There with praise the Lord. They had just received many blessings just from the preaching alone and the fellowship and so continue to pray for them. The youth at Youth Camp and pray for their travels back on Friday. Doris Charles, who was in the hospital? I was able to visit with Doris and Roy Charles on Monday morning at the hospital, she was doing a lot better and praise the Lord, she is at home. Now, I talked to Charles today and, and, and papa Roy today, and she is doing I some better and she is on hospice care, but Nevertheless, she is doing better, which is appraised. I'm in row is not feeling well tonight. He's been having some issues with his pain and not able to.

Getting relief from the pain medicines that they have been using. So pray for Monroe, Donna Wilson, had to have a stent, put in everything went well with her on that, and her husband. David had a fall and hurt his back, very bad to pray for David. Is.

Anyone else have any prayer requests in a new request or maybe some update stats? We need to update this. List on. But how is, how is your nephew Tom doing?

reunions, he wasn't able to come to be able to

Okay.

Wow. Okay. Continue. Pray for his nephew. Tom. Anyone else have any special requests? Yes.

Wow.

Pray for Mildred, that's a lady. That that Robbie knows and he mows. Her yard. She is in her last days due to cancer.

Anyone else? Yes.