The NXR Podcast - August 21, 2022


SUNDAY SERMON - Who Is This King Of Glory？ ｜ Psalm 24

Hosted by
Joel Webbon Harrison Smith Antonio Griffith Dale Partridge Wewsley Todd Calvin Robinson
Mentioned
King David Jacob Beth Shemesh Uzzah King Saul Samuel Dirt Donald Trump Jesus Christ Jamie White Joseph Boot Gary DeMar Joel Webin Bob Dylan Kirjath-Jerim Philistine Sapphira Golgotha Hosanna Obama
QUESTIONS - What Are Some Views Of Salvation Besides Calvinism and Arminianism？ BONUS - What Are Your Thoughts On CrossPolitic’s Statement About Baptists & Transgenderism？

Episode Stats


Length

54 minutes

Words per minute

158.44

Word count

8,564

Sentence count

558

Harmful content

Misogyny

1

sentences flagged

Toxicity

14

sentences flagged

Hate speech

57

sentences flagged


Summary

Summaries generated with gmurro/bart-large-finetuned-filtered-spotify-podcast-summ .

In this sermon, Pastor Ken teaches us about the context of the psalm "Psalms 24" and why it is so important to see the truth as it really is. God bless you as you listen!

Transcript

Transcript generated with Whisper (turbo).
Misogyny classifications generated with MilaNLProc/bert-base-uncased-ear-misogyny .
Toxicity classifications generated with s-nlp/roberta_toxicity_classifier .
Hate speech classifications generated with facebook/roberta-hate-speech-dynabench-r4-target .
Hosts, guests, and mentioned names generated with spaCy (en_core_web_sm), reconciled against Wikidata.
00:00:00 Hey guys, real quick before we get started, I have a small request.
00:00:03 If you've been blessed by our content and you like this show,
00:00:06 would you take just a brief moment and leave us a five-star review?
00:00:09 This is quite possibly the most effective thing that you can do
00:00:12 to ensure that this content gets out to as many people as possible.
00:00:17 Thanks.
00:00:18 To provide some framework for our psalm today, I want to do two things.
00:00:23 I want to talk about the structure of the text itself,
00:00:26 but then I want to talk about the background,
00:00:28 the context in which this particular psalm was written.
00:00:32 We don't have knowledge of the background for every single one of the psalms
00:00:36 that we find throughout the Psalter, but this one we do.
00:00:39 We know the purpose for which it was written.
00:00:41 We know the context in which it was written.
00:00:44 We know the emotions of the author and what he felt
00:00:47 and what he experienced immediately prior to this psalm being written
00:00:52 and pinned by his hand under the inspiration of the Spirit.
00:00:55 And so by knowing the background and the context, I believe that it heightens the experience of the psalm and heightens and strengthens our understanding of what's being conveyed.
00:01:06 But before we get into the background or the context for the writing of the psalm, let's briefly look at the structure, the textual structure of the psalm itself.
00:01:15 In your notes, I've written this.
00:01:16 Psalm 24 can be broken into three primary parts.
00:01:20 Number one would be verses one and two, which speak of God's sovereignty.
00:01:23 And number two, the second part, if you will, would be verses three through six, which speak
00:01:29 of God's holiness and by consequence, the holiness, which he demands of his people as
00:01:36 they worship him.
00:01:37 And then the third part of our Psalm today would be verses seven through 10, which speak
00:01:41 of God's victory, God's triumph.
00:01:45 So the first two verses, part one is God's sovereignty.
00:01:49 Verses 3 through 7 would be God's holiness and his demands, his prescription for holy and reverent worship.
00:01:56 And then the third part would be God's victory, God's triumph over his enemies and his triumph in his act of redemption.
00:02:06 The primary focus of our exegesis today will lie on the second portion of our text.
00:02:12 verses three through six and primarily even more specifically verses three through five here we
00:02:19 find two vital lessons for the christian number one we find the necessity for true worship and for
00:02:27 holy devout reverent worship and secondly we find not only the necessity for true worship
00:02:34 but the true worship can never occur without christ so we see the necessity for jesus and
00:02:41 finally, we'll briefly conclude at the end of the sermon today with a brief exegesis of the third
00:02:47 part, verses 7 through 10, which reveal the glory of Christ in his accomplishment of our redemption.
00:02:54 Now, for the background, the context for the writing of our text today, Psalm 24. Psalm 24 was
00:03:01 written for a particular occasion, namely the event described in 2 Samuel chapter 6, where David,
00:03:08 King David, went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the city of David,
00:03:15 namely Jerusalem, with rejoicing. Now in 1 Samuel chapter 4, during the time of Eli the priest,
00:03:23 the one who trained Samuel as a boy, the Israelites were in rebellion against God.
00:03:30 Eli committed the sin of complacency. He was complicit. He was spiritually apathetic.
00:03:37 One of Eli's greatest sins was not that he himself was not reverent towards the Lord,
00:03:42 but that he tolerated irreverence in his sons.
00:03:46 He refused to discipline his sons.
00:03:48 He refused to set the record straight.
00:03:51 He bought into false narratives.
00:03:53 He was content to say, well, hey, you know, maybe there's a little sin here and a little sin there.
00:03:58 He wasn't willing to see the truth because it was painful.
00:04:03 Sometimes recognizing the truth hurts.
00:04:06 It's inconvenient.
00:04:08 It would require us to confront.
00:04:10 See, one of the chief reasons why people do not choose to see the truth as it really is,
00:04:15 is because the truth, when we see it, it demands something of us.
00:04:19 It requires something of us.
00:04:22 And almost always what it requires is a confrontation.
00:04:24 At minimum, a confrontation of ourselves.
00:04:28 That we must confront our own flesh.
00:04:30 We must confront our own idols.
00:04:31 We must confront our own sin.
00:04:33 You cannot repent of that that you don't even acknowledge, that you're not willing to even
00:04:39 confront. And often, a recognition and acknowledgement of the truth requires us not
00:04:45 only to confront the sin in our own lives, but to confront the sin in the life of others.
00:04:50 It propels us and demands of us. It requires that we step into those uncomfortable contexts
00:04:57 relationally with other people. Eli refused to do this with his own sons.
00:05:03 And according to scripture, Eli hated his sons.
00:05:06 See, that's what it is.
00:05:07 Remember, Jesus with the rich young ruler, I've said it many times, so I'll say it briefly.
00:05:10 But the text actually says that he looked at him and loved him and then put his finger on his sin.
00:05:17 In the rich young ruler's case, namely the sin of greed.
00:05:20 But the text actually says that before he called him out for his greed, it says he looked at him and loved him.
00:05:26 So immediately after loving him, he convicts him of sin.
00:05:32 Which tells us necessarily the conclusion is that to convict someone of sin is one of the most loving things that we can do.
00:05:41 It is to follow in the example of the standard of love, the Savior.
00:05:46 And according to scripture, to spare the rod, that is to neglect confrontation, is to hate.
00:05:52 It is to hate. The Bible uses the word to hate the child.
00:05:55 Now certainly we see that with discipline with our children.
00:05:58 But we see that as a general principle beyond merely our own household, our own children.
00:06:03 We see that in relationship with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ.
00:06:07 Our fathers in Christ and sons and daughters in Christ.
00:06:10 Spiritual sons, spiritual daughters, spiritual fathers and mothers, spiritual brothers and sisters.
00:06:16 That when we neglect to confront, we hate.
00:06:20 And we hate in the same way, we could say, or at least in a similar way, that God loved Jacob but hated Esau.
00:06:27 Now, we know that in God's common grace,
00:06:30 he has compassion on all he has made.
00:06:32 The Psalms say he has compassion on all he has made.
00:06:34 There's always been this debate.
00:06:36 I don't know if you've noticed in the Reformed camp,
00:06:38 this debate of does God love everybody?
00:06:40 And the answer is yes and no.
00:06:44 God does not possess a fatherly love for all people.
00:06:48 Not everyone is a child of God.
00:06:50 You're a child of God by virtue of adoption,
00:06:53 which only comes by grace through faith in Christ.
00:06:56 and not everybody gets that.
00:06:58 God is determined before the foundation of the world
00:07:01 to elect some, not all, for salvation
00:07:04 and to be adopted as his children.
00:07:06 So God possesses fatherly love for some, not all.
00:07:10 But God possesses a benevolent love of the creator
00:07:13 for all his creation.
00:07:16 In a universal sense, he has compassion
00:07:18 on all that he has made.
00:07:21 And so in his common grace,
00:07:22 he is a benevolent God even toward the unbeliever.
00:07:27 God is loving even towards those who are not his children in that sense.
00:07:33 And so Eli, Eli refused to obey the Lord.
00:07:39 He refused to love his sons.
00:07:41 And that hatred, spare the rod, hate the child.
00:07:44 That hatred, just like what the word of God says in regards to Esau and Jacob in Romans chapter 9 verse 13.
00:07:51 It says, for Jacob I loved, but Esau I hated.
00:07:54 It's a comparative love and hatred.
00:07:57 By comparison to my love for Jacob, my elect love, my fatherly love, my salvific love for Jacob,
00:08:06 the compassion, the general common grace benevolence that I have for Esau looks like hatred.
00:08:12 It looks like hatred.
00:08:14 And so too, when we fail to love others by not confronting them, what it really is, is it's comparative hatred and love.
00:08:21 meaning this. Well, what's it compared to in that instance? It's compared to the love that you
00:08:26 possess for yourself. I love myself and my comfort and my ability and opportunity to avoid discomfort
00:08:34 that comes by confrontation to somehow preserve convenience in my life. I love myself so much
00:08:42 and my comfort and convenience that by virtue of comparison, my refusal to confront you looks like
00:08:49 hatred for you and this is what Eli does he hates his sons and the problem persists in his sons
00:08:57 and the people begin to follow his sons that's that's the point that's the result is that the
00:09:03 nation not just Eli's two sons but that the nation begins in turn to follow his son's example
00:09:09 the sons were stealing the choice pieces of meat that were not for them right off of the altar
00:09:16 and eating it. 0.91
00:09:17 The sons were committing temple prostitution, 0.99
00:09:20 manipulating weak-willed and weak-minded women 0.98
00:09:23 who were coming in to worship God, 1.00
00:09:25 manipulating them into bed.
00:09:28 The sons were, what they were doing
00:09:30 is they were perverting worship.
00:09:33 They were perverting worship.
00:09:34 It wasn't just in their private lives.
00:09:36 It was at the temple, the place of worship,
00:09:39 in the act of worship.
00:09:40 That is what they were perverting.
00:09:42 They were not fearing God.
00:09:44 There was a complete absence of reverence.
00:09:47 And as these two sons of the priests exemplified an irreverent worship,
00:09:54 the people began to follow. 0.60
00:09:55 And as the nation followed that example, within Israel, the problem began to be created,
00:10:00 which the problem was this.
00:10:02 There was no fear of God before their eyes.
00:10:04 There was no reverence in worship of a thrice holy God.
00:10:10 And they thought, here's the ticket.
00:10:12 They thought that God would be faithful to them, that they would experience the benefits of God so long as they had his presence, even if they didn't obey. 0.50
00:10:26 And so what they did as they were being attacked in a raging battle with the Philistines is that the people went into the temple and took the Ark of the Covenant.
00:10:35 The Ark of the Covenant represented a tangible presence of the Lord on earth.
00:10:41 And they thought that if they had God's presence with them, as they went into battle, they would be victorious.
00:10:48 But they were defeated.
00:10:50 Why?
00:10:51 Because even though the presence of the Lord was with them, they weren't obedient.
00:10:57 And it's not merely the presence of the Lord, a superstitious view of the presence of God with us, that ultimately brings about blessing.
00:11:06 No, it's obedience to what the Lord has objectively commanded.
00:11:10 So to say I have God's presence for this reason and that, but I'm not obedient, it doesn't benefit you.
00:11:19 It's obedience that brings about the blessing of the Lord.
00:11:22 Not superstitious rituals and practices surrounding the presence of God, but rather obedience to God that guarantees the blessing and the victory.
00:11:32 So the Israelites, in a superstitious manner, they take the Ark of the Covenant with them into battle,
00:11:37 yet they have not turned back to the Lord in their hearts they have not repented of their irreverence 0.79
00:11:44 in worship of Yahweh and so they walk into battle they march into battle with the ark of the
00:11:50 covenant but with disobedient hearts and they're they're slaughtered they're completely destroyed
00:11:57 and one of the most tragic things that happens is the ark of the covenant itself is actually
00:12:02 captured by the philistines it falls into enemy hands and when the news of this gets back to eli
00:12:09 the priest who ultimately by his complacency is responsible he's the ultimate person in all of
00:12:17 israel who's responsible for the whole nation's sin not because he himself engaged in these acts 0.94
00:12:23 of irreverence but because he let them go on he let them go on and it says that eli was a fat man 0.99
00:12:30 He was a fat man.
00:12:32 And it says that when he got news that the ark had been captured 0.97
00:12:35 and that his two sons in the battle had been slaughtered and killed,
00:12:38 he fell over backwards in his chair and broke his neck.
00:12:42 And even the size of him, even the Bible depicting his physical stature as a fat man
00:12:48 falling over out of his chair, not being able to stop himself and breaking his neck,
00:12:52 even that, I believe, symbolically signifies this.
00:12:55 It was the idol of comfort.
00:12:58 That was Eli's MO.
00:13:00 Comfort is what kept him in complacency
00:13:02 and kept him from disciplining his sons.
00:13:05 And comfort is also what caused him to be overweight.
00:13:08 And in a brutal sense of divine irony,
00:13:11 all of his idolatry and its effects
00:13:13 gathered together in one moment and broke his neck.
00:13:17 And that's the story of Eli.
00:13:19 And that's the story of how the Ark of the Covenant of God 0.95
00:13:22 fell into the hands of the Philistines. 0.93
00:13:23 Now the Philistines captured the Ark 0.95
00:13:26 because it represented their victory not only over Israel, 0.87
00:13:29 But in their minds, a perceived victory over the God of Israel.
00:13:33 And so they took the Ark of the Covenant back with them to their Philistine city. 0.88
00:13:38 Particularly the Philistine city of Ashdod. 0.91
00:13:41 And in Ashdod, they had a pantheon.
00:13:43 Which basically, it's a temple for many gods.
00:13:46 They were polytheists.
00:13:47 And in their pantheon to all their gods, they put the Ark of the Covenant.
00:13:52 The presence of God.
00:13:53 The one true God in the temple in front of one of their greatest gods.
00:13:57 gods which was Dagon and and what happened is it is that the priest the Philistine pagan priest
00:14:05 the next morning after the ark had spent the night in the temple directly positioned they
00:14:10 positioned it intentionally in front of Dagon in such a way that it looked like the god of Israel
00:14:15 was bowing down paying homage in subjection to Dagon and when the priest the pagan priest of
00:14:22 of the philistines came back into the temple the next morning dagon was toppled over in a prostrate
00:14:29 position in front of the ark and then the next night they do it again they stand dagon up and
00:14:36 the next morning they come back in and this time dagon is toppled over and his arms and head have
00:14:41 been broken off in the same way that the priest eli's neck had been shattered so the neck of dagon
00:14:48 had been broken to pieces because of the presence of God that dwelt before him.
00:14:54 And then all of a sudden, the implications began to spread beyond the temple
00:14:57 to the whole city of Ashdod, a capital city,
00:15:00 one of the five capital cities in all of the Philistine country.
00:15:04 And the implication was this, that the people began to be inflicted with tumors,
00:15:08 cancerous tumors, and they died.
00:15:10 Many of the people were slaughtered.
00:15:12 And so what the Philistines did was they said,
00:15:14 we must take the Ark of the Covenant to another place, to another city.
00:15:17 And the same thing happened there.
00:15:19 And they did this multiple times
00:15:21 to where each city in Philistine,
00:15:23 wherever the ark went,
00:15:25 the people were plagued with tumors and death.
00:15:28 And eventually the priests got together and they said,
00:15:30 far be it from us, woe to us,
00:15:32 we cannot tolerate the presence of God.
00:15:35 Because see, here's the thing, brothers and sisters,
00:15:37 the presence of God for Philistines,
00:15:39 just like it was for the Israelites when it was captured,
00:15:42 they were defeated in the first place,
00:15:44 the presence of God is not blessing to the disobedient.
00:15:47 The presence of God is a thing to be feared when your heart is not in submission to his commands.
00:15:54 The presence of God is not blessing to the disobedient, but a curse.
00:15:58 And so they say, we must rid ourselves of the ark.
00:16:01 We must somehow get the ark away from us.
00:16:04 And they were afraid at that point even to touch it.
00:16:06 And so what they did was they put the ark on a cart that had never been used.
00:16:10 And they took two oxen that had never carried any yoke, any burden.
00:16:13 They had never been used to drag or to carry anything before.
00:16:18 And they made five golden statues, images of the tumors,
00:16:23 and five golden statues of rats as a sacrifice to pay homage to Yahweh 0.55
00:16:28 so that perhaps he would lift his punishment, his judgment from among their nation. 0.66
00:16:33 And they loaded the cart up behind the oxen with the Ark of the Covenant
00:16:37 and these five golden images of tumors and five golden images of rats.
00:16:42 And they said to themselves that if the oxen do not go to the right or to the left, but go straight on the path without any person persuading or leading them, we'll know that our sacrifice to Yahweh is acceptable.
00:16:55 And that the curse, his judgment, has been lifted.
00:16:59 And sure enough, wouldn't you know it, the oxen go straight.
00:17:02 And they go all the way to an Israelite city.
00:17:06 They go all the way to a city named Beth Shemesh. 0.79
00:17:11 It's the first Israelite city that the Ark comes to after having been captured by the Philistines. 0.53
00:17:17 But the men in that city, here's the problem. 0.78
00:17:20 The Israelites, the people of God, they exemplify the same level of irreverence as the pagans.
00:17:30 And what they do is they actually open up the Ark of the Covenant.
00:17:34 And just like Indiana Jones style, it's a face melter.
00:17:39 They open up the Ark of the Covenant and God struck, the Bible says, he struck 70 of the men.
00:17:45 And the whole village begins to weep because God struck such a severe blow.
00:17:50 He killed, God put to death, 70 men.
00:17:56 Then the men of Beth Shemesh, they say, who was able to stand before the Lord in his presence?
00:18:01 This holy God.
00:18:03 Lastly, the Ark ended up staying in Kirjath-Jerim.
00:18:07 and it stayed there for a hundred years.
00:18:12 In 2 Samuel chapter 6, picking back up with the narrative now,
00:18:15 once David had assumed the throne and become king of Israel after King Saul,
00:18:19 he was determined to bring the ark finally back to Jerusalem,
00:18:23 where it rightfully belonged.
00:18:25 And we see that when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon,
00:18:29 as they're taking the ark from this place where God has struck people, 0.66
00:18:34 Beth Shemesh, and then it went to Kirjath-Jerim.
00:18:36 It was there for 100 years, and now the ark is going from Kirjath-Jerim to Jerusalem.
00:18:41 And David is leading a host of armies, a host of Israelite people, priests, and warriors, and musicians to take the ark of the covenant from Kirjath-Jerim all the way to Jerusalem.
00:18:52 But there's a fatal flaw with David's strategy, with the practice that he employs.
00:19:01 See, what David does is this.
00:19:03 He has the men put the ark of the covenant on a cart again.
00:19:06 to be carried by oxen.
00:19:10 He does the same thing that the pagans do. 0.83
00:19:12 The difference between Israel and the pagans 0.83
00:19:14 is razor thin if there's any difference at all.
00:19:18 I mean, that's the tragedy.
00:19:19 The tragedy is that the people of God
00:19:21 possess no more reverence for God
00:19:23 than the pagans who hate him.
00:19:26 And so they put the Ark of the Covenant of God.
00:19:28 The people of God do this.
00:19:30 Israel does this.
00:19:31 David, a man after God's own heart 0.98
00:19:33 who should know better, does this.
00:19:35 He treats the Ark of the Covenant
00:19:36 in the same way that God's enemies do. 0.99
00:19:38 The same way Philistine did. 0.91
00:19:40 He puts it on a cart. 0.98
00:19:42 And there's a point in which the path gets rough
00:19:45 and the wheels and axles of the cart give
00:19:48 and the ark begins to slide off the cart
00:19:50 as though it's going to fall into the ground.
00:19:53 And a man named Uzzah stretches out his hand
00:19:57 to save the ark.
00:19:59 To save the presence of God from being defiled.
00:20:02 From falling into the grime and the dirt. 0.98
00:20:04 But the problem is that Uzzah, in the sin of arrogance and presumption, he believes that somehow his hand would be an improvement from the dirt. 0.94
00:20:17 But the reality, as I said, I believe last week, dirt, physical dirt, has never defiled the presence of God. 0.95
00:20:24 Remember, even what God says in his theophany, in the burning bush, his encounter with Moses, he says, take off your sandals for you're on holy dirt.
00:20:33 The dirt's fine, Moses.
00:20:35 The problem is you.
00:20:38 The dirt's fine, David.
00:20:39 The problem is your men. 1.00
00:20:41 The problem is Uzzah. 1.00
00:20:43 Uzzah reaching out and touching this ark. 1.00
00:20:46 That's not just dirt. 0.97
00:20:47 That's the dust of the ground that was made into man and raised up his fist in defiance of God.
00:20:53 Dirt has never rebelled against God.
00:20:55 Dirt has never disobeyed his commands.
00:20:57 Even Jesus himself said, if these people don't cry out, Hosanna and worship me,
00:21:01 even the rocks themselves will cry out in worship.
00:21:05 The dirt worships God.
00:21:06 The mountains sing his praise.
00:21:08 The sky echoes his glory and majesty.
00:21:11 All of creation is singing the testimony
00:21:13 and the witness of the glory of God.
00:21:16 It is man and man alone that fails to do this.
00:21:20 The dirt's not the problem. 1.00
00:21:22 Uzzah is the problem. 1.00
00:21:23 And Uzzah, sadly, is just an example 0.95
00:21:25 that represents this corporate problem in all of Israel. 0.78
00:21:28 and fear, fear grasped the heart of David.
00:21:34 And they leave the ark at a nearby place,
00:21:36 the home of a man named Obed-Edom.
00:21:39 And the ark stays there for three months.
00:21:42 And then David decides, let's try again.
00:21:45 Now, part of the reason that he worked up the courage
00:21:48 to go and try again to bring the ark 0.97
00:21:50 now from Obed-Edom's household to Jerusalem
00:21:52 was that for those three months,
00:21:54 the Bible said that God blessed Obed-Edom.
00:21:58 And for the first time in over 100 years, if you've been following the narrative,
00:22:02 for the first time in over 100 years, the presence of God brought about blessing rather than death.
00:22:10 Because Obed-Edom feared the Lord.
00:22:13 And David realized that's the ticket. 0.94
00:22:15 The problem is not the presence of God.
00:22:17 The problem is the way that we're treating the presence of God.
00:22:21 The presence of God is truly, in its truest sense, blessing.
00:22:26 but it's not blessing for those who do not fear him and worship him as he truly is and so david
00:22:36 goes back but this time he does it right he consults the law of god and he remembers that
00:22:41 in the law of god that one of the precepts in carrying the ark of the covenant was that no man
00:22:46 should touch the ark and that it should never be carried on a cart but rather it should be carried
00:22:50 by men by poles, acacia poles. And so he gets the priest, the right people, and the right garments,
00:22:58 the right clothing, the right attire, the right poles, the right wood, the right manner, the right
00:23:02 practice, the right posture, everything. And he puts before the priest, and we have the musicians,
00:23:07 and they're singing. And David, all the way from the house of Obed-Edom, all the way to the city
00:23:11 of Jerusalem, him and a host of Israel, they walk only six steps, and then stop. And they
00:23:20 slaughter an animal and sacrifice to the lord now the number six represents the number of man
00:23:26 it's a number of incompletion seven was was thought to be a divine number because really
00:23:31 what it represents more than divinity it represents completion and so what david is saying by taking
00:23:36 six steps and then stopping the whole host of israel to sacrifice to the lord is this they're 0.75
00:23:41 saying we cannot move one more step we cannot complete anything apart from making atonement
00:23:49 for our sin.
00:23:52 We're not worthy.
00:23:53 We're not worthy to go seven steps
00:23:55 to complete this task
00:23:58 apart from being reminded once more
00:24:00 that you're holy
00:24:01 and that we have fallen short
00:24:03 and that the only hope of reconciliation
00:24:06 that we have
00:24:07 is the death of a substitute,
00:24:10 the blood of another.
00:24:12 That's the only way that we can continue.
00:24:14 The only way that we can continue
00:24:16 to the kingdom of God
00:24:19 to the house of God,
00:24:21 the only hope that we have in progressing
00:24:23 is with blood,
00:24:26 is with atonement,
00:24:28 is with forgiveness of sin.
00:24:30 And David continues this practice,
00:24:33 six steps,
00:24:34 and then slaughtering an animal
00:24:35 so that there was a river of blood
00:24:36 all the way from the house of Obed-Edom
00:24:39 all the way to Jerusalem. 0.68
00:24:42 And he continues this ritual
00:24:43 and as he gets into the gates of the city,
00:24:46 he is dancing with all his might
00:24:48 And he's not naked, as some people said, or in his boxer briefs.
00:24:52 That's not what the text is saying.
00:24:54 But what he's done is he's removed his royal garments, his robe, outer royal robe.
00:24:58 It signifies authority, royalty.
00:25:01 Because he recognizes there's only one king in this scenario.
00:25:06 And so he's wearing clothes just as much as you and I, but he's not dressed in his royal garments.
00:25:12 He removes those royal garments, and not a way to defile himself, not in a way that would be promiscuous or foolish, but in a way that portrays humility.
00:25:25 And the Bible says that he dances with all his might.
00:25:30 And his wife, the daughter of the previous king, King Saul, Mikael, she sees him from the window and despises him.
00:25:39 She despises him.
00:25:40 And the reason she despises him is, as any good wife knows, 0.91
00:25:44 your reputation is tied up with your husband. 0.97
00:25:48 If he's a doofus, you're embarrassed. 0.98
00:25:50 He embarrasses you. 0.97
00:25:52 And for David to strip himself of his garments that represent royalty
00:25:56 and to be dancing with all his might in front of all of the people of Israel to see
00:26:01 he wasn't acting kingly.
00:26:07 I mean, it's kind of like a Donald Trump move.
00:26:09 I know you're the president, and I think you're right in your content,
00:26:13 but your presentation is just not presidential.
00:26:16 Goodness gracious, this guy, I love his policy.
00:26:18 Could we take away his phone from 12 a.m. to 5 a.m.?
00:26:22 And now big tech and their breach of the First Amendment and freedom of speech
00:26:28 have done it for us by banning them off of every social media platform,
00:26:32 which I think is wrong.
00:26:33 But the point is he's not acting.
00:26:35 David's not conducting himself with dignity in the mind of people,
00:26:40 in the carnal view of man.
00:26:44 But he is conducting himself exactly the way that is pleasing to the Lord.
00:26:49 He strips himself of royalty to show a posture of humility.
00:26:55 And he dances with all his might and sacrifices an animal every six steps
00:26:59 and follows the law of God to the T
00:27:01 and the way that they carry the ark and the procedures that they follow
00:27:05 All of this is because reverence finally has come back to Israel.
00:27:11 Eli let it go.
00:27:14 Not because he himself was irreverent, remember,
00:27:17 but because he refused to discipline irreverence in others.
00:27:21 But David brings reverence back.
00:27:24 And notice, David isn't content to be reverent towards the Lord while others are not.
00:27:27 He uses his authority in the way that Eli should have.
00:27:30 He commands that all of Israel do what's right in the sight of the Lord. 0.76
00:27:35 All of Israel takes six steps.
00:27:37 It's not David took six steps and then fell behind the rest of the procession 0.57
00:27:41 and stopped and sacrificed himself.
00:27:43 No, I'm doing this and everyone else is doing it too.
00:27:47 As for me and my house, we will fear the Lord.
00:27:52 He doesn't give them a choice.
00:27:53 He uses his vested authority to command reverence for the thrice holy God.
00:27:59 That's what he does.
00:28:01 And the Lord is pleased. 0.94
00:28:03 and the ark finds its way back to Israel.
00:28:07 And one of the songs for this long procession
00:28:11 where every six steps they have to stop and make a sacrifice.
00:28:15 One of the songs that was written by King David himself
00:28:19 for this extended long worship service was Psalm 24.
00:28:26 David wrote Psalm 24 to be used as a part of the liturgy
00:28:30 for the procession of Israel
00:28:33 as they carried back with reverence
00:28:35 the ark of God to the city of Jerusalem.
00:28:41 See, the one thing that is clear
00:28:44 from the chronicle of the ark in the Old Testament
00:28:46 is this.
00:28:48 God is not to be trifled with.
00:28:52 He is a holy God who demands holiness
00:28:54 from those who offer Him praise.
00:28:57 In Leviticus chapter 10 verse 3,
00:28:59 God says,
00:29:00 By those who come near me, I will be treated as holy.
00:29:06 And before all the people, I will be honored.
00:29:09 And Hebrews chapter 12, verse 28 says that if we want to serve God acceptably,
00:29:14 we must do it with reverence and godly fear.
00:29:18 See, we live in an age of casual worship.
00:29:20 Statistics show that the vast majority of people who profess to be followers of Christ
00:29:25 claim that a church's style of worship and song selection
00:29:28 is the number one determining factor
00:29:30 for whether or not they will choose
00:29:32 to be a regular attender at that church.
00:29:34 Today, it has become commonplace, normal, 0.94
00:29:38 expected for Christians to make demands on worship 1.00
00:29:42 without ever stopping to ask or consider even
00:29:47 if God, the one who is being worshiped,
00:29:50 has demands for worship.
00:29:52 See, this is not a biblical approach to worship.
00:29:55 In the same way that it was physically deadly,
00:29:57 Think of Uzzah and the 70 men who opened the ark in the same way that it was physically deadly to approach worship of the presence of God in a trite and lighthearted manner in the Old Testament. 0.86
00:30:12 Still to this day, it is spiritually deadly. 0.90
00:30:16 And in some instances, it was physically deadly.
00:30:18 In the case of Ananias and Sapphira, that's New Testament.
00:30:21 but certainly spiritually deadly in the new covenant in the new testament for us to approach
00:30:27 worship in a trite and light-hearted way today see worship is meant to be reverent now listen
00:30:34 don't make this mistake this is not to suggest that our worship is to be grim and gloomy reverence
00:30:42 and depression are not synonyms.
00:30:47 Reverence is not synonymous with gloominess.
00:30:52 It doesn't mean that our worship
00:30:54 should be grim and gloomy.
00:30:56 See, there is a tremendous amount
00:30:58 of the deepest kind of joy
00:31:00 in true worship from a pure heart.
00:31:04 This is why David danced before the Lord.
00:31:08 He wasn't just weeping and miserable,
00:31:10 he danced.
00:31:11 However, he did not dance flippantly.
00:31:14 He danced with all his might.
00:31:17 It was the kind of serious joy.
00:31:21 Now that seems like an oxymoron,
00:31:23 but it's biblical, it's right, it's good.
00:31:24 When we approach God's presence in worship,
00:31:28 we approach him with a serious joy.
00:31:31 Not a serious sadness,
00:31:34 but also not a flippant, trite, lighthearted,
00:31:36 happy, clappy joy.
00:31:38 So it's not a happy, clappy joy,
00:31:39 And it's also not serious depression.
00:31:43 No, it's serious joy.
00:31:45 When we approach the Lord with serious joy,
00:31:49 it's the kind of joy that David had.
00:31:52 It's the kind of serious joy that's only possible
00:31:55 to come from someone who has first understood
00:31:58 the fear that David felt when Uzzah was struck dead
00:32:02 for mishandling the presence of God. 0.65
00:32:04 See, you might say that it was the death of Uzzah 0.91
00:32:09 that prepared David for this moment. 0.96
00:32:12 It was the tragic death of Uzzah 1.00
00:32:15 that was used by God in His providence 1.00
00:32:18 to instill back in the heart of King David
00:32:21 a reverence and fear for His presence.
00:32:26 See, many people do not approach the Lord with reverence.
00:32:30 They do not possess serious joy in worship of this holy God
00:32:35 because they've never experienced the fear of God that David did.
00:32:39 they've never witnessed what a terrible thing it is to fall into the hands of the living God
00:32:46 as Hebrew says I've said before that I believe that the love of the Lord has been wasted
00:32:53 on a generation that has not been taught the fear of the Lord
00:32:56 because the love of God is small if we don't see his holiness I preached that just last week it's
00:33:05 the gap between a holy God and sinful man, when that gap is not in real objective terms, but in
00:33:11 our perception, in our understanding, in our theology, as that gap is widened, because we
00:33:16 come to see more of the holiness of God and more of our own sinfulness, when that gap is widened,
00:33:21 then for the Christian, what fills the gap? It's the love of God. So the love of God doesn't get
00:33:26 smaller as we see more of his holiness and more of our own sinfulness. The love and mercy of God,
00:33:32 the cross of Christ that bridges the gap, it gets bigger. So when we see more of the holiness of God,
00:33:38 we understand more of the mercy of God. We see more of the love of God. And as 1 John 4, 19 says,
00:33:44 as we see more of God's love for us, we come to love him more. And if we love him, as Jesus says,
00:33:50 we'll obey him. How do you grow in obedience? Grow in love. How do you grow in love? Come to see more
00:33:56 of his love for you. How do you see more of God's love for you? See more of his holiness and your
00:34:01 sinfulness and the gospel that bridges the gap this is what happened in the heart of david he
00:34:08 saw the holiness of god and the sinfulness of man put on display in the death of us
00:34:14 and then he approached the lord with fear and trembling but notice notice the appearance
00:34:24 the posture of his fear and trembling it's in the form and don't miss this because it's a beautiful
00:34:30 truth. His fear and trembling, King David's fear and trembling, it comes in the form of dancing.
00:34:37 It is a joyful fear, a happy trembling, a serious joy, the kind of deep, profound, and genuine joy
00:34:51 that many people who profess Christ today, I'm convinced they've never even experienced.
00:34:57 They don't even know that joy exists.
00:35:00 They think they have joy, but what they have
00:35:02 is a lighthearted, trivial, happy, clappy, shallow joy.
00:35:09 And they look at churches like ours
00:35:12 and they would compare and contrast and say,
00:35:14 you guys, yeah, you get reverence, you get holiness,
00:35:18 but you don't get joy, brother.
00:35:20 No, you don't get joy.
00:35:22 This is not our substitution for joy.
00:35:26 This is our experience and practice of the truest kind of joy.
00:35:31 A serious joy.
00:35:33 A deep joy.
00:35:35 It doesn't just cause us to weep and mourn and wail.
00:35:39 It causes us to dance.
00:35:41 But with all our might.
00:35:42 Not flippantly.
00:35:44 But with everything we have.
00:35:47 For the Savior who loves us.
00:35:51 So that's the necessity.
00:35:53 for a right view of the holiness of God
00:35:56 and therefore a right practice of worshiping God.
00:36:01 That's the necessity, right?
00:36:03 I said the structure of the text was verse one and two,
00:36:05 the sovereignty of God.
00:36:06 We're not hitting that at all
00:36:07 because we've hit that at great length
00:36:08 as we've worked through the Psalms.
00:36:10 See verses one through six of Psalm 19.
00:36:13 See Psalm 16, see Psalm two.
00:36:15 We've already hit that.
00:36:16 So verse one and two, this idea,
00:36:18 the theme of the sovereignty of God,
00:36:19 his power, his authority, we've dealt with that.
00:36:22 And we'll deal with it again.
00:36:24 But this morning, verses 3 through 5, we see the necessity for right worship.
00:36:29 Really what we could say is we see right here, we see on display, not through prescription,
00:36:35 not a prescribed, a prescriptive text, but a descriptive text, if you will.
00:36:40 We see a descriptive text in the Old Testament for the principle, the regular principle of worship.
00:36:46 To worship according to what God prescribes.
00:36:49 You don't get to carry the Ark of the Covenant however you feel like.
00:36:52 Well, we think a cart will work.
00:36:55 Dead.
00:36:58 No, I said acacia pulse.
00:37:01 Well, this is going to be a really long,
00:37:03 I mean, think about every road trip you've taken.
00:37:05 Think about your kids.
00:37:06 Can I go to the bathroom?
00:37:06 Can I go to the bathroom?
00:37:07 Six steps?
00:37:08 Imagine that.
00:37:10 Every six steps,
00:37:11 we've got to stop for a sacrifice break?
00:37:14 A divine potty break?
00:37:15 Every six steps?
00:37:17 We're never going to get there,
00:37:18 but it's right.
00:37:19 and notice
00:37:21 it doesn't drain David
00:37:23 it doesn't burden him
00:37:26 it doesn't weary him
00:37:26 he dances with all his might
00:37:30 it fills his heart with joy
00:37:32 David probably looked back
00:37:34 on this experience for the rest of his life
00:37:36 as one of the most wonderful
00:37:38 sweet moments
00:37:39 in the presence of God that he had ever experienced
00:37:42 he views it fondly
00:37:44 it's a beautiful thing
00:37:49 It's what Christ says,
00:37:50 all who are weary and heavy laden,
00:37:51 come to me and I'll give you rest.
00:37:54 Why?
00:37:54 Well, because with the entrance of the new covenant
00:37:56 for New Testament Christians, for Jesus, 0.98
00:37:58 he's gotten rid of God's moral law 0.73
00:38:00 and he gives rest
00:38:01 because he doesn't require all those commandments
00:38:03 that the Old Testament God required.
00:38:05 And so the rest is it basically comes
00:38:07 because he just expects very little
00:38:09 and it's really restful.
00:38:10 No.
00:38:11 No, Jesus didn't abolish the law.
00:38:13 He fulfilled the law.
00:38:14 When he says, come to me,
00:38:15 my yoke is easy,
00:38:16 my burden is light,
00:38:17 I'll give you rest.
00:38:18 it's not because he has no burden at all.
00:38:20 It's not because he has no yoke at all.
00:38:21 It's not because he doesn't have any more commandments
00:38:23 for his people to follow.
00:38:25 It's because through obedience to his commandments
00:38:27 come joy.
00:38:29 Because you're always going to obey someone.
00:38:33 Everyone is a slave.
00:38:35 Everyone has a master.
00:38:37 At best, your master is sin.
00:38:42 You're a slave to yourself.
00:38:43 You're a slave to your flesh
00:38:45 if you're not in Christ.
00:38:46 Your master is the world, the culture.
00:38:50 The culture has commands for you.
00:38:52 There is a reigning orthodoxy of secularism,
00:38:55 but it's so burdensome.
00:38:57 It's so exasperating.
00:38:59 Their commandments change every five seconds.
00:39:02 The woke can't keep up with the woke.
00:39:05 The most leftist person in the world
00:39:08 will be a conservative in 15 or 16 days from now.
00:39:12 Obama is viewed as, he's not progressive enough.
00:39:18 The guy's kind of close-minded, right?
00:39:20 He was the president like five seconds ago.
00:39:24 But you want to talk about burdens that are heavy?
00:39:28 Yokes that are binding, that break the back, that weary the soul?
00:39:33 Go to the world.
00:39:35 And you might say, well, the world's not my master.
00:39:38 Well, you want a master that's even more taxing?
00:39:40 Go to yourself.
00:39:42 Go to your flesh, its cravings.
00:39:45 You know, how painful is it
00:39:48 when you have an idol in your life and you watch it,
00:39:51 you're watching it destroy your spouse.
00:39:55 You see its direct effects on the people you love most
00:39:58 and you can't stop yourself.
00:40:01 And you know, you know that it's killing you
00:40:04 and it's not just killing you, it's killing your kids. 0.98
00:40:06 It's killing your wife. 0.99
00:40:07 It's killing your friends and your family. 0.59
00:40:10 And you know it.
00:40:11 and you watch it
00:40:12 and you still, as a dog returns to its vomit,
00:40:15 go back and back again
00:40:17 because you're enslaved.
00:40:21 The culture of the world is a cruel master.
00:40:23 The flesh, our sin, idolatry is a cruel master.
00:40:29 Here's the reality.
00:40:30 Freedom, in terms of autonomous freedom,
00:40:34 being your own master in a positive,
00:40:36 non-taxing, non-exasperating way is a myth.
00:40:41 Everyone's got to serve somebody.
00:40:43 A prophet once said, Bob Dylan.
00:40:49 Everybody's got to serve somebody.
00:40:52 See, the thing about Jesus is not that he has no commands.
00:40:55 It's not that he has no reigning orthodoxy.
00:40:56 It's not that he has no prescribed worship.
00:40:59 And it's not that he's not a master.
00:41:00 And it's not that those who follow him are not his slaves, his bond servants.
00:41:05 No, it's just that he's the only good master.
00:41:09 He's the only kind master.
00:41:11 He's the only master who doesn't just burden his followers,
00:41:15 but actually took upon himself our burden and carried it for us.
00:41:19 He's the only master who will command us in his holiness,
00:41:23 that is not to be trifled with,
00:41:24 and in the very same breath will address us as friends.
00:41:31 That's what he says to his disciples.
00:41:33 No longer do I call you slaves, servants,
00:41:35 but I call you my friends.
00:41:41 and so verses three through five of our text it shows us it gives us it's a descriptive text
00:41:47 for the regular principle of worship that we worship God with fear and trembling we worship
00:41:52 him according not only to spirit David possessed that right spirit zeal passion he danced with
00:41:59 all his might thrown off clothes right spirits there but he also worshiped him in truth it's
00:42:04 not spirit at the expense of truth, but it's also not dead, crusty, lifeless, cold orthodoxy
00:42:11 at the expense of spirit. It's both. It's zeal and law. It's spirit and truth. It's serious joy.
00:42:23 Serious joy. Reverent happiness. That's what David possessed. And it did not burden him.
00:42:32 It infused him with life and energy.
00:42:35 It rejuvenated his soul.
00:42:37 The law of God, remember, we preached this.
00:42:40 Psalm 19, we saw the law of God,
00:42:42 it restores the soul.
00:42:47 But there's not just a need, brothers and sisters,
00:42:50 moving quickly now.
00:42:52 There's not just a need for reverent worship,
00:42:56 to worship God in spirit and in truth.
00:42:59 Because despite your best actions,
00:43:01 To be as reverent and as zealous as you possibly can be, it'll never be enough.
00:43:11 Our best work done in ourselves, our righteousness, is what?
00:43:19 Filthy rags.
00:43:21 And so, although we need progressive righteousness in terms of sanctification,
00:43:28 Our deeds, our words, our actions, progressive righteousness is in a hill of beans without the positional righteousness of justification that comes by grace through faith in Christ.
00:43:44 In order to grow in the righteousness of sanctification in our deeds,
00:43:51 we must first be declared righteous,
00:43:55 not on the basis of our deeds,
00:43:58 but on the basis of the obedience of another.
00:44:01 See, in the end, in the final analysis,
00:44:04 did you know that no one will ever be saved apart from works?
00:44:08 Everyone is saved by works.
00:44:09 part of the gospel is just that it's the works of christ
00:44:14 god pardons us on the basis of mercy but there's a sense in which god pardons us on the basis of
00:44:21 justice it would be unjust not just a lack of grace or kindness or mercy no it would actually
00:44:28 be unjust for god not to commune when you with you when you run to him why because you were
00:44:37 saved by works your salvation was bought it was paid for it was earned not with a lowering of the
00:44:47 bar everything that god demands to love the lord your god with everything in every moment for all
00:44:54 of your life with your heart your soul your strength your mind all of that it was not lowered
00:44:59 The standard was not compromised.
00:45:02 No, it was met by Christ on your behalf.
00:45:07 And so God pardons you and communes with you
00:45:10 on the basis of both mercy and justice.
00:45:13 And justice.
00:45:15 And so although the regular principle of worship
00:45:17 is such an important principle
00:45:19 that the church in America has forgotten,
00:45:22 it still is not enough in and of itself.
00:45:24 right worship
00:45:28 without right standing
00:45:31 is lethal
00:45:34 it's lethal
00:45:36 right worship
00:45:39 in spirit and in truth
00:45:41 but without right standing
00:45:43 being first clothed in the righteousness of Christ
00:45:47 through faith
00:45:48 it means nothing
00:45:50 it's filthy rags
00:45:51 it's actually an offense to God
00:45:53 It's actually an offense because it presupposes that you possess the power to please God.
00:46:01 And that the sacrifice and work of His Son was redundant and unnecessary.
00:46:09 So we need right worship.
00:46:12 We need obedient actions in our sanctification, progressive righteousness.
00:46:17 But the only way that counts is if we first have right standing before God in our positional righteousness, by grace through faith, in justification, the righteousness of Christ.
00:46:33 And that's what we see.
00:46:34 See, because Psalm 24, at the surface level, is a song that King David wrote for carrying the presence of God, the ark, from Obed-Edom's house to Jerusalem.
00:46:49 But in a prophetic, much, much deeper and eternal sense, Psalm 24 doesn't speak to King David, and it doesn't speak to the earthly city of Jerusalem.
00:47:01 No, it speaks to the celestial city
00:47:03 and it speaks to the king of all kings
00:47:05 and the Lord of all lords.
00:47:07 And so in conclusion,
00:47:09 here's my brief exegesis of verses seven through 10.
00:47:13 The messianic prophetic sense,
00:47:16 the Christ-centered truest meaning of Psalm 24.
00:47:20 On the surface, verses seven through 10 of our text
00:47:22 describe the cries of David and his men
00:47:25 as they approach the gates of the city of Jerusalem
00:47:28 while carrying the Ark of the Covenant.
00:47:30 And yet, in a much deeper sense, this is a prophetic song that describes the majestic scene of heaven directly after the ascension of Christ.
00:47:40 For the first time in the history of history, a man actually approached the ancient doors of heaven.
00:47:48 And this man did not humbly request that he might be granted permission to enter the celestial city.
00:47:54 Rather, he cried out with absolute authority, demanding that the angelic beings who guard
00:48:00 the doors of heaven with swords of fire open those ancient doors for the very first time.
00:48:07 And as those doors opened, every angelic being that has ever been made immediately fell prostrate
00:48:13 before this man and began to scream and wail, saying, bring the ancient diadems, crown him,
00:48:21 and crown him with many crowns.
00:48:23 Our text asks one of the most important questions
00:48:26 in all of the universe.
00:48:28 Who is this king of glory?
00:48:30 The scripture proclaims that this man
00:48:32 is not ultimately King David.
00:48:34 It is none less than the God-man, Christ Jesus.
00:48:39 He is the king of glory.
00:48:40 He is the one who earned entrance as a man
00:48:44 for the very first time into the celestial city.
00:48:49 men have have weeped and wailed with gnashing of teeth think of all the parables for those who are
00:48:56 disobedient for for those who do not listen to the to the message of the gospel what what happens 0.94
00:49:03 to them it says they'll be thrown out of the gates that's part of the reason why Jesus he 0.91
00:49:08 wasn't crucified in the city he was crucified outside the gates at Golgotha outside the gates
00:49:14 because he bore the curse on our behalf and part of the curse right the wages of sin is death but
00:49:19 it's not just death, it's utter rejection. It's being cast out. Jesus was cast out, accursed for
00:49:24 us outside the city gates. And it's the same language that Jesus uses in his parables. He
00:49:28 says, for those who do not listen, for those who don't receive the invitation to the wedding banquet
00:49:34 of the king, what's going to happen? Eventually a time will come where the invitation is no longer
00:49:39 on the table. The deal is done. And those who have not responded, the gates are closed. And the
00:49:45 wedding banquet, it begins without them. And no matter how hard they try, it'll be too late.
00:49:52 Think of the parable of the ten virgins. Five were wise. They brought extra oil for their lamps
00:49:57 because the bridegroom may come in the middle of the night. They needed to see so they could follow
00:50:01 him to the wedding. But five of the virgins, they were foolish. They did not bring enough oil in 1.00
00:50:06 their lamps. And wouldn't you know it? They ran out of oil. They can no longer see. And the bridegroom
00:50:12 appears, and they want to come in. They want to be a part of the banquet. They want to be a part
00:50:18 of the feast, the celebration, but they can't. And what is the language that Jesus uses multiple
00:50:24 times in his parables to describe those who are outside the gate? There is weeping and wailing
00:50:30 and gnashing of teeth. We might say, at least in a symbolic spiritual sense, the gates of the
00:50:38 celestial city those pearly great gates of heaven the outer side of the gates are marked with with
00:50:46 claw marks from men who forever regret that they rejected the son of god weeping and wailing and
00:50:54 gnashing their teeth wishing that they could have another chance wishing that it was not too late
00:51:00 Many have tried, brothers and sisters, to get through those gates.
00:51:06 But they couldn't.
00:51:08 They had failed.
00:51:10 Their righteousness was not sufficient.
00:51:13 But for the first time in the history of history,
00:51:15 when the God-man Christ Jesus came before those gates,
00:51:19 He cries out. He doesn't ask.
00:51:22 It's not a request for any permission, any favor.
00:51:26 He demands.
00:51:27 He commands.
00:51:30 Open up, you ancient doors.
00:51:33 Be lifted up, you gates.
00:51:36 For the king of glory will come in.
00:51:40 I've earned it.
00:51:41 It is my right.
00:51:43 And he walked through those gates.
00:51:45 And with him, in union with him by grace through faith,
00:51:50 we too will walk through those gates as well.
00:51:54 On the basis of mercy and on the basis of justice,
00:51:57 what Christ has earned for us.
00:52:02 Those gates, we don't have to weep and wail
00:52:04 and claw and gnash.
00:52:07 We're not cast out, rejected where there's utter darkness.
00:52:11 We will experience, all those who are in Christ
00:52:14 will experience eternal communion with God
00:52:17 on the basis of Jesus
00:52:20 who has opened the gates for us on our behalf.
00:52:25 Let's pray.
00:52:26 Father God, we thank you for Jesus.
00:52:28 We thank you for his work.
00:52:30 We thank you that the gates that separate a sinful man
00:52:33 and a holy God,
00:52:36 that they've been opened through the work of Jesus Christ.
00:52:39 We thank you.
00:52:40 Likewise, we could say that the veil,
00:52:43 that the veil that separates the holy of holies
00:52:46 and sinners like us,
00:52:48 it has been torn.
00:52:50 And it was ripped from top to bottom.
00:52:52 Even that is symbolic.
00:52:53 as though God himself ripped it all the way down to earth.
00:52:58 Jesus has removed the dividing line
00:53:01 between God and man.
00:53:04 And through him, we have sweet fellowship
00:53:07 and confidence before you.
00:53:11 We thank you for this.
00:53:13 And now, Lord, we pray that you would empower us
00:53:15 to worship him in spirit and in truth through song.
00:53:18 We pray this in Jesus' name.
00:53:20 Amen.
00:53:21 Big news, really big news.
00:53:24 Our next Right Response Conference is in the works.
00:53:28 We've got a number of things already lined up and organized.
00:53:31 This is what we've got so far.
00:53:33 The whole conference, three days long
00:53:35 on post-millennialism and theonomy.
00:53:39 And the speakers, Dr. James White, Dr. Joseph Boot,
00:53:43 Gary DeMar, and of course, yours truly, Pastor Joel Webin.
00:53:47 We've got a great lineup.
00:53:49 We've got great topics.
00:53:50 If you want to find out dates and location and registration and anything else, go and
00:53:56 visit our website, rightresponseconference.com, rightresponseconference.com.