This is a sermon that was preached on April 5, 2020. The service was recorded with no audience / congregation present because of the COVID-19 pandemic and restrictions on public gatherings. The message is based on Ps. 24:7-10 and is applied to the Triumphal Entry on Palm Sunday.
Written Excerpts:
Psalm 24:7-10 (NKJV) Lift up your
heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of
glory shall come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The
LORD strong and mighty, The LORD mighty in battle. 9 Lift up
your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory
shall come in. 10 Who is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is
the King of glory.
Introduction:
Well, here we are on Palm Sunday, and I’m sure
that none of us are doing exactly what we thought we would be doing today.
I know that I had been thinking about this
service for awhile and just a couple of weeks ago I thought we would still be
able to meet together, but things have changed.
Since we cannot meet together, I am grateful
for the technology that allows us to at least record this service on video and
you can have a little taste of our home church, even if it’s not completely
like the real thing.
These circumstances serve as a reminder to me
that there are thousands of believers around the world who face worse hardships
than this every single week of the year, yet they remain strong in their faith
and in their service to Jesus.
So, let’s not be discouraged. God will see us
through.
The passage of Scripture I want to draw your
attention to today is Psalm 24, verses 7-10. (Read verses above.)
Bible scholars are not in agreement about what
the original scenario is for this Psalm. One view is…
(Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries) – Psalm
24 is a hymn of praise to God, who is celebrated as the King of glory
(vv. 7-10) in what appears to be a liturgical interchange between two priests. …
the final stanza (vv. 7-10) describes a dialogue between a priest attending the
ark of the covenant at the head of the victorious Israelite army as it returns
to the sanctuary in Jerusalem and a priest at the gates of Jerusalem …. Thus,
the psalm praises God the Warrior who has given his people victory over their
enemies.
Another author didn’t make any reference to
possible liturgical responses between two priests or even attempt to define what
the specific occasion was, but simply describes how “both the city and the
people were called on to receive with joy and anticipation the Great King.”
(Expositor’s Bible Commentary, Revised)
Regardless whether the passage was written originally
to celebrate the Ark of the Covenant, or the army of Israel returning from
victory, or some other setting, the point is clear that God is the One to be
honored and celebrated.
That is the same message that clearly comes
into focus when we read the account of Jesus riding into the city of Jerusalem
on Palm Sunday. Jesus deserves to be honored, celebrated and glorified.
I want to take a little while this morning to
look at these verses more closely and apply their message to the privilege we
have of honoring the Lord.
Expositor’s Bible Commentary says this in
regards to verse 7, “The sense of v.7
would be [this]: “Rejoice greatly, O you people [who live within the gates]”...
On the other hand, the psalmist may be literally addressing the gates of the
temple to open up. Or since the temple itself was not yet erected in David’s
time, the psalmist may be referring to the “ancient doors” of Jerusalem.
Regardless of the referent, the point remains that Jerusalem … became the city
of God because God chose to dwell in it. Consequently, both the city and the
people were called on to receive with joy and anticipation the Great King.”
Based on these comments and the comments of
others, I would like to make these three simple observations.
I. God Was Israel’s Warrior King.
It seems that this Psalm could have been
written as a celebration poem for the victory God had provided to the army of
Israel.
Just like stories I’ve read from history, I
can imagine it was a genuine cause of celebration when a victorious army came
home.
They celebrated the troops, they celebrated the commanders, and they celebrated
their gods.
We read in the OT that King Saul became
jealous of David because of the kinds of celebration and accolades the people
were bestowing upon David, more so than they were for Saul.
We also read how the kings and nations who
were defeated by Israel would sometimes give credit to Israel’s God.
The OT books of 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles and Isaiah
record events during the reign of King Hezekiah. During his reign, the king of
Assyria was threatening the people of Judah and warned, “Don’t let your God
deceive you into thinking you won’t be defeated by my army.”
This provides an example how people, including
kings, credited their God or gods with producing victory in battle. And the
king of Assyria was essentially saying my god is greater than yours.
As we read that account, we find out that the
God of Israel did deliver His people from the king of Assyria, just like He had
done many times in the past.
The battles won by Israel throughout her
history demonstrated over and over the mighty power of her great God. I don’t
have the time to relate all of the supernatural interventions by God to give
victory to the armies of Israel; they’re too many to mention.
But the point is this, God deserved all the
glory and the praise for His role in defending His people. And this Psalm is a
poetic way of urging the city and its residents to exalt and praise the God of
Israel – The victorious, warrior King!
II. Jesus Is Our Warrior King.
Jumping ahead hundreds of years, we come to
the NT account of Palm Sunday. The Bible describes the crowds of people laying
their garments and branches in the road for Jesus to ride over on His way to
the city of Jerusalem.
They’re shouting and praising God. They are
referencing OT passages that clearly predict God’s Messiah King.
Undoubtedly, they had deep aspirations that
this miracle-working wonder from Nazareth would rise to power, throw off the
oppressive rule of Rome and conquer all of Israel’s enemies once-and-for-all.
Their short-sightedness caused them to only
seek an earthly king.
Because of that, they soon succumbed to the
incitement of religious leaders and began to call for His crucifixion.
Apparently, they quickly began to see Him as a
weakling rather than a conqueror. He “couldn’t even save Himself!” But little
did they realize what battles Jesus fought and impressively won.
All through His earthly life, Jesus engaged in
conflict with Satan through temptations, the opposition of wicked opponents,
and attempts on His life.
But even more importantly, He overcame every
opposition from hell to derail His work of redemption! He paid the ultimate price,
sacrificed Himself as the perfect Lamb of God, and “sat down at the right hand
of the Majesty on high!”
Hallelujah!
I’m thankful today for the victory Jesus
Christ has won for your redemption and my redemption! He truly is our warrior
King! He is the champion of our salvation!
My third point is in the form of an
admonition.
III. Give It Up for Jesus.
You know, when I listen to conversations
around me from day to day I often hear words and phrases that remind me I’m out
of touch with some of the modern jargon.
One phrase I’ve heard many times in recent
years is this, “Give it up for Sam (or George, or whomever).” Being as sharp as
I am, I quickly learned that I wasn’t being asked to give up anything but
rather to simply applaud for the one being recognized.
Well, in my feeble attempt to be as relevant
as possible, let me say this, “GIVE IT UP FOR JESUS!”
I want to re-read verses 7-8 of Psalm 24 and I
want you to imagine we are admonishing everyone around us to exalt Jesus Christ
as the great King of Glory.
Lift up your heads, O you
gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall
come in. 8 Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and
mighty, The Lord mighty in battle.
Jesus is worthy of your adoration and mine.
Jesus is worthy to be glorified and praised for He alone is the “captain of our
salvation.” (See Heb. 2:10)
But let me remind you that He deserves much
more than mere accolades and shouts of praise.
He deserves our obedience and service.
To the religious people of His day Jesus posed
this question:
Luke 6:46 (NKJV) "But why do you
call Me 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do the things which I say?
It’s really a legitimate question. How is it
appropriate for me shout words of admiration, praise, and honor, then fail
to heed His words and directives for my life?
The old adage is correct, “my actions speak so
loudly people can’t hear what I’m saying.”
So, when I say, “Give it up for Jesus!” I do
mean: give Him glory, give Him honor, give Him genuine applause.
But… don’t stop there. Give Him your
obedience. Give Him your service. Give Him whatever He asks. Will you?
Closing Song: Crown Him with Many Crowns
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