Be Strong, Take Heart, and Wait for the LORD

 Psalm 27:1-14

Live A Life of Worship

Psalm 27:1-6, “The LORD is my light and my salvation—who shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life—of whom shall I be afraid? When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident. One thing I ask from the Lord, this is what I seek:  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in this dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock. Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the LORD.”

The psalmist never complained to God or fell away from Him though he lived under an environment that was filled with troubles and life-threatening disturbances. Instead, he uttered his greatest desire to be able to dwell securely in the house of the Lord and worship Him. This is something that touches me deeply.

However, for the psalmist to consistently worship in God’s temple, to offer a pleasing sacrifice to God, and to behold God’s glory in His court, was never something to be taken for granted.

Let’s examine how to live a life of worship which is indeed a promising, satisfying and blessed life.

The Bible records a vision that really saddens our hearts. Prophet Ezekiel saw in his vision that the Temple of Jerusalem was filled with idols, and the glory of God was departing from the Temple itself.

First, His glory went up from above the cherubim over the ark, moved to the threshold of the Temple (Ezekiel 9:3) and stopped there. Then, it moved to the east gate of the temple (Ezekiel 10:19）and rest on it. Eventually, the glory of God departed from Jerusalem (Ezekiel 11:23).

The people of God worshipped idols in His Temple. Hence, God had to leave, and He no longer dwelled in Jerusalem. The people of God lost the presence of God because of their sins.

Nevertheless, God was gracious and merciful, and He desired to renew His people. In a later vision, Ezekiel saw the glory of God entering the new Temple. (Ezekiel 43:4） They offered sacrifices to God, and God said, “I will accept you.” (Ezekiel 43:27）

This beautiful picture of men being reconciled to God is not merely the pivotal moment in the book of Ezekiel, but it serves as the pivotal point in human’s life too. The birth of Jesus Christ presents this beautiful picture perfectly before us.

Man is separated from God, and he has lost God’s presence in his life because of his sin, and he does not know how to worship and fear God. The Bible says, men have fallen short of God’s glory.

Yet the birth of the Lord Jesus has brought us salvation, cleansed us completely from all sins and renewed our lives so that we could know God and come before Him in worship. Therefore, we should give thanks to the Lord Jesus whenever we come to worship God and appreciate Him for saving us by giving up His life and by shedding His blood for us.

Thus, it is only rightful to say, the Gospel of salvation of Christ is always the center of our worship! We ought to make Christ as the center of our life.

As we desire for God’s mercy and acceptance when we come before Him and worship in His temple, the most pleasing act to God is that we do His will.

The Old Testament scripture records in great details how the people of God should carry out the ritual of sacrifice offerings and worship. In the time when Jesus was born, Joseph and Mary offered the child Jesus to the Lord by following the instructions given in the law (Luke 2:22-24). We can see that worship and sacrifice offerings were done in accordance with God’s instructions.

Today, we do not bring cows, sheep or pigeons to church and offer them as sacrifices to Him, but the Bible has informed us that God demands us to offer our body as a living sacrifice.

“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.” (Romans 12:1）

By offering our body as a living sacrifice, it means that we live in accordance with the will of God throughout our lifetimes as a way of serving Him. The Lord Jesus is our example, for He said, “I have come to do your will, my God.” （Hebrews 10:7）

Besides, we are also to make our prayer and praises as the sacrifice.

Every Sunday as we sing and praise God in unison in the house of God, we are also offering the sacrifice that pleases Him. “Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.” (Hebrews 13:15）

For this reason, we remind the congregation constantly that we ought to join the online worship during the pandemic times. We must continue to connect with God and with others. In this way we could continue a life of worship together with other brothers and sisters.

Other than offering our praises to God, the Bible also reminds us that, “And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.” (Hebrews 13:16). That is offering our wealth with faith and love.

God is pleased with us also when we offer our money and possession. The Lord Jesus once praised the poor widow who offered her two little coins and Mary who offered Jesus an alabaster jar of perfume. Both of them had offered their gifts out of their faith and love for the Lord, and they received God’s acceptance and praises.

Paul, the apostle, also said that the monies offered by the church of Philippi to support his mission work was a pleasing sacrifice to God. “I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God.” (Philippians 4:18)

The more faith we have in God, the more we dare to give our monies to be used in the Kingdom of God. We believe that God shall be pleased with our offerings, and He would surely bless us greatly.

By the way, we will be grateful if we truly appreciate Christ’s sacrificial love, that He has given up Himself to save us. Consequently, we will be willing to offer our wealth to be used in the Kingdom of God. A Christian who keeps on saying “thank God” but unwilling to give generously does not really appreciate the grace freely given by Christ through His salvation.

We are in fact sinners who once were drowning and heading towards destruction, yet Christ has saved us. We are merely sinners who are blessed with the free grace of forgiveness from. We can’t contribute anything to have received Christ’s salvation. May Christ’s sacrificial love once again inspires us to love others and to help them and forgive their sins.

We must examine our own hearts and observe if our focus is fixed on God when we come to worship in the temple of God and offer our monies and ourselves to serve Him. Who indeed is the one that we offer our sacrifices to?

The vision of Ezekiel tells us a very sad fact, that the Temple of Jerusalem was filled with idols. It reflects that although the people of God were worshipping in the Temple, yet they actually worshipped themselves instead of worshipping God. Idols are man-made to satisfy human egos themselves.

We should always keep watch over our hearts and remind ourselves that there is only One Person that we could worship, and that is none other than the Lord who has created us and redeemed us. We must follow the instructions of the Lord and the teachings found in the Bible, over and above our own will.

Not only does God enable us to receive the grace and blessings of worshipping God in the Temple, but also the greatest contentment and joy for those who wait and look upon Him in the Temple.

Simeon was a pious man and he believed that God would surely grant His salvation as He promised. Therefore, He was waiting for the coming of the Savior throughout His lifetime. As a result, He really met Jesus, the Savior, in the Temple of God. His heart was filled with exceeding joy, and he embraced baby Jesus in his arms and praised God and said, “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace. For my eyes have seen your salvation.” (Luke 2:29-30）

These words show that Simeon could then pass on to eternity because his desire was fulfilled! This inner satisfaction and joy were revealed vividly. The faithful Lord has given His salvation in accordance with His promise and those who look up to Him shall receive the greatest contentment in their lives.

David experienced many wonderful things in his life. He had with him all fame, power, wealth, etc. Yet this was his desire, “and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” (Psalm 23:6)

Today, may our hearts be fully satisfied, calm and rest in peace when we come before God and look upon Him by faith, just as the psalmist encourages us in verses 13-14, “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Conclusion

God has already given us the best, Jesus, His One and Only Son. Jesus is also known as “Emmanuel”, and it means, “God with us.” (Matthew 1:23)

Hopefully every one of us shall be reconciled to God through the salvation of Christ Jesus, and that we are able to worship in His court and offer the sacrifices that please His heart. And, may we all be strong, take heart and wait for the LORD in his court. We will surely enjoy the greatest contentment in our lives.

May we also love others and forgive others with the love of Christ, and help those who are around us, so that people might see Christ in our midst, and put their trust in Him and worship Him together with us.