Scripture Text: Psalm 84
"TO THE CHOIRMASTER: ACCORDING TO THE GITTITH.1 A PSALM OF THE SONS OF KORAH. How lovely is your dwelling place, O LORD of hosts! 2 My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the LORD; my heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God. 3 Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O LORD of hosts, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house, ever singing your praise! Selah 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion. 1 6 As they go through the Valley of Baca they make it a place of springs; the early rain also covers it with pools. 7 They go from strength to strength; each one appears before God in Zion. 8 O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer; give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah 9 Behold our shield, O God; look on the face of your anointed! 10 For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 11 For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. 12 O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you! "
1. In love with the house of God
2. En route to the house of God
3. At home in the house of God.
"the best obtainable anywhere else is as nothing compared to this" - JA Motyer
“Viewing life’s blessings as water in a drinking cup, I know that I could discontentedly focus on the half of the cup that seems empty, or I could gratefully focus on the half that is full. Certainly, the latter approach is the better approach of the two, yet the gospel cultivates within me a richer gratitude than this. The gospel reminds me first that what I actually deserve from God is a full cup churning with the torments of His wrath. This is the cup that would be mine to drink if I were given what I deserve each day. With this understanding in mind, I see that to be handed a completely empty cup from God would be cause enough for infinite gratitude. I f there were merely the tiniest drop of blessing contained in that otherwise empty cup, I should be blown away by the unbelievable kindness of God toward me. That God, in fact, has given me a cup that is full of “every spiritual blessing in Christ” and this without the slightest admixture of wrath, leaves me truly dumbfounded with inexpressible joy.”-Milton Vincent, A Gospel Primer
Potential Application Questions:
1. Where do we long to live and where are we seeking to dwell?
2. What are we most passionate about and what do we love to talk about most? (What does that reveal?)
3. How does the fact that we are en route to the house of the Lord make our valley of Baca a spring?
4. How do you define the “importance” of ministry in the church?
5. What would you be willing to give up to be a doorkeeper in the house of the Lord?
6. What is God calling you to do to draw close to Him now?
