Blessing God is both seeing who God is and proclaiming who God is.
Sermon Title: HANDS HIGH HEARTS AS ONE
Sermon Text: PSALMS 132:1-3 (ESV)
9TH YEAR ANNIVERSARY SERMON
By: PTR NESTOR SY
Sermon Notes:
PSALMS 134:1-3 ESV
1 A Song of Ascents.
Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the LORD!
3 May the LORD bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth!
There is blessing in blessing the Lord.
I. The Invitation to Bless the Lord (Ps 134:1).
1 A Song of Ascents.
Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
Blessing God is both seeing who God is and proclaiming who God is.
1 PETER 2:9 ESV
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
PSALMS 122:1 ESV
1 A Song of Ascents. Of David.
I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!”
II. The Posture in Blessing the Lord (Ps 134:2).
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the LORD!
*Our preferences should never inhibit us from praising God.
PSALMS 134:1-2 ESV
1 A Song of Ascents.
Come, bless the LORD, all you servants of the LORD, who stand by night in the house of the LORD!
2 Lift up your hands to the holy place and bless the LORD!
We worship what we believe is valuable.
Worship is about God and for God.
III. The Anticipation of God’s Blessing (Ps 134:3).
A Royal “Waste” of Time – Marva J. Dawn
“To worship the Lord is – in the world’s eyes – a waste of time. It is, indeed, a royal waste of time, but a waste nonetheless. By engaging in it, we don’t accomplish anything useful in our society’s terms.
Worship ought not to be construed in a utilitarian way. It’s purpose is not to gain numbers nor for our churches to be seen as successful. Rather, the entire reason for our worship is that God deserves it.
Moreover, it isn’t even useful for earning points with God, for what we do in worship won’t change one whit how God feels about us. We will always still be helpless sinners caught in our endless inability to be what we should be or to make ourselves better – and God will always be merciful, compassionate, and gracious, abounding in steadfast love and ready to forgive us when we come to him.”
“May ‘blessed’ and ‘blessing’ be the two words that describe our lives.”
Charles Spurgeon
It is God’s blessing that makes our blessing possible in the first place.
HEBREWS 12:22-24 NLT
22 No, you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to countless thousands of angels in a joyful gathering. 23 You have come to the assembly of God’s firstborn children, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God himself, who is the judge over all things. You have come to the spirits of the righteous ones in heaven who have now been made perfect. 24 You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness instead of crying out for vengeance like the blood of Abel.
PSALMS 134:3 ESV
3 May the LORD bless you from Zion, he who made heaven and earth!
— NO SMALL GROUP DISCUSSIONS POSTED —
But we do encourage you to meet with your small groups this week. If you do not have a small group yet, just send us a message and we’ll look for one that fits with your schedule.