FBC Morning Light (6/2/2024)

Good Saturday morning, people of faith. This morning we're looking at 1 Kings 7, 2 Chronicles 3, verse 15, through 2 Chronicles 5, verse 1, and then Psalm 42 through 45. I'm going to kind of give you an overview of 1 Kings 7 and 2 Chronicles 3 through 5, and then I'm going to read mostly a passage from Psalm 42.

Solomon’s Temple Furnishings and the Ark

All right, so 1 Kings 7 starts with the phrase,. But Solomon took thirteen years to build his own house, so he finished all his house. So after he finishes his house, he's going to make the, or start building the temple, which is what he was tasked by his father David to do.

And so much of the rest of chapter 7 and then much of chapter 3 and chapter 4 of 2 Chronicles talks about all the different utensils and things that they built, the laver and the altar and all these different things, all right?

And so in verse 1 of chapter 5, it says,. So all the work that Solomon had done for the house of the Lord was finished, and Solomon brought in the things which his father David had dedicated, the silver and the gold and all the furnishings, and he put them in the treasuries of the house of God.

And so we're getting to the point in the building of Solomon's temple here where they're about to bring in the ark, and they are about to have corporate worship unlike anything the nation of Israel has ever done before.

Worship as the Heart’s Reverent Response to God

And so with that in mind, let me read Psalm 42. As the deer pants for the water, water brooks, so pants my soul for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

My tears have been my food day and night, while they continually say to me, Where is your God? When I remember these things, I pour out my soul within me. For I used to go with the multitude, I went with them to the house of God, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that kept a pilgrim feast.

Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance. O my God, my soul is cast down within me, therefore I will remember you from the land of the Jordan, and from the heights of Hermon, from the hill Mizar.

Preparing for Worship Without Letting Distractions Rule

Alright, so in the preparation for the worship, it's so important that you remember that it's not the sacrifices in themselves that are pleasing to God. When you gather together, and hopefully you have plans to do such tomorrow, as tomorrow is the Lord's day, hopefully you realize that it's not singing the songs that is in itself.

Worship.

Worship is an acknowledgment of who God is, what he has done, things about his character and his nature that cause you to bow down in your heart in reverence to him. There are so many things that can get in the way of that.

I know as a young parent, how your kids are behaving in the mornings can get in the way.

Of that.

As we get older, how our bodies are feeling can sometimes get in the way of that, or as we make plans for our lives, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life, so many things can get in the way. What I want to do now is take a moment and pray that we would not let these things get in the way of our true worship, that we would be seeking after the Lord as the psalmist here in Psalm 42 is seeking after the Lord.

Prayer for Undistracted Worship and Confession of Sin

Let's pray. Heavenly Father, may it be that the things that distract us from worshiping you, whether that be the way we sing, or what we sing, or maybe what we're thinking about really when we're singing that gets in the way, or what we're thinking about when we're listening to the sermon that gets in the way, or any of the many, many things that can get in the way of our true worship of you.

If there be any sin in our lives that we are quietly hiding, that we would confess them to you and be walking with you instead of walking in darkness. We look forward to worshiping together tomorrow. May you bless our worship together.

It's in your Son's name, Jesus we pray, amen. Have an excellent day, people of faith.