Psalm 84 1. We Should Be Craving Church
Do you have a desire to be in church? Do you desire God?
Psalm 84:1-4
How lovely is Your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts!
2 My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.
3 Even the sparrow has found a home, And the swallow a nest for herself, Where she may lay her young— Even Your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God.
4 Blessed are those who dwell in Your house; They will still be praising You. Selah
In this set of verses the psalmist talks about how that he is so excited to get the tabernacle that his heart and soul cries out to get there.
People desire to be in other places instead of the church house
Only the people that ache so much to be in the house of God and living for God as Verse 2 says will reap what verse 11 says.
Back in March of 2021 I had wrote a blog that was titled "One Last Tater Tor". It was about our dog Sally.
One night my wife and I had went to Sonic to get something to eat. When we got home we pulled the food out of the bag and we had each ordered tater tots. As we ate our dog Sally stood by the table between us begging for a tater tot. As we began to get full we began to give our little Sally a few of the tater tots. Before we gave her too many and made her sick I said "Ok Sally, one last tater tot." She gladly ate the last tater tot, however she still wanted more. She continued to beg and we finally threw the rest of them away.
When we come to church we should feel the desire to want more of Him. God will fulfill that desire if we let Him.
2. We Need To Be Getting What We Need.
Psalm 84:5-9
Blessed is the man whose strength is in You, Whose heart is set on pilgrimage.
6 As they pass through the Valley of Baca, They make it a spring; The 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 O God, behold our shield, And look upon the face of Your anointed.
In this second section of the Psalm, the writer correctly realizes that however much he would like to spend all day, every day in the temple praising God and learning about God’s Word, that is not realistic for him.
Since we don't get to spend all day in the church like the birds are the priest then we must do all we can to get fulfillment from God and rejuvenated when we worship God.
What do you chase after to get fulfillment or rejuvenated in life? Hunting? Fishing? Shopping?
People love to spend time in their hobbies and enjoyment of life. People get everything that they need for a while when they are able to do what they love. However, at what point does that your getaway from God.
3. We Should Want To Be In The Presence of God.
Psalm 84:10-12
10 For a day in Your courts is better than a thousand. 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 will give grace and glory; No good thing will He withhold From those who walk uprightly.
12 O Lord of hosts, Blessed is the man who trusts in You!
Where is your dream vacation? My wife and I does not necessarily have a dream vacation other than to be with each other at some place that we would enjoy.
Being in the presence of God is exactly what we all need and should desire.
The psalmist is say that it is better to spend 1 day in the church than to spend a 1000 day in a dream place.
If you are coming to church just so you can say I go to church or that you are a Christian then you would be in the wrong. You should be in church because God gave you another chance to be saved by His blood.
The desire should be there.
We should be like Sally and be begging for God to give us just a little more.