Sermon

December 1, 2002
1st Sunday in Advent
Psalm 24
Pastor Ben Berger

THE KING IS COMING!

Have you received your invitation yet? During this time of year people are throwing all kinds of parties. Maybe it's a family member or a friend, maybe someone from church. I'm sure by now you've received any number of invitations to celebrate the holidays with loved ones. There's one party you don't want to miss. The host won't be a friend, family member or someone from church; the host will be God himself, the King. The King is coming and he's going to throw the feast of eternity. The King is coming; will you be invited to his feast? Today we look at a psalm that welcomes the coming King. The psalmist tells us the King is coming. Then he asks us: I) will you stand in his presence? And reassures us II) you will stand in his presence.

I'm going to assume that you all want to stand before your King, that you want to live in his presence. If you have no interest in being in the presence of your King, then what God's word has to say to you is useless. If you do want to live with your king, the Word will tell you how.

What does it mean to stand in the presence of a king? Well, not just anyone can stand before a king. I learned this while reading the book of Esther. Esther had been named queen to the King of Persia. When she learned that her people, the Jews, were in trouble, she wanted to plead with the king for his help. The king, however, did not allow anyone to enter his presence without an invitation. No one could just waltz in and stand before the king, not even the queen. To do so meant death unless the king extended his gold scepter to offer pardon.

God himself had such a policy within his Temple. The Ark of the Covenant represented God's presence in the temple. The ark was kept in the Most Holy Place behind a curtain. Anyone who entered died. Not just anyone can stand in the presence of a king; for the king must offer an invitation.

Who is our King? The psalmist names him as the LORD. Our king is the LORD creator. He made the world and all who live in it. He filled the world and established its rules. Without him the world would cease to exist. Our king is also the LORD of Glory. He is strong and mighty in battle. In fact he is Almighty - no one can defeat him. The LORD is our king and our King is coming. Will you be invited to stand in his presence?

The psalmist asks the same question, "Who may ascend the hill of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?" Will you ascend the hill of the LORD? Will you stand in his holy place? The psalmist tells us, "He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his sould to an idol or swear by what is false." God includes requirements on his invitation.

You may only stand before the king if you have clean hands and a pure heart. So, are you invited? I'm not. My hands are covered with guilt. And my heart? Black with sin. Maybe you think that you have never lifted up your soul to an idol. Think again. Maybe you haven't worshiped a false god like Buddha or the golden calf. But, we have all put something other than God first in our hearts.

Maybe it's been your craving for attention. You want people to like you, so you don't mention God or religion. You don't want to be a goody-goody; you don't want people to label you as one of those religious freaks. Maybe it's been your desire for more. You have but you want more - so you work more. You convince yourself that you don't really have that much. You need more. Maybe it's just laziness. It actually takes effort on your part to schedule another hour for study or to find time to help out with something around church.

Invited to stand in the presence of the king? Not us, not if we need clean hands and a pure heart. How arrogant of us to take for granted such an invitation, to think that we deserve such an invitation. In reality, all we deserve in condemnation…a direct order to never stand in the king's presence. The King is coming; will you or I stand in the king's presence? We shouldn't.

Though not one of us deserves to stand in the presence of our God the King, the King still invites each one of us to stand before him. The King is coming. Will you stand in his presence? Absolutely, you will stand in his presence. The King himself tells us as much in the verses of this psalm.

The King knows that the requirements of his invitation are strict; he knows that there is no one, not even one who could meet such requirements. At the same time, he wants company. He's not throwing a party for no one. So, he sends his messengers out to the byways and highways looking for people who want to come. He finds us, undressed and unprepared…unable to meet the requirements. So, he gives us what we need.

The King himself supplies the proper attire. He gives us clean hands and a new heart. He washes the guilt from our hands with the blood of his Son. Blood offers forgiveness. God makes that very clear throughout the Bible. We talked earlier of the Most Holy Place, where God dwelled with the Ark of the Covenant and no one was allowed to enter. Once a year God invited the High Priest to enter the Most Holy Place to offer sacrifice for the sins of the people. But, he could only enter with blood to cover the sins of the people and his own sins. Before we enter the presence of God he washes away our sins by the bloody sacrifice of his Son.

And with that forgiveness He also gives us a new heart. It is that new heart that makes us want to be in the presence of our King. Any other heart would recognize its sin and fear the LORD and his wrath. Our new heart recognizes its sin, then confesses and receives forgiveness. Rather than fear the power of the Almighty LORD to punish, our new heart worships the LORD of Glory who forgives.

With clean hands and a new heart God invites you to come into his presence. The King is coming and he wants to be with you. First, the King invites you to meet him face to face, to look into his eyes and touch him with your hands. Soon he will come as a little child born in a manger. He will live among us and be one of us. Though we did not have the chance to actually live and talk with Jesus, we do meet him in this personal way.

At the death of Jesus the curtain of the Most Holy Place was torn in two. With the forgiveness of sins, with clean hands and a pure heart offered through the blood of Christ, our King opened the door for all to come into his presence. As a reminder of this God created a holy supper where we can come to the altar of his presence and partake of his body and blood. God gave us all time access to bow before him in prayer. In essence God has permanently extended his golden scepter and invited us to come to him whenever we want or need.

Soon God our King will invite us into his presence forever. God is preparing right now to send Jesus back to this earth to take us to be with him. At that time we will be in God's presence like never before. While we still live in this sinful world, we cannot fully stand before God without dying. Once Jesus returns God will transform our sinful bodies into glorious bodies. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face.

What does it mean to stand in the presence of the King? "He will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God his Savior." For us to stand before our King means to have blessings more than we can count. "Vindication" it says. In other words no one will be able to make any accusations against us. Can you imagine not having to try to live up to someone else's standards? You won't have to create a front to make people like you. You won't have to work your butt off to satisfy the boss. You won't have to be the perfect spouse, parent or child. You'll be perfect period. God will have given you all you need to meet his standards. You'll be perfect to him and that's all that will matter.

Of course you want to stand in the presence of the king. Let me tell you: it's going to be a lot better than getting sent away to hell forever. If you even begin to understand what it means to have such an invitation, you'll always appreciate it. If you even begin to realize that not one of us deserves to catch the slightest glimpse of the King, but that all of us will see him face to face, you'll never take it for granted. You have the opportunity to stand in the presence of the king right now. The King is coming; in fact he's here. He's right here (the altar), and he's right here (the Bible). You can worship him, talk to him, pray to him, get his advice and do whatever you need whenever you want. The question is: Do you want to? The answer is: The King is coming and he wants to be with you.

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