Psalm 84:1-5

How lovely is your dwelling place, Lord Almighty! 2 My soul yearns, 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 have her young a place near your altar, Lord Almighty, my King and my God. 4 Blessed are those who dwell in your house; they are ever praising you. 5 Blessed are those whose strength is in you, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage.

This Psalm is about the “Pilgrimage of Praise”. Every year crowds would journey to Jerusalem to the Holy City to worship at the Temple. This Psalm reveals both the path and the plight of those whose journey is to praise Jesus.  The psalmist understood that praise wasn’t just a destination but a journey, one that starts with a longing to be with God’s people worshipping in God’s House. Yet the pilgrimage of worship is not just a journey it is a joy, as the Psalmist says “blessed are those” So often we equate worship with work, we wonder and question how we will worship in heaven and when we will grow bored.  Psalm 84 reminds us of our journey through life that there will be a day when we leave our worldly life behind and we head into the eternal world of worship.  In 1 Peter 1:17, and 2:11 Peter describes the Christian as a “sojourner”, a “pilgrim” literally a “resident alien”. We are passing through this world, our destination is “The Heavenly City” God’s Eternal Presence. So where are you in your journey with Jesus? Have you lost perspective in the pilgrimage? Even though the pilgrimage is plagued with problems we keep perspective when we make it about His praise. Today our priority in life has become more about our pleasure than His praise.  Psalm 84 reminds us that the Journey of worship is about the:

• Place vs 1-2

In verses 1-2 as the psalmist reveals the cry of his heart he reminds us that the place of praise is in the presence of God. “My soul yearns, even faints, for the courts of the Lord; my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.” God’s House represented the place where he could go to meet with God and he says that he would rather be in God’s House praising Him than anywhere else. In contemporary terms, he would rather have been praising God than playing golf or fishing at the lake. He would rather be in God’s presence than at a baseball or football game. He would rather have been with God than to be at the campground, or at home in bed, or in front of the TV. Desire is what drives us and the psalmist sought the presence of God with his body, soul and spirit. Worship is about meeting with God and he put everything he had and all that he was into seeking and experiencing God. So what do you put into worship?

• Power – 3-5

The psalmist declares “Blessed are those whose strength is in you” this is not a jaunt but a journey that requires stamina. It is interesting to note that this traveler had watched the birds of the air find a refuge in the temple and he was jealous of them. Birds fly and that freedom allows them to go anywhere yet eventually they have to rest. Even though they were at home in the sky the sky was not their home and so they came to rest and make their home in the temple. Strength and stamina are found in settling down and making our home with God. Where are you “nesting”, are you at home with God?  The Christian life is impossible without God’s strength. Yet so often we act like our only strength is our own steam. The Apostle Paul lived a powerful life of praise so what was his life’s secret? 2 Corinthians 12:8-10 reveals “Three different times I begged the Lord to take it away. 9 Each time he said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me. 10 That’s why I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” His secret was that his strength was in God and this is the only way to beat burnout. We do not have enough resources in ourselves to make the journey. Today there are many on the journey that are just slogging it out and their journey has slowed to a crawl because they are running out of steam. Today are you trying to strive in your own strength?

• Pursuit

True worship involves the pursuit of God and the psalmist reminds us that “blessed are those whose hearts are set on pilgrimage”. We are not just putting around we are called to put our whole heart into the journey. Are you making your lifetime count? We shouldn’t be people who are just letting life pass us by, where we are dictated to by our circumstances, waiting out our time until Jesus comes. Instead we must have our eyes on the finish line, but our energies, our heart, our hands and feet, ought to be occupied with making the journey count, living for Jesus. In Philippians 1:21 Paul wrote: “For me to live is Christ”. What will you do with your life?  The pursuit determines the process and what you learn and achieve here is important to God. Don’t wish your life away, and don’t just let it pass you by. Will you make it count for God’s glory today?

Acts 16:27-31 “The jailer woke up to see the prison doors wide open. He assumed the prisoners had escaped, so he drew his sword to kill himself. 28 But Paul shouted to him, “Stop! Don’t kill yourself! We are all here!” 29 The jailer called for lights and ran to the dungeon and fell down trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 Then he brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” 31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved, along with everyone in your household.”

Today our society craves comfort, convenience and happiness above everything so when circumstance become difficult we view them as a problem that must be changed. When they can’t be the world says, “what cannot be cured can only be endured.” Christianity gives us a different lens to look through because sometimes these things must be endured because they are part of the cure. As we continue to look at our worship warrior in prison we see that worship that wins involves:

•             Wonder

There is power in praise and in singing and praying they saw God’s power. Paul and his companions chose to focus on praise instead of persecution, because they were living to serve the Savior instead of self. Today our Worship wars are waged over our preferences instead of His praise. We have reduced worship to that which moves our hearts instead of the hand of God.  We have made it about do I like hymns, or the Gaithers, or contemporary praise songs and what moves me, yet praise isn’t about the people. Today our praise is blocked by preference, we worship together and say “I really enjoyed the worship today, it was good”. Yet can I be so bold as to say who cares if we liked the worship because it’s not about us, it’s time for us to reverse the question and ask ourselves “did God like it?” When we get out of the way we worship, but instead we have substituted His power for our preference. The power of praise can shake the foundations of our prisons, we could walk away free, yet instead many choose the preference of praise, trading freedom for a feel good. Today the church has become content and contained in their cell.  Instead of a chorus of celebration there is just the clanging of chains. We choose comfort over care and convenience over conviction. Yet for Paul his circumstances were more than just an inconvenience, beaten and bound, far from comfortable he chose to praise. Because no matter how cruel our circumstances they are never Christ-less, nothing can put us someplace where God is not. Today are you in the deepest pit of despair? Praise God, He is there with you. Are you in chains of habit that are holding you fast? Praise God, He is there with you. Are you a prisoner of Christ? Because you serve Him and declare Him to others, are you rejected by family or friends? Praise God, He is there with you. Why settle for preference when you can have His power?

Paul saw God’s power and more, they experienced His provision and more, because in the power and provision they glimpsed His purpose. What was God’s purpose? God wasn’t just providing freedom for Paul and his friends but also for those around them including the jailer. You see the one who was supposed to be guarding the prisoners and who seemed to be the freest was the one who was really locked up because he was lost. What if our praise brought power that wasn’t just for our provision? Would I be willing praise while I paid with my physical freedom so others could experience spiritual freedom? Would the words of verse 30 “And after he brought them out, he said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” be music to my ears. When those around us hear our praises and see His power and provision the result will often be that they will want what we have. People are drawn to those who praise in the pain because they see a peace that passes all understanding. We know that God has a good plan for our lives, yet so often faced with a difficult circumstance we choose not to praise but to doubt and worry and complain, and when we do we forfeit the power of praise. Yet praising in the pain is a choice built on the conviction that Christ has already conquered my circumstance. Verse 28 records Paul’s words as he cried out in a loud voice, “Do yourself no harm, for we are all here” Paul did not need to leave or run away God had him right where he needed to be and as a result people were saved from death. So often we want God’s power to free us from our circumstances and our praise becomes about our chains instead of those that need changed.

Worship warriors teach us that those who sing while they suffer are those who have learned that suffering is how joy is perfected. What if my pain isn’t really a problem but a perfecting? Worship warriors remind us that those who sing in prison are those who cannot be imprisoned. Today there are many who are trapped by their troubles and imprisoned in their problems yet if we look to our Father we are forever free.  Worship warriors also teach us that those who praise at midnight are those who know the light. So today will you choose to live in the wonder of worship or the why and the whine?