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HopeLives365

Sabbath School 1st Quarter 2024: Psalms

Mark Finley

01 How to Read the Psalms

02 Teach us to Pray

03 The Lord Reigns

04 The Lord Hears and Delivers

05 Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land

06 I Will Arise

07 Your Mercy Reaches Unto the Heavens

08 Wisdom for Righteous Living

09 Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord

10 Lessons of the Past

11 Longing for God in Zion

12 Worship That Never Ends

13 Wait on the Lord


Welcome to another Sabbath School session together. We're speeding through the Psalms. We're on lesson 11, a really a fascinating lesson, and let's pray before we go into it. Father in heaven, as we study the lesson together, May the divine insights from the Word of God speak to our hearts. May we sense your presence very, very close to us and help us to understand your Word more clearly.

We pray in Christ's name, Amen. Did you get the significance of the title of this lesson? Longing for Zion. Now when we think of Zion, what does that represent? Zion speaks of the presence of God.

Zion is at times used interchangeably for Jerusalem. What was in Jerusalem? The temple. And what was in the temple? Well you have the holy place with the altar of incense, the table of showbread, the candlestick, but the most holy place was the center of attention in the ancient sanctuary.

It was there that between the cherubim the presence of God was manifest. So Zion represents Jerusalem. It represents the presence of God, the Shekinah presence of God. So the title longing for Zion could be shortened to say, we're longing for the presence of God. Longing for eternity, longing for heaven, longing for home where there's no more sickness, suffering, heartache, or death.

Our memory verse is quite significant as well. It comes from Psalm 82, verse 2, my soul longs, yes, even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." So here is the cry of David's soul, and the cry of your soul, the cry of my soul, for the presence of God. Don't you long for that, the presence of God in your life, a sense that you and God are heart to heart, mind to mind, you're 1 with God. The note makes this plain.

What makes Zion the source of hope and joy? Zion represented, this is the second paragraph under Sabbath Afternoon's reading, Zion represented God's living presence among his people. As the people of Israel are God's chosen people, Zion is God's chosen mountain. God reigns from Zion and founded his temple on Zion as well. Thus, Zion is a place of divine blessings and refuge.

Zion is often referred to in parallel or even interchangeably with Jerusalem and the sanctuary, the center of God's work of salvation for the ancient world. So Zion, the presence of God, Zion, the center of God's work, Zion, the ancient sanctuary where the Shekinah gory of God was manifest. When we long for Zion, we long for home. We long for the presence of God. Then on Sunday's lesson, a day in your courts is better than a thousand, Let's look at Psalm 84 verse 1 to 4.

Here in Psalm 84 the psalmist speaks and he says, how lovely is your tabernacle O Lord of hosts. My soul longs, yes even faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God." Once again, you see this passionate desire to know God. This passionate desire to be in the presence of God, you and I live in a world of sickness, of suffering, of heartache, of death. We live in a world where the young often die too soon.

We live in a world where there is cancer, there's heart disease, there's diabetes. We live in a world where there is cancer, there is heart disease, there is diabetes. We live in a world where sickness can afflict any 1 of us very quickly. We live in a world of poverty. As I travel the world to some parts of Africa, I see poverty.

Some parts of India, poverty. Some parts of South America, poverty. My wife and I sponsor 4 African children that are orphans to go to school. And just today I got their pictures, the cutest kids, but you know they come from poverty stricken homes that would have no chance if we did not sponsor them. And so when we think about our lesson longing for Zion, it is the groan of the world, the cry of the world, the cry of broken-hearted mothers and tear-stained faces of fathers and poverty-stricken children and war-torn nations for something better, something that is beyond what is, something that will be.

In Psalm 84 verse 5 to 12 we have some divine insight. The scripture tells us there that, blessed is the man whose strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. See, we go through life in a pilgrimage. We walk the dusty roads of this earth, so to speak. We go through dark valleys.

At times we are in mountain peaks. But we're in a pilgrimage, a pilgrimage to Zion. And here the psalmist says, knowing what our ultimate destination is, knowing where we're headed, knowing that Zion is ultimately our home and that's where we're going, that strengthens us. Somebody said you can go through anything if you know you have hope for tomorrow. And that's what this journey to Zion is all about.

Then as you go on through the passage, it says they pass through the Valley of Becca. They make it a spring the rain also covers it with pools So on our journey, there's the refreshing why because we're headed for Zion they go from strength to strength So God's people go from strength to strength, even if their trials even their difficulties Why? Because we're inspired with the future potential of heading to Zion. A day in your courts is better than a thousand. I'd rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God.

So what is it that motivates us in trial? What is it that keeps us going in difficulties? What is it that enables us to face the challenges of life, knowing that a day in God's courts is better than a thousand days of trial and difficulty here. Knowing that 1 day in God's courts fills us with joy and peace. What is it that keeps us going?

We know the end goal. Righteousness is going to triumph over wickedness, good is going to triumph over evil, right is going to triumph over wrong, Christ is going to triumph over Satan. So Monday's lesson talks about praying for the peace of Jerusalem. Let's look at it, Psalm 122, praying for the peace of Jerusalem. I'd like to look at that in 2 aspects, 2 ways.

Psalm 122, We're going to take a look at verses 1 to 5. I was glad when they said to me, let's go up to the house of the Lord. And I say to you today, let's keep focused. Let's reframe our thoughts. Let's go up to the house of the Lord by faith and know that God has a plan for us.

Let's go up to the house of the Lord. Our feet have been standing within your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is built, a city compact together. With the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, to the testimony of Israel, to give thanks to the name of the Lord. Your thrones are set in judgment." Then it says, Pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

May they prosper who love you. Peace be in your walls. Prosperity within your palaces. What does it mean pray for the peace of Jerusalem? I think that prayer can be taken literally too.

We see Jerusalem currently besieged. In many ways we see the unsettlement of that land, the conflict between the Jewish nation and the Palestinians, and when we pray for peace, we pray for peace in the whole region. Our hearts suffer when innocent Jews are killed, and our hearts also suffer when Palestinian children are killed through bombing attacks. So as Christians, we do not take a particular side in any conflict. We lament the fact that there is suffering and heartache and sorrow on both sides, but we pray for peace.

We pray for the peace of Jerusalem, the literal peace of that land. We pray that our Jewish friends can live in peace, that our Palestinian friends can live in peace. But we know that there'll be no permanent peace until Jesus Christ comes. But there's another aspect of this, pray for the peace of Jerusalem. You see, when will Jerusalem have genuine peace?

Jerusalem will only have genuine peace when its inhabitants have peace with God. And so we pray for the Jewish nation that there will be a mighty spiritual awakening and that tens of thousands of Jews will come to know Christ and be jewels in his crown. We also pray for the Palestinians that their hearts would be 1 with God, that they would come to know Christ. And Jesus is the peace that he says, I give you the peace that passes all understanding. So Jew and Gentile, Israeli and Palestinian, you and me can find peace, peace in Jesus, peace in his grace, Peace in his power to change our lives.

Peace in his love. Peace in his promise for eternity. And That leads us to Tuesday's lesson called Zion, the Home of All Nations. So in scripture, Zion is not simply the home of the Jew, but it's an invitation for all men and all women to come to find the peace that there is in Christ. Psalm 87, verse 1 and verse 2.

Let's go to it. Psalm 87, verse 1 and verse 2. It says, His foundation is in the holy mountains. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings of Jacob. Glorious things are spoken of you, O city of God.

Then he says, I'll make mention of Rahab in Babylon to those who know me. Behold, O Philistinia, and Tyre with Ethiopia. This 1 was born there." So here is what God is saying. Zion is the home of all humanity, Jew and Gentile. Whether you're born in Jerusalem or you're born in some place in Ethiopia or Philistine or Tyre which would be non Jews necessarily.

He says I'm gonna count where you were born I'm gonna take into consideration what opportunities you had What privileges you accepted or denied God says I'm gonna take all that into account Account and then it says the Most High himself shall establish her. The Lord will record when he registers the peoples that this man was born there. So whether you're born privileged or unprivileged, whether you know the oracles of God or you don't know them. Wherever you were born, God says, I'm reaching out to you, revealing myself to you in nature. Psalm 19 says, the heavens declare the glory of God day unto day unto speech night into night unto knowledge.

God says I'm revealing myself to you in nature. Romans 1 as well says that. John 1 verse 9 says that Christ is the light that lights every man coming into the world. So when a human being is born, the Holy Spirit is drawing them to Christ. And so here in this psalm that encourages us to look to Zion, Here it points out that this is not some exclusive group that's going to get there, but rather the grace of God is broad enough, the grace of God is wide enough for all nations.

Now you might ask a question, if all nations can enter 1 day into Zion and be saved, why is it that we go preach to them? If God reveals himself in nature, if God reveals himself through the Holy Spirit, the light that lights every man into the world. Why do we preach? We preach not only to give them the best chance, not only to give them a chance, their only chance, but to give them the best chance. We preach because love compels us to give every human being the best chance to be saved.

The best possibility to be saved is knowing Christ and his love and grace. You see, according to Jeremiah 17, verse 9, the heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked. So because we have desperately wicked hearts and because according to 2 Corinthians the God of this world has blinded their eyes and because according to Isaiah 53 all have gone astray that most people don't realize the God of nature and they deny the spirits working in their hearts, so they need the revelation of God to reveal himself to them through the living preacher, through the printed page, through mass media, so they see the clearest revelation of God in scripture. Salvation is not a geographical accident. It's not that we happen to be born in a Christian country and others don't, not at all.

God's revealing himself to every human being. He's providing every human being the opportunity to be saved. But because they have rejected that opportunity, the best chance for them to be saved is Scripture. So our lesson today, the home of all nation, points out that God's love is broad. God's love is deep.

God's love reaches men and women wherever they are. The paragraph right under the second question in Psalm 87, verse 3 to 7, what are the glorious things that are spoken of Zion, the paragraph right under that explains this. The glory of Zion draws all nations to God and so the borders of God's kingdom are extended to include the whole world. Notice, God does not treat other nations as second-level citizens, even if Zion is portrayed as the spiritual birthplace of all peoples who accept the Lord as their Savior. So Zion is the spiritual birthplace.

Zion is our home. It is the home of those who accept Jesus as Savior. But others are not second-rate citizens because God wants to get them to accept Jesus as Savior and bring them home too. There is safety and peace in Zion, Psalm 46. 1 of the chapters, when I first became a committed Christian at 17 years old, 1 of the chapters in the Bible that I memorized more than any other, or earlier than any other, was Psalm 46.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and the mountains carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters shake with the swelling thereof, and et cetera. So, notice, Psalm 46. We look at Zion, and in Psalm 46, what do we learn about Zion, the city of our God? God is our refuge and strength.

We find that in Zion we find refuge, in Zion we find strength. There we find a present help in trouble. We do not fear there. There is a river, the streams make glad the city of God. What's that in Zion?

The verse 7, the Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our refuge. Then he says, be still and know that I am God. I'll be exalted among the nations, I'll be exalted in the earth. When we look out at our world and see a conflict in Ukraine, with Ukraine and Russia, Russia attacking Ukraine. When we see China flexing its military muscles and threatening Taiwan, when we see the North Korea and building nuclear weapons, at least attempting to do so, when we see Iran with nuclear weapons.

When we look at the West and the conflict in the governments in the United States, for example, currently in a presidential election year, we look at the instability of many South American countries like Venezuela. We look, for example, at the instability of African nations and see the conflicts taking place in Somalia, Sudan. When we look at all of that, we see that earth is on a very shaky footing and it can make us nervous. But here, looking to Zion, looking to the sanctuary, looking to our true home, we sense that God is our refuge and strength. That We need not fear because righteousness will triumph over all evil.

Under Wednesday's lesson, there is a wonderful paragraph. It is the second paragraph down under the first question. It's clearly a world without the knowledge of God because God is in the midst of his people. And where God dwells, peace abounds. So in a world without a knowledge of God, God is still there.

He's in the midst of his people. Peace will abound, I continue. Yet although the world rejects him, God does not abandon the world. God is present in the world by being among his people. In other words, no matter how bad things appear, God's presence is here in the world.

And we can draw personal hope and encouragement from knowing this foundational truth. The Lord, who is the perfect refuge, is the source of Zion's lasting peace and prosperity. Though the world's in turmoil, the people of God are safe. We are safe. We have peace.

Why? Because Christ, the Prince of Peace, dwells in our hearts. And because we long for Zion, where there will be permanent peace forever. We can be immovable, Thursday's lesson, like Mount Zion. Psalm 125, verse 1 and 2.

I love this verse. This is an amazing, amazing verse. Psalm 125, verse 1 and verse 2. Those who trust in the Lord, that's you, that's me, those that trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion which cannot be moved but abides forever. Wow.

When we come to Christ And our faith is anchored in the sanctuary above. We look beyond the turmoil of earth to the security that we have with God sitting on his throne. We cannot be moved. We are solid in Christ. Verse 3 to 5, for the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity.

Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, to those who are upright in hearts. For such as turn aside to their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them away with workers of iniquity." There is the scepter of wickedness held in the hand of Satan, and there is the scepter of righteousness held in the hand of Christ. And the scepter of righteousness will defeat the scepter of wickedness. 1 day Jesus will reign upon his throne. 1 day righteousness will fill the whole earth.

1 day peace will reign. 1 day joy will chase away sorrow, good will defeat evil. 1 day we can live in the presence of Christ. Right now we're on a journey, a journey to eternity, but along that journey, the future hope of living with Christ can keep us joyful, courageous, and positive here in a world of turmoil. Let's pray together and remember that today, tomorrow, and forever on our journey.

Father in heaven, thank you so much for all of our the opportunity that we have to know Christ. Thank you for the opportunity that Jesus can be with us moment by moment, day by day. Lord, we love you. We want to serve you. All we want is to live a life in harmony with your will.

So give us a sense of your presence and a sense of your love. Help us find refuge in Zion. Refuge in the sanctuary. Help us be filled with hope because you're still on your throne and you hold the scepter of righteousness and 1 day evil will be banished. May we keep that in mind on the journey of life in Christ's name.

Amen. This media was brought to you by Audioverse, a website dedicated to spreading God's Word through free sermon audio and much more. If you would like to know more about Audioverse, or if you would like to listen to more sermons, please visit www.audioverse.org.

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Series

Sabbath School 1st Quarter 2024: Psalms

11 Longing for God in Zion

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Other Teachings in Series

01 How to Read the Psalms

21m

02 Teach us to Pray

23m

03 The Lord Reigns

24m

04 The Lord Hears and Delivers

24m

05 Singing the Lord’s Song in a Strange Land

22m

06 I Will Arise

20m

07 Your Mercy Reaches Unto the Heavens

19m

08 Wisdom for Righteous Living

25m

09 Blessed is He Who Comes in the Name of the Lord

31m

10 Lessons of the Past

25m

11 Longing for God in Zion

22m

12 Worship That Never Ends

33m

13 Wait on the Lord

25m

Sound Doctrine