VOTSinger #5

Psalm 100-101
July 5, 2009
with Adam Waters

INTRO
Holy sanctuary: a place where God appears and causes His name to dwell.

Exodus 25 – God is the first one to request the building of a sanctuary within his tabernacle: within there was to be the Ark of the Covenant (I will speak from there), the Table of His Presence (I will receive your offerings/sacrifices there), and a Lampstand (fire always represents God’s holiness and our purification).

About 1/3 of the 137 references in our Bibles refer to this Tent the Lord had Israel build. The second 1/3 refers to the inner holy place of the Temple of Solomon. The 22 references in Psalms refer either to the physical tent/tabernacle, but they all point to a place where God HIMSELF dwells in his fullest presence. God Himself refers to His presence dwelling in the temple throughout the OT, especially in the prophets. The NT still refers to God’s presence dwelling in the rebuilt temple sanctuary.

Matthew, Mark and Luke tell us that the temple curtain was ripped open by God himself!

BACKGROUND:
BOTH~ Yahweh: the proper name of God… his holiness, his stamp, the God of A, I, J… not even spoke
100~ A song of praise… A call to worship… A song arranged to set apart a Holy day.
101~ Not written by David (72:20), but rather a song written in honor of or inspired by David. Traditionally, it is attributed as one of 3 written for Solomon’s coronation and probably read at the time of Josiah’s recommitment of the Temple. Ultimately a hymn for any who would be making a public commitment to follow the Father.

100 - WHAT INSPIRES OUR PRAISES?
o He is our Maker/Creator...
o His love is without bounds…
o Remember PSALM 15: the pure life we lead prepares us to thank our faithful Father
o When we encounter our Holy YHWH, what else can we do but shout out to him?!

101 - HOW SHOULD WE BE CHANGED BY THE HOLY SANCTUARY WITH GOD?
o PSALM 15: the pure life we lead prepares us to praise… but praise also prepares us to live!
o THE CELTIC KNOT
o Interaction with YHWH should set our moral standard… AND for leaders in God’s Kingdom the way they shepherd YHWH’s church (beyond themselves).
o THE Wick and the WAX: building a candle… every time you worship/enter the holy sanctuary of God, you should grow fatter.
o I will live differently…

CLOSING~ Hebrews 6
16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

We are going to close our service with communion… it’s time for that public committal to YHWH, our Father God. Time to no longer be a useless wick that will burn up quickly, but a candle fat with a commitment to burn for Jesus.