Temple Baptist Church - 5-16-2021
Psalms 134
Introduction: Psalm 134 is one of my favorite Psalm. I normally preach on this Psalm in just one way but, because of the importance of the Psalm, I want to preach more than one service on Psalm 134.
A. While the Bible emphasizes the importance of the House of the Lord in the last days, the world minimizes it.
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
1. There are Morning Psalms, Evening Psalms, and Psalm 134—a “Psalm of the Night.”
a) The First Mention of the word “night” ties it with darkness. Genesis 1:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
b) The First Mention of the word “darkness” shows us that darkness and light cannot co-exist. Genesis 1:1-4 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. (2) And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. (3) And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. (4) And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
c) Where there is darkness, there is an absence of light as light dispels darkness. Darkness is a type of sin while light is a type of godliness. John 12:35 Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
d) Our Lord prophesied the coming of a “night” when no man can work. John 9:4 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.
e) Thus, we now find ourselves in the “night” just prior to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
1) We all know that it is getting spiritually dark outside as the “night” of Jacob’s Trouble approaches. COVID has done more to stop the work of the local churches and missions than anything I have ever seen.
2) I am glad that I am one who is looking for the coming of the Lord and know what time it is on God’s spiritual clock. The Lord is coming during the night and darkness of this world.
Mark 13:35-37 Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning: (36) Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping. (37) And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
Luke 12:35, 38 Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning; … And if he shall come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants.
2. The interpretation of Psalm 134 is that, though the day is gone and night has come, there IS STILL work to be done. I call this Psalm “The Third Shift.” In the coal mines, third shift was when we did “dead work.” Little to know production was done on third shift but the third shift was an important one as it made preparation for the work that was to be done in the morning when First Shift came in.
a) Today, we see fewer and fewer people in America, the Bible Belt included, find time to go to church. Churches that were once filled Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night have suffered a serious decline in numbers along with church services canceled or hindered.
b) The “Not forsaking” believers continue to be faithful to the local church. With many churches, the people attending are becoming older.
c) The “as the manner of some is” crowd has forsaken the ways of God for the things of this “present evil world.”
d) The end result of humanism is atheism!
B. I understand that many of these unfaithful members are lost but an increasing number of saved have become unfaithful. For a long while, Sunday morning congregations held their own though the evening and mid-week services suffered decline. Now Sunday morning services have empty pews that were normally filled.
C. There are numerous reasons for the “falling away” of the once faithful.
1. There is the sinfulness of our times. There was a time when many things were done only in the dark or in the shadows. They were there but not spoken of by most people. Now, everything is “out of the closet,” and known by most people. Sin has become acceptable as people have gotten “used to the dark.”
Ephesians 5:11-12 And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them. (12) For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.
Matthew 24:12 And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.
2. There is the apathy of the Laodicean believer. So many people in our day simply do not care for the things of the Lord and that includes many who attend occasionally. Solomon ended the Book of Ecclesiastes with these words:
Ecclesiastes 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.
Revelation 3:15-16 I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. (16) So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth.
3. There is the enemy of covetousness. America has become the “Utopia” of the world because of the accessibility of things that people in other countries can just dream of. Now, things are not only accessible but also “free” to many who refuse to work.
1 Timothy 6:10 For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
4. The love of worldly pleasures. John, when writing the great epistle of 1 John, said:
1 John 2:15-17 Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. (16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
2 Timothy 3:1-4 This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. (2) For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, (3) Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, (4) Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God;
5. A lack of understanding of the importance of God’s house! Going to church is a privilege, not a burden. A thing of joy, not a thing of drudgery. “I was glad” has turned into “I was mad” when Sunday or Wednesday comes around.
Hebrews 10:24-25 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: (25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.
6. The rejection of the authority of the Bible. Denominationalism, along with a myriad of modern translations of the Bible have caused both confusion and spiritual division.
2 Thessalonians 2:2 That ye be not soon shaken in mind, or be troubled, neither by spirit, nor by word, nor by letter as from us, as that the day of Christ is at hand.
7. A failure to doctrinally ground their people with “all the counsel of God.” Pulpits have bowed to the will of the people instead of the will of God. Fear of losing the worldly crowd has caused preachers to “cherry pick” their subjects and become unoffensive. The Bible has always been offensive to the world.
Acts 20:26-28 Wherefore I take you to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men. (27) For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. (28) Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Conclusion: The list could go on, but I want to key in on the last one this morning. I SAID ALL THAT TO SAY THIS: Do not be discouraged as our Lord said that we would one day stand here in such a time. But there is still work to do!
1. We must sow the Seed of God’s Word while there is some light left. There is still witnessing to be done and are souls to be won as the harvest is now greater than it has ever been and the labourers few.
2. We must be faithful to the things of God. If there was ever a time to be faithful to God, the things of God, and the local church—this is that time.
3. We must keep our eyes on the Lord in the expectancy of His coming and walk in His light in this dark world as “candles” that cannot be hid.
4. We must keep our hand to the plough and our eye to the point, eliminating spiritual vertigo.
No comments:
Post a Comment