Accessing the Sanctuary | Pastor Kami Palmer | Faith Church

I am so excited about today's sermon. I've been

like feeding off of it personally for weeks now,

and I wish you could sometimes see me sermon

prepping, because sometimes I just will laugh

out loud at delight over something I find in

the Word. And this has just been one of those,

you know, Preaching is always good, but sometimes

it's just like, Lord, that's just going to be

fun to preach. I'm going to enjoy preaching that.

And that is this sermon today. Psalm 96. I did

not intend this to kind of be a setup for Mother's

Day, but as I was preparing, it kind of just

fell into that. And so it's setting the stage

for next week's sermon, What Drives You? So let's

go to the actual text is going to be verse 6

of Psalm 96. And it says, honor and majesty are

before him. Strength and beauty are in his sanctuary.

Honor and majesty are before him. Strength and

beauty are in his sanctuary. Now, I want to kind

of just set the stage for this a little bit before

we dive into this chapter. One of my favorite

phrases, because it resonates in me with my journey

toward heaven, is the principle of true north.

And in 1 Thessalonians, we're going to take a

few moments to kind of just create some context

for the passage. Why it's such an important passage.

And in 1 Thessalonians 4 .16, it says, Isn't

it an interesting contrast to his first arrival?

A dark night with just the angels and the shepherds.

Nobody seeing his arrival. His second return

is not going to be like that. shall be caught

up together with them in the clouds to meet the

Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be

with the Lord. Therefore, comfort one another

with these words. Another version says encourage.

Therefore, encourage one another with these words.

I think that an interesting statistic. is that

of the second coming of Jesus Christ, it is mentioned

in the Old Testament, 17 and 17 books. In the

New Testament, the second coming of Christ is

mentioned in 23 out of the 27 books. It is mentioned

300 times in the New Testament. Of the 260 chapters

of the New Testament. So what we find is that

one out of every 30 verses refers to the second

coming of Christ. And I think about how much

we talk about it or teach about it in the church

today. When it is such a huge emphasis in the

New Testament. The second coming of Christ. Encourage

one another. Comfort one another with these words.

The New Testament people knew what it was to

walk through trials and difficulties and persecution.

And so continually they're said, hey, he's coming

again. Don't be downcast. Lift up your heads.

He's coming again. They were constantly, they

talked about this all the time. The early church

had a huge focus on the return of Christ. And

we hesitate around it because it's such a complicated

subject. And we may not be able to figure out

all the details of what it's going to look like

or how it's going to happen. All I know is. Jesus

is coming again and we shall forever be with

him. So be encouraged this morning in your hardship.

I know it's hard. I know it feels exhausting.

It will come to an end and you will forever be

with Jesus. This is my true north. This is what

I align my life to are these kind of passages.

That Jesus is going to come back. It's what I

align my life to. I align my decisions to. I

align my choices to. And so we know he's coming

again. We know that it's going to get difficult.

And thus we have Psalm 96. Oh, sing to the Lord

a new song. Sing to the Lord, all the earth.

Sing to the Lord, bless his name. Proclaim the

good news of his salvation from day to day. Declare

his glory among the nations, his wonders among

all peoples. For the Lord is great and greatly

to be praised. He is to be feared above all gods.

For all the gods of the peoples are idols. But

the Lord made the heavens. Honor and majesty

are before him. Strength and beauty are in his

sanctuary. Give to the Lord, O families of the

peoples. Give to the Lord glory and strength.

Give to the Lord the glory due his name. Bring

an offering and come into his courts. O worship

the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Tremble before

him, all the earth. Say among the nations, the

Lord reigns. The world also is firmly established.

It shall not be moved. He shall judge the peoples

righteously. Let the heavens rejoice and let

the earth be glad. Let the sea roar and all its

fullness. Let the field be joyful in all that

is in it. Then all the trees of the woods will

rejoice before the Lord. For he is coming. For

he is coming to judge the earth. He shall judge

the world with righteousness and the peoples

with his truth. He is coming again. we're going

to look here at two views. We're going to take

a broad view, and then we're going to take a

narrow view. And the broad view, if you think

about a broad view, I'm about to leave this afternoon

to drive to St. Louis, where I will pick up my

grandsons and bring them home. So when I am sitting

in my driveway, I'm going to type into Maps,

Trader Joe's. Because I will be going to Trader

Joe's before I get the grandkids. I'm not sure

if I'm more excited over Trader Joe's or the

grandkids. No. I'm going to Trader Joe's to buy

things for my grandkids so they can eat healthy

this week. But what am I doing? I'm typing the

address of where I want my journey to go, where

I want it to take me. It's a very broad view.

It's taking me cross -states to where I want

to go. What is interesting about this passage

is that this psalm was written, and we find it

in one other place in Scripture, and that is

in 1 Chronicles 16. And in 1 Chronicles chapter

1 Chronicles 16 · chapter mention

16, this is such a day of rejoicing because King

David is bringing the Ark of the Tabernacle,

the Ark of the Covenant, into the tabernacle

to set it up. And so I'm going to just summarize

here. You can read this later. But they brought

the Ark of God, represented his presence for

the people, and they set it in the midst of the

tabernacle that David had erected for it. and

they offered burnt offerings and peace offerings

before God. And then he distributed to everyone

of Israel, both man and woman, a loaf of bread,

a piece of meat, and a cake of raisins. It was

party time. This was a celebration. The presence

of God is here. It says, on that day, David first

delivered this psalm into the hand of Asaph and

his brethren to thank the Lord. And then it is

listed, the whole psalm that we just read. Now,

whether David wrote the song for this occasion

or whether he did what I do to the worship team,

And I will send them on their worship team page

songs and say, I need you to learn this because

I've got a sermon in mind, right? So whether

David was writing it for this or he'd had that

in him and he wanted to use it for this occasion,

we don't know. But we know that there was something

of this psalm that reflected David's heart for

this occasion of establishing. the covenant in

the tabernacle, the ark. And so our landing spot

is verse 6 that we read. Strength and beauty

are in the sanctuary. But when we look at this

entire passage, we do so with an interesting

understanding, because when David was establishing

the ark of the covenant in the tabernacle, It

was for Israel, wasn't it? It was for his people.

And yet what we find in this verse is that there's

no limitations in it for just Israel. In fact,

if we just, there's kind of three sections of

it. There's this proclamation that is beyond

Israel and to all people. Sing to the Lord, all

the earth. All the earth, not just Israel. Proclaim

the news of his salvation. Well, what does that

speak to us? If you haven't received his salvation,

you can't really proclaim it. And so what I'm

hearing in this is that the good news of salvation

is not just for Israel. Praise the Lord, all

the Gentiles. Right? Declare his glory among

the nations. This is why we support missionaries

to declare his glory among the nations. This

is beyond Israel. His wonders among all people.

This is an occasion that is for Israel. It just

is so fascinating because we say this all the

time. David is continually foreshadowing of the

new covenant. There's a call to worship in this

passage. A call to worship that goes beyond Israel.

We read it, sing to the Lord all the earth. He's

calling for worship from not just Israel, but

all the earth. Verses 7 through 9, if you reread

those, are a clear call of worship of families

and the whole earth, not just Israel. And then

the reason, he summarizes the reason for all

of this, and that is verse 10 through the end.

There's great joy in creation because he is coming

to judge the world. All peoples, it says. All

families, all the earth, he is coming for. And

so here we have this occasion that is uniquely

for Israel. God was very clear in the old covenant

of the separation of those that were not of Israel

and Israel. He did not want them intermarrying.

He did not want them to bring in the idols of

the other nations. And so this occasion was solely

for Israel. And yet the psalm that they sang

was one that included all of creation. It was

a song. Did they have any kind of concept, really,

of what it meant for God to come for his people?

They had very dark vision for it. And so the

whole context of Psalm 96 is the return. He is

coming. He is coming to judge the earth. The

coming of his kingdom is our destiny. And sometimes

we have that as the back thought of our life

when he's wanting it to be our true north, our

first and foremost. He is coming again. He is

returning. His kingdom is our destiny. And so

because of where we're headed, the psalmist here

is commanding us to do these things, to sing

and to declare and to spread the news. It's a

very broad view of where we are headed one day.

It's a very broad view of when your life is ending,

where you will be at the end of your life. If

you are passing on before he comes again. It's

a very broad view. Now, we want to get a little

bit narrow. We want to get a little bit narrow

view. See, when I type in my destiny into my

Maps app, it's going to just take me straight

there, right? But I don't know about you. We

are usually in there adding in search for Starbucks.

I got to take some side trips. I guarantee you

after filling up my vehicle and it being 479

yesterday, I will be finding a gas station in

Missouri to fill up on, right? And so within

my broad view of my destination, there are places

along the journey that I've got to stop and fuel

up, both me and my vehicle. This is our narrow

view. So knowing we need fuel for our journey,

we turn our eyes to verse 6. Honor and majesty

are before him. Strength and beauty are in his

sanctuary. There are two things I know. First

thing, growth is dependent upon you. how you

grow in your faith in becoming like Christ as

a believer. Growth is dependent upon your choice.

As a pastor, one of my favorite passages in Acts

Acts 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2 that says they devoted themselves to

the apostles' teaching, to the breaking of bread,

and to prayer, and to fellowship to one another.

They devoted themselves. Nobody had to do it

for them. They devoted themselves. Right? So

for so long in this church, I would at potlucks

have to go around and be like, oh, you're sitting

alone. Come sit over here with them. But I love

in this passage of Acts, it says they devoted

themselves to fellowship. Because for a long

time, we had a large population of introverted

people. They devoted themselves. Nobody has to

do it for them. The choice is theirs. So I know

this about growth. I can't partake of the word

for you. I can't be in his presence for you.

There's no priest here doing it for you. The

choice is yours. They devoted themselves. The

second thing that I recognize is that we are

an impoverished people. The first beatitude says,

blessed are the poor in spirit. So I know the

choice of growth is ours, and I also understand

there's nothing in me that will cause me to grow.

Okay, let me summarize it like this. The choice

to stop and get gas is mine, but the fuel does

not originate with me. I've got to take what

that gas station has to offer to fill up my tank

to keep going on the journey. And that's what

I think Psalm 96 verse 6 consists of. The fuel

Psalms 96:6

that you need to keep going, looking toward his

return. We look forward to the return of Christ,

but in it we recognize that it is going to be

marked by hard times, right? In the word, we

hear about wars, rumors of war, all kinds of

conflict. And so we recognize that the season

of his return is marked by increased darkness.

Yet we look toward it with joy, don't we? It's

an interesting dynamic that we walk in. And so

we recognize that there's trial, that there's

difficulty. So we need what Psalm 96 .6 has for

us. What will fuel us on our pilgrimage? Strength

and beauty, that which was within the sanctuary.

Can I just give you some words that make up the

word strength and some words that make up the

word beauty? It's words like boldness. Words

like power. Words like might, strength. How many

of you look at your life and say it's full of

boldness and power? It's words like majesty,

honor, and bravery. Wow. You know, beauty, we

often think so much of the outward comeliness

of something or someone, which is part of it.

But the beauty that is in the sanctuary of the

Lord is so much more than that. The beauty and

the sanctuary of the Lord make up bravery. I

just had to sit on that for a long time. Bravery

and honor are in his sanctuary. And so he's writing

this psalm, and he's saying, the king is going

to come again. He's going to return. And so in

the sanctuary, you can find what you need, some

power, some might. Some honor, some bravery.

How many of you would look at your life and say,

I feel brave? I tell you, our kids need bravery

for the schools that they are getting. Some of

you that are teaching in the schools, you know,

you need some bravery in there. It's a hard place

for kids. They need what is in the sanctuary

of the Lord. Bravery and honor, power and boldness.

I just did a podcast where we were talking about

the disciples and where they were after the resurrection

of Jesus. And on the day of the resurrection,

they were locked in a room for fear of the Jews.

And that's where Jesus found them and breathed

upon them. And after they were filled with the

Holy Spirit, they tapped into something, didn't

they? And they were no longer, you were not going

to find them. When they were imprisoned, they

were singing and praying. They were not hiding

out in fear for what the Jews could do any longer.

They have become people of power, of might, of

bravery. And we, no less, have access to that.

And so this morning, even as we were singing

this morning, we were singing of the sacrifice

of Jesus. And the truth is, is that we have access

into the sanctuary of his presence. Because Jesus

paid a high price for the access. When I stop

and put fuel in my vehicle, I am paying a very

high price. Man, I'm getting all kinds of amens

for the gas prices today. Jesus, no less. He

paid a high price. For us to have access to what

we need as we await for the return of our king.

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. Praise the

Lord. And so this should affect how I live my

life, shouldn't it? It should affect my life

when I have access. To the sanctuary of his presence.

Where there is strength and beauty for me to

partake of. It should affect my life. It should

affect how I lead my family. It should affect

how I am in the workplace. It should affect how

I treat my spouse. It should affect how I treat

my kids. It should affect how I treat my body.

It should affect how we treat one another. It

should affect anything that my hand finds to

do. of access into the throne room, into the

sanctuary where strength and where beauty are

available to me. No excuses. That removes every

excuse. There is sufficiency in the sanctuary

for what we need. He's given us everything that

we need. And sometimes we think that As a believer,

I just automatically, I'm going to walk in this,

and I don't believe that's true. I don't believe

you're automatically going to walk in power and

boldness. I don't automatically think you're

going to walk in bravery. I think you automatically

have access to it. You have access to it. But

whether like the gas stations, you keep passing

up and passing up and passing up, never stopping

to fuel your vehicle. There's no way to access

what is in the sanctuary except to get in the

sanctuary. There's no way to access it except

to get into his presence. Your spouse can't do

it for you. Your parents can't do it for you.

Your best friend, your pastor can't do it for

you. You have to access the sanctuary of his

presence yourself. And it is there waiting for

you. It is there waiting for you. Beauty, bravery,

power, and might are in his sanctuary. And so,

You have access to this when you are confronting

your hard places, when you're confronting your

flesh that wants to do what it wants to do, right?

How many just love crucifying the flesh? No,

we don't. Very few of us like to fast. Very few

of us like to be in silence and to stop moving.

Very few of us like the spiritual disciplines

because our flesh doesn't like it. Your flesh

will not want to be still long enough to access

the sanctuary. But we have access in it to confront

our battles. I was thinking of this. In worship,

I felt the Holy Spirit stirring in me. Some of

you have kids that are prodigal kids. And I felt

specifically that the Lord wanted to encourage

some of you today that have prodigal kids. Often,

people that have kids that have chosen to walk

away from the Lord. live in very much fear over

the state of their kids, of where they'll end

up, which is valid, right? A valid concern. And

when we let fear in, what that fear does is it

renders, it takes away our authority to pray

with effectiveness over our kids. And I remember

early on in our journey with this, I really felt

the Lord, which the Lord has always given me

in unique ways, words over my own journey with

a kid like this. And in that word, what he imparts,

because this is what the word of the Lord does,

it imparts faith. and it dispels fear. And I

remember at one point the Lord saying, you don't

get to determine your kids' journey and what

I'm going to do for their life. And sometimes

my kids' journeys, in order for them, for God

to do what is going to happen in their lives

for the good of the kingdom, there's a journey

they've got to walk. And for some of you that

have that, it requires bravery to face that and

to walk that path and not let fear incapacitate

you from praying for your kid, for standing in

authority over demonic forces over your kid.

Because although it's your kid's journey, right,

they've been given to us to pray over and to

cover. And so specifically this morning, some

of you that have kids that are not walking with

the Lord, he wants you to access bravery, to

not be fearful, to not look. When we get in fear,

we begin to imagine where they're going to end

up. And instead, to see what God can do and begin

to declare that over our kid. Thereby standing

in the place of faith. It requires bravery. It

is a hard thing to do. It is a hard thing to

do. And the only way you can do it with victory

is to stay in the sanctuary where strength and

beauty reside. Where you have unending access

to power and might and bravery. To stand in the

place of faith for whatever your battle is. You

have access. I was thinking as I was starting

this sermon on this phrase, eyes on the road,

keep your eyes on the road, right? And when you

are teaching, anybody ever had to teach a kid

to drive? Yeah, you're about to, Ben, Charlene.

David, I think, is in that journey right now.

I was so glad to get my fourth one through it.

It's like, ah, one more to go. And what you have

to teach them is about where they put their eyes.

Because to keep your eyes on the road is to keep

your eyes down the road, right? Not on the bumper

right in front of you. Not on the lines right

in front of you. Maintaining 100 % focus ahead

of what is coming. keeps you on the road. And

see, some of us lose sight of the long road.

Some of us lose sight of where our road is leading

us. And as soon as we start looking at the bumper

in front of us, and that's all we see, we get

into trouble. And yet, while our eyes are looking

on the road down further, we're also teaching

them, but you also got to keep in your peripheral.

An eye on, you don't assume that that car is

going to stop at the stoplight. You just assume

they're going to come straight in and barrel

into you. And so we're on this long view of the

king coming and all the while we have an enemy

that wants to just barrel through the red lights

and ram right into you. And so our vision is

so important. Keeping our vision ahead to what

is to come and yet being mindful of the hazards

on the way. Some of us this morning need to refix

our eyes on where we're going. You've been overcome.

You've been overwhelmed. You've been discouraged.

And today, you need to lift up your eyes. For

the king is coming. In that verse, it was full

of joy. All creation was full of joy because

he was returning. The king is coming. They're

filled with joy and excitement. The bridegroom

is coming. There's excitement in the air. The

bridegroom is coming. Right? I see Kenzie back

there. No, that's not Kenzie. Kenzie's not here

today. Kenzie and Gage are getting married in

a couple of weeks. And what is surrounding the

wedding? activity, joy, excitement. The king

is coming. He's returning. And we see it reflected

in Psalm 96. And some of us need to get our eyes

back on that. We're off of true north and we

need to get realigned with the coming of the

king. And to fill up, to quit running on empty,

to quit running on empty and to fill up. Yeah,

people are going to do you wrong. Yeah, people

are going to backstab you. Yeah, people are going

to betray you. Yeah, things are going to get

hard. But you have access to the strength and

the beauty of the sanctuary. And so the team

is going to come back this morning. And as we

spend a few moments in worship, there are some

of us that need to get realigned. with our vision.

And there are some of us that need to tap in

to what is available to you in the sanctuary.

You need a fresh commitment to the sanctuary

of his presence marking your life. You need a

fresh commitment to quit trying to fuel yourself.

You've been living on cheap gas and God wants

to give you high quality gas. You laugh and I

buy the cheap gas. You do too, confessions. How

many are cheap gas buyers? Yeah. And some of

you are like, no way am I putting that stuff

in my vehicle. That's the way I feel about food

in my body. There's no way that junk is coming

into my body. Some of us spiritually have been

fueling on cheap gas. And there is an abundance

in the sanctuary he wants to give to you today.

And so this morning, we're going to give you

an opportunity. See, it's only 1136. And so for

just a few moments, can we just in his presence,

the sanctuary of his presence, can we ask for

an impartation? Maybe there's a specific thing

you need from God today. It's available in his

presence. And so the team is going to lead us.

And in a moment, if you need to fix your vision,

if you need to access and tap into what is in

the sanctuary, we just want to make space for

you for a few moments. To push everything aside

and say, God, my eyes are fixed on where we are

going. Your soon and coming return. Would you

fuel me today for it? Would you bestow your beauty

upon me today? Would you bestow bravery upon

me today? Would you bestow your strength, your

power, and your might upon me today? And so let's

just all stand for a moment in these closing

moments. And as we all just worship, I don't

want any spectators today because we are here

in his presence. And as we all begin to worship

the wonderful King Jesus, if you need to, for

a moment, make a fresh altar in your life, I

want you to just take a step out. And for some

of you, just taking that step is a step of bravery.

It's uncomfortable for you. But that's okay.

There's bravery for you, right? There's strength

and boldness for you. And some of you need to

get a little bit bold, a little bit more into

the might of the Lord and step out in faith and

just say, God, I'm coming after you. I'm coming

after the sanctuary of your presence. And I want

to be filled fresh. I want to feed afresh on

what is in the tangible presence of the Lord.

Thank you, Lord. Let's just begin to worship

for a few moments. And you make your way and

find a place to just get into the sanctuary of

his presence.