This morning we’re going to be talking about passion.  To help us get started thinking about what we’re passionate about we have a short clip.  As you’re watching be asking yourself, “What am I most passionate about?”

(Video:  “What Are You Most Passionate About?”)

Those are all pretty good answers.  Right?  Some we might see as more important than others.  But they’re all good answers.

Same question:  What are you most passionate about?

The obvious - we’re in church - answer is that we need to be passionate for... God.  Which is true.  Which is the kind of answer you’d expect to hear coming from the music stand.

Thinking about that answer there is a very real - we need to examine our lives - question that comes with that answer.  Right?

We can be active in the church - surround ourselves with Christian friends - listen to Christian music - fill our schedule with Christian activities - study to know everything we can know about God - all of which are great things to involve ourselves with - to be passionate about.  But - here’s the question:  Is God the one all encompassing passion that defines all our other passions?

Here’s another question:  What does that mean to be passionate for God?  Beyond the devotion - the driving desire - for Him?  What results from that depth of passion for God?

If you are not there already - please turn with me to Psalm 84.  We’re going to read Psalm 84 out loud together and then come back and unpack it and think about what it means to be passionate for God.

Psalm 84 - starting at verse 1:

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O Lord of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints
For the courts of the Lord;
My heart and flesh sing for joy
To the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
And the swallow a nest for herself,
Where she may lay her young,
At your altars, O Lord of hosts,
My King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
Ever singing your praise!

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
In whose heart are the highways of Zion.
As they go through the Valley of Baca
They make it a place of springs;
The early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
Each one appears before God in Zion.

O Lord God of hosts, hear my prayer;
Give ear, O God of Jacob!
Behold our shield, O God;
Look on the face of your anointed!

For a day in your courts is better
Than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
Than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

For the Lord God is a sun and a shield;
The Lord bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
From those who walk uprightly.
O Lord of hosts,
Blessed is the one who trust in you! 

Does some of that sound familiar?  We sing parts of this Psalm on Sunday mornings.

Just before the Psalm - just before verse 1 - is an inscription - which says:  To the Choirmaster:  According to the Gittith.  A Psalm of the sons of Korah.  If you have your Bibles open - do you see that?  Have you ever wondered about what those are all about?

Nobody really knows where these inscriptions came from.  They predate the Septuagint - the Greek translation of the Old Testament that was done when?  Around 250 B.C.  They include instructions about what instruments are to be used - what melody the psalm should be sung to - historical information and who wrote it.

Even though they’re not part of the original text and therefore not inspired Scripture - they do give us background information about the psalms.

The Gittith was a musical instrument.  May have looked like this.  Kind of like a guitar.  So when we’re singing this song with a guitar we’re following 3,000 year old instructions.  How’s that for contemporary  worship!

The Sons of Korah were descendants of Levi.  They were on a branch of the family that had been involved in Korah’s rebellion against Moses and Aaron - basically a power struggle - that God ended by sending down fire from heaven and incinerating 250 men and God causing the earth swallow up their households.  Kinda put a kabash on the rebellion thing.

As a result of that Korah’s descendants were given priestly responsibilities - but not in the Temple.  They ended up being the doorkeepers.  Verse 10:  “I’d rather be a doorkeeper than dwell with the wicked.”  And, Korah’s descendants - the Sons of Korah - were musicians.

What were seeing here is a picture of where the writers of this psalm are coming from - outside looking in - longing for God and using their musical talents to express those feelings.

Look with me at verses 1 and 2 and let’s grab those feelings together.

Verse 1:  How lovely is your dwelling place, O Lord of hosts!

In Old Testament Israel it was a regular part of the life of God’s people to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship at the Temple.  It was a regular act of devotion.  God’s people would journey there from all over to celebrate the feasts and festivals - the goodness of God.

This psalm was written by those longing for God - written to be sung by pilgrims as the journeyed towards Jerusalem - pilgrims who shared that longing.  It expresses the emotions of those were passionate about God - longing to be in His presence - in His Temple.

Verse 2:  My soul longs, yes, faints for the courts of the Lord; My heart and flesh sing for joy to the living God.

Thank God for air conditioning.  Some of us remember when we didn’t have it.  Imagine a pilgrim trudging across the desert plains - hot - tired - thirsty - but expectant - desiring to be there.  “Are we there yet?”  Ever heard that?

The psalms are full of that kind of passionate longing:

Psalm 27:4:  “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after:  that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”

Psalm 42:1,2:  “As a deer pants for the flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When shall I come and appear before God?”

Psalm 122:1:  “I was glad when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord!’”

Psalm 84 puts that passion over the top.  Being outside.  Being on the journey.  Traveling through the desert.  Longing.  Fainting.  Our hearts - from the core of who we are crying out in song to God - the living God.

That’s passion - to be here - to worship in God’s presence.  What follows - here in Psalm 84 - what comes next is the result of that passion.

A few centuries ago -  back in the days when guitars were first being introduced to Christians - we used to sing the song, “He’s Everything To Me.”  Anyone else remember that song?  Would you stand and attempt to sing this with me.

In the stars His handiwork I see,
On the wind He speaks with majesty,
Though He ruleth over land and sea,
What is that to me?

I will celebrate nativity,
For it has a place in history,
Sure, He came to set His people free,
What is that to me?

Till by faith I met Him face to face,
And I felt the wonder of His grace,
Then I knew that He was more than just
A God who didn’t care
Who lived a way up there and
Now He walks beside be day by day,
Ever watching o’er me lest I stray,
Helping me to find the narrow way,
He’s everything to me. (1)

There are some huge truths in that song.  Our passion - our longing and thirsting - isn’t just about a God who lives a way up there ruling over land and sea being born in a nativity scene and setting His people free.

But that God is everything - our deepest passion - is the God Who - by His grace - comes face to face with us and lives with us in the day-to-day of our lives - helping us to live life as life is suppose to be lived.

That’s the theme of Psalm 84.  Passion for the God who is here - with us in life today.

More than just “Yes we need to be more passionate for God” is what it means that that God is with us in the midst of that passion.  When He really is everything to me - what we experience with God when we’re passionately seeking for Him.

There are three blessings of God here in Psalm 84.

The first blessing is Security.  Let’s repeat that together.  “Security.”

Have you ever asked yourself:  “Do I really belong here?”

There are a number of things we go through in life that can rock our boat.  Yes?  That can tear at how we feel about ourselves.  That can threaten our self-confidence - shake our sense of self worth - tear at the bottom line of who we are.

A career change, planned or unplanned - the loss of a job - the loss of our ability to care for ourselves or our family - transitions from one school to the next - the death of someone we love - divorce - rejection - illness - hard stuff going on in our family or in our marriage - things people say to us - or don’t.  Changing circumstances - not always for the better.

The psalmist says in verse 3:  Even the sparrow finds a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her young, at your altars, O Lord of hosts, My King and my God. 

God’s house was the Temple in Jerusalem.  Within the temple was the Holy of Holies - the most sacred place on earth - where God’s presence and glory was revealed.  Within the Hebrew mind and heart there was an awareness that here is the dwelling place of God.  Lovely because God dwelt there.  His presence made it lovely.

The Temple was a place to come to - a place to come away from life out there with its boat rocking identity destroying circumstances - to come to with sacrifices and awe - to present ourselves before God.

A sparrow ends her search and finds a place for a home.  A swallow finds a safe place to build her nest - a place of security to raise her family.  It’s a picture of our lives - our searching for a place of security for our lives. 

Verse 3 - Where do the sparrow and swallow find that secure place to build their nest?  At God’s altar.  The place where God dwells.

Grab that:  There’s security in the presence of God.

Verse 4:  Blessed are those who dwell in your house - God’s temple - His presence - ever singing your praise!  Security is a blessing of God.

There are two unchangeable realities here that we need to grab on to - whatever changes around us - two realities about who we are - our security before God - that do not change with our circumstances.

First:  We are God’s children.   Come to God through Jesus and you are His child.  Share this with the person next to you.  “You are God’s child.” 

The apostle John wrote:  “Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared - we haven’t seen it yet - we’re still in process - but we know that when he - Jesus -  appears - when Jesus comes back - we shall be like him - we’re gonna be like Jesus - we’re gonna be who God has created us to be - because we shall see him as he is.”  (1 John 3:2)

Do you remember what Jesus told His disciples about sparrows?  Jesus pointed out that a person could buy five sparrows for two cents.  Sparrows were cheap - almost worthless.  But, Jesus said, God knows when a sparrow falls.  You - disciples - we - are worth more to God than a sparrow.   So don’t be afraid.  (Matthew 10:29-31; Luke 12:6)

Like sparrows and swallows - but of God given greater value - each one of us is uniquely created by God - for His unique purposes - for the uniqueness of relationship with Him.  We are created by God to be His children.

When we come to the presence of the living God with our heart and soul - from the core of who we are - thirsting for Him - bringing everything we are to God and laying ourselves before Him - placing ourselves before Him on His altar - totally His for His use - that’s passion - yes?  we don’t have to have everything all worked out - we don’t have to know all of who we are and what God has created us to be - we just need to trust Him.

He created us.  He’s in control.  He will make us to be who He has created us to be.  We are His children.  Now and forever.

The second unchangeable fact is this:  We are citizens of God’s city.

The Hebrew word in verse 4 translated as “dwell” is the word “yashab.”  It has the idea of a citizen - someone who lives in a city.  We are “yashab” of Merced - or Atwater - or Planada.

Share this with the person next to you.  “You are a citizen.”

There are a number of places in Scripture where the image of a city is used to describe the dwelling place of God.

Do you remember Revelation 21?  “And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.  He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God.’”  (Revelation 21:2,3)

What’s coming is the dwelling place of God with man.  Come to God through Jesus and we have citizenship in heaven.  In Jesus we have an address with our name on it in heaven.  We belong there.  We’re citizens.  That doesn’t change with our circumstances.

Identity theft is huge these days.  Satan loves to use circumstances and people - even our own attitudes towards things and ourselves - to get us to doubt our identity in Jesus.  To get us thinking that our identity has somehow been stolen.

Grab this:  In Jesus our identity can never be stolen. 

The more we bring ourselves to God from the depth of who we are we begin to understand that we are God’s and nothing in this world can change that realty.  To be in His presence is to be blessed with security in Him.  That is worth passionately longing for.

The second blessing is the blessing of Strength.  Let’s repeat that together.  “Strength”

Verse 6 says, “As they go through the Valley of Baca the make it a place of springs.” 

“Baca” is a word that has at least two different meanings.  None of them good.  One meaning of “baca” is “weeping.”  Another use of “baca” is to refer to a kind of balsam tree that grows in very dry desolate places. 

The name Valley of Baca was probably symbolic.  There probably was no actual place called the Valley of Baca.  The image is of pilgrims traveling through a place of great tears and thirst - symbolic of physical, emotionally, psychological, spiritual dryness and distress.  In realty there are a lot of Valley of Baca’s in our lives.  Yes?  Been there?

It’s the same image as Psalm 23:  “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” (Psalm 23:4)  Through this valley the pilgrims travel on their way to the dwelling place of God.  Its symbolic of our journey through the worst of life.

Verse 5:  Blessed are those whose strength is in you, in whose heart are the highways to Zion.

Grab that:  There’s strength in the presence of God.

Verse 5 - the highway to Zion - God’s city - the presence of God - the highway is where?  In their hearts.  This isn’t some half-hearted journey to fulfill some religious requirement.  There’s passion here.  Passion to travel the road to God regardless of the dryness and desolation.

Seek after God at the heart level and we’ll experience the blessing of His strength.

Someone has said, “When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”  What do we do when the knot slips?  When we get into the hard struggles and issues of life we need God’s strength.  Amen?  Just to do life each day requires God’s strength - not ours.

Notice three things:  First - verse 6 - God sends the early rain and pools of water form - oasis in the dry times of life.

Pilgrims would travel from one oasis to the next - camping at each - drinking deeply of the water - gathering strength and relying on their gathered strength through the next dry segment of the journey.

Verse 7 says, “They go from strength to strength.”

Its God’s strength poured out which keep us going through the dry times.  We can’t do this for ourselves no matter how hard we try.  But God will, as we trust Him - giving up control of our lives and circumstances to Him - relying only on Him for our strength.    

Second, notice verse 7:  “Each one - of the pilgrims - appears before God in Zion” - God’s dwelling place.

That’s the promise that Paul writes about in Romans 8:  “Who shall separate us from the love of God in Christ?  Tribulation - distress - persecution - famine - nakedness - peril - sword - death - life - angels - principalities - things present - things to come - powers - height - depth - or any other created thing?  A complete list covering all the dry thirsty struggles of life.

The conclusion?  “[Nothing] will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”  (Romans 8:35-39)

God isn’t going to lose us to some greater power.  God doesn’t save us and then leave us on our own to crash and burn.  In Him - because of His strength - we’ll get there.

Third:  Notice in verse 6 the Psalmist says, “They - the pilgrims - make it a spring.”  The presence of the pilgrims - as they journey on the highway - their presence brings refreshment to others.

I don’t know about you but way too often in the dry stuff of life my attitude stinks.  Amen?

God’s strength can change our attitude - our whole outlook and response to what we’re going through.

Do you know people like this?  People that we look forward to being around.  Because of the work of God in their lives they turn sorrow into joy - discouragement into boldness.   They’re not stuck on the negative.  They’re focused on the positive.  They inspire us.  They lift us up.

God can even use us like that.  If we seek to rely on Him.  What’s amazing is that when we’re dry - when we see God working through us - we ourselves are strengthened.

The more we seek to rely on God - to set our way through life on pursuing Him - we will know the blessing of His strength working in us and through us.  That is worth passionately longing for.

Third is the blessing of Satisfaction.  Let’s repeat that together.  “Satisfaction.” 

The people who research these things tell us that 50% of Americans are dissatisfied with their jobs - 80% are unhappy with their physical appearance - 75% are dissatisfied with the state of our country’s political process. (2)  This came out last week - 12% of Americans are satisfied with congress.  That’s 88% dissatisfied.  In general there are a ton of people who are not satisfied with the direction life has taken them.

The Rolling Stones:  “I can’t get no satisfaction.”

Verse 10:  One day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere.  I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. 

That’s satisfaction.  It’s the heart attitude of a person who’s satisfied with where God has taken him - even as a Son of Korah doorkeeper.  His destiny is in God’s hands and he’s satisfied.

n verse 9 the psalmist prays, “Look on the face of your anointed.”  In Hebrew the word for anointed is the word we translate Messiah - Jesus being the chosen one of God - anointed by God - set apart for God’s purposes.

There’s a reminder here that God has plans for us.  We’re part of His program of saving the lost of this world.  None of us - no matter how young or old or whatever condition we may be in - none of us is here to simply take up space.  Each of us has a purpose - an anointing from God.

When we make God everything we know the blessing of being satisfied with His purpose for us.

Verse 11 says, “For the Lord is a sun and shield.”

Sun reminds us that God is the source of all light and illumination.  Solar power begins with God.  Shield reminds us that He is the source of our deliverance and victory in life.

It is so easy for us to put our trust in so many things that we think will ultimately bring us victory in life.  But our strength fails.  Jobs can be lost.  Stocks go down.  Families can be toxic.

Whatever we lack - in power - in wisdom - in understanding - in whatever holds us back from deliverance - from victory in life - all that is found in God.

When make God everything we know the blessing of His spiritual power at work within us.

Verse 11 continues:  No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly.

God is generous.  God is gracious.  Whatever is good He desires to supply to us.

That may not be an exotic car parked in a multibillion dollar mansion on some private island in the Caribbean.  God’s version of prosperity looks significantly different that the empty version of prosperity that the world is vainly pursuing.  Amen?  God’s version is way better.  Amen?

God wants to prosper us with what satisfies - in relationships - and reputation - in legacy - in meeting our real needs.  God takes care of His own.

Verse 12:  O Lord of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you.

When we make God our everything we experience His blessing us with what really does satisfy - His purpose - His power - His prosperity.  That is worth passionately longing for.

Existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sarte wrote this:  “Man can count on no one but himself; he is alone, abandoned on earth in the midst of his infinite responsibilities, without help, with no other aim than the one he sets himself, with no other destiny than the one he forges for himself on this earth.” (3)

If that’s how you may be feeling this morning - Psalm 84 reminds that God offers us so much more.  Psalm 84 is not some religious happy thoughts to read on a Sunday morning to remind us that we need to be more passionate about God.  Psalm 84 is for Monday - and the week beyond - for problems each of face - at work - at home - the deep things of our hearts.

Blessed is the man - or woman - who is passionate about God - who looks to God for security - who finds his strength in God - who is satisfied by God.

_________________________
1. By Ralph Carmichael, © 1964 by Lexicon Music, Inc.
2. Cited by Zeke Moore “Is God Your Everything?”  e-steeple.com
3. Quoted by Zeke Moore “Is God Your Everything?”  e-steeple.com