I want to turn our attention this evening in the Word of God to Psalm 24. In this Psalm we have a statement concerning the creation of the earth and the demands of man upon that. We have a statement concerning the need for man to seek after God and to worship Him. And then we have a statement concerning the session of Jesus Christ in heaven. In each of these portions of the psalm, we are talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. We read in the opening two verses concerning the earth and who owns the earth and the purpose for which the earth was established. The earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein. For he has founded upon the seas and established it upon the rivers." The Word of God begins in Genesis chapter 1 with a very clear, simple, historical, factual statement concerning how the world came into existence. The first verse that we read in the Bible is, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. And it's amazing how that today, that first verse of the first chapter of the first book of the Bible is so gratuitously denied by so many. It is a fact that those who would seek to teach their children concerning that which God says is true, that they would be accused as being child abusers. I have heard that myself on the radio, on the television, written in newspapers. We saw it recently in our nation after the general election, the furious fervor that arose when The government reached out to that party in Northern Ireland, which at present advocates certain things that we hold to be biblical. As I said, at the time when that happened, that that may not always be the case, that they will hold to those things, but they do at present in general. And how that anyone who associated with that position were castigated, were absolutely torn to shreds. not simply as idiots and fools, but as woman hearers, misogynists, people who are at the very, very end of the extremity of humanity in our nation. That's who we are. We're classified as that by many in our culture and society. But we hold to this truth Because this truth is clearly expressed in the Word of God. And God speaks all truth. What comes from the lips of man is lies and deceit. It doesn't matter whether it comes from the lips of a man in person, whether it comes from the lips of a man from a national newspaper, whether it comes from the lips of a national broadcaster, or online, or whatever medium is used It is lies if it denies the truth of the word of God. And it doesn't matter how many times they say it. It doesn't matter how many times it is broadcast on a newsreel in a given day. It makes no difference. The truth is the truth is the truth is the truth. And we have to understand that. We have to hold to it. We have to articulate it and we have to not be fearful in declaring it. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. We read that concerning the earth, that it was without form and void, and that there was darkness over the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then what happened? Genesis chapter 1, verse 3, God said. And when God said, what happened? God saw. And when God saw what happened, God called. God said. And what God said happened. And what God, what happened, God saw. And what God saw, God called. He named what he saw. Saw that he called, he said, let there be light. He saw that there was light. He called it light and the darkness night. And that's the order of life. God said, let there be. God saw that there was that which he said, let there be. And God called that which he saw according to what he would name it. And we read that God said, Let there be waters unto the heavens. Let the waters unto the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear. And it was so. God called the dry land earth, and the waters were gathered together he called seas. And God saw that it was good. And God said, let the earth sprout vegetation, plant shielding seed, and fruit trees bearing fruit in which there is their seed, each according to its kind in the earth. And it was so. The earth brought forth vegetation, plants yielding seed according to their own kinds, trees bearing fruit which is their seed, each according to their kind. And God saw that it was good, and there was evening and there was morning the third day. So when the psalmist writes, the earth is the Lord's and the fullness thereof, He is not making a statement in which he is hoping that that is the case. Sometimes we say things and we say them in anticipation that what we are saying will actually transpire. The psalmist isn't writing here hoping that what God says would transpire. He's writing about the historical fact that the earth is the Lord's and that everything in the earth belongs to the Lord. Because if I was to continue to read through Genesis chapter 1, you would read how God filled the earth with all creatures and then how he made man, as he says in Genesis chapter 1 verse 26, let us make man in our image after our likeness. founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. Let us never lose sight of that truth. Let us teach it to our children. Let's indoctrinate them in the message of the good news of creation by the Word of God. The point that I want to stress, briefly, is the fact of the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ at creation. In John's Gospel, chapter one, we read the following. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. Hear this. All things were made through him and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it." Jesus Christ, the Word, was with God in the beginning, before time. and there is nothing that has been made in the earth and the fullness thereof, there is nothing that exists in the world and dwells therein that does not exist and does not owe its life to God in the person of his Son Jesus. All things without exception were made through the Word who is Jesus. And without Jesus was not anything made that was not made, that was made. John states it affirmatively and he states it in negative terms. And what he is saying is that no matter what way you want to express this truth, the Word who became flesh is the creator of heaven and earth. And as such, he sits in sovereign rule over all creation. Jesus sits as sovereign Lord over all that he has made. He owns everything that is in this world. without exception. Every piece of ground, every piece of seabed, every creature that has walked, will walk, swims or flies, every human being who has lived on the earth has lived in the power of Jesus Christ. So when you hear about people wanting to talk to you about the historical Jesus, and Jesus coming to earth, and Jesus being our friend, and Jesus living a good life and setting us a decent example, you want to discard what they're saying, and you want to implant in your mind Genesis chapter one and John chapter one. Secondly, the question arises then, who can dwell with God in the understanding that all men should worship God? All men should respond to God in their created life and worship Him. That's an understandable thing. There shouldn't even have to be an argument presented for that. The fact that God gives life, the fact that God sustains life, would lead anyone with a rational sense to think that then that God is worthy of my adoration and my worship. If that God is the giver of my life, and that God is the sustainer of my life, and that God gives me all that I have in my life, then there should be absolute no necessity to say to any human being on the face of the earth, this God is to be worshipped. The reality though is that sin degrades the mind, sin debauches the heart, and sin disturbs the emotions to such a degree that that which is true may turn into a lie, and that which is a lie men turn into what they say is the truth. Our nation should stop every first day of the week. Our nation should shut down. I'm not talking about those who believe in God. I'm talking about the whole nation should cease from doing what it does and should come and worship God with all its heart and all its soul and all its being, given what God has given to this nation. But yet it doesn't. In the Psalmist asks, verse 3, who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? He's looking there very specifically at the city of Jerusalem and coming and dwelling in the house of God in the city of Jerusalem. And he answers the question, he who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. Who shall come to the presence of God? Who shall dwell in the holy presence of God? It's he whose heart is pure, whose hands are clean, whose soul is not marked by falseness, and whose tongue is not marked by deceit. There's a reason why men do not desire to worship God. It's because their hearts are not pure, their hands are not clean, they do not dare to come into the presence of a holy God. Because to stand in the presence of God, one must acknowledge the holiness of God. And to acknowledge the holiness of God, one must acknowledge the sinfulness of man. And our nation is not prepared to acknowledge the sinfulness of man. It parades the sinfulness of man. It advocates the sinfulness of man. elevates, it declares the sinfulness of man, it elaborates the sinfulness of man, it extols the sinfulness of man. And so that which should be a given doesn't happen. And yet, and yet, it should And here is the astonishing thing, that the one who created the heavens and the earth is the one who came to earth, who dwelt upon the earth in order to make it possible for those who are on the earth to do what should be a given, but which they find they do not do because of the sinfulness of their being. For who is it whose hands are clean? Who is it whose heart is pure? Who is it whose soul has not sworn, lifted up falsehood or sworn deceitfulness? Who is it who has received the blessing of the Lord? Who is it who owns a righteousness of God? It is Jesus Christ. It is the Creator come to earth in the person of the Son of God. It is He who dwells on the earth during the sojourn of His duration here and dwells with clean hands and dwells with a pure heart. And so, He not only creates, He not only gives life, not only gives opportunity, he then comes to earth to dwell on the earth as a holy one and then lays down his life as an atonement for the sacrifice of the sin, as we saw this morning in Hebrews, the once for all sacrifice The blood of bulls and goats, repeatedly given day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, could not make atonement for one sin. They merely reminded the offerer of that sacrifice that sin is real, each time a person brought their animal. whether it be a goat, or whether it be a kid, or whether it be a lamb, or whether it be a pigeon, whatever the offering was, they knew that in the giving of that offering there was not freedom from sin. They knew that that offering said one thing, you remain a sinner. Atonement for your sin must still be made. But as we saw this morning in the writer of the Hebrews, that ended 2,000 years ago. The need for a priest to stand with his garments shed and blood day after day is finished. Because he whose hands are clean, he whose heart is pure, he who did not swear deceit, he received the blessing of the Father. It's because of Christ and Christ alone. that we can enter into the presence of God. It's only because of Christ that we have a desire to do what should be a given in our lives. We should worship God because of who He is and what He has done. The fact that we are born with a nature that says, I will not do that. I will not do the one thing I should do. There's only one thing a human being should do in their life, and that is worship the triune God who has given them life and sustains their life. And the fact the sinful nature says, I will not do it. It is Jesus, the son of God, who opens that door for us. And so we come in the verse seven to this Jesus, Returning to heaven the Creator and the Savior Lift up your heads O gates and be lifted up O ancient doors That the King of glory may come in It's literally saying Lift the gates off their hinges. We were down in Dumfries with family on Friday. We went to Dumfries House. It wasn't Dumfries, it was Dumfries House. And outside to where they had the, they'd have taken in the carriages and they had doors. But at the side of the walls there were these huge metal pinions. And as myself and my youngest son stood there and we tried to work out the size of these doors, there were large doors that would have been hung on these stays, as it were, both top and bottom. The huge doors of heaven. The song rings out, lift the door off their hinges. Lift the gates off that which is holding them. For there's one returning to heaven. He is the King of Glory. Who is this King of Glory? The cry goes out to those standing at the gates. Who is it? Why should we lift the gates? It's the Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle. It's the creator of heaven and earth. It's the one who descended to earth, our creator, taking upon himself human form, dwelling as a servant, becoming obedient unto death itself. And he's returning. He's returning after what? He's returning strong and mighty. There is Jesus. There is Jesus sitting on a stool in a room in the basement of a prison or a garrison cell in Jerusalem 2,000 years ago. And he's stripped of his clothes and a crown of thorns has been placed upon his head. And the blood is dripping down his head. And they've placed a mock scepter in his hand. And they're dancing around him. Heal, Jesus, King of the Jews. And they're spilling on him. They're spilling on the Word who said, let there be the Word who saw and the word who called. They're spitting and mocking the one whose heart was pure and whose hands are clean. And then they take him out and they nail him to a cross. And those gathered around the cross say, let the angels come and take him down. Let God come and release him. And there he is in all his weakness, and there he is in all his fragility, and there he is in all his humanity, and there he is with the blood pouring out of his side, and there he is with a crown of thorns on his head, and there he is gasping for breath in his body. Oh, the one of clean hands and pure heart, the one who did not swear deceitfulness, The one who said, let there be, the one who saw, the one who called, the one who breathed life into the nostrils of man. There he is hanging on a cross at Calvary and all iniquity has been cast upon him. He had come to earth. The devil through Herod had sought to trace him down to destroy him. Remember how Herod brought in the wise men and says, I hear there's another king. I would love to meet him. Go in and you find him, come back and tell me where he is so that I can go and pay homage to him. And God said to the wise men, you don't go back the way you came. You don't tell Herod. Then he's led to the beginning of his ministry. Matthew's gospel chapter four, out into the wilderness. He's going because he is going to engage in that battle with the enemy, the devil. The devil come and he tempts him. Having fasted for 40 days and nights, he was hungry. And the tempter said to him, if you are the son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread. The devil took him up to the high city, the holy city, and set him on the pinnacle and said to him, if you are the son of God, throw yourself down. The devil came to him and took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory and said, all these I will give you if you will bow down and worship me. Each time he answered according to the word of God. What a battle that was. Such was the emotional draining on his soul. We read that the devil left him and behold, angels came and were ministering to him. Imagine that! There he is, lying physically drained, emotionally exhausted, his soul spent as it were. And there he is lying on the ground and the God of heaven says, send the angels, Gabriel. And the angels go and the angels lean over him and the angels pick him up And the angels wash him with water. And the angels restore him and give him food. Here is the one who said, let there be. Here is the one who saw. Here is the one who said and called a name. Here is the one of clean hands and pure heart. He did not swear deceitfully. And he's being cared for by the angels. During his life, The storms raged. The demonic attacked. At every opportunity, the devil engaged with him. Why is it that Jesus did so many miraculous signs upon the earth? Why is it that there was so much demonic frustration upon the earth during the years of Jesus' life? It was a mighty war. There was a spiritual warfare being engaged. The devil left the temptation saying, I've left him. He's physically distressed. I've left him emotionally drained. I will come back and I will strike and I will strike and I will strike. and I will strike, and I will strike, and I will strike." And he struck at him repeatedly. And oh, on the day that Jesus was on the cross, the devil must have said, victory is mine. Victory is mine. He is dead. As Jesus breathed his last, The devil must have said, oh, I am victorious. But what do we read in Psalm 100 or Psalm 24 about this one who engaged in mighty battle? Who is this king of glory? The Lord strong and mighty. The Lord, mighty in battle, Lift up your heads, O gates, Lift them up, O ancient doors, That the Lord of glory may come in. The battle was real, but the victory was won. The victory was won. We've seen it in the resurrection. We've seen it in the ascension. We saw it this morning in the session. Who is this Lord of glory, this King of glory, the Lord of hosts? He is the King of glory. He was there in the beginning. Nothing was made that was not made by him. He was there on earth. laying down his life as an atonement sacrifice so that we, who should be worshippers of God with all our heart, soul and mind, but who deny God, can have that wonderful privilege of delighting in God by having our sins forgiven. And here is the King of Glory, the King of Glory, strong and mighty, Mighty in battle. And he's coming back. He's coming back. Not as a child. Not to engage in warfare again. He's coming back to declare the judgment. And I would say to you tonight, if you do not believe in Jesus with all your heart. Look at the creation. Look at His life on earth. Believe that He is the King of glory, risen and ascended. For He is strong and mighty. He is the King of glory. He is the Lord of hosts. He is the one for whom the gates of heaven were lifted off their pinions. And he's the one who's coming back to judge you. And if you do not believe on him, you will be sent away from his presence forever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever and ever. Those of us who believe in this King, this Creator King, this sacrificing King, this King of glory, why are we afraid of anything or anyone? Why would we be concerned about anything that's going on in the world? He's strong and mighty. He's won the battle of all battles, the battle over death and sin. All we have to do is live in the way that He has set forth for us. We just have to walk in His way and live in the strength that He would give us and behold the majesty of His being and worship him with everything we have and obey all the commands that he has given to us without exception and we will enter into we will enter into that place where the king of glory will dwell for all eternity amen