I. Psalms 84 is a Psalm of the Sons of Korah

Psalm 84:1–2 (NKJV)1 How lovely 2 My soul longs, yes, even faints For the courts of the Lord; My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.

Psalm 84:4–5 (NKJV)4 Blessed 5 Blessed .

Psalm 84:10–12 10For a day in Your courts 11 For the Lord God 12 O Lord of hosts, Blessed

A. The Annual Hebrew Pilgrimages to the Temple

Hebrews were Required to Take their Families a Minimum of Three Times a Year, to the Temple of Jerusalem.

The Pilgrimage to the House of the Lord was a Great Highlight of Hebrew Culture.

They would Caravan together and Pass Different Villages, as Others Joined In.

PRINCIPLE 1: The Traffic on the Road from the Pilgrimage would Grow as they Picked Up More Families. It was a Joyful Celebration where they would Sing and Dance as they went Up to Jerusalem, to Worship their King.

B. The Pilgrimage Trek was a Difficult One

Psalm 48:1–2 (NKJV)1 Great 2 Beautiful in elevation, The joy of the whole earth,

The Geographical Topography of Jerusalemwas Uphill and Took Effort; the Journey usually Took 3-4 Days.

The City of Jerusalem is Geographically Located at the Center of the Earth, and is Set on 7 Mountains.

PRINCIPLE 2: The Pilgrimage was All Uphill, but there was Something that Superseded the Challenges and Inconveniences, within the People’s Hearts. It was Knowing the Importance of Encountering God.

B. The Sons of Korah

The Sons of Korah were Part of the Levites, They Wrote Psalms 42 also and were also Responsible to for the Music and Orchestrations to many Psalms.

Psalm 42:1–2 (NKJV)1As the deer pants for the water brooks, So pants my soul for You, O God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and appear before God?

PRINCIPLE 3: Korah Rebelled against Moses and God Opened Up the Earth and It Swallowed Him. His Ancestors were Banished from Going to the Tabernacle to Worship for Seven Generations.

Numbers 16:31–32 (NKJV)31 Now it came to pass, as he finished speaking all these words, that the ground split apart under them, 32 and the earth opened its mouth and swallowed them up, with their households and all the men with Korah, with all

C. God’s House was Also Important to King David

Psalm 122:1 (NLT)1 I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.”

David Wrote Psalm 122 when He was Running for His Life, from His Son Absalom.

His Men Grabbed the Ark of the Covenant to Take with Them, but David told them to Take the Ark Back to the Temple.

2 Samuel 15:25 (NKJV)25 Then the king said to Zadok, “Carry the ark of God back into the city. If I find favor in the eyes of the Lord,He will bring me back and show me .”

PRINCIPLE 4: David knew that there would Be a Time where He would be Distance from God House, but if He Favored Him, God would let Him Come Back and Worship in the House of the Lord.

II. The Importance of God’s Day

Revelation 1:10 (NKJV)I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet,

PRINCIPLE 5: During the 1600’s in Europe, Belfries were Built in every City to Set the Lord’s Day Apart, as Special; on Sundays they would Ring the Bell to Signify it was not Just Any Day, but it was the Lord’s Day.

A. The Sound of the Assembly has Been Silenced

Hebrews 10:24–25 (NKJV) 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as , but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching.

PRINCIPLE 6: Millions of People have Fallen Out of the Mind-Set that Sunday is the Day of the Lord; It takes Discipline, Dedication and Loyalty to Keep the Lord’s Day Holy and Place Him First!

B. The Lord’s Day

Exodus 20:8–11 (NIV) 8 “Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day is a sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, neither you, nor your son or daughter, nor your male or female servant, nor your animals, nor any foreigner residing in your towns. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy.

C. The Benefit of Honoring God

1 Samuel 2:30 (NLT) “Therefore, the Lord, the God of Israel, says: I will honor those who honor me, and I will despise those who think lightly of me.

DEFINE: Honor - Showing Regard. Respect and Esteem.

Psalm 92:13–14 (NKJV)13Those who are planted in the house of the Lord Shall flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They shall still bear fruit in old age; They shall be fresh and flourishing