SERMON SPOTLIGHT * 8/16/26
The heavens proclaim His righteousness. Jesus life and His death proclaim His righteousness but there’s a day coming when He will return AND ALL WILL SEE HIS GLORY. And God’s active presence necessitates an appropriate response. Below is an outline summary of the sermon for your further study and deeper reflection.
SERIES: SUMMER IN THE PSALMS
TEXT: Psalm 97
TITLE: When God Shows Up
PREACHER: Tim Lambros
BIG IDEA: God’s active presence necessitates an appropriate response!
POINTS:
I. The Glorious Presence of the Lord
II. The Ultimate Presence of the Lord
III. Our Response to the Presence of the Lord
SERMON EXCERPTS:
All quotes and text emphasis are taken directly from the pastor’s notes.
ILLUSTRATION: When the “blue coats” are coming
“God’s active presence necessitates an appropriate response.”
“God is a Sovereign being who manifests Himself in many ways in the past and when He shows up – there is an appropriate response needed.”
“The Psalm opens up with the reality of our God. He reigns. The Lord reigns! To “REIGN” brings to mind a royal, kingly word and perspective. What’s the appropriate response? Therefore, let the earth rejoice.”
“What does it mean for the Lord to reign? It means He’s sovereign over everything. Everything? Yes, every cell in your body and every molecule in the universe functions and operates and proceeds under the reign of the LORD. All capitals, YWHE.”
“V. 1b literally means “let them rejoice the coastlands many” to the OT Jewish person singing this song there would be a limited view of the Mediterranean coastlands. V. 2-5 echoes God’s awesome appearance to Israel at Sinai. God showed up in a powerful way. In a way Israel would never forget. This is what we call a theophany.”
“A theophany is usually defined as a temporary, visible manifestation of God or a divine being. Picture Moses at the burning bush, God showing up at the dedication of the temple in a way that none could even stand.
V. 2 clouds and thick darkness – these represent a prior manifestation of God’s presence to Israel after they were delivered from Egypt.
V. 3 Fire goes before Him
V. 4 Lightnings light up
V. 5 The mountains melt like wax
V. 1 the Lord reigns let the earth rejoice v. 5 the Lord of all the earth”
“Would you rather be humbled by the lack of knowledge on how a holy God reigns with earthly disaster or would you rather serve a God who doesn’t fully reign over all things? What would the world be like if He didn’t reign? Too many times we live our functional lives as if we don’t have a God who reigns over every action and reaction in the world and in our lives.”
“Every action God does is part of His master plan. God is not like Disneyland. Let that sink in. God’s purposes are not simply to create the earth, create man in His image and then send us out to enjoy it like we do when we go to Disneyland. No! God has revealed His redemptive plan and it is built around building a people for Himself. His ways are not our ways but He’s not like Disneyland and hopes we come and enjoy it while He sits back and smiles.”
“How mankind responds to the truth about God creates deep divisions. That’s just the reality of humans when they encounter God or encounter truth about Him.”
“V. 6 & V. 9 are little bookends for this section. V. 6 The heavens proclaim His righteousness. The created heavens scream that God is Creator. Now jump down to V. 9. He is Lord over all! He is exalted above all other gods. God doesn’t mince words so let’s look a bit closer. He is exalted FAR ABOVE all gods.”
ILLUSTRATION - A million people arose this morning in the Tucson area and most ignored that the heavens proclaim truths about God. We see it and ignore His presence. The LORD reigns. We see His obvious glory – in the sunset, in the formation of monsoons that come together in a matter of hours at times.
“In God’s redemptive plan He didn’t leave it up to His people to figure it out. Look closely again at v. 6. ALL THE PEOPLES SEE HIS GLORY. v. 7 All worshipers of images are put to shame. The challenge is we don’t just make worthless idols in our lives, we boast about them. ALL WORSHIPERS. God created us to worship. Why do you think we are in awe with a starry night while camping or impressed with an amazing dunk in basketball or a home run hit in baseball. God created us that way! In light of the LORD who reigns, who is most high over all the earth/exalted FAR above all gods, all the idols we could create – that LORD puts worshipers to shame.”
“Church, God knows mankind, He created us. He builds His redemptive plan knowing we would give ourselves to man made idols and will be put to shame. God’s ultimate plan was to display His glory and ALL THE PEOPLES WOULD SEE HIS GLORY. God sent His Son so that there would be a day that all the peoples would see His glory AND ACKNOWLEDGE IT. The Psalmist sings because Zion rejoices at what God has revealed of Himself to Israel. But there would be more. God would send His Son to proclaim His righteousness.”
“Jesus would take on flesh, He would live a perfect life. He would be tempted in every way and never sin. He would be rejected by His own people Israel and be rejected by the idol loving Gentiles. They would put Him through a bloody death but God would raise Him up. Then God would preserve this revelation of His Son SO ALL COULD SEE HIS GLORY.”
“But there is still even more. The heavens proclaim His righteousness. Jesus life and His death proclaim His righteousness but there’s a day coming when He will return AND ALL WILL SEE HIS GLORY.”
“…we still give ourselves to worthless idols. Today it’s not idols we make with wooden things, it’s the idols of the heart we worship. I doubt you have a wooden idol in our living room or back yard but you have idols you’re bowing down to in your heart. You bow down to that friend’s request because you idolize their acceptance of you. You have an idol of your reputation, some financial status, your house is a museum instead of an outpost for the gospel because it’s an idol. Teens you want something at school so bad this idol controls how you look, speak and act. The list is endless.”
“Church, in our homes and in our community groups let’s be honest about those worthless idols we create in our heart. Let’s grow in identifying these idols of the heart, confessing them to God and to our friends and put them to death. Why? Cuz our God is highly exalted above all gods. Jesus is highly exalted and more satisfying than any worthless idol we could create in our hearts and begin to bow down to.”
“Remember when we introduced the Psalms and gave reasons to continually come back to the Psalms? One of those reasons was that the Psalms teach us godly living. V. 10-12 is Psalm 97’s application and a call to godly living in light of God’s glorious presence. The creation and the revelation of God in Christ necessitate a response. v. 10 hate evil. V. 12 rejoice and give thanks - If you love the Lord, hate evil! Trust that God will preserve you in your struggle to put to death idols.”
“Who is this application directed towards? Believers. The Church. The Psalmist says it a few different ways.
Those WHO LOVE THE LORD –
OF HIS SAINTS –
light for the RIGHTEOUS –
joy for the UPRIGHT IN HEART –
rejoice O YOU RIGHTEOUS.
This is a call to a godly response to Israel and a call to godly living in believers. Because of Christ we don’t encounter the God who reigns like Israel did. We encounter Jesus who calls us to come to Him, the One who lived a perfect life, hating evil. He’s the One who preserves you and delivers you from the hand of the wicked. He’s the One that causes you to be upright in heart.”
“We hate evil while we simultaneously rejoice in the Lord and give thanks to His holy name! How do we do this? You know it as sanctification. Use Thomas Chalmers famous sermon title from 250 years ago as your reminder. The expulsive power of a new affection.”
“It’s never about simply using your own power to hate evil. We need a power outside of ourselves – the Promised Holy Spirit – to create new affections deep in our heart.”
ADDITIONAL SCRIPTURE:
Proverbs 16:33
Deuteronomy 4:11–12
Romans 1:18-23
QUOTES:
John Calvin, on the theophany - “a representation of the formidable majesty attaching to God, that he may dash and humble vain confidence and carnal pride.”
Paul Tripp - “Acknowledging God as Creator means acknowledging that he owns you and has a purpose for you and everything in your life. Believing him as Sovereign means resting in his active control of every detail of your life. Trusting him as Savior means repenting of your sin and trusting in his resurrection grace.”
SCRIPTURE MEMORIZATION:
Romans 8 (entire chapter)
SONGS FROM THIS SUNDAY:
How Great (Psalm 145)
Behold Our God
We Are Yours Forever
Tis' So Sweet To Trust In Jesus
The Lord Almighty Reigns (Psalm 93)
NEXT WEEK’S PASSAGE:
Psalm 122
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