ASCEND, Week 10, March 9, 2025. Psalm 132 NiV Lord, remember David and all his self-denial. He swore an oath to the Lord, he made a vow to the Mighty One of Jacob: “I will not enter my house or go to my bed, I will allow no sleep to my eyes or slumber to my eyelids, till I find a place for the Lord, a dwelling for the Mighty One of Jacob.” We heard it in Ephrathah, we came upon it in the fields of Jaar: “Let us go to his dwelling place, let us worship at his footstool, saying, ‘Arise, Lord, and come to Your resting place, You and the ark of Your might. May Your priests be clothed with Your righteousness; may Your faithful people sing for joy.’” For the sake of Your servant David, do not reject Your anointed one. The Lord swore an oath to David, a sure oath He will not revoke: “One of your own descendants I will place on your throne. If your sons keep My covenant and the statutes I teach them, then their sons will sit on your throne for ever and ever.” For the Lord has chosen Zion, He has desired it for His dwelling, saying, “This is my resting place for ever and ever; here I will sit enthroned, for I have desired it. I will bless her with abundant provisions; her poor I will satisfy with food. I will clothe her priests with salvation, and her faithful people will ever sing for joy. “Here I will make a horn grow for David and set up a lamp for My anointed one. I will clothe his enemies with shame, but his head will be adorned with a radiant crown.” ASCEND. Authority and Anointing. Seek and Serve. Community. Endure and Establish. New, Never, Now. Dwell and Deliver. Psalm 27:4 One thing I have desired of the Lord, that will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in His temple. 1 Chronicles 15:1-3 David built houses for himself in the City of David; and he prepared a place for the ark of God, and pitched a tent for it. Then David said, “No one may carry the ark of God but the Levites, for the Lord has chosen them to carry the ark of God and to minister before Him forever.” And David gathered all Israel together at Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the Lord to its place, which he had prepared for it. Preparation positions us for encounter and purpose. Revelation 4:8 They do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Isaiah 41:20 That they may see and know, and consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, and the Holy One of Israel has created it. Isaiah 62:6-7 NLT O Jerusalem, I have posted watchmen on your walls; they will pray day and night, continually.
Take no rest, all you who pray to the Lord. Give the Lord no rest until He completes His work. God responds to your worship and His Word, His promises. Psalm 132:13-14 For the Lord has chosen Zion; He has desired it for His dwelling place: “This is My resting place forever; Here I will dwell, for I have desired it.” Zion - both a physical place and a spiritual reality. God’s presence and protection. The people of God. A spiritual community of believers God’s eternal Kingdom. You are the desire of God’s heart. Here I will dwell… Thru Jesus, with My people (the church), in grace, for eternity. John 1:14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. Revelation 21:3 NLT Look, God’s home is now among His people! He will live with them, and they will be His people. God Himself will be with them. Ephesians 2:22 In whom (Jesus!) you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Psalm 132:15-16 I will abundantly bless her provision; I will satisfy her poor with bread. I will also clothe her priests with salvation, and her saints shall shout aloud for joy. Hebrews 12:22 & 24 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem… You have come to Jesus, the one who mediates the new covenant between God and people, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks of forgiveness. Revelation 21:22-24 I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. David PREPARED a place for God. Preparing yourself for the Lord : heart, space, time, priorities, consecration.