[[-SOAP HUB]] | [[-Psalm Overview]] | [[Psalm 24]] ## Title: Closeness With God Costs You Something ## Scripture: (Psalm 24:3-6) “Who is allowed to ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may go up to his holy dwelling place? The one whose deeds are blameless and whose motives are pure, who does not lie, or make promises with no intention of keeping them. Such godly people are rewarded by the Lord, and vindicated by the God who delivers them. Such purity characterizes the people who seek his favor, Jacob’s descendants, who pray to him. (Selah)” (NET) ## Observation: I knew someone who once said they couldn’t understand why they struggled to make friends. Because I knew their story, I had an idea as to why this was happening. This person often asked other people to change who they were, but never wanted to do anything different for others. They wanted others to do all the work in friendship. The hard reality is friendship has a cost. You have to be willing to not always make it about yourself. You have to sometimes do what other people want to do, and realize there are some things that are simply not about you. Why should serving God be any different? When it comes to being a Christian, some people treat it as though they are doing God a favor by being saved. That could not be further from the truth. We come to God out of His mercy. Then, He says He wants to walk with us in fellowship. This means that, as the psalmist said, “climbing the mountain of the LORD” will take effort on our part. Think about it. Do you ever expect God to do things for you, but bristle when God’s Word commands something of you? ## Application: How can you find joy in realizing all God’s promises are true, but serving God must be done His way? ## Prayer: Thank You, Jesus, for leading us in the right direction.