The God Who Keeps
Notes
Transcript
I will raise my eyes to the mountains; From where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your protector; The Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun will not beat down on you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. 8 The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time and forever.
Intro: In December 14, 2010, as a response to God’s call a year earlier, my wife and I moved to the country of Honduras in order to serve as foster parents.
Now, the entire year leading up to that moment was spent in preparation. We prayed. We planned. We sold our belongings. We raised support. We made arrangements. And for months, we knew this was what God was calling us to do.
However, if you were to ask me what I felt at that moment, the moment when our plane landed in Honduras on December 14, 2010, my answer would be simple: What I felt was fear. At that moment I was not excited. I was not overwhelmed with joy. I was not filled with confidence. I was afraid.
At that moment, what I was feeling was a sense of fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of the uncertainty. Fear of what awaited us on the other side of that airport. At that moment as I sat on that plane I began to ask myself, what did you do? What did you just get your wife into? What were you thinking? This was the overwhelming emotion.
Now you might ask, “Why fear? Weren’t you convinced God had called you there?” Absolutely.
The issue wasn’t whether God had called us. The issue was that we were stepping into the unknown. You see, when you’re preparing for something, it’s so easy to focus on all the details that need to get done. But the moment that plane landed, reality hit me. “This our home now.”
I remember waiting at the airport for hours for someone to pick us up. We didn’t have a phone. So, I had to borrow a stranger’s phone just to try to contact the people who were coming for us. This means that from day one everything felt uncertain.
I didn’t know how the children would respond to us. I didn’t know how we would respond to the challenges. I didn’t know what life would look like living in the mountains with no electricity. I didn’t know what the next year would hold.
And that uncertainty produced fear.
But the longer I live, the more I realize that what I experienced that day is not unique to Honduras. Every one of us knows what it feels like to stand at the beginning of a journey and wonder what lies ahead.
Some of these Journey’s are exciting! I think of Pablo and Anna and the journey of marriage. For Alejo and Paz is wedding preparations. For others like Ricky and Mikeyla and the journey of parenthood. (new baby - Girl)
Other preparations can seem immediately overwhelming.
Like the journey of caring for an aging parent. (Mami & Carmen) For others like Haley and Davy is the journey of grieving the loss of their baby. (How would they feel if they were to find out that Haley is pregnant again) For others like Jessica and Ayala it’s the journey of cancer treatment.
Now, Church what I’m trying to say its that even when the details may change, the feeling is often the same. We look ahead at the journey and wonder: “How am I going to make it?” That is exactly the setting behind Psalm 121.
Psalm 121 is one of the Songs of Ascents, a collection of psalms that God’s people would sing as they made their pilgrimage to Jerusalem.
These pilgrims were embarking on a long and often dangerous journey. (Comparison to today) There were steep roads, difficult terrain, exposure to the elements, thieves, wild animals, and countless uncertainties along the way. And as the pilgrim looks ahead and sees the mountains before him, he is confronted with a question: “Where will my help come from?” Not will I need help, but where will it come from?
And that question is not very different from the questions we ask when we face the uncertainties of this life. So church as we journey through life, Psalm 121 gives us three assurances rooted in God’s character that we can hold on to as we embark on our journey.
I. The Assurance of God’s Help
I. The Assurance of God’s Help
I will raise my eyes to the mountains; From where will my help come? 2 My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
Growing up in one of my favorite television shows the main character was portrayed by a mexican actor named Roberto Gómez Bolaños, better known as Chespirito. And Roberto Gomez Bolaños was mainly know for his portrayal of two of his most famous characters. El Chavo del Ocho and El Chapulin Colorado. Now in his portrayal of “el Chapulin Colorado” every episode would follow the same pattern. Someone would find themselves in trouble and in the midst of their trouble they would ask the now famous question:
“¿Y ahora quién podrá defenderme?” Then, almost immediately, you would hear the answer: “¡Yo! ¡El Chapulín Colorado!”
Now, as funny as that show was, it captured something that is true about every one of us. We all need help. Again the question in the heart of the Psalmist was not wether he would need help but from where would it come from. We may not always recognize it. We may try to convince ourselves that we are self-sufficient. We may try to carry the weight of life on our own. But eventually life has a way of reminding us that we need help.
And that is exactly where the psalmist finds himself as he begins his journey.
I will raise my eyes to the mountains; from where will my help come?
As the pilgrim begins his journey toward Jerusalem, he looks ahead and sees the mountains. Now, those mountains represented difficult terrain. They represented danger, uncertainty. They represented the long road ahead. And as he considers the journey before him, he realizes something important: “I will not be able to this on my own.”
And beloved, that is one of the first lessons of the Christian life. We were never meant to make it on our own. As we walk through the journeys of this life we will quickly realize that:
Marriage will reveal our weakness.
Parenting will reveal our weakness.
Ministry will reveal our weakness.
Suffering will reveal our weakness.
Trials will reveal our weakness. (And in revealing our weaknesses it will also highlights our need)
1. The mature Christian is not the believer who no longer needs help. The mature Christian is the believer who knows where his help comes from.
1. The mature Christian is not the believer who no longer needs help. The mature Christian is the believer who knows where his help comes from.
Notice what the psalmist does next. In V2 he proceeds to answer his own question:
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Now beloved think about what the pilgrim is recognizing here. As he prepares for the journey, he understands that his ultimate help will not come from his preparations. His help will not come from the supplies he has gathered. His help will not come from the companions traveling with him. His help will not come from the route he chooses. His help will not come from the animal he rides. His help will not come from his own strength or experience.
Ultimately, his help will come from the LORD. And Church hear me out, the same is true for us. When we find ourselves facing difficult seasons in life, our ultimate confidence cannot rest in favorable circumstances.
Our help will not come from financial security.
Our help will not come from our political leaders.
Our help will not come from our health.
Our help will not come from our education.
Our help will not come from our own abilities.
Our help comes from the Lord. Now, are those things useful? Of course they are. But none of those things are the source of our help. Our help comes from the Lord. For this reason:
2. The believer’s confidence is not found in what he possesses, but in whom he belongs to.
2. The believer’s confidence is not found in what he possesses, but in whom he belongs to.
And so that we don’t think that the Psalmist is just using some religious language, the psalmist reminds us of the reason behind this trust. And he does this by pointing to God’s character.
My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.
Think about what he is saying. The God who helps him is the God who made the mountains he is looking at. And all of a sudden he realizes, My God, my Helper
He made the valleys I must cross.
He made the sun that shines by day.
He made the storms that may come.
He made the animal I might mount.
He made the tree for the shade.
He made the earth beneath my feet.
And He made the pilgrim himself.
In other words, the God who helps us is not weak. He is not limited. He is not overwhelmed by the circumstances. He is not surprised by our trials. He is the Creator of heaven and earth. And because He created all things, He exercises authority over all things.
3. Which means that nothing in the pilgrim’s journey is beyond God’s power.
3. Which means that nothing in the pilgrim’s journey is beyond God’s power.
Nothing in the pilgrim’s journey is outside of God’s control. And beloved, the same is true for us.
Whatever mountain stands before you today, it is not beyond God’s power. It is not outside of God’s control. It is not a surprise to God. And it is not greater than the God who has promised to help His people.
Because:
4. The God who rules over the mountain is the God who walks with His people through the mountain.
4. The God who rules over the mountain is the God who walks with His people through the mountain.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, (Why?) for You are with me;
In our first assurance we answered the question, “Where does our help come from?” But now the psalmist answers another question: Why can we be confident that God’s help will always be there?
And the answer is because the God who helps His people is commited to be present with His people. And this brings us to our second assurance:
II. The Assurance of God’s Presence
II. The Assurance of God’s Presence
He will not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. (V5-6) The Lord is your protector; the Lord is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun will not beat down on you by day, nor the moon by night.
Growing up in Puerto Rico, I remember one night going to the movies with my father. Now, the theater was packed. As we were leaving the theater, I grabbed onto what I thought was my father’s pants and confidently followed him through the crowd.
I felt safe.
I felt secure.
I wasn’t worried.
However when we finally got out of the crowd and into the light, I looked up and realized something terrifying: That wasn’t my father. In an instant, my confidence disappeared. Why? Because my sense of security was based on the presence of my father.
Church, that is exactly where the psalmist is pointing us here.
5. The assurance of Psalm 121 is not that nothing difficult will happen to us. The assurance is that God will be present with us through every difficulty.
5. The assurance of Psalm 121 is not that nothing difficult will happen to us. The assurance is that God will be present with us through every difficulty.
Notice what he says in V3:
He will not allow your foot to slip; He who watches over you will not slumber.
Then in V4 he adds:
Behold, He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The emphasis here is obvious.
6. God never stops watching over His people.
6. God never stops watching over His people.
Unlike us, God never gets tired. He never gets distracted. He never takes a break. God never closes His eyes. And for this reason there has never been a moment in your life when God stopped watching over you.
Not during your darkest night.
Not during your greatest temptation.
Not during your deepest suffering.
Not during the moments when you felt completely alone.
Church!
7. The believer can rest because God never does. (He doesn’t slumber nor sleep)
7. The believer can rest because God never does. (He doesn’t slumber nor sleep)
Then the psalmist proceeds to give us another beautiful picture in V5:
The Lord is your protector; The Lord is your shade on your right hand.
In the ancient world, shade was not a luxury. Shade was protection. Travelers could suffer greatly or even die from prolonged exposure to the sun. This means that for the Psalmist:
Shade meant relief.
It meant protection.
It meant someone was providing what he needed to endure the journey.
The Apostle Paul understood this principle very well. In 2 Corinthians 12, Paul describes a thorn in the flesh that caused him great suffering. Three times he pleaded with the Lord to remove it. But God did not remove the thorn. Instead, God answered him:
“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”
Notice what God does. He does not remove the struggle. He provides the necessary grace to endure the struggle. And that is exactly the picture we find here in Psalm 121. The shade does not remove the harsh journey. The shade enables the pilgrim to continue the journey.
In the same way,
8. God does not always remove the trials we face, but He faithfully provides the strength and grace we will need to endure them.
8. God does not always remove the trials we face, but He faithfully provides the strength and grace we will need to endure them.
For this reason the Psalmist proceeds by including God’s location through the journey.
The Lord is our shade (where?) at our right hand. The shade is found: “At your right hand.”
Not far away.
Not distant.
Not somewhere in heaven detached from our struggles.
But right beside us.
9. The Lord is not merely watching His people from heaven. He is accompanying His people through the journey.
9. The Lord is not merely watching His people from heaven. He is accompanying His people through the journey.
This is why the psalmist can say:
The sun will not beat down on you by day, Nor the moon by night.
What does this mean? The idea is simple.
The sun represents the dangers that are visible.
The night represents the dangers that are hidden.
Remember, these pilgrims were traveling long distances on foot. Day after day they would be exposed to the heat, the elements, and the exhaustion that came from the journey.
Even today we understand the danger of prolonged exposure to the sun. Every year countless people suffer heat-related illnesses because of it. (Even your phone will warn your during the summer)
The point is that God protects His people from the dangers they can see. (The sun will not beat down on you by day,) And God will also protect His people from the dangers they can not see. “Nor the moon by night.”
Growing up in Puerto Rico, there’s unwritten rule. If you were driving very late at night, the rules of the road changed. If you came to a red light and you don’t see any vehicles around you are to run it. “Don’t stop.” Why?
Because darkness hides dangers and we cannot always see what is there.
Some of our fears are obvious.
A diagnosis.
A financial crisis.
A broken relationship.
We can see those dangers.
However there are countless dangers from which God protects us that we never even knew existed.
That accident that never happened.
That temptation that never overwhelmed us.
That evil intention that God restrained.
That sickness we never contracted.
That spiritual attack that God prevented. (dad surgery)
In Numbers 22–24, God’s people were completely unaware of what was happening behind the scenes. Balak hired the prophet Balaam to curse Israel, yet God intervened and turned every intended curse into a blessing. And here’s my point:
Israel never saw the danger.
They never heard the conversations.
They never knew how close the threat was.
Yet God was protecting them the entire time.
Some dangers are like the sun—we can see them clearly and feel their heat. But other dangers are like the darkness of night—hidden from our sight. We never see them coming because God never allows them to reach us.
How many times has the Lord protected us from dangers we never knew existed?
10. The psalmist’s point is that God watches over both. The dangers we can see and the dangers we cannot see.
10. The psalmist’s point is that God watches over both. The dangers we can see and the dangers we cannot see.
And that is why the believer can rest. Because the God who is present with His people never slumbers nor sleeps. And this brings us to our last assurance:
III. The Assurance of God’s Faithfulness
III. The Assurance of God’s Faithfulness
As we come to the final assurance, notice how the scope of the psalm continues to expand.
The Lord will protect you from all evil; (then) He will keep your soul. 8 (Then) The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in (Then) from this time and forever.
Do you see what is happening? As the psalmist’s reaches the end of the Psalm his confidence keeps growing. At first, his concern was the journey. Then it became God’s presence during the journey. But now the focus shifts to something much greater. The faithfulness of the Lord to keep His people all the way to the end.
At this point, the psalm is no longer merely about arriving safely in Jerusalem. The language has become much bigger than that. The ultimate destination of God’s people is not earthly Jerusalem. It is the heavenly Jerusalem.
So,
11. The psalmist is reminding us that God’s commitment to His people extends beyond today’s trial, it extends beyond tomorrow’s struggle, and it actually extends beyond our life on this earth.
11. The psalmist is reminding us that God’s commitment to His people extends beyond today’s trial, it extends beyond tomorrow’s struggle, and it actually extends beyond our life on this earth.
The Lord will keep His people forever.
Now, this raises an important question. How can we be certain of that? How can we know that God will truly keep us until the end? Beloved on this side of the cross, that answer is found in Christ. Why?
Because Jesus Himself undertook a journey.
His journey began in His incarnation when He entered our world and walked among us.
As Hebrews 4:15 tells us,
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus knew what it was to walk the difficult road.
He knew temptation.
He knew rejection.
He knew sorrow.
He knew suffering.
And as His journey unfolded, He eventually fixed His eyes upon another mountain—Calvary. But before He climbed that mountain, His journey led Him to a garden.
And there in Gethsemane, three times He prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And when the Father’s will was clear, Jesus set His face like flint and continued His journey.
He endured betrayal.
He endured false accusations.
He endured the scourging.
He endured the crown of thorns.
He endured the nails.
He endured the cross.
He bore the wrath of God.
And entered death itself.
And unlike us, He experienced something we never will. He was forsaken. On the cross He cried, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
Yet on the third day He rose in victory, conquering sin, Satan, and death forever. And because Christ completed His journey, those who belong to Him will complete theirs.
Because Christ was forsaken, we never will be forsaken.
Because Christ conquered death, death can never conquer us.
Because Christ arrived safely at the Father’s right hand, all who are united to Him will one day arrive there too.
The One who kept walking all the way to Calvary now keeps His people all the way to glory.
And this is why:
12. The believer’s confidence is not ultimately found in the strength of his grip on Christ. His confidence is found in Christ’s grip on him.
12. The believer’s confidence is not ultimately found in the strength of his grip on Christ. His confidence is found in Christ’s grip on him.
Now perhaps today you find yourself looking at a mountain. Today, you are the pilgrim. And before you lies a journey that seems overwhelming. Maybe it is a season of suffering. Maybe it is a health struggle. Maybe it is difficulty in your marriage. Maybe it is uncertainty about the future. Or perhaps it is simply the daily challenge of following Christ in a fallen world.
Whatever journey you find yourself on, Psalm 121 leaves us with three assurances that belong to every believer because of the journey Christ completed.
First,
13. Because Christ finished His journey, we can count on God’s help.
13. Because Christ finished His journey, we can count on God’s help.
Jesus never promised that the road would be easy. In fact John 16:33, He said
In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
The Christian’s confidence is not that suffering will never come. Our confidence is that Christ has overcome everything that stands against us. Therefore, whatever mountain stands before you, you can count on God’s help.
Second,
14. Because Christ finished His journey, we can rest in God’s presence.
14. Because Christ finished His journey, we can rest in God’s presence.
One of the greatest promises Jesus ever gave His disciples was this:
Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Believer, you never walk alone. The God who kept Israel does not merely watch over His people from a distance. Through Christ He walks with us. In every valley. In every trial. In every sorrow. In every step of the journey. His presence goes with us.
Third,
15. Because Christ finished His journey, we can trust God’s faithfulness.
15. Because Christ finished His journey, we can trust God’s faithfulness.
Jude closes his letter with these glorious words:
Now to Him who is able to protect you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory, blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion, and authority before all time and now and forever. Amen.
Notice the certainty. Not merely that He will help us along the way. Not merely that He will accompany us along the way. But that He will bring us safely home.
The God who called us is the God who keeps us.
The God who keeps us is the God who will present us blameless before His throne.
And the God who watches over your going out and your coming in today, is the same God who will keep you until the day you stand before Him in glory.
