Faithful Followers

Prayer

O Lord, our father, our king of kings, our lord of lords

How majestic is your name in all the earth. Even the wrath of men praises you. Our foolishness and our weakness and our rebellion does not tear you off of the throne. You still govern all things so that rain and drought, sickness and health, food and drink, fruitful and barren years – and even fire seasons – come not by chance but by your fatherly hand.

So even though we cannot understand your ways and cannot see the end from the beginning, yet we know that it is for our good and so we rest in you and trust in your promises.

We see all around us your mighty power and the strength of your arm, and we plead for mercy. We have done foolishly. We have rebelled against your holy name. We have fled from you when you have shown us nothing but good.

And now, full of turmoil, full of discontent and impatience, we turn again to you for mercy. We remember that your mercy is new every morning. That you delight to forgive sinners, that you are most eager to welcome us into your embrace. And so we come again.

Teach us to hallow and magnify you name. Teach us to glory in you alone, that you exercise justice, righteousness and lovingkindness in the earth. Teach us to rest.

We plead with you not to impute to us our transgressions. We plead with you not to treat us as we deserve, but that you would treat us according to mercy and faithfulness.

In wrath, remember mercy.

Give rest and safety to the many who are fighting these fires. Provide comfort and provision to the people of Weed and send favorable weather conditions. We don’t deserve that mercy, for our sins against you are many. But your mercy is great. Where sin us much, grace is much, much more. Pour out that grace and kindness today, we pray.

Enable Steve to get the care that he needs and heal his eye. Give strength to Hugo and Bud. Provide for Roger and give to all our daily bread. We pray that Maggie’s tests will reveal what is ailing her. And for all of us, give patience and peace in the particular trials that you have called us to.

Teach us to trust in you and your protection and open our arms wide in this community. Awaken in us a right spirit – of unity, of peace, of rest, of patience.

Bless our witness. May we be lights in this dark world. May we reflect our hope to everyone around us, for we look to you. Tear down out trust in power and dominion, forgive us for the sin of racism and nationalism, and heal the wounds that we have brought on ourselves through entitlement and pride and delusions of supremacy.

We eagerly await that day when all that is wrong will be made right; when all tears are wiped away and our bodies are raised incorruptible.

But most of all, how we long to be in your presence, free from sin and shame and guilt.

Until that day, father, we run the race set before us. We work with our hands the things that are good. We occupy with the callings that you have given us.

Deliver us from the evil one. Deliver us from wicked men who devour and destroy.

And may your kingdom come. Bless the reading and the preaching of the word today. Guide my lips and give us ears to hear,

And together…

Psalm 19:14 NKJV

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer.

In Jesus name,

Scripture

John 10:22–30 NKJV

22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.”

Text

Psalm 121 NKJV

A Song of Ascents. 1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—From whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel Shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, Nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in From this time forth, and even forevermore.

Psalm 121

“The Keeper of Israel”

This is a Psalm of a traveler. In those days, you didn’t have cars or airplanes or trains. If you were making a journey, chances are you were walking.

Imagine that you are making your journey to Jerusalem. You have your family with you. The road is long and dangerous.

There may be bandits along the way. During the day, the sun is so hot. Sunstroke would be a real problem. People died from sunstroke.

But then the night comes. At first, in the evening, you are thankful to be free from the searing heat. But then the temperatures drop dramatically. There are no lights. Wild animals and wild people make their appearance. Freezing temperatures.

As you are traveling to Jerusalem, you put up a rough shelter for the night. One of your traveling companions is left to watch - bandits, animals - so many dangers.

As you drift off to sleep you wonder to yourself “Will the watchman stay awake? Will I be safe? Will my wife and kids be safe?”

In the morning, the sun begins to rise.

You start to daydream as you travel along.

● As you get closer and closer to Jerusalem, you begin to travel through the hill country of Ephraim.

● Making your way through the valleys and looking at the mountains around you, you start to wonder what new dangers await you.

● You lift up your eyes in fear at what dangers might be above you, hidden in the mountains.

● Then you look towards Jerusalem - the end of your journey. Jerusalem was on the highest point - a strong fortified city. In Jerusalem, you are safe

● So you start to daydream - you plan against any attacks in your mind. What if bandits come? What will I do?

● What if there are wild animals what will I do?

You can imagine as you read this masterful poem the psalmist traveling and wondering the same thing.

As revelation progresses and teaches us, we see that the temple in Jerusalem was a type – it was fulfilled in Christ, the Temple of the Living God.

When Jesus called his disciples, he told them to “follow me”

And he characterized his sheep as those who “follow me”

John 10:27 – my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

So these Psalms of Ascents are psalms of pilgrims on the way – those who follow Christ. And it also gets scary. The heat is frequently on. The future is dark. The enemies threaten. We don’t know what is around every corner.

How can we follow Christ when he is leading to a cross?

But where does my only help come from?

My help is from the Lord.

1. The LORD - Jehovah God

In the middle of his worries

In the middle of his plans, he catches himself thinking that his protection would come from the earth -

That the walls of Jerusalem would protect him

that the caves in the mountains would be his shelter and his protection

In the middle of all of that he stops abruptly, and says,

“Where does my help really come from?

And he answers, “My help is from the Lord.”

He remembers the covenant name of God. He remembers that God revealed himself to Israel and gave them his name, “I am who I am”.

It was God who went with them through the wilderness.

It was God who defeated their enemies and gave them rest.

It was God who gave them the land, who watched over them, who preserved them.

It wasn’t because the hills of Jerusalem were more powerful than other hills. Their life and their existence was only because God himself - the shield and protector of Israel - was with them.

This is what God meant when he said,

“You shall be my people, and I shall be your God.”

But he goes on. God is not just the God of the land of Canaan - he isn’t a tribal deity,

2. He is the creator of heaven and earth

What is more powerful than God? What is it that God cannot do?

What hinders him?

Will wild beasts move apart from his decree?

Will wicked men act apart from his decree?

We often times act as if there is no God. We see the regular movement of creation

The rising of the sun, the movements of the moon

We see the effects of gravity and watch as the natural forces seem to operate on their own

And forget that there is a creator of heaven and earth. Infinitely wise; infinitely holy; infinitely powerful.

All things were made by him and without him was not anything made that was made.

He is a God of order, so his works in creation can be measured, can be observed, can even be predicted to a certain extent - for he made all things to be discovered by men.

So we can count them; we can predict that gravity will work the same as always - for it is God who sustains it. We can discover the movement of atoms, and the growth of trees, and the right seasons for planting and harvesting.

We can even graft plants together and predict the results.

But the only reason we can do that is because God created and sustains everything.

This is our father; this is our God. Jehovah, who made heavens and earth.

God is almighty, and everywhere present. And he has promised us that he will never forsake us, that he will never allow any harm to come to us. Not even our foot will stumble- the psalmist is talking about something far greater than simply tripping as you go to the mailbox. He means that

3. you are completely safe

The literal words are “He will not give your foot to slipping”

If you were attacked on the road, a slip of the foot would be fatal. This is what the psalmist has in mind.

This phrase - the foot slipping- is used throughout the Old Testament to refer to a catastrophic disaster - one that was fatal, from which there was no recovery.

There are many times in our lives when we believe that this is not true. Don’t we slip often?

It does appear that way at times, and yet here we all are. We feel as if we are slipping and sliding around, but that is simply God shaking us - until that which cannot be shaken remains.

We like to wander. Our foot often wanders on to dangerous ground. We fear, and so we wander to places we think our safe.

In other words, we believe and act on those things that would be fatal to us - except that God has placed us again on solid ground

He shakes everything around us and plants our foot firmly upon the solid ground of Christ

The promise is this: God will never allow his people to be fatally injured.

He always protects us from danger, from enemies and from our own sinful hearts

Not one of his sheep shall ever perish.

And the reason that we can be so confident is that he is never sleepy.

5. he doesn’t sleep

There is a hymn, “His eye is on the sparrow and I know he watches me”

But this leads us to believe that God is simply in heaven watching us. “oops, there is another sparrow down. Guess I have one less now.”

We, as parents, will often say, “That’s the last straw!”

But God is infinite in his power. He has no “one last straw.”

In fact, all things are so in his hand that without his will not even a hair can fall from our head - not even those hairs that we pull out ourselves!

He never sleeps. Men get weary. Men fall asleep on their watch. But God doesn’t.

Look at it this way,

We have limited attention spans. We can hardly pay attention to 2 things at once.

We have invented all sorts of things so that we can take our minds off of the mundane things and concentrate on the more serious things.

Thermostats; timer switches, cruise control

If we can automate as many of these little things as possible, then we can focus on the bigger things - or at least maybe get some sleep at night without worrying that we’ll forget to turn the heater off.

But God doesn’t automate anything. Every single detail has his immediate care and attention - even a sparrow falling.

What Jesus actually said was this,

Matthew 10:29–30 NKJV

29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

Do not deny God’s infinite power and wisdom.

He does not take a day off. He isn’t preoccupied elsewhere.

He doesn’t have better things to do.

God’s infinity means that all of God is present, undivided, in every space and in every time.

You ALWAYS have God’s undivided attention.

In fact, everyone has God’s undivided attention at all times, but his favor and his love are only upon HIS people. His wrath abides upon everyone who is not clothed with the righteousness of Christ.

So the psalmist says,

4. He is the Keeper of Israel

Keeper - this word is used 6 times in this little psalm: It can mean preserve, or guard, or keep, or protect.

What God keeps, will never get away

What God preserves will never spoil

What God guards is protected from every enemy

What God protects will never come to any harm

Men fall asleep. Men are overcome by enemies stronger than they are. Men are taken by surprise. Men forget to put milk back in the refrigerator.

But does God forget? Is God taken unawares? Does God have any enemies that he is unable or unwilling to defeat?

My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: (Isa 46:10 KJV)

And what is his pleasure?

32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom. (Luke 12:32 KJV)

God has plans for Israel. They were his special people; his nation.

He told Abraham,

Genesis 17:7 NKJV

7 And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.

Deuteronomy 14:2 NKJV

2 For you are a holy people to the Lord your God, and the Lord has chosen you to be a people for Himself, a special treasure above all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.

They were his chosen, his people - they were the ones that God revealed himself to. They had the promises, God’s protection and favor.

But most of them rejected God and did not seek him - they despised his favor and protection. Jesus told the Pharisees that they didn’t hear because they weren’t his sheep. They were not “God’s People” for they did not hear God’s voice.

True Israel, as Jesus said, are those who hear and who follow. The Jews of Jesus’ day didn’t hear Moses and the Prophets, so they didn’t hear the Son. The sheep hear because they are His sheep, and they are His sheep because the Father gave them to Him. We love him because he first loved us. And we follow that which we love.

But those who follow Jesus are often led through very dark valleys. Jesus said to count the cost. We follow, and in following we are afraid, we are anxious and trembling, we are surrounded by dangers - just like a traveler of old walking to Jerusalem. This promise is for you.

I am the keeper of Israel, all who hear my voice and follow me. And I will keep them.

6. God is OUR keeper.

To all who have taken refuge in Christ: what can harm us, when the creator and sustainer of all is our king, our guide, our keeper, and our Father?

1 Peter 3:13 NKJV

13 And who is he who will harm you if you become followers of what is good?

Not even the sun or moon can harm us, for God is our shade.

The psalmist, as he is traveling, is reminded of another time when Israel traveled. They spent 40 years in the wilderness.

● God went with them as a pillar of cloud during the day - not one of them suffered from heatstroke.

● He went as a pillar of fire in the night. Not one froze to death, no enemy took them by surprise.

If God be for us, who can be against us?

This does not mean that we will never be inconvenienced, nor does it mean that God always does what we WANT him to do.

It means that there is not one detail, either large or great, that is outside of God’s decree - and it is his good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

EVERYTHING in our lives works together to that end.

If we go astray, we are brought back.

If we sin, we are made to fear and tremble and brought to repentance

If we are unbelieving and doubtful, he shakes all around us until our feet are on solid ground

But everything will work God’s purposes in our lives. And that purpose is to bring us to himself. The end goal is the embrace of the Father.

9. The Lord preserves us from all evil.

● And so we are preserved from all evil. This word means any calamity, any attack, any falling. It is used for spoiled produce, destroyed cities, chaotic and violent weather, as well as for moral bankruptcy

● He preserves us in every disaster, every calamity, every part of the curse that is on the world

● He also preserves us from every attack of Satan, the evil of the world, and the sin that dwells in our own hearts.

We know that we still sin. We experience it every day,

We also know that we are still proud, and like to think that we are not so bad.

But God knows this too. He still preserves us.

But God will keep Israel. Not one of his sheep will ever be allowed to stray to the place of no return. God always brings his sheep back.

● The threatenings of the law strike fear in our hearts and bring us back

● The preaching of the Word brings us back.

● The consequences of sin bring us back

● But most importantly, God sweetly invites the will to bend, and gives us a new heart and a new spirit - and draws us back to himself.

● For without his spirit, none of us would stand a moment

● So he stirs us to prayer, and we cry out to him, “Deliver us from evil”

● And he hears us, and delivers us

● Every time. We often limp after wrestling with God, but we will prevail, for Christ has already won.

10. The Lord preserves our life.

So our souls and our very lives are engraved on his hand. We are his and nothing can take us away. We can rest securely in his never changing, almighty and infinite love and care for each one of us.

But when the Bible teaches us that, there are always some who get a little nervous that maybe someone will take advantage of that and start sinning.

Doesn’t this doctrine make men careless and profane?

No, for it is impossible for those who are engrafted into Christ to not bring forth fruits of thankfulness.

As his people, he knows us far better than we even know ourselves - because he made us.

He knows what we do, he also know what we would do if he allowed us.

How many times are we irritated because we are inconvenienced by cars not starting; slow lines at the store; illness that keeps us in bed

We make our decisions, and God sometimes prevents them.

Because God knows what we would do, what dangers surround us

And it is his good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

So the psalmist even takes the uncertainty of our fickle wills out of consideration.

He preserves your coming in and your going out.

11. The Lord preserves us even in the decisions we make every day.

Even the decision to stay home, or to leave the house, or to go back home - all of this is in God’s almighty hand.

And not even those decisions can separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is impossible for those truly engrafted into Christ to live unthankful, unrepentant lives.

God won’t allow it.

12. And this care, protection and love will never, ever cease.

God will do all of his good pleasure.

And it is his good pleasure to give us the kingdom.

Do we trust him enough then to take our eyes off of the dangers of the hills?

We follow him, as becomes those who bear his name - and we can, because he is faithful and will never allow our foot to slip.

The valleys are often very dark. The pain in this cursed world is real.

We are traveling to the wedding supper, to the New Jerusalem. We aren’t there yet. The sun still gets hot and the nights still get very, very dark.

But we hold to his words as we follow. He will never leave us or forsake us.

And the day will come when the father will run out of his house to greet us, sweep us up in his embrace, and we will rest in his arms forever.

John 10:27–28 NKJV

27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.