OPEN: They are called the “Songs of Ascent”. There’s 14 of them from Psalms 120 thru 134. At least 3 times each year, the Israelites would make their way to City of David… to worship God - the feast of Passover; the feast Pentecost; and the Feast of the Tabernacles. And as they made their way to Jerusalem it was pretty much an uphill trek. There’s not many places in Israel that have a higher elevation than Jerusalem. And for many of the worshippers they had to walk the whole way.
And as they walked they would sing these songs of Ascent
Psalm 121:1 starts out with this interesting phrase: “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?” What were they looking at? What did they see when they lifted their eyes to the hills?
They were looking at Jerusalem. It’s the highest place around. And WHAT they saw would literally have taken their breath away. One person described it this way: The city was a wonder to behold, and the “the gem in the crown was the Temple itself. The building’s white marble and gold glistened in the sun to such an extent that it was blinding in the daylight.”
That’s what they saw… when they lifted up their eyes. And they weren’t looking at a mere building. They were looking at the place where they BELIEVED God dwelt. When they lifted up their eyes to the hills they were looking to the Temple of God for help. “I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?”
There’s an old phrase that says: “You get what you look for” If you know what you’re seeking… you’ll find it. But if you don’t know what you're looking for, you're going to wander around aimlessly.
ILLUS: Yogi Bera, the former catcher for the New York Yankees said: “If you don’t know where you’re going, you’re likely to end up someplace else.”
So Psalm 121:1 is declaring… look to the hills. Look to the hills of Jerusalem. Look to the hills that hold the Temple of God. Look to the God who promises PEACE.
In Psalm 4:8 David wrote: “I will lie down and sleep in PEACE, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety.”
And in Psalm 29:11 we read: “The LORD gives strength to his people; the LORD blesses his people with PEACE.”
Isaiah 55:6 & 12 “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near… (and) you will go out in joy and be led forth in PEACE; the mountains and hills will burst into song before you, and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.”
Look to the God who can give you peace.
So, how do I KNOW that God will give me peace? Well, one of my favorite parts of this Psalm is verses 3 & 4 “He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.” Psalm 121:3-4
Now, why would that be so important? Because all the rest of the promises in this Psalm (and the promises in the rest of Scripture) hinge on that truth: GOD WILL NOT SLEEP! He’s always going to be there. He’s always going to be watching you.
How do I know He won’t let my foot slip? Because He won’t be sleeping. How do I know He will protect from the sun by day and from moon by night? Because He won’t be sleeping. How do I know He will keep me from evil and protect my life? Because HE WON’T BE SLEEPING!!!
You’re not going to catch God napping.
ILLUS: A young mother was putting her daughter to bed one night. Her husband was gone and they were there all alone, and while there was a full moon the wind howled menacingly in trees both the mom and her daughter were uneasy. Then the young girl asked her mother if the MOON was God’s night light. “Yes, dear,” the mother replied.
Then the girl asked “Does God turn out his light when he goes to sleep?” “No honey, GOD NEVER SLEEPS.” “Oh,” said the child quietly. “Well, if God’s going to stay up all night, there’s no sense both of us staying awake.” And then she just turned over in bed, pulled up her blanket up and fell asleep.” (childlike faith) That child found comfort in the fact that God didn’t sleep. God was going to be up all night anyway! She had faith that He would watch over her, and so she slept.
Too often, in this world, there are people who don’t think about God watching over them.
ILLUS: There’s a Dr. Don Colbert who wrote a book called “Stress Less” and in that book he focused on the problem of stress in our society. And he wrote this: "Did you know that 75 to 90 percent of all visits to a primary care physician’s office are related to stress disorders? That’s according to the American Institute of Stress. What is driving us to the shelves of pharmacy? Feelings of stress! Americans are consuming five billion tranquilizers, five billion barbiturates, three billion amphetamines, and sixteen tons of aspirin every year. Much of this 'medicine' is being taken to help alleviate stress or the resulting headaches and pain associated with stress!"
Why so many pills? Well… sometimes pills are helpful. One speaker (in our in-home Bible studies) noted that he’d gone for counseling and had asked for pills to help him cope with a difficult situation. He explained that we must be careful not to look to drugs as our first or only option when dealing with pain in our lives. His counselor explained that they did have doctors on staff who were qualified to prescribe such drugs. But the counselor cautioned that they wanted to make sure that you’re not using the drugs for escape. He said that medicines can be helpful if your chemistry is messed up. Sometimes people’s chemistry is messed up and they need to be on medicine for the rest of their lives. Sometimes people are so overwhelmed with what’s in front of them that they need medicine for a short time so they can calm down to be able to deal with that and then they can move on. But he didn’t want to give that kind of medicine if the person was thinking they could use that to NOT deal with the hard thing in front of them. His challenge was that a person shouldn’t use anything – whether it is pills, alcohol, screens, food, or whatever… They shouldn’t use anything to avoid facing the hard thing that God wants you to face. The goal is NOT to numb pain – the goal is to experience God’s peace. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k03cGLykR44&t=2033s; Carl Kuhl, Southeast Christian Church).
The problem for too many people is that many who don’t need the pills are NOT LOOKING TO GOD FIRST to watch over their lives, to deal with their problems. He is not the one they look to… they look to the drugs to solve all the problems. And so they worry and stress over things they can’t control… and thus, they just can’t SLEEP.
ILLUS: I read an article in Time Magazine a few year back. The author wrote: “It happens 2 or 3 times a week. I get into bed, turn off the light and wait to fall asleep… and wait… and wait. It might be two or three hours before I drop off. And even then, I might wake up a couple of hours later and go thru the whole thing again. I’ve been thinking more and more about those seductive commercials for Ambien, the pill that promises a full night of blissful sleep with few side effects. But getting a prescription might not be the best idea.
One expert (Gregg Jacobs, an insomnia expert with the Sleep Disorders Center at Boston’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center) says says that it isn’t that Ambien doesn’t work. “Drugs like Ambien get you to sleep, but they don’t get at stress and anxiety, which are often the underlying cause of insomnia.” Once you’re off the drug, insomnia usually returns with a vengeance. (Time magazine, Oct. 11, 2004 by Michael D. Lemonick)
Which (of course) gives folks another reason to worry.
But, in another of those “Songs of Ascent” we read “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for He gives to his beloved sleep.” Psalm 127:2
If God’s going to stay up all night anyway, there’s no sense both of you staying awake. Relax in God and let him give you the sleep you need!
Now, I don’t mean to mock the stress that EVERYBODY goes through in life. It’s not funny. And it’s really frustrating. And there are times when we’re lying in bed and our minds won’t SHUT UP! We’ve all experience that! But there is a solution that neither pills nor therapy can completely supply. And the solution is found in Isaiah 26:3 “(God) will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”
Instead of focusing on our present problems we need focus on God and what He’s done for you in the past… and what He will do for you in the future!
In the book of Philippians 4:8-9 & 13 Paul wrote: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things…and the God of peace will be with you…. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Think about God, and the good things he has done and focus on the faithfulness of God in the past … THEN the God of peace will be with you.
Now someone might say: “I tried that once… and it didn’t work.” Well, here’s the deal: God says it WILL work, maybe not right away but it will work. I mean, it’s not like a prescription drug. You can’t overdose on God. You can’t take too much of His prescription. Do it again… then do it again… then do it again. Over and over again until it registers in your mind. If God says it will work (if you do it faithfully) IT’S GONNA WORK!
You see, we have advantage that others in this world don’t have. We have HOPE! We have hope in God who can do stuff. A HOPE in what God can tinker with our minds and bring us peace. We have a God who will keep us in perfect peace, when we keep our minds focused on HIM, because WE trust in HIM
There’s a preacher named James Merritt who wrote:
History tells us, “look back”.
Science tells us, “look around”.
Philosophy tells us. “look within.” (PAUSE)
But God tells us, “look up”.
The difference between a lost man and a saved man is simply this: The lost man has no hope, while the saved man has a blessed hope. AND THE SAVED MAN HAS HOPE BECAUSE… HE LOOKS UP
Some time back Larry Philips gave a Communion mediation. He said that when most people think about “peace” they think of it as being the absence of conflict, the absence of war. Thus, when conflict is gone, then you’ll be at peace.
But Jesus said… that’s not way true peace works. Jesus said “in this world you will have trouble.” YOU’LL HAVE DISAPPOINTMENTS; YOU’LL HAVE STRUGGLES; YOU ARE GOING TO HAVE CONFLICT! You can’t get away from it… it’s gonna happen!
"Jesus said “In this world you will have trouble”. But then He said “But take heart, for I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33) In other words, peace is not the absence of conflict - peace is the presence of God… GOD in the flesh. It’s the presence of Jesus in our hearts and our minds.
Jesus said “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” John 14:27
ILLUS: Years ago, there were some Bible translators who were working very hard to find a word for peace in a primitive tribal language. Then, a native who was working with them suggested— “Why not refer to this ‘peace’ as ‘a heart … that SITS down.’” The peace Jesus offers is a peace that relaxes. So, when they translated John 14:27 - where Jesus said “My peace I give you” - they wrote it this way: Jesus said “I will make your heart sit down.” I’ll make your heart relax!
CLOSE: Lastly, where did Jesus get the power to give us His peace? Well, that happened on the cross. Isaiah 53:5 declared “(Jesus) was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
INVITATION
