THE PASTOR’S POINTS
sermon ministry of
CEDAR LODGE BAPTIST CHURCH
Thomasville, NC
a fellowship of faith, family and friendships
Dr. Russell Brownworth, D.Min., Pastor
(An Easter Sunday message)
April 11, 2004
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I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From whence shall my help come? My help comes from the LORD,Who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip;He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel Will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD is your keeper; The LORD is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day,Nor the moon by night. The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul. The LORD will £guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever. Psalm 121:1-8 (NASB)
From where does your help come? In which direction do you turn when life runs over you like a cement truck? Almost anyone in our culture will admit they turn to God in prayer; a very large percentage of Americans admit to believing in God and prayer.
But “praying to God” can mean different things to different people! The beliefs of many religions conflict; not all of them can be right. For instance, believing that God hears all prayers is as naïve as believing that God would hear the prayers for victory of both the Atlanta Braves and the New York Yankees should they meet in the World Series again. The Yankees pray to be world champs; the Braves ask the Lord, help us defeat the Yankees. It cannot be both ways. (Anyway, everyone knows He is a Braves fan!).
Consider the many and varied religious beliefs about prayer in today’s world cultures:
there are Native Americans praying to the Great Spirit;
Wicca (witchcraft) prays to “Mother nature”
Unitarian Universalists pray to themselves
…and New Age adherents of all kinds send their prayers to anything Shirley MacLaine has dreamed about.
In America today we are asked to go past “tolerance” (being gracious to exist side-by-side in peace) and all the way to valuing each of these belief systems as equal. The problem remains; when one system of belief says you pray to Buddha, another to Allah, some to the wind, and others to God through Jesus Christ, somebody has got to be wrong and someone right.
If I have a plug on the end of my toaster and there is a choice of 110, 220 and nuclear reactor, I can only be right in one outlet…the others will fry me!
The Psalm we just read shows us how our Jewish brothers made use of a litany in worship to ensure that prayers for help would always be directed toward the one true God. Lifting up your eyes to the mountains is the Psalmist’s way of saying – look to Jerusalem – the hills where we worship Jehovah, the deliverer…that’s where real help comes from!
And, they do not mean the hills, as if mountains or nature provides deliverance. Indeed, nature is the opposite of a deliverer; nature can be, and most often is cruel and harsh.
Gazelles being chased by lions know this!
Victims of earthquakes understand how grisly “Mother” nature can be.
Fire destroys homes even on Walton’s mountain.
The psalmist was not looking at the hills; he was looking to the God he meets at the temple built on the hills of Jerusalem.
This Psalm is one of many Songs of Ascent; these songs were sung as worshippers went up to gather at the temple. It was used in worship rituals as the worshipper would approach the priest:
I lift up my eyes to the hills (where my God resides)
The priest responds: Where does your help come from?
The worshipper: My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth!
We do much the same when we invite God to be honored by our worship, and we ask in Jesus’ name that He receive our worship. It is an affirmation by the whole congregation that our prayer is to God.
The ancient and modern Jew state the She’ma daily, Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one God, we affirm (to the exclusion of all other gods) – Our God Reigns!
Why do we do that? Look at the calendar – it is Easter; resurrection has dawned. The dead man got out of a tomb and we are following Him. AMEN!
A Muslim in Africa became a Christian and some of his friends asked him, “Why have you done such a thing?” He answered, “Well, it’s like this: Suppose you were going down the road and suddenly the road forked in two directions. You didn’t know which way to go; and there at the fork were two men—one dead, and one alive—which one would you ask to show you the way?”[1]
A Universal Question
From where does my help come? It is a universal question. As the sparks fly upward, said Job, man is found in all sorts of trouble.[2] And so, man is always looking for help. One man said that he only prays when he is in trouble, and since he’s in trouble all the time he never stops praying.
A Universal Answer
In our Scripture text, the second verse is the key to answering our universal question with the only intelligent universal answer – my help comes from the LORD, Who made heaven and earth.
If the Lord God is the Creator, then He is certainly the sustainer of all life, and holds the power for all our needs.
16For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him. 17He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together. Colossians 1:16-17 (NASB)
Now, between you, me and the lamp post that power had better be stronger than the average lightning bolt I’ve seen. Because the last time I checked the needs of humans worldwide is pretty staggering.
In the psalmist’s day going up to Jerusalem to worship had its dangers and worries.
There were rough roads – loose rubble on mountainous terrain could cause your foot to stumble. The psalmist said God would watch to make sure your foot didn’t stumble. Today our SUV’s and All-terrain vehicles have got that handled.
In that day robbers were behind every bush; the psalmist promised God would not sleep while you’re in danger – He would be the shade or protective device on your right hand. We have the FBI, CIA, Homeland Security and a sheriff (oops), interim sheriff to protect us – and great forensic labs if they slip-up.
There are some things we still haven’t figured out. Consider the list:
Earthquakes kill
Terrorists are on the loose
Snow and ice storms and avalanches
April 15th (tax day) is this Thursday!!!
The doctor sometimes says cancer or Alzheimer’s
Sometimes someone says, “I don’t love you anymore”…
…and, in case anyone missed it…one of these things is going to get you sooner or later. The biggest need we have for help comes at the end of life, (which is really the beginning of eternity).
Our troubles are in many ways prisons. A Bumblebee if dropped into an open tumbler will be there until it dies, unless it is taken out. It never sees the means of escape at the top, but persists in trying to find some way out through the sides near the bottom. It will seek a way where none exists, until it completely destroys itself. That is our lot in life if we keep trying to be the kind of “bootstrap” person who looks only for help in this life without ever looking up.
Here are five of the reasons the psalmist looked up to the God of the hills, and the reasons we should also look to Him…
He Sees
3He will not allow your foot to slip; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
He never falls asleep on watch. I served in the US Army during Vietnam. I have to admit that even in the midst of a war zone, when it was my turn to stand guard duty there were times when my eyes were so heavy I was tempted to take a quick nap. God is not like that. In the greatest war of all God is on duty 24/7, wide-awake to protect you from Satan and sin.
He Cares
5 The LORD is your keeper;
The word shaw•mar is literally “protector” or “hedge-builder”. One day a man took his little son to the top of a high hill. He pointed in every direction -- north, east, south, and west. And he said,” Son, God’s love is as big as all of this.” The little boy looked around and at his dad and said, "And just think dad, we’re right in the middle of it all.”[3]
The moment you look to the Lord in confession and need, you are in the middle of all His boundless love, because He sees and He cares.
He Strengthens
5b The LORD is your shade on your right hand. 6 The sun will not smite you by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The LORD will protect you from all evil; He will keep your soul.
Connie Holman tells in Today’s Christian Woman how her 2-year-old daughter once yelled, "Help, Mommy!" as she was struggling to dress herself. When [she] rushed over to help her, [she] found her arm stuck through the neck hole of her blouse. She stubbornly refused to let go of the shirt as she shouted, making it impossible for [mom] to correct the situation.
Isn’t that the way? God wants to strengthen us…we insist on our own way. Looking to the Lord means more than a glance in His direction. Looking to Him means leaving your own ideas and your own strength behind when you go to Him for help. If you could do it in your own strength, you wouldn’t need Him. He sees, He cares, He strengthens, and
He is Near
8 The LORD will guard your going out and your coming in...
Late one night, a man in Slim Cornett’s church was showing Slim around a county airport in rural Mississippi. "This switch lights up the runway," the man said as he flipped it. "Then, let’s say there is a plane in distress up there. I would throw this switch and turn on the search lights."
As the night skies lit up, a small plane materialized out of the darkness and landed. Slim and his friend watched in amazement as Franklin Graham, son of the famous evangelist, stepped off the plane. The pilot had been flying Franklin back to school in Texas when the electrical system shut down, leaving them stranded in the Mississippi night without lights or radio or any means of guidance. From out of nowhere, the search beam had come on and guided them to the landing strip.
As Franklin’s mother, Ruth, tells the story, earlier that evening before they left home, Billy Graham had prayed for the Father to protect and guide his son and the pilot.[4]
Allow me to ask you some questions in a very personal manner:
Have there not been times in your life when you looked back on an incident, or a time, a particularly tough time, and thought to yourself, wow – I don’t know how I made it through! And has it never occurred to you that it was the nearness of God watching over you, guarding your coming and going that preserved you?
Have there been moments when you succeeded in something, business, sports, a competition – and you sensed it was not your own power that put you over the top?
Have you lain awake in the middle of the night and felt fearful? Did you not know it was the Lord’s nearness and His mercy that allowed you to live another day?
Have you ever watched someone die? Did you not know there is a moment appointed for you too? It is His nearness that allows your life. It is our sin that will take it one day. He sees, He cares, He strengthens, He is near, and…
He is Eternal
8b ...forever.
If there is one reason for which we should all look to the Lord for our help, it is found in the last word: forever! There is a “forever-ness” that speaks to us from an empty tomb. Above all, there is a part of each of us that knows beyond doubt that we will live forever. It is important – no –urgent, most urgent to prepare for such a trip.
Max Lucado, in his book, "Six Hours One Friday," tells the story of a missionary in Brazil who discovered a tribe of Indians in a remote part of the jungle. They lived near a large river. The tribe was in need of medical attention. A contagious disease was ravaging the population. People were dying daily.
A hospital was not too terribly far away - across the river, but the Indians would not cross it because they believed the river was inhabited by evil spirits. And to enter its water would mean certain death. The missionary explained how he had crossed the river and was unharmed. But they were not impressed. He then took them to the bank and placed his hand in the water. They still wouldn’t go in. He walked into the water up to his waist and splashed water on his face. It didn’t matter. They were still afraid to enter the river.
Finally, he dove into the river, swam beneath the surface until he emerged on the other side. He raised a triumphant fist into the air. He had entered the water and escaped. It was then that the Indians broke into a cheer and followed him across.
Isn’t that what Jesus did? He entered the river of death and came out on the other side so that we might no longer fear death, but find eternal life in Him.[5]
In midst of dangers, fears, and death,
Thy goodness we’ll adore;
We’ll praise thee for thy mercies past,
And humbly hope for more.
Our life, while thou preserv’st that life,
Thy sacrifice shall be;
And death, when death shall be our lot,
Shall join our souls to thee.”[6]
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ENDNOTES
[1] Bruce Howell in “The Gospel vs Religion” on www.sermoncentral.com
[2] Job 5:7 my paraphrase
[3] John Beehler, Who Ya Gonna Call? On SermonCentral.com
[4] Joe McKeever, "God Winks," Leadership Weekly (12-18-02)
[5] Max Lucado, Six Hours One Friday, as posted by Melvin Newland, SermonCentral.com
[6] Albert Barnes, Barnes’ Notes on the Old Testament, Electronic Edition STEP Files Copyright © 1999, Findex.Com.
