1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:03,140 I’d like to invite you to turn to the book of Psalms 2 00:00:03,140 –> 00:00:05,280 where we’re going to read in a few moments time 3 00:00:05,280 –> 00:00:10,280 from Psalm 120 and Psalm 121. 4 00:00:11,480 –> 00:00:15,360 But before we read that I want just to set out 5 00:00:15,360 –> 00:00:19,700 the three aims that I have for this series 6 00:00:19,700 –> 00:00:22,940 as we launch out into something new together. 7 00:00:22,940 –> 00:00:25,700 What are we hoping to learn and to discover? 8 00:00:27,240 –> 00:00:29,280 Number one, that we learn how to pray. 9 00:00:30,920 –> 00:00:35,520 See, the Psalms are the prayer book of the Bible. 10 00:00:35,520 –> 00:00:40,119 If you want to learn how to pray, this is where to begin. 11 00:00:41,520 –> 00:00:46,400 Here we have 150 prayers directly inspired 12 00:00:46,400 –> 00:00:48,520 by the Holy Spirit of God. 13 00:00:49,799 –> 00:00:52,000 You may remember that in the acts of the apostles 14 00:00:52,000 –> 00:00:53,639 we’re told that the early Christians 15 00:00:53,639 –> 00:00:55,759 the first Church had four priorities. 16 00:00:55,759 –> 00:00:58,639 They gave themselves to the apostles teaching, 17 00:00:58,680 –> 00:01:00,160 they gave themselves to the fellowship, 18 00:01:00,160 –> 00:01:03,180 to the breaking of bread, that’s a communion, 19 00:01:03,180 –> 00:01:05,239 and to the prayers. 20 00:01:06,260 –> 00:01:09,360 The prayers, what prayers? 21 00:01:09,360 –> 00:01:10,220 The Psalms. 22 00:01:11,400 –> 00:01:14,720 By the way, evangelicals have traditionally 23 00:01:14,720 –> 00:01:19,580 placed a great deal of emphasis on spontaneity in prayer. 24 00:01:21,199 –> 00:01:24,440 Some Christians honestly find that quite difficult. 25 00:01:24,440 –> 00:01:28,660 You hear other people praying in an eloquent fashion, 26 00:01:28,660 –> 00:01:31,919 and you wish that you could have their flow of language, 27 00:01:31,919 –> 00:01:34,360 but words don’t come so easy to you. 28 00:01:35,239 –> 00:01:37,959 And you say, well how do I begin? 29 00:01:37,959 –> 00:01:41,139 The answer, The Book of Psalms. 30 00:01:42,160 –> 00:01:45,080 It’s how Christians have learned to pray for centuries. 31 00:01:46,339 –> 00:01:50,500 This is the textbook for God’s school of prayer. 32 00:01:50,540 –> 00:01:55,400 Immerse yourself in it, and you will learn how to pray. 33 00:01:57,080 –> 00:02:00,480 Secondly, I have as an aim for this series, 34 00:02:00,480 –> 00:02:02,860 and I hope one that we’ll all embrace together, 35 00:02:03,980 –> 00:02:08,759 to expand the capacity of our hearts. 36 00:02:09,699 –> 00:02:11,699 Now the wonderful thing about The Book of Psalms 37 00:02:11,699 –> 00:02:15,380 is that every kind of human experience is described here. 38 00:02:15,380 –> 00:02:19,520 You find ecstatic joy, you find the depths of depression, 39 00:02:19,520 –> 00:02:24,059 you find marvelous faith, you find serious doubts. 40 00:02:24,059 –> 00:02:27,399 You have peace and you have raging anger. 41 00:02:28,520 –> 00:02:33,520 John Calvin described the Psalms as an anatomy of the soul, 42 00:02:33,899 –> 00:02:37,360 in other words, every part of a person’s spiritual 43 00:02:37,360 –> 00:02:40,539 and emotional life is found right here. 44 00:02:41,839 –> 00:02:43,899 And I think that it is very significant 45 00:02:43,899 –> 00:02:46,600 that God has given all of this to us 46 00:02:46,639 –> 00:02:51,580 in a book of poetry, and that’s very significant 47 00:02:51,580 –> 00:02:55,199 because poetry not only captures the heart, 48 00:02:55,199 –> 00:02:56,940 it expands the heart. 49 00:02:58,580 –> 00:03:00,679 And I want to suggest that that is something 50 00:03:00,679 –> 00:03:04,880 that some of us are desperately in need of. 51 00:03:04,880 –> 00:03:08,899 Poetry has become a minority interest in our society. 52 00:03:08,899 –> 00:03:10,940 I mean, when did you last read a poem 53 00:03:10,940 –> 00:03:14,960 with the exception of choosing a card in Hallmarks, 54 00:03:14,979 –> 00:03:18,160 which women tend to do more often than men, 55 00:03:18,160 –> 00:03:21,399 men, two or three times a year at most? 56 00:03:23,259 –> 00:03:27,320 When did you last engage with a piece of poetry? 57 00:03:27,320 –> 00:03:28,979 See, what we have in our culture 58 00:03:28,979 –> 00:03:31,800 are screeds and screeds of prose. 59 00:03:34,100 –> 00:03:35,860 I looked up the word prose in the dictionary, 60 00:03:35,860 –> 00:03:37,399 this is what it said, 61 00:03:37,399 –> 00:03:42,059 ordinary non-metrical form of written or spoken language, 62 00:03:42,360 –> 00:03:46,440 plain, matter-of-fact quality, tedious discourse. 63 00:03:48,380 –> 00:03:52,559 The word prose of course, gives rise to our word prosaic, 64 00:03:53,419 –> 00:03:55,839 and prosaic means like prose, 65 00:03:57,139 –> 00:03:59,720 lacking poetry, lacking beauty, 66 00:04:01,520 –> 00:04:04,020 unromantic, commonplace, dull. 67 00:04:05,979 –> 00:04:08,240 So if your wife says to you, 68 00:04:08,240 –> 00:04:10,320 honey, you are so prosaic 69 00:04:12,559 –> 00:04:15,380 prosaic, that is not a good thing. 70 00:04:17,480 –> 00:04:21,779 But the truth is that some of us are very prosaic. 71 00:04:21,779 –> 00:04:25,859 We live in a world of sports, of remote controls, 72 00:04:27,480 –> 00:04:31,640 of contracts and business, of bottom lines of margins. 73 00:04:32,480 –> 00:04:35,019 We have highly developed minds, 74 00:04:35,019 –> 00:04:38,079 we often have splendidly fit bodies 75 00:04:38,079 –> 00:04:41,079 and hopelessly underdeveloped souls. 76 00:04:42,940 –> 00:04:45,940 Some of us are not sure how to love. 77 00:04:47,700 –> 00:04:49,380 You would be surprised how often I hear 78 00:04:49,380 –> 00:04:52,119 that question raised in my study. 79 00:04:53,100 –> 00:04:57,140 Some of us are not sure how to be happy. 80 00:04:57,140 –> 00:05:00,600 Some of us don’t know how to grieve. 81 00:05:00,600 –> 00:05:03,760 Some of us don’t know how to be angry. 82 00:05:04,700 –> 00:05:08,540 We don’t know how to handle the feeling thing. 83 00:05:08,820 –> 00:05:12,640 And some of us and I have to say, 84 00:05:12,640 –> 00:05:15,779 especially the men find it very difficult 85 00:05:15,779 –> 00:05:19,119 to get in touch with our own hearts. 86 00:05:19,119 –> 00:05:21,959 You want to feel more than you do, 87 00:05:23,579 –> 00:05:25,500 but you don’t know how. 88 00:05:26,980 –> 00:05:29,220 Have you ever thought about the fact 89 00:05:29,220 –> 00:05:34,220 that you need to cultivate the health of your heart 90 00:05:34,220 –> 00:05:37,720 as much as you need to exercise your body 91 00:05:39,079 –> 00:05:42,399 and why is it that the apostle Paul prays 92 00:05:43,299 –> 00:05:47,100 that Christian believers being rooted and grounded in love 93 00:05:47,100 –> 00:05:50,359 may have the power to comprehend how wide 94 00:05:51,200 –> 00:05:53,399 and high and long and deep is the love of Christ 95 00:05:53,399 –> 00:05:54,660 that passes knowledge? 96 00:05:54,660 –> 00:05:58,299 You see the problem here is one of capacity. 97 00:06:00,140 –> 00:06:01,799 Knowing the love of Christ 98 00:06:01,799 –> 00:06:05,200 is like pouring an ocean into a thimble. 99 00:06:05,200 –> 00:06:06,040 A little. 100 00:06:07,260 –> 00:06:12,200 We only know a little because we can only contain a little 101 00:06:12,200 –> 00:06:14,320 and because we can only contain a little 102 00:06:14,320 –> 00:06:18,359 we find it difficult to give more than a little. 103 00:06:19,239 –> 00:06:23,200 There is an ocean in God’s love to be received 104 00:06:23,200 –> 00:06:24,540 and then to be shared. 105 00:06:24,540 –> 00:06:27,640 The great question is how can I expand 106 00:06:27,640 –> 00:06:30,299 the thimble capacity of my heart 107 00:06:31,000 –> 00:06:34,420 to receive this love and then to be able 108 00:06:34,420 –> 00:06:37,600 to reflect it into the lives of others? 109 00:06:38,779 –> 00:06:41,940 And the Psalms are the place to begin. 110 00:06:44,760 –> 00:06:46,799 More than any other part of scripture 111 00:06:46,799 –> 00:06:50,959 the Psalms will expand the capacity of your heart. 112 00:06:56,359 –> 00:06:57,700 So learn to pray, 113 00:06:58,579 –> 00:07:01,339 expand the capacity of your heart. 114 00:07:03,579 –> 00:07:07,600 Here’s a third thing, listen to Christ 115 00:07:07,600 –> 00:07:10,600 it’s a big objective of this series. 116 00:07:12,899 –> 00:07:14,899 Whose prayers are these? 117 00:07:16,540 –> 00:07:19,019 Of course they’re written by various authors, 118 00:07:19,019 –> 00:07:21,140 these Psalms, and like all scripture 119 00:07:21,140 –> 00:07:23,660 the Psalms were breathed out by the inspiration 120 00:07:23,660 –> 00:07:26,140 of the Holy Spirit, but I want us to remember 121 00:07:26,500 –> 00:07:27,739 for when we go through this new series 122 00:07:27,739 –> 00:07:32,739 that Jesus used these prayers in his life on Earth. 123 00:07:35,059 –> 00:07:36,619 These are the prayers of Jesus, 124 00:07:38,059 –> 00:07:41,660 he made them his own, he entered into them. 125 00:07:43,899 –> 00:07:47,820 So when you and I make these our prayers today 126 00:07:47,820 –> 00:07:50,179 there is a very very real sense 127 00:07:50,179 –> 00:07:52,519 in which we are praying with Jesus. 128 00:07:53,399 –> 00:07:55,880 These are the prayers of Jesus 129 00:07:55,880 –> 00:07:59,720 both because they were inspired by the spirit of Jesus 130 00:07:59,720 –> 00:08:01,500 as all Scripture is, 131 00:08:01,500 –> 00:08:05,239 but also because they were used in the life of Jesus 132 00:08:05,239 –> 00:08:07,739 which the Psalms uniquely were. 133 00:08:09,679 –> 00:08:11,079 So you can be confident 134 00:08:11,079 –> 00:08:14,079 that as you immerse yourself in these prayers 135 00:08:14,079 –> 00:08:16,399 you will find not only that you are able 136 00:08:16,399 –> 00:08:21,059 to speak to Christ, but that Christ is speaking to you. 137 00:08:23,040 –> 00:08:24,660 Sound like some good objectives? 138 00:08:27,160 –> 00:08:29,320 There are 150 Psalms 139 00:08:29,320 –> 00:08:32,799 and we’re going to immerse ourselves in just 15 of them. 140 00:08:32,799 –> 00:08:36,080 Psalms 120 to 134. 141 00:08:36,080 –> 00:08:38,179 I hope you now have your Bible open there 142 00:08:38,179 –> 00:08:40,039 as we’re going to read in a just a moment. 143 00:08:40,039 –> 00:08:44,500 Do you notice as you look at Psalm 120 through to 134 144 00:08:44,500 –> 00:08:48,239 that all of them have one common title? 145 00:08:48,239 –> 00:08:49,320 They are all called, 146 00:08:49,320 –> 00:08:53,039 and it’s just these 15 Psalms that have this title. 147 00:08:53,039 –> 00:08:55,780 They’re called Songs of a Scent. 148 00:08:57,179 –> 00:09:00,099 Now the reason for this title for these 15 Psalms 149 00:09:00,099 –> 00:09:02,760 is that this particular group within the book 150 00:09:02,760 –> 00:09:06,400 were sung as God’s people were traveling 151 00:09:06,400 –> 00:09:08,299 on their way to Jerusalem, 152 00:09:08,299 –> 00:09:11,340 where they gathered for festivals of worship each year. 153 00:09:12,400 –> 00:09:17,400 Jerusalem remember was and is a city set on a hill. 154 00:09:17,739 –> 00:09:20,859 It’s set on a plateau of high ground. 155 00:09:21,760 –> 00:09:24,080 Wherever you came from around Israel, 156 00:09:24,080 –> 00:09:25,960 north, south, east, or west, 157 00:09:25,960 –> 00:09:29,320 you always went up to Jerusalem 158 00:09:29,320 –> 00:09:31,359 because it was on the high ground. 159 00:09:31,359 –> 00:09:35,200 That is why these Psalms are called Psalms of a Scent. 160 00:09:35,200 –> 00:09:36,840 They were the songs that were sung 161 00:09:36,840 –> 00:09:39,760 as people were making their way to Jerusalem. 162 00:09:39,760 –> 00:09:41,760 And of course, going to Jerusalem 163 00:09:41,760 –> 00:09:46,320 was of huge importance in the Old Testament. 164 00:09:47,239 –> 00:09:48,760 Remember that God told His people 165 00:09:48,760 –> 00:09:50,780 when they came into the land of Canaan, 166 00:09:50,780 –> 00:09:52,280 they were not to worship 167 00:09:52,280 –> 00:09:55,280 at any place of their own choosing. 168 00:09:55,280 –> 00:09:57,280 That’s what the pagans did. 169 00:09:57,280 –> 00:09:59,440 Find a convenient corner, 170 00:09:59,440 –> 00:10:01,840 stick up a shrine or an altar, 171 00:10:01,840 –> 00:10:03,640 gather a few folks there for worship. 172 00:10:03,640 –> 00:10:05,640 That’s what the pagans did in Canaan. 173 00:10:05,640 –> 00:10:07,880 God said, don’t do that. 174 00:10:07,880 –> 00:10:10,119 You’ll find it in Deuteronomy chapter 12, 175 00:10:10,119 –> 00:10:11,640 verses four and five. 176 00:10:11,640 –> 00:10:15,059 You must not worship the Lord your God in their way. 177 00:10:15,059 –> 00:10:19,219 You are to seek the place that God will choose 178 00:10:19,219 –> 00:10:21,739 to that place you must go. 179 00:10:21,739 –> 00:10:24,400 That is a place you must go, 180 00:10:24,400 –> 00:10:27,000 God says in the Old Testament to worship, 181 00:10:27,000 –> 00:10:29,599 not any place of your own choosing. 182 00:10:30,940 –> 00:10:33,799 And of course, in the time of King David, 183 00:10:33,799 –> 00:10:36,460 David discerned that Jerusalem was indeed the place 184 00:10:36,460 –> 00:10:38,880 God had spoken about in Deuteronomy 12 185 00:10:38,880 –> 00:10:40,780 and in many other places. 186 00:10:40,780 –> 00:10:43,700 That is why He brought the arc of the covenant 187 00:10:43,700 –> 00:10:45,419 where God’s presence had come down 188 00:10:45,419 –> 00:10:47,159 to meet with His people in the desert. 189 00:10:47,159 –> 00:10:48,500 He brought it to where? 190 00:10:48,500 –> 00:10:49,960 To Jerusalem. 191 00:10:49,960 –> 00:10:53,580 That’s why He wanted to build a temple in Jerusalem. 192 00:10:53,580 –> 00:10:56,780 He didn’t do it, but his son Solomon did. 193 00:10:56,780 –> 00:10:59,080 And when the temple was complete, 194 00:10:59,080 –> 00:11:02,520 the glory of God’s presence came down and filled the temple. 195 00:11:02,520 –> 00:11:07,520 It was to this place that God’s people gathered 196 00:11:07,719 –> 00:11:10,000 at least three times a year. 197 00:11:10,000 –> 00:11:13,239 They made this pilgrimage to go and seek the place 198 00:11:13,239 –> 00:11:16,960 where God had promised His presence. 199 00:11:18,320 –> 00:11:20,400 Now, of course, the significance of this 200 00:11:20,400 –> 00:11:24,440 is that it is God who chooses where we meet with Him. 201 00:11:25,820 –> 00:11:27,640 And that shouldn’t be surprising. 202 00:11:29,280 –> 00:11:31,700 I suppose that you were to seek a meeting 203 00:11:31,700 –> 00:11:34,099 with the President of the United States. 204 00:11:35,380 –> 00:11:37,179 I suppose you were actually to get through 205 00:11:37,179 –> 00:11:39,739 to the White House and to the President’s liaison people 206 00:11:39,739 –> 00:11:41,340 and actually they listened to you 207 00:11:41,359 –> 00:11:45,059 and actually they agreed that there was to be a meeting. 208 00:11:45,059 –> 00:11:45,900 They might say to you, 209 00:11:45,900 –> 00:11:48,400 Well, you come to the White House at 4.30 on Thursday. 210 00:11:49,859 –> 00:11:52,859 One thing I can promise you would not happen. 211 00:11:52,859 –> 00:11:53,700 It wouldn’t be you sitting 212 00:11:53,700 –> 00:11:55,159 with your feet up on the desk saying, 213 00:11:55,159 –> 00:11:57,179 Hey, I like to have breakfast 214 00:11:57,179 –> 00:11:58,780 at Egg Harbor and Arlington Heights. 215 00:11:58,780 –> 00:12:00,260 If the President can turn up there 216 00:12:00,260 –> 00:12:01,700 at seven o’clock on Friday morning, 217 00:12:01,700 –> 00:12:03,559 I’ll be glad to see him. 218 00:12:03,559 –> 00:12:05,979 It’s not gonna happen, right? 219 00:12:05,979 –> 00:12:08,659 The President is greater than you. 220 00:12:08,859 –> 00:12:11,359 If you’re gonna meet him, 221 00:12:11,359 –> 00:12:13,880 he decides where that takes place. 222 00:12:16,460 –> 00:12:17,580 Now this is the principle 223 00:12:17,580 –> 00:12:19,559 all the way through the Old Testament. 224 00:12:19,559 –> 00:12:21,659 And the reason that it is so important 225 00:12:21,659 –> 00:12:23,700 God chooses the place of meeting 226 00:12:24,900 –> 00:12:27,440 is that all of that is paving the way 227 00:12:27,440 –> 00:12:29,700 for us to understand in the New Testament 228 00:12:29,700 –> 00:12:31,900 that God has chosen that we meet him 229 00:12:31,900 –> 00:12:33,340 not in a particular place, 230 00:12:33,340 –> 00:12:35,179 but in a particular person. 231 00:12:36,159 –> 00:12:38,739 God has chosen the place that he will meet 232 00:12:38,739 –> 00:12:40,400 with any person who will come to him 233 00:12:40,400 –> 00:12:44,340 is in Jesus Christ. 234 00:12:44,340 –> 00:12:45,820 That of course is why Jesus 235 00:12:45,820 –> 00:12:48,340 in the New Testament talks about himself 236 00:12:48,340 –> 00:12:50,200 as the temple. 237 00:12:50,200 –> 00:12:52,859 You don’t have to go to Jerusalem 238 00:12:52,859 –> 00:12:54,359 to meet with God. 239 00:12:54,359 –> 00:12:58,679 But you do have to go to Jesus. 240 00:12:58,679 –> 00:13:00,619 He is the living temple 241 00:13:00,619 –> 00:13:03,020 in which God’s presence is found 242 00:13:03,340 –> 00:13:08,419 all the fullness of the Godhead lives in him. 243 00:13:08,419 –> 00:13:09,900 So I’m trying to paint the picture 244 00:13:09,900 –> 00:13:12,260 so we understand what this is all about. 245 00:13:12,260 –> 00:13:15,460 These Psalms of Ascent 246 00:13:15,460 –> 00:13:17,580 describe the Old Testament journey 247 00:13:17,580 –> 00:13:20,359 that believers made to Jerusalem, 248 00:13:20,359 –> 00:13:23,080 crowds of people going up. 249 00:13:23,080 –> 00:13:26,679 And it is for us a kind of visual aid 250 00:13:26,679 –> 00:13:30,380 of our journey to the presence of Christ. 251 00:13:30,440 –> 00:13:34,020 These Psalms are a picture of the Christian life. 252 00:13:34,020 –> 00:13:36,880 The Christian life is a journey of faith 253 00:13:36,880 –> 00:13:38,719 in the presence of Jesus. 254 00:13:38,719 –> 00:13:43,679 It is also a journey of faith to the presence of Jesus. 255 00:13:45,099 –> 00:13:46,940 So we need these Psalms of Ascent 256 00:13:47,859 –> 00:13:51,000 and we’re gonna read the first two together. 257 00:13:51,000 –> 00:13:52,500 Let us hear the word of God. 258 00:13:54,679 –> 00:13:57,000 A song of ascents. 259 00:13:57,880 –> 00:13:58,700 I know. 260 00:14:00,099 –> 00:14:05,099 I call on the Lord in my distress and he answers me. 261 00:14:07,640 –> 00:14:12,280 Save me, O Lord, from lying lips and from deceitful tongues. 262 00:14:14,719 –> 00:14:18,140 What will He do to you, and what more besides, 263 00:14:18,140 –> 00:14:19,679 O deceitful tongue. 264 00:14:20,979 –> 00:14:23,760 He will punish you with a warrior’s sharp arrows 265 00:14:23,760 –> 00:14:26,119 with burning coals from the broom tree. 266 00:14:27,900 –> 00:14:32,900 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshech, 267 00:14:35,799 –> 00:14:38,580 that I live among the tents of Kedar. 268 00:14:41,099 –> 00:14:45,979 Too long have I lived among those who hate peace. 269 00:14:45,979 –> 00:14:50,960 I’m a man of peace, but when I speak, they are for war. 270 00:14:53,320 –> 00:14:55,520 I lift my eyes to the hills, 271 00:14:57,659 –> 00:15:00,900 where does my help come from? 272 00:15:00,900 –> 00:15:04,659 My help comes from the Lord, 273 00:15:06,359 –> 00:15:08,099 the Maker of heaven and earth. 274 00:15:10,179 –> 00:15:12,900 He will not let your foot slip. 275 00:15:14,619 –> 00:15:17,580 He who watches over you will not slumber. 276 00:15:19,140 –> 00:15:21,179 Indeed He who watches over Israel 277 00:15:21,179 –> 00:15:23,419 will neither slumber nor sleep. 278 00:15:24,419 –> 00:15:27,359 The Lord watches over you. 279 00:15:27,359 –> 00:15:30,979 The Lord is your shade at your right hand. 280 00:15:31,979 –> 00:15:35,619 The sun will not harm you by day nor the moon by night. 281 00:15:37,580 –> 00:15:40,340 The Lord will keep you from all harm. 282 00:15:40,340 –> 00:15:43,260 He will watch over your life. 283 00:15:46,460 –> 00:15:51,179 The Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now 284 00:15:53,739 –> 00:15:54,580 and forevermore. 285 00:15:58,219 –> 00:16:02,739 Now we don’t know who wrote these particular two Psalms, 286 00:16:04,200 –> 00:16:07,500 but it was clearly someone who knew and loved the Lord. 287 00:16:07,500 –> 00:16:10,440 These are the words of a true believer. 288 00:16:12,140 –> 00:16:15,299 And that is the first thing that is important 289 00:16:15,299 –> 00:16:19,140 for us to grasp, because right at the beginning, 290 00:16:19,640 –> 00:16:22,640 we find a true believer in deep distress. 291 00:16:24,679 –> 00:16:25,919 It’s very important, by the way, 292 00:16:25,919 –> 00:16:27,380 to know that that can happen. 293 00:16:29,739 –> 00:16:31,640 It doesn’t mean that there’s something wrong with you 294 00:16:31,640 –> 00:16:33,000 that you’re in distress. 295 00:16:34,419 –> 00:16:37,340 Doesn’t mean that there’s something lacking in your faith. 296 00:16:39,320 –> 00:16:42,080 The Psalmist here is in distress 297 00:16:42,080 –> 00:16:46,119 because he lives in a world of lies and deceit. 298 00:16:46,119 –> 00:16:48,080 He can’t trust the people around him 299 00:16:48,080 –> 00:16:50,359 like some in this congregation 300 00:16:50,359 –> 00:16:52,239 can’t trust the folks around us. 301 00:16:54,359 –> 00:16:56,179 He lives in a world of conflict. 302 00:16:56,179 –> 00:16:58,260 He says at the end of Psalm 120, 303 00:16:58,260 –> 00:17:01,159 I try and make peace with these people, 304 00:17:01,159 –> 00:17:02,880 but all they want to do is fight. 305 00:17:05,680 –> 00:17:08,040 The biggest problem is not just 306 00:17:08,040 –> 00:17:11,959 the lies and the deception that’s going on 307 00:17:11,959 –> 00:17:13,959 in the environment in which he lives, 308 00:17:13,959 –> 00:17:16,119 it’s not just the constant conflict 309 00:17:16,119 –> 00:17:19,219 that is wearing him down and is so distressing to him. 310 00:17:19,219 –> 00:17:22,579 The hardest thing of all is that as a true believer 311 00:17:22,579 –> 00:17:25,520 he feels miles from the presence of God. 312 00:17:27,479 –> 00:17:29,160 Notice what he says in verse five. 313 00:17:30,280 –> 00:17:33,540 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshach. 314 00:17:35,319 –> 00:17:37,800 That I live among the tents of Kedar. 315 00:17:37,800 –> 00:17:40,479 Now, remember that these songs of ascent 316 00:17:40,500 –> 00:17:43,560 are all about going up to Jerusalem. 317 00:17:43,560 –> 00:17:47,680 The place where God’s presence was known, Jerusalem, 318 00:17:47,680 –> 00:17:50,119 God says I will meet with my people there. 319 00:17:50,119 –> 00:17:51,880 That’s the Old Testament Principle. 320 00:17:53,199 –> 00:17:58,199 Meshach was hundreds of miles to the north of Jerusalem, 321 00:17:58,520 –> 00:18:00,900 way outside the Promised Land, 322 00:18:00,900 –> 00:18:04,839 somewhere between the Black Seas and the Caspian Sea. 323 00:18:06,439 –> 00:18:08,619 Kedar, which he also refers to 324 00:18:08,640 –> 00:18:11,359 was hundreds of miles to the south of Jerusalem 325 00:18:11,359 –> 00:18:14,339 in what we today would call Saudi Arabia. 326 00:18:15,640 –> 00:18:19,800 So, Meshach and Kedar are just about as far 327 00:18:19,800 –> 00:18:22,079 as a person in the ancient world 328 00:18:22,079 –> 00:18:25,439 could imagine being in Jerusalem. 329 00:18:26,800 –> 00:18:28,760 Now, just looking at that map, 330 00:18:28,760 –> 00:18:30,640 it should be pretty obvious to you 331 00:18:30,640 –> 00:18:32,640 that the Psalmist could not be living 332 00:18:32,640 –> 00:18:36,760 in both Meshach and Kedar at the same time, right? 333 00:18:36,760 –> 00:18:38,239 So remember, it’s a poem. 334 00:18:39,219 –> 00:18:42,099 He’s using a picture. 335 00:18:43,420 –> 00:18:45,880 He’s telling us what he feels. 336 00:18:47,319 –> 00:18:48,800 I’m in distress, he says, 337 00:18:48,800 –> 00:18:50,500 because though I believe 338 00:18:50,500 –> 00:18:52,300 and though I am one of God’s people, 339 00:18:52,300 –> 00:18:54,479 I feel about as far away from God 340 00:18:54,479 –> 00:18:56,619 as is possible for a person to be. 341 00:18:59,520 –> 00:19:00,479 I’m one of his people, 342 00:19:00,479 –> 00:19:03,160 but I don’t feel his presence. 343 00:19:03,160 –> 00:19:04,160 I’m one of his people, 344 00:19:04,160 –> 00:19:06,239 I know nothing of his joy. 345 00:19:06,239 –> 00:19:07,160 I’m one of his people, 346 00:19:07,180 –> 00:19:09,500 but I’m a long way from knowing his peace 347 00:19:09,500 –> 00:19:11,420 I work among people I can’t trust, 348 00:19:11,420 –> 00:19:13,760 I’m living in a situation of conflict at home. 349 00:19:13,760 –> 00:19:15,479 I live in Meshach. 350 00:19:18,000 –> 00:19:21,119 And what’s more, I’ve been here far too long. 351 00:19:23,219 –> 00:19:24,060 So he says that. 352 00:19:24,060 –> 00:19:25,800 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshach. 353 00:19:25,800 –> 00:19:27,380 Too long, 354 00:19:28,739 –> 00:19:31,560 have I lived among those who hate peace. 355 00:19:31,560 –> 00:19:35,540 And you know, that’s where the journey begins. 356 00:19:38,119 –> 00:19:41,199 I called our first reflection on these Psalms 357 00:19:41,199 –> 00:19:44,160 moving from delaying to deciding. 358 00:19:47,880 –> 00:19:49,880 And you know, the first step 359 00:19:49,880 –> 00:19:52,680 in moving from delaying to deciding 360 00:19:52,680 –> 00:19:56,319 is to develop a holy discontent 361 00:19:57,579 –> 00:19:59,380 with your present position. 362 00:20:01,199 –> 00:20:02,719 I call it a holy discontent 363 00:20:02,719 –> 00:20:05,060 because we’re not talking here about grumbling. 364 00:20:06,020 –> 00:20:10,040 And discontentedness can be a dangerous thing. 365 00:20:11,619 –> 00:20:16,280 But there is such a thing as a holy discontent. 366 00:20:17,680 –> 00:20:21,599 It’s what we might call the prodigal principle. 367 00:20:22,760 –> 00:20:24,520 You have to be convinced 368 00:20:24,520 –> 00:20:27,780 that the pain of staying as you are 369 00:20:27,780 –> 00:20:30,939 is greater than the problems you will encounter 370 00:20:30,939 –> 00:20:32,239 in making the change. 371 00:20:33,219 –> 00:20:35,319 Remember the prodigal son, he’s eating with the pigs 372 00:20:35,319 –> 00:20:37,280 and he’s prepared to carry on doing it. 373 00:20:38,119 –> 00:20:40,500 Until we’re told he came to his senses 374 00:20:41,560 –> 00:20:43,479 and he said, I will go to my father. 375 00:20:44,640 –> 00:20:48,660 Up to that point, the difficulties of going to the father 376 00:20:48,660 –> 00:20:50,479 seemed to be greater than the problems 377 00:20:50,479 –> 00:20:51,680 of eating with the pigs. 378 00:20:52,640 –> 00:20:56,439 But he came to the point where a holy discontent 379 00:20:56,439 –> 00:20:59,859 motivated him to make the change. 380 00:21:00,699 –> 00:21:02,780 And I wanna suggest to you at the beginning 381 00:21:02,780 –> 00:21:04,859 of this new year, that the greatest barrier 382 00:21:04,859 –> 00:21:08,000 to our spiritual progress is our own personal comfort. 383 00:21:08,880 –> 00:21:12,819 That’s why it’s so hard to grow as a Christian in America. 384 00:21:14,459 –> 00:21:16,380 We can get by in me shake. 385 00:21:18,420 –> 00:21:20,939 We can get used to living without prayer. 386 00:21:22,719 –> 00:21:25,380 We feel that we can basically handle our lives 387 00:21:25,380 –> 00:21:27,079 except for a few times. 388 00:21:27,819 –> 00:21:30,520 We become used to the way things are, 389 00:21:30,520 –> 00:21:31,959 we believe and hope of course, 390 00:21:31,959 –> 00:21:33,380 that one day we will be in heaven, 391 00:21:33,380 –> 00:21:35,680 but as from the rest, we become content 392 00:21:35,680 –> 00:21:37,760 to live at a distance from God. 393 00:21:39,359 –> 00:21:41,939 And there is a comfort in whatever you’re used to. 394 00:21:42,979 –> 00:21:46,699 And that comfort can keep you there far too long. 395 00:21:49,000 –> 00:21:51,000 That’s why people stay in debt, you see. 396 00:21:52,400 –> 00:21:55,760 Because the pain of solving the problem 397 00:21:55,760 –> 00:21:58,400 seems to be greater than the pain of living with it. 398 00:21:59,719 –> 00:22:02,060 And you never make the change 399 00:22:02,060 –> 00:22:05,160 until there’s that holy discontent 400 00:22:05,160 –> 00:22:08,839 that says I cannot stay here any longer. 401 00:22:10,959 –> 00:22:13,859 It’s why people go for years in the coldest of marriages. 402 00:22:15,160 –> 00:22:16,479 You just get used to it. 403 00:22:18,400 –> 00:22:19,579 It may not be what you want, 404 00:22:19,579 –> 00:22:23,079 but it becomes what is familiar and so you stay with it. 405 00:22:23,680 –> 00:22:27,959 Change isn’t going to happen in any area of our lives 406 00:22:27,959 –> 00:22:30,319 until somewhere deep inside, 407 00:22:30,319 –> 00:22:34,020 you come to the conclusion I can’t live like this 408 00:22:34,020 –> 00:22:37,540 any longer, you’ve got to get to the point 409 00:22:37,540 –> 00:22:38,959 of saying it isn’t working. 410 00:22:41,479 –> 00:22:44,479 And you see, that’s exactly what’s happening in Psalm 120. 411 00:22:44,479 –> 00:22:47,660 It’s not just I live in Meshach. 412 00:22:49,199 –> 00:22:52,040 See, what he says verse five. 413 00:22:52,079 –> 00:22:54,920 It’s, woe to me, 414 00:22:56,079 –> 00:22:59,160 that I live in Meshach, and that woe 415 00:23:00,800 –> 00:23:04,359 is the low point at which the journey begins. 416 00:23:05,319 –> 00:23:06,420 Jesus spoke about it. 417 00:23:07,680 –> 00:23:10,319 Blessed are the poor in spirit, 418 00:23:11,439 –> 00:23:13,239 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 419 00:23:16,380 –> 00:23:18,680 Blessed are those, in other words, who’ll say, 420 00:23:18,680 –> 00:23:21,459 God, I’ve had it, living like this! 421 00:23:21,459 –> 00:23:23,619 I’m coming to You today. 422 00:23:25,699 –> 00:23:27,180 I can’t go on without you. 423 00:23:29,040 –> 00:23:29,959 I need you. 424 00:23:31,640 –> 00:23:32,619 It’s not working. 425 00:23:37,040 –> 00:23:40,599 Is there any trace of that kind of discontent within you, 426 00:23:40,599 –> 00:23:43,699 that holy discontent, as we begin a new year? 427 00:23:44,680 –> 00:23:49,420 Is there any evidence of that kind of dissatisfaction 428 00:23:49,420 –> 00:23:50,819 with the way things are? 429 00:23:50,819 –> 00:23:52,540 Can I put the question this way? 430 00:23:53,780 –> 00:23:55,739 Would you be content to go from now 431 00:23:55,739 –> 00:23:57,939 to the end of your life and to enter into heaven 432 00:23:57,939 –> 00:24:00,520 in your present spiritual state? 433 00:24:02,219 –> 00:24:03,060 Would you? 434 00:24:05,660 –> 00:24:06,479 See, Jesus said, 435 00:24:06,479 –> 00:24:11,520 blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. 436 00:24:12,160 –> 00:24:14,439 For righteousness. 437 00:24:14,439 –> 00:24:17,680 Do you see any evidence of that hunger? 438 00:24:19,280 –> 00:24:22,140 Boy, when I’m hungry, that motivates me. 439 00:24:24,819 –> 00:24:27,160 Do you know that the Old Testament prophets 440 00:24:27,160 –> 00:24:30,739 had the ministry of promoting discontent? 441 00:24:33,040 –> 00:24:34,680 And do you know there is a true sense 442 00:24:34,680 –> 00:24:38,000 in which anyone faithful to the word of God 443 00:24:38,000 –> 00:24:40,579 must have part of that as their ministry? 444 00:24:42,260 –> 00:24:44,280 Haggai is a classic example. 445 00:24:44,280 –> 00:24:47,199 See, people have gone far too comfortable. 446 00:24:47,199 –> 00:24:48,920 And he says to them this. 447 00:24:50,040 –> 00:24:51,280 Haggai chapter one. 448 00:24:51,280 –> 00:24:53,239 Give careful thought to your ways 449 00:24:54,839 –> 00:24:56,359 because you’re planting a lot 450 00:24:56,359 –> 00:24:58,319 and you’re harvesting very little. 451 00:25:00,319 –> 00:25:03,300 And you’re eating a lot, but you’re never satisfied, 452 00:25:04,640 –> 00:25:06,199 and you’re earning a whole lot of money, 453 00:25:06,199 –> 00:25:08,760 and you’re putting it in a purse that has holes in it, 454 00:25:08,760 –> 00:25:10,640 you can read that in Haggai in chapter one. 455 00:25:10,640 –> 00:25:11,839 You see what he’s doing? 456 00:25:13,079 –> 00:25:14,680 He’s saying you’re so content with all 457 00:25:14,680 –> 00:25:16,319 that we’re doing, so content 458 00:25:16,319 –> 00:25:18,180 with all that we’re earning, 459 00:25:18,180 –> 00:25:20,400 so content with all that’s being poured 460 00:25:20,400 –> 00:25:22,959 into our lives and all the fun things, 461 00:25:22,959 –> 00:25:27,199 but actually you’re not satisfied are you, are you? 462 00:25:30,660 –> 00:25:33,239 All change begins with dissatisfaction 463 00:25:33,239 –> 00:25:34,800 with the way things are. 464 00:25:35,420 –> 00:25:39,680 So thank God if it bothers you to be far from him. 465 00:25:42,099 –> 00:25:44,040 Thank God if you’ve come to the place 466 00:25:44,040 –> 00:25:46,599 of saying not just I live in Meshach, 467 00:25:48,079 –> 00:25:52,359 but woe to me that I live in Meshach, 468 00:25:52,359 –> 00:25:54,500 I have been here too long. 469 00:25:56,959 –> 00:26:01,160 See a holy discontent is the first sign 470 00:26:01,719 –> 00:26:04,739 is the first sign of spiritual life. 471 00:26:04,739 –> 00:26:07,380 It’s the first hope of real and lasting change. 472 00:26:07,380 –> 00:26:09,040 It is the first step 473 00:26:09,040 –> 00:26:13,739 in moving from delaying to deciding. 474 00:26:15,920 –> 00:26:16,880 Here’s the second. 475 00:26:18,439 –> 00:26:21,119 Allow God to deal with others 476 00:26:22,000 –> 00:26:24,839 and ask God to deal with you. 477 00:26:26,199 –> 00:26:27,040 Now I wonder how many 478 00:26:27,040 –> 00:26:29,239 of the difficulties and problems in your life 479 00:26:29,280 –> 00:26:31,579 arise from other people? 480 00:26:31,579 –> 00:26:33,959 I’m almost certain that for most of us 481 00:26:33,959 –> 00:26:35,819 the answer will be plenty. 482 00:26:36,719 –> 00:26:39,719 Notice how many of the Psalmist’s problems here 483 00:26:39,719 –> 00:26:42,359 arise directly from other people. 484 00:26:42,359 –> 00:26:44,119 There are the lying lips 485 00:26:44,119 –> 00:26:45,959 and there are the deceitful tongues 486 00:26:45,959 –> 00:26:47,400 of verse two, 487 00:26:47,400 –> 00:26:49,280 there are the people who hate peace 488 00:26:49,280 –> 00:26:50,520 in verse six, 489 00:26:50,520 –> 00:26:51,619 no doubt the same folks 490 00:26:51,619 –> 00:26:53,380 as the ones who are for war 491 00:26:53,380 –> 00:26:54,660 in verse seven. 492 00:26:55,500 –> 00:26:56,319 So you see, 493 00:26:56,319 –> 00:26:58,099 with all these problem people around him 494 00:26:58,099 –> 00:26:59,540 creating all this conflict 495 00:26:59,540 –> 00:27:00,479 and all this trouble 496 00:27:00,479 –> 00:27:01,900 and all this untruth, 497 00:27:03,400 –> 00:27:05,459 it would be very easy for the psalmist 498 00:27:05,459 –> 00:27:06,780 to develop what we call 499 00:27:06,780 –> 00:27:08,800 a victim mentality. 500 00:27:11,660 –> 00:27:14,420 For them to start playing the blame game. 501 00:27:15,900 –> 00:27:18,199 Lord, the reason that I’m so far from you 502 00:27:18,199 –> 00:27:19,479 and struggling spiritually 503 00:27:19,479 –> 00:27:21,140 is very simple, 504 00:27:21,140 –> 00:27:23,920 there are a lot of difficult people in my life, 505 00:27:23,920 –> 00:27:26,079 so why don’t you do something about them? 506 00:27:27,020 –> 00:27:31,319 Lord, why did I have to be born in Miscech anyway? 507 00:27:31,319 –> 00:27:32,959 Lord, why don’t you change Mischech 508 00:27:32,959 –> 00:27:34,099 and make it a place where I can 509 00:27:34,099 –> 00:27:36,400 have a more fulfilling and comfortable life? 510 00:27:38,160 –> 00:27:40,699 See, change never begins 511 00:27:40,699 –> 00:27:43,400 so long as you’re playing the blame game, 512 00:27:44,339 –> 00:27:45,579 blaming God, 513 00:27:45,579 –> 00:27:47,319 blaming circumstances, 514 00:27:47,319 –> 00:27:48,739 blaming other people. 515 00:27:50,180 –> 00:27:53,579 The psalmist has had enough of that. 516 00:27:53,920 –> 00:27:56,239 So he won’t go there. 517 00:27:56,239 –> 00:27:57,439 Notice what he does. 518 00:27:58,319 –> 00:28:00,800 He places the problem people in his life 519 00:28:00,800 –> 00:28:02,459 into the hands of God. 520 00:28:03,319 –> 00:28:04,560 That’s what verse 3 is about. 521 00:28:04,560 –> 00:28:06,160 What will He do to you 522 00:28:06,160 –> 00:28:08,500 and what more besides, oh deceitful tongue? 523 00:28:08,500 –> 00:28:09,920 He’s talking about the problem people, 524 00:28:09,920 –> 00:28:11,599 the ones with deceitful tongues. 525 00:28:13,119 –> 00:28:15,939 God is going to deal with the problem people 526 00:28:15,939 –> 00:28:17,560 in your life. 527 00:28:18,839 –> 00:28:21,359 And there’s no vindictiveness in what he says here. 528 00:28:21,359 –> 00:28:23,160 He simply states clearly 529 00:28:23,599 –> 00:28:25,099 that when it states the reality, 530 00:28:25,099 –> 00:28:27,079 God’s gonna deal with all the problems 531 00:28:27,079 –> 00:28:29,780 of lies and deceit and of conflict 532 00:28:29,780 –> 00:28:32,140 and he will do it in perfect justice 533 00:28:32,140 –> 00:28:35,020 and the psalmist is content that it should be so. 534 00:28:38,979 –> 00:28:42,319 He’s realized something that all of us need to grasp. 535 00:28:44,000 –> 00:28:47,380 You can’t change Mishek. 536 00:28:50,280 –> 00:28:52,979 You can’t change your husband, your wife. 537 00:28:54,079 –> 00:28:55,900 You can’t change your boss. 538 00:28:57,800 –> 00:29:00,020 You can’t change your past. 539 00:29:02,199 –> 00:29:04,760 You can’t change the world in which you live in. 540 00:29:04,760 –> 00:29:06,880 It’s this world, it’s how it is. 541 00:29:09,719 –> 00:29:11,560 You can spend the whole of your life 542 00:29:11,560 –> 00:29:13,239 wanting it to be a better place 543 00:29:13,239 –> 00:29:15,099 but it isn’t going to happen. 544 00:29:18,439 –> 00:29:21,319 So the psalmist gets it absolutely right. 545 00:29:22,300 –> 00:29:25,920 He allows God to deal with others 546 00:29:26,979 –> 00:29:31,979 and he asks God to deal with himself. 547 00:29:32,260 –> 00:29:35,020 It’s what verse one is all about, isn’t it? 548 00:29:35,020 –> 00:29:38,680 I call on the Lord in my distress and he answers me 549 00:29:38,680 –> 00:29:39,959 and what’s my call? 550 00:29:39,959 –> 00:29:41,800 Oh, God, save me. 551 00:29:43,560 –> 00:29:44,380 Deliver me. 552 00:29:46,040 –> 00:29:48,439 I need your help living in this world. 553 00:29:51,359 –> 00:29:53,699 You kno, you could make this some of your own. 554 00:29:55,640 –> 00:30:00,640 You could come to God like this today. 555 00:30:04,900 –> 00:30:09,239 How do you move from delaying to deciding? 556 00:30:09,239 –> 00:30:12,880 How do you get off being stuck in the same place 557 00:30:12,880 –> 00:30:15,939 for years and years and years of your life? 558 00:30:16,939 –> 00:30:21,160 You develop a holy discontent 559 00:30:21,160 –> 00:30:22,680 with your present position. 560 00:30:23,640 –> 00:30:26,800 Woe to me that I dwell in Meshach. 561 00:30:30,160 –> 00:30:32,880 And you allow God to deal with others 562 00:30:32,880 –> 00:30:36,859 and ask God to deal with yourself. 563 00:30:38,500 –> 00:30:40,040 Then here’s the last thing. 564 00:30:41,839 –> 00:30:45,040 You cultivate confidence 565 00:30:45,040 –> 00:30:46,459 in the help of God. 566 00:30:48,319 –> 00:30:50,520 Now as you move into Psalm 121, 567 00:30:50,520 –> 00:30:53,079 and this is why we’re taking them in pairs together, 568 00:30:53,079 –> 00:30:54,800 you see immediately that this man 569 00:30:54,800 –> 00:30:57,000 has begun the movement, you see. 570 00:30:57,000 –> 00:30:58,439 He’s started the journey. 571 00:30:58,439 –> 00:31:00,540 Woe is where the journey begins. 572 00:31:01,520 –> 00:31:03,859 He’s on his way to Jerusalem. 573 00:31:03,859 –> 00:31:06,520 And Jerusalem is the city that is set on the hill. 574 00:31:07,439 –> 00:31:10,800 And now he’s coming within sight of the city 575 00:31:10,800 –> 00:31:14,839 and he looks up at the city on the mountains. 576 00:31:14,839 –> 00:31:19,839 I’ll tell you, if you’re in Jericho on the plains 577 00:31:20,400 –> 00:31:22,880 and you’re looking up to Jerusalem, 578 00:31:22,880 –> 00:31:25,780 and it feels like looking up at the Rockies. 579 00:31:25,780 –> 00:31:26,979 I mean, it is high. 580 00:31:27,880 –> 00:31:30,219 And you’re thinking to yourself, 581 00:31:30,219 –> 00:31:32,420 how in all the world am I gonna get up there? 582 00:31:35,000 –> 00:31:37,920 I’ve taken the journey from Jerusalem down to Jericho. 583 00:31:37,920 –> 00:31:40,500 By the way, do you remember, Jesus talked about 584 00:31:40,500 –> 00:31:41,920 the story of the Good Samaritan, 585 00:31:41,920 –> 00:31:44,699 the man who was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho. 586 00:31:44,699 –> 00:31:46,060 See, it’s a big slope. 587 00:31:47,060 –> 00:31:50,520 I went down and I did it on a bus. 588 00:31:52,380 –> 00:31:55,219 You see, Samas was talking about going up 589 00:31:55,219 –> 00:31:56,479 and doing it on foot. 590 00:31:57,640 –> 00:32:00,219 And an ordinary person standing at the bottom of these hills 591 00:32:00,219 –> 00:32:01,479 is gonna be looking up and saying, 592 00:32:01,479 –> 00:32:04,219 how in all the world am I gonna get up there? 593 00:32:07,619 –> 00:32:09,280 And you know, I think that is how we should read 594 00:32:09,280 –> 00:32:11,819 the famous words at the beginning of Psalm 121. 595 00:32:11,819 –> 00:32:13,660 I lift my eyes up to the hills. 596 00:32:13,660 –> 00:32:14,839 You see, that’s what he’s heading at, 597 00:32:14,839 –> 00:32:17,300 I’m heading on this journey to the place 598 00:32:17,300 –> 00:32:19,420 where God has promised to meet me. 599 00:32:19,420 –> 00:32:20,719 I’m seeking him. 600 00:32:21,859 –> 00:32:23,079 That’s where I’m going. 601 00:32:24,459 –> 00:32:26,599 How in all the world am I gonna get there? 602 00:32:28,180 –> 00:32:32,459 And the answer is, my help comes from the Lord. 603 00:32:33,979 –> 00:32:37,180 See, every Christian knows this experience, 604 00:32:37,180 –> 00:32:39,979 you make the decision to follow Christ 605 00:32:39,979 –> 00:32:42,400 and it’s not long before you’re asking the question, 606 00:32:42,439 –> 00:32:43,839 can I really do this? 607 00:32:44,760 –> 00:32:47,500 Can I actually live this life? 608 00:32:47,500 –> 00:32:51,040 Can I make it to the place of the presence of God? 609 00:32:52,579 –> 00:32:54,660 And using the picture of the journey, 610 00:32:54,660 –> 00:32:58,479 there are here in this psalm all the pressures 611 00:32:58,479 –> 00:33:00,800 and burdens of the heat of the day. 612 00:33:01,800 –> 00:33:03,800 There are all the fears and worries 613 00:33:03,800 –> 00:33:05,520 that come to us in the night, 614 00:33:05,520 –> 00:33:08,540 that are all the difficulties and temptations of the road, 615 00:33:08,540 –> 00:33:11,239 places where your foot could slip. 616 00:33:13,079 –> 00:33:14,239 I don’t know how it is for you 617 00:33:14,239 –> 00:33:15,619 at the beginning of this new year, 618 00:33:15,619 –> 00:33:18,520 but maybe you’re looking at the mountains in front of you. 619 00:33:19,479 –> 00:33:21,300 And you see how steep the road is 620 00:33:21,300 –> 00:33:24,040 and you look at all that you’ve got to handle in your life 621 00:33:24,040 –> 00:33:26,760 in the next 12 months as God opens them up to you, 622 00:33:26,760 –> 00:33:27,739 and you say to yourself, 623 00:33:27,739 –> 00:33:29,599 I don’t know if I can make it. 624 00:33:30,839 –> 00:33:32,260 I lift my eyes to the hills, 625 00:33:32,260 –> 00:33:34,079 where does my help come from? 626 00:33:36,000 –> 00:33:37,579 Well, thank God for the answer. 627 00:33:38,719 –> 00:33:41,920 My help comes from the Lord 628 00:33:43,060 –> 00:33:45,520 the maker of heaven and earth. 629 00:33:48,599 –> 00:33:49,479 By the way, 630 00:33:52,040 –> 00:33:57,040 can you imagine Christ praying these Psalms? 631 00:33:59,280 –> 00:34:02,160 See, the gospels tell us about the ministry of Jesus, 632 00:34:02,160 –> 00:34:04,160 his teaching, his parables, his miracles, 633 00:34:04,160 –> 00:34:06,359 and then they tell us that 634 00:34:06,359 –> 00:34:09,820 he set his face to go where? 635 00:34:09,820 –> 00:34:12,260 To Jerusalem. 636 00:34:13,280 –> 00:34:15,879 In fact, half of the gospel in Mark and Luke 637 00:34:15,879 –> 00:34:18,419 is telling us about his journey to Jerusalem, 638 00:34:18,419 –> 00:34:20,699 his journey of ascents. 639 00:34:23,300 –> 00:34:25,320 Jesus took this journey. 640 00:34:27,719 –> 00:34:30,639 Jesus went from Galilee 641 00:34:30,639 –> 00:34:31,780 down to Jericho 642 00:34:33,080 –> 00:34:34,739 and from the plains of Jericho 643 00:34:34,739 –> 00:34:38,659 began the climb up to Jerusalem. 644 00:34:39,639 –> 00:34:42,540 He didn’t come like people had come 645 00:34:42,540 –> 00:34:45,219 for thousands of years, hundreds of years, 646 00:34:45,219 –> 00:34:47,580 to offer a sacrifice, 647 00:34:47,580 –> 00:34:50,899 he came to be the sacrifice. 648 00:34:52,939 –> 00:34:55,620 Can you imagine him coming to the plains of Jericho 649 00:34:55,620 –> 00:34:57,560 where we’re told he healed a blind man? 650 00:35:00,439 –> 00:35:03,439 And then looking up to these hills 651 00:35:03,439 –> 00:35:06,800 and saying I lift my eyes to the hills 652 00:35:06,800 –> 00:35:10,959 and knowing all that lay ahead of him in Jerusalem 653 00:35:10,959 –> 00:35:15,159 saying where does my help come from? 654 00:35:18,280 –> 00:35:20,899 And for him to be able to affirm my help 655 00:35:20,899 –> 00:35:22,639 comes from the Lord, 656 00:35:22,639 –> 00:35:25,679 the maker of heaven and the earth. 657 00:35:27,739 –> 00:35:29,560 If Jesus could pray like that 658 00:35:29,560 –> 00:35:31,239 knowing what was ahead of him, 659 00:35:32,840 –> 00:35:33,760 so can you. 660 00:35:37,679 –> 00:35:39,659 And you see the great affirmation that comes 661 00:35:39,659 –> 00:35:41,919 in these last moments. 662 00:35:41,919 –> 00:35:43,959 Five times at the end of this Psalm 663 00:35:43,959 –> 00:35:45,639 we’re told that the Lord watches us. 664 00:35:45,639 –> 00:35:47,879 It’s most wonderful, wonderful word 665 00:35:47,879 –> 00:35:49,800 as we launch out into this new year. 666 00:35:51,320 –> 00:35:53,199 Notice verse three, 667 00:35:53,199 –> 00:35:58,199 he who watches over you will not slumber. 668 00:35:58,600 –> 00:35:59,540 I love that. 669 00:36:00,760 –> 00:36:03,840 It means that God will never tire of you. 670 00:36:03,840 –> 00:36:06,300 You know how it is when someone talks too much 671 00:36:07,500 –> 00:36:09,820 and eventually your eyes glaze over 672 00:36:09,820 –> 00:36:11,219 and you begin to nod off. 673 00:36:12,620 –> 00:36:13,580 You ever done that? 674 00:36:14,959 –> 00:36:16,000 And then that person says, 675 00:36:16,000 –> 00:36:18,239 you’re not really listening to me, right? 676 00:36:18,239 –> 00:36:19,639 That’s slumbering, isn’t it? 677 00:36:20,879 –> 00:36:23,100 I’ve had enough, can’t take anymore. 678 00:36:24,840 –> 00:36:26,159 God never slumbers. 679 00:36:27,320 –> 00:36:28,399 He never tires of you. 680 00:36:28,399 –> 00:36:31,100 He never says oh, not her with that problem again. 681 00:36:34,760 –> 00:36:36,320 His eyes never glaze over. 682 00:36:38,260 –> 00:36:41,860 He who watches over you never tires of you, 683 00:36:41,860 –> 00:36:43,560 never comes to the point of saying 684 00:36:43,560 –> 00:36:44,719 I’ve had enough of him. 685 00:36:45,820 –> 00:36:47,760 I’m gonna watch over a better Christian. 686 00:36:47,760 –> 00:36:48,719 He never says that. 687 00:36:50,040 –> 00:36:52,100 He who watches over you never slumbers. 688 00:36:54,280 –> 00:36:57,520 Indeed, verse four, he who watches over Israel 689 00:36:57,520 –> 00:36:59,580 will neither slumber nor sleep. 690 00:37:01,179 –> 00:37:02,239 He’s never off duty. 691 00:37:03,179 –> 00:37:04,600 Never takes a break. 692 00:37:05,879 –> 00:37:07,379 You never need to waken him up. 693 00:37:08,439 –> 00:37:09,760 He never stops working. 694 00:37:11,459 –> 00:37:13,360 Remember Elijah and the contest 695 00:37:13,360 –> 00:37:14,639 with the prophets of Baal 696 00:37:14,639 –> 00:37:16,199 and they’re trying to cut themselves 697 00:37:16,199 –> 00:37:17,699 and do all these kinds of great things 698 00:37:17,699 –> 00:37:19,399 to waken their God up?! 699 00:37:22,840 –> 00:37:25,120 Do you know there are times when you and I wonder 700 00:37:25,120 –> 00:37:27,040 what in all the world God is doing, 701 00:37:28,479 –> 00:37:31,399 but whatever the mysteries that are going on in your life, 702 00:37:31,959 –> 00:37:33,639 you can be certain of this, 703 00:37:33,639 –> 00:37:36,639 God is at work. 704 00:37:36,639 –> 00:37:38,939 He never sleeps. 705 00:37:39,959 –> 00:37:41,639 “‘My father is working.’ 706 00:37:42,719 –> 00:37:45,179 “‘He is working still,’ said Jesus. 707 00:37:46,459 –> 00:37:48,979 “‘And he’ll work through the hardest day of your life. 708 00:37:51,320 –> 00:37:53,780 “‘The Lord watches over you,’ verse five. 709 00:37:53,780 –> 00:37:56,699 “‘He is your shade at your right hand.’” 710 00:37:57,699 –> 00:38:02,699 Think of that picture of the sun blazing in mid-day, 711 00:38:03,699 –> 00:38:07,179 some of us are feeling the pressures of life 712 00:38:07,179 –> 00:38:08,260 in the daytime. 713 00:38:09,439 –> 00:38:11,320 Everything you’ve gotta do. 714 00:38:13,300 –> 00:38:14,620 And the Lord’s gonna watch over you 715 00:38:14,620 –> 00:38:16,659 and he’s gonna help you as you move through that 716 00:38:16,659 –> 00:38:18,320 day by day in this coming year. 717 00:38:20,739 –> 00:38:22,739 And then there’s this bit about the moon by night. 718 00:38:22,739 –> 00:38:24,500 Some of us struggle much more at night 719 00:38:24,500 –> 00:38:25,620 than we do during the day, 720 00:38:25,639 –> 00:38:28,399 cause that’s the time when the fears and the worries 721 00:38:28,399 –> 00:38:31,060 begin to multiply and take hold of us. 722 00:38:31,060 –> 00:38:34,300 And he’s gonna be your shade in all the anxieties 723 00:38:34,300 –> 00:38:36,199 and worries and dangers of the night. 724 00:38:38,219 –> 00:38:42,260 In fact verse seven the Lord will watch over your life. 725 00:38:44,300 –> 00:38:46,219 The ultimate outcome of everything 726 00:38:46,219 –> 00:38:48,620 that concerns you is in his hand. 727 00:38:48,620 –> 00:38:52,120 Think of what this meant for Jesus to pray this 728 00:38:52,120 –> 00:38:53,379 as he went up to Jerusalem. 729 00:38:53,379 –> 00:38:55,020 By the way it’s very important to do that 730 00:38:55,300 –> 00:38:56,780 so that we understand what it really means 731 00:38:56,780 –> 00:38:59,139 when it says he’ll keep you from all harm 732 00:38:59,139 –> 00:39:00,679 and watch over your life. 733 00:39:03,040 –> 00:39:07,479 See Jesus experienced excruciating pain. 734 00:39:09,300 –> 00:39:12,100 He entered the depth of darkness. 735 00:39:13,540 –> 00:39:16,179 He was crucified dead and buried. 736 00:39:16,179 –> 00:39:18,060 You can’t get worse than that. 737 00:39:22,100 –> 00:39:24,919 But on the third day God raised him from the dead 738 00:39:24,959 –> 00:39:29,719 and today he is seated at the right hand of the Father. 739 00:39:31,899 –> 00:39:33,239 And you see that’s why the apostle Paul 740 00:39:33,239 –> 00:39:38,040 who suffered so much was able to say 741 00:39:38,040 –> 00:39:40,739 who can separate us from the love of Christ. 742 00:39:42,179 –> 00:39:45,040 If God be for us who can be against us? 743 00:39:46,219 –> 00:39:49,959 Even if we’re gonna face death itself all day long 744 00:39:49,959 –> 00:39:53,080 nothing can separate me from the love of God 745 00:39:53,080 –> 00:39:54,760 that is in Christ Jesus. 746 00:39:55,600 –> 00:39:58,699 And he says my Lord watches over my life. 747 00:40:02,719 –> 00:40:05,419 Not just that, the Lord will watch over your coming 748 00:40:05,419 –> 00:40:09,100 and your going both now and forevermore, 749 00:40:10,439 –> 00:40:13,739 I love that because it reminds me 750 00:40:13,739 –> 00:40:15,479 that God is not just interested 751 00:40:15,479 –> 00:40:16,919 in the great things of my life. 752 00:40:16,919 –> 00:40:19,120 You know, my death and my eternity 753 00:40:20,239 –> 00:40:22,280 but he’s interested in the most ordinary activity 754 00:40:22,280 –> 00:40:27,280 my coming and my going, my help is from the Lord. 755 00:40:28,600 –> 00:40:30,959 And notice that the psalmist ends by saying 756 00:40:30,959 –> 00:40:33,639 that these things are true both now 757 00:40:35,120 –> 00:40:36,699 and evermore. 758 00:40:38,840 –> 00:40:41,520 Take your pick as to which you think 759 00:40:41,520 –> 00:40:44,280 is the most encouraging of these two things. 760 00:40:45,520 –> 00:40:49,500 The Lord watches over you now. 761 00:40:50,840 –> 00:40:51,899 That’s good isn’t it. 762 00:40:53,040 –> 00:40:58,040 The Lord watches over you forevermore. 763 00:41:03,560 –> 00:41:04,600 You can’t pick. 764 00:41:06,399 –> 00:41:07,300 They’re both true. 765 00:41:10,360 –> 00:41:11,959 So at the launch of a new year, 766 00:41:11,959 –> 00:41:14,320 are you ready to move from delaying to deciding? 767 00:41:16,020 –> 00:41:18,760 You have a holy discontent with the way things are. 768 00:41:19,760 –> 00:41:22,580 Are you ready to allow God to deal with others 769 00:41:22,580 –> 00:41:24,479 and to ask Him to deal with you? 770 00:41:26,419 –> 00:41:29,679 You ready to launch out to follow Jesus Christ 771 00:41:29,679 –> 00:41:32,040 in a new way this year 772 00:41:32,040 –> 00:41:34,320 and to trust Him with everything in your life 773 00:41:35,639 –> 00:41:37,219 that you cultivate confidence 774 00:41:38,239 –> 00:41:40,040 in the one who watches over you? 775 00:41:40,040 –> 00:41:41,040 Let’s pray together. 776 00:41:42,679 –> 00:41:44,379 Lord, some of us have been in m byshek 777 00:41:44,379 –> 00:41:47,239 for way, way, way, way, way too long, 778 00:41:49,459 –> 00:41:51,879 years have passed so little has changed 779 00:41:53,280 –> 00:41:55,520 and we are not the people either 780 00:41:55,520 –> 00:41:58,000 that we want to be or that You call us to be. 781 00:41:59,679 –> 00:42:02,399 We thank You that today Your word provokes 782 00:42:02,399 –> 00:42:04,760 a holy discontent within us, 783 00:42:05,620 –> 00:42:08,399 hunger and a thirst for more of You. 784 00:42:08,399 –> 00:42:12,739 We cannot live this year at a distance from You. 785 00:42:15,280 –> 00:42:17,820 And so the woe is the beginning of our journey. 786 00:42:19,679 –> 00:42:22,399 With the psalmist, we cry out to You, save me. 787 00:42:23,260 –> 00:42:26,199 You deal with others but Lord, deal with me. 788 00:42:29,100 –> 00:42:33,600 As I step out on this journey having made that commitment 789 00:42:33,600 –> 00:42:36,879 and that decision, thank You that whatever 790 00:42:36,879 –> 00:42:40,919 the mountains that lie ahead I can say 791 00:42:40,919 –> 00:42:43,760 my help comes from the Lord 792 00:42:46,280 –> 00:42:47,800 and that You watch over me 793 00:42:49,040 –> 00:42:52,600 both now and forevermore, 794 00:42:54,020 –> 00:42:56,419 in this confidence let us live this year. 795 00:42:57,879 –> 00:43:01,800 For these things we ask, in Jesus name, Amen.