The Hills of Help - Part 2

Temple Baptist Church - 8-25-2024

Psalm 121

 

Introduction:

 

A.  What a wonderful Psalm of faith and divine help for the child of God.  Last week, we looked at the first 2 verses and found out that;

 

1.  This Psalm is not a prayer!  The Psalmist is asking absolutely nothing of the Lord. He is heading to the House of God with this expectancy from the Lord.

 

2.  This Psalm is a look of faith!  Trusting the Lord to intervene in life’s problems because of His great love for the child of God.  (Proverbs 3:5-6)

 

3.  We often quote the following verses, but they are so important because it shows an unwavering confidence in the Lord!  “From whence COMETH my help” shows that the Psalmist had no doubts about what the Lord could do or what the Lord would do.

 

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  (6)  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

 

Isaiah 12:2  Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation.

 

Isaiah 26:4  Trust ye in the LORD for ever: for in the LORD JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:

 

4.  This is a Psalm of Confidence.  Hebrews 10:35-38  Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward.  (36)  For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise.  (37)  For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry.  (38)  Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

 

B.  Tonight, we will look at the remainder of the Psalm in light of these things.  What did the Psalmist understand about the Help that would come from an almighty, omnipotent, all knowing, and ever present Lord?

 

C.  Three things we saw last week that the Psalmist was look to:

 

1.  The Psalmist had complete confidence that the Place of Help, the Temple, would still be there.  “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.”  For the traveler approaching, the Temple, the House of the Lord, there was excitement after a long hard journey.  There should be excitement for us after days apart while working and mingling with the world.  We also need to have confidence that our church will be here.

 

2.  The Psalmist had complete confidence that the Person of Help would still be there.  “My help cometh from the LORD”  The Lord and the Lord alone is our help as He is fully able to head off or handle any and everything that lies in front of us.  I am so glad that the Lord is always here in our midst.

 

3.  The Psalmist had complete confidence that the Power of Help was still available.  “which made heaven and earth.”  God had no problem creating the heaven and the earth from nothing (Ex Nihilo) and that same power is available to the child of God, both the Psalmist and you and me.  I am so glad that my God can do anything, everything, all the time.

 

D.  In the last verses of the Psalm, we see what the Psalmist expected from the Lord.  We can expect the same things as the Lord has not changed.

 

1.  Verse 3a.  The Psalmist expected the Lord to establish or stabilize him.  “He will not suffer thy foot to be moved:”  The Lord will help us to be steadfast and unmovable.  God, please help me to be steadfast, unmovable in the last days of my life.  Let me not falter nor stop; let me not stumble and fall, help me not to quit.

 

2 Samuel 22:1-3  And David spake unto the LORD the words of this song in the day that the LORD had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand of Saul:  (2)  And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;  (3)  The God of my rock; in him will I trust: he is my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my high tower, and my refuge, my saviour; thou savest me from violence.

 

Psalms 16:8  I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.

 

Psalms 40:2  He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

 

Proverbs 3:23  Then shalt thou walk in thy way safely, and thy foot shall not stumble.

 

Proverbs 3:25-26  Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.  (26)  For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.

 

Hebrews 6:19  Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

 

I expect God to be my stability!  He will keep me from falling, drifting, or slipping!  One of my favorite verses:

 

Jude 24  Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,

 

2.  Verse 3b-4.  The Psalmist expected the Lord to always be readily available.  “he that keepeth thee will not slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” 

 

a.  The Lord can not only help us, He but He will also always be available to help us.  He watches over us day and night.  God requires no sleep.

 

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

 

Matthew 28:20  Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

 

Always – every instance of life - Unto the end of the world – saved and forever I am and my Lord is and will be with me all the way!

 

b.  The Psalmist expected the Lord to be available 24/7/365!  Bro. Jim Pennington used to sing a song that said, “Central’s never busy, always on the line; you can hear from heaven all the time.”

 

c.  I am confident that Lord will always be available for all my tomorrows!

 

3.  Verse 5a.  The Psalmist expected the Lord to protect him.  “The LORD is thy keeper.”  Keeper – to hedge or to guard. 

 

Proverbs 18:10  The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.

 

Psalms 4:8  I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

 

Proverbs 21:31  The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD.

 

Help me to trust the Lord to protect me all my tomorrows.

 

E. Verses 5b-6.  The Psalmist expected the Lord to comfort him.  “The LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.  (6)  The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.”

 

Ruth 2:12  The LORD recompense thy work, and a full reward be given thee of the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings thou art come to trust.

 

Psalms 36:7  How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.

 

Psalms 91:1-8  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.  (2)  I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.  (3)  Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.  (4)  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.  (5)  Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;  (6)  Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.  (7)  A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.  (8)  Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.

 

Matthew 23:37  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!

 

Whatever comes, I know that it will be alright.  What peace we should have knowing that the Lord knows what we go through, and His comfort will always be there for us.

 

F.  Verse 7.  The Psalmist expected the Lord to preserve him.  “The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.”  Deliver me THROUGH evil.  Does not say that you will not have problems because of this evil world or that you will not have to deal with evil people at times.

 

2 Timothy 4:17-18  Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.  (18)  And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

 

1.  In the face of an evil adversary – 1 Peter 5:8  Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:

 

2.  In the face of an evil world – Galatians 1:4  Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father:

 

3.  In the face of Evil men – 2 Timothy 3:13  But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.

 

 

With the Lord, I can do all things and with the Lord on my side, I will come out alright.

 

G.  Verse 8a.  The Psalmist expected the Lord to guide him in the right path.  “The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in” 

 

Psalms 23:1-3  A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.  (2)  He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.  (3)  He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

 

John 10:9  I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

 

Psalms 37:23  The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way.

 

I do not always know which way to go but I can trust the Lord to lead me.

 

H.  Verse 8b.  The Psalmist expected these blessings to continue each day forever!  “From this time forth, and even for evermore.” 

 

God will always be better to me than I am to Him.  These benefits of salvation will be a continual part of the life of the believer.

 

Conclusion: 

 

Psalm 121 is not a prayer; it is a confidence.

 

This Song of Degrees is an upward Psalm sung on the way to the House of the Lord (Bethel) with the full intention of finding the Lord there (El-Bethel) and with full confidence that the Lord would be his HELP! 

Ignorance - Who Did Hinder You

Temple Baptist Church - 8-25-2024

Romans 1:13; Galatians 5:7

 

Introduction:

 

A.  This morning, I want to go back to our study on “Ignorance.”  Paul, writing to the Romans, spoke of the opposition that he faced.  Throughout his ministry, he faced foes from within and without.  I have heard it said, “The door of opportunity swings on the hinges of resistance.”

 

B.  When writing to the Corinthian church, he made mention of the opposition.

 

2 Corinthians 11:22-30  Are they Hebrews? so am I. Are they Israelites? so am I. Are they the seed of Abraham? so am I.  (23)  Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.  (24)  Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one.  (25)  Thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned, thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in the deep;  (26)  In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren;  (27)  In weariness and painfulness, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness.  (28)  Beside those things that are without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches.  (29)  Who is weak, and I am not weak? who is offended, and I burn not?  (30)  If I must needs glory, I will glory of the things which concern mine infirmities.

 

C.  Romans 1:13  Now I would not have you ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes I purposed to come unto you, (but was let hitherto,) that I might have some fruit among you also, even as among other Gentiles.

 

1.  I want to look at the phrase “let hitherto”.

 

Let – hindered, prevented, kept from.

 

Hitherto – until, up to, as far as.

 

2.  These two words show us that Paul was stopped but not permanently stopped.  He was just “hindered” for a while but would later continue as is told in his last recorded message to Timothy. 

 

2 Timothy 4:7  I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith:

 

D.  The Apostle Paul was possibly the greatest Christian example found in the New Testament.  Satan could not entice him to either compromise or quit though, later in life, a “messenger of Satan” was a continual “thorn in the flesh” that he had to bear.

 

1.  If Paul could be hindered, we can be hindered also. When writing to the Church at Galatia, Paul spoke of this.

 

Galatians 5:7  Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

 

Galatians 3:1  O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

 

2.  The Galatians knew the truth but chose to disobey it because of the legalists of that day.

 

3.  To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not, to him it is sin comes into play.

 

4.  God’s children do not have to give into to hinderances!

 

E.  Paul fought a good fight, finished his course, and kept the faith!  God then gave Paul to us for an example of victory over hinderances.

 

F.  Now, a little disclaimer:  I am not the Christian that the Apostle Paul was by any stretch of the imagination and probably no one in this sanctuary is, but we too are hindered in our life as Christians.

 

G.  Satan is the definition of:  “If you can’t be good, be good at it!”  He cannot take our salvation away but does his best to hinder us in our example of Christianity before the world, our friends, and our families.

 

H.  Paul asked a question in Galatians as these precious people had soon wandered off course concerning obedience to the truth.

 

Galatians 5:7  Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the truth?

 

J.  All of us here this morning fight personal battles as we endeavor to serve our Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore, the question: “Who did hinder you?”  Notice with me the word “who” instead of “what.”  Too often our hinderances are the result of people and not circumstances though we are hindered by both.

 

K.  I am not trying to “hinder” you with this message but am warning each of us that we will face hard things and hard times in this world because it and Satan are still “seeking” to devour.

 

L.  “Who did hinder you?”  Who or what doeth hinder me?

 

1.  We are often hindered by our Flesh.  Romans 7:18  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

 

2. We are hindered by our Foe.  Zechariah 3:1  And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him.

 

3. We are often hindered by Friends.  Job 2:11  Now when Job's three friends heard of all this evil that was come upon him, they came every one from his own place; Eliphaz the Temanite, and Bildad the Shuhite, and Zophar the Naamathite: for they had made an appointment together to come to mourn with him and to comfort him.  (Well meaning maybe but still a hinderance.)

 

4.  We are often hindered by Family.  Matthew 10:35-36  For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.  (36)  And a man's foes shall be they of his own household.  (As tragic as it sounds, much resistance comes from loved ones.)

 

5.  We are often hindered by False Brethren.  2 Timothy 4:14-15  Alexander the coppersmith did me much evil: the Lord reward him according to his works:  (15)  Of whom be thou ware also; for he hath greatly withstood our words.  (Old Diotrephes in 3 John.)

 

3 John 1:9  I wrote unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not.

 

6.  We are often hindered by False Teachers.  2 Peter 2:1  But there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift destruction.  (A sign of these last days: heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears.)

 

7.  We are often hindered by Faithlessness.  Matthew 6:34  Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.  (Do not get caught up worrying over the future of our nation, of our health, or our imaginations.)

 

Conclusion:  “Who hath hindered you?”