Heavenly Focus

Our God is for us
Psalm 121

Psalm 121 King James Version (KJV)

121 I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help.

My help cometh from the Lord, which made heaven and earth.

He will not suffer thy foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber.

Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.

The Lord is thy keeper: the Lord is thy shade upon thy right hand.

The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.

The Lord shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.

The Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore

God is our: Helper-Guide-Watcher-Keeper-Covering-Protector-Savior

 

I. God is our Helper (week one)

Our first thought as believers as we experience the tests, trials and tribulations of this life should always be that God is our helper and that God is on our side. One illustration of the word helper tells us that it is like a locomotive that helps in front, in the middle or in the rear of the rail cars.

This psalm is a song of degrees almost as one ascending up a flight of stairs and seeing something new as they go. Visiting the Louve museum in France a few years ago I remember even in the stairways there were interesting and exciting things to see as you ascended.

Some have called this psalm a military psalm and others a travelers psalm. We must remember to look up always from where our help comes from.

Mount Zion was one of the hills one would see as journeying through the valley towards the Holy City of God. It was the place where the ark of the covenant was and the other hill was Mount Moriah which was the place where God designated his temple.

These would be the significant mountains the writer is referring to in this psalm. Those in the group would begin singing this song as they drew near to their destiny.

It is easy to see in life that there are many times we are in the valley. The valley is a place of shadows and also can be a perilous place. David said in Psalm 23 verse 4, Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me: thy rod and they staff they comfort me. Those in this caravan of people approaching Jerusalem would be encouraged upon drawing near to Jerusalem.

The prophet Joel wrote: Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision. Joel 3:4

Psalms 121:2 tells us My help (ours and yours) comes from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. Our God is the God of creation, by him were all things created and by him they also consist, Col 1:17. Because of this, there is nothing in this life, on earth or in the heavens that can overcome us. The greater one lives, abides in us.

Isaiah 59:19 tells us:  So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun (the east). When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him. One of the translations of the Hebrew word flood (nahar) speaks of underground springs. This implies that you could be in one place and immediately waters rush from beneath you.

Just as Jehovah rescued the children of Israel when they faced the Red Sea and Pharaoh’s armies were closing in he will rescue you if you will just call upon him.

God is our Helper Prayer Scriptures for week one.
Psalms 10:14, Psalms 30:10, Psalms 54:4, Psalms 72:12, Hebrews 13:6.

 

II. God Hears us and we must hear him. (week two)

Psalm 72:12 tells us:  For he shall deliver the needy when he crieth; the poor also, and him that hath no helper.

It is vitaly important for believers to consistently and daily call upon the name of the LORD. Cry out to the LORD for yourself, family, loved ones, your city, nation and the world. We must be the ones that stand in the gap for this generation.

Ezekiel 22:30 reads:  And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.

God is continually looking for people to intercede for lost.  It is not his desire that any would perish but that all would come to repentance. Repentance is more than just a change of actions but also of the mind and of the heart.

Illustration on repentance: One little girl saved up her money for weeks and weeks. She wanted to buy a pretty little plastic pearl necklace she had seen down at the store. At last, she had enough money to buy the necklace. She was so excited! Her Daddy took her down to the store so she could purchase the necklace of her dreams. She brought it home and paraded around in it proudly. That night, when her Daddy came in to kiss her goodnight, he asked her, “Selena, can I have your necklace?” Little Selena looked at her Daddy with a frown and said, “No, Daddy. It’s my necklace.” Her Daddy just smiled and kissed her and said, “I love you, Sweetie. Good night.” The next night the same thing happened. Her Daddy asked her if he could have her necklace, and her response was the same: “No, Daddy. I saved and saved and bought this with my own money.” Daddy just kissed her and said, “I love you, Selena. Good night.” On the third night, when her Daddy came in, Selena was sobbing, with big alligator tears streaming down her face. She handed her necklace to him and said, “Daddy, you can have it. I don’t need it anymore.” Her Daddy smiled and knelt down beside her and pulled her close for a great big Daddy hug. Then, he took her necklace and slipped it into his pocket. As he did, his hand came out with a thin black box with a velvety cover. He opened it and held it out to her. Her eyes got as big as saucers as she saw a string of real pearls shining back at her. “Oh Daddy,” she said. “Thank you, thank you! If I had known, I would have given you my necklace the first time you asked.”

Are you willing to let go of what seems so important to you? If you will, I can assure you that God has something 1000 times more wonderful than what you would be giving up.

Let it not be said of our generation that there was not a man or woman that was willing to stand in the gap. Living in Texas now I have learned that the weather is quite different from Southern California. We have rain that I call side ways rain. I was having an issue when water was flowing into the house via my downstairs living room windows. I could not find the source until I looked up and I could see it flowing down from above. It was the brick ledge from above and the cement between the bricks had breached. It was necessary to get on the roof and seal the gap in the bricks and immediately the gaps were closed and the flood into my downstairs living room stopped. Now every time it rains I go to check if it is still holding and it is. So it is as we stand in the gap for others, we must consistently check that the enemy does not have the ability to slip in. We must utilize the armor the Apostle Paul spoke about in Ephesians chapter 10. Paul spoke about us having the shield of Faith.  The Roman soldiers would  put their shields together so there were no gaps and the enemies swords or arrows could not penetrate, because their unity prevented it. 

Hearing the LORD is not only imperative for ourselves but also for our loved ones. We may be the breach that is allowing the flood to come upon our family at times. So remember to always look up and watch for breaches.

How many times in this life’s journey have we looked for people to help us and there was no one. I heard a pastor of a mega church give his testimony of going through a very difficult time in his life. He was able to speak with  Dr. Myles Munroe and during the time he confided in Dr. Munroe he noted that Myles was just smiling. He found out why when he finished and Dr. Munroe said essentially, when all you have left is Jesus then your in the best place you can be.

You see it is when we run out of people to help us, to listen, to depend on then we are in the best place we can be.

It was not the city of Jerusalem, or Mount Zion or Mount Moriah that saved the people of Israel. But it was in their time and still today the creator of heaven and earth that is the savior of us all.

Man in all his wisdom and knowledge has failed miserably in providing answers to the complex questions of this generation. The only answers are found in the Word of God. The enemy has sown so much discord in this world like never before.

James 3:16 reads: For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work. The greek word for strife is eritheia meaning electioneering or intriguing for office. It comes when there is a desire to put one’s self forward, a partisan and fractious spirit which does not disdain low arts.

It is obvious that when men and women strive to ascend they do not count the cost and pain it may cause others. Being raised in the church I have seen when people fight and claw their way for position.

There is a lack of humbleness and humility in our time. The powerful ministries of the past were the result of men and women remaining humble before the Lord in all their ways. When the church returns to the place of humble hearts before God we will see the revival many are preaching about in our time.

We will not be saved by institutions or government programs. Billions of dollars have been spent and we have not seen a dime of deliverance. There must come a time where not only the church but our nation once again looks up and remembers that God is our helper. We must again put our trust in him and him alone.

God Hears us Prayer Scriptures for week two.  1 John 5:14, James 5:16, Proverbs 15:29, 1John 5:14-15, James 4:3, Mark 11:24, Proverbs 28:9, Psalms 66:18, Psalms 34:15, 1John 3:22, John 9:31, Matthew 21:22, Isaiah 65:24,

 

III. God holds us in his hands. (week three)

Psalm 121:  3 reads: He will not suffer thy foot to be moved; he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. The hebrew word used for “he will not suffer” is nathan meaning that he will not grant, permit, bestow, delivered up. God is not letting the enemy have his way with us. God is for us and not against us and wants us to stand strong.

The Apostle Paul speaks to us about the armor of God and in Ephesians 6:11 and writes “that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. This is the trickery, deceit and cunning art. Verse 15 tells us to have our feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The roman soldier had his military sandals fit with hobnails so they could have traction when marching on in combat. We have been given the Word of Truth to stand on and this keeps us from being swayed and moved easily.

One of my favorite psalms is found in Psalms 1:3. When we were children we would sing about being trees planted by the water that could not be moved.

KJV Psalm 1:1 Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. 2 But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. 3 And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.

In Psalms 121 verses 3 and 4 the writer repeats to us that the Lord does not slumber. This is repeated for our benefit as when we are in the times of testing the enemy would have us believe that God has forgotten us or that perhaps he is to busy for us. This is not the case as we know that not even a strand of hair leaves us that the Lord is not aware of.

God Holds us Prayer Scriptures for week three : Isaiah 41:10, Philippians 4:19, John 3:16, Proverbs 18:10, 2 Timothy 1:7, 1 Corinthians 10:13, John 14:27, Zephaniah 3:17,Proverbs 3:5-6, Psalms 27:1, 1 Chronicles 16:11

IV. God is our Covering. (week four)

Psalm 121:5 reads: The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.

As we continue on this life’s journey we can remember that we have covering. God is the covering that keeps us from being smitten by the heat of the day. He is our covering as he also covered the people of Israel being a cloud by day. Without his covering the people would have died in the wilderness. It is in the day that we work in the vineyard of the Lord. Jesus said in John 9:41 I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night cometh, when no man can work.

God will not let the bearing sun by day nor the moon by night to smite you. God has a plan for your life as we read in Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, ((both day and night and God does not sleep or slumber) saith the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.

The words in this scripture “towards you” come from the hebrew ne’um meaning: utterance, declaration, revelation. 

All of God’s thoughts for us are found in his utterances, his declarations and revelations he has given us in his Word. Many times we allow the words of others to define us, to label us and this should not be the case. The devil’s oldest tricks is to get us to believe that God is against us. To believe the words of others more than heavens declarations about who we are in Christ.

We are the head and not the tail, we are from above and not beneath. We can really do all things through Christ who strengthens us. Greater is he in us that he that is in the world. Stop chasing after all that the world is offering as these are just temporal things.

Jesus said: Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: Matthew 6:19. I was attending a church sometime back that was only focused on money, money and more money.

There were very few altar calls, few baptisms, few messages about Jesus and his power. Vain glory was rampant. My soul has grieved over and over again and I had to leave.

God is coming for a church without spot and wrinkle. A church that is preaching the full counsel of God. Not a church that is compromising with religious babylon.

The Apostle Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit: Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you, II Corinthians 6:17.

God Covers us Prayer Scriptures for week four : Psalms 5:12, Proverbs 28:13, Hebrews 2:14, Proverbs 10:12, Psalms 91:3, 1 Peter 1:18-19, Psalm 28:7, Psalm 32:7, Romans 3:25,

V. God is our Banner (week 5)

Psalm 121:8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

Solomon said: And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or come in. ! Kings 3:7.

Going out and coming in referred to the times of going to battle and returning from battle.

Both times there was praise made to the Lord for his eternal protection. Verse 8 tells us God will preserve us going to the battle and when we return from this time and even for evermore.

We can truly say and Romans 8:37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.

God our Banner Prayer Scriptures for week five : Exodus 17:15, Song of Solomon 2:4, Psalm 20:5, John 1:1-5, Isaiah 11:12, John 8:32, Isaiah 7:14.