Today could be the last time that I
ever preach to you. Today could be the last time
that you ever hear me preach. None of us are promised tomorrow. With that in mind, I want to
ask you, who are yet without Christ, a question. It's a matter
of life and death. Has God shown you that you're
sick? Sick with sin. Has God shown
you that you're needy? Sick people are needy people. One time in the book of Mark,
we found the scribes and the Pharisees and they saw our Lord
eat with publicans and sinners. And they said unto His disciples,
not the word Christ Himself could hear them, but they said, and
I can just almost hear the tone of their voice, how is it that
He eateth and drinketh with publicans and sinners? But Jesus heard it. I don't know
if he heard it with his audible ear or he heard it in his heart
as God. Many times it says he perceived
their thoughts. He knew what they were thinking. And he said unto them these words,
he said, they that are whole, whole, have no need of a physician. No need, but they that are sick. So are
you sick? He said, those that are sick,
they need a physician. He said, I came not to call the
righteous, those that are well in their own sight, those that
are whole in their own eyes. But I've come to call sick, needy
sinners to repentance. This verse, our Lord compares
sinners to being sick. And that is true. We have a dreaded
disease called sin. We inherited it from our father
Adam. And we're in bad shape. Why it
attacks the heart. It attacks the mind. It attacks
all man's actions. It's a dreaded disease. Worse
than leprosy of old. Worse than cancer today. This dreaded disease of sin will
send you to hell. For the wages of sin is death. Now those that think themselves
to be well are nothing but self-righteous and they'll perish in their sins
unless they repent, have a change of heart. That's what the word
repent means, to change one's mind. And we know that God has
to grant that repentance or a man will never, ever change his mind
concerning himself. Well, the divine intervention
of God, it caused a man not only to change his mind, but it caused
him to take sides with God against himself every time. Those that think themselves to
be whole, those that are whole have no need. The most important thing that
you could have this morning is a need. a need of Christ. Has God shown you a desperate
need? There's that woman with the issue
of blood. I think about her often. She'd spent all that she had
on doctors. And the Scriptures say, but grew
worse. Friends, until you come to Christ,
You'll grow worse. You'll grow worse. Well, I know
that sin is sin, and there's no little sins and big sins,
but you'll go further and deeper into your sinful condition. She grew worse. She spent all
she had, but grew worse. For 12 long years, she spent
everything she had on every physician that she could find. She went
to all of them. It wouldn't be an overstatement
to say that she was desperate, had a desperate need. She was out of options. She was
out of money. But she heard about one, one who went about healing the
sick and helping the hopeless. She heard. Have you seen, honestly, I want
to be as sincere with you as I can. Have you seen that without
Christ you're hopeless? And my second question is to
those of you who trust Christ. Do you still need help? Have you arrived at perfection? Have you overcome all your sin? Have you overcome all your troubles?
Has your life become a bed of roses since you first trusted
Christ? I wish I could say mine has,
but truthfully it hasn't. My sin, though forgiven, still
plagues me every day. That's forgiven, but it's still
ever before me and so easily besets me. All
my struggles, all my troubles, every battle I have, within comes
from this sin that so easily besets me. All of it comes from
that one thing, that dreaded disease. I'm sure that there'd be some
TV preachers who would tell me that I'm not living a victorious
life. But my victory is in Christ who loved me gave Himself for me. But no child of God, friends,
will live his or her days without troubles and trials. This is
the purpose of God and it's given to wean us from this world and
to cause us to become more dependent upon Christ our Lord. I suppose if God wanted to be
just absolutely merciful to us. He'd save us and then kill us.
Take us on home right then. But that's not the way he generally
does things, is it? No, we're in this world, but
we're not of it. But we have to deal with it and
the struggles that come with it and the sin that we live with
day in and day out. I'm a troubled man. I'm not going
to lie to you. Thank God I have him to look
to. But I'm not without troubles. Wherefore, seeing we also are
compassed about with so great a cloud of witness, let us lay
aside every weight and the sin which does so easily beset us,
and let us run with patience the race that is set before us."
Have you ever thought about that? How do I lay aside every weight
and the sin that so easily beset? And that word is a simple word.
It means troubled. Troubled. every sin that so easily troubles
me." How does a man run with patience? Well, the key to that
is this. If you're in a race, do you patiently
run? But you see, in this race that
the Rite of Hebrews talks about, the prize is not to finish first. The prize is to finish. So we
run with patience. We must run with patience. So the answer to the lost that
I asked and the answer to the believer who still struggles
with trouble is the same. Now I want you to turn with me
to Psalm 121. And I'm going to endeavor to
be very brief today and get directly to the heart of the matter. Psalm
121, just eight verses. We're only going to look at four
of them. What is the answer to the lost
man who is still without Christ? What is the answer to the man
who trusts in Christ but is still troubled and easily beset by
the sin that plagues him day in and day out? Only one answer. It always is,
isn't it? Just one way, one answer, one
life. Verse 1 of Psalm 121, I will
lift up mine eyes unto the hills. from whence cometh my help."
Now, if I'm in trouble, I need help. I desperately needed help
before the Lord saved me, and I still desperately need help
every day. As I said, my sin is forgiven
in Christ, but still present with me until I receive that
glorified, sinless body that He's promised me. In Christ, I have peace, but
there's still a war that goeth on within my members. Do you
know something about that war? Keep your place here. Turn with
me quickly to Romans chapter 7. Romans chapter 7, verse 18. And this is the Apostle Paul
writing this. And he says in verse 18, he says, For I know that in me that is
in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, for it is present with
me. But how to perform that which
is good I find not. For the good that I would, I
do not, but the evil which I would not, that I do." Does that sound
familiar to anybody else here? I want to do what's right, and
most every time I wind up doing the wrong thing. There's things
I don't want to do, and yet, I wind up doing them. Verse 20, now, if I do that,
I would not, it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth
in me. So I find then a law that when
I would do good, evil is present with me. I need help. For I delight
in the law of God after the inward man, but I see another law in
my members, warring against the law of my mind and bringing me
into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members,
O wretched man that I am." Now does Paul say, O wretched man
that I was? Did he know Christ when he wrote
this? Absolutely. He wrote this to
the churches. All the epistles were written
to believers. Paul was one of the most used
men of God after his conversion. But he says, O wretched man that
I am. Oh, men and women who think that
once they're saved, they are new creatures in Christ. Old
things are passed away and behold, all things have become new. But
let me tell you something, in themselves, wretched. Oh, wretched man that I am. And
he asked this question, who shall deliver me from the body of this
death? I'll look up mine eyes. unto the heels. Whence cometh
my help? That's right. I thank God. He says in verse
25, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Better look up. That's where our help comes from.
Whence cometh my help? I look to heaven That holy heel
for my health, because that is where my health comes from. Lifting up your eyes, according
to the old writers, is a gesture of prayer to the sovereign God. When Lazarus died, you probably
remember the story, they took away that stone from the place
where he was laid, and the Lord Jesus lifted up his eyes, and
he said, Father, I thank Thee that Thou hast heard me. In John
17-1, when he prayed in the garden, it says, And these words spake
Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, Father,
the hour is come. Glorify Thy Son. that thy son
may glorify thee." To lift up your eyes in prayer, friends,
it's an expression of confidence, expectation of receiving the
help that's so desperately needed. Oh, sinner, lift up your eyes
to the hills, that holy hill. That's where your help comes
from. Now, those that are ashamed,
Hopeless cannot look up They can't lift up their eyes or face
to God Ezra 9 6 says and said oh my god I am ashamed and blushed
to lift up my face to thee my god for our iniquities are increased
over our head And our trespass has grown up into the heavens.
Psalm 40 verse 12 says, For innumerable evils have compassed me, about
mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able
to look up. What about that old publican
in the temple? We love that story. I heard you
preach on it one time. It says that he stood far off,
would not what? Lift up so much his eyes, unto
heaven, but smote upon his breast. Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner."
But when the Lord is merciful to a sinner, that changes some
things. And now, through Christ our Lord,
we can come boldly into the throne of grace. We can look up high
into heaven, to that holy hill. But there's where our help comes
from. And we can still say, Lord, be merciful on me, a sinner.
But we're looking with expectation now, with confidence, with boldness,
that He is faithfully promised. He's faithfully promised. Look
at verse 2 in Psalm 121. My help cometh from the Lord. That makes all the difference
in the world, right there, doesn't it? My help cometh from the Lord,
which made heaven and earth. Now true help can only truly
come from one place. My help cometh where? From the
Lord. It doesn't say my help cometh
from the pastor. My help cometh from a preacher,
the Pope. My help cometh from the President.
No! comes from God and God alone. There's nothing that he cannot
do. That's what the psalmist is saying here. My help cometh
from the Lord. Now let me make sure you know
which Lord I'm talking about. He said, which made heaven and
earth. I hear a lot of people talk about
a Lord that don't sound like my Lord. You've heard that old
saying where two men say, I know Tyler Richards. Well, I know
Tyler, too. Yeah, Tyler, he played basketball. He's about 6'11", got blonde
hair. Oh, no, wait. Tyler, I know,
is not 6'11", got blonde hair. We're talking about two different
Tylers, two different Tyler Richards. And me and other men, we're talking
about two different Lords. And you know what? It don't take
long for them to describe their Lord before I realize they're
not talking about the One that I trust and love and believe. And that's what the psalmist
is saying here, my help coming from the Lord. But now you make
sure you know which One. I'm talking about the One that
made heaven and earth. Why He made the heavens and the
earth. He spoke into existence everything
that is made. If our Lord God would speak the
Word, dear friends, it's accomplished. When our Lord spake to sickness
or to a devil, His will was immediately accomplished. How many times
in the Scripture do we read it says, and immediately He was
made whole. In the beginning, God created
the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and
void, and darkness was upon the face of the earth. And the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the earth, and God said, let there be light. And the Scripture
says these words, and there was light. It's the same words that's spoken
to a sinner's heart. Takes the same power. He spoke to that old cold dead
heart of mine one day and he said, let there be light. And
you know what? There was light. Did I have to let him have his
way and his will for the light to shine? No, I didn't even know
what was going on. All of a sudden, I heard differently.
I saw differently. My heart was broken. God had
already done a work before I even knew there was a work done. You
go down to Genesis 1 verse 9, and God said, Let the waters
under the heaven be gathered together in one place, and let
the dry land appear. And it was so. And it was so. God said, and it was so. Verse
11, And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding
seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed
is in itself upon the earth. And it was so. God said, and
it was so. God said, and it was so. And
it's still the same today. God says, and it's so. Your will doesn't even play a
Didn't play any part in it. Remember that old bumper sticker,
God said it, I believe it? God said it. What was it? Help
me out. I can't remember now. God said it. Well, it doesn't matter if I
believe it or not. God said it, and it's so. God
said it, I believe it, and it's so. Something like that. Obviously,
that wasn't in my notes. But you get the gist of it. It
doesn't matter if I believe it or not. God said it, and it's
so. And it's so. And friends, that brings us great
encouragement, doesn't it? To expect help in Christ from
God since He's able to give it. God said it, so. Being the maker
of heaven and earth, what is it that He cannot do in heaven
and earth? since He's made them both. Why, He set up a throne of grace.
Now is that throne of grace for Him? No, it's for me, for you. Come boldly into the throne of
grace. Come with confidence, expectation,
freely, for Christ has made a throne of grace. Christ is our throne
of grace. Have we not time and time again
experienced His sovereign help? Oh, how many times has God done
for me, and then the next time, I doubt? Boy, I tell you, there's
something wrong with me. I'm a man of trouble. That's what Job said, isn't he?
A man's full of trouble. All his days, just full of trouble. But friends, we can be confident
of this very thing, that that which he hath begun, a good work
in you, in you, will perform it. Doesn't say
might. Doesn't say could. Says will
perform it unto the day of Jesus Christ. Philippians 1.6. You
look at it on your own time. That's what it says. Okay, verses
three and four of 121. He will not suffer thy foot be
moved. He that keepeth thee will not
slumber. Behold, he that keepeth Israel
shall neither slumber nor sleep. Well, let's first deal with the
first part of that. John Gill rightly said, the Lord
keeps the feet of His saints from falling. He won't suffer
them to be moved out of the spiritual state in which they stand. Now
you think about that for a moment. How can they be moved off the
sure foundation? How can they be moved from the
rock of ages, the solid rock? Why, He has His sovereign hands
on my ankles and He won't allow them to be moved. David said, He only is my rock
and my salvation. He's my defense and I shall not
be greatly moved. He said, in another place, but
as for me, my feet were almost gone, my steps had well nigh
slipped. In another place he says, though
he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth
him with his hand. Now listen, our feet may be moved,
but they're not going to be greatly moved. That's what he said. Our feet may be almost gone,
but they ain't gone. Never gone. And our steps may
well not slip, but we shall not fall, he said. For Christ is
our keeper. His hands is upon us. And though we may sometimes fall,
we shall not be utterly cast out. Isn't that what he said?
for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand." We have better hands than those
with the off state, I'll tell you that. Oh, the wakeful eyes
of the Lord our God. Oh, the providential care of
our sovereign King. And in reading this Psalm, we
see that word preserved, keep, keeper repeated many times. God
has Himself undertaken the work of keeping His people. That's
why it's ridiculous when men say, you believe one saved, always
saved. If God saved you, you better believe it. Why to say
that God could save us and we could somehow get away from Him
is blasphemy against God Almighty. If the Lord God of heaven and
earth saved you, you are always saved. No man can pluck Him from
my hand. So it says, I will give unto
them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them. out of my hand. My Father which
gave them me is greater than all." And men are going to think that
somehow or another God can save us and we can jump. Can you jump out of His hand? Well, that's ridiculous. You
can't jump out of a sovereign hand, I'll tell you that. And
no man can pluck you from a sovereign hand. He said, no man is able
to pluck them out of my Father's hand. And then he said these
words, I and my Father are one. We're one. Oh, that word keepeth, keeper,
preserve, they all come from the same word. called shamar. You know what it means? It means
to guard. It means to have charge of, protect,
reserve, restrain, to watch, retain, observe, to give heed,
and of course it means to keep and to preserve. Oh, you're in
good hands. Child of God, you're in good
hands. Oh, the shepherd, he keeps the sheep by feeding them, by
supplying all their needs, also by guarding them from all their
adversaries. He keeps the flock both by night
and by day. Even just an ordinary shepherd
takes great pains to take care and to preserve his sheep. How
much more shall the Lord Jesus Christ, who is that Great Shepherd, keep and preserve you, His sheep? How much more so? If you're one
of His sheep, one of the sheep of His pasture, let me tell you
something. You rest assured that He'll keep
and preserve you. You're well kept, well kept. For Christ is the good, great,
and chief shepherd. He does all things well, doesn't
he? He's faithful to the promise, so we can be assured that he
will securely keep all whom his Father has given him. What did
he say? He said, I won't lose a woman. I won't lose nothing. Oh, I tell you, God's eyes are
never weary of His people. I suppose that the most, I thought
about this, I suppose that the most loving of mothers, and there's
nothing cuter to me than a little toddler, little baby just learning
to goo-goo and ga-ga and smile and all that. And there's, you
see mothers that, you know, are just so proud and all, that's
a beautiful thing. But even the most loving of mothers, are at times glad when she can
put her children to bed and have a little quiet time
to herself. She at last grows weary of the
child's cute ways. Don't care how cute they are,
you grow a little weary after a while, don't you? She's willing
to let them go out of her sight for a while so that she can rest. But let me tell you something,
the Lord our God never grows weary or tired of his people. The old writer said, if some
of you had such children as God has, you would never be able
to endure their trying ways. None but the God of infinite
patience could bear with such a family as he has. He that keepeth thee will not
slumber." Isn't that what it says? Behold, he that keepeth
Israel shall not slumber or sleep. Now let me tell you this in closing.
God has never been so wearied and worried by us is to say,
I must go to sleep. They're wearing me out. My children,
I'm going to have to leave you to take care of yourselves. I
can't take any more. God has never, ever, ever done
that. He that keepeth thee will not
slumber. That's right. He's our great keeper. He won't
slumber or sleep. And they sing that beautiful
song, his eyes are on the sparrow. Well, let me tell you, if his
eyes are on the sparrow, they'll surely, surely be on his people. Matter of fact, Christ asked.
He said, are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? That's just
a little piece of money. And yet will not one of them
fall to the ground without your Father knowing? the spare work
but just a little old piece of money and not one of them would
be shot, killed, or fall to the ground without the knowledge,
will, and pleasure of God. How much more so does He care
for His children? God's never forgetful of His
people, not for a single moment. Or we go to sleep at night And
I know people that have died in their sleep from fires and
tornadoes and all kinds of catastrophes. But God's never in such a state.
No, friends, He's always awake to show Himself strong and faithful
to those that trust Him. That's what this says, isn't
it? What a Keeper we have. God, our Keeper. Oh, I don't know why I'm so troubled
when I have a God like I have. May God help me not to be so
troubled. May God give us that confidence
and that boldness in knowing what? That He does all things
well. All things well. All things work
together for the good of those that love the Lord who are thee
called according to His purpose. Oh, Lord, this is rough. This
is a tough trial. It's for your good, God said. It's for your good. God help
us to believe it more.