Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast
Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast
Had It Not Been Yahweh
If you’ve ever whispered “I wouldn’t be here without God,” this conversation was made for you. We open Psalm 124 like a travel song for the soul, a chorus Israel sang on the road to Jerusalem to prepare their hearts before they ever stepped into the temple. That refrain—had it not been for the Lord—becomes a lens for gratitude that outlasts mood, headlines, and the week’s calendar.
We trace the psalm’s vivid images of threat and deliverance: enemies rising, waters rushing, and then the startling relief of escape like a bird from a snare. From there, we slow down on a crucial line: our help is in the name of the Lord. Name means reputation, the lived record of who God is. Abraham called him provider, Moses banner, David shepherd, Jeremiah righteousness, the sick healer. The many names unveil one character—faithful, present, unchanging. That’s where confidence is born, not in our resolve but in God’s track record.
We also explore God’s self-revelation to Moses—I am who I am—and how that anchors hope across past, present, and future. If God is I AM, then gratitude is more than a reaction to good news; it’s a practiced response to an unchanging character. We bring this home to personal stories of protection after accidents, provision in lean seasons, and quiet mercies that fill ordinary days. As we approach Thanksgiving, we invite you to count the escapes, name the blessings, and let memory prepare your heart before you arrive anywhere to worship.
If this encouraged you, follow the show, share it with a friend who needs hope today, and leave a review with one “But God” moment from your life. Your story might be the reminder someone else needs.
Good morning, everybody. The one hundred and twenty-fourth Psalm is where our text is this morning. Psalm one hundred and twenty-four. We'll read all its verses. Scripture says, Had it not been the Lord who was on our side, let Israel now see. Had it not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive. When the anger was kindled against us, then the waters would have engulfed us. The scream would have crept over our soul. Then the raging waters would have crept over our soul. Let be the Lord. Who has not given us to be torn by their teeth? Our soul has escaped as a bird out of the snail of the trapper. The snail is broken and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord who made heaven and earth. If you read that, say amen. And so the title of the sermon is It Had Been. The Lord. If I had time, I will take you through to Deuteronomy chapter number 16 and verse number 16, because from that passage, God tells Israel that three times out of the year they are to appear before him for Passover, for Pentecost, and for succor or the feast of booth. So three times out of the year, regardless of where you were located, it was your prerogative to go to Jerusalem to worship. While on their way to Jerusalem, while on this multiple-day pilgrimage to Jerusalem, as they got closer to Jerusalem, as they got closer to the Mount of God, as they got closer to the temple, Israel, the pilgrims would start singing songs. And the songs that they commonly sung were called songs of a set. This is one of those songs, and I wish I had time to tell you that this is one of those passages that helps us understand that you need to come to worship, prepared to worship. They did not come to worship and hope we sang all the right songs. They already were singing before they arrived at the temple. They were already singing songs, and the songs that they sang reminded them of who God was and what God did and their history. So it placed them in the right frame of mind to worship. Because they were already singing about their great God and how good he is and what he's done for them, it made worship easier. And so this song is one of the songs that they're singing as they're going to the temple. What's interesting to me is that the song begins with the phrase, had it not been for the Lord, had it not been that most of your Bibles have Lord and capital letters because they're calling his name. This is not just some generic God, this is not just some frivolous God, had it not been for Yahweh, and so it opens verse number one. Had it not been for Yahweh, and then it says, Let all of Israel say, Had it not been for Yahweh, before you say anything, before you do anything, the fact that this phrase is repeated twice is bringing or should bring to your mind that where you are now, wherever that is in life, is because of God Himself. That's what they're putting in the mind. Had it not been for the God of God's, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, had it not been for the creator of the heavens and the earth, had it not been for Yahweh, I would not be here even now. One of the first things that they mentioned, had it not been for Yahweh, our enemies would have won. Had it not been for Yahweh, and and the text says, Our enemies who rose up against us, they would have swallowed us whole. Now, if you're an Israelite, you have plenty enemies to think about. Don't miss this. Because this is a song of ascent, and because of when it's written, Exodus has already happened. The walls of Jericho have already fallen. The great battles that the judges engaged in have already taken place. Many of the historical facts we read in the Old Testament have already occurred. So when they say our enemies would have won, they could look back 500 years and say, We remember when we were in Egypt. We remember the slavery, we remember the beating, we remember we were there for 430 years. But God, oh, I wish I had a church. I remember that God, if it hadn't been for God, we would still be in Egypt. If it hadn't been for God, even after we left Egypt, when they came after us, we wouldn't have been saved. We remember when the Amalekites came against us, but God, we remember when the Jebusites came against us, but God, we remember when we went against Jericho and we had no weapons, but God. If it hadn't been for Yahweh, we could have been slaves somewhere else, sick or dead. But because Yahweh has been such an awesome God, because he has showed up and showed out, I could sing comfortably that Yahweh is not just God, he's my God, he's God who's made it possible because he's God who's been on my side. This is good. See, to be able to sing that the great God of heaven is on your side is a good thing to be able to say. That God who is conqueror, is ruler, is sovereign, is creator, is ally, is powerful, and because of our alliance, because he's been on my side, because he has fought for me, because he has healed, because he has delivered, because he has redeemed, because he has done all of these things, I am where I am today. But what that also means is had it not been for him, I wouldn't be where I am now. This is where they then said, our help is in the name of the Lord Himself. You all miss it. Watch this. They just said over and over, had it not been for Yahweh, things would have been different. So the conclusion is our health. I am who I am because of the name of the Lord. I am where I am because of the name of the Lord. I'm going to be wherever I'm going to be because of the name of the Lord. I don't worry about my enemies who rise up against me because my health is in the name of the Lord. I don't worry about what the doctor says to me because my health is in the name of the Lord. I'm not concerned about tomorrow or next week or next month because my health is in the name of the Lord. Watch this. This text is so specific. It does not say my help is the Lord. It says my help is in the name. Name comes from the Hebrew word shem and it means reputation. My help lies firmly in the reputation of who God is. Let me say that again. Your help, the reason why I'm confident, the reason why I don't worry about enemies, the reason why Israel could sing the song now, the reason why they don't worry about their future, the reason why they're confident and expectant and anticipating is because of the reputation of God. Well, what's his reputation? It depends. If you're asking Abraham, his reputation is he's Jehovah Jirah, the God who provides. If you're asking Moses when they were fighting their first battle after the Exodus, then he's Jehovah Nisi, the Lord who's a banner over them. If you're asking David, David would say he's Jehovah Ra'ah, which means he's my shepherd. If you're asking Jeremiah, Jeremiah would say he's Jehovah Sidknu, he's our righteousness. If you're asking someone who got healed, he's Jehovah Rapha, our healer. You all get in this yet? It depends on who you're talking to. I am firm in the fact that my help is in his character, but his character is multifaceted. So that many of us should know his character as healer, as provider, as protector, as deliverer, as our all-in-all, and that is where my confidence is in that he is whatever he is for whatever I need. When Moses came to him and asked him, Who do I tell Israel and Pharaoh you are? When they asked, Who's the God that sent you? God responded by saying, I am who I am. This is a weird expression because it could also be translated, I was who I was, I am who I am, and I will be what I will be. Why does God use such a weird expression to describe himself? I'm glad you asked. So he was what he was, he is who he is, and he will be what he will be. I need to believe that, so that as I pray, as I seek God, as I worship, I'm worshiping him because he is who he is, and who he is is everything I need him to be at the time that I need him to be, so that you could think about yourself right now, and you could recognize that there was a time where you needed provision and he was your provider. There was times where you needed someone to talk to, and he was your listening ear. There was times where you needed healing and he was the great physician. There was times where you needed protection and he was your protector. You have seen the character of God in multiple ways. And if you missed it, there's a psalm that says, He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake, for his reputation, he's doing what he's doing on the basis of his reputation because he claimed to be the I am that I am, if he does not be the I am that he is, he's no longer God. I know that didn't sound grammatically correct, but let's see if we can still navigate it. He announced himself to us as I am that I am. What that means then, he must always be, and if there ever is a point where he is not, he's no longer God, because he claimed to be, always is. Doesn't make good grammar sense, but it makes good God sense that he is, and so this is what they're celebrating. Our help is in the name of Yahweh, and so they could confidently then say, Blessed be Yahweh, bless be, praise to Yahweh. I want to remind you, they're not in the church house yet, they're not in the sanctuary. John hasn't gotten up here to sing yet, they're on their way to church, and on their way to church, they're just thinking, God is so good, he's been so good to me. I was down and out, but he led me by his hand. I need to praise him because of who he is and because of what he's done in my life. That's the psalm. Some of you may ask, well, why are we talking about Psalm 124 on today? Um I'm you're asking all the right questions. We are in a week of celebratory expression, a week that has the name of Thanksgiving, and I wanted to give you a theological lens by which I want you to approach Thanksgiving for the next few days. And it's one that has this song in your mind where you are now saying to yourself, had it not been for Yahweh, had it not been for the Lord on my side, I would have been in a different situation. Is where your thankfulness is where your praise is where your gratitude is now rooted. It's now rooted in the fact that you are saying, had it not been for the Lord on my side, that last doctor's report may have been the end of me. That last hospital visit may have been the end of me. That accident last year, that downfall, that situation, but it's very reminding yourself: here's what you're doing. Had it not been for Yahweh, I might not have made it out of 2020. Had it not been for Yahweh, I wouldn't have been blessed as I am right now. Had it not been for Yahweh, I wouldn't, even though things are not perfect, I could still see his hand. Had it not been for the Lord who's on my side. Now you're looking at me funny. I just believe there's some people inside here who could be able to celebrate the goodness of God because they've seen him day after day, week after week, month after month. I just believe there's someone here who's thankful that God heard their cry sometime at night. They're thankful that God would have healed when they asked for him to be a healer. I'm just thankful because I know there's someone inside here who knew that the food they have on the table was provided by God Himself. Thank you for saying amen, Jamie. But I'm sure we could relate that we too could be saying, had it not been for Yahweh on my side, had it not been for the Lord on my side, I may not have been here. Let me let me let me talk about me for two seconds because y'all don't want to be honest about you. So let me start most recent and go back. Had it not been for Yahweh, I would not have been in Mineral Springs. Had it not been for Yahweh on my side, I may not have been on my own two legs walking now after an accident a year and five months ago. Had it not been for Yahweh on my side, there are times where I was delinquent as a prodigal son, but somehow I was still blessed. Had it not been for Yahweh, I wouldn't be able to say my sins are forgiven, I'm redeemed, justified, and sanctified in Christ Jesus. Had it not been for Yahweh, the times where I asked him to provide me bread, I wouldn't have had bread. Had it not been for Yahweh, my story would have been different. I could go on and on had it not been, had it not been, had it not been. Because he's proven himself to be an awesome God. And so you could be thankful for the turkey and the dressing and the hands that prepared it. I'm not saying don't be. You could be thankful for the family that's around the table and everything else that goes into the festivities and celebrations of this week. But I also want you to recognize had it not been for the Lord, none of this would be possible. You are where you are now because of God, even if things aren't great with you, you need to understand they could have been worse, but they're not worse because of God. That diagnosis could have gone differently, that surgery could have gone differently, had it not been for the Lord on our side, things could have been so much different with us, and so this song of assent is fitting even for us now, over the next few days, that you don't lose sight of the bigger picture, that God is our everything, has been, is, and will be, and because of who God is and what he's done, we should be immensely grateful, first and foremost for him, what he has allowed us to have in Christ Jesus, and then every other blessing, and mindful that Ephesians 1, verse number 3 tells us blessed be God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. You're blessed right now, whether you realize it or not, you're blessed, and you're blessed because God is on your side. Let's all stand, let's all stand. Don't sing yet, let's just stand. We aren't always grateful for God and His goodness in our lives because it's easier for us to see the clouds, the calamities, the negativity. It's easy for me to see that my back is hurting today. It's easy for me to see that my tonsils are acting up and they haven't acted up in a while. It's easy for me to see, you know, that the car isn't functioning as it should. It's easy for me to see, you know, the dysfunction in family, it's easy for me to see all the errors. It's easy for me to see all the things not good. But even in the midst of what you think is a whole lot of not goodness, is still the goodness of God. And if you can't find it, if you can find one good thing to say thank you, God for, I'll give you what? In spite of everything that is going on right now that you're complaining about, God gave you the breath to complain. If you can find one good thing, there it is. God has given you the breath to complain about how bad things are. But if you just stop and count your blessings, name them, it will surprise you what God has done. So today's a good day to count your blessings because had it not been for the Lord, your story would be so much different. Let's say.