Dave Hentschel: So now before our guest speaker comes this morning, a brief word of introduction.
Dave Hentschel: We have the privilege of hearing a message from our own uh Frank Donnaruma, who's a church member here.
Dave Hentschel: Frank is from New Jersey, grew up in Piscataway in a close-knit Italian-American family.
Dave Hentschel: He and his wife Kathy recently celebrated 50 years of marriage.
Dave Hentschel: Let's congratulate them on their 50 years.
Dave Hentschel: Awesome.
Dave Hentschel: They have been blessed with three adult sons, three daughters-in-law, eight grandchildren.
Dave Hentschel: Frank is a veteran with the United States Air Force.
Dave Hentschel: He spent about the last 40 years or so, though, uh serving the Wachung and Central New Jersey communities through his chiropractic practice.
Dave Hentschel: So he's our something that's borrowed today.
Dave Hentschel: We're going to borrow him from the professional realm and we're going to use him in the ministry context this morning.
Dave Hentschel: Frank has a long and accomplished professional life, but there's another story that he considers to be far more important, and that is his relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Dave Hentschel: Frank has come to understand that Christianity is not simply about religious observance, but about a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Dave Hentschel: And in recent years, he's become increasingly involved in Bible teaching, men's ministry, mentorship, discipleship, and Christian mentoring.
Dave Hentschel: One of the convictions that has shaped his ministry is the reality that conversion is just the beginning of the Christian life, not the conclusion.
Dave Hentschel: That's really the heart of discipleship, isn't it?
Dave Hentschel: That Jesus calls us to believe in him, but then he also calls us to follow him and to obey him and ultimately to become increasingly more like him.
Frank Donaruma: Alright, it's good to be with you here this morning and be able to share God's word.
Frank Donaruma: What a privilege and an honor.
Frank Donaruma: And, you know, as this is the second time I'm doing the message.
Frank Donaruma: In the first service, I thought Dave was going to say, I was the old, but he made me the borrowed.
Frank Donaruma: So I really appreciate that very, very much.
Frank Donaruma: So thank you for that.
Frank Donaruma: You know, as you heard, this whole service is centered around Psalm 121, and that's what we're going to be discussing today.
Frank Donaruma: It's a wonderful psalm, which I'm sure many of you, you know, are very familiar with.
Frank Donaruma: But I'm hoping that we can dig a little deeper into this psalm today and glean something that will really bless our lives, not only now, but for the future as well.
Frank Donaruma: You know, when I started to prepare this message, I remembered an incident that happened to me and my granddaughter Kayla when she was about three or four years old.
Frank Donaruma: She's now 20 years old.
Frank Donaruma: And the wonderful thing is, and I know you're gonna appreciate that, guess who just texted me?
Frank Donaruma: Kayla just texted me and said, I'm praying for you, Poppy.
Frank Donaruma: So, I mean, what a blessing to have grandchildren that are praying for you.
Frank Donaruma: But I remember when she was three or four years old, um, my wife and I would often take all of our grandkids into New York City at one time or another.
Frank Donaruma: Because New York City is just a plethora of culture.
Frank Donaruma: And so we used to like to go to the zoo, the museums, to plays, uh, just walk around Central Park.
Frank Donaruma: We just love taking the kids into New York City, but we never drove into New York City.
Frank Donaruma: We always used to take the train.
Frank Donaruma: And the reason we took the train is because of the crowds and the traffic and all of that.
Frank Donaruma: But I remember this particular day when we were going into the city, um, I was holding Kayla's hand, and she's just a wee little thing, and I was holding her hand, and we were about to step on the train, but she says, Papa, you don't need to hold my hand.
Frank Donaruma: I'm I'm not an adult now, I'm old.
Frank Donaruma: I said, You're not old, I'm holding your hand.
Frank Donaruma: And wouldn't you know, just as we were about to step onto the train, you know that space between the platform and the actual car?
Frank Donaruma: Wouldn't you know she slipped and she fell right into it?
Frank Donaruma: And here I am, holding her by the hand, and she's dangling in that space, and I just lifted her out, set her up, and then we got on the train.
Frank Donaruma: But I thought of that and I said, wow, what a picture of Psalm 121.
Frank Donaruma: I'll tell you, while I was holding her, it was a little scary, but I'll tell you this: she was my most precious possession, and there was no way I was ever gonna let her go.
Frank Donaruma: I was holding on to her as strongly as I could because I knew I was her keeper, I was her protector.
Frank Donaruma: And that's what Psalm 121 is all about.
Frank Donaruma: You know, even when I was holding her, though, later on I began to think of my own journey.
Frank Donaruma: And when I was holding her in that moment, there's probably been many times during the course of my life where I felt like I was the one slipping into that dark, unknown space, looking for either a fatherly or maybe even a grandfatherly hand just to catch me.
Frank Donaruma: So let me ask you guys today: have you ever felt that way?
Frank Donaruma: Have you ever slipped into a health crisis?
Frank Donaruma: Have you ever slipped into losing your job?
Frank Donaruma: Have you ever slipped into a situation where your prodigal child is so far from home?
Frank Donaruma: Have you ever slipped and recognized your need for a hand and reach out and catch you?
Frank Donaruma: Well, if you have, I have great news for you today, because today that's what Psalm 121 is all about.
Frank Donaruma: My friends, Psalm 121 is a psalm for people just like you and me who need to know that we serve a God who is the one holding on to us even when we feel like we're slipping and we're falling.
Frank Donaruma: Another reason I chose Psalm 121 was because it reminded me a lot of our Heavenly Father, the God who keeps both you and me.
Frank Donaruma: It reminded me of the God who I've entrusted my whole life to and helped me walk through life in both the good times and the bad times.
Frank Donaruma: It reminded me of the God whose love, mercy, and grace were demonstrated through the life, death, and resurrection of his only Son, Jesus Christ.
Frank Donaruma: My friends, I'll say it again.
Frank Donaruma: Psalm 121 is a psalm for people just like you and me who need to know this: that God is the one holding on to us, not the other way around.
Frank Donaruma: I'll say it again.
Frank Donaruma: God is the one holding on to us, not the other way around.
Frank Donaruma: So before we unpack this psalm, let's pray.
Frank Donaruma: Just add God's blessing on our day and this message and um and just commit it to Him.
Frank Donaruma: So would you pray with me?
Frank Donaruma: Father, I just thank you for this opportunity to be your spokesman today.
Frank Donaruma: Lord, you know that I need your anointing, your unction, your power, because by myself I am only a man.
Frank Donaruma: But when power comes from on high, Lord God, you can anoint anyone with a message.
Frank Donaruma: And so I ask you for that today.
Frank Donaruma: But I also ask you, Lord, for those that are listening, either here or online, that you would open their hearts and minds to receive something from this message that would not only bless them, that would challenge them and would make a difference in their lives.
Frank Donaruma: Lord, you are so good, you are so glorious, and you are so faithful.
Frank Donaruma: And I ask this all in Jesus' name.
Frank Donaruma: And God's people said, Amen.
Frank Donaruma: You know, before I start getting into this message, I was challenged this morning.
Frank Donaruma: Uh we have a men's prayer meeting that we do from 8 to 8:45 before every Sunday service, and the women, they do a similar one as well over in the family life building.
Frank Donaruma: And uh they're so good that they pray for all of you, but they also pray for me as well.
Frank Donaruma: And uh one of the guys in there challenged me and says, you know, if you're a really good speaker, I could pretty much give you any word and you should be able to fit it into the message.
Frank Donaruma: I said, Well, thanks, Vince.
Frank Donaruma: I really appreciate that.
Frank Donaruma: I said, What's the word?
Frank Donaruma: He said, watermelon.
Frank Donaruma: Pay attention.
Frank Donaruma: I'm gonna get it in here somehow, some way.
Frank Donaruma: I'm gonna get watermelon into this message.
Frank Donaruma: But anyway, Psalm 121 begins with a simple but a pr very profound line.
Frank Donaruma: It says, I lift my eyes to the hills.
Frank Donaruma: Where does my help come from?
Frank Donaruma: Now you see, this is a good line because this was part of what they call the songs of ascent, the Psalms of Ascent.
Frank Donaruma: It was sung by travelers making their way to Jerusalem.
Frank Donaruma: And the journey was long, and at times it was very dangerous.
Frank Donaruma: These hills were places where thieves hid, where wild animals lurked, and where travelers often felt extremely exposed.
Frank Donaruma: The sun was scorching by day, and the nights were cold, and the journey was very, very uncertain at times.
Frank Donaruma: But then what does the psalmist say next?
Frank Donaruma: He says, My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth.
Frank Donaruma: My friends, right here, this sets up the rest of the psalm where we will discover three truths about our heavenly Father.
Frank Donaruma: And the first truth we'll see in verses one and two, and that God is our creator and our help.
Frank Donaruma: And in the verses three to six, we'll see the second truth about our heavenly father, and that God is our constant keeper.
Frank Donaruma: And lastly, in verses seven and eight, we'll see that God is our lifelong guardian.
Frank Donaruma: So, with that in mind, let's attack.
Frank Donaruma: Let's look at verses one and two again and see that our Heavenly Father is our God, our creator, and our help.
Frank Donaruma: The psalmist here, he looks to the hills, as I had mentioned earlier.
Frank Donaruma: These were symbols of danger, they were symbols of uncertainty and fear.
Frank Donaruma: And then he asks, Where does my help come from?
Frank Donaruma: He doesn't deny the danger.
Frank Donaruma: He doesn't pretend the hills aren't there.
Frank Donaruma: He simply looks higher than the hills.
Frank Donaruma: He looks up.
Frank Donaruma: And here the psalmist uses the covenant word for God, the word Yahweh.
Frank Donaruma: It's the same God who revealed himself to Moses, who delivered Israel out of Egypt, who parted the Red Sea, who fed them when they were in the wilderness, who keeps his covenant with his people.
Frank Donaruma: My friends, this is not some generic deity that the other tribes and people were worshiping.
Frank Donaruma: This is the God who bound himself to his people.
Frank Donaruma: You know, I heard a story recently about a group of hikers who once attended, uh tried to uh climb a mountain in the Rockies, and the weather suddenly turned.
Frank Donaruma: It got really violent.
Frank Donaruma: The fog rolled in, the visibility dropped, and panic set in amongst all the hikers.
Frank Donaruma: But the guide, he remained calm through the whole ordeal.
Frank Donaruma: And one of the hikers asked him, Aren't you worried?
Frank Donaruma: Aren't you afraid?
Frank Donaruma: And the guide just looked at him and he said this.
Frank Donaruma: He said, You know what?
Frank Donaruma: He says, I have climbed this mountain hundreds of times.
Frank Donaruma: I know every rock, every turn, every nook, every cravice, every uh cliff.
Frank Donaruma: My friends, you may not see the path, but I see the path.
Frank Donaruma: You can trust me.
Frank Donaruma: And that's exactly what the psalmist is saying here.
Frank Donaruma: You might not see the way, but your God does.
Frank Donaruma: Amen.
Frank Donaruma: Your God does.
Frank Donaruma: So I ask you today, where do you look when the diagnosis comes back not as you had hoped for?
Frank Donaruma: When the job is uncertain, when the family is struggling, when the future feels foggy and you don't know where to turn next.
Frank Donaruma: My friends, we need to lift our eyes up.
Frank Donaruma: We need to lift our eyes up.
Frank Donaruma: Our help does not come from the hills.
Frank Donaruma: Our help does not come from the economy.
Frank Donaruma: Our help does not come from the government.
Frank Donaruma: Our help does not even come from our own strength.
Frank Donaruma: Our help comes from the Lord God Almighty.
Frank Donaruma: Amen?
Frank Donaruma: That's where our help comes from, the Lord God Almighty.
Frank Donaruma: So let's keep going.
Frank Donaruma: Let's look at verses 3 and 6, where the psalmist will reveal the next truth that we see about our Heavenly Father, and that God is our constant keeper.
Frank Donaruma: You see, the key word in this psalm is the word keep.
Frank Donaruma: Now, depending on what translation you have, it may appear in different English words, but the Hebrew word here is the word shamar.
Frank Donaruma: And the word shamar means to guard, it means to watch over, it means to protect, to preserve, uh, to attend to carefully.
Frank Donaruma: That is what this word means.
Frank Donaruma: And my friends, this is not ordinary language that the psalmist is using.
Frank Donaruma: This is, again, covenant language.
Frank Donaruma: God keeps his people because God keeps his promises.
Frank Donaruma: That's why we can trust God.
Frank Donaruma: So in verse 3, the psalmist opens up with this He helps keep our feet from slipping.
Frank Donaruma: Remember, the paths that these travelers walked were rocky and they were uneven.
Frank Donaruma: I might even suggest they were probably even more dangerous than a New Jersey transit platform.
Frank Donaruma: But for these pilgrims who traveled as families, a slip could be fatal.
Frank Donaruma: It's a real good picture of the ups and downs that we all experience in our lives and our faith walk as well.
Frank Donaruma: You see, in scripture, slipping feet symbolize some type of moral failure or spiritual instability or some type of lurking danger.
Frank Donaruma: But my friends, God does not promise us that we will never stumble.
Frank Donaruma: But what he does promise us is that we will never be abandoned by him.
Frank Donaruma: Amen?
Frank Donaruma: We will never be abandoned by him.
Frank Donaruma: He watches over every single step.
Frank Donaruma: You know, in the 1800s, there was a man named Charles Blondin, and he was famous because he walked across Niagara Falls on a tightrope.
Frank Donaruma: Can you imagine that?
Frank Donaruma: He walked across, and thousands, thousands of people would come to watch this marvelous feat.
Frank Donaruma: Well, one day he decided I'm gonna carry a man on my back and walk all the way across.
Frank Donaruma: Now, this was not some ordinary man or some random volunteer from the crowd.
Frank Donaruma: I mean, let's face it, who's volunteering for that?
Frank Donaruma: I know I'm not.
Frank Donaruma: I'd be scared spitless.
Frank Donaruma: I mean, I get I get dizzy and woozy when I'm watching a movie and they show you over a cliff.
Frank Donaruma: So there's no way I'm going in there.
Frank Donaruma: But you know who he carried on his back?
Frank Donaruma: His manager.
Frank Donaruma: He carried his manager on his back.
Frank Donaruma: And after the walk was complete, the people asked the manager, weren't you afraid?
Frank Donaruma: Weren't you kind of frightened?
Frank Donaruma: He says, not really.
Frank Donaruma: He says, Charles told me, just hold on.
Frank Donaruma: And all I had to do was hold on.
Frank Donaruma: He did all the balancing.
Frank Donaruma: And I just trusted him.
Frank Donaruma: He watches every step.
Frank Donaruma: And what a picture that is for us.
Frank Donaruma: God says, you do not have to balance your life alone.
Frank Donaruma: I am the one that will keep your feet from slipping.
Frank Donaruma: He then says in verse 4, he says, He who watches over you will neither slumber or sleep.
Frank Donaruma: You see, in ancient times, God's were believed to sleep.
Frank Donaruma: In fact, you know, as I was just meditating before the um the message and just listening to the music, God just put this on my heart.
Frank Donaruma: And I said, Yeah, I'll share that.
Frank Donaruma: You remember Elijah uh confronting the prophets of Baal?
Frank Donaruma: I don't know if you're familiar with that story, but Elijah, what a character he was.
Frank Donaruma: When the prophets of Baal couldn't conjure up their God, he started harassing them.
Frank Donaruma: And he says, What's the matter?
Frank Donaruma: You're God sleeping?
Frank Donaruma: He says, My God doesn't sleep.
Frank Donaruma: And I think that's the picture that the psalmist is trying to show us here is the picture that we see when we see Elijah taunting those prophets, saying, What's the matter?
Frank Donaruma: Does your God sleep?
Frank Donaruma: But you know what made the God of Israel different?
Frank Donaruma: Is he never dozed off.
Frank Donaruma: He never slept.
Frank Donaruma: One of the greatest comforts, I believe, for a follower of Jesus is knowing that God never takes a break from caring for his people.
Frank Donaruma: Psalm 121.4 reminds us, indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
Frank Donaruma: You see, unlike us, God never grows tired.
Frank Donaruma: He never becomes distracted.
Frank Donaruma: He never misses a moment of what's happening in our lives.
Frank Donaruma: And when you think about this, this is really mind-boggling, isn't it?
Frank Donaruma: When you think of a God who knows everything, I mean it's hard to comprehend the God that we serve.
Frank Donaruma: In fact, I think the average American Christian has a very, very diminished and weak view of the God that I worship and the God that's demonstrated through the Bible.
Frank Donaruma: I think the average American Christian thinks God's only just a little smarter than them.
Frank Donaruma: But God is way smarter than you.
Frank Donaruma: God is way smarter than me.
Frank Donaruma: This is the immaterial God that transcends time, space, and matter.
Frank Donaruma: This is the God who not only created the universe, but he created billions of universes outside our own.
Frank Donaruma: Is it too much to think that God knows the number of hairs on our head?
Frank Donaruma: This is the God who says that he's the Alpha, the Omega, the beginning and the end.
Frank Donaruma: This is the God who shows love and mercy through his son, Jesus Christ, and pays the penalty so that we might be reconciled back to him.
Frank Donaruma: That's the God that I serve.
Frank Donaruma: What's the God that you serve?
Frank Donaruma: I want to serve that God, not the American God.
Frank Donaruma: I want to serve the biblical God.
Frank Donaruma: Amen?
Frank Donaruma: Amen.
Frank Donaruma: You know, it is mind-boggling, but we, we're mortal.
Frank Donaruma: We need to sleep.
Frank Donaruma: Our bodies are limited, but God is unlimited in power.
Frank Donaruma: He's unlimited in wisdom and he's unlimited in attention.
Frank Donaruma: You know, it reminds me of a story in the New Testament where Jesus and the disciples were in the boat during a massive storm.
Frank Donaruma: And all these seasoned fishermen, they were terrified while Jesus appeared to be sleeping in the back of the boat.
Frank Donaruma: Yet even then, the Son of God was fully aware of their situation and he was completely in control.
Frank Donaruma: In the same way, there are times in our lives when God seems silent, when he seems like he's not there, but he is never absent.
Frank Donaruma: He is never absent.
Frank Donaruma: He is constantly keeping us.
Frank Donaruma: Perhaps today you're carrying a burden that keeps you awake at night, a health concern, a family struggle, a financial need, or the uncertainty about the future.
Frank Donaruma: My friends, this verse reminds us that while we may lie awake worrying, God is awake watching over us.
Frank Donaruma: The one who holds the universe together is also keeping watch over all of his creation.
Frank Donaruma: And because God never sleeps, we can rest.
Frank Donaruma: Because God never stumbles and slumbers, we can trust.
Frank Donaruma: Our security is not found in our ability to control circumstances, but in God's faithful care for us.
Frank Donaruma: I'll say it again.
Frank Donaruma: Our security is not found in our ability to control circumstances, but in God's faithful care for all of us.
Frank Donaruma: It's amazing when you really think that how important it is to understand that, because we are going to go through trials, we are going to go through difficult times, but we need to reinforce the fundamentals of our faith that God is who he says he is.
Frank Donaruma: As we continue in verse 5 and 6, the uh psalmist says, The Lord is our keeper, the Lord is our shade at our right hand, the sun shall not strike us by day, nor the moon by night.
Frank Donaruma: In verse 5 and 6, the psalmist gives us a beautiful picture of God's personal care for his people.
Frank Donaruma: And he uses imagery that would have really resonated with the Jewish people at that time.
Frank Donaruma: You see, here the image of shade was especially meaningful in the hot climate of Israel.
Frank Donaruma: You see, in some places, the average temper temperature would get over 90 to 100 degrees.
Frank Donaruma: And travelers often journeyed under a blazing sun that could exhaust them, weaken them, and even threaten their lives.
Frank Donaruma: You see, shade for them was not merely a comfort, it was a protection.
Frank Donaruma: And I really identified with that particular part of this verse more than anything this year.
Frank Donaruma: For those of you that do know me, my without any question, my biggest passion in life is following Jesus Christ.
Frank Donaruma: There is no question about that.
Frank Donaruma: But then I have a second passion that I have to guard against is being idle in my life, and that's golf.
Frank Donaruma: Because I like to play a lot of golf.
Frank Donaruma: Who have golfers in here?
Frank Donaruma: If you're a golfer, raise your hand.
Frank Donaruma: You're a golfer?
Frank Donaruma: Well, we'll get, we'll connect, baby.
Frank Donaruma: We'll connect.
Frank Donaruma: So, anyway, I love to play golf, but I'm stupid.
Frank Donaruma: I'm just a stupid golfer.
Frank Donaruma: Golfer is a game where you kind of get addicted to it and you want to play all the time.
Frank Donaruma: And I don't know about you, but this has been one of the hottest summers on record for New Jersey.
Frank Donaruma: I mean, it has been in the hundreds, uh, the mid-100s, the teen 100s, and so stupid Frank on one of those hot 100 days, decides, I'm gonna play Warren Brook Golf Course.
Frank Donaruma: And if you've never played Warren Brook Golf Course, it's right around the corner here.
Frank Donaruma: It's really hilly, it's really tight, and that day the heat index was 110.
Frank Donaruma: So my wife, who tell who cares for me very, very well, that's why we've been married 50 years, she says, Frank, you should take a cart.
Frank Donaruma: I'm too tough for a cart.
Frank Donaruma: I'm go, I'm walking.
Frank Donaruma: And the reason I walk is because I have a remote control cart, so I just press a button and it follows me around.
Frank Donaruma: So it's usually a really nice walk.
Frank Donaruma: But on this day, it was not a nice walk.
Frank Donaruma: It was a horrendous walk.
Frank Donaruma: I got through six holes and I literally was nauseous, I was uneasy, I felt like I was gonna faint, and the only thing I wanted to do was find some shade.
Frank Donaruma: I wanted to find a bench with some shade just so I can recompose myself.
Frank Donaruma: And the and it wasn't a problem because I was the only stupid one on the course that day.
Frank Donaruma: So I did.
Frank Donaruma: I found this bench with a nice shade, I got hydrated, and after about 10 minutes, I got my my second wind back and I finished the round.
Frank Donaruma: But I want you to understand that was just a bunch of trees and a bench.
Frank Donaruma: However, here the psalmist says that God Himself is our shade.
Frank Donaruma: Some tree or bench.
Frank Donaruma: And I want you to notice here this too that God says God doesn't merely provide shade like a tree.
Frank Donaruma: He says the Lord is our shade.
Frank Donaruma: God is not distant from our struggle.
Frank Donaruma: He is personally present in them.
Frank Donaruma: And he stands close enough to shield us from the things that would conceivably overwhelm us.
Frank Donaruma: Now the phrase at your right hand speaks of his nearness and strength.
Frank Donaruma: In ancient times, the right hand was often associated with action.
Frank Donaruma: It was associated with power, but it was also associated with defense as well.
Frank Donaruma: And here, God is not far away.
Frank Donaruma: After the psalmist then mentions both day and night.
Frank Donaruma: Now this is important because in these times the sun often represented to these people the visible pressures and hardships of life, while the moon, on the other hand, represented some of the uncertainties and dangers that we all seem to experience and that are greater in the darkness of our lives.
Frank Donaruma: But together, they represented every circumstance that we may face.
Frank Donaruma: Now, I want you to understand, this does not mean that followers of Jesus Christ will never experience trials.
Frank Donaruma: Rather, what it means is that nothing can touch our lives apart from God's loving oversight.
Frank Donaruma: My friends, the heat may be intense, the night may be dark, but God remains our protector and keeper.
Frank Donaruma: Amen.
Frank Donaruma: Whatever burden you may be carrying today, remember this promise.
Frank Donaruma: God is near.
Frank Donaruma: He is your shade in the heat of life's trials and your comfort in the darkness of uncertainty.
Frank Donaruma: The Lord who watches over you never slumbers or sleep and always stays by your side.
Frank Donaruma: And I understand this.
Frank Donaruma: Because about four years ago, I went to renew or get another insurance policy, life insurance policy.
Frank Donaruma: And when you get a life insurance policy, you have to go for a physical exam and a blood test.
Frank Donaruma: And so I did what I was supposed to.
Frank Donaruma: I went back, and then I got the blood test results, and it said that I had high markers for my prostate.
Frank Donaruma: And I said, okay, and they recommended I see a urologist.
Frank Donaruma: So I saw a urologist, he examined me, sent me for an MRI.
Frank Donaruma: And since I'm a physician, I often can get to see the MRI even before the prescribing doctor gets to see it.
Frank Donaruma: So when I got to work about two days later, I said to the girls at the front desk, I said, do me a favor, go online, see if my report's there, and then just put it on my desk because I wanted to see what the results were, you know?
Frank Donaruma: And so they did exactly as I told them.
Frank Donaruma: I sat down, I saw the report was there.
Frank Donaruma: And as a doctor, and I think uh Dr.
Frank Donaruma: Williams might appreciate this if he looks at a lot of these things, there's a lot of stuff before the summary, and what they call the impressions.
Frank Donaruma: But I went right to the impressions.
Frank Donaruma: I didn't have to read all the other stuff.
Frank Donaruma: I wanted to know the crux of what they found.
Frank Donaruma: And I looked at it and I looked at it and I read it and I said, wow, Frank, you have prostate cancer.
Frank Donaruma: What?
Frank Donaruma: I take pretty good care of myself, Lord.
Frank Donaruma: You know, I eat pretty good, I exercise, I have prostate cancer.
Frank Donaruma: And then I paused and I said, No, you know what?
Frank Donaruma: This is a time that you pray.
Frank Donaruma: And so I bowed my head and I remember, I can't exactly remember exactly what I prayed, but I remember the first prayer I prayed.
Frank Donaruma: I lowered my head and I said, Lord, I said, your word tells me to be thankful in all circumstances.
Frank Donaruma: Although I don't like what I'm reading on this paper, I'm gonna thank you for this prostate cancer and I'm gonna ask you to use it for your glory because I don't know whether I'm gonna live or die from this, but I know this to live is Christ and to die is gained.
Frank Donaruma: And I know I am securely held in your hands, and whenever you're ready to take me, I'm ready to go.
Frank Donaruma: And that was the gist of my prayer.
Frank Donaruma: But you want to know something?
Frank Donaruma: At that particular point, I knew, and I've been a Christian for over 40 years, I knew that I knew that I knew that there was a God and He was protecting me and He had my life in His hands because I understood for the first time the peace that passes all understanding.
Frank Donaruma: Now you would have thought with a diagnosis like that that I would have been afraid, that I would have been anxious, that I would have been scared, but I had the peace that passed all understanding, and I wasn't afraid to die.
Frank Donaruma: Amen.
Frank Donaruma: I mean, that's the God that I serve, that's the God that I worship, that's the God that Psalm 121 is talking about.
Frank Donaruma: The psalmist leaves us in Psalm 121 with one of the greatest promises of all of Scripture, and in here we learn that God is our lifelong companion, a lifelong guardian.
Frank Donaruma: Let's look at verse 7 and 8.
Frank Donaruma: The Lord will keep you from all evil, he will keep your life, the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Frank Donaruma: Now, when the psalmist says the Lord will keep you from all evil, it's interesting because um, you know, I messed up the watermelon thing.
Frank Donaruma: Gosh! Oh man, I'm so disappointed now.
Frank Donaruma: But here it is.
Frank Donaruma: You want it or not?
Frank Donaruma: You want the watermelon thing?
Frank Donaruma: So I fit it in so perfectly this morning.
Frank Donaruma: Well, I'm sitting on that stupid bench while I was playing off with the shade over my head, and all I could think about was eating a big piece of watermelon.
Frank Donaruma: There, it's over with, got that out of the way.
Frank Donaruma: Anyway, so that's that's done.
Frank Donaruma: But let's again look at verse 7 and 8.
Frank Donaruma: Uh it's amazing things that go through your head.
Frank Donaruma: Anyway, the Lord will keep you from all evil, he'll keep your life, the Lord will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.
Frank Donaruma: And so when the psalmist says the Lord will keep you from all evil, he is not saying believers will never face trouble or sickness or hardship.
Frank Donaruma: I mean, let's face it, we all know from our own experiences and reading scripture that trials do indeed come to God's people.
Frank Donaruma: But rather, what the Lord what the psalmist is saying here is the promise is that evil will never ultimately triumph over us because we belong to God.
Frank Donaruma: Nothing can separate us from his love and nothing can thwart his purpose for our life.
Frank Donaruma: That's what it means that he will keep us from all evil.
Frank Donaruma: We are eternally secure in him.
Frank Donaruma: Amen.
Frank Donaruma: Now, when he talks about he will keep your life, what a comforting truth when you think about it.
Frank Donaruma: God is not concerned just with our circumstances like we've talked about, he's concerned with our very souls, who we are, our life.
Frank Donaruma: And he guards us spiritually, and he strengthens us in weakness, and he preserves us for eternity.
Frank Donaruma: And then the psalmist goes on to say, the Lord will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore.
Frank Donaruma: And this is a Hebrew expression that means every aspect of life, whether you are leaving home or returning, whether you're beginning a journey or ending one, whether you are experiencing joy or you're walking through sorrow, God is watching over us.
Frank Donaruma: And I want you to notice the time frame here.
Frank Donaruma: What's the time frame?
Frank Donaruma: Not only now, but forever, forevermore.
Frank Donaruma: And I don't know who else needs to hear this, he needs to hear this today besides me, but God's care does not expire.
Frank Donaruma: His protection is not temporary.
Frank Donaruma: From this moment into eternity, the Lord remains our lifelong keeper.
Frank Donaruma: Amen.
Frank Donaruma: Well, in closing, I'm reminded of a story of a man who once sat on a plane during a very turbulent storm, and the turbulence was intense.
Frank Donaruma: The people were gripping their seats and just holding on for dear life.
Frank Donaruma: Have you ever been on a flight like that or been scared on a flight?
Frank Donaruma: Yeah, I mean, I have.
Frank Donaruma: But a little girl across from the aisle from him was just calmly coloring in her coloring book, and the man looked over and asked her.
Frank Donaruma: He said, Aren't you afraid?
Frank Donaruma: And she said, No.
Frank Donaruma: She says, My daddy's the pilot and he's taking me home.
Frank Donaruma: My friends, that's Psalm 121.
Frank Donaruma: That's it in a nutshell.
Frank Donaruma: If you remember that, remember anything, remember that.
Frank Donaruma: My daddy's the pilot and he's taking me home.
Frank Donaruma: Amen.
Frank Donaruma: He's taking us home.
Frank Donaruma: That's the beauty of Psalm 121.
Frank Donaruma: So, as I invite the worship team up, you know, I vividly remember that day when I was holding my granddaughter Kayla in that space.
Frank Donaruma: And I'll tell you, my wife and I, our grandchildren are some of our most precious possessions.
Frank Donaruma: And I was never gonna let her go.
Frank Donaruma: I was never gonna lose her.
Frank Donaruma: I was gonna hold her, I'll hold on to her or go down with her.
Frank Donaruma: I mean, that's as simple as it is, but we were never gonna let her go because we were her keeper.
Frank Donaruma: You know, Jesus said in John chapter 10 that when we come to him, nothing can snatch us out of his hand.
Frank Donaruma: So my question for you today, have you come to him?
Frank Donaruma: I mean, have you really come to him?
Frank Donaruma: My friends, the good news of the gospel is simply this.
Frank Donaruma: Although our sin separates us from God, Jesus Christ died for our sins on that cross and he then rose from the dead, defeating both sin and death.
Frank Donaruma: And he offers forgiveness, eternal life, and reconciliation with God to everyone who would ask his forgiveness and trust in his finished work alone.
Frank Donaruma: If that is you, then I challenge you today to reach out and put your trust in him.
Frank Donaruma: I'll be available at the end of the service.
Frank Donaruma: If you like to talk more about what it means to follow Jesus, I would love to have that conversation with you.
Frank Donaruma: My friends, in closing, you know, we're gonna face a lot of uncertainty and troubles in this world.
Frank Donaruma: It's evident.
Frank Donaruma: But how much more faithful is our God?
Frank Donaruma: Psalm 121 gives us the words that we need to remember when we feel like we're falling.
Frank Donaruma: We can live with confidence because our lives are in the hands of a God who is our creator and our help.
Frank Donaruma: God is our constant keeper, and lastly, he is our lifelong guardian.
Frank Donaruma: The Lord who has kept us thus far will continue to keep us until we stand within Him in His presence forever.
Frank Donaruma: And all God's people say Amen.