Discovering God's Omnipresence: A Study of the Psalms of Ascent

Are you yearning to foster a deeper connection with God, even in the face of adversity? Promise me you'll lend your ears to this enlightening episode, where we dissect Psalm 121 and the Psalms of Ascent in an effort to nurture our everyday relationship with God. We urge you, our dear listeners, to not only turn to God in times of difficulty, but also in times of joy and celebration. This episode serves as a reminder to trust in His divine protection and presence during all seasons of life.

We challenge the human tendency to view God through the lens of our limited physical nature as we journey through the concept of His omnipresence. Using Carmen's "The Champion" as a backdrop, we illustrate God's ultimate power and protection. We assure you that Satan is no match for God. His fate is sealed and He has already triumphed. Let's stand together in faith, trusting our God who is always watching over us, affirming that no power can stand against Him.

Our journey concludes with a powerful reminder of God's unwavering presence in our lives. Drawing strength from David’s triumph over Goliath, we encourage you to face your own "Goliaths" with unwavering faith. As Paul did in his letter to the Philippians, we urge you to press on towards your goals, trusting in God's plan. Join us in a prayer of hope and strength, seeking God's comfort during challenging times. Let's embark on this faith-filled journey together and emerge triumphant.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 1:04

it Just kind of focus yourself and pray, and then I'll pray and we'll get started. God is always we. We thank you so much for who you are. We really just if there's anyone in our life that deserves thanks at you, the way you provide, the way that you take care of us, the way that you continue to watch over us, god, I pray that, as we dive into the third part of this series, that as we continue this idea of looking up I know life is chaotic. I know sometimes there are things that come into our life that are unexpected, there's things that we struggle with, but there's this constant grace and mercy and knowing that you are there, that you are with us, that you're for us, that God, you stand with us, and all these things. So I continue to ask you to allow us to see your presence in our lives, the good and the bad. And, as always, I pray that, god, you just protect the words that are coming out of my mouth, protect those who are here that are listening and those who are listening online and those who will listen to it later. That it's always your truth. It's always you speaking more and not so much me. God, I thank you for the opportunity to continue to be part of your kingdom, for the fact that you continue to use us in such mighty ways. God, I would love you. We thank you, amen.

Speaker 1: 3:16

So we've been focusing on Psalms 120 through 134, known as the Psalms of Ascent, and I've talked about this, but just kind of reiterate the importance of them, especially for the Jewish culture. As they would travel, so a lot of them as they, as they grew up, they moved out of Jerusalem, but they always had a habit of going back to certain festivals every year. So on their way to Jerusalem, they would sing the song of Ascent and they would use these Psalms to remind themselves of who God was and what he was capable of. And and even when they went up to the temple courts, as they entered into the temple for prayer and things like that, they would sing these Psalms and they would just be reminded of how incredible God is and it's such a.

Speaker 1: 4:04

I had this conversation earlier with Jesse and he said to me and we were talking about the idea of being grateful he was like I don't remember the last time that I woke up and I thank God for the fact that I woke up and I was sitting there and I was like I'm not so sure I can recall that. Well, no, that's not true. When I had COVID, like two weeks ago, and I woke up and I was like thank God I'm still here, because you know that first night I thought I wasn't gonna make it and my wife would tell you that's a man cold, that's not nice, but but I remember just having this idea right so around Thanksgiving and and it's so easy to, and I don't know what it is about us as human beings, but but it's so easy to think about God when things are going wrong and not so much when things are going right. I was, I've been watching lately and and and I'm not trying to make light of any tragedies, please don't take this that way but there's been a couple local tragedies and a couple on Columbus and and usually when tragedies happens, one of the things you see is people turn to God. When bad things happen, even people who might not be believers can somehow find themselves. You know, they might attend a prayer vigil or something like that, and and so I understand that right, and I understand when you don't understand what's going on in the world, that really God makes sense. But but as I watch people kind of gather towards God when things are bad, as I watch that happen in my mind, I'm thinking if only you knew what he was like when he was good, like like. I understand that you're like it's miserable and you're going through something awful, but if you could turn that focus to God when your life is good, how much more are you gonna understand the fullness of who God is. Listen, he's not just there to be with you when things are tough, he's there to celebrate you when things are going great too. And and so the the, the authors of these Psalms, understood that that, no matter what happens, no matter what comes my way, whether I'm on the mountain or I'm in the valley, I want to thank God for being God. Right? So Psalm 121 is actually where we're gonna be today. We're gonna read the whole thing. It's only eight verses, but, but one of the the things that Psalm 121 establishes is this idea that God is like omnipresent.

Speaker 1: 6:45

Okay, now, that's something that that you and I I don't think we can fully grasp, because I am limited to being in one location at a time. My physical body, I am here in church right now. I am nowhere else, right, I, I can't. I can't like throw my brain over here or my eyes over there and make sense, like, because it's not how it works, like I am very much just stuck in one location, where my body is. I do not have the ability to go beyond that.

Speaker 1: 7:21

For those of you who have kids in sports, you know it is one parents got to go to this practice. One parents got to go to this practice. One parents got to go to this game. You can't do it all. You wish you could, but it's not possible. You, you and I are limited by our physical nature to being in one location. God does not operate in that realm, he does not, minus Jesus being on earth, right, so that's the representation of God on earth.

Speaker 1: 7:51

The presence of God is not bound to a single location. God is able to be everywhere, all the time, all at once. Once again, we say that I think we try to get it, but they were like that doesn't make sense, because you and I don't. It doesn't make sense to us. But the Psalmist understood that the creator of the universe, the one who set the foundation of the earth, is everywhere, at all times, always, and so when they would cry out to him. When they would sing these songs, they would do it with the understanding that, no matter where I am, god is also there. That makes to me God one of the greatest things that I've ever experienced in my life, because no matter where I am, god is with me.

Speaker 1: 8:58

So Psalm 121, verses one through eight, says I lift my eyes up to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip. He who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel. Neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord watches over you. The Lord is your shade, at your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all harm. He will watch over your life. The Lord will watch over you. You're coming and you're going, both now and forevermore.

Speaker 1: 9:46

The psalmist is establishing that no matter where you go, no matter what you do, no matter how you feel, that the God of all creation will be with you and he will watch over you. He will protect you. This idea of watch, the statement comes from Warren Wearsbier says sometimes we fail to go to God because we can't see him. We may believe in him in theory, but in practice we do not trust his faithfulness. The psalmist calls the listener to once again give over fear and despair to trust. Psalm 121 reminds the worship of the God who is faithful to come at the right time. Wearsbier reminds the reader that if God created heavens and the earth, he is a God of power, wisdom and glory and we have nothing to fear. Satan and his demonic army may be at work opposing the saints, but this is still our Father's world.

Speaker 1: 10:52

I love that statement because I think a lot of times. I think a lot of times we give Satan way too much power in our life. I do. I think we convince ourselves that he is like this unstoppable force that will do whatever he wants and he's gonna ruin our lives. And then you look at God. Who really is this unstoppable force?

Speaker 1: 11:21

Listen, satan is limited to what God allows him to do. I don't know if you understand that, but he is limited to what God allows him to do. God puts up with him. He's already beat him, but he puts up with him because there's coming a day where Satan will answer for everything that he's done and he will be cast into an eternal fire. He will get his true judgment because he's listen and I say this with every ounce of strength in me. He's a coward, he's a manipulator, he's a liar, he's a deceiver. He wants to ruin your life and every single day that I wake up, I should remind him that his fate is already set, that the God of the universe not only died to save me from my sins, but to put Satan in his place and remind him that the end of his reign, there is nothing for him. And in the soul misses, as he's singing this to God, as he says, as the crowd is around him, he says listen, the God of all creation will protect you. It doesn't matter if Satan is scheming against us. It doesn't matter if Satan's coming for your marriage. It doesn't matter if Satan's coming for your family, it doesn't matter, because the God of all creation has promised to protect you and stand with you. And Satan will not overcome him ever.

Speaker 1: 12:57

The problem is is he doesn't realize that you guys remember the old song by Carmen the champion Anyone ever hear, right? I remember when I was I think I was like 15, maybe a little younger, and we weren't really like church people. But like we were kind of hanging out at this one church and my dad, we put on the human video. Anyone know what a human video is Like, act out a song, whatever. And we did it to Carmen champion, right. And I remember one of the things that and I hope I remember this all correctly in the human video I was Jesus. As the middle child I was like cool, like I get to be Jesus. My older brother, jeff, was God and then, lovingly, josh was the devil, my younger brother. That might have been picked out on purpose, I don't know.

Speaker 1: 13:56

And so I remember we were listening to this song and so, if you've ever listened to it, towards the end Satan and Jesus are kind of in this boxing match back and forth, and Jesus gets knocked down and Satan starts having this like, yeah, look what I did, I'm unstoppable and nothing can beat me. And then all of a sudden, if you ever watch boxing, there's a 10 count. Right, you got to make sure the other guy can get still fight. But in the song, if you listen to it, he actually starts counting back from 10. And so there's a countdown. You know 10, 9, 8. And so the character that's represented by Satan is starting to. Why is this happening? Like that's not right, something's wrong. And so, as the song unfolds, you start to realize that there's a countdown is happening. Satan is becoming more and more scared Because as we get closer to one and then you get to one, jesus arises, overcomes Satan. He loses right. So Satan has nothing to stand on.

Speaker 1: 15:06

I think back to the day that Jesus was crucified. I've always wondered how much did Satan understand what was happening in that moment? Because as he watched Jesus die on the cross and as he watched him give up his life, I can imagine for a moment in time he thought he had won. I killed the Son of God. Nothing can stop me. And I can imagine for three days he sat around with his little henchmen and said look what we did. They cower in fear, they ran back to their homes. I put an end to this. And then Sunday happened and the stone was rolled away and the Son of God showed up and he walked the earth. And I can, in my mind, I see Satan going. Oh no, this is not what I thought was going to happen. And God established what you and I already know that Satan doesn't stand a chance compared to God.

Speaker 1: 16:31

And so the psalmist says. As they write these words, they say God, my God, where does my help come from? It comes from you, it says. The psalmist encourages the listener to accept that God's promised life is not one of comfort but protection. Trimber Longman explains the psalmist is a reminder to both ancient and modern readers that God watches over his people as they journey on their pilgrimage and, more broadly, as they journey through life. The word watch in the text can also be rendered protect, guard or keep. God is not only watching but is actively protecting his people from evil and harm. Josh Moody says this is trusting God, and adversity is difficult, but we have to do it. So he gives an example of how hurting can turn into healing.

Speaker 1: 17:34

Let's think of the surgeon prepping himself to go into surgery. As he prepares, he knows in one sense he's about to do his patient harm. He's going to cut open his body and delve in with surgical tools. The patient will bleed. There was no anesthetic. The patient will be screaming in pain, strapped to an operating table. That sounds evil. Yet that surgeon rightly believes that he is following the Hippocratic oath to do no harm. Harm is not harm when it does good. That is what I think the psalm must be saying here. Yes, that it may hurt that as you live your life, that there are going to be difficult things that happen to you, that it may hurt for a moment, but that is why you're looking and asking for help. That is why we cry to the hills and that is why we do not stop there. We go beyond them. We look to God. Who made them, who created them, who made everything, including me.

Speaker 1: 18:34

Second Kings 6, verses 8 through 22, says Now, the king of arm was at war with Israel and after conquering with his officers, he said I set up my camp in such a such place. The man of God sent word to the king of Israel beware of passing that place, because the Armeans are going down there. So the king of Israel checked on the place indicated by the man of God At time and again. Elijah warned the king so that he was on his guard in such places. This enraged the king of Aaron. He summoned his offers and demanded of them Tell me which of us is on the side of the king of Israel? None of us, my Lord the king, said one of his officers. But Elijah, the prophet, who is in Israel tells the king of Israel the very word you speak in your bedroom Go find out where he is. The king ordered so I can send men and capture him.

Speaker 1: 19:28

The report came back, he is in Dothan and he sent horses and chariots and strong forces. There they were. They went by night and they surrounded the city. So they surrounded the city that Elisha was in when the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning and army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. And, by the way, the natural response is oh no, my Lord, what shall we do? The servant asked, to which Elisha responded don't be afraid those who are with us Way more than those who are with them. And Elisha prayed open his eyes, lord, so that he may see the Lord open the servant's eyes. And he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire around Elisha. This is one of my, one of my favorite moments in the life of Elisha, because For a moment, this servant had this incredible opportunity to understand and and physically see just how big God is. And as the they were surrounding, elisha says don't worry, compared to what we have, they have nothing. I Mean.

Speaker 1: 20:45

All throughout the Old Testament there's story after story after story of what God did for Israel. He protected them. He showed up, he, he allowed giants to be slain. He allowed men to be thrown in the pits of lions and come out on skates. He toppled kingdoms, he dethroned kings, because nothing can stop him. And if we are people called by his name, then nothing can stop us either. And it's not because you and I are good at it. I, I've said this before.

Speaker 1: 21:28

The success of this church is not because we're good church people. It's because we put on the hands of God and say do whatever you need us to do, because we want to be part of it. We, we cannot accomplish this if he's not front and center. I, I can prove that because there are churches all over this country who have incredible leaders at the helm and the churches are failing Because the churches are forgetting the most important thing, and that's God. They're turning away from the scriptures, they're, they're turning away from teaching truth. They're, they're, they're peddling so what the culture says. We, a church that does that, will never last because God is not with them. We have to be people dedicated to his word, his truth and the understanding that his kingdom is priority even over my own. The.

Speaker 1: 22:30

The psalmist cries out where does my help Come from? It comes from the Lord, the maker of the heavens and the earth, the One who created all Things. I can tell you that it's Sometimes in life it's a lot easier to say that it is to believe it. I've walked through some valleys and I've I've walked through some some dark moments of my life. I've been hurt by churches, I've been hurt by Christians and, and so I understand that it's hard, because when, when life is coming at you, it's really easy to focus on what's here and now and what you can see. And we just want to. We just want to fix our problems.

Speaker 1: 23:50

And In what the psalmist is reminding us and and I believe what God is calling us to do, is, there's this one when you can't handle it, that's okay, give it to me. I'm God, I, I'm not God saying to you I'm God, please, like, don't miss out at that or something, because I'm not God. I just want to establish that and but, but God is in to use it. Listen, give it to me. What I made you, I created you, I, I, you're worried about you, you worried about your finances. I'm the one who make the seasons happen, I'm the one who makes the crops grow. I'm the one who provides everything the land needs to survive. Well, you're worried about your family and your family not knowing me. Well, so am I. I made them, I created them. I want them to know me more than you want to know them. So bring them to me, bring that prayer to my feet, bless me with them.

Speaker 1: 24:58

You're battling disease, cancer, sickness. Maybe you struggle with, you know, mental illness, anxiety, depression. God made your body, every part of it Like. It's absolutely fascinating, you know. Some of you don't know, but now you will. I've been taking EMT classes for the last couple weeks. My brother, I joined the department, so I just want to get my EMT license.

Speaker 1: 25:34

And part of that study is studying the body and how the body operates. And your body has this incredible, incredible ability to compensate. So if something traumatic happens to your body kind of goes into almost a shutdown mode where it preserves the most vital organs first. Right, because your body understands that your heart, lungs, liver, all these things matter, that if you know they need to pull blood from the rest of your body to protect those things, that will protect your brain, because your skin while important, your skin will be okay. So you're. If you understand anything about the body, it has this incredible ability to protect itself.

Speaker 1: 26:15

And as I sit here in class and I look at this and I'm like this is amazing, like this, if I've ever understood anything about God, this is it. Like the body that he created is so well put together that, in the event of a traumatic injury, your body knows exactly what it has to do to sustain your life. And so not everyone in my class are believers and they're all talking about this, and I'm like how do you not see this? I go what's science? I'm like, no, no, no, no, no, no. Science explains it, but this is God. Like science tells you and I how it happens. But even before we understood God, I was like no, watch this, because he has this incredible. He knows you. So when you're struggling, when you're going through things, he's not unaware of those things. He created you.

Speaker 1: 27:14

And it goes back to I talked about Satan earlier. The only reason you and I and our bodies are broken is because of what happened with Adam and Eve. I mean, that's it. This wasn't meant to be like this. And then someday we're getting back to a place where there's going to be no more pain, no more suffering, no more thirst, no more hunger, no more COVID, no more flu, no more cancer. And the only way that's going to happen is by accepting the one who made you, the one who has eternity waiting for us.

Speaker 1: 28:02

And so, once again, the psalmist where does my help come from? Comes from God. If the only thing that I ever had in my life, if you were to strip me of everything that I own, if you would take all of my money, if you would take every single possession, if you would take my family from me, if you would leave me alone in the middle of the woods where I had nothing, having God would be enough, because he is the only thing that I absolutely need in this life. Everything else is a gift. I hope, more than anything in the world, that you feel encouraged, more encouraged than you ever have been, that there's a God who loves you, there's a God who sustains you. There's a God who created you. There's a God who knows you. There's a God who wants to build a relationship with you. There's a God who wants to help you walk through some of the craziest moments of your life, but also celebrate with you at the greatest. The psalmist understood that as they traversed back to their hometown, as they entered the courts, they reminded themselves of how incredible God was, because until you understand that, nothing else makes sense.

Speaker 1: 29:58

Winston Churchill was known for giving some pretty powerful speeches. This is an excerpt of one of his speeches that he gave at the height of World War II. Says you cannot tell from appearances how things will go. Sometimes imagination makes things out far worse than they are you. Without imagination, not much can be done. Those people who are imaginative see many more dangers than perhaps exist, certainly many more than will happen. But when they must also pray to be given the extra courage to carry this far-reaching imagination. But for everyone.

Speaker 1: 30:41

Surely we've gone through in this period I am addressing myself to the school, this is all the moderates that surely from this period of 10 months, this is the lesson Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never in. Nothing greater, small, larger, petty, never given except the conviction of honor and good sense. Never yield to force, never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. We stood all alone a year ago. In so many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. All the traditions of ours, our songs, our school history, this part of the history of this country, were gone and finished and liquidated. Said. Very different as the mood today, britain, other nations thought had drawn a sponge across their slate, but instead our country stood in the gap. There was no flinching and no thought of giving in, and by what seemed almost a miracle to those outside these islands that we ourselves never doubted it, we now find ourselves in the position where I say that we can be sure that we only have to persevere to conquer, said.

Speaker 1: 32:01

He speaks this at the height of World War II, when the nation of Britain was everyone else had written them off. The culture around us has written off the church. They act like we're a dying breed that we will not stand. They act like we're gonna fold and go under. They act like God is dead. He's not, never will be. I know it's rough. This is one of the craziest times, especially in our culture, for the church. Today there's churches closing all over the place. I don't even know how many churches this morning got together for the last time.

Speaker 1: 33:12

And listen, there's so many different reasons for that. But I'm telling you. It's never because God didn't show up, because when the enemy comes, when Satan prowls around with every little victory he thinks that he has, let's remind him of his fate, that in the end he will not stand. In the end he will not persevere. In the end he will find his rightful place and his eternal punishment and the kingdom of God will reign for all eternity. And you and I, that's the God we serve. So, no matter what you're going through, no matter what you're struggling with, no matter the darkest of valleys, don't forget where your help comes from. Paul says it like this in Philippians 3, 7 through 15,.

Speaker 1: 34:29

But whatever or games to me, I now consider lost for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage. I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is, through faith in Christ, the righteousness that comes from God. On the basis of faith, I want to know Christ, yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, because like him in his death and so somehow attain to the resurrection from the dead. Not that I have already obtained all of this or I've already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it, but one thing I do forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.

Speaker 1: 35:40

All of us, then, who are mature, should take such a view of things, and if, on some point, you think differently, that too, god will make clear to you. Paul has never won immense words. He reminds his readers that I have not yet achieved it, but I'm going to keep pressing on towards it. I'm going to hold fast to everything that God has given me, and if you find yourselves unclear about that, god will also make that clear to you. Life is hard. Life can feel overwhelming. I've seen a lot of Goliath in my life, but my hope and my prayer is that, whatever your Goliath is, you remind them who your God is, because, as long as we can continue to look up and see where our help comes from. God will watch over us. God will protect us. God will sustain us. It doesn't mean it won't be hard, but with God in your corner, nothing can stop you. Alright, let's pray.