The story has
been told of a believer, Frederick Nolan, who was fleeing from his enemies
during a time of persecution in North Africa.
Pursued over a hill and through a valley with no place to hide, he fell
exhausted into a cave, expecting to be caught. Awaiting his death, he saw a
spider weaving a web. Within
minutes, the spider had woven a beautiful web across the mouth of the cave.
The man's pursuers arrived, but on seeing the unbroken web assumed it
impossible for him to have entered the cave.
Later that believer exclaimed, "Where God is, a spider's web is
like a wall. Where God is not, a
wall is like a spider's web."
Few things offer security to believers more
than an awareness that God will use His overcoming power to protect them.
Scripture Text:
Psalm 121:1 (KJV)
A Song of degrees. I will lift up
mine eyes unto the hills, from whence cometh my help. 2 My help [cometh]
from the LORD, which made heaven and earth. 3 He will not suffer thy
foot to be moved: he that keepeth thee will not slumber. 4 Behold, he that
keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The LORD [is] thy keeper:
the LORD [is] thy shade upon thy right hand. 6 The sun shall not smite thee
by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil:
he shall preserve thy soul. 8 The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy
coming in from this time forth and even for evermore.
I.
Why do we need help?
There are things in this that we all
need which we can't do for ourselves. We
need some help. There are
difficulties and problems in this life, which can't be overcome by us.
The writer of this psalm was in just such a situation.
He needed some help. Accidents
can happen. Sickness and disease
does eventually come to all of us. Troubles
and problems are very much a part of the journey of this life.
We need security so we purchase insurance, build retirement funds, and
make plans for accidental disability. We
need help because no matter how hard we try we can't do it all it ourselves.
There are some things that can't be overcome by us.
We need help because we are human.
A.
Time is going down the streams of our lives like a roaring river. There
is no escape.
B.
We can't find satisfaction from the things of this world.
C.
Nothing is safe and secure in this world.
D.
There are no real guarantees.
E. Sin brings the result of death.
But the gift of God is eternal life in Jesus Christ. Gal. 6:23
"Many years ago", writes an
unknown author, "a little boy lay on his small bed, having just retired
for the night. Before going to
sleep, he moved in the direction of the large bed on which his father lay, and
said: 'Father, are you there?' "'Yes, my son,' was the answer. The little
boy turned over and went to sleep, without a thought of harm. "Tonight
the little boy is an old man of seventy, and every night before going to
sleep, he looks up into the face of the Heavenly Father and say, "Father,
are you there?' And the answer
comes back, clear and strong: 'Yes, my son.'" <Stones with Fair
Colors> Gary Bowell p. 164
I.
Where do people look for help?
A.
We hope in the government to make for us a society that is good.
B.
We hope in our own goals, achievements, and ingenuity to make ourselves
safe and secure.
C.
We trust in our gold to enable us to live a comfortable life without a
thought of the most important part of our lives, which is our eternal
retirement.
D.
We look to our local deities or gods of this world because we can't see
past the end of the few years that we have here to live and consider the
hundreds upon thousands of years we will live in the next life.
E.
The Psalmists contemporaries looked to the gods of the world whose
worship places were built on high places.
E. B. Sprunt tells the following
story: The road was long and lonely, and the night so dark, as they were
homeward bound after the midweek prayer meeting. Ominous shadows and weird
noises came from the trees and bushes as the wind blew through the branches; it was enough to send shivers up the spine.
The two little girls sitting in the back seat of the old horse-drawn
vehicle were asked, "Are you not frightened?" "Oh, no!"
they replied, "You see, Father is with us and we are never afraid
when he holds the reins." <Stones with Fair Colors>
Gary Bowell p. 164,165
II.
Where can we find help that is lasting?
There is really only one place where
we can find help that will stand to the test of time.
People will let you down because they are people/mortal. Governments will fail because they are made up of mortals.
Insurance will be insufficient for the test of death that is coming to
all of us. Heb. 9:27…
A.
Look to the hills and head there for help from the One true God.
B.
He will not let you get tripped up and fall down.
C.
He will not slumber or sleep. He
will always be with you.
D.
He watch over every part of our lives whether we are coming or going.
E.
He is the only one who is capable of performing the help that we need.
He is God.
F.
He will be your keeper and your guard.
On the right hand where you are unprotected he will be your guardian.
G.
He will protect you from the things that effect all, the sun and the
moon.
H.
He is the only one that keep you forevermore.
Hebr 4:16 (KJS)
Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain
mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
Acts 26:22 (KJS)
Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue unto this day, witnessing
both to small and great, saying none other things than those which the
prophets and Moses did say should come:
No one could say that George Smith
didn't have courage. A daring jet
test pilot in the 1950's, back when the sound barrier was first being broken,
he could face anything -- until he had to bail out of a jet going 805 miles
per hour (Guideposts 1958). Though he survived, he was afraid of ever flying
again. Then, during his hospital stay, a nurse gave him an antidote
to fear. He took her words to heart: "Courage," she said, "is
knowing the worst -- and discovering that, in God's world, the very worst
can't really hurt you."
Psalms
91:4 "He shall cover thee
with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou
trust: his
truth shall be thy shield and buckler. (KJV)"
III.
Who is this help for?
The other
day the Accidental insurance salesmen came to the house.
I told them that I had all that I needed.
One of the salesmen said that he would like to have some of that.
Best of all it is free to all who look to Him for their help.
The God of the hills can be your God.
Would you bring your trouble to him?
There is nothing too big for him to handle.
His Help is for those who trust him enough to surrender their lives to
him. He is the keeper of Israel
or the people that he has chosen and those who have decided to put themselves
under his wings.
"Unless there is within us that
which is above us, we shall soon be consumed by that which is about us."
Let
the Lord be your Somebody.