“I WILL LIFT MY EYES UNTO THE HILLS…”
Ps. 121:1-2
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. Dick Van Dyke once described Mahatma Gandhi.
2. He said, “Gandhi walked barefoot everywhere, ate very little, and often fasted, leaving him thin and with very bad breath.”
3. Thus he is often thought of as a “super callused, fragile mystic plagued with halitosis.” (Van Dyke didn’t say this!)
B. TEXT
1 I will lift up my eyes to the hills—from whence comes my help? 2 My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. 3 He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. 4 Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep. 5 The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade at your right hand. 6 The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. 7 The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. 8 The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore. NKJV
C. A SPECIAL PSALM
1. Beginning with Psalm 120 and continuing to Psalm 134, these Psalms are called “Songs of Ascents.” They were sung by the pilgrims who were traveling to Jerusalem to keep the various feasts days on the religious calendar of Israel.
2. The average elevation of Israel = 1,667 ft. The Dead Sea elevation is -1,410 feet. The Temple Mount elevation = 2,428 feet. So the average pilgrim would have to ascend 761 feet; those traveling from the Dead Sea would have to climb 3,838 feet! When the pilgrims would stop for rest and refreshment, they would sing one of these Psalms in worship to the Lord.
3. As the pilgrim traveled toward Mount Moriah, and the holy hill of Zion, where the ark of the covenant, the worshiping priests, the sacrifices and prayers were, he was thinking of the special presence of God in that holy place, and God with his people, which is much different from His common presence.
D.THESIS
Let’s all take our own journey tonight toward God as we consider the message, “I Lift My Eyes Unto the Hills…”
I. SONG OF THE HUNGRY
A. RECOGNITION OF NEED
1. The soul that says, “I will lift my eyes unto the hills…” has recognized their emptiness without God. They have a longing for God.
2. They may have a nice house, plenty of food, and nice clothes, but there’s still a spiritual vacuum in their hearts. They may live in a beautiful place, but a desert WITH GOD looks better than a resort without Him. There’s no inner satisfaction, joy, or peace.
3. The pilgrim has made the decision to do something about it; “I will” seek the presence of God. The Bible says of Jesus & His disciples, “Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, “Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest.” Mk. 6:31.
B. THE PLACE WE FIND GOD? IN SOLITUDE
1. We look “unto the hills” because we long for solitude, to get out of the endless hustle & bustle. We instinctively know that God is not to be found in the works of man, but He’s more easily found in nature (i.e., Psalm 19:1-3). Jesus went out to “solitary places.” “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mk. 1:35).
2. In John 15, Jesus told us to "abide” in the Vine; that means to "wait for", "to remain in the same place.” For some of us, getting closer to Jesus means we must simplify our lives, to unclutter them, to carve time out of our schedules by removing some things not as important, so that we can spend quality time with Jesus.
3. Stillness is essential to reception of instruction (“Be still and know that I am God,” Ps. 46:10). We must be quiet if we would hear his voice. Also, quit running to people and start going to God instead.
4. HUMOR. Some people do all the talking and no listening.
a. One pastor was called by a man who said he needed some advice. But when the man was in his office, he talked the entire appointment time, never getting around to listening to any advice.
b. That man later told a friend that he learned a lot from the pastor during his visit! We do that with God!
5. 3 TYPES OF SILENCE: a. Verbal – quit talking; b. “silence of desires” – we can’t know God’s will if OURS is in the way; c. “silence of reasoning” – stop trying to figure everything out!
6. Wait on the Lord! How difficult it is, in our busy culture, to shut everything down and focus our attention on the Lord. “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” Ps. 27:14.
II. LOOKING TO GOD
A THE LOOK THAT SAVES
1. “I will lift my eyes…” We always lift our eyes to what is above us. Upward is the direction of God; downward is the earth. We choose to look upward.
2. “Looking unto God” is the first step to approaching Him. If you wait at the airport for someone, you are looking for them. When you finally see them coming up the jetway, and their eyes meet yours, the sight of them brings joy and tears to your eyes. Seeing is the first step to finding & embracing God. Sight consumes some 70% of our sensory perception.
3. There is something about looking at God that saves you. God says, “Look unto me & be saved…” Isa. 45:22. The serpent of brass on the pole (Num. 21:9) – whoever looked at it lived. It was symbolic of Jesus Christ (John 3:14-16).
B. A SHIFT IN FOCUS
1. We must look at some Object. Heb. 12:2 says, “Fix your eyes upon Jesus.” If we don’t “fix” our eyes on Him, then we’ll drift away to some other object. The Greek word for “fix” (aphorao; Vines Expos. Dic.) means to “look away from one thing in order to see another” Our eyes can only focus on one thing at a time. If you’re going to look at God, you must look away from other things. Only God deserves to be the center of our soul’s attention.
2. ILLUS.: The Far-away Look. [Biblical Illus., Dr. Miller]
a. There was a busy Christian woman, an editorial worker, whose eyes began to trouble her. She finally went to an eye doctor. She told him she thought she needed a new pair of glasses.
b. He told her that what she needed was not new glasses, but rest for her eyes. That, she told him, was impossible. Her work compelled her to sit all day bending over a desk, reading and writing. The wise ophthalmologist asked her where she lived, and found it was in full sight of the Blue Ridge Mountains.
c. "Go home," he said, "and do your work as usual, but every hour or so leave your desk, and go and stand on your porch and look at the mountains. The far-away look will rest your eyes after the long strain of reading manuscripts and proof-sheets." It worked! Our earthly vision will be enhanced by focusing on God!
3. Paul said (Col. 3:1-2), “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.”
III. TRUE SOURCE OF OUR HELP
“…where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” NIV
A. THE PROBLEM OF OUR WEAKNESS
1. The greater the understanding of our need, the greater our conviction of our inability to supply it. Do we perceive the chasm of our lack? Look a little further and see the ocean of God’s supply!
2. When we are weak, He is strong! "Where does my help come from? My help cometh from the Lord!" We can’t receive Divine help unless there is a sense of our immense need. When we find ourselves to be impotent, then Omnipotence pours itself into us.
3. Jesus "healed those who needed healing” Lk. 9:11. According to James, “we receive not for we ask not” (4:2). God is a gentleman; He won’t force us to make space for Him. Is there room in your heart for Jesus? If not, move something out.
B. MAGNITUDE OF OUR HELPER
1. The fact that we don’t have the resources helps us look instead to another source – the Lord our Maker, to supply our needs.
2. Jesus, the Maker of heaven and earth, can do anything! He made the world out of nothing, by fiat – speaking it into existence. However great our troubles and extremities are, “the Maker” has sufficient power to aid or save us!
3. ILLUS.: OUR LIFE TO FIT THE PICTURE
a. A wealthy man once bought a famous picture of Jesus. He hired a Christian decorator to help him place it correctly in his house. But with his alcohol bars, large screen TVs, his abstract artwork and flashy décor, the decorator couldn’t find a room appropriate for the picture.
b. At last he spoke to the home owner, “Sir, you can’t place this picture in your home! You must get rid of this home and build a home specially fitted for it!”
c. Just as surely, we must allow Jesus to alter our life so that it would be appropriate for Jesus to live with you! [Paul Tan, Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illus., #3095]
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: JUST STAY BY HIS SIDE
1. A senior executive at one of the largest banks in N.Y. city told the secret of how he rose to such prominence. He had gotten a job as an office boy and by his diligence, had caught the eye of the president of the company.
2. The president said, “I want you to start reporting to my office every day and be by my side as I do my work.” The young man said, “But Sir, how can I help you? I don’t know anything about finance!”
3. But being with the C.E.O. every day made the young man just like him. He later said, “Being by his side every day made me the success I am today!”
4. Sometimes we can’t see how we’ll ever become like Jesus. The secret is to stay constantly by His side, for no one can be exposed to His beauty and holiness without being transformed into Jesus’ glorious image! [Paul Tan, Ency. Of 7,700 Illus.; #4271]
B. THE CALL
1. Let’s pray and ask Jesus to come into our heart homes and redecorate them so He will feel welcome there. Prayer.
2. How many will begin setting time aside to spend alone with Jesus each day? Praise God. Amen.
[Some thoughts were gleaned from Alexander Maclaren and Matthew Henry.]
