The Keeper of Our Souls — John 10

0:00 Our days are numbered, but we already bought tickets to come back. So that's... We got Christmas break. And because of all the international students at Faith Academy, it's a three week Christmas break. And so we'll be coming home, Lord willing, in mid December and get to spend the end of the year with you folks and our family.

0:24 I wanted to just give you please, a prayer request to pray for The Philippines. Might have shared with you before that they were the last country in the world to go back to face to face education. And so the twenty two-twenty three school year was pretty novel of students finally getting to come back and having attended two high school graduations back in the spring this year, I got to hear the perspective of students from this side of the pond. Unfortunately, on that side of the pond, most of them lost two of their high school years completely. They weren't even on campus.

1:05 And so the ripple effect continues. The elementary division and the middle school division of Faith Academy have called alert to say that if you are serving as a teacher you're also going to be expected to be a counselor, maybe a mother or father figure because our students are still suffering from the lost social interactions and many, many different things that impacted them and that's Faith Academy. I can't even imagine what the ripple effect is in the general public. The students in the public schools didn't even have to return until November of 'twenty two, so that was a very, very long time. Also, folks have asked me, what are you folks doing over there now?

1:56 We really haven't heard specifics and so just to clarify Miriam will be teaching sixth grade again. She continues with Bible and now she is with her Master's level certificate in TESOL, teaching English to speakers of other languages. She'll be in charge of the ELL program at Faith Academy probably for sure in the sixth grade, but maybe it appears to have a lot of impact even on the whole middle school, and she also now has added English Language Arts, they call it ELA for those teachers that aren't teachers out there. English Language Arts is a very broad, and that's for all the students, so all fourteen-fifteen countries those students will be receiving her instruction. Second thing that I just want to mention regarding Miriam, she's going to be a mother again?

2:50 No, I'm just joking. She's going to be a boarding parent, a hosting parent, I don't know what you call it, but we are hosting a young man from Korea. He graduated this spring from Emmaus Bible College. We were able to meet him back in February at the Christian Ministry Seminar, and we recruited him, and he is now accepted at Faith Academy. He'll be also an ELL teacher, but being Korean and an ELL teacher, he's gold.

3:19 So we're so grateful. His name is Hoon Shin I've asked some of you folks to pray for him so continue to pray for Hoon he lands twelve hours after we do and he's moving into our house so we're going to be having him as a boarding parent and then last but not least in her category in October we're supposed to be receiving a student teacher from Taylor University, a girl named Kayla. And so Kayla will be, is it Katie? Okay, anyway, Kayla will be coming to Faith Academy to teach in the elementary division and she'll be staying with us for a couple years, I'm sorry, a couple months of her student teaching experience. And last but not least, my responsibilities.

4:02 I am still doing development work or advancement work or another term used is partnership development. What that entails is that Faith Academy does receive tuition from their students. What the missionaries pay is 25% of what the business students pay and because that is the only income for the school and there are needs that go beyond just the everyday running of the school they are seeking mission minded individuals, churches, and mission organizations around the world to support the school prayerfully and financially, and so that's been my role now since the fall of 'nineteen. So that will continue on, the primary places that I will be going to, I'll be staying in my office primarily, but there will be probably some travels to Korea and even potentially The United States, so that's pretty much what I do now. So again thank you for your prayers and your financial support.

5:34 It's only by grace that we are saved through faith and not by works of ours. So Lord, right now I just pray that you would help me to speak very clearly. I pray that you would not only prepare my speech and the work that's been put into this presentation, but most importantly, Father, that your Holy Spirit would speak to us and that we would have hearts and minds to listen, hearts and minds to hear, and that we would be more like Christ when we leave here. Thank you so much for this body. I pray you continue to bless Westlake Bible Fellowship for many years to come.

6:10 In fact, I pray all the way until Jesus returns. We just commit this time to you in Jesus name. Amen. So, the passage that I'd like to share with you this morning is Psalm 121. Only eight short verses, but very, very powerful.

6:26 I'd like to read it to you right now. I will lift up my eyes to the mountains. From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to slip.

6:38 He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not smite you by day nor the moon by night.

6:55 The Lord will protect you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord your God... I'm sorry. The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forever.

7:11 Earlier this month our family had the privilege of going to the Cleveland Metropolitan Zoo. You can tell the day we were there. We were joined by the Woodhams and it was a very precious time and we got to see a lot of animals and a lot of birds, some fish, beautiful gardens and of course lots and lots of people. It was a Monday and there were so many folks there, but it was a reminder to me that every single one of those folks have precious souls. We learned a lot about the different animals as we observed their behavior.

7:51 We read descriptive signs that told us more, and we also observed those who took care of the animals, the zookeepers. The Cleveland Zoo exhibits 3,000 animals and hires 57 keepers to care for those animals. They provide food, water, creatively designed clean habitats and healthcare, and they even give the animals baths. For example, elephants are bathed twice a week. The zoo is open to guests from ten to five, but the care of the animals is 20 three sixty five days a year.

8:29 Psalm 121 describes a special Keeper with a capital K, and there's just one of them to care for not just 3,000 animals at the zoo, but all creation itself. And not just 20 fourseven, three sixty five, but actually for all eternity, the Lord Himself. Verse five in Psalm 121 states that He is your keeper. This morning we will study the keeper of our soul. Psalm 121 and a day at the zoo.

9:03 Now you might have noticed at the beginning of Psalm 21 that it says, a song of ascents. A Song of Ascents is actually listed for Psalms 120 all the way to Psalm 134. There are 15 of these songs of ascents, and they had a very unique purpose. They were called pilgrimage hymns. In other words, as the Jews were traveling to the place where God put His name later on, it was called Jerusalem, they were told three times a year they were supposed to go there in the book of Deuteronomy.

9:39 So let's read this. Deuteronomy 16 sixteen-seventeen. Three times in a year all your males shall appear before the Lord your God in the place which He chooses, at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, and at the Feast of Weeks, and at the Feast of Booze. And they shall not appear before the Lord empty handed. Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the Lord your God, which he has given you.

10:04 Now these three feasts are also known by other names. Unleavened Bread is known as Passover, celebrating God's liberation of Israel from slavery in Egypt and takes place in the Jewish New Year, usually March or April. The Feast of Weeks is also called Pentecost, which celebrates first fruits of the wheat harvest in June. And lastly, Feast of Booze is also called the Feast of Tabernacles, which celebrates the end of the harvest season in September. And they would go in obedience to this to Jerusalem.

10:40 Now I haven't been to Jerusalem, but I know some of you have, and you know that it is up on a hill. And so that's why they call it the Psalm or Songs of Ascents because they're actually ascending to Jerusalem which is at the elevation of 2,500 feet, 2,500 feet above sea level. And Jerusalem is known to be a city surrounded by hills, seven of them in particular, and so no matter where they were in Jerusalem, or I'm sorry, no matter where they were in Israel, they were commanded to go to Jerusalem and they would ascend the hills and they would sing these psalms. Here's Psalm 125 verse one and two talking about this. Those who trust in the Lord are as Mount Zion, which cannot be moved but abides forever as the mountains surround Jerusalem.

12:05 When Solomon dedicated the temple, he requested God to hear and forgive the people of Israel when they turned to him for help. God assured Solomon of his presence and approval of this request when his glory filled the temple after he put his name there. And we read this in first Kings chapter eight. In verse 10, the narrative says, it happened that when the priest came from the holy place, the cloud filled the house of the Lord so that the priest could not stand to minister because of the cloud. For the glory of the Lord filled the house of the Lord.

12:44 And in verse 28, in the midst of Solomon's prayer, we read him praying to God, yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his supplication, O Lord my God, to listen to the cry and to the prayer which your servant prays before you today. That your eyes may be opened toward this house night and day, toward the place of which you have said, my name shall be there. To listen to the prayer which your servant shall pray toward this place, listen to the supplication of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place here in heaven, your dwelling place, hear and forgive. And in one Kings nine, we have the result. Now it came about when Solomon had finished building the house of the Lord and the king's house and all that Solomon desired to do, But the Lord appeared to Solomon a second time as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

13:43 And the Lord said to him, I have heard your prayer and your supplication which you have made before me. I have consecrated this house which you have built by putting my name there forever. And my eyes and my heart will be there perpetually. The people of Israel learned that they could be anywhere, even when they were in exile. And if they were in trouble and cried out to the Lord and looked toward the temple in Jerusalem, God would hear them and forgive them.

14:21 Isn't it wonderful to know that we also can be heard and forgiven when we cry out to God? Even if we don't look towards the temple in Jerusalem. Jesus, the Messiah, came to earth to pay the penalty for all sin when he died on the cross, located a short distance away from the former location of Solomon's Temple and the hills surrounding Jerusalem. Jesus hears our repentant cries and forgives our sin. We read this also in first John chapter one verse nine, maybe a verse that you've memorized.

15:04 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You see, our help doesn't come from looking at a mountain. Our help comes from the Lord. And thus we go to verse two. My help comes from the Lord who made heaven and earth.

15:57 That's how the Lord made us in his image, from dust. It's just remarkable. And in another Psalm, David considered this thought as well. Psalm eight, just looking at the third to eighth verse, it says, When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained, what is man that you take thought of him? And the son of man that you care for him, yet you have made Him a little lower than God, and you crown Him with glory and majesty.

16:30 You make Him to rule over the works of your hands. You have put all things under His feet, all sheep and oxen and also the beasts of the field, the birds of the heavens and the fish of the sea, whatever passes through the paths of the seas. We saw some of those beasts of the field and some of those birds of the air down at the zoo. And it was again a reminder that we are required to care for these. We are ruling over them, yes, but we also need to care for them.

17:05 And as I pondered the care that these animals received at the zoo, it was very impressive, very impressive. Cleveland Zoos received awards, in fact, for their care of animals. It also reminds us that the Lord cares for every person and that His love, His power, His care is that exemplification of His love for us. That as the scripture said, he helps us. We look to the hills from where does our help come from.

17:38 We look to the Lord. He is the one who helps us in time of need. In verses three and four we read, He will not allow your foot to slip. He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

17:57 The keeper of our souls. He who keeps you will not slumber. He who keeps Israel, the Lord. He never stops taking care of us. He knows exactly the best way to do so.

18:11 See, zookeepers have to learn. They go to college, major in zoology, they study biology, but they have to learn. And even around the world there's studies at all times of animals. But God created us. God created us and he knows everything about us.

18:33 He never slumbers nor sleeps. So he is aware of every moment of our life. He knows the beginning from the end already. He is aware of all our days and all our ways. And again, King David in another Psalm consider this truth as well.

18:52 Psalm 139. The first six verses we read, O Lord, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up. You understand my thought from afar. You scrutinize my path and my lying down.

19:10 You are intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there's a word on my tongue, behold, oh Lord, you know it all. You've enclosed me behind and before you laid your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is too high.

19:31 I cannot attain to it. As we look at verses five and six, again, I reminded, the Lord is your keeper. Now that doesn't say that we're animals. It just says he takes care of us, right? The Lord is your shade on your right hand.

20:20 And so they make sure that especially the larger animals at the zoo have places both inside and outside to live. They can rest in the shade of trees or indoors in corners of their habitats, and when the weather suits them like it did when we were there, the started to rain really cooled things off and all of a sudden animals were coming out from their caves and their niches and we saw wolves for the first time roaming around and tigers coming right up to the front it was just amazing. We were blessed to see lions and rhinos, tigers, wolves, giraffes, gorillas, elephants, and even a baby bison all outside at the zoo. They appeared at peace and well cared for. And isn't it like the Lord that we can be at peace too?

21:14 We are kept by our heavenly Father. He provides us food and clothing. We read that in Matthew six. He says, don't be worried about what you're gonna eat and drink or what you're gonna wear. And he provides us shelter too, doesn't he?

21:30 And again, in the Psalms, we have other Psalms that talk about this. In Psalm 145, starting in verse 14, we read, The Lord sustains all who fall and raises up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you and you give them their food in due time. You open your hand and satisfy the desire of every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his deeds.

22:00 The Lord is near to all who call upon him and to all who call upon Him in truth. He will fulfill the desire of those who fear Him. He will also hear their cry and will save them. The Lord keeps all who love Him. And then in Psalm 147, just a couple of chapters later, verses seven and nine, Sing to the Lord with thanksgiving, sing praises to our God on the lyre, who covers the heavens with clouds, who provides rain for the earth, who makes grass to grow on the mountains.

22:35 He gives to the beast its food and to the young ravens which cry. Now one of the attractions at the zoo is watching the keepers feed the animals, right? But sometimes visitors get to be involved. In case of the giraffes, for a mere, I think $3 at the right time with a keeper attending to you, you can feed those 17 foot tall giraffes. You just stand on that elevated platform, you hold the romaine lettuce in your hand, and the giraffe reaches up there, sticks out his 20 inches tongue, grabs it, pulls it back down.

23:16 You can imagine the giggles of the children as they're holding those lettuce and watching the giraffes eat. And if you like smaller animals, well you can go over to the Australian exhibit where these small Australian parrots called lorikeets are in their fenced in area, and you walk right through there and you can buy a little cup of nectar, pure nectar, and you just hold it up and those little lorikeets will sip it right out of the cup out of your hand. Now the elephants, they have a little bit different type of feeding situation and there are no visitors feeding them because of their size. But the keepers have found out in their learning about the animals that because they're foragers they don't want to make it too easy on them. They want to keep them learning because, as you and I would say, God designed them that way.

24:14 And so they hide their food. They don't make it easy for them. They put it in piles of rocks or on ledges and even baskets hoisted up high in the air. They even bury food in the sand to make the elephants dig for it. And they absolutely love it.

24:58 He will protect us and he will keep us. We read about this in John chapter 10 verses 27 through 30. Jesus speaking here says this, My sheep hear my voice. And I know them and they follow me. And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish.

25:21 And no one will snatch them out of my hand. My father who has given them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the father's hand. I and the Father are one. The Lord protects us too. Spiritual forces of darkness always are battling with God's heavenly host.

25:50 We read about it in the book of Daniel. We see it also in the book of Job, and we see it in Revelation. We even see it in the temptation of Jesus Christ in the gospels. Most of this activity though, we are completely oblivious to. We're unaware of it.

26:11 We don't know what's going on. It's a mystery to us. But the more that we as believers engage in the battle for the souls of boys and girls and men and women, the greater the conflict. We will witness spiritual warfare. We will witness persecution if we are truly living for Christ.

26:37 We're promised that in one Timothy. So praise God for those of you who are courageous enough to press on in evangelism, to press on in preaching the word of God from this platform or wherever the Lord gives you a ministry. Praise God that you have responded to the verses like, for example, second Chronicles 15 verse seven where it says, but you be courageous. For there is reward for your work. And in Hebrews 11 verse six, we're told, and without faith it's impossible to please him.

27:27 For he who comes to God must know that he is and that he is a rewarder of those who seek him. Anything that we do in the flesh will be worthless. Anything we do by faith will be fruitful. So I encourage you, press on in ministry and encourage each other as you serve the savior. The last verse of Psalm 121 says, The Lord will guard your going out and your coming in.

28:04 Excuse me. From this time forth and forever. When you go to the zoo, the first thing you see is the elephant exhibit. And there's some going that's on there. You walk over to this massive yard and you start trying to count the elephants.

28:25 You watch what they're doing. Some of them are spraying themselves with water from the pool. Some of them are in the pool. Some of them are digging through a pile looking for food. Some of them are reaching up high, reaching for food up high.

28:38 But there comes a time when you say, Hey, you know what? Let's go see a little bit more up close. And so they have this building that was specially designed for the elephants and other animals actually to go into during inclement weather or overnight. And as you go through that, you cross a path that's kind of interesting. It has footprints in it, shoes, human shoes.

29:02 Also has footprints going the other direction, elephant prints. They call it the African elephant crossing. The elephants actually have three areas to roam around. One of them is not visible to the public. You can see it in Google Earth though if you want to look at it.

29:22 And the other two areas though are viewable to the public and there's two times a day during zoo hours which they will take the elephants, five in the herd, four females and one male, from one area to the other. And that's the famous African elephant crossing. How do they do that? Well, they close gates, very, very tall wooden gates, and they prevent the visitors from going through that path I told you about. Now you may say, Well, what if you were in the building and it's that time?

29:58 Well, guess what? You're on the other side and you're kind of trapped there for a few minutes and you get to watch the elephants cross from the building side. So the crowd gathers around and when all the gates are shut, for what purpose? To guard and to protect. Not just the elephants, but also the visitors, right?

30:18 And here come the elephants. They know it's that time, and they cross over from one area to the other. It's quite fascinating. And I encourage you to check out the times and watch the show. It doesn't cost anything more.

30:32 Well, those keepers are monitoring that entire process. And the gates guard the elephants and the visitors from harm. Isn't it also another reminder that God guards our souls in the things that we do? Our going out and our coming in. Everyday life, sometimes more dramatic than others.

31:22 They're not receiving such good care during their lives. Of course, most animals are not in a zoo. Are in the wild. But in the wild there are dangers. There could be victims of other predators or poachers.

31:37 For example elephants are on the endangered species list because of the ivory tusks that God's blessed them with and cursed them with. And then there's also disease. Did you know that the animals at the zoo received the COVID vaccine? It also reminds me that not everyone knows the keeper of their soul. There are millions of people around the world who still haven't heard the gospel in their own language.

32:12 There are people here in this country who haven't had the blessing of someone taking the time to share the good news with them. May this morning, this little study of Psalm 121 and a day at the zoo, be a reminder, a gentle reminder to pray for missionaries around the world who are serving the Lord in challenging environments, places where they're endangered, as well as the people whom they ministered to. Their goal is to fulfill the Great Commission, the final commandment of Jesus before he ascended into heaven. We too, no matter where we live, can be witnesses for Jesus Right here in Cleveland, right here in Westlake or Lorain County or anywhere around The United States or other countries. We can have our own personal witness in Jerusalem and Judea.

33:02 We can reach out to someone who has not heard the gospel. And I guarantee you, if you say, I'm kind of interested at that, talk to the elders and I'll have you all set up within the week of how you can be a witness for Christ. May your next trip to the zoo remind you the Lord is your keeper. He loves you. He cares for every detail of your life.

33:26 And if you don't know the keeper, do as the Jews were told to do. Turn your eyes to a hill outside Jerusalem. It was once called Mount Moriah and a man named Abraham was told to go there by God with his son, his one and only son Isaac to sacrifice him. And Abraham did so in obedience. But right before he plunged the knife into his son, God stopped him.

34:01 And he said, I provided a sacrifice. The same words. The same words that Abraham had said to Isaac as he asked that question. We have the fire, have the wood, but where's the sacrifice? God will provide.

34:16 Well, later on that same mountain range had another mountain called Golgotha. And that time, different story. It wasn't a ram caught in the thicket that was sacrificed. It was the lamb. The lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.

34:36 And that lamb was not spared. That lamb was Jesus, the Messiah. He became the perfect sacrificial lamb who died to take away the sin of the world, past, present, and future, including mine and yours. He is, as we've just studied, the keeper of our soul. And my question for you this morning, first of all, if you know him as the keeper of your soul, are you serving him?

35:11 Is he Lord of your life? Is he more important, as we sang earlier, more than gold or silver, only you, Lord, will satisfy? And if you don't know him as a keeper of your soul, you can receive him today. He only asks, only asks one thing, that you would put your faith and trust in him. For when you recognize your sinfulness, and that he died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sin, all you have to do is come to him by faith.

35:47 You don't have to look to a mountain, you look to a man. It's not a religion, it's relationship. He is ready to hear your prayer today. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we do thank you so much for the word of God.

36:39 Even if we already know you as our savior, Father, may we even today cast away that sin that we're clinging to. Heal that relationship that's broken. Seek your forgiveness on that unconfessed sin. Lord, thank you so much for keeping us, caring for us, loving us. And we know that it doesn't last twenty fourseven, three sixty five days, but for all eternity.

37:08 And no one will be able to snatch us out of your hand. We just thank you. We are comforted. We are kept. And we praise you.

37:18 And we pray this all in Jesus' name. Amen.