Dr. Marcus Cosby Sunday, July 8, 2018 7:15am

[Music] to God be the glory for the great things he has done many one loves the Lord Jesus this morning will you give God praise for who he is and for all that he has done I declare I love him today because He first loved me and now we blessed the Lord for this privilege and worship for this opportunity to gather together one more Sunday morning in the house of the Lord the older Saints was think about it when they saying I'm glad to be in the service one more time he didn't have to let me live he didn't have to let me live but I'm glad to be in the service one more time to the eminent bishop who gives leadership to this great house of worship and praise thank God for the bishop walter scott thomas who he is and for all that he feeds to the people of god god bless you sir so joy to be with you in this place and i thank you so much for honoring me with the privilege of sharing it's such a significant and signal experience at the new psalmist church today happy anniversary new psalmist praise god for 119 years of the life of this church to all of the Reverend clergy who are in this place to the leadership at membership of this church body to all who walk by faith and not by sight is good for us to be here and we thank god for this moment in time thank god for this magnificent and melodious majestic music ministry what a blessing they have been to us in worship today thank you so much we praise God for you don't want to hold you long this morning I know that we have a busy worship day but there is a word from the Lord today and if you have your Bibles I invite your attention to the Old Testament Book of Psalms the Old Testament Book of Psalms famiglia passengers gives you two most Bible readers I want to look at Psalm 121 so I'm 121 and begin our reading at first five the new test the Old Testament Book of Psalms Psalm 121 beginning with verse five we have that passage of Scripture say Amen I'm reading day from the King James Version of the Holy Word of God and this is what it says Psalm 121 verse five one of the Lord reads the Lord is thy keeper that's enough amen praise God for His Holy Word you may be seated in the presence of our God the Lord is thy keeper for thomna sounds to share together on this Sunday morning I want to simply talk from the subject o to be kept Oh to be kept for the hymn lovers in the room you'll immediately recognize those words it's one of the great hymns of the church all to be kept by Jesus and I want to talk about that for a little while from this passage of Scripture Oh to be kept Bishop Thomas one of the things that anyone will readily recognize in an experience and worship like this is that whenever you come to an african-american Protestant religious church tradition there's certain things that you can always pick out certain things you can expect to experience I love going to church I love being a part of the experience and worship but every time you enter into a african-american religious Protestant church experience there's certain things you can just expect to see and I've been watching it I've been noticing it ever since I've been in this place today one of the things you can always expect is that church folk are going to talk all while church is going on that's what we do we talk all while church is going on I mean from the call to worship to the benediction church folk are talking it is the expectation that will you go into an african-american Protestant religious church experience that the sites are gonna talk all while Church I'm going on I I saw you talking why the choir was just singing I saw you talking while the bishop was introducing the preacher I saw you're talking while the man was praying over the offering that's what we do in church we talk all while churches go as a matter of fact for the last two minutes since I've been standing up here folk have been talking all over the sanctuary had been talking all over the kindness thank you very because that's what church folk do we we talk all while church is going on and we've given a formal name to it we formalized it and we formally called it call and response that's what it is is calling and response literally suggesting that when something true is spoken up here something is going to be said out there and all while this experience of worship has been going on the Saints have been talking back and forth to one another because that's what we do that's how we communicate one with another when we hear something good spoken about the Lord our God we can't just keep that to ourselves and act as if nothing has been said whenever we hear that God is good somebody's gonna say all the time and if somebody's gonna saying all the time God is cuz that's what we do in church whenever you hear somebody say he'll make a way out of no way somebody says I know that's right whenever you hear him say somebody and say he'll be a bridge over troubled water I know that's the truth because that's how we communicate in church it is call and response you can't sit through a whole two hours of an african-american Protestant religious church experience like this and not say anything you just got to say something as a matter of fact the Bible bears it out for in Psalm 107 the Word of God says let the redeemed of the Lord say so yes though this church family the text does not say let the redeemed of the Lord looks cuz we can look real pious and spiritual when we want to can't we the Bible does not say let the redeemed of the Lord now it's your head so no that's not what it says it says the redeemed of the Lord or open up your mouths and say so and I need seven twelve people in church this morning who know that God has been better to you that you could have ever been to yourself to begin to talk about the goodness of God to testify to his greatness to his grandeur to His grace and to his glory we talk because the Bible says in the book of the revelation that we overcome by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony and is there anyone in church this morning who has a testimony that God has been so good to you that every now and then you just can't keep it to yourself you've got to open up your mouth and testify about his goodness I bring this to our consideration this morning Church family because it seems to me that in Psalm 121 there is a call-and-response that is going on between two speakers that are here in the text that help us to understand who God is and what God does for those of us who trust in him when you read Psalm 121 it is a beautiful presentation of two individuals who are speaking back - for - back and forth to one another a call-and-response if you please that lets the people of God know that God is still good that God is still on our side and that God is able to do what no one else is able to do when you read Psalm 121 it is called a song of assent that's the technical term we give to it it is literally one of those songs that were sung as the people of God were making their way up to the holy city of Jerusalem making their way up Mount Zion slippery slopes lifting up their voices as they make their way to the holy city talking about who God is in their lives don't miss the church family they're not yet at church they're making their way up Mount Zion slippery slopes headed to the holy city of Jerusalem can't you hear them choir we're marching to Zion beautiful beautiful Zion we're marching up which is that in the beautiful city of God and while they're going and they begin to sing and some talk about the goodness of the Lord they don't wait to get to church to have church they're having church on the way to church do these don't miss this because if you know if church is gonna be as good as we need it to be you can't just wait till you get to church to have church you don't need anybody bumping you up you ought to be having church on your way to church so that when you get here you can enter his gates with Thanksgiving and into his courts with praise can I find somebody who didn't have to wait to get to church to start talking to God this morning you didn't wait to get to the sanctuary to sing you lift up your voice into God today somebody was having church driving the church somebody was having church putting your church clothes on somebody can testify I don't wait to get here I don't need nobody telling me put my hands together I already put them together before I got here I don't need anybody telling me if you get up sit down get them know I was doing that before I got here waving my hands because I know who God is and what God has done and that's what's going on Church family they're making their way up Mount Zion slippery slopes and while they're headed up to the holy city of Jerusalem they began to talk back and forth to one another and here's what the original speaker says the first speaker says I will lift up mine eyes to the hills from whence cometh my help my help cometh from the Lord which made heaven and earth that's real good it sounds real good because the original speaker says that he's got a helper in God but the secondary speaker comes along right after that and talks back to him and says yeah I know that God you're talking about he will not suffer thy foot to be moved and behold he that keepeth thee will not slumber he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep the Lord is that keeper the Lord is thy shade upon that right hand as the Sun shall not smite thee by day nor the moon by night the Lord shall preserve thee from all evil he shall preserve thy soul the Lord shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth and even forevermore that's winter folks start have insurance they start getting happy because they're talking about who God is and what God is able to do now brothers and sisters please don't miss this the original speaker is real clear that he has not arrived at the place where he is on his own not by his own volition nor he understands it with nobody but the Lord who was helping him to get to where he is a new psalmist you do know you have that testimony this Sunday don't you he's 119 years and not just because of human ingenuity and creativity but somebody a new psalmist can testify the Lord's been helping us all these 119 years to be who we are and to do what we do I will lift up mine eyes to the hills and in the original the second line is really a question and the question is who where does my help come from and the psalmist does not wait for anybody to answer his question he says hey my help comes from the Lord which made heaven and earth and can I find 10 people in every section who can testify man if I had that microphone I'd be able to tell you I don't need anybody else to tell my testimony I can look back over my life and testify that all of my help has come from the Lord says he's my helper he's my helper that's the original speaker but there's a call that responds to the text and the secondary speaker says yes I know that God's you're talking about but he's not just my help he's my keeper come on and help me bridge I don't mind he's my keeper that's what the secondary speaker begins to suggest and for those next several verses beginning at verse 3 he begins to talk about this power of God to keep us when we can't keep ourselves and can I look at this for just a few moments and cuz it seems to me that just as Psalm 121 is the testimony of those who have had the experience of walking with God and knowing who God is that the new psalmist church likewise has the experience of God not just being your helper but likewise God being York watch the text Church family because the texts seem to suggest in the first place that this God who is our keeper he keeps us stable with his constant care yeah I said he keeps us stable if the church stays stable he keeps us stable with this constant care if your Bible is still open if your app is still unlocked you will find out that when the psalmist begins to speak this secondary speaker says listen here this god of ours he will not suffer permit allow your foot to be moved he won't allow your foot to slip now you gotta watch the context please don't miss what's going on they're making their way up Mount Zion slippery's folks I was so glad to hear you're saying we're marching to Zion because I knew what I was gonna preach this morning and it just made sense for all that to go together I love the way the Holy Ghost works don't you and he's working that thing out and so they're making their way up Mount Zion slippery slopes and while they're making their way up Mount Zion you must understand their cliffs and crags in the rock that could permit them to lose their foothold lose their footing but the secondary speaker says that your God knows how to keep you stable he knows how to hold your footsteps Fetty and secure so that you don't slip and fall why are you making your way up Mount Zion slippery slopes he's literally saying you're in some unstable environments but the Lord knows how to keep you stable in the midst of unstable experiences and somebody in here can testify you may not have ever been to Mount Zion never been to the Holy Land of Israel but somebody can testify you know what it means for God to keep you stable in some unstable environments somebody knows what it means to have some instability in your health and some instability in your finances has diminished ability on your job and instability in your family but God knows how to keep you stable storage you don't look like everything you going through and 10 people in church can testify man if you knew my whole story you wouldn't believe I'm sitting in here with my hands lifted up and my mouth filled with praise but the only reason I'm able to testify about God's goodness is he's kept me stable in unstable environment oh thank you lord yes in the mr. pitfalls and predicaments into mr. Barrow and problematic circumstances he's kept us people I love this child of God because this god of ours loves us so much that he keeps us when we can't keep ourselves he he secures us when we can't secure ourselves he stabilizes us in the midst of unstable circumstances I love this text and it helps us to understand some things about God but scholars suggest bishop thomas that this word is not just a word for stable but is a synonym for this word could literally be that God keeps us sane that God keeps us sane there there's some sisters and brothers in this sanctuary on this Sunday morning who could testify if we knew all that you had been through you'd be amazed that you still in your right mind somebody in church today can look back over a life of many years that have been lived and you can testify that if it hadn't been for God stabilizing you and keeping you you would have lost your mind along say okay you lost the lippert among your manager lost your whole mind because God has kept you sane in the midst of unseen same circumstance I mean with problems and peril and predicaments and problematic circumstances can and that president sitting at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue somebody oughta faint God that you haven't thrown in the towel and just gone cuckoo for cocoa puffs and can I find somebody in church today who can thank God that even though he's crazy God is keeping me in my right by he keeps us stable I love this it's not just the word stable and it's not just we're sane but it's also a synonym that he's that's the garlic some suggest that should be given here and that's the word smiling that God literally keeps us smiling in the midst of everything we're going through I know it's true because I've been standing up here for the last 20 minutes or so and since I've been standing up here I'm looking at four who have never seen me a day before in your life and you've been smiling at me for the last ten or twelve minutes and you don't know me you ain't ever seen me before and you ain't smiling just because we cool like that you smiling cuz you know there's a god who's been on your side you smiling because God keeps you in perfect peace as you keep your mind stayed on here man can I find ten or twelve people in here who no you look so much better when you smile you just found me you can't say Jesus as many times as we said Jesus had not smiled once or twice you can't talk about how good he's been had not smiled every now and then is there anybody in here who can testify everything ain't going right in my life but this joy I am the world didn't give it and the world can't take it away is there anybody in here who's still got a smile on your face he keeps me stable that used to be saying seems to be smiling then she's been succeeding that he's been singing he's been celebrating I thank God that he keeps me from slipping from falling he keeps you he won't allow will permit your foot to slip because he's giving you his constant air he that keepeth thee does not slumber just not sleep never takes a hiatus never needs a coffee break he never needs a vacation he's always wash it out for his children always got his eye on you he keeps us stable with his constant care but I suggest in the second place that he not only keeps us stable with his constant care but secondarily Church family may I submit to you that this god of ours who is our keeper he keeps us shielded with his sufficient surveillance let me see if I can work with that he keeps us shielded somebody say shield it he's got shielded with his sufficient surveillance I'm screwing in your Bible I haven't left yet verse 5 says the Lord is thy keeper like this he's your shade upon your right hand Sun won't spikes you by day nor the moon by night please don't miss the context they're making their way up the holy city amount of a mouse died and headed to the holy city of Jerusalem and while they're making their way up to the holy city of Jerusalem they're dealing with the reality that God is keeping them shielded watch this from elements by day and enemies by night he's keeping them shielded from the elements by day and enemies by night the Sun shall not smite thee by day because the Lord is your shade upon your right hand now church family I I love this because what is what the text is revealing to us is that while they're making their way up the slippery slopes of Mount Zion that'd be me hot Sun is coming down on them and that Sun could cause heat stroke cause could cause some to faint and fall by the wayside but God knows how to keep them shielded he keeps insulated he's there shade upon their right hand now now if you're conversant with 21st century vernacular you already know that the word shade is not a very positive term in 21st century vocabulary if you know anything about the 21st century but vernacular you know the shape if somebody tells you you Shady they are not giving you a compliment if somebody tells you you throwing shade you may need to check how you acting in somebody's in survive it is in environment do when somebody tells you you Shady that is not something that is being spoken of as a compliment to you but that's the 21st century you don't know what I'm talking about ass when these Millennials around here and they'll tell you exactly okay somebody's asking right now folk church folk talk all wild Church is going on that's what we do and in fact you know ask him after the benediction will you please after the benediction because they'll tell you that being Shady is not very positive but that's that's that's 21st century in the in this context in this Hebrew context it literally means that God gets between us and was trying to hinder us and he blocks it oh no that was a good opportunity for you to look a man even if you didn't say a man that was a good spot right there please say preach man that was a good spot to at least wave your hand even if you don't say a word because I told you that your God is so much a keeper that he knows how to get between you and was trying to hinder and harm you and he blocks it and he seals you from the elements by day the Sun is not gonna get at you by day but he also shields you from enemies by night it says the moon by night now you must understand the Hebrew context the mindset of the Hebrew was that in the evening I was in the nighttime hours in the lunar I was the moon by the moon was shining that robbers and Marauders could hang out in the cliffs and crags of the rock and do harm to those who are making their way to and from the holy city of Jerusalem so while they're making their way up and down Mount Zion slippery slopes and they know that there's always somebody hiding out trying to do harm to those who are making their way to and from the holy city of Jerusalem but the Hebrew writer said that the psalmist says this is God as you serve Sheils you even from the enemies by night that the lunar experiences won't get the better of you they understood that at nighttime crazy stuff started happening that in next time you never knew what was going to show up and try to harm you and try to hinder you and take you out you you do know the stuff starts happening at night that you never anticipated happen the wind went when the moon is that when the lunar experiences okay lunar it's literally the word from which we get our word lunacy okay okay it's the word from which we get our word lunatic and all of us know that some lunatics that are lurking although okay it literally suggests that those of us who know what it means to have some challenges at night understand that oftentimes we lose our bearings in the night time we get more fretful at night those who live alone can testify you always hears something in the other room even though you know good well you're the only one in that house you you just saw something move past the door some shadow just passed by you no good well you do all start creaking and something on the floor floor boys start making noise you're the only woman in there for the last three hours but you just can swear that something map is at night because at nighttime I know I'm at the new psalmist Church I don't mean to offend anybody but in 1985 there was a group called Houdini that wrote a song about it they said certain kinds of folk come out at night I knew y'all knew the song it's the freaks come out at night I knew y'all knew can y'all tell y'all just singing we marks in the sign but that ain't know y'all know y'all just thinking my Jesus I love you but you also know some Houdini in this out because somebody understands that strange things happen in the night time hours but the secondary speaker said don't get fretful don't start tripping because your God is your shade upon your right hand he literally just between you was trying to come after you and he blocks it all new summers can I help you on this Sunday morning you and I don't know half the stuff they tried to get out of us but God wouldn't let it get at us because he got between us and it and he blocked it can I find 10 people who know you still standing you still survived it you're still smiling because God got between you and what tried to harm you oh say said he protected me from danger scene had on the scene people to hide your protection around me and let no enemy before me is there anybody in here who is grateful that you still alive on this day because God got between you and keeps the shield he keeps us shielded with insufficient surveillance that's my Timon st. used to sing that song all night don't know it at all day hey just keep watching over me is there anybody in here who is grateful that your God has been watching over you he's been keeping you he's been securing you somebody ought to give him glory on a Sunday morning because these kept you shielded from hurt harm and danger I'm done let me close a little message but they're making their way up Mount Zion slippery slopes and while they're added up there they know they got some enemies lurking but God keeps the Micheel did that watch the textures family because now the psalmist says the Lord will preserve you from all evil he'll preserve your soul he's going to preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth and even forevermore and I love this because not only does God keep us stable with his Karin not only does God keep us shielded with his sufficient surveillance but I submit in the last place that God keeps our souls with his prevailing power yeah I'm done I'm gonna close right there that God keeps our souls with this prevailing power watch the text the Lord shall preserve thee from all evil now I got caught there Bishop because there there's something that's country country distinctive between that line of the previous line we have just talked about how the enemies we're lurking in the shadows and the crags of the rock and we talk about how God has spared us from our enemies how God has shielded us from our enemies but that next slide the secondary speaker says that this god of ours has preserved us from all evil he's literally suggesting that all the evil that tried to take us out it didn't come from without some of it came from within no hi Jackie hallelujah now don't don't you arrest your amens come on and keep talking back to me because somebody in this church can testify listen man all the mess I got into wasn't cause of some hater on the outside some of the stuff I got into in my life was because I made some deliberate decisions and some things that I got myself into is because I went the wrong way and did the wrong thing can I find 10 people in here who will help me preach and be honest on a Sunday morning and say some of the mistakes I made it's because I made some decisions to do some stuff I need some people who would be transparent and say I did some stuff and then did it again and I knew it wasn't supposed to do it but I liked it and I went back for some more I need somebody to help me now I went back for some more I strategize how I was gonna do it and it has got myself tripped up and say Lord if you get me out of this we'll do that again and then just as soon as he touched you out you went right back in the same thing you told him you never do is there anybody in here who can testify some stuff was not my enemy some stuff was with the enemy I need some real space in here we'll get testified had always been sitting at the 715 service with a Bible in my lap and sometimes when I was I was still doing some stuff I had no business doing but thanks be unto God he shielded me from me oh I need somebody who knows he preserves you from your own silly self when you made some mistakes you says you never make again he preserve me from all evil even my own mistakes everybody in here is made some mistakes we wish we hadn't made everybody has done some things we wish we hadn't done and some broken thank God you did it before social media is this mic still on I said something on to thank God you got delivered before Twitter how many somebody has somebody ought to get happy that's your stuff didn't hit Instagram is there anybody in church who is excited that you did your stuff back in the day before you joined loose Ole Miss somebody oughta thank God hey he preserves you from he shall preserve thee from all evil he'll preserve your soul that's what I've been fighting it he'll preserve your soul I love that word so it's nephesh in the Hebrew nephesh in the Hebrew is a beautiful word it literally is the breathing part of the individual it's the part of the individual that gives activation and motivation to every other part of the individual let me give you again nephesh the soul is the breathing part of the individual it gives activation and motivation to every other part of the individual that's why insult 103 the psalmist says bless the Lord help me now o my soul and all that is within me bless His Holy Name literally suggesting if my soul starts blessed in the Lord then my hands will stop blessing the Lord if my soul starts blessing the Lord then my feet will start blessing the Lord if my soul starts blessing it my mind will tell my mouth to open itself up and begin to bless the Lord so by the time we get to the benediction and everything that is within me it has blessed his holy name is there anybody in here who came to new psalmist this morning and you didn't come in here simply just to enjoy a worship service can somebody and hit it told yourself that you were gonna bless God because you look back over the shoulder of your life and you can see every mountain he brought you over every valley he brought you through you can thank him for every blessing and shout hallelujah because he's been so good to you that you can't keep this to yourself is there anybody in here who knows he's been blessing yep and so the psalmist says in Psalm 23 that he restoreth my soul yeah it literally means he keeps me alive that's what the psalmist did see me just suggest in Psalm 121 that despite every predicament every problem all the peril every circumstance every situation that God has kept him alive and you want to hear me on this Sunday when I tell you that you haven't just been kept alive so you can walk around and have Pope acts you on the back end you've been kept alive so that every time you get a chance you can open up your mouth and say if it had not been for the Lord who was on my side I don't know where in the world I would be and is there anybody in here who can command your soul to begin to bless the Lord because if you do that it will make you understand a whole lot better that God has been walking with you and talking with you and keeping you and sustaining you and holding you when you could not do it for yourself is there anybody in here who can help me preach him and best define he's kept my show going out and my coming in from this time forth even forevermore listen the psalmist is literally saying listen here man God is not just trying to get you to and from church his literally is taking care of all your stops and starts all your arrivals and departures because God is not trying to get the glory out of you while you sitting in new psalmist he wants to get the glory why are you in your house he wants to get the glory why you own your job he wants the other glory why are you walking through the mall he wants to get the glory why you sitting at the doctor's office and is there anybody in here who doesn't mind giving him glory wherever you are because you recognize that hey that God's been mighty good to you and you cannot keep it to yourself and he's got power to keep you when you cannot keep yourself I need 10 or 12 people in here who can testify hey man as I look back over my life and think about all the things that God has brought me through him I know his power and has sustained me when I could not sustain myself I was weak along the journey but God stepped in right on time and that gave me power to keep on going the pie was thin he gives power to the faint and to them who have no might he increases strength even the youth shall faint and be weary and the young men shall utterly fall the Lord shall renew their strength they'll mount up on wings as he goes they run and I can't weary not can I find somebody at new Summers who can testify when I felt like giving up when I felt like throwing in the towel when I felt like waving the white flag of surrender God kept it so I would not let go so that wouldn't not give up and that's why I look so good on a Sunday morning at nous somme base and not because of what I got on not because of the money in my bank account it's because the Lord has kept me I'm looking at some kept man [Music] it was nobody it was nobody's holding my hand please excuse me saving me who can testify [Music] Zubin like the Lord can't want a microwave fire open fire [Music] [Music] [Music] ESP will happy anniversary church better Lord bless you real good I gotta go to my feet now is able to keep you from your father's presence with a speeding [Music] [Music]

Channel: New Psalmist Baptist Church

Views: 11,994

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Id: 2vWPa-MefUM

Length: 37min 33sec (2253 seconds)

Published: Sun Jul 08 2018