Young Adults' Group

“I Will Lift Up My Eyes”

by Pastor Mark
March 15, 2024

Thank God for His blessings on the Family Camp

We give thanks and praise to the Lord for another wonderful and blessed Family Camp. The Lord’s Word was richly taught, and many deep, insightful lessons were learnt. Many came away from the camp enlightened, empowered and encouraged. As I reflected on the numerous messages that were taught, three lessons stood out.

Lessons learnt

1. The deliverance of the Lord

“In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me.” (Psalm 120:1)

1. One of the key foci of the Psalmist was the Lord.
2. He sought the Lord for His deliverance.
3. The Psalmist wrote of the time when he was in distress and he cried out to the Lord.
4. The idea of deliverance can be understood from the standpoint in Deuteronomy.
5. The Lord delivered Sihon and his people over to Israel (Deuteronomy 2:33).
6. He was involved in bringing about this deliverance.
7. God’s power was invoked in His deliverance…with reference to how He redeemed Israel out of Egypt.
8. But Moses warned the people that they must not forget the things that they had seen (Deuteronomy 4:9).
9. They must not forget the covenant that God had with them (Deuteronomy 4:23).
10. All these warnings came to pass and God scattered the people (Deuteronomy 4:27).
11. In their distress, they would seek the Lord with all their heart and soul (Deuteronomy 4:29).
12. The Psalmist also learnt to seek the Lord with all his heart and soul in his time of distress…knowing that the Lord will deliver.

It was enlightening to see how deliverance can be explained from this standpoint.

2. The centrality of Zion

“This is the mountain which God desires to dwell in; yes, the Lord will dwell in it forever.” (Psalm 68:16)

1. God chose Mount Zion to be where the Lord would dwell in…where His house would be.
2. Those who trust in the Lord would be immovable and abiding like Mount Zion (Psalm 125:1).
3. Zion was seen as central to the people of Israel…as they sought to worship the Lord.
4. For us, the church is seen as spiritual Zion and it should also be central to our lives.
5. Whether as a family or as individuals, our central focus should be on the church.
6. The problem today is that we are allowing the things of the world to be more central in our lives.

Let us be challenged to love the church and to make it central in our life and service.

3. The attainment of spiritual calm

1. Another excellent insight learnt was how David attained spiritual calmness.
2. He was able to see that his heart was not haughty and lofty (Psalm 131:1).
3. David used a wonderful way to describe his calmness of heart.
4. His soul was like a weaned child with his mother.
5. The weaning process would include the child being agitated as he is being weaned.
6. It is to help the baby move on to the next stage of life.
7. When we are faced with the afflictions of life, we should not cry out like a “baby”.
8. When we are able to move on to the next stage, we stop being a “baby”.
9. Through having hope in the Lord, we are able to become calm and quiet (Psalm 131:2).
10. This is where we are able to overcome our afflictions and move on in life.

Let us be challenged to look to the Lord for His deliverance, hope in Him and attain this spiritual calmness when facing life’s difficulties.

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