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There Is Joy In The Journey
Psalm 122
Rev. Min J. Chung
(Lords Day Worship, July 22, 2007)
1 A Song of Ascents. Of David. I rejoiced with those who said to me, "Let us go to the house of the LORD." 2 Our feet
are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. 3 Jerusalem is built like a city that is closely compacted together. 4 That is
where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute given to
Israel. 5 There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house of David. 6 Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
"May those who love you be secure. 7 May there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels." 8 For
the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, "Peace be within you." 9 For the sake of the house of the LORD our
God, I will seek your prosperity.
Introduction
For the past three weeks, we have been looking at three psalms between Psalm 120
and Psalm 135, which are known as the Songs of Ascents. These are the songs the
Israelites sang as they ascended to Jerusalem. Wherever they were, all Israelites
went to Jerusalem three times a year to worship the Lord and celebrate this picture
of Gods salvation. Thousands of families went to Jerusalem and would sing these
songs, even those that lived outside of Jerusalem. They considered Jerusalem their
real home, their spiritual home. Its a picture of what heaven will be like. Wherever
we are, we journey towards the heavenly Jerusalem. We are all headed in the same
direction.
In this psalm, David is expressing his love for the people of Jerusalem. He calls them
the tribes of Israel. We all have different ethnicities and skin colors, but we are all
part of the tribe of Jesus Christ. We are one in Jesus Christ because God sees our
hearts and whether or not we are born of Christ. Thats how David sees his people.
Gods people are all going to Jerusalem together. Its a picture of the Israelites
journey to the land of Canaan and it shows what our lives are like. Along the way
there are hardship and difficulties but we go through it together.
Psalm 120 is about the difficulties of the relationships we have on this journey. Psalm
121 is about the difficulties of the circumstances we face daily. These two psalms
summarize all of the sufferings that we have in our Christian journey. Psalm 122 tells
us that, although life is hard, theres joy in the journey. It is the joy of the Lord and the
joy of being together. We sometimes focus too much on half-emptiness rather than
half-fullness. We can complain about anything but we can also be thankful in
everything. We will learn about five kinds of joy that exist in our journey.
I.
The Joy of the Host
Psalm 122:1 says, A Song of Ascents. Of David. I rejoiced with those who said to
me, Let us go to the house of the LORD.
A. Is David in love with the house? No, he is rejoicing because the Lord is in the
house. Its Gods house. He is the host. Its the joy of the Lord. When you were
coming today, were you walking in dread or were you walking in joy? Who were
you thinking about? Who were you looking forward to seeing? Me? That guy or
girl? That small group member? David was rejoicing because he was
anticipating seeing the host – the Lord.
B. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 says, Rejoice in the Lord always. In all the things we face
in our lives, the Lord is in them. God is omnipresent. In everything, God is
guiding you and loving you. That is why we can rejoice in the Lord always. He
promises to be with us to the very end of the age. He is working in your life no
matter what kinds of things you face. No matter what relational difficulty,
circumstance, or hardship you have, the Lord is in it and Hes working for the
good of those who love Him. Hes doing something good in your life. You can
complain or you can be thankful. You can complain in the Lord or you can
rejoice in the Lord. John 4:24 says that believers can worship in spirit and in
truth. When we meditate on the Word of God and depend on Him in prayer, we
can worship anywhere and everywhere. In any circumstance, wherever we are,
we can rejoice in the Lord! There is no excuse because Hes already there. Hes
working for your good. Are you thankful? Are you rejoicing in the Lord? Its a
simple but important question.
C. In our journey we have to sing along the way. David was qualified to write a
psalm about the journey of worship. David knew how to sing. If I were a female,
I would like a guy like this. Hes intelligent, a great musician, and good-looking.
But we have to rejoice in the Lord. David was addicted to worshiping the Lord.
He always sang and was so spiritual. In 1 Samuel, the evil spirit leaves Saul
when David plays music. Davids playing was so spiritual that it drove away the
evil spirit. David was addicted to worshiping the Lord, and his praise gushed
forth from his heart.
D. It also says that while David was walking to Jerusalem, he was worshiping the
Lord in anticipation of seeing Him. That was Davids pleasure. You have to
understand that we have two natures – two bodies of desires. We can have two
categories of joy. You must be able to distinguish that well. When youre happy,
you have to see why youre happy. When people say they were blessed by a
sermon, they have to think about why and what they were blessed about. Many
times, when I share my weaknesses, people say they were blessed because
theyre thinking, Im not as bad as I thought I was. Thats evil, selfish joy. But if
they are blessed because they see Gods forgiveness and greatness, then thats
good joy. We have to be cautious about whether we are rejoicing in the Lord or
rejoicing in self-exaltation. David rejoiced in the Lord. He had hard
circumstances and relational difficulties, yet he rejoiced in the Lord. That was
Davids pleasure. We have to examine our pleasure.
E. Our Pleasure
1. When God lets you go through a dry time, Hes still in it. Hes purposeful
and working for your good. Hes letting you see what youre made of. During
a dry time, no matter what you do, it doesnt feel like youre getting blessed.
As a result, all kinds of past memories, pleasures, and addictions come
back. When you dont have present joy, you start thinking of past joy. You
start thinking about what gave you pleasure in the past (and most times its
a sinful pleasure) so that you can have that feeling again. We are pleasure
seekers – whether it is good or bad. We are all addicts of some sort. For
example, when you taste good food you want to have it again. We are
addicts of joy. Thats part of what it means to be a human being. Thats why
our addictions and desires come out during our spiritually dry times. It is in
these times that you can see what youre made of and what you love. God
gives us these times so we can repent. It is an opportunity to deny yourself,
carry your cross, and follow Christ. You have to deny yourself because your
evil nature is still in you and God wants you to grow through that process.
2. In a revival time, youre in the zone. Everything you shoot goes in,
spiritually speaking. Whether its a quiet time, listening to a sermon, or
reading verses in the bathroom, you are getting blessed everywhere and all
the time. The Lord gives you these times because you are going to need
those holy addictions in your dry times! When youre going through good
times, be addicted to the Lord. Have wonderful times in Lord and remember
them. Then in your dry times, youll be so addicted to the Lord that your
memory wont be of sins but of your relationship with Him. In your dry times,
do you think of past addictions and sins or do you miss the sanctuary of the
Lord? You have to miss your worship times with the Lord. Thats exactly
what David is doing. In the midst of his relational difficulties and rough
circumstances, he is thinking of his pleasure – the sanctuary of God.
Throughout the Book of Psalms, he constantly remembers his worship of
the Lord.
3. So the key to spiritual battle and overcoming dry times is remembering
your pleasure in the Lord. The key is that in your revival times, get into as
many good addictions as possible. Have times of unhindered worship and
singing, read the word of God, listen to good sermons, underline the Bible.
Make sure youre addicted to the Lord, so that during dry times you have
good memories of your pleasure in the Lord. Your higher pleasures will be
the ones youll go back to. Make sure that your joy is in the Lord.
4. It takes a miraculous work of God for us to rejoice in the Lord because
were so sinful and we always want to be exalted. The miraculous power of
the Holy Spirit must work through the Word and prayer for us to love God
and to get us to love exalting the Lord. It takes a radically different nature of
the spirit in our hearts in order for that to happen.
II. The Joy of Togetherness
Psalm 122:2-4 says, Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem
is built like a city that is closelycompacted together. That is where the tribes go up,
the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD according to the statute
give to Israel.
A. Together
1. Its talking about the city, but really its about the closeness of the city- the
closeness of the people in the city. The tribes of the Lord are united people.
Theyre compacted together.
2. Together- its the word thats used in Genesis 22 when Abraham and Isaac
were going together to the mountain so Abraham could offer Isaac as a
sacrifice. Its family togetherness. Father and son togetherness. The
word togetheris intentionally used twice.
3. Genesis 22:6-8 says, Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and
placed it on his son Isaac, and he himself carried the fire and the knife. As
the two of them went on together, Isaac spoke up and said to his father
Abraham, Father? Yes, my son? Abraham replied. The fire and wood are
here, Isaac said, but where is the lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham
answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering, my son.
And the two of them went on together.
4. The picture of the people of Jerusalem together is the picture of family
togetherness, walking together on a journey to worship the Lord. But I think
its more than that because the picture of Genesis 22 with Abraham and
Isaac is the picture of the cross where the father is going to worship the
Lord. How? By killing his son. Its a picture of the Father killing His Son on
the cross, sacrificing His Son in our behalf so we can be saved. The Family
togetherness is broken so that there can be a different family togethernesswe will be sons and daughters of God, together with the Lord. I believe
those phrases are intentionally used twice to picture the Trinitarian
togetherness. We are united people as a family.
B. Compacted
1. Exodus 36:13 says, Then they made fifty gold clasps and used them to
fasten the two sets of curtains together so that the tabernacle was a
unit. This verse is about a temple or tabernacle being built. Tabernacles
were tents made to worship the Lord when the Israelites were on a journey
in the desert. It was like a sanctuary in a tent. This is talking about how the
curtains were put together to make the tabernacle. I always wondered how
they made that tent or tabernacle. They used curtains.
2. I thought about how curtains are a simple cloth. If they were not part of the
tabernacle, they would be nothing. But when God chose them and put them
together, something incredible happened- it made the tabernacle of God. I
think were like that- were nothing by ourselves. But when we are together in
the Lord, we become the dwelling place of God. Theres something about us
being together; something happens spiritually- God dwells in the midst of us.
We are nothing; we are separate individuals who are lost. But when God
chooses us, we can be changed to be like him, and we can become a
useful dwelling place of God. The picture is incredible, right? The Israelites
in the desert, from Egypt to the land of Canaan, and the tabernacle is used
to join people together in worship, just like us. Its a difficult journey were in,
but we gather together to worship God and become a dwelling place of God.
Its a great picture of the church of Jesus Christ. John 1:14 says, The Word
became flesh and made his dwelling among us. He tabernacled among us.
As we gather together in the Lord, then we picture Christ.
3. John 17:21,23 says, 21 That all of them may be one, Father, just as you
are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may
believe that you have sent me. 23 I in them and you in me. May they be
brought to complete unity to let the world know that you sent me and have
loved them even as you have loved me. Before dying on the cross, Jesus
prays to the Father and talks about His unity and our unity. We are
connected by the Spirit of God; we are sewn together as a curtain. So the
Father is in Christ and Christ is now in us. We become united. The world
will see Him through us because we are the dwelling place of Christ. Hes
invisible, but we are visible. When the invisible Christ is in visible people,
we become visible representatives of Christ.
III. The Joy of the Purpose
Psalm 122:4 says, That is where the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise
the name of the LORD according to the statute given to Israel. (NIV)
Psalm 122:4 says, Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, unto the
testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the LORD. (KJV)
A. The word praise could mean to throw down praise or to gush forth. We cast His
praise. When we have joy in the Lord, when were together, we cannot help but
to confess, give thanks, and loud praise as it gushes forth from our hearts.
B. The name of the LORD
Psalm 122:2-4 says, Our feet are standing in your gates, O Jerusalem.
Jerusalem is built like a city that is closelycompacted together. That is where
the tribes go up, the tribes of the LORD, to praise the name of the LORD
according to the statute give to Israel.
1. Jerusalem (2). Jerusalem means teaching (Jeru) of peace (Salem). It
represents a place of peace. As we see Jerusalem, we think of complete
peace and a place where there will be true peace.
2. Israel (4) means God prevails, or God who wrestles. Its the name first
given to Jacob when he wrestled God, and God overcame him. Jacob
means deceiver. He has been deceiving people all his life, but now in
Genesis 32, God is breaking him, changing him, and wrestling against him,
until he asks for blessings. When he depends on God, God now
wrestles for him. The same is true for a person who doesnt know Christ.
They wrestle against God until hardships make them depend on Him. He
overcomes for them and then, they worship and praise Him. That same
battle exists in our hearts. As sinful people, we have both sinful Jacob and
victorious Israel within us. James 4 says were selfish, and when we dont
get what we want, theres fighting and battles. Theres no true peace until sin
is gone and until God wrestles and prevails in us and through us. All our life,
we will have our own heart battle, relational difficulties, and because were
selfish, Satan will be working against God, tempting us in our hearts.
However, one day, when Jesus Christ returns, that sin will be gone. Well
enter the heavenly Jerusalem with no more sin and no more war. There will
be a celebration of Gods victory and final shalom – true peace. Until then,
God wrestles in our hearts fighting victoriously in us and through us, so that
the world will see the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. So, we praise, worship,
and honor Him for victory. Thats why we gather together in small groups.
We fight together against sin, not against one another so that we can
become more like Christ. Thats also the purpose of family: to build the
kingdom of God, picturing the Gospel, the church, and Christ through your
family, raising disciples, praising and worshiping Him for His glory and
honor. Why do you work? You work to witness, to use finances to serve
God, and to support and raise your family to be great representatives in the
kingdom. Thats the tribe of Jesus Christ. We praise Him with our songs,
through our lives, and in the midst of our circumstances, worshiping Him
through our lips, hearts, and minds. Whatever we do, its the music we play
for His glory and honor. Thats our purpose: to lift Him up and exalt Him until
theres true peace and true shalom. We are Israelites. God will prevail in us
and through us.
IV. The Joy of Judgment
Psalm 122:5-7 says, There the thrones for judgment stand, the thrones of the house
of David. Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: May those who love you be secure. May
there be peace within your walls and security within your citadels. The tribes of the
Lord are judged people.
A. We have negative feelings about judgment because of our experiences with the
judgment of other people. Their judgment is bad because theyre sinful, but
when God judges us, its good for us. When coming to church, in a sense, we
come to be judged by God. Many times, the Israelites not only went up to
Jerusalem three times a year to worship the Lord, but they also took civil cases
to the king for judgment. A good king would have sound judgment. In the same
way, when we come to worship the Lord, we are approaching the throne of
judgment. We dont think like that, but in some sense we need to think like that.
We come to love God and to be loved by God, but because our sinful nature
remains in us, we have to come to church to be judged as well, having an
attitude that says, Correct me, teach me, and change me. We must come for
both reasons: to experience His love and to experience His holiness, both
relating with Him and being rebuked by Him because there is no true shalom,
yet. We are at war against our evil nature in us. So, we shouldnt only come to
be charged but also to be changed.
B. We cant be just pleasure-oriented people but also purpose-oriented people.
The church is both a family and an army.
C. God is the Judge. All of us judge, either ourselves, or we want to be judged by
other people. Many times, we want other peoples evaluation. When you serve
someone and want their approval, gratitude, or thankfulness, youre thinking of
their evaluation and approval. When you dont like the fact that someone doesnt
like you, youre still thinking about evaluation and approval. Sometimes, you do
it for yourself, evaluating yourself and wanting your own approval.
D. As we look into the Bible, the theo-centricity of God, we need to
be evaluated by God, and we need to live for His approval. Thats what it
means to be judged: Lord judge me and help me to live for Your approval, Your
glory. Help me to live for You. Until You say, Well done, my good and faithful
servant, my job is not done. Every time you read the Bible, you have a
relationship with Him. The Lord is evaluating you and changing you. Christian
joy before we get into Jerusalem comes after repentance.
E. We should always learn to be rebuked without rebuke from others,
meaning self-rebuke. You can look at a person whos better than you, and you
dont put them down so you become exalted. Instead, when you see good things
in other people, we rebuke ourselves, but not in a self-deprecating way. We ask
God to change our hearts with humility and an attitude to want to be more like
Christ. Lord, empower me, strengthen me, change me, correct me.
F. Approval
1.
In Psalm 139:23-24, David prayed: Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in
me, and lead me in the way everlasting. David wanted to please God so
much that he sought Gods judgment with a teachable, humble heart.
He wanted to be scrutinized by Gods Word and is checking to see if he was
really pleasing Him.
2. 1 Corinthians 11:31 says, But if we judged ourselves, we would not come
under judgment. We must judge ourselves as we approach God through
His Word. As we change, we are being corrected and there will be nothing
left to judge later on. I pray youll come to have relationship with the Lord
and have joy in Him, but that youll also come to be judged by the Lord and
hunger to be like Christ.
V. The Joy of Love
Psalm 122:8-9 says, For the sake of my brothers and friends, I will say, Peace be
within you. For the sake of the house of the LORD our God, I will seek your
prosperity.
A. David is giving a prayer of the commitment to love. He is committing himself to
loving God and loving Gods people. Its the summary of the whole Bible and
commandments.
B. Somebody asked me, What is the greatest commandment? Jesus says it
several times, Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your mind and with all your strengthLove your neighbor as yourself
(Mark 12:30-31). Its a summary of the whole relational sphere of Christians to
love God and love others. David commits himself to his relationship with God
and with His people, so that he would love them.
C. Journey of maturity
1. 1 Corinthians 13:11-13 says, When I was a child, I talked like a child, I
thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I
put childish ways behind me. Now we see but a poor reflection as in a
mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know
fully, even as I am fully known. And now these three remain: faith, hope and
love. But the greatest of these is love. Speaking in tongues, the gift of
prophecy, giving everything to the poor, even if I die, it is nothing without
love. This means that you can die for someone with selfish reasons so they
appreciate you. Its really describing the condition of heart. With whatever Im
doing, is there impatience, envy, sadness, pride, etc. in my heart? Do I get
upset when people dont react a certain way? Is there love in my heart?
2. Verse 11 blessed me the most: When I was a child, I talked like a child, I
thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put
childish ways behind me. When we get to Jerusalem, well be adults. In the
journey, were still like children following our Heavenly Father. That
means maturity is love. The most mature person is filled with love in their
heart. The most selfish people are children. That means as much as we can,
we need to check the condition of our hearts. Love is a condition of the
heart. Are you loving now? The more constant you are in the state of love in
your motives, the more you mature you are. Maturity is a loving patience
towards your family members, your sister or brother in Christ, an annoying
small group member, even on the basketball court. Every moment, no
matter what they do, you dont react with retaliation or vengeance, but with
love.
3. This means the journey of our lives is not only walking, but its a journey of
growing. We are not only going, but alsogrowing and maturing together. My
prayer throughout this week was this: Abba (same as Daddy in Hebrew),
help me to grow. Our hearts and the condition of our hearts are so
imperfect. Most of the time, the nature that wants only for ourselves is
greater. But we must pray to our Abba, Lord, help me to grow.
4. In all these 5 points, it could be a source of pain. Togetherness can be a
source of pain. Im glad small group will be over after the summer, and I
have a new small group coming. But in everything and anything, keep the
Lord as your source of joy. It all depends on the condition of our hearts.
Conclusion
Everyday were judged together, as were in a love relationship. Everyday we grow to
become men and women of Christ.
The following is a great article I found in an international newspaper. It made me cry
on the airplane on the way back from Asia.
The lessons of an Ethiopian teacher of English at a Korean school in China.
As an English teacher living in China I regularly ask myself if I have the right attribute
to be a good language instructor. Being an effective teacher under normal
circumstances, where students and teachers speak the same language, requires a
lot of patience and desire to see students do well. Teaching English to kids who can
barely speak it calls for an infinite amount of creativity and endurance. Burning out in
a few short years is common.
Recently, I took on an additional class made up of teenagers ranging from 14-to-18year olds.
The first day of class, as I was introducing myself, a slightly overweight pimple-faced
boy began to suddenly sing loudly. Setting firm discipline standards at the beginning
of the teacher-class relationship is important. Just as I was about to take strong
corrective action against him, my instincts warned me to reign in my reaction. So,
instead of pulling him out of class to have a stern talk, I told him to keep quiet. The
rest of the class passed without incident.
Later, I found out that this particular student has a mental handicap. I inquired the
school about his condition but was informed no one knew the specific details of his
disability. I asked for possible suggestions on how to help him and how much I could
expect him to perform. I was instructed to let him do what he was capable of doing
and to leave him alone when a concept seems to be over his head.
Reflecting on the situation afterwards, I thought, on one hand, the fact that this kid is
going to school with other students his age can only be good for his social skills and
confidence. After all, he seems to have plenty of friends and I have never seen
anyone pick on him. In fact, his classmates are down right protective towards him
and help him with projects.
On the other hand, I am always worried that I am not challenging him to the
maximum and giving him enough time to grasp some of the harder concepts from
the textbook. But at the same time, I know I cant slow down the entire class for him
to catch up.
He clearly has the capacity to digest and learn new things, albeit at a slower pace. I
often wonder, had he been given an individualized curriculum, how much more he
could have learned. I understand that individual attention to special needs children is
an expensive luxury very few schools and parents can afford. In the small Korean
community school where I teach, it is down right impossible.
In most societies, education is built around the concept of maximizing the benefits
for the greatest number of pupils. The virtues of utilitarian education systems falls
short when it comes to individual tragedies like the one taking place in my classroom.
This student is being left behind and he knows it. As a teacher, I try to look back, to
take hold of his hand, and to pull him forward but I must also keep apace. There
have been many times when I was forced to let him go, leaving him reaching
hopelessly and flailing with pointless effort.
The other day, I was having students take turns answering question for a particularly
difficult grammar exercise. I didnt want to skip him even though I knew it would be
difficult for him; so I let him have a go. As I expected, he floundered and got very
frustrated as I tried to help him through the question.
During the rest of the class, I skipped him because I was afraid I was making things
worse and embarrassing him.
Then, all of a sudden, he started beating the top of his head with the palms of his
hands, crying, and rocking back and forth. As the students attempted to calm him
down, he kept on repeating the same words in a language I didnt understand
As he got increasingly frantic, I asked the students to please tell me what he was
saying.
Miss Yemi, one of them explained, he is saying Teach me teacher! Teach me
teacher! (Learning to leave no child behind by Yemisrach Kifle : International Herald
Tribute, 2007)
I dont know the educational philosophy or dilemma of this teacher, but I was thinking
how one soul is more important than the whole world. I know that God doesnt want
any person left behind. I thought about the journey of 2 million people to Egypt. A
picture of the church of Jesus Christ, and the picture of how small groups should
operate. Will you leave your family member behind? My response is: we need to
care for one soul. We need to love and make sure there is no child left behind. We
are taking that child not because its a nice thing to do, but because that child can
grow to picture Christ. God uses every single child in the tribe of Jesus. Sometimes,
we need to picture a person thats struggling with difficulties, hardships, addictions,
etc. They might be asking, Help me. Teach me. Pray for me. I pray well take people
along because we are the tribe of Jesus Christ. Thats exactly what Jesus Christ did
on our behalf, and we need to do that for others.
There may be many things that the Lord might be speaking to you in the journey of
your life. There are things to do, a long way to go, difficult relationships,
circumstances, etc., but there is joy in the journey. Everything starts with the fact that
the Lord is in our journey. Our joy has to be in the Lord. Anybody who has that joy is
our joy, which is the joy of togetherness. The purpose of worshiping, honoring,
praising, as we are compacted and sewn together, is so we become a dwelling place
of God.
Sometimes we need to be that child, Help me! My brother, help me! Teacher, help
me! Sometimes we need to be that teacher that helps others because we have that
joy of love, love for our Master, and love for our brother. We need to commit
ourselves to that end until we die. God uses the Church of Jesus Christ to save that
child so that no child in the tribe of Jesus will be left behind. Lets experience this joy
in the journey. Theres a long way to go, but theres a lot of strength, power, and help.
There is unseen, unheard prayer and hope. Theres joy in the journey. I dont know
about you, but Ive been a Christian for a few years, and its hard. Yet, hundreds of
times, you cant even compare how the joy we have in Christ exceeds other joys.
Pray that your joy will be in the Lord. If youre miserable, its because your joy is in
something else. May your joy be in the Lord.
Suggested Closing Songs
House of the Lord
Father, We Ask Of You This Day
"