The Lord Will Establish His People

Good morning everyone. Good to see your face again. And greetings to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and from Smyrna Bible Church, Miyapur. So, if we can turn our Bibles to Psalm 87. So Psalm 87, we’ll just spend some time there today. This is a Psalm of the sons of Korah, a song.

On the holy mount stands the city founded. The Lord loves the gates of Zion more than all the dwelling place of Jacob. Glorious things of you are spoken, O city of God, Selah. Among those who know me, I mention Rahab and Babylon. Behold, Philistia and Tyre with Cush. “This one was born there,” they say.

And of Zion it shall be said, “This one and that one were born in her.” For the Most High himself will establish her. The Lord records as he registers the peoples. “This one was born there,” Selah. Singers and dancers alike say, “All my springs are in you.”

This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let us pray. Father, we come before you this morning and ask you to Lord speak to us through your word. As we listen to your word Lord may you work in our hearts, and may you Lord shape us and mold us through your word. May you bless us today with your word. In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

Okay, we have just read this psalm, and we'll just try to see the context of this psalm first, and then we'll see what the Lord has in store for us this morning. So let us first put this into the context. We know that these psalms were written by people in the Old Testament.

In the book of Psalms, we have songs written by David, by sons of Korah, Asaph, and some others. So though we do not know much about some of the writers of these Psalms, we can rest assured that these are inspired by God because people in the Old and New Testament times, including Jesus, accepted them as the Word of God. So these are inspired by God, including Psalm 87, and we trust it. We trust these words. So let us see what God wants us to know and believe from this psalm.

So if we look back and just consider the biblical history and see what happened there, we see that the Lord called Abraham to come out of his city and go to a place which God will show. He didn't even show, but he just called him out. And Abraham, by faith, comes out and goes as God commands him to do.

obeyed God. So God brought him to a land of Canaan and said that he will give it to him but not really to him. He said that around 400 years later Abraham's great grandchildren will come and occupy that land. The Lord raised up Moses to bring them out of the land of Egypt and he them into the promised land. And after many judges who ruled Israel, God chose King David, who fought many battles with the surrounding enemies to establish Israel in peace. And it is this David who made Jerusalem the headquarters of Israel. while and to this David God said in 1st Samuel chapter 7 verses 10 through 13 and 24 he said I will appoint a place for my people Israel and will plant them and they will be disturbed no more I will give you rest from all your enemies I will raise your offspring and

I will establish his kingdom and I will throne of his kingdom forever and you established for yourself your people Israel to be your people forever.” This is what the text says in verse 24. We know that these promises are given to David but are fulfilled in Christ. We’ll come back to that. But then Solomon, after David, Solomon came to build a temple in Jerusalem and making it a religious center. But whatever had, whatever he had built so far have been destroyed because of their disobedience, the sin that they committed. You know, if you have, if you look into the story of Solomon, it was such

a disaster because he prayed such a wonderful prayer and God revealed his glory in the temple, but two chapters later he sinned, and because of it God’s judgment comes upon Israel. So the kingdom was broken into two parts because of him, after him. Israel and Judah. Ten tribes belong to Israel and two tribes belong to Judah. And Israel was destroyed by Assyria in 722 BC.

And Judah was destroyed in 586 BC, almost 200 years later. So Babylonians destroyed the whole place including the temple in Jerusalem and took the people captive. Some say that it is in this context of captivity this Psalm was written, in times of struggle and disappointment.

However, if we look at this Psalm, we don't see the Psalmist crying out. We don't see the Psalmist being disappointed. We don't see him struggling, but we only see him rejoicing and celebrating. Why is that so? It is because of the hope that is in God who keeps his promises. Because he promised that he will establish his people, the Psalmist believed it and he waiting for that promise to be fulfilled. So from Psalm 87, so of title this psalm as the Lord will establish his people. And this comes from verse 5. If you look at the end of verse 5, it says,

“for the Most High will establish her.” It's talking about the people of Israel in this context. So from that we can see that the Lord will establish his people. When I say will, he will, for sure, and he cannot fail. He will definitely do that one day. It is fixed in his sovereign plan. And how do you know that? It is through God's actions toward his people. So we see three things happening here in this Psalm that shows us that God will definitely establish his people. And they are, number one, the Lord loves them. And we see that thing in verses 1 through 3.

Verses 1 to 1, 3 we see. In the middle it says, “the Lord loves the gates of Zion.” And the second one that we're going to see is that the Lord knows them. The knowledge here is more a personal relationship. We see that idea from verses 4 through 6. And if we see in verse 6, he says, “the Lord records as he registers the people.” So the Lord knows who is in his kingdom and who belongs to him. And the third one is finally from verse 7. It says like, “all my springs are in you.” It shows that the Lord satisfies them.

So these are the three things that we will just see. And you, if you look at them, so it shows us because of what the Lord is doing towards his people we can be sure that he will establish his people. So we can see from verses 1 to 3 that the Lord who founded the city on the holy mount loves it more than any other place in Judah. It says that there, it says that there that or honorable things are spoken of this city that the Lord loves, that the Lord has founded.

Then we see in verses 4 to 6 that there are people from other nations too who put their trust in God and are listed in God's record. There are people from Rahab, that is Egypt, and Babylon, Philistia, and Tyre and Cush in Arabia. So the people who are born again into the kingdom of God, so it's this, these verses are talking about the people who trust God from these countries and who join the people of God. So the Lord keeps a record of them. All their names are written in his book, the book of life. What a glorious thing is, isn't it?

To see people from different countries who speak different languages come and worship together in God's kingdom. So, and finally in verse 7, we see that springs are in you, or in Zion is a source of all our blessings. That's from Good News Translation. The Lord chose a place and it's not only blessed but it becomes a blessing to everyone in it. So the word, the word establish here in this title means to be firm, to be stable, to be fixed, to be prepared or be restored. There's a lot of these connotations, but in this context it means to make it firm or fixed or to make it unshakable.

Though the Lord's people are bit disturbed now in this world, there comes a time when they will be established forever. Until then we must remember the Lord is still working in us to bring us to that perfect state. So coming to the word city, so we see that word city a couple of times in this Psalm. So the first occurrence of the word city in the Bible appears in Genesis chapter 4 verse 17, where Cain builds a city and names it Enoch after his son's name. Since then we see people building cities and living in them. Genesis 10:12 we see they built a city called Resen.

It's between Nineveh and Calah. Genesis 11 we see people trying to build a city to make a name for themselves and to stay together and not disperse over the face of the earth. And they try to build a tower in it that reaches heaven.

To which the Lord comes down to see the city and he dispersed and pierce them over the face of the earth. So, the New Bible Dictionary says about the cities, saying, “In pre-Israelite times, many of these areas, with their walled cities, were small city-states ruled by a king, and owing allegiance to some greater power, such as Egypt.”

So in those days, what we see is cities guarded people. Cities are built with walls around them for protection from outside people, protection from enemies, protection from barbarians. So cities guarded people from enemies and gave them a sense of identity, and give them a sense of identity. So now we see people love to identify themselves with cities, right? Even today some people love to say that they are from Hyderabad, we, right? Or Vizag instead of Visakhapatnam. So people take pride in saying that they belong to such-and-such city, right? So there is a sense of pride in them saying that they belong to a particular well-known city. So here in this first

three verses of Psalm 81 we see that the city of God is in focus God is in focus. The Lord himself had chosen a place in the Middle East. It is a place full of mountains. Among them, he consecrated a mountain for himself called Mount Zion. And on it, he founded a city called Jerusalem, a city of David. It is where the temple was built. God's glory was manifested there in the temple. It is here that people of Israel not only found safety, but also identity in their God who loved him who loved them so people of Israel not only found safety there but also found their identity where was this their identity it is in the God who loves them the psalmist says that it

is a Lord himself who founded this city on that mount. He is the one who laid the foundations for it, or he is the one who established it, he brought it into existence. It is his idea to build a city on Mount Zion and dwell there. It is his idea. Psalm 74 verse 2 says, “Remember your congregation,” and if you come down a little bit, says, “Remember Mount Zion, where you have dwelt.” And psalmist is reminding God that it is the place where God chose to dwell. And Psalm 76 verse 1, it says, “In Judah God is known; his name is great in Israel; his

abode has been established in Salem his dwelling place in Zion so God chose to dwell in a particular place at a political time in history but we cannot just limit his works to a city he's the one who laid the foundations for the heavens and the earth he's the one who created everything that has existence in this universe some 753 says when the earth totters and all its inhabitants it is I who keeps steady its pillars is God saying he's the one who upholds the universe Paul says in Colossians chapter 1 verse 16 for by him all things were created in heaven and in earth

visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities, all things were created through him and for him.” Only he is an uncreated being, only he is uncreated. He remains forever holy, separate from his creation. So he alone is holy in that sense, that he is separate from creation, he is the uncreated being. So this God in the Old Testament times had founded a city on his chosen mount, and he loved it, he loved it. So he — where we come to the first point, that the Lord will establish his people for he loves them. His love is the reason for choosing that city, his

love is the reason for choosing that city. It is because he chose to set his love upon that city, he founded it. And we see in verse 3 the glorious and honorable things are spoken of that city. Here the city represents God's people and not merely a place we have been using now, but then the city in the psalmist sense means people, just like church in our sense means a people, not a place. So he's about people, not place. Now who are these people? These people are the objects of God's love. They are his delight. They are, there is chosen ones. God loved them. I

said his love upon them so though that city represents Israel in the Old Testament yet it points beyond Israel in Isaiah 28 verse 16 it says therefore thus says the Lord behold I am the one who has laid a foundation in Zion a stone a tested stone a precious cornerstone of a sure foundation whoever believes will not be in haste So whatever foundation that the Lord said that he had laid in Zion The New Testament interprets it in the light of Christ So in first Peter chapter 2 verse 6 in first Peter chapter 2 verse 6 Peter quotes that and says for it stands

in Scripture, behold, I'm laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone precious, and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” You see here the words that Peter uses. He says he, whoever believes in him. He's talking about a stone, he's talking about a foundation, but then it says it's not place, it's not a something, but it is a person. And whoever believes in him will not be put to shame. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 3, verse 11, “For no one can lay a foundation other than which is laid.” And what is that foundation? He says, “which is Jesus Christ.”

This foundation that God laid in Zion is not just a place. It's not just a city, but it's a person. And we see that it is Jesus Christ, the foundation that God laid. Luke, in Acts 4, verse 11, it says, “This Jesus, this Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.”

So God has laid this foundation, Jesus, on Zion. God is building his city. We have seen that God is on a mission to build a city. It is God's choice, it is God's will, it is God's work. So God is building this city. And Abraham was looking forward to that city. And it said in Hebrews 11 verses 9 to 10, it says about Abraham, “By faith he went to live in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise, for he was looking forward to the city that has foundations

whose designer and builder is God. So Abraham was looking for a different city, and meanwhile on this earth he was living in tents with Isaac and Jacob. Even the Apostle John was looking forward to that city as he saw it in a vision. Revelation 21 verses 1 and 2. Revelation 21 verses 1 and 2. He says, “Then I saw new heavens and new earth. Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.

“Prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.” So we see in the Old Testament that through David, God had laid a foundation for a city called Jerusalem, but we see in Revelation that God is building a new city called New Jerusalem. And Abraham was looking forward for that New Jerusalem. John saw that in vision and he was also waiting for that New Jerusalem to come down from heaven one day.

Now, where are we in this story? Where are we in this story? We are also waiting, still awaiting that holy city that will come down at the end of the age. But until then, we are being built up on Jesus Christ, our foundation.

That’s what Paul says in his letters. The Lord is building his church on Jesus Christ. If Christ is the foundation, then Christians are the building blocks. So you and me who trust in Christ are the building blocks or on the foundation of Jesus Christ. The church is the object of God’s love and he is establishing it.

So we who believe in Jesus are the objects of his love. He set his love upon us. He determined in his mind to love us. And because of that love, he is establishing us. In Acts 20, verse 28, it says the church of God. It’s talking about the church of God. It says, “which he obtained with his blood.”

This church, these believers gathered together are bought with a price. What is the price? The blood of Jesus. So Jesus loved his people so much that he gave up his life on that cross to purchase them by his own blood. And all those who repent of their sins and put their trust in Jesus’ life, death and resurrection will be added to this church. So we will be a part of this church that God loves.

So we who believe in him are part of it. And it is because God loves His church, He is building it and He will establish it. Our local churches like Gospel Life Church, Smyrna Bible Church and other churches are expressions of that universal church that God is one day going to establish.

And as long as we are in this world, there will be challenges for us. We might have to go through some difficulties on this side of heaven. The trouble might come from within the church or from without, which can shake its foundations and create confusion among people, among believers. Especially for some time there might be darkness and depression among God’s people. It might appear like the Lord has forgotten us or abandoned us.

It might appear to us that we are shaken to the core, that we are removed from our foundations. But how can he who loves us forgets us? He first loved us and he loves us till the end and it is his love, it is his love that compels him to act.

So in love he will establish us once again. If you are shaken he will settle things and restore peace and joy in our churches. So let us take courage my brothers and sisters. If things are not going the way we want them to, let us believe that God is still on our side, still loves us, and he will take care of our situations. So in the Psalm from verses 4 to 6, we see the Psalmist is looking forward to a time where people from different countries will be counted as God’s people. And here we see the Lord will establish his people, for he knows them.

For he knows them. So we see here Egypt, Babylon, Philistia, Tyre and Ethiopia listed among the nations if you look at from verse 4 to 6. So these are the nations surrounding Israel both near and far. Some are enemies to God’s people and some are just business partners who doesn’t care about God.

So though the Psalmist could not see how this will be fulfilled, this is exactly what God promised to Abraham. In Genesis chapter 12 verse 2, he said to Abraham, “And I will make of you a great nation and I will bless you and make you your name great so that you will be a blessing and I will bless those who bless you and him who dishonors you I will curse and in you and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.” So this is God’s plan since the beginning that through Abraham’s line that God will reach out to the nations and bless all the peoples, all the families in different nations.

But then when Israel came into existence, they lived as if God only belongs to them and they didn’t want to share this God with others. And they took pride in that. But we see from the promise that God gave to Abraham that his plan, his will, his desire, his passion is to bless the peoples of this world.

Later Peter recalls these words in Acts chapter 3 verses 25 to 26. Acts chapter 3 verses 25 to 26. And explains its fulfillment there. He says, “You are the sons of the prophets and of the covenant that God made with your fathers. Saying to Abraham, ‘In your offspring shall all the families of the earth be blessed.’” So Peter is quoting what God has promised Abraham.

And he is saying in verse 26. That God having raised up his servant. Sent him to you first to bless you. How? By turning everyone of you from your wickedness. So we see here what are the promises that Abraham received from God. It’s blessings. So what are the blessings that Peter is talking about here? It’s not physical blessing, it’s not a physical place, it’s not physical things that they’ll receive from God, but it is a spiritual one. And we see here that God will bless his people by turning them around from their wickedness, and that too through Jesus.

So Jesus came into this world to turn us away from our sins, to offer us forgiveness and that is a blessing that God is talking. So whenever a person repents and puts their trust in Jesus, that person now gets a new citizenship in God’s kingdom.

They get a new Aadhaar card. But of a different country, a different kingdom. This is now open to all the world. And you don’t have to go to Mee Seva or some other center to apply for it. You can stay wherever you are and just put your trust in Jesus.

So any person from any place at any time can walk into God’s city by faith. It’s by faith we enter into this city. And they will be counted among God’s people and God knows his people and this is a glorious promise. So when I went to a conference a while ago, I really met some people and I rejoiced greatly because these are Christians from Egypt, Iraq and other places which are listed in the Bible as the enemies of God. So in one person was talking to, he was claiming himself to be a Chaldean. I was like so moved to hear that their testimonies. People from Egypt who persecuted God’s people in history, enemies wanted to destroy God’s people.

They never wanted to do anything with God. But now we see Christians from Egypt, from Iraq, from Afghanistan, from tough places. Now they have become God’s people. So we have this privilege to see these promises come true. The Psalmist was seeing them from long, but we are seeing them from near. We are seeing that God is saving people from different countries, different places and adding them to his kingdom. Truly the church is a blessed place and all the blessings in Christ belongs to the church, that is his church. The greatest blessing is to be known by God himself. The greatest blessing that we can have in our life is to be known personally by God himself.

The knowledge that God knows us should be enough for us to be encouraged in life. That’s why Jesus tells his disciples in Luke 10:20, he says, “But rejoice that your names are written in heaven.” Rejoice that your names are written in heaven. My dear brothers and sisters, do you rejoice?

in that? Do you rejoice in the fact that your names are written in the book of life? Do you rejoice that your names are engraved in the palm of his hand? Do you rejoice that God knows you personally and he's for you and he loves you and he set his love upon you? Do you rejoice over that?

And if you are here, and if you do not have a personal relationship with God, and this is the time you have to think about it now, this God loves you so much that instead of leaving you in your sin he chose to deal with it. That's why he sent Jesus into this world, and Jesus who came into this world lived a perfect life on our behalf, who failed to live a perfect life, and he took all our sin upon him, and on that cross he took our place and he died on our behalf. He took the punishment on our behalf.

He received all the wrath of God that should come upon us. He shed his blood there for us and he died on that cross and three days later he rose again and he ascended to heaven. Now God calls everyone everywhere to repent of their sins, to realize that they are sinners and they have sinned against God, they have offended God.

God wants them to repent of it and put their trust in Jesus so that they might receive the forgiveness of God and eternal life. But those who do not repent, for them eternal hell is waiting. And every one of us deserve that eternal hell, because we have sinned against the most holy God.

So if you are here and you are still thinking about these things, I urge you to put your trust in Christ. Who knows how long we will live in this world? Who knows, today might be our last day. Tomorrow we might die in an accident. So there is this common understanding in India that, you know, religion is for old people and young people don't have to think about it, and such a lie is from hell. Everybody needs God, everybody needs that forgiveness from God to be with him in die.

So before it's too late, I urge you to make a decision. I urge you to think about it and repent of your sins and put your trust in Christ. So coming back to our passage, this relational knowing by God sets us apart from all others in this world. Sets us apart from all others. His special attention is on those whom He knows, especially towards His church, His people. And He will establish us while the world around us is falling apart because of the personal relationship that we have with Him. He is our Father and we are His children.

And how can He ignore His own children? He will not, but He will establish them in such a way that their faith will not be shaken till the end. So He is the author of our faith, and He will see to it that we will till the end have faith in him. We also need to remember that there are still people around us and among us who are not of us. We should pray and pursue them with the gospel and hope that one day they will become one of us. It is through his channels — believers in local churches are the channels — and it is through these channels the Lord draws people from different backgrounds to establish them as his people. So what you, what do you desire to see, brothers and sisters? Do you want

to see God adding many people to this church and establishing it? So let us pray and work towards it. So finally we'll come to the last verse, where it says, “Singers and dancers alike say, ‘All my springs are in you.’” The Lord his people to satisfy them, to satisfy them. So “All my springs are in you,” says the psalmist. It is in God the Israelites found satisfaction. There are these people of God who clearly showed that they are not seeking just a blessing from God but God himself. “Though he slay me, I will hope in him,” says Job, in Job chapter 13 verse 15. Shadrach

Meshach and Abednego, we all know those names from the book of Daniel, right? And they answered and said to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to answer you in this matter. If this be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us of your hand, O king. But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.” Do you see the faith of Daniel and the faith of Job here? So Daniel chapter 3 verse 16 through

18. So these verses show us that these believers did not even count their lives worthy to be saved in this world physically. Over their faith in God. So they preferred God to be honored in their lives than to protect their own physical lives.

They were willing to lay down their lives for this God who loves them. They treasured God and valued Him so highly, so highly that they were willing to lay down their lives for Him at any cost. I think it is because that they had found satisfaction in Him and in Him alone. The Lord satisfies us with all good things, but above all He satisfies us with Himself.

He should be the goal in our lives. Christ should be the goal in our lives. It's all about Him that we live. He created us so that we might live for His glory. That's why Paul says, “For me to live is Christ and to die is gain.”

So I love Paul's thinking there. He says, like if I live it's only for Christ I live. And if I die it is with Christ I live. No matter what, it is all about Christ. It is for Christ or with Christ. So that's the perspective that we need to have, brothers and sisters. It's all about Him. And even the Westminster Catechism says, “What is the chief end of man?” You all know the answer, right? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. To enjoy Him is to be satisfied in Him. What a great privilege for us to enjoy this great and glorious God who is gracious and compassionate. What a great privilege it is for us to do

we realize that well let me just close with a few words here now why do people flock to cities why do people flock to cities people cities like Hyderabad the Vijayawada or khaki not our Shaka Putnam because there are springs of jobs right money flows like river in cities right there is always work available to make money people think that money satisfies their thirst and hunger so to make a living people come to cities people are concerned for their lives they not only by them too.

But they are, but this world is like a slippery place that the Psalmist experienced in Psalm 73. Look at Psalm 73. Says, like you know, the Psalmist Asaph was so jealous when he looked at the world and the people who are making money and living luxurious. And then he said he only understood the consequence of that until he entered the sanctuary of God. Then he understood who really were, so what was happening to them, what will happen to them in the end. So it is not the psalmist who was in slippery places, but it is the people who are longing for money, who are longing for fame, was longing for power in this world or longing for worldly things. They are in

slippery places. And who put them there? And some is realized that it is God who put them there. And it's a dangerous thing to follow after this world. Psalm 104 verse 5 and 10 says, “He set the earth on its foundations.” Who? It is God who set the earth on its foundations. And he says, it is not because of what you did but it is because of what God did in you, and the work that God has begun in you He will continue till He sees the image of Christ fully formed in you and me. So that day we will be fully established and fully satisfied in Him. Until then, let us continue to

take delight in Him. Until then, let us continue to take delight in Him. Now we know that all our springs are in Christ Jesus. So He is a source of all our blessings. But when He is in us and when He is among us, then we become the channels of blessing to others. We not only receive blessings but be a blessing to others. Just as the Lord cares for us to satisfy us, we also do care for others in our churches and help them see that their satisfaction lies in Jesus. But the ultimate satisfaction, this ultimate satisfaction is found only in Christ, only in

Christ. So let us all look to Him, for He is our salvation, for He is our satisfaction, and He is our life. And it is this God, and it is this Christ, who will establish us. For He loves us, for He knows us, and one day He will satisfy us. Let's pray.

Heavenly Father, we want to thank You for this Word that You have given us this morning. And through this psalm that You have shown us that You are the Lord who will establish us one day. You are the Lord who establishes us in our faith.

You are the Lord who establishes us in the city that you have founded, that you are building. And it's only because of your love that you have set upon us. And Lord, that you know us personally through Jesus our Lord, our Savior. Father, we want to thank you that it is your will for us to enjoy you and to be satisfied in you.

And we can find this satisfaction in no one else and in nothing else in this world. So help us to realize that to you to be satisfied in you. Father, I commit each and every person here into your hands. And you bless them. I ask you to bless them and make a blessing to many.

And continue to, Lord, be with the Gospel Life Church and make it a blessing in this community. We thank you for every good thing that you are doing in our lives. And thank you for being our God and our Savior. We give you all the glory, praise and honor. We pray and ask this in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.