All right. Thanks, Ronnie. I don't even know why I'm up here. I could just close in prayer. Amen, brother.
! Thanks, Josh W. and Davidson Community Bible Church for having us here. As has been mentioned
! My name is Josh and I'm glad to serve you this morning through the word. I'm going to stand here if that's okay. Feels a little far.
We can do that. Do I have permission to do that? Okay. Sounds great. Let's pray before we get in the word.
Father in heaven, we just thank you that your mercies are new for us this morning as we're singing about
and what we're hearing about from your word here. So, God, help us to listen. Would you give us
soft hearts to receive this word from you here and let it take root and bear fruit in our hearts and our lives
as we go on? Not just in this week, but our lives in general. And be glorified in this time as we dive in.
In your name. Amen.
Yeah, so I usually, I have come here. I've gotten to meet and know some of you.
My wife is in the back there. Emily, you want to just give a wave? There you go. She's walking up, I guess.
And we have three kids here. You might have seen them running around. That's our Filipino Mennonite hybrid kids
there. And so, if you're wondering what makes them kind of brown, kind of white, that's what it is.
But, yeah, it's great to be here. Serve on staff still at Nippon Bible College, as Brendan mentioned.
And I oversee our touring teams here. And so, the last time I was here was with the band about two years ago.
And actually, it was Ronnie that was leading the team as well. And I think Lauren was on that team as well.
And so, yeah, glad to be back.
And at this time, I want to turn your attention to the Word of God in Psalm 127. We just read it.
And so, let me start off with a question for us this morning.
And maybe this is something that's been on your mind even this week.
But have you ever just woken up and felt like the last day was just nothing?
You worked and finished a job and felt like it was meaningless, useless, right?
Maybe it was a job that you were working. Maybe it was house chores.
Maybe you have kids and you don't know what to do with yourself at the end of the day.
These are things that we genuinely wrestle with.
And this text here brings us to that and wants us to think about the things that we labor in and what the results are.
And so, Psalm 127, right?
If you look at the introduction there or, quote, musical direction, so to speak, that's how the Psalms usually start.
It says a song or songs of ascent, right?
And it's attributed to Solomon.
These are songs that Israel, right, as they worked their regular days, as they went up to the temple to sacrifice, right?
That would have been a long pilgrimage.
That would have been a long journey for them.
These are the songs, specifically Psalm 120, Psalms from Psalm 120 to 134.
These group of Psalms are a collection of psalms and hymns that they would have sung, specifically on the way up to Jerusalem as they ascended the hill, right?
That's why they're called the Ascent Psalms.
And these are things that they would have reflected on, the things that they've just labored in.
What was it all for?
What's the result?
What is this going to get us?
And here, a psalm attributed to Solomon addresses this very question.
And that's for us this morning.
So keep that question in mind as we go through.
But the first few points that we see here are illustrations, actually.
Likely from the time that Israel would have labored in, right?
So first we see the illustration of building a house.
Look at verse 1.
Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labor in vain.
First points of observation we need to make here are the two characters in action, right?
The obvious one, first, is the Lord, right?
And the Lord is building.
The Lord's a builder here.
And then the second character are those who build.
That's not the Lord.
Humans, right?
So it's the Lord and humans.
But what's the difference?
They're both doing the same thing.
But what's the difference?
Well, if the Lord is not actively building,
those humans who build part from the Lord labor in vain, right?
The question is, how do you know if your labor is not in vain?
If we think of the first time we see this in the scriptures, Genesis 4.
Some of you might remember a man named Enoch.
Not the Enoch who walked with God, but Cain's son, right?
The bad Enoch.
Bad guy Enoch.
And that verse, Genesis 4, 16,
talks about how this guy, Enoch,
went away from the presence of the Lord
and settled east of Eden, right?
And this guy built stuff, right?
Yet he built stuff away from the presence of the Lord.
That's what Genesis 4 is trying to say, right?
Enoch, as the first builder, right, in scripture,
he built the first building, the first city, right?
He labored and built in vain, okay?
That's the first example in scripture of building in vain.
Another example of vain labor, this one's more popular.
Genesis 11, what's that about?
The Tower of Babel, right?
When people start to build a city, that's what it is.
A tower, a city, to make their name great, right?
Think of our cities today and towns and whatever
that's named after someone, right?
To remember someone.
That originates from Babel.
Genesis 11 says, the Lord didn't let them finish, right?
The Lord dispersed them from over the face of the earth
and they left off from building the city, right?
They started building apart from the Lord
and the Lord comes and disperses them.
They labored and built in vain, okay?
Easy examples in Genesis 4 and 11, right?
But even a finished building,
think of someone who builds a building in a city, right?
Even after that, that can still be built in vain, right?
Think about Jesus' teaching regarding the foolish man
who built his house on what?
Instead of rock?
Sand, yeah.
So think about that.
The house was finished.
It even stood for a while.
It doesn't tell us, right?
Think of Matthew 7, right?
That's when Jesus talked about this.
It stood for a while.
That could have stood for however many years, right?
Think of the houses here in town
and how long ago they've been built
and they're still standing.
But the illustration Jesus gives in Matthew 7
is that it stood for a while until the rain fell,
the floods came, the winds blew and beat against that house
and it fell and great was the fall of it, right?
So buildings can be built and finished
and stand for a really long time
and still be done in vain.
Ecclesiastes, right?
We hear about the preacher of Ecclesiastes
talking about how he toiled and built cities
and built homes and built everything,
yet it's meaningless, right?
And Solomon here in Psalm 127 says,
as a summary,
unless the Lord builds,
you labor in vain, right?
It's kind of getting depressing here.
Hang with me.
He's got a point.
The point is,
unless the Lord builds a house
both physically and truly,
those who build labor in vain
in a sense that
unless the builder of a house or a city
looks to the heavens and says,
this is nothing apart from you, God,
it's in vain, right?
Unless you give credit to the Lord
who created all of the earth
and the fullness thereof
because it's his.
Unless you do that,
you are building in vain, okay?
Building shelter not founded on the Lord
is meaningless.
It's a point.
And the second illustration here
is applied to security,
not just shelter,
not just building a city,
but also someone who watches over a city, okay?
Look at verse two
or at least halfway through verse one.
Unless the Lord watches over the city,
the watchman stays awake in vain.
Now this,
the building a house stuff,
that's easier for us to imagine, okay?
That still applies to us in our modern day.
But none of us really watch over a city, right?
So no one's really,
none of us are watching over Saskatoon
or Regina or whatever, right?
But in the ancient Near East,
most if not all cities were walled up, right?
You would have seen images of that.
They were walled up to protect
against enemy invasion.
We see that throughout the Old Testament, right?
And who were standing up high
watching over the cities, right?
Watchmen, right?
And they sound the horn, right?
We see examples of that in scripture
when they see enemy troops
or just anyone coming
who doesn't look familiar,
whether they're horses or they're chariots
or even their robes and their clothing, right?
And here Solomon is saying,
the watchmen who stand up high
and keep watch over the city, right?
They stay awake overnight, right?
Those who do that also labor in vain
unless the Lord is watching over that city, right?
We see this again throughout the Old Testament
when kings relied on horses
and chariots to protect them.
But Psalm 27 says,
No, no.
It's the name of the Lord, our God.
It's the Lord that protects us, right?
The Lord is sovereign over the security of people
whether it's during the day
or through the night.
Unless the watchman looks downward
to protect the city, right?
Unless that person looks upwards as well, right?
As we were doing here,
as we were singing, right?
Unless we humbly rely on the Lord, right?
Who never sleeps, Psalm 121, right?
Who watches over the city 24-7 to protect it,
your security is in vain, right?
Think of that today in our modern age.
What cities are we watching over, right?
What do we make efforts
and great efforts to stay secure,
to keep secure in our lives,
whether that's our money, our houses, our families,
whatever it is,
Solomon says these two types of vain labor, right?
Building a house,
watching over city for its security, right?
These are nothing.
These are meaningless.
These are in vain.
Unless, unless the Lord is a part of it.
Unless you attribute these to the Lord.
And that's why he says,
in these vain labors,
think about someone building a house.
Carpenters today, right?
Rise up early, right?
And watchmen in the ancient Near East
would stay awake overnight.
And that's why I look at verse 2,
in Psalm 127,
says,
It is in vain that you rise up early,
like the builder of the house.
It is in vain that you stay awake,
and go late to rest,
like the watchmen.
It is in vain that you do all that,
as you eat the bread of anxious toil.
So, here's his next point,
after his two illustrations.
Now, when we think about rising up early,
right, that's actually encouraged
throughout scripture, right?
If you want to get important work done,
think of Exodus 8.20 or Job 1.5,
if you're curious about those references, right?
Rising up early is encouraged.
Nor is going late to rest from a day's work
necessarily wrong,
or explicitly condemned in scripture.
Although, resting too much is,
if you read the Proverbs.
But going late to rest from a day's work,
that's not wrong.
It's not condemned in scripture.
So, the natural implication of the progression here
is that rising up early,
or going late to rest,
due to hard work,
whether it's building a city,
or watching over a city, right?
That leads to the reward of eating bread.
Okay?
Think of a modern day today.
We go to work, right?
At the end of the month,
or two weeks,
however the frequency of your pay, right?
You get income
to put bread on the table,
so to speak.
So, that's what the progression is here.
Work equals money,
equals food on the table.
That's how they were thinking
in the ancient Near East here.
And that's how Solomon here is thinking, right?
And think about 2 Thessalonians 3,
when Paul,
the Apostle Paul later says,
if anyone's not willing to work,
don't let him what?
Eat.
Yeah?
So, they know that.
That was assumed here.
So, Solomon is not condemning
any of these things,
individually,
that he's talking about here.
Right?
But rather,
he is warning against
the habitual pattern
of rising up early,
and going late
to rest,
in order to
reap the reward,
and eat the bread of it.
Whatever that
labor was.
And Solomon describes
that kind of labor,
not only as vain,
apart from the Lord,
but anxious toil.
Okay?
This phrase,
anxious toil,
is,
if anyone has
a New American Standard
translation,
it's quoted,
translated as
painful labors.
Right?
Painful labors.
Anxious toil.
And that language,
I love that translation,
because it roots it back
to the first painful labor.
The first anxious toil.
Where is that found?
Genesis 3.
Right?
When God says to Adam,
curse is the ground
because of you,
because you've rebelled
against me,
because you've sinned.
In pain,
there it is,
in pain,
you shall eat of it
all the days of your life.
By the sweat of your face,
you shall eat bread.
Right?
So,
Solomon here understands
that anxious toil,
right,
or vain labor,
painful labor,
that's results
of the fall,
when man fell
into sin
and in death.
And hard work
and diligence
is the means
by which
fallen man
is to put bread
on the table.
It's not easy anymore.
It's not just,
hey,
in Genesis 1 and 2,
you could eat of the fruit
of the tree.
Any tree.
Except for the one
in the middle,
don't eat of that
because you'll die.
But,
it's easy.
It's good.
Now,
on this side,
right,
of sin,
it's sweat
and toil
and labor.
Right?
Think of even
our hot day today,
right?
You looking forward
to getting back
to work tomorrow?
Right?
In this weather?
This is,
this is what Solomon
is getting at
as he writes
to ancient Israel.
But,
the anxious toil
that Solomon
is warning against
here
is man's
self-reliant labor
that produces
self-gratifying reward.
Right?
That's what he's getting at
with eating the bread
of anxious toil.
Your anxious toil
and trying to make ends meet
on your own.
Your anxious toil
and trying to make
your bank account
explode on your own.
Or your savings account
as fat as it can be
for your own good,
for your own enjoyment.
I mean,
think about it.
Have you met anyone
like this?
Maybe this sounds
like someone you know.
Maybe it sounds like
something you can relate
with yourself.
I mean,
I have family and friends,
unbelievers.
Sometimes,
actually,
unfortunately,
they are believers.
But,
mainly unbelievers
who do exactly this.
Restlessly
and anxiously
working,
toiling,
day and night,
working 12 to 16
hour days
on regular,
missing family time,
missing sleep,
and worst of all,
time with the Lord
on their own,
and time with the Lord's people,
right,
when we're commanded
to gather regularly,
as we're doing here.
Just,
for what purpose?
Just to bear the fruit
and reap the reward
of their own labors,
right?
We're such a work-minded,
work-focused culture,
especially here,
in our culture here,
in the north,
right,
in the west.
And so,
these people,
right,
if you're thinking about them,
they are like the builders
that Solomon speaks of,
right?
They rise up early
to get to work,
and they're like the watchmen
that stay up all night,
right,
who in their sleepless
and restless,
toiling,
with their own two hands alone,
fail to recognize
that their shelter
and their security
and their sustenance
from eating bread
are all in vain
without the Lord.
That's what Solomon's getting at.
But what does eating the bread
of anxious toil
actually mean
for us today?
Well,
a pastor,
I heard,
explained this really well,
said,
eating the bread
of anxious toil
means to place
the fruit
or reward
of your own labors
into your own hands
and carry the weight
of either its success
or its failure
instead of placing them
into God's hands,
right?
Or as this pastor
words it,
letting God
take the burden
of final responsibility.
So,
if you work your job
and you do a really good job
at the end of the day,
it's in your own hands,
right?
Unless you attribute it
to the Lord.
Or,
if you do a terrible job
and feel terrible
about how bad
of a job you did,
the pressure
is still on you,
right?
And so,
unless you attribute
this to the Lord,
in my weakness,
Lord,
make something
out of nothing.
And,
in my success,
it's all because of you.
What do I have
that I didn't receive?
Right?
That's what Solomon
is trying to distinguish here.
Eating the bread
of anxious toil
is any labor,
right,
or enjoying any reward
from your labor
that you have done
with your own two hands
without the Lord.
Right?
And so,
Solomon here
says,
look,
don't anxiously toil
like that.
Don't eat the bread
of your anxious toil.
And how do you do that?
Right?
We're going to look at that
as we end
this morning
with some ways
we can apply this.
But,
Solomon gives
two reasons.
Two reasons
why we shouldn't
eat the bread
of our anxious toil.
The first reason
is,
look at
end of chapter,
end of verse two.
Right?
Eating the bread
of anxious toil.
Why?
For,
because
he gives
to his beloved
sleep.
Okay?
Again,
Solomon's already
just been saying,
look,
you rise up early
and you go late
to rest.
What are they eliminating
from their pattern?
Sleep,
likely.
Right?
I can relate to that.
Anyone else?
Right?
But,
think about this.
Why does God
choose to give
his beloved
sleep?
God
graciously gives
to his children
sleep
in light of
verses one and two.
Right?
So that
their labors
would not be in vain.
That's what
Solomon's connection is.
Right?
God loves his people
so much
that he wants
their labors
to be truly fruitful
and truly rewarding,
which means
that they need
his gift of sleep
to avoid
eating the bread
of anxious toil.
There's some
major implications
for us here.
But Solomon
is getting
at the
main point
of
to reap
the fruit
and reward
of your own labors.
Right?
By eating the bread
of your anxious toil.
From early mornings
to late nights.
To do that,
verses one and two,
is to refuse
this gift
of sleep
that God
is giving you.
That's what
he's saying.
Right?
In other words,
it's like saying,
God,
I'm more powerful
than you've designed
me to be.
I don't need
your gift of sleep.
I think I've had
that belief
when I was
in high school
and college years.
That's what I believe.
Sleep is for the weak
is what I thought.
But to be clear,
the context
of this passage
speaks against
those who refuse
God's gift
of sleep
due to human
arrogance.
Right?
Because I can work.
I don't need to sleep.
I'm going to work
long days
and long nights.
I don't need sleep.
Right?
That's rebuking
those people
rather than those
who struggle
to receive
God's good gift
of sleep
due to human
limitations
or diagnoses.
Right?
Think of those
who have sleep apnea
or other conditions.
Okay?
I don't think
this passage
is rebuking
those people.
But those
who work
in light
of human arrogance
refusing God's
good gift
of sleep.
The builders
who rise up early.
The watchmen
who stay awake
through the night.
Anxious toilers
enjoying the fruit
of their own labors.
And don't be so quick
to think,
Josh,
I think you're talking
about unbelievers.
I think Solomon's
talking about
my unbelieving friends.
Let's be careful.
Let's be slow
to not just
exclude
us Christians
from this conversation.
Now at the same time
in understanding
this
that we should not
refuse this gift
of sleep
we also
need to understand
that we should not
overuse
this gift.
Right?
Solomon warns
against sleeping
too much
through the whole
book of Proverbs.
Proverbs 20
verse 13
you can look that up.
That's one reference
to the sluggard
sin in sleeping.
And I'm not
suggesting a limit
or number of hours
to sleep here.
Please don't hear that.
That varies
depending on each person.
But all I'll say
is this.
Only babies
and little kids
sleep for long
and extended hours
through the night.
Right?
So adults should not
be sleeping like babies
outside of a sleepless
work week
or sleepless nights
due to early parenthood.
Yeah.
You can connect
the dots here.
Right?
So just needed
to address the other
side really quickly.
But the emphasis
of Psalm 127
is receiving
the gift of sleep.
You know what
the application
from this sermon is?
Sleep.
I'm not kidding.
Solomon's not kidding.
Right?
Sleep but not too much.
Don't refuse it
but don't overuse it either
in a skillful balance.
But receiving it
so we can restfully labor
in dependence on God
to avoid laboring
in vain.
And when we do that
with a good balance
this becomes
not the sluggard's sin
but the believer's blessing.
Right?
As a young father
I wish I could go back
and preach this
to my unmarried self
and childless self
years ago.
Right?
And now I think
as I've
as I've understood
more of
how to labor
in the Lord
I've had to prioritize
sleep patterns
healthy sleep patterns
and I find that
when I sleep better
I actually can fight
sin better
the next day.
There's a tight connection.
The spiritual life
is not
so far from the physical.
We need to
we need to
recognize
the tight connection
between those two things.
Right?
We can't do everything
as human beings
because we're weak beings.
Right?
Look at what Paul says
in 2 Corinthians 12
My grace is sufficient
for you.
Why?
For my power
is made perfect
in
God's power
rather
is made perfect
in our weakness.
Right?
And so Paul boasts
of his weaknesses
that the power of Christ
rests upon him.
So when we sleep
it's as if we say
God
I'm finite
and you're not.
Right?
I am weak
but you are strong.
So as I helplessly sleep
in my weakness
would you powerfully work
as you watch over me?
Keep me safe
until tomorrow comes.
Right?
God never sleeps
so he's always working.
Right?
And so
this is what Solomon
is trying to encourage
his readers.
Don't work so much
that you actually forget
who you are
and who God is.
Right?
Don't labor
in vain.
Why?
Because God
gives his beloved sleep.
Second reason
after sleep
not only does God
the Lord
give his beloved sleep
right?
But he also
gives them
sons.
Right?
If you're wondering
what's the connection
between
1 and 2
verses 1 and 2
and verses 3 to 5
look at verse 3
and onwards.
Behold
children
are a heritage
from the Lord
a gift from the Lord.
He gives them to you.
The fruit
of the womb
a reward
from the Lord.
Right?
This is the second reason.
The Lord
gives to his beloved
sleep
and
literally
the translation
in the NASB
is sons
children.
Right?
The first observation
we need to make
in this section
is one that would be
less obvious for us.
Right?
That sons language
because contextually
this is a war passage.
This is warfare imagery
we're getting.
So the sons
of the fathers
who are reading this.
Right?
The sons
in ancient Israel
they would grow up
and speak with their enemies
at the gate.
Right?
They would negotiate
at the gate.
That's where deals
would have been made
in the ancient Near East
at the city gate.
But not only that
not only are they
growing up
for war purposes.
Right?
For warfare
reasonings.
But
sons also received
the primary inheritance.
Right?
In the ancient Near East.
Right?
So
the
fact that
the Lord
gives children
rewards children
to people
here
is
because
the sons
would have received
the greatest
inheritance.
Right?
And now we know
in the New Covenant
that's applied
to
all of us
who are children
of God
through Abraham.
But
what he's saying
is much like sleep
sons
children
are a good gift
that our good God
graciously
gives to his beloved.
Right?
This is why we cheer
and rejoice
when there's a pregnancy
announcement.
It is good and fitting
to do that.
Right?
As we should
because they all
come from the Lord.
And so
we want to celebrate
that.
But there's an
important implication
here.
Right?
Is that
when we celebrate
that
we don't celebrate
the labors
of those
who just
made that
announcement.
No.
It's God
who gives them.
God gives sleep
and God gives
children.
Right?
Think of the times
when
in Scripture
when the Lord
withheld
children.
from his people.
Right?
Think of Jacob
and
was it
Rachel?
Yeah.
It was Rachel
that bore
Jacob no children.
And Jacob
says to Rachel
right?
When Rachel
says give me
children or else
I die.
Right?
Kind of wife
you don't want
to be.
Right?
Jacob's anger
burned and he
said am I in the
place of God
who has withheld
from you the
fruit of the
womb?
Right?
God is sovereign
over this.
Right?
And so
whether he gives
or takes away
we want to
recognize
God is good
regardless
in this.
But
when God
does give
children
we need
to make
that connection
that it is
from him.
It is a reward
from him
as verse 3
says
his heritage.
Right?
So here
we can
connect the dots
with what Solomon
is saying.
Like even
when verse 1
there's no
coincidence
when he says
unless the Lord
builds the house.
Okay?
Is he talking
about the city
there?
Is he talking
about the temple
there?
Well it's no
coincidence if he
was also talking
about the house
as in the
offspring.
Right?
Where the
promised seed
would come from
as well in
Genesis 3.
Right?
So it wouldn't
be a surprise
if Solomon was
referring to a
physical offspring
here.
Unless the Lord
gives you that
offspring,
builds the
house,
you labor
in vain.
Right?
And so
here
eating the
bread of
anxious toil
as parents.
This is one
meaningful
implication for
us.
Eating the
bread of
anxious toil
as those
who have
children.
If you have
children here
maybe you
aspire to
have children.
This means
is that when
you feel the
sense of
identity or
security or
maybe superiority
complex after
you have built
the house,
i.e.
after you
have had
children,
simply because
you have a
baby,
simply because
you gave a
pregnancy
announcement or
have children
or grandchildren.
Right?
I point to
myself here the
most.
I felt this
when our
firstborn,
Luca,
came to
this world.
There was a
sneaky temptation
in our mind
to think,
oh,
now we've
achieved it.
Right?
Now we've
stepped up in
the game of
life because
we have
kids now.
Veteran
parents in
the room,
you know what
this temptation
is like,
right?
This applies to
grandparents as
well.
And we need
to beware.
This is what
Solomon is
guarding against.
Unless the
Lord builds
a house,
unless the
Lord gets
credit for
the children
whom he
has blessed
you with,
you are
laboring in
vain.
It's a
caution for
us parents
in the room
and aspiring
parents in
the room.
Right?
We can't
treat children
like,
and grandchildren
like they're
the greatest
accomplishment in
our lives.
And you know
what?
Usually when
children are
there,
right,
we kind
of think
like mother
hens and
like to
flock our
families in
a little
circle.
Right?
That's what
Solomon is
guarding
against.
Right?
Of course we
can rejoice
that our
children have
our names,
our last
names rather,
and that
sometimes they
might look
like us.
Right?
Emily and I
are still
thinking about
that.
Do they look
more Filipino
or Mennonite?
We don't
know.
But our
job is to
make them
look less
like us
and more
like Jesus.
that's our
job as
parents or
anyone who
works with
children.
Right?
So God
not only gives
sleep to
his children
but he
gives children
to his
children so
to speak.
Right?
And this is
verse 4.
What is the
purpose of
that?
Like arrows
in the hand
of a warrior
are the
children of
one's youth.
Blessed is
the man
who fills
his quiver
with them.
He shall
not be put
to shame
when he
speaks with
enemies in
the gate.
Again,
warfare imagery
here.
But think of
arrows and what
they're used
for.
They're used
to send
out.
Right?
They're used
to shoot
at their
enemies.
Right?
And so
Solomon is
guarding
from people
building their
own cities.
Think of
Babel.
They were
called to
fill the
earth but
they stayed
vertical.
That's what
Solomon is
guarding
against.
Don't
labor in
this way.
Right?
Don't labor
trying to
make your
own kingdom,
make your
own city.
Don't build
your own
kingdom.
Build God's
kingdom with
him because
he's given
you that
opportunity
already.
Right?
In a full
quiver,
right, means
that you
unnumber your
enemies.
Right?
I know some
Christians and
maybe some of
our Mennonite
friends.
I gotta stop
making Mennonite
jokes.
My wife's
Mennonite,
that's why.
So, but,
you know,
this doesn't
mean we need
to have kids
in abundance
and, you
know, cheaper
by the dozen
stuff.
Under the
old covenant,
obedience was
tied to
blessings which
included children.
That is very
true and yet
in the new
covenant in
Christ, being
fruitful and
multiplying has
a much bigger
scope than
just physical
children because
the blessing is
Christ and in
Christ there are
spiritual children.
That's a much
bigger quiver than
just physical
children.
Right?
Charles Spurgeon
once said, a
quiver could be
small yet full.
Right?
So, this isn't
talking about having
lots and lots and
lots and lots of
children.
It's talking
about filling
the earth with
God's blessing
and glory and
we have much
more than a
physical scope to
that today.
Right?
Think of the
Apostle Paul when
he talks to his
Christian churches
that he's planted.
Right?
Like a nursing
mother, I take
care of you.
Like a father who
becomes a father to
his child,
Onesimus.
Right?
So, this is much
like sleep.
This is not giving
us an advocation
for a number.
Right?
Number of hours of
sleep or number of
children.
No.
He's just saying,
look, do not labor
in vain and do not
take the gifts of the
Lord and forget about
the giver.
That's what he's
saying.
Right?
Make sure that the
Lord is a part of
this because he was
the one who gave it
to you in the first
place and use it for
him and pressures off
you.
Don't eat the bread
of anxious toil.
That's what Solomon's
been saying here.
And we know, and
Ronnie already took us
to this, we know
where Psalm 27 ends
is not the end.
Right?
Because throughout the
scriptures we know
where God's work,
specifically in his
son.
Right?
Jesus Christ.
Right?
The son of God who
came down, lived a
perfect and sinless
life.
Right?
And died in the
place of sinners and
rose from the dead,
ascended, and won't be
one day will return.
This was not in vain.
Think of 1 Corinthians
15.
Right?
If Christ has not been
raised, then your faith
is in vain.
But he was raised from
the dead.
Right?
And so that's why at the
end of that chapter he
says, be steadfast,
immovable.
Right?
Abounding in the work
of the Lord.
Right?
Knowing that your labor
is not in what?
Vain.
Right?
When we do the work
of the Lord in Christ,
and the work of the
Lord includes,
Psalm 127,
would include
receiving the gift
of sleep
and receiving the gift
of children,
should the Lord bless
you with that.
And working in such a
way that credits the
Lord for those very
gifts.
These works of the
Lord will not be in
vain.
Right?
We think of the work
of the Lord as stuff
we do on Sunday
mornings or stuff we
do with believers and
church and all that.
But no, this is any
work that we do that
is not in vain because
God's work in Christ
was not in vain.
He was raised from the
dead.
So now, we can live
and labor freely.
Right?
And this is important
for us Christians.
But maybe you haven't
received Christ this
morning.
I'm not going to assume
everyone's a believer
here.
So, unbeliever, this
passage calls you to
stop living and
laboring in vain apart
from Christ.
Right?
And believe on Him who
labored.
Believe on Christ who
labored on the cross
for you so that you
might be raised up to
life with Him.
Right?
But maybe you have
believed.
Maybe you're straying
like sheep.
Remember what the
passage calls you to
do.
Stop eating the bread
of your anxious toil.
Right?
Return to the Father
wants to bring you
back to Himself.
Right?
And protect you.
And watch over you.
As Psalm 127.
Jesus fulfills
Psalm 127.
This is where this
is going.
You can't just preach
an Old Testament
passage and stop
there.
This is preaching
Christ.
This is looking to
Christ.
So this is what it
means for us today.
Wherever you are,
whoever you are,
whether believer
or unbeliever,
we need to stop
eating the bread
of anxious toil.
Whether it's our
physical work,
maybe you're
working on
education.
Right?
Whatever it is,
I could give many
more examples.
Stop eating the bread
of your anxious toil
and instead depend
on Christ
for the success
or the failure
of your labor.
The pressure is not
on us anymore.
Right?
I tell the band
this actually.
Part of my journey
with the band members
here is there's so much
pressure with doing music
and to do it well.
And even this
can be an avenue
of not eating
the bread of our
anxious toil
is that when I make
mistakes,
I'm free because
I'm human.
Right?
And when I do really
well, you know what?
I can't do this
apart from the Lord.
That's the best spot
to be.
That's the spot
where we want to be.
We cannot carry
the weight of our
labor, success,
or failure.
Stop eating the bread
of your anxious toil.
Instead, restfully
labor in the Lord.
As you sleep here,
even maybe this
afternoon,
if you take Sunday
afternoon naps,
maybe tonight as you
sleep, remember
that your labor
in the Lord
this day
and the day forward
will not be in vain
in Jesus Christ.
Let's pray.
Dan, you can come on up.
Father in heaven,
help us to rest
in your labor.
that is your work
on the cross
in Jesus,
our Savior,
who not only
gives us
everything we need,
but who is
everything we deeply
desire as well.
And so, Lord,
help us to apply
this well.
Even this summer,
some of us
continually work,
some of our schedules
dramatically increase
from a work perspective.
Help us not to work
like unbelievers do
who labor
apart from you.
Help us
not to work
in that way,
but help us
not to work
on our own,
even when we
as professing Christians
tend to do
and are tempted
to do.
Lord,
help us
to acknowledge you
that unless you
are there,
unless you are the one
we are working for
and working to,
it's in vain.
And yet we know
it's not
if it's the work
of the Lord
in Christ.
So help us
to do our jobs
well,
whatever that may be,
in the home,
in the church,
in our workplaces,
and help us
to not eat
the bread
of anxious toil.
Help us
to receive
your gift
of sleep
and your gift
of sons,
especially
to receive
the gift
of your son,
Jesus,
and help us
to turn
from our sins
and turn to him
every single day.
In Jesus' name,
Amen.
This last song
we're going to sing
celebrates this reality.
So let's stand together
and sing.