Week 6, ASCEND, February 9, 2025. Psalm 123 Unto You I lift up my eyes, O You who dwell in the heavens. Behold, as the eyes of servants look to the hand of their masters, as the eyes of a maid to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, until He has mercy on us. Have mercy on us, O Lord, have mercy on us! For we are exceedingly filled with contempt. Our soul is exceedingly filled with the scorn of those who are at ease, with the contempt of the proud. Psalm 124 “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side,” Let Israel now say— “If it had not been the Lord who was on our side, when men rose up against us, then they would have swallowed us alive, when their wrath was kindled against us; then the waters would have overwhelmed us, the stream would have gone over our soul; then the swollen waters would have gone over our soul.” Blessed be the Lord, Who has not given us as prey to their teeth. Our soul has escaped as a bird from the snare of the fowlers; the snare is broken, and we have escaped. Our help is in the name of the Lord, Who made heaven and earth. Psalm 125 Those who trust in the Lord are like Mount Zion, which cannot be moved, but abides forever. As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the Lord surrounds His people from this time forth and forever. For the scepter of wickedness shall not rest on the land allotted to the righteous, lest the righteous reach out their hands to iniquity. Do good, O Lord, to those who are good, and to those who are upright in their hearts. As for such as turn aside to their crooked ways, the Lord shall lead them away with the workers of iniquity. Peace be upon Israel! ASCEND Anointing and Authority. Seek and Serve. Community. Endure and Establish. New. Never. Now. Dwell and Deliver. Prayer is not for doing or getting but for being and becoming. Look. Remember. Rest. Look Up. - Psalm 123 Look Back. - Psalm 124 Look Around. - Psalm 125 Prayer is the birthplace of breakthrough. 1. Look UP and see. 2. Look BACK and remember. If it had not been for the Lord Who was on our side… Psalm 124:1 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed. Ephesians 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Faith : we trust God is at work in all aspects of life. ( NTCC Core Value) 2 Timothy 4:17 But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me.… Acknowledge leads to praise, and praise leads to testifying. Proverbs 18:10 The name of the Lord is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. For while we are in danger, our fear is without measure, but when it is once past, we imagine it to have been less than it was indeed. And this is the delusion of Satan, to diminish and obscure the grace of God. - Martin Luther 3. Look AROUND and rest. Mount Zion. God’s presence. God’s protection and stability. God’s People. God’s eternal Kingdom. Those who trust in the Lord are unshakeable! (Psalm 125:1) Matthew 7:24-25 Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock: and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house; and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. Some people are like the sand – ever shifting and treacherous. Some are like the sea – restless and unsettled. Some are like the wind – uncertain and inconstant. Believers are like a mountain – strong, stable and secure. - W. H. J. Page Psalm 16:8 I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Those who trust in the Lord are secure and protected. (Psalm 125:2-3) To get at Jerusalem an enemy had to get past the mountains. To get at God’s people, an enemy must first get past God. - John Phillips Psalm 16:5 NLT Lord, You alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. John 10:28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. Those who trust in the Lord encounter His goodness and holiness. (Psalm 125:4-5) 1 Chronicles 16:34 Oh, give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever. Song of Ascent : God is our merciful Deliverer and Protector.