Unless the LORD Builds the House

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

Proverbs 20:13

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.