1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:06,840 Hello and welcome today to Trinity Sermons. 2 00:00:06,840 --> 00:00:12,000 Here at Trinity we aim to share biblically based messages with you from our Sunday services 3 00:00:12,000 --> 00:00:17,400 to challenge, encourage and inspire you as you go out into your lives. 4 00:00:17,400 --> 00:00:22,640 Today we continue along in our Summer Sermon Series Summer Playlist and we read through 5 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:28,100 Psalm 91 and we are joined today by guest preacher Peter Blundell. 6 00:00:28,100 --> 00:00:35,000 We hope that you enjoy the sermon and God bless. 7 00:00:35,000 --> 00:00:38,120 Our reading today is Psalm 91. 8 00:00:38,120 --> 00:00:43,120 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 9 00:00:43,120 --> 00:00:49,400 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. 10 00:00:49,400 --> 00:00:54,660 Surely He will save you from the fowler's snare and from the deadly pestilence. 11 00:00:54,660 --> 00:00:58,900 He will cover you with His feathers and under His wings you will find refuge. 12 00:00:58,900 --> 00:01:02,480 His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 13 00:01:02,480 --> 00:01:07,940 He will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence 14 00:01:07,940 --> 00:01:13,640 that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 15 00:01:13,640 --> 00:01:19,640 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near 16 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:20,640 you. 17 00:01:20,640 --> 00:01:25,600 Only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. 18 00:01:25,600 --> 00:01:30,200 If you say the Lord is my refuge and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will 19 00:01:30,200 --> 00:01:31,680 overtake you. 20 00:01:31,680 --> 00:01:36,480 No disaster will come near your tent, for He will command His angels concerning you 21 00:01:36,480 --> 00:01:38,720 to guard you in all your ways. 22 00:01:38,720 --> 00:01:44,980 They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 23 00:01:44,980 --> 00:01:47,800 You will tread on the lion and the cobra. 24 00:01:47,800 --> 00:01:51,440 You will trample the great lion and the serpent. 25 00:01:51,440 --> 00:01:54,960 Because He loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue Him. 26 00:01:54,960 --> 00:01:58,940 I will protect Him, for He acknowledges my name. 27 00:01:58,940 --> 00:02:01,840 He will call on me and I will answer Him. 28 00:02:01,840 --> 00:02:03,680 I will be with Him in trouble. 29 00:02:03,680 --> 00:02:06,320 I will deliver Him and honor Him. 30 00:02:06,320 --> 00:02:11,320 With long life I will satisfy Him and show Him my salvation. 31 00:02:11,320 --> 00:02:12,880 The word of the Lord. 32 00:02:12,880 --> 00:02:13,880 Good morning. 33 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:16,440 My name is Peter. 34 00:02:16,440 --> 00:02:17,880 Good to see you all. 35 00:02:17,880 --> 00:02:19,560 Actually, now I can see you all. 36 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:21,760 Did you get one of these on the way in? 37 00:02:21,760 --> 00:02:25,680 I hope you did because it will give you a clue when lunch is coming. 38 00:02:25,680 --> 00:02:27,320 That's notes for this talk. 39 00:02:27,320 --> 00:02:30,200 If you didn't, are there any spares of these? 40 00:02:30,200 --> 00:02:33,560 You might find it helpful. 41 00:02:33,560 --> 00:02:38,480 What would really be helpful, number one thing, could you have in a Bible, does Psalm 91, 42 00:02:38,480 --> 00:02:40,360 did you have, do you have Bibles? 43 00:02:40,360 --> 00:02:46,280 No, yeah, he's got, yeah, he's got a real Bible. 44 00:02:46,280 --> 00:02:47,280 It'd be helpful. 45 00:02:47,280 --> 00:02:49,080 I mean, I know some of you know it by heart. 46 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:54,640 It's one of those Psalms, but just in case, have it there because I'm going to refer to 47 00:02:54,640 --> 00:02:55,640 it throughout. 48 00:02:55,640 --> 00:02:58,480 If you want one of these, do we have any spares? 49 00:02:58,480 --> 00:03:00,320 Waves going, maybe, I don't know. 50 00:03:00,320 --> 00:03:02,200 I'll leave that with the wonderful folk here. 51 00:03:02,200 --> 00:03:03,200 They'll figure it out. 52 00:03:03,200 --> 00:03:05,800 Rochelle, thank you so much for that reading. 53 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:06,800 Appreciate that. 54 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:07,800 It's good to be back with you. 55 00:03:07,800 --> 00:03:12,920 It's been a year since you let me through the doors near enough. 56 00:03:12,920 --> 00:03:19,200 Let me pray for us before I go any further. 57 00:03:19,200 --> 00:03:25,960 Heavenly Father, we've come, we've gathered as your children in this place for many reasons. 58 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:29,560 Primarily, we want to lift up the name of Jesus. 59 00:03:29,560 --> 00:03:33,780 He's our Lord, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Friend. 60 00:03:33,780 --> 00:03:39,320 We've come here to be with each other, but we've also come here to be with you. 61 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:41,640 We're your children. 62 00:03:41,640 --> 00:03:44,220 You love us. 63 00:03:44,220 --> 00:03:51,180 We ask now that you would speak to us through the Holy Spirit-inspired Scriptures. 64 00:03:51,180 --> 00:03:57,820 We invite you to comfort us, particularly where we've been challenged, and we give you 65 00:03:57,820 --> 00:04:03,320 permission to challenge us where we've all got a bit comfortable. 66 00:04:03,320 --> 00:04:07,960 Help us to apply what we learn in our everyday lives. 67 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:14,800 We ask these things in the wonderful name of Jesus, and everyone said, amen. 68 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:17,960 A psychologist reflected this truth. 69 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:23,840 He said, you know, there are only two types of people in the world who are exempt from 70 00:04:23,840 --> 00:04:26,520 having to deal with fear. 71 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:28,600 Okay, think about that. 72 00:04:28,600 --> 00:04:29,600 Two types of people. 73 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:32,840 There are dead people and deranged people. 74 00:04:32,840 --> 00:04:34,680 Okay, there's your two types. 75 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:40,560 The rest of us, and I'm hoping it's us, we're the ones who have to deal with the stuff. 76 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:42,480 Now there are various levels of it. 77 00:04:42,480 --> 00:04:45,160 There's the small concerns of life. 78 00:04:45,160 --> 00:04:50,520 Some of you just went through Canada Day family get together, and it was a bit stressful, 79 00:04:50,520 --> 00:04:52,600 wasn't it, because of that one member of the family? 80 00:04:52,600 --> 00:04:57,240 And if you don't know who that one member of the family was, it's you. 81 00:04:57,240 --> 00:05:01,160 Okay, now you're worried about Thanksgiving, aren't you? 82 00:05:01,160 --> 00:05:05,080 Some of you are concerned, you've been concerned about the US election, haven't you, and after 83 00:05:05,080 --> 00:05:06,080 what happened yesterday? 84 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:08,560 Now you're very concerned. 85 00:05:08,560 --> 00:05:12,080 Is that going to change things up here or down there or anywhere for better or for worse? 86 00:05:12,080 --> 00:05:14,920 It affects the world, doesn't it? 87 00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:18,360 And some of you, oh, my heart goes out to you. 88 00:05:18,360 --> 00:05:21,280 Every September, your hopes go up. 89 00:05:21,280 --> 00:05:24,400 Every March, April, May, they get dashed. 90 00:05:24,400 --> 00:05:26,760 You're the leaf follower. 91 00:05:26,760 --> 00:05:31,520 And every year you say to yourself, will the Leafs ever win the Stanley Cup again? 92 00:05:31,520 --> 00:05:32,520 Sorry. 93 00:05:32,520 --> 00:05:38,200 But there are more significant concerns, aren't there? 94 00:05:38,200 --> 00:05:39,280 There are way more ones. 95 00:05:39,280 --> 00:05:41,440 These ones, they weigh down on us. 96 00:05:41,440 --> 00:05:43,600 They cause us sleepless nights. 97 00:05:43,600 --> 00:05:47,720 They drain us of energy and hope. 98 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:54,560 You realize that the company is downsizing, and you think, well, is my job on the line? 99 00:05:54,560 --> 00:05:59,200 It might not be, but it's that concern, isn't it? 100 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:03,480 You look at your child or grandchild and you know that they're struggling at school, but 101 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:05,480 you can't quite put your finger on it. 102 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:06,480 Why? 103 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:07,480 Why are they failing? 104 00:06:07,480 --> 00:06:10,840 Why doesn't it work? 105 00:06:10,840 --> 00:06:16,200 Or you look closer at hand at the issues in your marriage and family and you think, is 106 00:06:16,200 --> 00:06:22,000 there any hope of reconciliation, restoration? 107 00:06:22,000 --> 00:06:25,840 And then there are some fears that blindside us. 108 00:06:25,840 --> 00:06:28,440 They overwhelm us. 109 00:06:28,440 --> 00:06:34,280 The phone call with the news of the terminal illness. 110 00:06:34,280 --> 00:06:38,920 The divorce papers in the mail. 111 00:06:38,920 --> 00:06:42,160 The drowning in debt. 112 00:06:42,160 --> 00:06:45,160 The actual job loss. 113 00:06:45,160 --> 00:06:48,880 That's a reality, isn't it? 114 00:06:48,880 --> 00:06:53,080 Now all of the Psalms, 150 of them, they're all inspired by God the Holy Spirit. 115 00:06:53,080 --> 00:07:00,160 They're all wonderful, but some of them are especially rich and comforting in times of 116 00:07:00,160 --> 00:07:05,360 fear and sickness and loneliness and trouble. 117 00:07:05,360 --> 00:07:10,320 And Psalm 91 is one of those special Psalms. 118 00:07:10,320 --> 00:07:16,080 Hundreds of millions of people have turned to this Psalm with thankfulness in the midst 119 00:07:16,080 --> 00:07:18,520 of their calamities. 120 00:07:18,520 --> 00:07:21,520 As we approach this Psalm, I want to share with you one of the lessons that I've been 121 00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:27,240 learning over the years and recently in particular, and that is the importance of pronouns. 122 00:07:27,240 --> 00:07:28,800 And that's particularly relevant in this Psalm. 123 00:07:28,800 --> 00:07:33,120 And the first important pronoun, verse one, is whoever. 124 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:34,120 Whoever. 125 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:37,080 So if you buy a Bible open, have a look at verse one. 126 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:46,280 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the most high will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 127 00:07:46,280 --> 00:07:51,800 Now by intentionally using the third person impersonal, that's what the word whoever is, 128 00:07:51,800 --> 00:07:56,840 the psalmist is addressing anyone who is seeking help in times of trouble. 129 00:07:56,840 --> 00:07:59,180 In other words, you and me. 130 00:07:59,180 --> 00:08:01,680 No exceptions. 131 00:08:01,680 --> 00:08:07,320 So in this Psalm, what we're going to meet, we're going to meet this man and he is surrounded 132 00:08:07,320 --> 00:08:10,520 by chaos and uncertainty. 133 00:08:10,520 --> 00:08:17,200 But despite that, somehow he refused to fall into fear. 134 00:08:17,200 --> 00:08:24,440 And the question I asked myself as I studied this Psalm was, how was he able to stand firm? 135 00:08:24,440 --> 00:08:27,760 Because so many of us, we just get smacked and we fall over. 136 00:08:27,760 --> 00:08:29,440 We're done. 137 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,560 And then I realized actually the answer is simple. 138 00:08:32,560 --> 00:08:33,720 I like simple things. 139 00:08:33,720 --> 00:08:34,720 I am a simple man. 140 00:08:34,720 --> 00:08:36,040 I make no excuse about it. 141 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:38,360 I'm from the shallow end of the pool. 142 00:08:38,360 --> 00:08:41,300 I like simple stuff. 143 00:08:41,300 --> 00:08:43,080 This is what he did. 144 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:46,920 He made a decision and he stuck with it. 145 00:08:46,920 --> 00:08:48,640 That was it. 146 00:08:48,640 --> 00:08:49,640 He made a decision. 147 00:08:49,640 --> 00:08:51,560 You've got to make sure it's the right decision. 148 00:08:51,560 --> 00:08:52,640 And then he stuck with it. 149 00:08:52,640 --> 00:08:53,640 What was his decision? 150 00:08:53,640 --> 00:08:56,000 Well, we see it here. 151 00:08:56,000 --> 00:09:02,600 He decided to worship and follow the most high and Almighty God. 152 00:09:02,600 --> 00:09:04,600 That was his decision. 153 00:09:04,600 --> 00:09:08,260 And because he made that decision, it then meant that he had to focus and he chose to 154 00:09:08,260 --> 00:09:15,960 focus on the absolute authority and the awesome power of the creator. 155 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:21,000 And when he now shifted his focus of all this stuff that was chaotic around him onto the 156 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:30,840 most high God, then everything else got a perspective and it looked different. 157 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:35,360 The verb in this verse, to dwell, it has a sense of permanence. 158 00:09:35,360 --> 00:09:44,320 It means to remain, to stay, to tarry, to lodge, to make your abode. 159 00:09:44,320 --> 00:09:49,880 And it's reflected on by Jesus, the last night that Jesus spent with his disciples before 160 00:09:49,880 --> 00:09:51,660 his arrest and crucifixion. 161 00:09:51,660 --> 00:09:52,660 He's teaching them. 162 00:09:52,660 --> 00:09:58,640 And in John chapter 15, verses seven through eight, Jesus said, you can identify my disciples 163 00:09:58,640 --> 00:10:01,280 because they abide. 164 00:10:01,280 --> 00:10:05,400 They dwell in me. 165 00:10:05,400 --> 00:10:13,240 So as a branch dwells or abides in the vine, so those who follow Jesus Christ as Lord abide 166 00:10:13,240 --> 00:10:16,200 and dwell and remain in Jesus. 167 00:10:16,200 --> 00:10:24,160 And that is the New Testament equivalent of dwelling in the shelter of the most high. 168 00:10:24,160 --> 00:10:33,920 So the wonderful reality is that God's presence always leads to his protection and his provision. 169 00:10:33,920 --> 00:10:34,920 So do you see the order? 170 00:10:34,920 --> 00:10:40,120 The presence of God leads to protection and provision. 171 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:44,340 So the first question now the psalmist is asking you and me, you can ignore the question 172 00:10:44,340 --> 00:10:47,040 or you can engage with it, is a very simple one. 173 00:10:47,040 --> 00:10:52,320 It's this, how big is your God? 174 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:55,800 That's the question he's actually posing. 175 00:10:55,800 --> 00:11:02,360 And he's saying, I want to encourage you to worship and follow the most high almighty 176 00:11:02,360 --> 00:11:03,680 God. 177 00:11:03,680 --> 00:11:04,680 That's the challenge. 178 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:06,440 Is your God that big? 179 00:11:06,440 --> 00:11:10,480 Because your response will determine your perspective. 180 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,900 And what that will mean is you'll either walk by faith because your eyes are on the most 181 00:11:14,900 --> 00:11:20,760 high God or you'll walk in fear because they're not. 182 00:11:20,760 --> 00:11:26,960 See the decision that the psalmist made affects what happens. 183 00:11:26,960 --> 00:11:33,000 The second important pronouns, verse two, are my and I. 184 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:35,200 My and I. 185 00:11:35,200 --> 00:11:41,240 So in response to God's presence, the psalmist then chose to declare his own faith. 186 00:11:41,240 --> 00:11:46,880 He affirmed that his Lord is my refuge and my fortress. 187 00:11:46,880 --> 00:11:50,840 Do you see how it's so personal this relationship? 188 00:11:50,840 --> 00:11:53,400 He's not a secondhand faith. 189 00:11:53,400 --> 00:11:55,840 He's not relying on somebody else. 190 00:11:55,840 --> 00:11:57,840 This is mine. 191 00:11:57,840 --> 00:12:00,400 We have a personal faith. 192 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:03,600 Christian, you follow Jesus Christ as your Lord. 193 00:12:03,600 --> 00:12:07,360 You have a relationship with him as the most important one you have. 194 00:12:07,360 --> 00:12:10,480 And that means that you're a daughter or a son of the father. 195 00:12:10,480 --> 00:12:13,720 That is the greatest gift you can be given. 196 00:12:13,720 --> 00:12:15,120 Live it out. 197 00:12:15,120 --> 00:12:20,920 Stop living with a mentality of slavery which says that you're not that person. 198 00:12:20,920 --> 00:12:23,640 Do you remember the story, the parable of the prodigal son? 199 00:12:23,640 --> 00:12:25,480 I'm sure you all know it. 200 00:12:25,480 --> 00:12:29,240 At what point did the son cease to be a son? 201 00:12:29,240 --> 00:12:30,240 Never. 202 00:12:30,240 --> 00:12:31,240 Never. 203 00:12:31,240 --> 00:12:32,240 He acted. 204 00:12:32,240 --> 00:12:33,240 He said, dad, I want you dead. 205 00:12:33,240 --> 00:12:34,880 I want the money. 206 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:36,880 He acted really badly. 207 00:12:36,880 --> 00:12:39,680 He considered himself, I'm not worthy to be called your son. 208 00:12:39,680 --> 00:12:43,640 And when he comes face to face with his father again, he starts saying, I'm not worthy. 209 00:12:43,640 --> 00:12:46,560 I want to be your servant, at least your servant gets a house and food. 210 00:12:46,560 --> 00:12:48,920 And dad says, shut up. 211 00:12:48,920 --> 00:12:49,920 He doesn't. 212 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:50,920 Okay, I know. 213 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:53,360 But he effectively says that, stop talking. 214 00:12:53,360 --> 00:12:54,360 You're my son. 215 00:12:54,360 --> 00:12:55,360 You never cease to be my son. 216 00:12:55,360 --> 00:12:57,680 I love you. 217 00:12:57,680 --> 00:13:00,860 And his perspective changed. 218 00:13:00,860 --> 00:13:03,760 You have a relationship with the living God. 219 00:13:03,760 --> 00:13:05,240 Live it out. 220 00:13:05,240 --> 00:13:07,080 It's personal. 221 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:09,160 It's got to be personal. 222 00:13:09,160 --> 00:13:14,120 And if you don't yet know Jesus as your Lord, I beg you, accept him, confess him as your 223 00:13:14,120 --> 00:13:15,120 Lord. 224 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:17,280 It's the best thing you'll ever do. 225 00:13:17,280 --> 00:13:20,540 He's confident in this relationship with his Lord. 226 00:13:20,540 --> 00:13:26,400 He says, my God, in whom I trust, in whom I feel secure. 227 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:27,400 Wow. 228 00:13:27,400 --> 00:13:32,000 Now, what you probably didn't see, because maybe you haven't read the Psalm in the Hebrew 229 00:13:32,000 --> 00:13:36,400 for a while, is that that is a military term. 230 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:39,360 He's saying, God is my defense against all of my enemies. 231 00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:40,960 I don't have to worry about those guys. 232 00:13:40,960 --> 00:13:42,480 They've got to get through God to get to me. 233 00:13:42,480 --> 00:13:46,680 And we're going to see that as a picture in a couple of minutes' time. 234 00:13:46,680 --> 00:13:50,380 Now, the theme of this Psalm is clear. 235 00:13:50,380 --> 00:13:54,720 We are not, we must never put our faith in an abstract entity. 236 00:13:54,720 --> 00:13:57,320 Don't do that. 237 00:13:57,320 --> 00:14:03,240 Our faith is in a person, in God himself and nothing less. 238 00:14:03,240 --> 00:14:06,840 Now, this Psalm is built on ifs and thens. 239 00:14:06,840 --> 00:14:09,200 If you do this, then that happens. 240 00:14:09,200 --> 00:14:11,720 If you don't do this, then that can't happen. 241 00:14:11,720 --> 00:14:17,520 So if, here's the first if thens, if we choose to dwell in Jesus, I'm putting this now in 242 00:14:17,520 --> 00:14:24,040 New Testament terms, if Jesus Christ is your Lord, not your Savior, he's got to be Lord 243 00:14:24,040 --> 00:14:25,280 before he becomes Savior. 244 00:14:25,280 --> 00:14:30,720 Romans 10 verse 9, if you confess Jesus Christ is Lord and believe that he was raised from 245 00:14:30,720 --> 00:14:33,520 the dead, then you will be saved. 246 00:14:33,520 --> 00:14:37,280 Okay if he's just your Savior, you're not going to make him Lord. 247 00:14:37,280 --> 00:14:38,720 You won't worship him. 248 00:14:38,720 --> 00:14:39,720 Thank you very much. 249 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:40,720 I've got a ticket to heaven. 250 00:14:40,720 --> 00:14:41,720 I'll go my own way. 251 00:14:41,720 --> 00:14:44,040 Uh-uh, that's not a Christian. 252 00:14:44,040 --> 00:14:46,400 It's Jesus Christ is Lord. 253 00:14:46,400 --> 00:14:48,160 That's the statement of faith. 254 00:14:48,160 --> 00:14:50,040 That's the non-negotiable. 255 00:14:50,040 --> 00:14:51,720 That's how we live. 256 00:14:51,720 --> 00:14:54,640 That's the only way to live. 257 00:14:54,640 --> 00:14:59,720 The church has lost its way when it thinks we can worship Jesus as anything other than 258 00:14:59,720 --> 00:15:01,360 Lord. 259 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:03,720 He is Lord. 260 00:15:03,720 --> 00:15:09,440 And if we dwell in him that way, then, here's the then, here's the beauty of this, then 261 00:15:09,440 --> 00:15:12,680 the promises give us security and victory. 262 00:15:12,680 --> 00:15:15,840 Let me put it in the words of Psalm 91. 263 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:24,720 If we abide in Jesus, then he will be our shelter, our shadow, our refuge, and our fortress. 264 00:15:24,720 --> 00:15:26,800 Hallelujah. 265 00:15:26,800 --> 00:15:30,040 The third important pronoun is he. 266 00:15:30,040 --> 00:15:32,960 Verses three to 13, he refers to the Lord God. 267 00:15:32,960 --> 00:15:37,880 Verse three, surely he will save you. 268 00:15:37,880 --> 00:15:45,360 And most of us know that one of the names of Jesus is Emmanuel, God with us. 269 00:15:45,360 --> 00:15:49,520 We have a God who doesn't sit on a distant throne, tutting and throwing thunderbolts 270 00:15:49,520 --> 00:15:51,320 and wishing he never created us. 271 00:15:51,320 --> 00:15:56,840 We have a God who got intimately involved, came and lived amongst us, and cares about 272 00:15:56,840 --> 00:15:59,600 the welfare of his people. 273 00:15:59,600 --> 00:16:06,160 And God's care is revealed in this, I think, absolutely stunning picture in verse four. 274 00:16:06,160 --> 00:16:11,480 It's a combination of pictures, two pictures in this, and I want you to revel in both. 275 00:16:11,480 --> 00:16:17,160 The first picture is of a bird, a mother bird, a father bird, doesn't matter which, a parent 276 00:16:17,160 --> 00:16:21,880 protecting you and me, covering us with the shelter of the wings. 277 00:16:21,880 --> 00:16:27,000 I feel the softness of the down of the inside of that bird, the feathers, but we're inside, 278 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:30,000 a beautiful picture. 279 00:16:30,000 --> 00:16:37,280 The second picture, though, is on the outside of the bird is hard, unyielding titanium armor. 280 00:16:37,280 --> 00:16:39,200 That's the picture of verse four. 281 00:16:39,200 --> 00:16:44,600 So we experience the loving embrace of a father, but all those who want to get to us have to 282 00:16:44,600 --> 00:16:46,800 get through the titanium armor. 283 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:48,960 Good luck. 284 00:16:48,960 --> 00:16:50,840 That's where we've got to be. 285 00:16:50,840 --> 00:16:55,320 And then we read in verses five to six that this extraordinary protection of God extends 286 00:16:55,320 --> 00:16:56,760 both day and night. 287 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:03,560 All 24 hours are covered, and we're given security from all natural and supernatural 288 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:11,280 fear, whether the fear is from evil people or war or deadly pestilence or disease. 289 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:16,360 There is no limit to his protection. 290 00:17:16,360 --> 00:17:23,720 The reason is because God, our God, our God Almighty, the most high God, has full authority 291 00:17:23,720 --> 00:17:26,720 over all things that happen in heaven and on earth. 292 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:33,360 Do you see why that first decision from the psalmist, how big is your card, affects everything 293 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:34,360 else? 294 00:17:34,360 --> 00:17:40,880 Now this promise of God's care in verse seven is now expressed physically. 295 00:17:40,880 --> 00:17:45,000 So we read that vast numbers of people are going to fall all around us, a thousand at 296 00:17:45,000 --> 00:17:48,560 your side, 10,000 at your right hand. 297 00:17:48,560 --> 00:17:55,000 But even then that happens, it, whatever it might be, and it might be plague or battle 298 00:17:55,000 --> 00:18:00,040 or casualties or demonic attacks, you fill in the blank. 299 00:18:00,040 --> 00:18:06,120 It shall not come near you. 300 00:18:06,120 --> 00:18:12,360 So the protected person walks through this Holocaust of evil untouched. 301 00:18:12,360 --> 00:18:15,360 Oh, they're aware of what's going on. 302 00:18:15,360 --> 00:18:20,320 We're told in verse eight that they will see the wicked, the wicked of those who are hostile 303 00:18:20,320 --> 00:18:21,720 enemies of God. 304 00:18:21,720 --> 00:18:25,880 That's anyone who has not accepted Jesus Christ as Lord. 305 00:18:25,880 --> 00:18:27,920 The wicked and the lawbreakers. 306 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,200 Jesus said, if you love me, you'll keep my commands. 307 00:18:30,200 --> 00:18:35,560 John 14 verse 15, wicked people who don't love Jesus, they don't keep his commands. 308 00:18:35,560 --> 00:18:38,240 There's going to be punishment. 309 00:18:38,240 --> 00:18:43,800 Now I look at verse eight and I go like, whoa, time out for a second. 310 00:18:43,800 --> 00:18:49,380 The promise that those who trust God will not suffer God's holy judgment against them 311 00:18:49,380 --> 00:18:50,380 for their trespasses. 312 00:18:50,380 --> 00:18:52,720 And I'm like, yeah, but hang on. 313 00:18:52,720 --> 00:18:55,160 I goof up all the time. 314 00:18:55,160 --> 00:18:58,600 I mean, my wife is not here for the service, but you only have to talk to her and she'll 315 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:02,920 tell you pretty quick that I'm a right mess. 316 00:19:02,920 --> 00:19:06,880 So how can this extraordinary promise be made? 317 00:19:06,880 --> 00:19:14,920 Well, it was made in the foreknowledge then, we can look back 2000 years to the cross. 318 00:19:14,920 --> 00:19:22,960 It's made because Jesus paid in full for my sins and all of yours on that cross. 319 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:24,820 That's the wonderful gospel friends. 320 00:19:24,820 --> 00:19:30,120 That's amazing, extraordinary grace. 321 00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:35,920 So far in this psalm, we've seen in verse seven that we are promised individual protection. 322 00:19:35,920 --> 00:19:38,080 It will not come near you. 323 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:42,200 We've seen, we're promised in verse eight, eternal protection. 324 00:19:42,200 --> 00:19:45,360 We will not be punished for our sins. 325 00:19:45,360 --> 00:19:53,520 And we see, we're promised in verse 11, miraculous protection with angels guarding us in all our 326 00:19:53,520 --> 00:19:54,680 ways. 327 00:19:54,680 --> 00:20:00,600 What an awesome God we serve who genuinely cares for his people. 328 00:20:00,600 --> 00:20:06,840 The fourth important pronoun is you, verses three to 13. 329 00:20:06,840 --> 00:20:12,000 Having stated his own personal faith in God, the psalmist now, he commends that faith to 330 00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:17,880 others just as we should be doing to those who don't yet know Jesus Christ as Lord. 331 00:20:17,880 --> 00:20:24,320 The most striking feature is that the word you here in the Hebrew is singular. 332 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:29,160 So it means that these truths are for every single individual. 333 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:35,980 And for you and for me, of course it's an if, if we truly trust an abiding God. 334 00:20:35,980 --> 00:20:41,280 If we do that, that's when we discover that he is utterly faithful to what he's promised. 335 00:20:41,280 --> 00:20:48,440 That he will be our shield from dangers and our rampart against enemies. 336 00:20:48,440 --> 00:20:50,280 Please don't mishear me. 337 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:54,120 It doesn't mean that those who trust God never die from infectious diseases. 338 00:20:54,120 --> 00:20:56,840 All right, don't mishear me. 339 00:20:56,840 --> 00:21:02,400 It doesn't mean you won't suffer from an enemy plot. 340 00:21:02,400 --> 00:21:06,280 Just a sidebar, you'll see the relevance I hope in a moment. 341 00:21:06,280 --> 00:21:12,200 When God the Father created you and me, we're individually beautifully created, knit together 342 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,500 on our mother's womb, Psalm 139. 343 00:21:15,500 --> 00:21:20,740 He made us in his image and he intentionally created us with needs. 344 00:21:20,740 --> 00:21:23,780 It wasn't a mistake, it was intentional. 345 00:21:23,780 --> 00:21:26,400 We are meant to have needs. 346 00:21:26,400 --> 00:21:29,880 Needs that need to be met every single day. 347 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,580 That's how we were created. 348 00:21:32,580 --> 00:21:39,200 It's the fear that those needs are not met that cause us to worry because we need these 349 00:21:39,200 --> 00:21:40,200 things. 350 00:21:40,200 --> 00:21:44,440 That's what Jesus is covering, for example, in the Sermon on the Mount. 351 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:48,640 That's why he says, and you'll read it in Matthew chapter 6, ask today for your daily 352 00:21:48,640 --> 00:21:50,640 bread, your daily needs. 353 00:21:50,640 --> 00:21:52,120 And he sums it up. 354 00:21:52,120 --> 00:21:58,960 If you seek first my kingdom, all the things you need will be given to you. 355 00:21:58,960 --> 00:22:01,720 So the Father created us with something that we all need. 356 00:22:01,720 --> 00:22:03,940 We all therefore face the same choice. 357 00:22:03,940 --> 00:22:05,020 Even Jesus did. 358 00:22:05,020 --> 00:22:06,020 He was not exempt. 359 00:22:06,020 --> 00:22:07,640 He was fully human. 360 00:22:07,640 --> 00:22:10,080 The choice is this. 361 00:22:10,080 --> 00:22:14,280 Will we trust the Father to provide for all our needs? 362 00:22:14,280 --> 00:22:17,640 He has repeatedly promised that he will do that. 363 00:22:17,640 --> 00:22:22,720 Or will we choose to live without the Father's provision? 364 00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,480 And if we choose that latter course, if we say, no, I don't want anything to do with 365 00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:30,500 the Father, those needs, they don't magically disappear. 366 00:22:30,500 --> 00:22:32,680 That's why they're called needs. 367 00:22:32,680 --> 00:22:34,400 We still have those needs. 368 00:22:34,400 --> 00:22:36,800 In fact, the clever people say there are five S's. 369 00:22:36,800 --> 00:22:40,480 I want to write down the five things that we all need. 370 00:22:40,480 --> 00:22:46,560 Safety, security, self-worth, satisfaction, and status. 371 00:22:46,560 --> 00:22:49,240 The five needs. 372 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:53,880 To put it in simple English, for one of those, we all need to put the food on the table and 373 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:56,460 gas in the car. 374 00:22:56,460 --> 00:23:02,840 If we say no to the Father, we end up placing our trust in something or someone else. 375 00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:04,880 This could be the government. 376 00:23:04,880 --> 00:23:07,080 The government will now supply all that we need. 377 00:23:07,080 --> 00:23:12,440 Or our bank balance, our trust in my money, or our reputation, or our contacts, or ourselves, 378 00:23:12,440 --> 00:23:14,320 or whatever it might be. 379 00:23:14,320 --> 00:23:17,060 But those things will never fulfill our needs. 380 00:23:17,060 --> 00:23:19,000 They weren't designed to. 381 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:24,760 And ultimately, they always disappoint us and leave us empty inside. 382 00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:28,500 Only the Father can meet all our needs. 383 00:23:28,500 --> 00:23:33,840 Only the Lord Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit can quench every thirst. 384 00:23:33,840 --> 00:23:37,220 But we have to choose to want to come to Him. 385 00:23:37,220 --> 00:23:43,520 To come back to the psalm, and there's a reason for that segue, we have to want to dwell in 386 00:23:43,520 --> 00:23:47,200 the shelter of the Most High. 387 00:23:47,200 --> 00:23:53,360 To state the obvious, a shelter will only protect those who get under it. 388 00:23:53,360 --> 00:23:54,360 Okay? 389 00:23:54,360 --> 00:24:00,440 You can carry your umbrella and it can start to rain, but if you don't put the umbrella 390 00:24:00,440 --> 00:24:04,000 up and stand underneath it, you're going to get wet. 391 00:24:04,000 --> 00:24:06,440 Oh no, genius. 392 00:24:06,440 --> 00:24:07,440 That's what I'm saying. 393 00:24:07,440 --> 00:24:10,760 Don't say I've got an umbrella if you don't use it. 394 00:24:10,760 --> 00:24:14,480 Even if you have an umbrella, if you don't stand underneath it, even if you put it up, 395 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,440 put it up and stand underneath it. 396 00:24:17,440 --> 00:24:19,120 This is what the psalmist is saying. 397 00:24:19,120 --> 00:24:25,480 All of these wonderful promises in Psalm 91 are conditional upon this. 398 00:24:25,480 --> 00:24:26,880 Let's do another if then. 399 00:24:26,880 --> 00:24:29,660 Let's look at verse 9 if you have your Bible open. 400 00:24:29,660 --> 00:24:36,800 If you make the Most High your dwelling, there's the if, then the result, verse 10 is no evil 401 00:24:36,800 --> 00:24:38,280 will overtake you. 402 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:39,280 Why? 403 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:45,920 Because verses 11 through 14, God will command his angels to protect you. 404 00:24:45,920 --> 00:24:51,120 So it's guaranteed, I'll make this guarantee to you, we will all experience suffering and 405 00:24:51,120 --> 00:24:54,160 evil in this fallen world. 406 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:59,960 It's guaranteed that if we know the Lord, we will know his divine protection and guidance. 407 00:24:59,960 --> 00:25:05,320 The question is, are you under his shelter? 408 00:25:05,320 --> 00:25:11,880 The fifth important pronoun is the divine I, verses 14 through 16. 409 00:25:11,880 --> 00:25:15,000 God delights in his relationship with the psalmist. 410 00:25:15,000 --> 00:25:18,880 You see that in verse 14, because he loves me. 411 00:25:18,880 --> 00:25:22,360 That just sets the Father's heart on fire. 412 00:25:22,360 --> 00:25:24,020 It's the basis for everything. 413 00:25:24,020 --> 00:25:29,360 It's obviously a reciprocal, a relationship we know from scripture that we love God because 414 00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:31,960 he first loved us. 415 00:25:31,960 --> 00:25:34,160 First John chapter 4, verse 19. 416 00:25:34,160 --> 00:25:38,120 So before that psalmist love God, God loved him. 417 00:25:38,120 --> 00:25:39,600 And the Lord was pleased to honor him. 418 00:25:39,600 --> 00:25:44,200 And do you know the promise he gives to him right at the end of the psalm, verse 16, a 419 00:25:44,200 --> 00:25:46,540 satisfying long life. 420 00:25:46,540 --> 00:25:49,480 That by the way is very different from a long life. 421 00:25:49,480 --> 00:25:52,360 God promises satisfaction. 422 00:25:52,360 --> 00:25:56,960 I find it very curious that today many people, they want a long life, they even want to have 423 00:25:56,960 --> 00:26:02,280 immortality and they don't know what to do with themselves on a rainy Saturday afternoon. 424 00:26:02,280 --> 00:26:10,560 They're saying, verses 14 and 15 show us three things that bring joy to the Father's heart. 425 00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:15,680 And things that are not too difficult for any Jesus follower in the power of the Spirit. 426 00:26:15,680 --> 00:26:19,360 So these three things are not something we can say, oh I couldn't do that. 427 00:26:19,360 --> 00:26:21,800 If Jesus is your Lord, you can do these three things. 428 00:26:21,800 --> 00:26:24,280 I'm going to encourage you to do them. 429 00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:29,760 Verse 14, the first one I've already mentioned, because he loves me. 430 00:26:29,760 --> 00:26:37,320 We are to unashamedly express our love and our gratitude to the one who died in our place 431 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:39,160 on that cross. 432 00:26:39,160 --> 00:26:40,160 Don't be ashamed of this. 433 00:26:40,160 --> 00:26:42,760 Jesus, if you're ashamed of me, I'll be ashamed of you. 434 00:26:42,760 --> 00:26:46,280 Instead let us just honestly say, Jesus I love you. 435 00:26:46,280 --> 00:26:47,560 I love you Jesus. 436 00:26:47,560 --> 00:26:50,080 I thank you for all that you did for me. 437 00:26:50,080 --> 00:26:51,680 You didn't need to do any of it. 438 00:26:51,680 --> 00:26:54,560 I deserve to spend an eternity in hell. 439 00:26:54,560 --> 00:26:57,240 I still do. 440 00:26:57,240 --> 00:26:58,800 But you loved me so much. 441 00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:00,720 You hung on that cross. 442 00:27:00,720 --> 00:27:02,720 You took my place. 443 00:27:02,720 --> 00:27:05,040 Thank you. 444 00:27:05,040 --> 00:27:08,680 I love you. 445 00:27:08,680 --> 00:27:13,800 Second verse 14, because he acknowledges my name. 446 00:27:13,800 --> 00:27:16,240 Jesus taught us to pray to the Father. 447 00:27:16,240 --> 00:27:19,980 And you might remember the prayer, we're going to say it later on in the communion service. 448 00:27:19,980 --> 00:27:21,680 He said, this is how you start your prayer. 449 00:27:21,680 --> 00:27:22,680 You start Father. 450 00:27:22,680 --> 00:27:24,800 Okay, you're a child. 451 00:27:24,800 --> 00:27:27,800 Don't start a prayer with God. 452 00:27:27,800 --> 00:27:29,200 Christians pray that prayer. 453 00:27:29,200 --> 00:27:30,600 Don't do that. 454 00:27:30,600 --> 00:27:31,600 Start Father. 455 00:27:31,600 --> 00:27:35,400 Jesus, every single prayer that Jesus prayed began with Father except for one when he was 456 00:27:35,400 --> 00:27:37,120 separated from God on the cross. 457 00:27:37,120 --> 00:27:39,800 That's when he cried out, my God, my God. 458 00:27:39,800 --> 00:27:42,400 You're a daughter of the Father. 459 00:27:42,400 --> 00:27:44,200 Stop calling him God. 460 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:45,200 Call him Dad. 461 00:27:45,200 --> 00:27:47,000 Abba, if you want to. 462 00:27:47,000 --> 00:27:49,040 Heavenly Father, if you'd like to. 463 00:27:49,040 --> 00:27:52,280 But whatever it is, say I'm your son. 464 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:54,400 You're my Father. 465 00:27:54,400 --> 00:27:57,420 But he continued in that prayer, holy is your name. 466 00:27:57,420 --> 00:28:00,520 The name denotes someone's character. 467 00:28:00,520 --> 00:28:04,480 The greatest primary characteristic of our God is holy. 468 00:28:04,480 --> 00:28:05,480 Did you know that? 469 00:28:05,480 --> 00:28:10,280 One of the errors of the church is to make the primary characteristic of God love. 470 00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:12,640 Oh, he is a loving God, don't get me wrong. 471 00:28:12,640 --> 00:28:14,520 But his primary characteristic is holy. 472 00:28:14,520 --> 00:28:20,080 And if we get those two mixed up, we have a problem in the church. 473 00:28:20,080 --> 00:28:24,480 Isaiah chapter six, verse three, the seraphs around the throne room say three times, holy, 474 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:27,000 holy, holy is the Lord Almighty. 475 00:28:27,000 --> 00:28:31,640 Never will you find love, love, love in the scriptures. 476 00:28:31,640 --> 00:28:33,960 It means that God's love is a holy love. 477 00:28:33,960 --> 00:28:35,040 That's really important to see. 478 00:28:35,040 --> 00:28:36,680 And God's wrath is a holy wrath. 479 00:28:36,680 --> 00:28:38,680 And God's jealousy is a holy jealousy. 480 00:28:38,680 --> 00:28:40,160 And God's grace is a holy grace. 481 00:28:40,160 --> 00:28:41,840 And God's mercy is a holy mercy. 482 00:28:41,840 --> 00:28:44,060 And God's anger is a holy anger. 483 00:28:44,060 --> 00:28:45,320 But it's always holy. 484 00:28:45,320 --> 00:28:47,880 And thank God for that. 485 00:28:47,880 --> 00:28:51,880 And that's why he says be holy because the Lord your God is holy. 486 00:28:51,880 --> 00:28:53,760 Everything flows from that. 487 00:28:53,760 --> 00:28:58,280 And so we are to acknowledge and we are to reverence and we are to honor the holiness 488 00:28:58,280 --> 00:29:00,920 of our Lord. 489 00:29:00,920 --> 00:29:05,360 And the extraordinary thing, and sometimes you have to shake your head and go, wow, could 490 00:29:05,360 --> 00:29:06,940 this really be true? 491 00:29:06,940 --> 00:29:12,880 Is that you and I have been called his children and been given permission to call on his name 492 00:29:12,880 --> 00:29:15,880 with such intimacy. 493 00:29:15,880 --> 00:29:19,180 Wow. 494 00:29:19,180 --> 00:29:25,000 Such authority when we acknowledge the Lord and such power when the Spirit comes upon 495 00:29:25,000 --> 00:29:28,560 us and we are in submission. 496 00:29:28,560 --> 00:29:35,060 The third thing we can all do is this, verse 15, because he calls on me. 497 00:29:35,060 --> 00:29:40,760 We're invited to call out the Lord in times of need to seek his way. 498 00:29:40,760 --> 00:29:42,800 Three things expected from us. 499 00:29:42,800 --> 00:29:46,600 But you know, friends, we can never out give God, can we? 500 00:29:46,600 --> 00:29:53,320 To marvel with me at the extraordinary grace of our Lord who undeservedly gives to us 501 00:29:53,320 --> 00:29:57,560 immeasurably more than we can ask or imagine. 502 00:29:57,560 --> 00:30:05,260 Because in this extraordinary Psalm, we find the Lord's extravagant promises and he gives 503 00:30:05,260 --> 00:30:07,400 us eight gifts. 504 00:30:07,400 --> 00:30:08,500 Eight. 505 00:30:08,500 --> 00:30:10,240 Look with the passage with me. 506 00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:12,080 This is the important pronoun I. 507 00:30:12,080 --> 00:30:14,360 Verse 14, I will rescue you. 508 00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:16,560 Verse 14, I will protect you. 509 00:30:16,560 --> 00:30:19,080 Verse 15, I will answer you. 510 00:30:19,080 --> 00:30:21,920 Verse 15, I will be with you in trouble. 511 00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,180 Verse 15, I will deliver you. 512 00:30:24,180 --> 00:30:25,960 Verse 15, I will honor you. 513 00:30:25,960 --> 00:30:29,240 Verse 16, I will satisfy you with long life. 514 00:30:29,240 --> 00:30:32,840 And verse 16, I will show you my salvation. 515 00:30:32,840 --> 00:30:33,840 Hallelujah. 516 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:38,160 Our God is so faithful to us. 517 00:30:38,160 --> 00:30:46,000 We will know his presence, his power, his protection, and his provision that in a nutshell 518 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:48,580 is salvation. 519 00:30:48,580 --> 00:30:49,800 And that's where I should finish, isn't it? 520 00:30:49,800 --> 00:30:53,800 I mean, you should be going, yeah. 521 00:30:53,800 --> 00:30:56,760 But as I said at the last service, actually I found myself saying something similar the 522 00:30:56,760 --> 00:31:01,040 last time I was preaching here, a completely different passage. 523 00:31:01,040 --> 00:31:05,400 There are some of you here who do not read that Psalm this way. 524 00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:09,360 Some of you are annoyed and frustrated by this Psalm. 525 00:31:09,360 --> 00:31:11,740 It's actually infuriating. 526 00:31:11,740 --> 00:31:15,720 Because as you read it and as I've just preached it, you're going like, that's a fairy tale. 527 00:31:15,720 --> 00:31:20,400 That's got a very nice bow at the end of it and a happy ever after. 528 00:31:20,400 --> 00:31:22,800 And you're going like, thanks a lot, May, but what about suffering? 529 00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:23,800 What about martyrs? 530 00:31:23,800 --> 00:31:25,640 What about the cross? 531 00:31:25,640 --> 00:31:33,760 What about the vast number of faithful Christians who pray for healing and hear only crickets? 532 00:31:33,760 --> 00:31:37,000 Silence. 533 00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:41,440 You're graciously looking at me saying, Pete, you've given us theory. 534 00:31:41,440 --> 00:31:43,580 I live in the real world. 535 00:31:43,580 --> 00:31:48,880 I live in the world where I stare trouble in the face. 536 00:31:48,880 --> 00:31:53,280 And if you're thinking that way, please hear what I now say. 537 00:31:53,280 --> 00:31:54,280 I agree with you. 538 00:31:54,280 --> 00:31:59,880 In fact, if you're not thinking that way, I need to challenge you. 539 00:31:59,880 --> 00:32:06,960 Because I think these amazing claims in Psalm 91 should be a challenge for any honest believer 540 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:12,880 who looks around the church family and sees their brothers and sisters in Christ and you 541 00:32:12,880 --> 00:32:17,960 cannot deny that bad things happen to godly people. 542 00:32:17,960 --> 00:32:19,920 Please note, I didn't say good people. 543 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:24,120 No one's good except God alone, but godly people. 544 00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:27,440 And that should be troubling. 545 00:32:27,440 --> 00:32:31,840 And so with integrity, we have to relook at the Psalm and ask the question, how do we 546 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:39,440 reconcile the great promises and assurances of God's protection with the very real difficulties 547 00:32:39,440 --> 00:32:44,320 that we face in our lives? 548 00:32:44,320 --> 00:32:47,960 The question with an easy answer is this, can God deliver us from our troubles? 549 00:32:47,960 --> 00:32:49,240 Well, yes, we know he can. 550 00:32:49,240 --> 00:32:52,960 He is God and often he does. 551 00:32:52,960 --> 00:32:58,800 But the real question we want to ask him is this, what happens when he doesn't? 552 00:32:58,800 --> 00:33:01,760 Isn't that the real question? 553 00:33:01,760 --> 00:33:07,560 Because the fact is many come to God asking for healing, asking for deliverance, and they're 554 00:33:07,560 --> 00:33:10,840 neither healed nor delivered. 555 00:33:10,840 --> 00:33:15,920 Not everyone is lifted out of their troubling situation. 556 00:33:15,920 --> 00:33:18,560 So what do we do? 557 00:33:18,560 --> 00:33:21,880 Some foolishly try to dilute the Psalms promises. 558 00:33:21,880 --> 00:33:23,680 They try to put qualifiers in there. 559 00:33:23,680 --> 00:33:29,280 They say, yeah, but, and the result is you quench its power and you remove its truth 560 00:33:29,280 --> 00:33:31,720 and comfort. 561 00:33:31,720 --> 00:33:34,200 Others dismiss it as a bad joke. 562 00:33:34,200 --> 00:33:36,100 It's wishful thinking. 563 00:33:36,100 --> 00:33:37,280 You conclude it doesn't work. 564 00:33:37,280 --> 00:33:38,480 It clearly doesn't work. 565 00:33:38,480 --> 00:33:41,440 It's a waste of time and you harden your heart. 566 00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:45,000 But we don't do that. 567 00:33:45,000 --> 00:33:47,660 That's to misunderstand what the Psalm actually says. 568 00:33:47,660 --> 00:33:51,120 So let's go back to our ifs and thens. 569 00:33:51,120 --> 00:33:56,840 Because the Psalms claim is this, if you choose to dwell in the shelter of the most high, 570 00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:58,520 first if. 571 00:33:58,520 --> 00:34:03,400 If you abide under the shadow of the Almighty, second if. 572 00:34:03,400 --> 00:34:07,720 If you put yourself under the wing of God, third if. 573 00:34:07,720 --> 00:34:11,000 And if you trust in his faithfulness, fourth if. 574 00:34:11,000 --> 00:34:19,000 If, if, if, if, then, then, even though you go through trouble, you can be certain, and 575 00:34:19,000 --> 00:34:26,000 here are the four key words, God is with you. 576 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:28,040 That's what you can be sure of. 577 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:29,760 That's the point. 578 00:34:29,760 --> 00:34:33,560 The whole point of this Psalm and what the Psalmist is trying to tell us is to know the 579 00:34:33,560 --> 00:34:38,120 presence of God in and through the trouble that you are in. 580 00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:41,920 Inevitably, you are going to go through trouble. 581 00:34:41,920 --> 00:34:46,440 But that particular trouble need not go through you. 582 00:34:46,440 --> 00:34:48,760 That's how the Christian stands. 583 00:34:48,760 --> 00:34:52,480 This is how, when the whole world is going to pieces around us, the Christian stands 584 00:34:52,480 --> 00:34:55,400 firm and solid. 585 00:34:55,400 --> 00:34:57,040 That's who we should be. 586 00:34:57,040 --> 00:35:02,120 Because we're standing on the rock of Jesus Christ, and that rock won't move. 587 00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:05,600 So the Lord says in verse 10, no evil will overtake you. 588 00:35:05,600 --> 00:35:08,240 He doesn't say no evil will touch you. 589 00:35:08,240 --> 00:35:10,120 He doesn't say that. 590 00:35:10,120 --> 00:35:17,920 Well, what he says in verse 15 is he will call upon me, she will call upon me, and I 591 00:35:17,920 --> 00:35:20,000 will answer. 592 00:35:20,000 --> 00:35:22,160 And I'll be with them in trouble. 593 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:25,320 And I will deliver, and I will honor. 594 00:35:25,320 --> 00:35:27,080 That's the promise. 595 00:35:27,080 --> 00:35:33,400 And so though cancer may eat your flesh, it cannot eat your soul. 596 00:35:33,400 --> 00:35:40,480 Though Alzheimer's might make you forget, God will never forget you. 597 00:35:40,480 --> 00:35:44,760 This Psalmist is not talking about safety in a safe world. 598 00:35:44,760 --> 00:35:48,000 So many of our prayers seem to be that it's absolute nonsense. 599 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:51,600 We pray as if we should be bubble wrapped and go around and nothing can affect us. 600 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:54,320 It's just, it's unreal and it's foolish. 601 00:35:54,320 --> 00:36:00,200 And it certainly doesn't help anyone stand. 602 00:36:00,200 --> 00:36:03,680 It's not like that at all. 603 00:36:03,680 --> 00:36:05,200 The Psalmist doesn't say no afflictions. 604 00:36:05,200 --> 00:36:06,920 It says no evil. 605 00:36:06,920 --> 00:36:08,040 No evil. 606 00:36:08,040 --> 00:36:10,200 No evil will overtake you. 607 00:36:10,200 --> 00:36:12,600 Afflictions touch the flesh. 608 00:36:12,600 --> 00:36:15,120 Evil touches the spirit. 609 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:16,300 This is the truth. 610 00:36:16,300 --> 00:36:21,000 The world is full of accusation and attack and disease and danger. 611 00:36:21,000 --> 00:36:22,000 There are spiritual enemies. 612 00:36:22,000 --> 00:36:23,760 There are human enemies. 613 00:36:23,760 --> 00:36:31,720 But God says, if you make me your shelter, if you have the perspective of me being the 614 00:36:31,720 --> 00:36:38,880 great God, the almighty God, then you'll be protected from all evil. 615 00:36:38,880 --> 00:36:39,880 That's the promise. 616 00:36:39,880 --> 00:36:43,160 And that's the affirmation you and I need at the beginning of the week. 617 00:36:43,160 --> 00:36:49,920 And we have no idea what this week holds and what's coming along the way. 618 00:36:49,920 --> 00:36:54,720 So my closing question to you is, where do you put your trust? 619 00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:58,000 In whom do you put your faith? 620 00:36:58,000 --> 00:36:59,720 That's the question, isn't it? 621 00:36:59,720 --> 00:37:06,360 Do you trust more in God's word than in the word of the world? 622 00:37:06,360 --> 00:37:15,300 Will you say, I'm going to revere this holy Lord or I'm going to succumb to the craziness 623 00:37:15,300 --> 00:37:17,080 around me? 624 00:37:17,080 --> 00:37:23,360 I'm not asking you to close your ears, listen to medical opinion, for example, but trust 625 00:37:23,360 --> 00:37:25,640 in the great healer all the time. 626 00:37:25,640 --> 00:37:27,960 Do you see the difference? 627 00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:29,040 He's the one. 628 00:37:29,040 --> 00:37:36,960 We fear him and we trust him and we tremble at his word more than anything or anyone else 629 00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:39,360 because we are in his hands. 630 00:37:39,360 --> 00:37:41,360 We're completely safe there. 631 00:37:41,360 --> 00:37:45,120 Let me finish with my if-thens. 632 00:37:45,120 --> 00:37:50,440 If we take refuge in God the Father, then the Father has us. 633 00:37:50,440 --> 00:37:52,140 He has you. 634 00:37:52,140 --> 00:37:53,360 And he won't let go. 635 00:37:53,360 --> 00:37:55,240 And you know why we know that? 636 00:37:55,240 --> 00:38:01,360 Because Jesus promised, no one can pluck you out of my Father's hand. 637 00:38:01,360 --> 00:38:04,600 Shall we pray? 638 00:38:04,600 --> 00:38:08,060 Heavenly Father, like the seraphs, we worship you. 639 00:38:08,060 --> 00:38:11,320 We proclaim you are holy, holy, holy. 640 00:38:11,320 --> 00:38:15,960 We acknowledge you as the most high God and that it's only by your grace that we can be 641 00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:17,940 in your shelter. 642 00:38:17,940 --> 00:38:19,200 Thank you for loving us. 643 00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:21,720 Thank you for caring for us. 644 00:38:21,720 --> 00:38:28,940 Lord Jesus, we worship you as the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords. 645 00:38:28,940 --> 00:38:34,880 We choose to live under the shadow of your wings, knowing that you will never leave us 646 00:38:34,880 --> 00:38:36,800 or forsake us. 647 00:38:36,800 --> 00:38:40,440 Thank you for your faithfulness to us. 648 00:38:40,440 --> 00:38:46,360 And this spirit, when we face trials and temptations this week, we ask you to help us to keep our 649 00:38:46,360 --> 00:38:49,360 thoughts on Jesus. 650 00:38:49,360 --> 00:38:55,840 Please strengthen our wills, grow within us the fruit of maturity, and give us the wisdom 651 00:38:55,840 --> 00:38:58,760 and courage to stand firm. 652 00:38:58,760 --> 00:39:02,080 And we ask all these things in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. 653 00:39:02,080 --> 00:39:03,080 Amen. 654 00:39:03,080 --> 00:39:08,160 Thanks for listening today, and we hope that you come back again next week. 655 00:39:08,160 --> 00:39:13,200 Today's sermon was taken from the July 14, 2024 service at Trinity Church, Streetsville, 656 00:39:13,200 --> 00:39:40,240 in Mississauga, Ontario.