Time to Dial 911!

[0:00] Hello there, my name is Robin Gray and I'm the minister at Gardentown New Church in Gamery and it's my privilege to be with you today to lead this service of worship.

[0:12] We're thinking today about where we can find true safety and security and Psalm 91 and verses 1 and 2 read Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.

[0:38] Our first item of praise is a song based on the psalm that we just read from there and it's by Sovereign Grace Music and it's called Christ Will Be My Hideaway.

[0:59] I will dwell within the shelter of the God who reigns above.

[1:29] I will rest beneath the shadow of the mighty King of Love.

[1:40] Though a sickness hides in darkness, though a plague destroys by day, I will stand upon His promises.

[1:59] Christ will be my hideaway. Christ will be my hideaway. In you, my God, I trust.

[2:11] You are strong and here with us. In you, my hope remains.

[2:24] Christ will be my hideaway. Christ will be my hideaway. Angels gather to protect me when they hear my Savior call.

[2:52] Sovereign hands are ever ready to uphold me. Should I fall safe beneath His wings of refuge?

[3:10] All my fears are kept at bay. I am shielded by His faithfulness.

[3:23] Christ will be my highway. In You, my God, I trust.

[3:36] You are strong and here with us. In You, my hope remains.

[3:47] Christ will be my highway. Though a thousand fall around me, though death looks me in the eye.

[4:14] Evil shall not have the victory while the Lord is at my side.

[4:27] God in power raise my Savior. I no longer fear the grave.

[4:39] God in power raise my Savior. I no longer fear the grave.

[4:52] Through this fragile life and evermore, Christ will be my highway. In You, my God, I trust.

[5:10] You are strong and here with us. In You, my hope remains.

[5:23] Christ will be my highway.

[5:53] Christ will be my highway. Christ, You are my highway.

[6:05] That was Sovereign Grace music and Christ will be my hideaway.

[6:30] Well, let's turn to God now in prayer. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for this opportunity to worship you. And thank you, Lord, that even though we are restricted in our movements at the moment, you are not.

[6:45] And you can presence yourself with us wherever we are. We thank you, Lord, that because of that, we can all join together and worship you just now through this service.

[6:57] Father, we want to ask you that you would help us to be still before you, that you would help us, Lord, to put aside the cares and the worries that we may have, so that, Lord, we can focus on you and indeed take to you these worries and concerns in prayer, so that we can leave them there.

[7:19] Father, we thank you that your word tells us to cast our cares upon you because you care for us. Lord, we so often grow weary and tired and distracted amidst all the busyness and the stresses of this life.

[7:37] So we pray that this time would be an oasis, a time of refreshing, a time when we may know your help and your blessing upon us, that we would be changed by our time together here because we have met with you in a very special way and that that would be a great encouragement to us.

[8:00] So, Father, we pray that as we now prepare to hear your word and some thoughts about it, give us ears to hear, Lord, to understand what you are saying and bless us each and every one, we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.

[8:18] Our reading today is from that psalm, Psalm 91, and we'll read the whole psalm together. Let's hear God's word. Psalm 91 His faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

[8:59] You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday.

[9:10] A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

[9:21] If you say the Lord is my refuge and you make the most high your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent.

[9:32] For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. They will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

[9:44] You will tread on the lion and the cobra. You will trample the great lion and the serpent. Because he loves me, says the Lord, I will rescue him.

[9:56] I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. He will call on me and I will answer him. I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honour him.

[10:08] With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. Amen. I don't know if you've ever been to the United States of America, but even if you haven't been to the States, I'm pretty sure you will know the number you should dial in an emergency, the number you should dial to get the police, the ambulance or the fire brigade in America.

[10:37] Here, of course, we have 999, but in the States it is, I'm pretty sure you know, 911. 911 is the number you dial in an emergency in America.

[10:52] And many followers of Jesus have found that when they open their Bibles and they dial 911, they also find help in an emergency.

[11:04] What do I mean by that? Well, when they go to Psalm 91 and verse 1, 911, they find help in an emergency.

[11:16] In fact, many Christians have found this verse very precious to them, particularly during a time of stress or trouble or of panic.

[11:28] Why is that? Well, we're going to look at it together just for a few minutes to see something of why this verse is so precious.

[11:41] Let's read it again. Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. First of all, let's think about these first two words, whoever dwells, whoever dwells.

[11:58] That is, whoever lives. It describes someone whose life is with God. And so this tells us that if we would know ultimate and true security, we need look no further than to God himself.

[12:12] And we can find out more about God through his word. That is, if we come to God and his word and if we pray to God, if we plug into a service as we can do so easily now at the moment with so many services being online, we can come to know God.

[12:31] Jesus Christ says, So if we come to Jesus, we will dwell with God.

[12:43] In fact, we are told that God dwells in us if we come to Jesus and trust in him for our salvation. And so that person is one who dwells with God.

[12:56] And if they dwell with God, they dwell in the shelter of the Most High. Dwelling in the shelter of the Most High means being under his care and protection.

[13:12] If he is the one sheltering us, then we need not be afraid of anything that might come our way, because ultimately the Lord is the one who shelters us.

[13:24] And he is described as being the Most High. Not just quite high, not even very high or very, very high, but the Most High.

[13:37] So whoever seeks after God and seeks their refuge in him, they are in the shelter of the Most High. And that is the safest place in the universe to be.

[13:51] In fact, the verse goes on to say, that that person will rest. Rest. So not just shelter, but also rest.

[14:04] Are you weary? Do you have many burdens upon you at the moment? Many of which might have been exacerbated or made worse by the fact that we're in the midst of all these restrictions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic?

[14:22] Well, here is God offering you rest. That's not just rest in terms of having a break or a breather, but true peace and rest that lasts, indeed, lasts into eternity.

[14:37] Doesn't that sound attractive and appealing, particularly at this time? Where is this rest to be found? Well, it's in the shadow of the Almighty.

[14:50] That's a very strong image of the fact that God is so great and also so protective of those who seek their refuge in him, that those who come to him are described as being in his shadow.

[15:07] Imagine a protective hand overshadowing you and protecting you from all harm and all danger.

[15:19] And Jesus is the one who says, Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. That's where the rest that is being spoken of here in Psalm 9-1-1, if you want to call it that, Psalm 91 verse 1, that's where it's available to us and it's free if we just come to Jesus.

[15:44] And it's not just any old shadow. It's the shadow of the Almighty. There are many things in this world that are powerful and more powerful than we are.

[15:58] There are things that may threaten us in this world because they seem so powerful and so dangerous. But here's an important thing to remember.

[16:10] Nothing is as mighty as the one who has all mightiness, all power. And that's who the God who reveals himself in the Bible is.

[16:22] He is almighty. Nothing and no one is more powerful than God. So if we trust in him, we are truly secure.

[16:34] Now, in order for us to have this true security, this true safety, Jesus made himself truly vulnerable.

[16:48] There in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus said to his father, not my will, but thy will be done. He was committing himself to the plan of salvation, which would expose Jesus, not shelter him, but expose him to the just judgment for sin.

[17:10] But not his sin, but not his sin, because he didn't have any, but rather ours. And in that wonderful act of love and self-sacrifice, Jesus there on the cross made us safe forever.

[17:25] If we will simply trust in him, then we need fear no condemnation for our sins because they are forgiven there at the cross.

[17:37] Now, this psalm doesn't promise that we will never come to any harm in this world. But it does promise that God will be there with us in it and overruling and undertaking for our good.

[17:51] And it also promises that we will be delivered into the next life where truly no harm can ever befall us again.

[18:01] There will be no disease. There will be no sorrow because there will be no death either. And it will be a place of perfect and permanent safety forever.

[18:14] Now, that is something that no 911 or 999 call can ever secure for us. But it's something that when we see the true meaning of Psalm 91 verse 1, that's what is opened up to us.

[18:31] True security in God through Jesus Christ. Amen. We're going to close our service with another song. And this song is by City Alight.

[18:43] And it's called Your Will Be Done. Just as we were thinking there about Jesus saying that in the garden. That's something that we're invited to say as well.

[18:54] Knowing that God has our best interests at heart when we turn to him in Jesus. You will be done, my God and Father.

[19:24] As in heaven, so on earth. My heart is drawn to self-exalting.

[19:34] Help me seek your kingdom first. As Jesus walked, so I shall walk. Held by your same unchanging love.

[19:49] Be still, my soul. Oh, lift your voice and pray. Father, not my will, but yours be done.

[20:06] How in that garden he persisted. I may never fully know.

[20:16] The fearful weight of true obedience. It was held by him alone. One wondrous faith to bear that cross.

[20:32] To bear my sin. What wondrous love. My hope was sure. When then my Savior prayed.

[20:42] Father, not my will, but yours be done. When I am lost.

[20:56] When I am broken. In the night of fear and doubt. Still I will trust in my good Father.

[21:09] Yes, to one great King I bow. As Jesus rose. So I shall rise. In ransom glory.

[21:22] At the throne. My heart restored. With all your saints I sing. Father, not my will, but yours be done.

[21:41] As we go forth, Thou God and Father Lead us daily in the fight That all the world might see your glory And your name be lifted high And in this name we overcome For you shall see us safely home Now as your church We lift our voice and pray Father, not my will, but yours be done Father, not my will, but yours be done Father, not my will, but yours be done Father, not my will, but yours be done

[22:46] Father, not my will, but yours be done Let us pray Father, we thank you That you offer us a place of safety You offer us security And security under the shadow of your wings Is true security indeed Lord, we pray that If we're feeling vulnerable If we're feeling weak If we're feeling sorrowful Or even, Lord, if we're desperate We would know that we can turn to you

[23:48] We can turn to you in prayer And we can turn to you in your word And Lord, we can dial 911 We can look at Psalm 91 verse 1 And accept the invitation To dwell with you Accept the invitation To dwell in the shelter of the Most High And to rest in the shadow of the Almighty Thank you, Lord, that Jesus has done everything necessary for us To come to you He has paid the price of our sins And Lord, he is the one that invites us To come To enjoy shelter To enjoy rest Because Lord, he exposed himself to the shadow Of a very different kind There on the cross So that we would never have to And so, Lord, we pray that We would find our true rest in you Through Jesus

[24:49] Lord, we want to pray for anyone Who's really struggling at this time of lockdown And ask, Lord, that you would draw near to them Those who are lonely Those who are isolated Those who are ill And also, Lord, those who are working so hard Doctors Nurses And carers of every sort And everyone who works in supporting that Lord, we pray that you would uphold and protect them At this time And Father, we pray for our wider community here in this area Asking, Lord, that your protection would indeed surround us So that the effects of this virus, Lord, would be turned back We thank you for the vaccine And how it is bringing protection to so many people And we pray that would continue to be rolled out To those who need it first So that they are shielded from this virus Lord, we thank you for the greater shielding That is indeed available through you A protection which lasts for eternity

[25:50] And we pray, Lord, that if we haven't realised that that is available Our eyes would be opened now so that we can see it And we'd place our trust in you Lord, we thank you so much for the time that we've been able to spend together now And Lord, we would close our time together with a blessing The Lord bless you and keep you The Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you The Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace Amen