WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:04.719 Thank you, Neil. Thank you, Ian. Very good morning to you all. It's lovely to be back here. 00:00:05.620 --> 00:00:13.519 And on behalf of the whole of Bellevue, I send their greetings to you. It's wonderful how strong 00:00:13.519 --> 00:00:18.559 our relationship is with you. And we pray for you, and I know you pray for us, and we are very 00:00:18.559 --> 00:00:24.620 grateful for that. If I may add a very practical prayer point at this stage, we're slightly without 00:00:24.620 --> 00:00:32.200 a building. We had hoped to have our first service in our new refurbished building, but some glitches 00:00:32.200 --> 00:00:38.700 with getting a certificate that allows us to properly actually using it has meant that we're 00:00:38.700 --> 00:00:45.420 in some temporary accommodation yet again, and we'd love to start using the building. So we would 00:00:45.420 --> 00:00:50.740 value your prayer on that. But thank you for the privilege of being here. It's lovely that so many 00:00:50.740 --> 00:00:56.060 are out this morning as well. And what a joy to be looking at a psalm, and of all the psalms, 00:00:56.320 --> 00:01:01.660 at Psalm 91. I understand you've been looking at a few psalms, so maybe you heard already last week 00:01:01.660 --> 00:01:09.120 that this is part of Book 4. There's five sections in the Psalter, and this section in particular 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:19.379 celebrates the kingship of God. And what a good reminder for all of us to realize yet again and 00:01:19.379 --> 00:01:26.420 to celebrate the fact that God is sovereign. As I said, Psalm 91, I think, jumps out as one of the 00:01:26.420 --> 00:01:32.579 great songs. I believe when you read Christian biographies that throughout history, it seems 00:01:32.579 --> 00:01:37.179 to have been a great support. And one example I wanted to start off with this morning, and that 00:01:37.179 --> 00:01:43.060 is of the godly Dutch lady Corrie ten Boom, or as we would call her, Corrie ten Boom. I don't know if 00:01:43.060 --> 00:01:48.539 you've ever heard of her. If you've never have, then I recommend you reading her biography or autobiography, 00:01:48.540 --> 00:01:54.880 the hiding place, where she tells her story of how, together with the family, they hid some of the 00:01:54.880 --> 00:02:02.440 Jews, hid them from the Nazi Germans. Here's a lovely photograph. Now, they never found the Jews that 00:02:02.440 --> 00:02:09.200 they hid in their home in the city of Harlem, but they did end up in the concentration camps, and that's 00:02:09.200 --> 00:02:16.640 where she lost her father. She lost her sister there as well. And yet, one tradition that she recounts 00:02:16.639 --> 00:02:21.739 in this book is the fact that as a family, they had the lovely tradition of at least once a year, 00:02:22.339 --> 00:02:29.419 around the time of New Year's Eve and the New Year's Day, of reading this psalm, Psalm 91. And 00:02:29.419 --> 00:02:34.060 because that was the tradition, it was actually right there in the midst of her time in the 00:02:34.060 --> 00:02:39.899 concentration camp that all these truths came bubbling up, and actually she found that in the 00:02:39.900 --> 00:02:46.219 darkest days, this psalm particularly gave her the greatest hope. Now, personally, this psalm has 00:02:46.219 --> 00:02:53.480 meant a lot to me as well. I used to go to summer camps, a wonderful way to have your faith strengthened. 00:02:53.960 --> 00:03:00.020 And I remember one of these camps where, at the end of the week, your camp leader gave you a Bible 00:03:00.020 --> 00:03:04.620 verse, a verse that they had thought over and very specifically wanted to give you as an encouragement 00:03:04.620 --> 00:03:11.439 or also as a challenge. Well, my camp leader that summer gave me the end of this psalm, Psalm 91, 00:03:11.580 --> 00:03:18.219 verses 14 onwards. And he gave me this instruction, and I would recommend it as a bit of homework to 00:03:18.219 --> 00:03:24.280 take this away this morning. But he said, read this and fill in your own name. So he said, you know, 00:03:24.280 --> 00:03:31.580 you should read it as saying, because Christian holds fast to me, sorry, holds fast to me in love, 00:03:31.580 --> 00:03:38.720 I will deliver Christian. I will deliver Christian because he knows my name. And when Christian calls 00:03:38.720 --> 00:03:45.540 on me, I will answer Christian, and so forth. Isn't that a beautiful, beautiful psalm to remind ourselves 00:03:45.540 --> 00:03:52.280 of very regularly and points us in the right direction? Not to ourselves, not even to the people 00:03:52.280 --> 00:03:58.900 around us, but ultimately to the sovereignty of God. But one thing I wanted us to notice this morning is 00:03:58.900 --> 00:04:04.439 maybe somewhat obvious, but I think part of the beauty of this psalm is simply in the fact that it 00:04:04.439 --> 00:04:12.540 acknowledges the reality of suffering. We don't want to glance over the fact that this is not a psalm 00:04:12.540 --> 00:04:17.560 that was written somewhere on a beach where someone has had a wonderfully comfortable life. 00:04:18.420 --> 00:04:24.500 But actually, when you go through the experience of the psalm writer, there's a deadly disease, 00:04:24.500 --> 00:04:32.100 there's fear, there's all these awful things, turmoil that he's faced, but actually out of all 00:04:32.100 --> 00:04:40.079 that turmoil, this psalm has been written. Life hurts. Now, interestingly, why I think this is 00:04:40.079 --> 00:04:49.259 important is that I think most individuals would like life to be quite smooth. We would like it to be 00:04:49.259 --> 00:04:55.539 comfortable. In some ways, we would like it to be predictable. Maybe not all the time, but certainly 00:04:55.539 --> 00:05:03.879 controllable. That's certainly me. I like to kind of, I like surprises, but not too big a surprise. 00:05:05.480 --> 00:05:12.920 And so a lot of us, although maybe we like life to be somewhat adventurous and exciting, we want it to be 00:05:12.920 --> 00:05:20.560 controllable. I think the scary thing is that here in the West, we actually are almost able to give 00:05:20.560 --> 00:05:25.960 ourselves that full sense of security through surrounding ourselves with lots of stuff, 00:05:26.900 --> 00:05:35.080 making life comfortable. I believe it's true that actually what dampens a lot of our desire and hunger 00:05:35.080 --> 00:05:41.379 for heaven is because we've kind of started to create our own little heaven already here on earth, 00:05:41.379 --> 00:05:48.399 and we're comfortable. Now, it's not just stuff that helps us to be comfortable. I think busyness 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:56.620 can do that as well, or we can cover. What is there not to insure these days? It's incredible how 00:05:56.620 --> 00:06:03.319 secure we seem to have made life by covering ourselves with all these insurances, as well as escapism. 00:06:04.860 --> 00:06:11.000 And escapism comes in all kinds of shapes, forms, and sizes. Busyness is one. Gaming can be one. 00:06:11.379 --> 00:06:17.540 Where you try to seek the comfortable so that you can forget about the reality of life. 00:06:19.920 --> 00:06:25.379 We've done this in such a way that I believe we even started to expect that life should be comfortable. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:31.680 The research is actually showing that we have a generation growing up now that are actually 00:06:31.680 --> 00:06:36.300 struggling to cope when life isn't working out the way we'd planned. 00:06:36.300 --> 00:06:43.639 There is a real concern about a growing number of burnout and depression, particularly amongst 00:06:43.639 --> 00:06:49.580 teenagers and young adults. To some of the older generation, this seems mind-boggling. What is 00:06:49.580 --> 00:06:57.240 there to get stressed about? But it's the high expectations that reality so often doesn't seem to 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:04.079 live up to. I also believe that burnout also happens spiritually. 00:07:06.199 --> 00:07:12.740 There are some Christians who would proclaim what I would call an over-realized eschatology. And 00:07:12.740 --> 00:07:17.920 eschatology is simply the things that are still to come. But there are some people that proclaim that 00:07:17.920 --> 00:07:24.079 actually heaven is already here, or it certainly should be here. And God is someone who is so full of 00:07:24.079 --> 00:07:29.139 love that He doesn't want you to be heard. He doesn't want any harm to befall you. Sometimes 00:07:29.139 --> 00:07:36.099 we misquote that amazing verse in Jeremiah 29, verse 11, where it says that God knows the plans He has 00:07:36.099 --> 00:07:42.639 for us. And what does it say? There are plans for us to prosper, not to harm us. And so even Christians 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:48.180 can have this habit of trying to avoid any pain, any illness, or any suffering, because that is certainly 00:07:48.180 --> 00:08:02.439 not part of what God has in store for you. However, reality is that there is an element of the here, 00:08:02.600 --> 00:08:10.980 now, but also the not yet. Yes, Jesus did inaugurate that kingdom of heaven, but the fullness of it isn't 00:08:10.980 --> 00:08:18.200 going to be enjoyed and experienced until His return. And so reality is that some of you this 00:08:18.200 --> 00:08:23.540 week may have a doctor's appointment where you'll hear news that you had not expected. And that might 00:08:23.540 --> 00:08:33.620 pull the, what's the expression, pull the carpet underneath you. You know what I mean. Or maybe you're in a 00:08:33.620 --> 00:08:39.300 job that you thought was secure, but all of a sudden this week you're going to hear news that your job is 00:08:39.299 --> 00:08:44.099 on the line and you do not know what's going to happen. And maybe it's not the loss of a job, 00:08:44.159 --> 00:08:49.759 maybe it's the loss of a loved one. And maybe it's exactly that experience, maybe it's exactly that 00:08:49.759 --> 00:08:55.620 turmoil that you're facing right now. Maybe you have lost a loved one quite recently. And you can sense 00:08:55.620 --> 00:09:06.479 what this psalmist is saying is true for life. This bit of news came through not too long ago about Hawaii. 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:10.680 And when I think of Hawaii, I can only think of this beautiful picture. I've never been, 00:09:11.159 --> 00:09:15.019 but it's that one wonderful place that you think, oh, I would love to live there. You know, 00:09:15.200 --> 00:09:19.180 it's secondary to Edinburgh, of course, but you know, Hawaii seems to always have good weather, 00:09:19.440 --> 00:09:24.120 you know, a bit like this, but then all year round, lovely people and you can go swimming in the sea 00:09:24.120 --> 00:09:30.220 at any stage. And then recently there was the news of the volcano. And this is really the reality now 00:09:30.220 --> 00:09:38.940 of some parts in Hawaii. Unexpected, probably a lot of lives thrown upside down. But that is so often 00:09:38.940 --> 00:09:45.720 what life seems to be about. We try to create our paradise, but reality hits. And actually reality 00:09:45.720 --> 00:09:51.660 hits Christians and non-Christians alike. And it's a reflection of a broken world that we live in 00:09:51.659 --> 00:09:58.899 that is in need of redemption. Now one slight sidestep here. Maybe you're sitting here, you're saying, 00:09:59.000 --> 00:10:04.939 actually, my life is going swimmingly. Everything is just going according to plan. I'm in a great job. 00:10:05.019 --> 00:10:11.899 I've got, you know, my family. It's all, everybody's happy. I'm happy. Well, actually, maybe then this psalm 00:10:11.899 --> 00:10:18.699 is especially for you. There's a Canadian theologian, a New Testament professor by the name of Don Carson, 00:10:19.000 --> 00:10:25.579 who wrote this very helpful book called How Long, O Lord? I can highly recommend it. It's meaty, 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:30.899 but it's worth reading. But this is the interesting and I think the wise thing he did when he wrote the 00:10:30.899 --> 00:10:38.939 book. He said he wrote it as preventive medicine. And I'm going to suggest today that maybe for some of 00:10:38.940 --> 00:10:45.080 you, Psalm 91 is preventive medicine. Listen to what he says. He says, actually, very often 00:10:45.080 --> 00:10:53.940 we start thinking about the wise and the hows when we're in the midst of a storm. But this book, he says, 00:10:53.980 --> 00:11:00.100 is designed to actually help establish patterns of thoughts that would be strong enough to remain 00:11:00.100 --> 00:11:08.660 standing when tragedy hits. See what I mean? And so the truths of Psalm 91 should be those pillars in our 00:11:08.659 --> 00:11:14.799 lives that should already become those strong rooted truths in our lives so that when our life is 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:29.360 turned upside down, these are the truths that remain. So Psalm 91, we need this psalm. And we need this 00:11:29.360 --> 00:11:36.399 psalm not just to avoid putting our head in the sand. We need this psalm not just to not be paralyzed by fear. 00:11:36.399 --> 00:11:41.179 We need this psalm so that we don't blame God for all the bad things that happen in our lives. 00:11:42.459 --> 00:11:49.799 We need this psalm for this psalm helps us to honestly reflect on the uncertainty of life, 00:11:49.799 --> 00:11:56.740 but also because ultimately this psalm gives us the security in the midst of insecurity. 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:03.740 Security in the midst of insecurity. That's kind of my first point. Secondly, I want us to notice then 00:12:03.740 --> 00:12:11.779 that the psalmist points us to where our security is. And he does it by proclaiming God's promise of 00:12:11.779 --> 00:12:21.019 protection. He proclaims God's promise of protection. One of the hardest questions that a non-Christian can 00:12:21.019 --> 00:12:25.560 ask a Christian or the church, and maybe you've had this conversation, is where people say, 00:12:25.559 --> 00:12:29.679 why, if God is a God of love, is there so much suffering in the world? 00:12:31.539 --> 00:12:36.079 I'll have to disappoint you. Psalm 91 doesn't answer that question, but you know, it answers an even 00:12:36.079 --> 00:12:44.639 more beautiful question. It doesn't answer the why, but it answers the where. Where is God in the midst 00:12:44.639 --> 00:12:52.719 of our suffering? And the answer is found in four names and eight actions. Four names and eight actions. 00:12:52.720 --> 00:13:00.620 First of all, the psalm focuses on four divine names, which gives us a great foundation to understand 00:13:00.620 --> 00:13:09.160 where the actions come from. For example, God here is called the Most High. The Most High. You've got to 00:13:09.160 --> 00:13:13.899 envision, and this is hard, but you've got to envision the pictures we get in the Bible of the 00:13:13.899 --> 00:13:22.639 heavenly throne room, where God is above all powers and all kingdoms. God, who is sovereign, is seated on 00:13:22.639 --> 00:13:29.340 his heavenly throne in the heavenly throne room surrounding by the angels. That's the first thing. 00:13:30.519 --> 00:13:37.939 Secondly, he is called Almighty, which is the Hebrew word for Shaddai, or El Shaddai, which is the name 00:13:37.939 --> 00:13:43.720 that actually sustained the homeless patriarchs as they traveled obediently, following God's lead and 00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:51.220 God's guiding. In the sense that God isn't just sovereign, but he's also all-powerful. But before 00:13:51.220 --> 00:13:57.360 we start thinking, oh, God is all-powerful and he's enthroned, but he's far and far away, the third name 00:13:57.360 --> 00:14:04.220 that we get here is the Lord, which is the word Yahweh. And Yahweh would have been the personal name, 00:14:04.220 --> 00:14:13.120 the name given to Moses, the name meaning I am, or I am with you, or I am who I am, I am present. 00:14:14.160 --> 00:14:19.460 So not just is God the sovereign God and the all-powerful God, he's also the all-personal God. 00:14:21.560 --> 00:14:30.200 But fourthly, he's also called simply God. And not just God, but my God. In the sense that, 00:14:30.200 --> 00:14:35.640 on the one hand, it's the more general term of the divine and supernatural creator God, 00:14:35.840 --> 00:14:43.680 but it's also made intimate by the possessive. So God isn't just able because he's sovereign and 00:14:43.680 --> 00:14:48.480 all-powerful, but he's also willing because he's the God who comes close, who sits right beside us, 00:14:48.580 --> 00:14:55.400 and who carries us through. What an awesome picture. What an awe-inspiring God we have to turn to 00:14:55.399 --> 00:15:02.439 in the midst of the questions of life. He is greater than great, and yet he's right there 00:15:02.439 --> 00:15:08.919 with us. Now what does this awesome God do? Do we use the word awesome so much? It was a word I 00:15:08.919 --> 00:15:14.120 always came across in the States, in America, where I spent a little bit of time. But it's a word that 00:15:14.120 --> 00:15:22.860 I think is underused. For God is awesome. But is he passively awesome? No, he's not. Because when you 00:15:22.860 --> 00:15:30.139 turn to verse 14 through 16, we find eight things that God undertakes, which even seems to have an 00:15:30.139 --> 00:15:39.200 element of progress. So it starts off in verse 14, where God promises deliverance, but it ends in verse 00:15:39.200 --> 00:15:49.039 16, that the psalmist will be satisfied in God, and God will show him his salvation. So God delivers. 00:15:49.039 --> 00:16:19.019 God delivers. God delivers. God delivers. God answers. God rescues. God is with us. God honors. 00:16:19.019 --> 00:16:24.360 He satisfies us. He satisfies us. And he shows us his salvation. I wonder where your need is today. 00:16:26.019 --> 00:16:31.559 Is it that you've been praying and you've been seeking for God to speak? Then be encouraged that 00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:38.120 God is a God who's always spoken. Or if it's protection, because the situation that you're in, 00:16:38.519 --> 00:16:43.000 it's maybe not even protection for yourself, but for someone else. Then be encouraged and know that 00:16:43.000 --> 00:16:52.679 God promises his protection. And any of these, may they speak right there into your situation. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:16:58.340 People, I know it's hard sometimes, and we wish that God would take our struggles away. 00:16:59.980 --> 00:17:05.700 And yet, even though God chooses so often not to, he does promise all these things 00:17:05.700 --> 00:17:13.900 to those who believe and trust in him. I think part of it is because he knows that the turmoil in our 00:17:13.900 --> 00:17:19.980 life can actually help us and form us and shape us and often draw us closer to him. And I pray that it does. 00:17:20.720 --> 00:17:28.380 But may we know that in the midst of that turmoil, his constant care is there. His lasting love 00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:35.240 is right there with us. I think what the psalmist is trying to do is, he's trying to put our fear 00:17:35.240 --> 00:17:40.920 into perspective. So maybe the thing that we're facing at the moment, whether it's illness 00:17:40.920 --> 00:17:45.840 or whatever it may be, or the loss of a job brings that fear. What's going to happen? 00:17:46.320 --> 00:17:47.900 What is the future going to look like? 00:17:50.580 --> 00:17:57.080 May the psalm, Psalm 91, point our eyes towards the Almighty God. 00:17:58.380 --> 00:18:06.140 And exchange that fear for earthly things with a healthy fear for the awesomeness of God. 00:18:08.560 --> 00:18:14.860 One example that just kept coming back to this psalm is actually the Lord Jesus himself, 00:18:14.980 --> 00:18:20.660 who I believe put this psalm into practice when he was facing the cross in the Garden of Gethsemane. 00:18:20.660 --> 00:18:29.279 His prayer was, Lord, if it is at all possible, may this cup of your wrath be able to pass. 00:18:30.540 --> 00:18:33.340 But he also said, not my will, but yours be done. 00:18:33.339 --> 00:18:39.259 And what happens next is that an angel comes to strengthen him. 00:18:40.279 --> 00:18:43.759 God did not take that away because he knew ultimately that was the only way 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:47.579 to bring salvation and the forgiveness of sins for all of us. 00:18:47.659 --> 00:18:48.720 And Jesus knew that too. 00:18:49.799 --> 00:18:54.019 But right there, when he was sweating blood, in such anguish, 00:18:55.139 --> 00:18:56.779 God was right there. 00:18:56.779 --> 00:19:00.299 And if God was right there with his very own son, 00:19:00.519 --> 00:19:03.980 he promises to do the same for each one of us. 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:07.539 Isn't that what you see time and time again? 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:10.920 When you see Joseph in jail and you wonder what's going to happen? 00:19:11.720 --> 00:19:14.339 Even Joseph himself ultimately can conclude that 00:19:14.339 --> 00:19:18.559 all these things that happened in his life, God meant it for good. 00:19:20.420 --> 00:19:23.119 Again, Corrie ten Boom is maybe a good example, if I may, 00:19:23.119 --> 00:19:27.719 that when she was in a concentration camp, they had a huge issue with fleas. 00:19:29.339 --> 00:19:32.859 And if it was me, I would pray, God, please get rid of these fleas. 00:19:34.019 --> 00:19:35.239 They don't help you to sleep. 00:19:36.059 --> 00:19:37.619 They are not only uncomfortable. 00:19:39.379 --> 00:19:40.379 They were nasty. 00:19:41.539 --> 00:19:44.599 But then she started to realize that actually because they had fleas, 00:19:45.339 --> 00:19:47.679 the guards left them alone. 00:19:48.759 --> 00:19:50.259 And because the guards left them alone, 00:19:50.259 --> 00:19:53.180 the one Bible that they had smuggled in 00:19:53.180 --> 00:19:58.140 was open in Bible study and all freedom. 00:19:59.200 --> 00:20:02.200 That is God in the midst of our turmoil. 00:20:02.879 --> 00:20:06.640 Whereas Paul puts it in Romans chapter 8, verse 35 and onwards, 00:20:07.079 --> 00:20:07.500 where he says, 00:20:07.579 --> 00:20:10.379 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:14.240 Tribulation, distress, famine, danger? 00:20:14.240 --> 00:20:21.019 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:27.440 For I'm sure that neither death nor life, nor angels or rulers, 00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:32.559 nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, 00:20:32.700 --> 00:20:36.500 nor anything else in all creation, 00:20:37.019 --> 00:20:39.839 will be able to separate us from the love of God, 00:20:40.039 --> 00:20:42.940 which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 00:20:42.940 --> 00:20:47.580 Our God is able and willing. 00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:54.820 And this is the security that we have in the midst of security. 00:20:55.279 --> 00:20:58.759 I see it as the big difference between putting a sticky plaster 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:04.580 and finding complete healing with the sovereign God himself. 00:21:05.539 --> 00:21:08.600 But thirdly, let's then see how we actually get to enjoy 00:21:08.600 --> 00:21:11.500 all these promises that are found in this psalm. 00:21:11.500 --> 00:21:13.339 Because maybe you're sitting here and you're saying, 00:21:13.460 --> 00:21:16.920 Well, actually, that's all well and good, 00:21:17.980 --> 00:21:20.359 but that's not my experience of God at the moment. 00:21:20.880 --> 00:21:21.980 God seems far away. 00:21:22.099 --> 00:21:22.940 Heaven seems silent. 00:21:24.859 --> 00:21:29.079 Well, the psalmist does explain how we get to enjoy these promises. 00:21:29.279 --> 00:21:30.799 And key here is verse 9. 00:21:31.480 --> 00:21:33.740 So look with me to verse 9, because it says there, 00:21:33.740 --> 00:21:50.180 Do you notice the little word because? 00:21:50.180 --> 00:21:56.680 This little because is what I call a necessary condition to the promise. 00:21:57.519 --> 00:22:01.460 It's not that God is trying to play hard to catch or make it difficult for us, 00:22:01.560 --> 00:22:05.320 but he knows what is needed for us to be able to experience 00:22:05.320 --> 00:22:08.420 and to know these promises for ourselves, just like the psalmist. 00:22:08.420 --> 00:22:13.220 And it's simply that to experience all that God longs to do in our lives 00:22:13.220 --> 00:22:17.779 is, just like the psalmist, is to make God our dwelling place, 00:22:17.880 --> 00:22:20.200 for God to be our home. 00:22:22.380 --> 00:22:23.860 Now think with me for a moment. 00:22:24.600 --> 00:22:27.019 It means that we don't make God our bus shelter 00:22:27.019 --> 00:22:30.340 or an umbrella, 00:22:30.339 --> 00:22:35.059 because those are temporary emergency shelters, aren't they? 00:22:36.679 --> 00:22:39.299 But God is to be our home, our dwelling place, 00:22:39.339 --> 00:22:42.779 which means it's to be a permanent dwelling and shelter. 00:22:44.919 --> 00:22:46.679 It means that God is not a fireman 00:22:46.679 --> 00:22:50.399 or someone who's like a quick fixer who we just phone up 00:22:50.399 --> 00:22:53.439 to sort things out in our lives and then for us to move on again. 00:22:53.779 --> 00:22:56.639 But it's actually only when our relationship changes 00:22:56.639 --> 00:22:58.339 from being an acquaintance to God 00:22:58.339 --> 00:23:00.779 to becoming one of his family members. 00:23:02.599 --> 00:23:06.939 And it's only when we actually abandon our own ramshackle shelter 00:23:06.939 --> 00:23:09.019 that we've maybe put together ourselves 00:23:09.019 --> 00:23:11.839 and moved into the loving Father's mansion, 00:23:12.679 --> 00:23:13.619 calling it our home, 00:23:14.480 --> 00:23:16.159 that we will actually be in the place 00:23:16.159 --> 00:23:19.220 where God can reveal his amazing grace 00:23:19.220 --> 00:23:21.500 and his undeserving love 00:23:21.500 --> 00:23:25.439 and his powerful salvation to each one of us. 00:23:25.440 --> 00:23:28.500 Now again, a slight side note here 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:30.940 is the amazing fact that God 00:23:30.940 --> 00:23:34.000 also allows those who are not seeking him 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:35.620 or trusting him yet 00:23:35.620 --> 00:23:39.019 to taste some of these good things. 00:23:39.880 --> 00:23:42.960 But to really fully be able to experience them 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:44.220 for all that they are, 00:23:44.440 --> 00:23:47.480 it is necessary for us to enjoy God 00:23:47.480 --> 00:23:48.940 in surrendering faith 00:23:48.940 --> 00:23:51.000 and in joyful worship 00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.720 of God Almighty. 00:23:55.880 --> 00:23:57.299 Tim Keller has written a book. 00:23:58.500 --> 00:24:00.080 He's an American pastor in New York. 00:24:00.200 --> 00:24:02.420 He's written a devotional book on the Psalms 00:24:02.420 --> 00:24:04.980 and in his book called My Rock and My Refuge, 00:24:05.100 --> 00:24:07.620 he actually gives a very helpful understanding 00:24:07.620 --> 00:24:10.299 of the two distinct metaphors that are given 00:24:10.299 --> 00:24:12.779 that I think helps us to understand 00:24:12.779 --> 00:24:14.420 what it means to make God our dwelling. 00:24:14.420 --> 00:24:16.620 So when you look at verse 2, 00:24:17.039 --> 00:24:20.019 there's the picture given of a fortress 00:24:20.019 --> 00:24:21.539 and it's been great to sing the songs 00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:23.060 that have fitted in so well. 00:24:23.380 --> 00:24:25.360 We've been singing about God being our fortress. 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:28.340 Now a fortress is something that has big walls, 00:24:28.519 --> 00:24:32.180 strong walls of impregnable strength 00:24:32.180 --> 00:24:36.720 that any arrows and anything that is thrown at it 00:24:36.720 --> 00:24:39.180 is able to withstand. 00:24:40.380 --> 00:24:43.400 They will not put any dent in the stonework. 00:24:43.400 --> 00:24:46.220 But when you then go down to verse 4, 00:24:46.360 --> 00:24:47.519 there's a very different picture 00:24:47.519 --> 00:24:49.160 of God's protection 00:24:49.160 --> 00:24:51.900 and that is the picture of a mother bird. 00:24:53.060 --> 00:24:54.320 And it's almost the opposite 00:24:54.320 --> 00:24:56.720 because a mother bird is actually someone 00:24:56.720 --> 00:24:59.000 who shelters with her wings 00:24:59.000 --> 00:25:01.460 that are essentially fragile. 00:25:03.080 --> 00:25:05.780 She shelters her young from the burning heat 00:25:05.780 --> 00:25:06.860 or the rain or the cold 00:25:06.860 --> 00:25:08.940 only by bearing it herself. 00:25:11.500 --> 00:25:12.900 And Tim Keller concludes this. 00:25:13.400 --> 00:25:16.480 He says the only place where you see the two come together, 00:25:16.680 --> 00:25:19.019 the strong and the powerful 00:25:19.019 --> 00:25:22.220 and the impenetrable 00:25:22.220 --> 00:25:24.820 is the cross 00:25:24.820 --> 00:25:30.019 where God destroys the greatest enemy of death. 00:25:30.580 --> 00:25:32.240 But it's also the place 00:25:32.240 --> 00:25:34.400 where actually God becomes most vulnerable, 00:25:34.900 --> 00:25:36.380 where He, like the mother bird, 00:25:36.380 --> 00:25:38.720 it actually takes the heat. 00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.060 It actually takes all that comes at us 00:25:44.060 --> 00:25:45.060 that we deserve 00:25:45.060 --> 00:25:46.980 and took it upon Himself 00:25:46.980 --> 00:25:49.700 so that you and I can be free 00:25:49.700 --> 00:25:53.380 and enjoy life in all its fullness. 00:25:54.800 --> 00:25:57.560 That is what Jesus Christ has done for us 00:25:57.560 --> 00:25:59.100 on the cross 00:25:59.099 --> 00:26:01.439 absorbing God's wrath 00:26:01.439 --> 00:26:03.599 so we will not perish. 00:26:04.119 --> 00:26:05.439 He is our shield. 00:26:05.719 --> 00:26:08.259 He is our protective wings. 00:26:08.259 --> 00:26:10.940 And so ultimately what the psalmist is saying, 00:26:11.039 --> 00:26:11.339 actually, 00:26:11.539 --> 00:26:12.900 if this is all true, 00:26:13.539 --> 00:26:14.440 that this is the God 00:26:14.440 --> 00:26:16.299 that we can trust in and confide in, 00:26:16.500 --> 00:26:17.920 there is action to be taken. 00:26:18.960 --> 00:26:19.859 And for some of us, 00:26:19.900 --> 00:26:21.539 it may take a move. 00:26:24.539 --> 00:26:25.379 For some of us, 00:26:25.379 --> 00:26:28.059 it might mean that we need to make a vow of trust 00:26:28.059 --> 00:26:30.579 or maybe renew our vow of trust 00:26:30.579 --> 00:26:32.740 and not placing it on ourselves 00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:34.059 or on anyone else, 00:26:34.259 --> 00:26:36.720 but to put our trust in God 00:26:36.720 --> 00:26:37.919 who through His Son 00:26:37.919 --> 00:26:40.379 rescued each one of us. 00:26:41.319 --> 00:26:43.259 It's exactly what Jesus talked about 00:26:43.259 --> 00:26:44.579 on the Sermon of the Mount 00:26:44.579 --> 00:26:45.639 when He's talking about worry. 00:26:46.279 --> 00:26:46.960 What does He do? 00:26:47.059 --> 00:26:48.539 He's pointing us at the birds 00:26:48.539 --> 00:26:49.159 and the flowers 00:26:49.159 --> 00:26:49.799 and He's saying, 00:26:50.200 --> 00:26:52.419 are you not more than these? 00:26:53.480 --> 00:26:54.599 And what does He say next? 00:26:55.559 --> 00:26:56.500 Jesus tells us 00:26:56.500 --> 00:26:59.740 to seek first the kingdom of God. 00:27:01.180 --> 00:27:02.059 Do you know how the psalmist 00:27:02.059 --> 00:27:03.279 puts it in Psalm 91? 00:27:04.420 --> 00:27:05.039 He says, 00:27:05.240 --> 00:27:08.000 cleave to Him in love 00:27:08.000 --> 00:27:09.240 in verse 14. 00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:10.339 Why? 00:27:11.339 --> 00:27:13.460 For with God we are safe. 00:27:14.839 --> 00:27:16.720 With God we are safe. 00:27:17.500 --> 00:27:18.839 And the question today 00:27:18.839 --> 00:27:20.240 to each one of us is, 00:27:20.680 --> 00:27:21.740 are you safe? 00:27:23.740 --> 00:27:24.900 Are you safe? 00:27:24.900 --> 00:27:27.700 We may think that we are safe, 00:27:27.820 --> 00:27:28.640 but sooner or later 00:27:28.640 --> 00:27:29.880 we will come to the realization 00:27:29.880 --> 00:27:31.640 that actually we need 00:27:31.640 --> 00:27:34.920 God's loving and constant protection 00:27:34.920 --> 00:27:37.019 and ultimate salvation. 00:27:38.640 --> 00:27:40.500 We may actually come to a point 00:27:40.500 --> 00:27:41.180 where we realize 00:27:41.180 --> 00:27:42.320 we need to acknowledge 00:27:42.320 --> 00:27:44.180 there is actually only true security 00:27:44.180 --> 00:27:45.460 with God. 00:27:47.740 --> 00:27:49.259 Well, maybe today is the day 00:27:49.259 --> 00:27:52.259 to renew our vow of trust in Him 00:27:52.259 --> 00:27:54.279 and in Him alone 00:27:54.279 --> 00:27:56.720 and to experience 00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.480 that God will be with you 00:27:58.480 --> 00:28:00.539 whatever you face in life. 00:28:01.200 --> 00:28:01.980 Let me pray 00:28:01.980 --> 00:28:02.960 and I'll end over 00:28:02.960 --> 00:28:04.579 again to Ian. 00:28:10.180 --> 00:28:11.720 Lord, we thank You so much 00:28:11.720 --> 00:28:13.460 for the privilege that we have 00:28:13.460 --> 00:28:14.799 to meet together like this 00:28:14.799 --> 00:28:15.700 and to meet together 00:28:15.700 --> 00:28:16.619 around Your Word. 00:28:16.619 --> 00:28:19.119 and we thank You 00:28:19.119 --> 00:28:19.719 that Your Word 00:28:19.719 --> 00:28:21.679 is relevant to us today. 00:28:25.699 --> 00:28:26.819 Lord, You know us. 00:28:29.799 --> 00:28:30.759 Lord, You know us 00:28:30.759 --> 00:28:31.799 not just by name, 00:28:31.879 --> 00:28:32.719 but You know everything 00:28:32.719 --> 00:28:34.119 that is happening in our lives 00:28:34.119 --> 00:28:35.659 and You know who is here today 00:28:35.659 --> 00:28:37.159 who especially needed 00:28:37.159 --> 00:28:38.099 to hear this sound. 00:28:40.119 --> 00:28:41.459 But help us not just to think 00:28:41.459 --> 00:28:42.879 that it's maybe not for us now. 00:28:43.839 --> 00:28:44.959 Lord, it's so essential 00:28:44.960 --> 00:28:46.120 for these truths 00:28:46.120 --> 00:28:48.740 to become the pillars 00:28:48.740 --> 00:28:49.319 in our life 00:28:49.319 --> 00:28:50.519 so that when the storms 00:28:50.519 --> 00:28:52.160 of life hit us, 00:28:52.660 --> 00:28:54.140 we will hold on 00:28:54.140 --> 00:28:55.019 in faith 00:28:55.019 --> 00:28:56.680 to a God 00:28:56.680 --> 00:28:57.740 who doesn't change, 00:28:58.840 --> 00:28:59.660 whose promises 00:28:59.660 --> 00:29:00.400 never fail, 00:29:01.660 --> 00:29:02.559 and who today, 00:29:03.740 --> 00:29:04.319 next year 00:29:04.319 --> 00:29:04.980 and forevermore 00:29:04.980 --> 00:29:05.539 will promise 00:29:05.539 --> 00:29:06.440 to protect us 00:29:06.440 --> 00:29:07.100 and love us 00:29:07.100 --> 00:29:08.660 and show us 00:29:08.660 --> 00:29:09.660 Your salvation. 00:29:10.660 --> 00:29:11.299 So Lord, 00:29:11.360 --> 00:29:12.180 help us to trust. 00:29:12.180 --> 00:29:15.060 help us to trust 00:29:15.060 --> 00:29:15.420 in You 00:29:15.420 --> 00:29:16.080 and You alone 00:29:16.080 --> 00:29:18.120 so that each one 00:29:18.120 --> 00:29:18.840 here today 00:29:18.840 --> 00:29:21.000 is safe. 00:29:22.160 --> 00:29:22.600 Amen.