Dealing With Uncertainty

Dealing With Uncertainty
By: Bobby Sullivan

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God Psalm 91: 1-16

DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY

Are you uncertain now when you were certain last month? Are you more fearful now when you were playful earlier?  Did we frolic and play and come out from his shelter not paying attention or giving heed to the storms on the horizon? Have you all of a sudden recently had to stop dead in your tracks?

Let me introduce to what one German physician said was the “best preservative in times of cholera, and in truth is a heavenly medicine against plaque and pest.”

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Fear finds a problem in every opportunity and faith finds an opportunity in every problem.” Kris Valaton

Safety of Abiding in the Presence of God Psalm 91: 1-16

DEALING WITH UNCERTAINTY

“ He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.² I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” (WHAT ARE YOU DECLARING RIGHT NOW?)

³ Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the ^[a]fowler And from the perilous pestilence. ⁴ He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and ^[b]buckler. ⁵ You shall not be afraid of the terror by night (violent robbers, thieves like satan)  Nor of the arrow that flies by day, (open attack from a distance. Speeding arrows are hard to see coming) ⁶ Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, NOTE: BARNES NOTES: Nor for the pestilence – The plague or pestilence was common in Oriental countries. That walketh in darkness – Not that it particularly comes in the night, but that it seems to creep along as if in the night; that is, where one cannot mark its progress, or anticipate when or whom it will strike. The laws of its movements are unknown, and it comes upon people as an enemy that suddenly attacks us in the night.

Nor for the destruction – The word used here – קטב qeṭeb – means properly a cutting off, a destruction, as a destroying storm, Isaiah 28:2; and then, contagious pestilence, Deuteronomy 32:24. It may be applied here to anything that sweeps away people – whether storm, war, pestilence, or famine

 Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. BARNES NOTES: “That wasteth at noonday – It lays waste, or produces desolation, at noon; that is, visibly, openly. The meaning is, that whenever, or in whatever form, calamity comes which sweeps away the race – whether at midnight or at noon – whether in the form of pestilence, war, or famine – he who trusts in God need not – will not – be afraid. He will feel either that he will be preserved from its ravages, or that if he is cut off he has nothing to fear.” 

Treasury of David Note: Famine may starve, bloody war devour, earthquake may overturn, but amid all, the man who has sought the mercy seat and is sheltered beneath the wings which overshadow it, shall abide in perfect peace….Upon the child of the Lords own heart pestilence has no destroying power, and calamity no wasting influence; pestilence walks in darkness, but he dwells in the light…His peace is not a thing of times and seasons, it does not rise and set with the sun, nor does it depend upon the healthiness of the atmosphere or the security of the country.

⁷ A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. {DON’T BE SWAYED BY WHAT YOU SEE AND HEAR} ⁸ Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. ⁹ Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, ¹⁰ No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; ¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways. ¹² In their hands they shall ^[c]bear you up,
Lest you ^[d]dash your foot against a stone. ¹³ You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. ¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him;
I will ^[e]set him on high, because he has known My name. ¹⁵ He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. ¹⁶ With ^[f]long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”

God is always with us, and we can always run to Him for shelter.

Where do you hide when it gets hard?

“The word “dwell” used in this verse actually means, “to take up permanent residence in.” He reminds us to stay in His presence, for it’s a permanent place of living. The words have a spiritual meaning. “Home is where the heart is.” For the one who “dwells with God,” God is the center of their affections and their thoughts.

His Word says if we do that, we will “rest” in the very “shadow of the Almighty, He promises:

“Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; 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 honor him.  With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Psalm 91:14-16

God says:

1.) “I will rescue him…” (deliver, cause to escape) Psalm 91:14-15 ESV / 39  “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

2.) “I will protect him…” (set him on a high place) Sounds like God giving immunity to those who follow him in the midst of the storm. When pestilence and panic is in the public eye, HE and He alone will protect his people! He is the ultimate life insurance policy. GO back to Psalm 125: 1-2 …He will surround and protect his people both now and forever more”

4 walls of protection: the word, the blood, the angels and the name

FIRST WALL OF PROTECTION: Vs 4 THE WORD: Hebrew means, “A circle of protection”

John 17:17 ¹⁷ Sanctify them by the truth (his word):  your word is truth.

The word of God shall be your shield and buckler.

SECOND WALL OF PROTECTION: Vs 10. THE BLOOD: No evil and No Plaque

Exodus 12:13 “and the blood shall be to you a token upon the houses where you are. When I see the blood I will pass over you. No plaque shall come upon you.

Rev. 12:11 They overcame him by the blood of Jesus and the word of their testimony. Billy Brim said, “You make much of the blood and the blood will make much of you.”

THIRD WALL OF PROTECTION IS THE ANGELS: ¹¹ For He shall give His angels charge over you,
To keep you in all your ways. ¹² In their hands they shall ^[c]bear you up . Never decommission the angels by having more faith in CNN than THB!

Hebrews 1:14 “¹⁴ Are not all angels ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation?

Psalm 34:7 “The angel of the Lord stooped down to listen as I prayed,
encircling me, empowering me, and showing me how to escape.
He will do this for everyone who fears God. TPT

FOURTH WALL OF PROTECTION IS HIS NAME: ¹⁴ “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will ^[e]set him on high, because he has known My name.

Phil: 2:9-11 “⁹ Because of that obedience, God exalted him and multiplied his greatness! He has now been given the greatest of all names!¹⁰ The authority of the name of Jesus causes every knee to bow in reverence! Everything and everyone will one day submit to this name—in the heavenly realm, in the earthly realm, and in the demonic realm.^[a] 11 And every tongue will proclaim in every language: “Jesus Christ is Lord Yahweh,”^[b]bringing glory and honor to God, his Father!^[c

3.) vs 15 “I will answer him…” (respond to, speak) Jeremiah 33:3 “‘Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Be comforted in the fact that God is not deaf to the cries of his creation in these non-comforting times.

4.)  vs 15 “I will be with him in trouble…” (in afflictions, in distress)

5.)  “I will deliver him…” (rescue, to bring into safety) The word today is don’t watch the wind. The airways is where words are delivered. Peter spent more time watching the elements than weathering the storm with the word. The wind tossed everything around except Peter until he lost focus. Faith and Fear are both products of your focus! IF you watch the weather you will worry more than win. The forecast predict uncertainty in our future. The facts that you hear is not the ultimate reality for people of faith. Matthew 14 says, when he saw the wind…

6.) “and honor him…” (to make rich, strong, heavy with honor)

7.) “With long life will I satisfy him…” (to have abundance in the journey)

8.) “and show him my salvation.” (let him see my deliverance & victory)

NOTES:

“Faith doesn’t always give you the ability to change or determine what you go through, it always gives you ability to determine what you call what you go through.” Steven Furtick

Have you ever stopped somewhere you didn’t want to be?   Like a layover?

¹⁰ Jacob left Beersheba and set out for Harran. ¹¹ When he reached a certain place (LUZ), he stopped for the night because the sun had set. Taking one of the stones there, he put it under his head and lay down to sleep. ¹² He had a dream in which he saw a stairway resting on the earth, with its top reaching to heaven, and the angels of God were ascending and descending on it. ¹³ There above it stood the Lord, and he said: “I am the Lord, the God of your father Abraham and the God of Isaac. I will give you and your descendants the land on which you are lying.

¹⁴ Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, and you will spread out to the west and to the east, to the north and to the south. All peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your offspring. ¹⁵ I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you.”

¹⁶ When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.”

In some places it is easy to say that. But when your certain place turns into a place of uncertainty, can you still say THE LORD IS IN THIS PLACE?

He rested on a rock and went to sleep! He found peace in a place of uncertainty. Have you ever found yourself in a place where you had to stop because there was darkness all around you? And you picked up a rock not to throw but to place your head upon?

Throughout scripture, Rock are commonly referred to as a symbol of God’s reliability. The Bible advises that we build our houses and lives upon the stable rock that is God’s love. wisdom and salvation. Rocks are interlaced with the idea of refuge, a place to escape the tumultuous hardships of the earth.

Psalm 18:2 “The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.”

Psalm 62:2 “Truly he is my rock and my salvation, he is my fortress and my salvation.”

The enemy always wants you think about THERE. You are on your journey, you see the destination in front of you, you have fought a good fight, but it makes no sense to praise him THERE if you cant praise him HERE!

Jacob didn’t want to be laying on a rock in a place called, LUZ. He set out for Harran but ended up in LUZ

¹⁸ Early the next morning Jacob took the stone he had placed under his head and set it up as a pillar and poured oil on top of it. ¹⁹ He called that place Bethel,^[e] though the city used to be called Luz.

²⁰ Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear ²¹ so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord^[f] will be my God ²² and^[g] this stone that I have set up as a pillar will be God’s house.

Proverbs 18:10 “ The name of the Lord is a fortified tower;
the righteous run to it and are safe.

Dealing with Uncertainty Psalm 91, Sermon notes to print, PDF