Preparing for Victory, Pt. 3
Notes
Transcript
Intro: As we continue to study this Psalm we have seen that Preparing for Victory is rooted in making Christ our dwelling place and that the guardianship of God is unchangeable to those who draw close to Him.
This morning we’re going to focus in on a very small but very significant word that I believe is the hinge that the doors of victory swing upon.
Text; Ps. 91:7-13
7 A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you.
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 bear you up, Lest you 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.
Reading these scriptures some would be mistaken in believing that nothing bad is ever going to happen to one who trusts in God. We know that’s not the case.
Most of the time God does keep us from calamity. John Calvin says, ‘When we look back on our life from the perspective of eternity, we are going to see that the power of Satan was so great, that the weakness of our flesh was feeble, and that the hostility of the world was so strong, that every day of our lives—if God had not intervened—we would never have made it through a day.’
This section of scripture reveals that God does give us victory over something that He doesn’t spare the wicked from. And that is where the small but significant word “IT” comes into play.
1. It; 7-8
1. It; 7-8
What is the “IT”?
It- a pronoun used to refer to a thing previously mentioned or easily identified.
God spares believers from “IT”, the dangers that cause others to fall!
Snare of the fowler, perilous pestilence, terror by night, arrows by day, pestilence of darkness, destruction of noonday.
Whatever these things are, they were the “IT” that caused 1000’s upon 10,000 to fall, yet the believer was untouched by them!
[v.8] God spares believers from “IT”, the reward of the wicked, “Judgment”! The believer will see the judgment of the wicked but will not be a part of it.
Everlasting Punishment vs. Eternal Life
Matthew 25:31–46 (NKJV)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory.
32 All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats.
33 And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
35 for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in;
36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
37 “Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink?
38 When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You?
39 Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’
40 And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’
41 “Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels:
42 for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink;
43 I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’
44 “Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’
45 Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’
46 And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
[vs. 7-8] God spares believers from “It”, Death!
55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?”
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.
57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.
14 Then Death and Hades were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And anyone not found written in the Book of Life was cast into the lake of fire.
Dying twice stinks, but cheating death, “IT” is a sweet victory only found in Christ!
2. Why Are We Spared From The “It”; 9-13
2. Why Are We Spared From The “It”; 9-13
There are several reasons why the believer is spared from the “IT”
[9-10] Because, You made the Lord your habitation
The day that Jesus becomes our Savior, our life was changed. Not only is our sin forgiven and we have an eternal home in heaven, but we have a new lease on life and a new outlook on how we live life! And as we live our new life in Christ, then the evil, plagues and pestilences of this world are not able to conquer us!
John 16:33 (NKJV)
33 These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.”
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith.
[11-12] God has given His angels charge over you
This scripture is used by Satan in the temptation of Christ in the wilderness to get Jesus to tempt God by jumping off the pinnacle of the temple and Satan said God would protect Jesus [Mt. 4/Lk.4]. That is not the context because we are talking of OT. This more than likely refers to the Angel of the Lord protecting and keeping Israel and their work in the people of God throughout the OT scriptures.
Angels rescued Lot and his family, sending them out of Sodom [Gen. 19]
God sent an army of angels for Elisha’s servant to see when they were menaced by the king of Syria with no way to defend themselves [2 Kings 6]
Angels closed the lions mouth for Daniel when he was put in the lions den [Dan. 6]
But there is a principle for believers today.
14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
In [Heb. 1], the writer is making the case to converted Jews, whom God in the OT many times used angels as His ministers/servants to them, that God still can and will, if He so desires, to use angels as ministering spirits, but that Jesus is Saviour, exalted above angels who are merely servants of God as believers are. In Christ we have been given the Holy Spirit to be with us and in us, so angels being used to minister to us are less likely now than in the OT, but still possible.
Charles Spurgeon writes about this scripture and says, “How angels minister to us, we cannot tell. Whether they repel demons, counteract spiritual plots, or even ward off the subtler physical forces of disease, we do not know. Perhaps we shall one day stand amazed at the multiplied services which the unseen bands have rendered to us”.
[13] Tread- walk upon, press down
Trample- to crush underfoot, treat with contempt
God gave Israel the power to overcome the strongest foes and the most cunning adversary.
The walls of Jericho came down with the blast of trumpets [Joshua 6]
David defeated Goliath with a sling and a stone [1 Sam. 17]
Gideon ransacked the Midianite army with 300 men holding torches, trumpets and breaking pitchers/pottery [Judges 7]
Jesus gave the 70 disciples/apostles specific power over demonic powers as He sent them out to do miraculous work in the cities where He was going.
Luke 10:19–20 (NKJV)
19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.
20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven.”
The Lord has given every believer a triumphant path to victory as we walk in righteousness with Him here on earth!
14 Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place.
Close:
The “IT” that we have been spared from is death and judgment of the wicked, because we have placed our faith in Christ.
The “IT” that we enjoy is “VICTORY” because we have prepared for it in Christ!
What is the “IT” in your life today? Death or Victory