Christ Our Dwelling Place

Can be seated

Children are free to go - Mrs Jolly in the back - pray the Lord would be with you as he is with us

Good morning church, my name is Sammie Hargrave - I serve as a deacon here at Exodus church. My wife's name is Hannah and we have a daughter Betty and another daughter who is about to show up pretty soon.

And as we await the birth of our second daughter, it's such a special time for us as parents. See God has gifted us this life. He has changed who we are, who we will be, he has entrusted a human soul into our care. This is a glorious thing, we get to be little creators and image God in bringing a new life into this world.

And right now is a glorious time, but we are still waiting for something big to happen. We are waiting for all these promises and hopes to be fulfilled. For us to see them actualized.

This is a theme that plays heavily into our passage today. This morning we are going to see how God makes a promise to his people, how he fulfills his promise to his people, and then how he speaks to his people through his promise.

So if you have your Bibles please turn to Psalm 91 - and we are going to be looking at the dwelling place of God - the promise of the dwelling place, the provision of the dwelling place, and the proclamation within the dwelling place. Promise, provision, and proclamation.

So hear the reading of God’s word

Psalm 91

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will abide in the shadow of the Almighty.

2  I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,

my God, in whom I trust.”

3  For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler

and from the deadly pestilence.

4  He will cover you with his pinions,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.

5  You will not fear the terror of the night,

nor the arrow that flies by day,

6  nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness,

nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.

7  A thousand may fall at your side,

ten thousand at your right hand,

but it will not come near you.

8  You will only look with your eyes

and see the recompense of the wicked.

9  Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place—

the Most High, who is my refuge—

10  no evil shall be allowed to befall you,

no plague come near your tent.

11  For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways.

12  On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

13  You will tread on the lion and the adder;

the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

14  “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he knows my name.

15  When he calls to me, I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

16  With long life I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

This is the word of the Lord

If we begin to look at this Psalm, the first thing we see in v1 is that the Psalmist is making a promise. It says:

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the almighty.

Those who dwell in the shelter of God will be kept safe by God himself. This is the theme that is running through this entire Psalm. Those who are in God’s dwelling place are safe. They're not only safe but we also see what they are safe from. This Psalm continues on and shows us many of the dangers for those outside of God’s protection. V 3 tells us that we’ll be kept safe from the snare of the fowler and the deadly pestilence. V 5 speaks of the terror of the night and the arrow that flies during the daytime. V 6 speaks of the pestilence that stalks in darkness and the destruction of noonday. And finally in a climax V 7 and 8 tells us that thousands and ten thousands will fall at our side.

So we see that the Psalmist has promised us safety and it is safety from very real calamities. And if you begin to look and read what the Psalmist is promising safety from it might start to feel familiar. I think as we read this passage we can begin to catch the aroma or hint of the Exodus story.

Now if you look in your Bible you will see that there is no credited author for Psalm 91. But if we look at Jewish tradition we learn that if a Psalm does not have an author credited to it, what would happen is that the Psalm would be attributed to the author of the previous Psalmist. So when we look at Psalm 90 we see that it is accredited to Moses. So according to Jewish tradition this Psalm would be considered a Psalm of Moses. Now this is not inspired nor dogmatic but I do think that if we begin to think of this Psalm as one written by Moses, it can open a door to us.

For the Israelite people the safety of God is directly linked to the Exodus story. This is where the great I Am revealed himself as their God, the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob. He had faithfully brought them out of slavery in Egypt and was faithful to his people.

The Israelites had seen the very calamities that this Psalm describes. While they were living in the land of Goshen they were able to see the calamities that their Egyptian neighbors suffered. They had seen their neighbor’s crops and livestock destroyed, hail fall from the sky, painful boils, gnats, water turned to blood, darkness over the land. And finally the Israelites had seen and heard their neighbors cry out when their firstborns were killed by the Angel of the Lord during the Passover.

Israel had seen God's faithfulness throughout the Exodus story, and they knew that God would continue to be faithful. But they could not fully grasp the future faithfulness of God. They couldn't picture a God who would continue to pursue them despite their multiple failures by pursuing other gods. They couldn’t imagine that God would continually raise up prophets, and judges, and kings to call them to repentance. They couldn’t imagine God’s faithfulness to Israel as they pursued the riches of Baal and Molech. They couldn’t imagine God himself coming in the flesh to die on the cross for them as the ultimate sacrifice for their sins.. All they knew was that God had been faithful and would continue to be faithful just as he had been during the exodus, even if they didn’t know what that faithfulness would look like.

I think of my marriage day when I am reading through this passage. As I stood before God and my friends and family and I made a vow to my wife that in all circumstances I would love and choose her. And I had no clue what was in store for us. Through the highest highs and lowest of lows. But we made a promise that this was it.

And praise God that marriage is a covenant that includes God because without Christ every single marriage would crumble at its foundation. We were just young kids with no clue what the future held but we promised to be faithful through it all.

This is what God has promised his people. In fact the Bible is abundantly clear that marriage is a type that points us to the relationship that Christ has with his church. Not the other way around - marriage points to Christ not Christ pointing to marriage.

So when we see passages of God’s safety to his people through all kinds of calamities this is the vow that Christ makes to his bride.

Exodus Church - you do not have to look to the cheap safety that this world offers you - finances, 401ks, a new house, a steady career, nothing this world offers will ever compare to being in the shelter of the almighty. The world, especially today, is an unsteady mess. But God has promised that He is your shelter, that God is your dwelling place. This is your promise. So seek shelter in the arms of the incarnate deity who has put on flesh and guarantee your safety. Because the only dwelling place for God’s people is in Christ.

But how do we know this, how do we know that this promise of God is true and has come to pass. We have seen the promise but where is the provision of his promise? Well the Psalmist tells us. Look with me at vs 2

I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust.”

What we see here is that a voice change occurs in vs 2. I will say to the Lord. This is contrasted with vs 1 where it says He who dwells. Now there is a first person statement. And as good Bible readers we should ask, “Who is the person speaking here?” PAUSE.

Well, the good news is that the Psalmist tells us who this is. Look with me in vs 9.

Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place.

Verse 9 is an answer to v 2. The one who said I will say to the Lord sees a response in v 9 when it says because you have made the Lord your dwelling place. It is a call and response.

And then what we see is that the Psalmist begins to give qualifications of who this person is. Vs 10 says this person will not have evil befall them, their tent will be kept safe. Vs 11 and 12 tells us that this person will have angels protecting him and keeping him safe. And finally, in vs 13 we see that this person will tread on snakes and lions.

So, we have quite the impressive resume here and there is only one person who checks all the boxes of this resume. This person is Jesus. Look back with me and we’ll see why the only person who can fulfill these statements is Jesus.

In v 10 it says that no plague will come near your tent. I think it's important here to understand what this verse says in the original language.

When we look at the word for tent, what it actually translates to is to a tabernacle and the word for plague is the same word used for leprosy or uncleanness. So this says no leprosy or uncleanness will come near your tabernacle.

Leprosy was a symbol for the people - a symbol of sin. If someone had leperous spots on their skin it was a sign that they were unable to come near to God. Their sin could not enter the presence of a holy God.

And there is only person who has ever entered the tabernacle of God without sin making him unclean. Jesus entered in the holy of holies as the perfect sacrifice. And more than that he ensured that his people - all those who are in Christ - are now able to enter into the presence of God because of the blood of Christ. No sin, no uncleanness, no leprosy will approach the tabernacle of God because the blood of Christ has made his people clean.

Then if we move on to v 11 - 13 we see that there is a promise regarding the angles and Jesus. Read these verses with me:

For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways.

12  On their hands they will bear you up,

lest you strike your foot against a stone.

13  You will tread on the lion and the adder;

the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot.

And if these verses sound familiar to you, it's because they should, we have heard these quoted in the New Testament.

We see this quoted in Luke chapter 4 v 9. Here Satan is tempting Jesus in the wilderness for 40 days. It says:

And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, for it is written “ ‘He will command his angels concerning you, to guard you,’ and “ ‘On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.’ “ And Jesus answered him, “it is said ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” And when the devil had ended every temptation he departed from him until an opportune time.

We see here Satan begins his temptation with the statement If you are the Son of God. If you are the Christ, if you are the ones the scriptures point to, then this promise is about you. See I think Satan here almost understands this passage better than we do, he begins his temptation with the realization that all scripture is about the coming Christ.

We can tend to read the Old Testament as a collection of history books or genealogies of long numbers and think it has no bearing on us today. This is far from the truth. Every passage of scripture points us to Jesus. And Satan acknowledges this. If you are the Son of God then this verse is about you. The angels will not let your feet hit the rocks.

You see Satan is using the same line he used in the Garden, did God really say? Did God really say you would die? Did God really say that your feet will not hit the rocks? But Satan does not give the whole truth in this verse.

Jesus here is just as aware as Satan is of what happens in the following verses of this promise. In the next verse it says that Christ will crush the head of the snake and walk over the Lion. Satan is trying to draw attention to what Jesus’ foot will not land on instead of what it has been preordained to walk over. Because the first promise we have of the Gospel is when God, speaking to the serpent, says that the seed will crush his head. Jesus has come to crush Satan's head.

Because we know that Jesus is the snake crusher. We know that Psalm 91 is about him. The Psalmist, inspired by the Holy Spirit, has crafted a beautiful picture of the coming Messiah. A prophecy of who Jesus would be and what he would do.

And church because Jesus is the one speaking in verse 2, these things are being said to him. These promises have been fulfilled in the coming of Jesus. And the good news is that He brings his church into these promises with him. He brings them as every husband brings his bride.

An example of this is in Romans 16:20 when Paul says

The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.

Paul is saying that Jesus, the ultimate snake crusher, is going to turn us into little snake crushers.

I remember when I was about 8 years old a snake got into our basement. And I was scared so I ran and got my dad. And I can remember vividly my father standing there with a shovel, cutting the head off of a snake. I was terrified but my dad had shown me how to go about this task. I didn’t have to run anymore from snakes. I knew how to defeat them.

And this is how we are. Church, we are snake crushers, and to be honest there are still a lot of snakes out there to be crushed. There are little snakes, or sin, that need to be killed in our lives and in our world. Endlessly scrolling through social media is a snake that needs to be crushed. Laziness in a generation blessed by God with easier work is a snake that needs to be crushed. Pride based on theological stances is a snake that must be crushed.

But we do not have to crush these snakes without an example. Just as my father showed me how to crush a snake. So Christ has shown us how to crush snakes. We do it by prayer, by being immersed in the scriptures, by slowly and quietly following the will of the Father even unto death, we live in community, we fight to kill sin and we pray that we can, to quote another pastor, “Look back on our lives with carcasses of snakes scattered behind us.” We see this every time we walk through this building and step on the snake - we are being snake crushers by coming into the assembly of God’s people.

See, Christ has brought us into these promises because these promises are about him. And not only does this give us a job to do within the dwelling place but it also gives us great joy. Because if this Psalm is about Christ, we know then that Christ brings us into the promises of this Psalm and makes this Psalm about us. So, this Psalm becomes a solid place for us when we see all the troubles that surround us or even affect us.

When we lose our job or don’t get that promotion that we think we really deserved, this is our Psalm. When we hear that our loved one is going to live a life of chronic pain, this is our Psalm. When we suffer the loss of a parent, friend, or even a child this is our Psalm. Church, when Christ carried his own cross to Golgotha, I promise you that this was his Psalm. So Church, make this Psalm, and all the psalms your safe place, your rock. Memorize this psalm, get it in your bones, so that your first reaction when facing hard times is to turn to the faithful and fulfilled promises of God.

Christ has lovingly brought us into this dwelling place. This is the dwelling place that was promised to us and now Christ has fulfilled these promises and brings us into the dwelling place alongside himself. But this is not a dwelling place that is merely spiritual. It is not some ethereal place without any impact. It is a place that proclaims the goodness of God to us. Let’s look at vs 14-16 the voice of this dwelling place.

Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him;

I will protect him, because he knows my name.

15  When he calls to me, I will answer him;

I will be with him in trouble;

I will rescue him and honor him.

16  With long life I will satisfy him

and show him my salvation.”

We again see a voice change in this section. This time the new voice is speaking directly to the one who had put his faith in God. So, we can say that this is God the Father speaking to God the Son. Because Christ has held fast in love, the Father promises to fulfill all the promises that were previously made. The Father says that he will protect him. He will answer him when called. He will honor him.

And God has done these things. God the Father delivered Christ from death itself when he raised him from the grave. He honored him by placing on the throne and giving him all authority in heaven and on earth.

And because Christ is the good husband he brings his bride into these promises right here. Again, we can say that these are our promises. And this is a comforting thing.

As a church we are able to say confidently that God is in control and that he is our dwelling place. No matter what happens we know this to be true.

But there is one question we must ask though is based in v 9:

It says Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place. So we should ask where is this dwelling place? Where is the safe place that God speaks to his Son? Where does the Son bring his bride into the promises of the Father?

The place that God speaks to his people and acts upon them is right here and right now. In the gathering of the saints, in the visible church body that we are in right now on a Sunday morning. God is active every single Sunday and this is where he speaks and molds his people.

God has actively been calling you this morning since your eyes first opened. He has bid you to come and be in his presence this morning. And as we approach the presence of this Holy God, we realize that we are a sinful people, so we confess, both corporately and individually, that we do not deserve to be called into his presence. But God does not leave us wallowing in our sin. He shows us his faithfulness to forgive sins and we are told of his goodness in the assurance of pardon. We then enter with singing, and hear the word preached to us. After the word, we sit and enjoy a feast with God himself through communion. And finally, we are sent out into the world as little snake crushers. Knowing that Christ the ultimate snake crusher has all authority in heaven and earth. This Church is your dwelling place.

I am a grown man. I have my own house now and my own family. But something almost magical happens to me whenever I go back to Missouri to visit my dad. As I am driving down the backroads and pulling into the driveway I am just bombarded by memories and I can’t help but think - I’m home. This is the house that shaped me, that formed. I remember learning to ride my bike, all the games of catch, all the bumps and bruises, learning how to drive - this is where all of my formative years took place.

This home shaped me. I will forever compare every house I live into this childhood home. And this is how God works. He shapes us in his dwelling place. When we all come together underneath Christ's wings, we are changed in ways that we don’t even realize. We begin to see ourselves changed more into the image of Christ and we see those around do the same.

Whenever I return home though, the house is getting older. It has begun to break down and needs new repairs. But this isn’t how God’s house works though. He has promised us this dwelling place and through Christ is bringing us into this dwelling place. In fact, his house is getting more glorious. As the gospel goes forth and conquers the world, we see new people brought into this dwelling place. We see the Church triumphant matured into the bride of Christ. It will never grow old, it will never shrink, and it will never be defeated. For Christ has brought all those baptized into the name of the Father Son and Holy Spirit into a refuge so sturdy that hell itself cannot shake it. This is our permanent dwelling.

The dwelling place of God has been promised to us, it has been fulfilled in Christ, and now it shapes us.

Psalm 91 - a psalm of our dwelling place that is found in Christ. Exodus Church this is your psalm and this is your dwelling place.

Let us pray