Hold Fast, Psalm 91

Intro

This is My son :)

>SLIDE

Passage: Psalm 91 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. “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. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.””

Transition:

Main Exposition

>SLIDE

Main Point: The Lord is calling men and women of God to hold fast to Him.

Transitional sentence

>SLIDE

Abide with Christ

Psalm 91:1–2 “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.””

To Abide with Christ means to live with Him. The word means to consistently live in or occupy.

In the Old Test God the Father lived with the people of Isreal in the center of the camp. He occupied and dwelled in the center of their lives.

For those of us who are Christians, Christ dwells in our hearts through the Holy Spirit.

Verse one starts off by saying He who dwells with the Most High, He will abide with the Almighty meaning that when we put our faith and trust in Jesus, the Holy Spirit will live inside of us.

Important because the following blessings are only for those who abide with Christ.

Psalm 91 is a poetic blessing sharing that when we dwell in Christ we will be saved by Him from the darkness of sin.

When Christ abides in your heart you are rescued from the plague of sin and the evil it brings.

If you have not welcomed Christ into your heart, you can do so tonight. These blessings can apply to you. And for those of us who have already been saved we are going to break down how to dwell with Christ and you do this by ….

>SLIDE

Take Refuge in Christ

Psalm 91:9–10 “Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent.”

Refuge means a place of safety and we are safe, we are recused from sin by the blood of Christ.

Christ is our place of safety, comfort and confidence.

Take refuge in Christ is a deliberate reorientation of where you place your confidence

Instead of relying on your own strength or grit to conquer sin we instead turn to the Lord and place our confidence in Him.

Practically, taking refuge involves bringing your situation before God, particularly when facing opposition or distress.

Bring your heart to the Lord like we did last week and be honest with Him in prayer.

Taking refuge in the Lord is to worship Him through song and not waste the opportunity to worship Him.

When we worship the Lord by singing out Biblical truth our hearts are uplifted and God is glorified, because worship is a form of prayer.

To take Refuge:

Bring your situation to the Lord

Worship Him affectionately by singing Biblical truth

Reorient your confidence To Him

When we put into practice our three refuge principles we are essentially trusting in Christ alone

>SLIDE

Call upon the Lord when trouble and trials come.

Psalm 91:15–16 “When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.””

Call upon the Lord

Cry our to the Lord

Turn to Him through worship and prayer

We call upon the Lord by praying to Him, by taking time to get alone with God, quieting our heart and talking to Him.

And btw God will always answer your prayers, it just might not be the answer you want. However like a good dad who knows whats best for His kid, Christ will provide what is best for you.

>SLIDE

Application: Hold Fast to Christ alone

Psalm 91:14 ““Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name.”

Here at the end of Ps 91 the Lord Himself is speaking.

He is proclaiming that those we love Him, those who trust Him, those that serve God alone, they will be protected and saved from Sin.

That to which your heart clings is your god.

Martin Luther (Founder of the German Reformation)

Men and women of God are called to hold fast and cling in love to Christ.

The phrase “hold fast in love” means to trust and grab hold of God. When Abel is afraid He grabs onto my shirt for comfort and safety.

In the same way, When trials, pain or suffering come, instead of grabbing hold pleasures and passions of this world we are called to grab hold of God, to cling to Him, to run top him when trials come our way.

We hold fast Practically by:

1. Going to the Lord instead of temptation. Reading the Word and memorizing it.

2. Worshiping Jesus through song when we are afraid.

3. Having a healthy prayer life, healthy relationship has good communication. Pray through the pain.

Sometimes God delivers you from the fire and other times delivers you through the fire.

Hold fast on to Him when lions roar, serpent tempts, and the stones come flying down.

Transitional sentence

>SLIDE

Conclusion Psalm 91:14–16 ““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. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.””

Outline

Main Idea: The Lord is calling men and women of God to hold fast to Him.

We do this by:

Abiding in Him

Taking Refuge in Him

Calling out to Him

Application: Hold Fast To Christ

Small Group Questions

What does it mean to Abide in Christ? How does Christ abide in you if you are saved?

In what ways can we actively abide in Christ daily?

Why should someone bring their situation to God?

How does musical worship help us take refuge in Christ?

How does intentionally singing worship songs release burdens and glorify God?

Why do we need to reorient our confidence to Christ? What does that mean?

What practical steps can you take to ensure you are reorienting your confidence to Christ during challenging times?

What does it mean to call out to the Lord? How does someone do this?

Why is it sometimes hard to pray when you feel like your prayers are not being answered? Will the Lord always answer your prayer, why or why not?

Take a moment to read Psalm 91:14-16.

Sometimes God delivers you from the fire and other times God delivers you through the fire. How do we hold fast to Jesus when we are going through the fire?

Is it difficult to hold fast to Christ when we are not going through trials?

How does Scripture and/or worship music help us hold fast to Christ when we are afraid?

Why is it significant that God promises to answer those who call on Him in trouble?