Unafraid: In The Secret Place

Title- Unafraid: In The Secret Place

Passage- Psalm 91

Attention- “A man had been on a long flight from one place to another. The first warning of the approaching problems came when the sign on the airplane flashed on: “Fasten your seat belts”. Then, after a while, a calm voice said, “We shall not be serving the beverages at this time as we are expecting a little turbulence. Please be sure your seat belt is fastened.” 

As he looked around the aircraft, it became obvious that many of the passengers were becoming apprehensive. Later, the voice of the announcer said, “We are so sorry that we are unable to serve the meal at this time. The turbulence is still ahead of us.” And then the storm broke. The ominous cracks of thunder could be heard even above the roar of the engines. Lightning lit up the darkening skies, and within moments that great plane was like a cork tossed around on a celestial ocean. One moment the airplane was lifted on terrific currents of air; the next, it dropped as if it were about to crash. The man confessed that he shared the discomfort and fear of those around him. He said, “As I looked around the plane, I could see that nearly all the passengers were upset and alarmed. Some were praying. The future seemed ominous and many were wondering if they would make it through the storm. “Then, I suddenly saw a little girl. Apparently the storm meant nothing to her. She had tucked her feet beneath her as she sat on her seat; she was reading a book and everything within her small world was calm and orderly. “Sometimes she closed her eyes, then she would read again; then she would straighten her legs, but worry and fear were not in her world. When the plane was being beaten by the terrible storm when it lurched this way and that, as it rose and fell with frightening severity, when all the adults were scared half to death, that marvelous child was completely composed and unafraid.”

Having commented about the storm and behavior of the plane, he asked why she had not been afraid. The child replied, “Cause my Daddy’s the pilot, and he’s taking me home.”

There are many kinds of storms that buffet us. Physical, mental, financial, domestic, and many other storms can easily and quickly darken our skies and throw our plane into apparently uncontrollable movement. We have all known such times, and let us be honest and confess, it is much easier to be at rest when our feet are on the ground than when we are being tossed about a darkened sky. Let us remember: Our Father is the Pilot. He is in control and taking us home.

Introduction-

Main truth- For us to live a life that is not driven by fear or worry we need something or someone greater than us

That someone is the God of the Bible

He is our pilot

David had dealt with some pretty intense situations

*His brothers were not all that friendly to him

*He faced a 9 foot tall giant

*King Saul tries to kill him on multiple occations

*He has a multitude of family and relational issues

*His son tries to take the throne from him and kill him

*And the list could go on....

As we saw last summer as we studied the life of David those difficult times often came when David was relying on himself

Things often got better when he shifted his focus back to the Lord

Here in this Psalm David is giving praise to the Lord for the way he has worked in Davids life

How in times of fear David was able to live unafraid

Transition #1-

What is being taught? (Explain the passage and draw out the 1st century truth)

What is David expressing in this Psalm?

David is expressing his understanding of who God is

This understanding of who God is based on the names David uses for God shows us that David is basing his faith…his life, on God’s character

What is expressed in these names is the foundation for all that David believes

1- That God is the foundation of our faith

Elyon- the Most High

God’s sovereignty

Shaddai- the Almighty

God’s power and capacity to cause things to exist and happen

Yahweh- the Lord

The eternal God

The unchanging God

The relational God

Most of all He is the covenant making God

Elohim- God

A general word used for diety

Most well known is the term El-Shaddai which means God Almighty

Ae one studies the names of God there is a common use of El before a name or attribute of God

2- That God will deliver by way of His power

Verse 3- “surely He will deliver”… a statement of surety

Verse 4- “He shall cover thee”…like a mother bird does to her young

He will be a shield and buckler

Verse 5-7 “Thou shalt not be afraid”…with the sovereign, powerful, eternal, unchanging God as your foundation what is there to fear?

Verse 8-13 “only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked”

He will see with his eyes but he will not experience any physical harm from them

No one will harm him, there are angels watching over him

David will be able to walk among lions and snakes and dragons and not have anything to fear

David closes the Psalm with a very encouraging truth....

3- God’s redemptive love is appointed to those who place their faith in Him.

Verse 14-Because David placed his faith in the Lord he will be delivered

We look back to verses 1 & 2 and see the names of God come up again

Because David knows those names the Lord lifts David up which is a picture of security and safety in Scripture.

Verse 15- David will call to the Lord and the Lord will answer…God is going to watch over and protect David..and deliver him

For the rest of his life David will enjoy the redemption of the Lord

Transition #2-

How do we understand this in our context? (Bridge 1st century truth to today)

What a beautiful Psalm, what encouraging truths

But it brings up a question.

If David had faith in God and that kept him from harm then why are we dealing with the things we are dealing with

Sin…relational issues…mass shootings...disease...cancer…abortion…divorce

The list goes on

If we have faith in God then why are we dealing with such difficult issues

The first thing we need to take into account is that when God makes a promise to Israel in the OT it is precisely to them…and not to us

When God promises to bless them when they live in the promised land obediently we CANNOT translate that to mean that if we get America back on track morally that God is obligated to bless us.

He is NOT, he made that promise to Israel

He also made specific promises to some of the Kings that are not applicable to us

The apostle Paul does tell Timothy that all scripture is profitable...

So what can we learn from a promise of God to an ancient king?

1- We need God to be our foundation and that in order for Him to be our foundation we need to know him personally and intimately

Like knowing someone and knowing them well enough to know their last name

Or knowing their middle name

Or like when your parents used your middle name on you

That is something only family does

We need to know God well enough to know all of His names…those names tell us who He is and what His character is

We need to know that although God has not promised that we will be able to jump in with the lions or snakes He has promised that what we face will first of all not be more than we can handle so long as we keep our faith in Him 1 Corinthians 10:31

1 Corinthians 10:31 KJV 1900

Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God.

and secondly those difficulties will produce Christlike maturity in our lives James 1:1-4

James 1:1–4 KJV 1900

James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting. My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations; Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing.

and that the difficulties we face will not separate us from Him but draw us closer to Him bring about what is good, not what is easy. Romans 8:28-39

Transition #3-

How do we live this out in our context? (Application of the biblical truth to us personally)

How do we come to know who God is?

His Word

His people

Prayer

How can we see God’s deliverance in our lives?

That is an interesting question since most of us watching today are not facing armies of swords and spears or 9 foot tall giants...

But we face our own armies and our own giants

We face difficulties

Start by developing a heart of thanksgiving

Start slow and start small

Is there a bill you werent sure how to pay but is paid

A relationship you didnt know how to fix that is nor restored

Is there a health issue that has either been cured or manageable

Those things don’t fix themselves…that was the Lord giving you deliverance

And as you search out these deliverances for the sake of giving thanks you will see more and more places the Lord has delivered

This in turn ought to build in us a confidence in the Lord that we can step out in faith and trust that He will provide and deliver

The most important aspect this morning is to understand that God has made no promises to Gentiles

If you are not a Jew then you are a Gentile.

If you are a Gentile then there are no promises for you

I take that back, the one promise is that unless you can stand before God sinless and perfect you will experience eternal punishment as payment for your sins

The NT promises he makes are with those who come to an understanding of their sin, ask forgiveness for those sins and place their faith in Jesus…then He promises to remove their sin

Once we place our faith in Jesus death, burial, and resurrection we are then promised that God will be our shield....he will be our deliverer

That even if we do face difficulties we can face them without fear knowing that God is in control and is working out the situation for our best

Conclusion

Review-

What do we learn from a king who’s promises do not apply to us?

That God is to be our foundation

That God will be the deliverer of those who trust in Him

And that God’s redemptive love is ascribed to those who place their faith in Him.

Call to action-

When you face difficulties and fearful situations just remember who the pilot is

Closing song-