Deliverer | Psalm 91:1–16

ME

WW2 Grandpa Grimm battleship story.

*USS Pennsylvania Pic*

Near the end of WW2, the battleship USS Pennsylvania was doing battle in Okinawa, Japan when an aircraft torpedo tore through the ship, almost tearing it in half. It killed 20 people and injured 10.

She was the last major Navy ship to be hit by enemy fire during WWII.

A gunner on the ship named Herb Grimm recalled the story, saying that the water all around him was red due to the men who were hit on the ship.

Herb wasn't a praying man, but he promised God that if he allowed him to live through this, then he would serve him the rest of his life.

God allowed Herb to live, and when he got back to the states, he went to a revival service at Smith Ridge Church in Sistersville, WV and gave his heart to Jesus Christ.

He also followed through on his promise to God and served him the rest of his life.

Herb was a pastor in the Church of The Nazarene, faithfully serving God and His people for the rest of his life.

He met a lady named Maxine at that church, and was her husband for around 70 years.

*Grimms + Grandkids pics*

Herb was better known as Grandpa Grimm and he means a lot to those who knew him. Including Kayla, who is his granddaughter.

His son-in-law (Kayla's dad), 3 grandsons, and another guy that's preaching to you right now are all pastors because of this man's influence.

Grandpa Grimm went to heaven a little before Christmas 2019 at the age of 94.

Until the end of his life, he shared very little about his experience in the war. He had nightmares for years because of what happened in Okinawa.

But God used that tragedy to shape generations of pastors after him.

WE

*Title Slide*

We’ve all been in some tough spots in life.

Maybe not torpedo coming at us tough… but situations where we don’t know how we’re going to make it through.

Where do we turn to when life’s at it’s worst?

Maybe the better question is… WHO do we turn to?

GOD

Thousands of years ago in Old Testament times, there were constant battles and wars going on.

If there’s one thing war does for people, it brings a lot of their thoughts to God.

Because when there’s a decent chance you’ll be killed, you have no choice but to think about what’s after this life...

A man named Moses knew a lot about wars.

For 40 years he led his people in wars in order to get to the land God had promised them.

He saw God come through against some tough odds, and he learned to cry out and trust Him over the years.

Most smart people who study the Bible believe that Moses wrote Psalm 91- one of the best-known Psalms ever.

So let’s listen to what Moses has to say about God delivering him through all those tough times:

Psalm 91:1–16 NIV

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “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.”

Living close to God’s heart gives us supernatural protection

Psalm 91:1–2 The Message

You who sit down in the High God’s presence, spend the night in Shaddai’s shadow, Say this: “God, you’re my refuge. I trust in you and I’m safe!”

This is saying that God gives protection to those who want it.

Think of it like this:

Famous people have bodyguards bc there are crazy people everywhere.

If they stay close to their bodyguards, then they’re safe.

But if they don’t remain close to those bodyguards in big crowds, they are vulnerable and MUCH more likely to get hurt.

When you spend time in God’s presence, you stay safe in His arms through no matter what comes your way.

Psalm 91:3–4 NCV

God will save you from hidden traps and from deadly diseases. He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you can hide. His truth will be your shield and protection.

In verses 3 and 4, the psalmist compares God’s people to birds;

Now birds have teeny tiny brains, so God isn’t giving us any compliments here...

But it shows us how much we depend on God.

For every breath we breathe and every time our heart beats to the spinning of the earth and the shining of the sun.

It’s all God’s doing.

And even though He’s busy running the universe, for those who reach out to Him, He becomes like a mother bird who shelters with her wings (91:4).

But even though He’s caring a compassionate like this mother bird, he’s also strong to protect us, putting a shield over us.

He comforts us when we’re hurting and protects us when we’re under attack.

Lions and Cobras

*Cobra Kai pic*

Psalm 91:13–16 NIV

You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. “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.”

Now, the Bible compares the devil to a lion:

1 Peter 5:8 NCV

Control yourselves and be careful! The devil, your enemy, goes around like a roaring lion looking for someone to eat.

and to a serpent:

Genesis 3:1 ESV

Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden’?”

So when the writer says here that we’re going to have power over snakes and lions, he doesn’t mean that we need to run up and smack a lion up-side the head or go stomping on snakes.

That’s just acting stupid and testing God.

I can promise you that as a believer in Jesus I ain’t getting NOWHERE near a snake!

What he means here is that we will have power over the evil one because we LOVE GOD.

Luke 10:19 NIV

I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.

This doesn’t mean that nothing bad will ever happen to a believer in Jesus, but that God will keep us STRONG through anything that comes our way.

God’s promises are for those who are fully yielded to him, and they are great promises. Prayers uttered will be answered, the wonderful presence of God will be real in the midst of trouble. In danger God’s servant will be rescued, and he will be rewarded with honor and long life. That man will have the privilege of seeing God at work in human affairs, freely providing His glorious salvation.

-G.H. Livingston

WHEN I TRUST GOD WITH ALL MY HEART, HE DELIVERS ME.

YOU

*DUTCH CHURCH PIC*

“In one well-publicized story from 2018 and 2019, an asylum-seeking family at risk of deportation sought sanctuary within a church in the Netherlands. CNN reports, “To prevent their arrest and deportation, the church held rites continuously for 96 days, taking advantage of a Dutch law that prohibits police officers from entering a church while a religious service is taking place.” Keeping the service going continuously for so many days required the ecumenical support of nearly one thousand pastors taking different worship leadership shifts”

-A 96-Day Church Service to Protect Asylum Seekers Ends with Government Deal,” CNN, January 30, 2019

*TITLE SLIDE*

As far as this church went to protect this family from being deported, GOD himself will go through SO MUCH MORE to protect You when you trust Him with everything.

*TITLE SLIDE*

So what’s holding you back from trusting Him completely?

From giving Him your everything?

This life is tough, and it can be completely miserable when you’re far from God.

But life can also be blessed beyond what you can imagine when you’re close to the heart of God… no matter what you go through.

*Prayer*

WE

What if we all learned to give God our everything?

The fear that is all over the place in our country and world would fade away because we would know that there’s nothing to fear when God is with us.

1 John 4:18 NCV

Where God’s love is, there is no fear, because God’s perfect love drives out fear. It is punishment that makes a person fear, so love is not made perfect in the person who fears.

*TITLE SLIDE*

When we open ourselves to the love of God, all fear is gone.

So may we learn to trust God and love Him with all our hearts, and be courageous-knowing that the Almighty God of the Universe has our backs.

*Table Groups intro*