Psalm 91 Part 2

How do you react under pressure? Stress can bring out the worst or the best in us. If you think over your own past and feel shame or disappointment over your own behavior in moments of struggle, there’s good news for you. As Dr. Timothy Brown continues our study in the book of Psalms, we’ll be reminded that God’s grace is more than enough. He can use those bad situations to bring good, and you can grow through His strength. 

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Welcome to Truth for Transformation with Dr. Timothy Brown. You're about to hear a message from God's Word filled with biblical wisdom, practical insights, and life-changing truths. A message designed to inspire your faith and give encouragement.

SPEAKER_01 0:25

Always, even to the end of the age. Think about that. I am with you. So when you're in your boat and your boat is hit by the winds and the waves of life, just remember, Jesus said, I will not leave you. I am always with you. And he's not just with you, he's also for you. We have a God that's with us and for us.

SPEAKER_00 0:50

Have you ever felt alone? For some, it's an ever-present burden on their hearts. You don't see anyone posting about the particular sickness, struggle, temptation, or trial you're going through, and no one's talking about it. We all want to look like things are great. As Dr. Timothy Brown will remind us today, Jesus promises that he will always be with us. He's been to the lowest of lows, and he can bring victory over whatever we're facing. Prepare your heart, open your mind, and get ready to embark on a journey of faith with Dr. Timothy Brown in the book of Romans, chapter 5, with today's edition of Truth for Transformation.

SPEAKER_01 1:34

Every time I got down, the Lord picked me up, right? But he says, we can rejoice because we know that they develop endurance. Now look at the next verse. And endurance develops strength of character. You remember I said trials are not meant to destroy you, but to develop you. I want my character to grow. And strength of character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. So when all you have is sunshine and no rain, that leads to desert. God doesn't want any desert disciples, right? But when the trials come, when the rain comes down, when the winds blow, God is developing fruit in your life if you will let these trials take place, if you will learn what God's trying to teach you. And that brings us to anchor number three. Anchor number three is faith is the heavenly wind. And when you think about faith, it's the heavenly wind that keeps you moving forward through the storm. Now, in verse 25, if you continue to read with me, now on the fourth watch of the night. Now I want to put this in perspective. Before the dawn of a new day, when life is at its darkest point. Have you ever noticed that Jesus often shows up at the darkest point in your life? This is the darkest part of the night, 3 to 6 a.m. Before the dawn of a new day. Notice what happens next. It's interesting God's timing. Jesus, couldn't you show up when the sun was setting, when there was a little light? Jesus, why did you have to wait till the worst part of my life? Why did you have to wait till it was the darkest part of the night? God shows up at the right timing, not when we expect him. So all of a sudden, the disciples saw Jesus coming to them, walking on the sea. And when they saw him, they were terrified. It's a ghost they cried out in fear. So have you ever suffered from stinking storm thinking? No, what is stinking storm thinking? It's having a lack of perspective when you're in the clouds, right? It's tunnel vision. So what was the disciples' stinking storm thinking? It's Jesus is a ghost, right? Jesus is not with me in the boat. Now, if you read the Gospels, Jesus was with them in a storm, but he was in the boat. In this storm, Jesus is not physically present. But how many of you know that Jesus is always present? In his last words to his disciples, at least in the Gospel of Matthew, we have some more words in Acts 1. But in some of his final sayings to his disciples, he sends them out in the Great Commission. And then he says, Surely I am with you, say it out loud, always, even to the end of the age. Think about that. I am with you. So when you're in your boat, and your boat is hit by the winds and the waves of life, just remember, Jesus said, I will not leave you. I am always with you. And he's not just with you, he's also for you. We have a God that's with us and for us. And the author of Hebrew says it like this God has said, I will never leave you, and I will never forsake you. So don't fall into the stinking storm thinking that because I'm in a boat and my boat's being rocked, that God has left me. New Testament theology is that God will never leave you. In fact, the moment you invite Jesus into your life and you are born again, the Holy Spirit moves inside of you. And the Holy Spirit will never leave you. You never lose the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, they're like, Holy Spirit, don't leave me. David's crying out, don't leave me. In the New Testament, God will never leave you. God will never forsake you. And that's good news when you find yourself in the midst of a storm. So here we have Jesus walking on the water. And it brings the question: why would Jesus decide to walk upon the sea? Why would he walk upon the water? Why didn't he just take another boat out? Why didn't he just swim out? Why would Jesus choose to do a different mode of transportation? And the answer is because the sea is what the disciples feared the most. And that day and time there was a fear of the sea. It was darkness. Storms would come up upon the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is 600 feet below sea level. And what would happen? The surrounding higher elevations, it would create the perfect environment for windstorms just to come instantly, unexpectedly. Isn't that how trials come in your life? You don't expect it. I mean, it would be nice if you could prepare for trial, right? But most trials come when you least expect it. Suddenly the wind came, suddenly the storm descended. But notice that Jesus decides to walk upon that which they feared the most. Maybe it's a storm of a child that's gone astray. Maybe it's a storm of a job that either you're in a bad job, you wish you had another one, or you're trying to find a job. No matter what storm you find yourself in, know that Jesus walks on top of it. He is walking on the water. So this is the faith that anchors us. And that brings us to our fourth anchor. Go ahead and throw out the fourth anchor. What is the fourth anchor? It's immediate obedience to God's word. Immediate obedience to God's word lifts you above the storm. Notice what happens next. Verse 27. Immediately Jesus spoke to them, saying, Be of good cheer. It is I, do not be afraid. Peter answered and said, Lord, if it's you. Now think about the Sea of Galilee. It's echoing, Lord, Lord, Lord, if it's you, you, you, tell me to come, come, come. And Jesus says, Come. Alright, so Peter gets the command. Notice Peter could say, Yeah, I don't know. It looks a little, I know I asked you to tell me, but Jesus, I mean, this is, I don't know if I want to take this step. You ever ask God to answer prayer, he answers it, and then you wig out on the answer, like, I, you know, there's some single people out here. You prayed for God to send you someone, and this godly person shows up. Well, I don't know. I had my heart broke before. I don't know if I want to do that again, right? Or some of you who are in a job that you don't like, another job opportunity, but it's it's uncertain. Yeah, it's a better job and less hours, better pay, but I I just I don't I don't know about the uncertainty, right? How many of you are like that? You're like, God says yes, but then you're like, yeah, I don't know. But no, Peter didn't do that. No, I think you now you got a new image of Sylvester Stallone of the disciples. Peter's like, all right, Jesus said, Come. He didn't delay obedience, it was immediate obedience. So when you're in a trial, people often say, Well, what is God's will for me? God's will for you is the last thing he told you to do. It's not the next thing. See, your your walk with God is like a jigsaw puzzle. God will give you a picture of what he wants for your life, and then he usually gives you one piece at a time. A lot of you have not laid down the piece he's given you. You've not been obedient, and you're asking God for the next three pieces. And God usually doesn't work, he can do whatever he wants, but normally he doesn't work that way. He's like, I want you to lay down the piece, and then in my time I'll give you the next piece and the next piece. So, what is the will of God? It's the last thing he told you to do. Not the next thing you don't know about. It's not what I don't know that bothers me, it's the things I do know and do not put into practice. Amen. Ouch. So all of a sudden, Jesus says to Peter, Come. And so I want you to write this down. Jesus speaks in the storm. So what is he speaking by way of application to the believer in today's world? What is he speaking? I want you to notice his words in this text, and we're gonna apply it to you. First of all, he says, be courageous. Notice he says, be of good cheer. So when you're in the storm, don't get back to stinking storm thinking. Jesus is like, I got you, I got this. And by the way, I know how the storm's gonna turn out. I know how long you're gonna be in the storm, I know what you're gonna go through, and I know the end of the story. So be of good cheer. Look at the person next to you and say, Cheer up. You ain't baptizing lemonade, baptizing the Holy Spirit. Cheer up, come on, a little smile on your face. And then be certain, not just be courageous, but be certain. Jesus says, It is I. Now, for my Bible students out there, you've studied that. Many scholars believe this is Jesus saying, I am. Like it can be translated, I am. Hey, don't worry, I am. This is Exodus 3. When Moses like, who will I tell him sent me? And God says, Tell him, I am sent you. What is I am? He's the faithful one. He's always there no matter what storm you're in. He is what you need him to be. If he's going to rescue you, he's gonna be the rescuer. If you need provision, he's the great provider. If you need prayer, he's the great intercessor. If you need salvation, he is the savior of the world. All the attributes and titles of God, the great I am, applies it for that situation in which you find yourself. And that's why we memorize the promises of God, because he is the great I am, right? He's with you in the storm. And notice what happens next. He says, Be courageous, be certain, and be fearless. Don't be afraid. When you know that Jesus can walk upon the thing that you fear most, you don't have to fear anything less. I'll say that again. I'm gonna preach to this section over here. When you know that Jesus can walk upon that which you fear the most, you don't have to fear anything lesser. In other words, when I fear God, I can grow to be fearless. And if I don't fear God first, I fear everything else. So fear God first, and everything else, it's just him walking on the water. So be courageous. Be certain, be fearless.

SPEAKER_00 12:01

You've been listening to Pastor Timothy Brown. We'll be right back with the message, but first we'd like to share some exciting news with you. We're releasing Dr. Timothy's new book called Go After Jesus. This book is a fresh approach to discipleship and focuses on your identity in Christ as the launching pad for Christian growth. In Go After Jesus, Pastor Timothy paints the picture of the six identities for every follower of Christ. You are a seeker, a disciple, a friend, a fisherman, a warrior, and a lover. We're currently offering two free chapters of this book as a digital download. To get your free chapters, go to Dr. Timothy's website at drtimothybrown.org. Now let's get back to the rest of the message with Pastor Timothy.

SPEAKER_01 12:46

Notice that Peter's faith was strengthened in the storm. Peter had done something that no one in human history had ever done. And by way of applying this text to your life, what if God asks you to do something that's never been done in human history? What if you say, God, help me to invent the cure to cancer? God help me to design an app that's going to reach millions of people for Christ. What if God is calling you to do something that's never been done in human history? Why don't you ask him, God, help me? What's the worst he can say? No, I'm not going to use you, I'm going to use someone else, right? Just pray bold prayers. Peter asks to do something that had never been done before. And I want to stoke your faith. Begin to ask God to do things that's never been done before. So when I look at this, I'm reminded that Jesus says, Come. But notice, we gotta hit this point before you notice that Jesus said come, okay? He gave Peter the direction, but didn't give Peter the details. I'll rewind that. He gave Peter the direction, but not the details. How many detail-oriented people are out there today? You want a map, you want an itemize list, you want God to give you the next three to five year plan. But sometimes God just says, go or come. Genesis 12, God shows up to Abraham. Abraham, I want you to go to a place where I show you. Well, God, where are you going to show me? I'll show you where to go, but you got to step out in faith. God oftentimes doesn't give you all the details because if he did, you wouldn't need faith. Faith is the direction. Peter wasn't concerned about the mode of transportation, he was concerned about going towards Jesus. So here's a really simple application. It's great to have wild and crazy dreams. I encourage that. I'm a wild, crazy dreamer too. But make sure your dreams are bringing you closer to Jesus. Make sure where you're heading is closer to God, not away. People will say, Well, I'm praying about this new job. Well, is it gonna free up more time for your family? Is it gonna allow you more time for the Lord and his kingdom? Well, no, but I'll make more money. Is that drawing you closer to God? No. Well, the answer is no. Well, I love travel league sports. It's so cool. Are you gonna be gone every Sunday and miss church? Well, yeah. Listen, there's some good things out there, but if it's not bringing you closer to Jesus, you can't say it's God's will. It's all of life is very simple. It's not legalism. Does this bring me closer to God or away from God? If it brings you closer to God, then keep going that direction until he tells you, hey, I'm I'm it's faith is a journey, right? But it's like there'll be so many, I'll give examples, singles. Well, this girl shows up and she is so beautiful. Will she a Christian? No. But I'm gonna do missionary dating. I mean, think about it. If it's not gonna bring you closer to God, don't say it's God's will. That's very simple, but it's true. And that brings us to our next anchor. When we throw out this anchor, it's it's really encouraging. And this is the anchor that we haven't hit yet that's vital to all the other anchors. Keep your focus on Jesus rather than the chaos around you. And it's gonna keep you from sinking in the storm. We talked about before the storm, during the storm, in the midst of the storm. This fifth anchor is how to get through the storm. And notice what happens to Peter. Continue to read on. We find ourselves in verse number 30. But when Peter saw that the wind was boisterous, he was afraid. And beginning to sink, he cried out saying, Lord, save me. Peter was doing well until he got distracted in the storm. Right? How many of you started off the Christian faith very well, but somebody in the church hurt you? Somebody said something, someone, someone did gossip, someone did something that hurt you. How many of you have experienced that in a church setting? Like everybody in here, right? And so I want to remind you to keep your eyes on the Christ of the storm, not the circumstances around you. It's so easy when things are hitting you from right and left to take your eyes off Jesus. So what happened to Peter when he began to sink, connect it back to the Psalms we just read. He called upon the Lord. Lord, rescue me. Lord, save me. This is what I call a prayer flare. It's like, God help me. He didn't have a long King James theological prayer, is God save me. Some of you are hearing the Sylvester Salone voice, Lord, help me now. You know, like you're it's like he's calling out, and all of a sudden, notice what Jesus does. Look at the gospel here. He stretches out his hand. And what would happen a little time later, Peter wasn't aware, but Jesus would stretch out his other hand. This hand was the hand of physical deliverance, but in the days to come, Jesus would stretch out both hands on the cross. This is a portrait of the gospel to come, the death of Christ on our behalf. And I just want to encourage you, no matter what you're going through, what Satan will do is he will try to get you an exchange faith in Jesus for fear. And I want to give you an across stick. Some of you have heard this, but some of you need to be reminded. What is fear? It's false evidence appearing real. Peter's like, well, the wind is blowing. Yeah, but Jesus is above the wind. The waters are shaking and moving my boat, but I walk on the water. I feel like I'm gonna sink, but I can pick you up. Don't listen to the noise around you and the distractions all around you, inside and without you. Listen to the voice of Jesus. Well, how do I know the voice of Jesus? Read the Bible every day. When you read the Bible, you hear the voice of Jesus. Listen to the Spirit talking to you as you read the scripture. The Holy Spirit, Jesus said, will be your teacher. A lot of times we talk about Jesus, the only begotten, and sometimes for some churches, the Holy Spirit's the only forgotten. Jesus said, Listen, it's good for me to go away. I'm gonna send the Spirit and He's gonna teach you. What is He gonna teach? He's gonna apply the Word in every situation. He speaks through the Bible, He speaks through prayer, He speaks to you. You just have to listen. And I love that the response of the disciples, they worship Jesus. They realize that this is no man, this is truly God in the flesh. But it brings the question I brought up initially. Why in the world would Jesus rebuke the guy who had the biggest faith of anyone? You know? I I would rather be a wet water walker than a dry boat disciple, right? I mean, all the eleven are just sitting there. I'm imagining Judas to be like, what will this cost us, right? He's the treasurer still in the money. Thomas is like doubting at this point. I mean, you see all the disciples, but why would Jesus say, you of little faith? And I would propose to you, it's not the size of the faith, it's the duration of the faith. See, Peter's faith was large enough to start the miracle, right? But it wasn't enough stamina, it wasn't enough endurance to continue in the miracle. Some of you have, how many of you have ever taken like strength finders and you're good at starting stuff but not finishing stuff, right? Some of you are there, right? And some of you, how many of you don't like start stuff, but you're a plotter. You you keep things going. That's the other half, right? Here's the thing there is a faith that will get something started, but your faith needs endurance. It needs endurance. So it wasn't the size of Peter's faith, it was the endurance or the stamina. Peter had enough faith to get it started, but he didn't have enough faith to continue in it. So I just want to encourage you, have the faith to begin and have the faith to continue. Let us keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Paul taught, or the the pot the author of Hebrews, I don't know if it's Paul, he says, like cast away every weight and run with endurance the race that's set before you. So I want to throw today's big idea on the screen. How do we summarize this into one big idea? It would be this find courage in the storm by anchoring your faith to Christ, who is sovereign over the storm. When you're in the boat and the boat's rocking, if your faith is in your spouse or your kids, your 501k, the stock market, the next presidential elect, whoever it may be, it's not going to sustain your boat, right? But when your faith is in Jesus alone, you will make it through to the other side. And all God's children said, All right, let's apply it. We we often like to say information is great, but transformation is better because it's applied. So the first action step would be to make prayer a priority. Notice that Jesus was praying for his disciples, and we didn't mention it, but in a parallel gospel in Mark, it says that Jesus could look down from his mountain and he saw his disciples struggling. He saw them rowing. And while they were in the midst of the storm, Jesus saw them and prayed for them. Did you know he's doing the same for you? He's no longer on a mountaintop in Palestine, but he's at the right hand of God the Father in heaven. The Bible says we have this high priest who can sympathize with our weaknesses. He was without sin, but yet he understands what you're going through. And he's praying for you right now. So I would encourage you to make prayer a daily part of your life. Number two, maintain an eternal perspective. Remember in the storm that every trial is a teacher. And as Warren Wearsby said, there are two types of trials trials of correction and trials of perfection. So ask yourself, did I bring this on myself like Jonah? The answer is to repent. Come back to God. If you're in a trial that because you're in the middle of God's will, something's happening, it's what lesson is God wanting to teach me? Don't waste the trial. Don't keep repeating sixth grade over and over again. It's time to move forward from glory to glory. And finally, obey without delay. This is the power of yes, Lord. Did you know no, Lord, is a contradiction? Some people say Jesus is my Lord, but you keep saying no. You cannot call him Lord if you keep telling him no. It's yes, Lord, not no, Lord.

SPEAKER_00 23:17

Thank you for listening to today's edition of Truth for Transformation with Dr. Timothy Brown. We're in a series called Summer in the Psalms. The Psalms is a very interesting book for many reasons. For one, it has many different authors. King David wrote many of the Psalms, but also Astaf and the sons of Korah wrote some of them. Solomon wrote a couple of Psalms, and Moses even wrote one. Psalms is a collection of songs gathered together to use in Israel's public worship. It was the hymnal of the time, the original hymnal. There is so much inspiration to be found in this book. We're encouraged to praise God for who he is and what he's done for us. The psalms are an example of how we should thank God for our many blessings. Psalms also show us that we're given permission to bring our grief and pain to God. We get a glimpse into the hearts of God's people and their devotion to God. And when we sing our songs that find their inspiration from the Psalms, we follow in their footsteps. If there's something that has touched your heart from today's message, or if you have a question, please reach out to us. Join us in prayer as we strive to live out God's mission for us. You can find us on social media at Dr. Timothy Brown Ministries, where you can share your thoughts or just say hello. You can learn more about what we do at drtimothybrown.org. That's also where you can contribute financially to our ministry. Your giving fuels the mission. Thanks for joining us on Truth for Transformation.