WEBVTT 00:00:00.160 --> 00:00:03.120 My name is Brian Robinson, and uh I'm honored to be here. 00:00:03.200 --> 00:00:04.799 I'm humbled to be up here today. 00:00:04.879 --> 00:00:10.640 Uh Russ asked me to preach, and I'm so thankful that Russ can come to church this morning and just rest. 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:18.320 For my friend to get to hear the gospel, take communion, hear the songs, and just rest and hear about God's love for him. 00:00:18.480 --> 00:00:26.480 But I also think it's healthy for our church to not have one guy always preaching that becomes kind of the cult of personality about Russ. 00:00:26.640 --> 00:00:28.800 So uh we're here to worship Jesus. 00:00:28.960 --> 00:00:30.559 Um let's pray. 00:00:31.039 --> 00:00:37.679 Heavenly Father, uh, I'm so thankful for this church, thankful for all the things that Mark said. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:47.119 I prayed this morning that you would show us our need for Jesus and you would remind us that we have Jesus, and in him that is all that we need. 00:00:47.280 --> 00:00:48.799 In Jesus' name I pray. 00:00:49.119 --> 00:00:49.759 Amen. 00:00:50.799 --> 00:01:07.920 So, normally, my nine to five, I'm a dentist, I'm not a pastor, and uh I love my job, and one of the things I really like about my job is that I get to have relationships with people that come back and see me most of the time, every six months, sometimes more frequently. 00:01:08.239 --> 00:01:15.280 And uh I had a man recently, well, one of the things I like to do in those relationships is talk about theology and life in general. 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:21.920 And there are times where I sometimes maybe force the theology conversation more than I should. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:25.680 And I'm gonna tell a story about that happening and how it's not good to do that. 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:35.760 So I had this man, he's 84, and he I'd done a good bit of dumb work on him, and he kept telling me about a type of bourbon that he loved. 00:01:35.920 --> 00:01:38.400 It's called Colonel Lee Bourbon. 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:42.640 Has anyone ever heard of Colonel Lee Bourbon that's willing to wow. 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:45.040 And you raise your hand and willing to admit that. 00:01:45.120 --> 00:01:46.239 That's strong. 00:01:46.480 --> 00:01:47.280 It's really good. 00:01:47.439 --> 00:01:53.040 If I had to describe Colonel Lee Bourbon in one word, it would be affordable. 00:01:53.200 --> 00:01:55.599 Um that is what Colonel Bourbon is. 00:01:56.239 --> 00:02:09.520 Um so uh this man kept telling me how good it was and how he loved it, and one day he he brought me a large plastic container of Colonel Lee Bourbon. 00:02:09.759 --> 00:02:18.879 And um so he gave it to me and he said, I wanted you to have this, but now I realize I didn't I don't even know if you'll drink it. 00:02:19.039 --> 00:02:21.599 And I said, No, no, I'll drink it, that's fine, no problem. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:26.479 He said, you know, because you seem like you might be one of those religious types. 00:02:27.199 --> 00:02:29.520 And that didn't sound like a compliment to me. 00:02:30.240 --> 00:02:32.639 And I didn't really want to be put in that camp. 00:02:32.879 --> 00:02:38.960 So I thought, how can I share my theology about alcohol with this man concisely? 00:02:39.120 --> 00:02:45.520 Um, because I don't believe it's a sin to drink bourbon if you are over 21 years old. 00:02:45.840 --> 00:02:57.280 Um but um so I said to this man in a in the most concise way possible, I said, Well, you know, Jesus' first miracle was he turned water into wine. 00:02:57.360 --> 00:03:00.800 And this man looked at me and said, That ain't wine, boy. 00:03:05.039 --> 00:03:09.759 So I stopped after that. 00:03:09.919 --> 00:03:14.879 Um so today uh we're gonna talk um about Psalm 91. 00:03:15.039 --> 00:03:20.800 Um Russ just finished going through the book of Galatians, and we're gonna start going through the lectionary again. 00:03:20.879 --> 00:03:26.479 So the lectionary is suggested passages in Scripture that generally followed the church calendar. 00:03:26.639 --> 00:03:28.400 And right now we're in the season of Lent. 00:03:28.479 --> 00:03:29.680 This is the first Sunday of Lent. 00:03:29.840 --> 00:03:31.759 Last Wednesday was Ash Wednesday. 00:03:31.919 --> 00:03:44.080 And in case you don't know, Lent is the 40-day period in the Christian calendar between Ash Wednesday and Easter, where we kind of reflect on what Christ has done for us on the cross in the season of Easter and the resurrection. 00:03:44.479 --> 00:03:49.280 Um, so I think it's good for us to be thinking about that during the season. 00:03:49.520 --> 00:03:59.039 Um, I'm excited that Psalm 91, I think, is a great place to start because it talks about who God is and how he feels about us. 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:04.960 And I think it's the same God in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament. 00:04:05.199 --> 00:04:22.399 Um, if you haven't been, this is a little sidebar, if you haven't been, we have a Sunday school class, one class that meets at 9:30 every Sunday morning, and they have great teachers, and it has been a place where I have learned that the God in the Old Testament is talking about his son and how much he loves us. 00:04:22.560 --> 00:04:24.639 And I think it's a hidden jewel in our church. 00:04:24.800 --> 00:04:26.079 You should go, it's great. 00:04:26.240 --> 00:04:38.639 Uh Jack Simmons taught about Leviticus one Sunday, and it made me excited to read Leviticus, and that doesn't happen to me very often, but um it's all pointing towards his son who loves us. 00:04:38.959 --> 00:04:41.600 So um go to Sunday school class. 00:04:41.839 --> 00:04:45.759 Um, the theme of this psalm is God is our fortress. 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:52.079 We can go to him in times of trouble, um, and we can rest in him and who he is. 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:57.759 The context for these verses, we don't really know who wrote this psalm, Psalm 91. 00:04:58.079 --> 00:05:04.879 Most people think that Moses wrote it, and most people think it was written around the time where he set up the tabernacle. 00:05:05.279 --> 00:05:09.759 So it describes Moses' own experience when he entered into the tabernacle. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:13.040 So let's just dig in a little bit more closely into that psalm. 00:05:13.120 --> 00:05:14.720 You can follow along in your bulletin. 00:05:14.879 --> 00:05:16.879 I'm gonna just go through the verses. 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:27.680 Verse one says, He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. 00:05:28.000 --> 00:05:38.639 So the word dwells in the shelter of is the Hebrew word Yeshab, which is often associated with one who is seated as royalty. 00:05:38.879 --> 00:05:43.839 And we are seated as royalty not because of who we are, but because of who God is. 00:05:45.199 --> 00:05:51.120 God is also described in these verses as the most high and the almighty. 00:05:51.360 --> 00:05:53.519 And the Hebrew word for that is Shaddai. 00:05:53.920 --> 00:06:00.959 And one translation of that word is self-sufficient, the self-sufficient, as opposed to everyone else. 00:06:01.120 --> 00:06:10.800 And I like to think of myself as self-sufficient, but obviously the Hebrews many years ago made a distinction between the one who is self-sufficient. 00:06:11.120 --> 00:06:19.439 Um I've heard someone say the biggest difference between you and God is he doesn't think he's you, um, which I think is appropriate. 00:06:19.680 --> 00:06:26.000 Um also says the most high, not the second or the fifth most high. 00:06:26.160 --> 00:06:31.040 And how often do I and you make worldly things the most high? 00:06:31.360 --> 00:06:42.879 Um we look at reputation or control or escape, but none of those things can give us what we really want: a shelter, a fortress. 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:52.000 Um, I also think it's interesting, Satan falls because he says he will be like the most high in Isaiah. 00:06:52.160 --> 00:06:56.959 And that's a big contrast to abiding in the shadow of the most high. 00:06:57.199 --> 00:07:03.600 So this verse I think is a is a healthy image of our proper place and God's proper place in our lives. 00:07:04.560 --> 00:07:14.399 Going down to verse 2, says, I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. 00:07:14.879 --> 00:07:17.360 There's powerful imagery in this psalm. 00:07:17.519 --> 00:07:23.839 A fortress is a place that we can go to for protection in good times and bad times. 00:07:24.000 --> 00:07:37.600 And if you think about how Moses was feeling when he wrote this, he had been wandering around in the desert for a long time, and that had to be a powerful image for him to talk about this fortress. 00:07:38.399 --> 00:07:42.959 He also talks about the God in whom he trusts. 00:07:43.279 --> 00:07:45.680 So, how do we know that we can trust God? 00:07:45.839 --> 00:07:48.639 I think that's hard many times in our lives. 00:07:48.959 --> 00:07:57.439 For me, I think it is easiest to know that I can trust God when I look at his son and what his son has done for us and for me. 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:06.800 Trust is not established overnight, but we can know more about the character of God and who he is because of who his son is. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:10.240 We'll go down to verses nine and ten. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:20.399 Because you have made the Lord your dwelling place, the Most High, who is my refuge, no evil shall be allowed to befall you. 00:08:20.639 --> 00:08:23.519 No plague come near your tent. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:27.759 So there's a few different ways to interpret these verses. 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.639 Um we don't really know the context. 00:08:30.720 --> 00:08:38.080 Uh I know this this is written as poetry in a farming culture, so I don't know that it's wise to take it literally. 00:08:38.559 --> 00:08:41.840 But perhaps Moses is talking about plagues here. 00:08:41.919 --> 00:08:46.879 Uh plagues certainly had a bigger relevance in their lives than they do in ours today. 00:08:47.200 --> 00:09:03.919 Um but we do know, one thing I do know is it it reminds me of Romans 8.28, which says, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for those who for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 00:09:04.159 --> 00:09:08.399 Um it says, No evil shall be allowed to befall you. 00:09:08.559 --> 00:09:11.120 I don't um we'll learn later in the text. 00:09:11.279 --> 00:09:17.919 I think it can be dangerous to just take that one phrase and put it on your, you know, put it in a frame on your wall. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:21.919 Um I think it's important to look at the context of this psalm. 00:09:22.159 --> 00:09:31.440 Uh verses 11 and 12 say, for he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. 00:09:31.759 --> 00:09:37.120 On their hands, they will bear you up lest you strike your foot against a stone. 00:09:37.919 --> 00:09:42.000 Again, I think the context is really important here. 00:09:42.240 --> 00:09:54.320 It's um one of the things I learned in preparation for this is Satan actually used these verses in Luke 4 when he was tempting Jesus in the desert, and he told Jesus to jump off the top of the temple. 00:09:54.480 --> 00:09:55.919 God will save you, God will protect you. 00:09:56.080 --> 00:10:00.159 And these are the verses that he quoted, and Jesus says it's not good to test God. 00:10:00.320 --> 00:10:06.399 So I think it's very important that we don't just read one verse that supports our particular theology. 00:10:06.559 --> 00:10:09.200 We look at the whole context of these verses. 00:10:09.600 --> 00:10:13.200 Um, verse 13 kind of continues along that same theme. 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:20.399 So I'm gonna take a pause because these next three verses, there's a big shift and there's a change in the speaker. 00:10:20.559 --> 00:10:24.639 So now God is speaking to us in these last verses. 00:10:25.120 --> 00:10:27.360 And I'm excited about this part. 00:10:27.519 --> 00:10:32.240 I think God has a lot to say to us today through these last three verses. 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:39.279 Um, verse 14 says, Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:44.000 I will protect him because he knows my name. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:48.720 So God promises to deliver and protect us. 00:10:49.200 --> 00:10:57.679 And this doesn't always look like what we think it should or what we want it to, and it's never in my timing, well, hardly ever. 00:10:57.840 --> 00:11:01.360 I'm always wanting it to be sooner than he makes it. 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:06.879 Um, but it's true, and he says he will deliver and protect us. 00:11:07.120 --> 00:11:17.279 Um, verse 15 when he calls to me, I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him. 00:11:17.919 --> 00:11:23.759 So that we know when we call out to God, he listens because he cares. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:26.480 We are not alone, he is with you. 00:11:26.639 --> 00:11:27.840 I believe that. 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:33.600 Um, and I think this verse also mentions I will be with him in trouble. 00:11:33.919 --> 00:11:36.080 So he tells us just what Jesus told us. 00:11:36.240 --> 00:11:37.919 In this world, there will be trouble. 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:40.960 We talked about that this morning in uh family worship. 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:45.039 The previous verses say, No evil shall come down on you. 00:11:45.200 --> 00:11:47.919 This verse tells us there will be hard times in your life. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:49.919 We all know that to be true. 00:11:50.320 --> 00:11:54.240 But he is with us and we can trust him. 00:11:55.360 --> 00:12:11.759 So recently, about three weeks ago, at my house, my two teenage girls, I have a 16 and a 15-year-old, had some friends over to the house, and they were playing downstairs, playing ping pong, um, just goofing around like teenagers do. 00:12:11.919 --> 00:12:13.919 And uh it was about 10 o'clock at night. 00:12:14.080 --> 00:12:23.679 My wife and I were watching, trying to finish up an episode of The Crown for the third or fourth time because I tend to fall asleep when it gets late at night, um, like my dad does occasionally. 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:38.399 And uh, so uh really unexpectedly, this has never happened before, it was about 10 o'clock, and Sydney, my oldest, came running up the stairs, and she was shouting, Dad, there's a man in our house. 00:12:38.960 --> 00:12:45.200 And um I saw out of the corner of my eye, I saw a police car with the lights on driving down our street. 00:12:45.279 --> 00:12:47.360 So I knew like this is real. 00:12:47.679 --> 00:12:58.559 Um, and and to be honest with you, I don't remember much of the next 20 minutes, but um I I know that I got up and I ran to where the person was. 00:12:58.960 --> 00:13:01.600 And um I was scared, I think. 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:07.440 I don't remember, but I want to focus more on like what what Sydney was doing. 00:13:07.919 --> 00:13:16.720 There was danger, and she was calling out, like, dad, help, help, you know, there's something going on that that's scaring me. 00:13:16.960 --> 00:13:20.720 And uh this happened kind of in the middle of my preparation for this. 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:32.159 So when I went back to this and read it, when he calls to me, I will answer him, I will be with him in trouble, I will rescue him and honor him. 00:13:32.639 --> 00:13:35.120 Um, that took on a different meaning to me. 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:40.559 How much more would our Father in heaven run to us when we call out to him? 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:44.320 And I'm hesitant to share that example for a lot of reasons. 00:13:44.559 --> 00:13:46.799 I don't want it to be misunderstood. 00:13:47.120 --> 00:13:54.799 But whenever I look at these verses again, I will just always think about how God feels about us and running towards us. 00:13:54.960 --> 00:13:58.240 And I'll, I mean, the end of the story, although it's not the point, was fine. 00:13:58.480 --> 00:14:04.480 This man was confused and on drugs, and police came and took him, um, and hopefully he'll get some help. 00:14:04.720 --> 00:14:12.720 But um, I think that the metaphor or the powerful thing to me in the story is he runs to us when we're in trouble. 00:14:12.960 --> 00:14:20.240 Um, verse 16 with long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation. 00:14:20.879 --> 00:14:23.279 We have to remember again who he was talking to. 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:25.360 These people were longing for salvation. 00:14:25.519 --> 00:14:28.159 They had been wandering in the desert for 40 years. 00:14:28.399 --> 00:14:34.159 Their ancestors and some of them had been slaves in Egypt for 430 years. 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:41.039 So the Hebrew word for Jesus, Yeshua, literally means salvation or one who saves. 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:44.399 And this is again, this is pointing to a savior. 00:14:44.559 --> 00:14:47.120 Jesus came to set the captives free. 00:14:47.360 --> 00:14:52.559 Um and this is why God sent Jesus, so that we might have life and have life to the full. 00:14:52.720 --> 00:14:53.840 John 10, 10. 00:14:54.080 --> 00:15:03.840 And I think it's it's great for us this lent in particular to think about what does that mean in my life that God wants to show us his salvation. 00:15:04.559 --> 00:15:12.879 I want to conclude by kind of rephrasing or just changing the pronoun in these last three verses. 00:15:13.120 --> 00:15:28.559 And I want you to listen to this personally, not like God so loved the world, God for God so loved the world he sent his only son, but I want you to think about God so loved you, the version of you sitting in this chair that no one else knows, uh, the not cleaned up version of you. 00:15:28.720 --> 00:15:31.519 This is what he says to you. 00:15:31.840 --> 00:15:38.480 He says, Because you hold fast to me in love, I will deliver you. 00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:43.440 I will protect you because you know my name. 00:15:45.279 --> 00:15:48.639 When you call to me, I will answer you. 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:52.720 I will be with you in trouble. 00:15:54.159 --> 00:15:56.879 I will rescue and honor you. 00:15:58.480 --> 00:16:04.000 With long life, I will satisfy you and show you my salvation. 00:16:04.799 --> 00:16:05.919 Let's pray. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:08.720 Heavenly Father, um, thank you. 00:16:08.879 --> 00:16:16.080 We don't deserve those things, but we believe that they are true because you have told us that in your word. 00:16:16.799 --> 00:16:24.240 Um we're so grateful for your grace for us, and that when you look at us, you see Jesus. 00:16:24.399 --> 00:16:29.519 And um we're just so grateful for all that you are doing, and I pray that you would be with us the rest of the day. 00:16:29.679 --> 00:16:30.559 In Jesus' name we pray. 00:16:30.799 --> 00:16:31.039 Amen.