Making God Your Dwelling Place

Psalm 91    |    Sermon Resources    |    31 May 2020

 

 Note: I am trying something a little different this week. Rather than writing a blog to accompany Sunday’s sermon, I am posting instead my sermon notes.

 

Sermon Notes:

All sixteen verses of Psalm 91 have one thing in common – the promise of divine protection.  You can’t read any part of the psalm without encountering this promise.

 

#1 Preciousness of the Promise

Precious:   we don’t tend to use this word very often but it is a biblical word

  • 2 Peter 1:4 where he says that God “has granted to us his precious and very great promises”

(1) Psalm 91 is precious because it addresses the hidden dangers we face.

  • the snare of the fowler, pestilence, plagues are all hidden dangers
  • there is a hidden danger worse than the plague of COVID-19 – the plague of sin
  • COVID-19 has a mortality rate of about 6% right now, sin has a 100% mortality rate
    • Romans 6:23 – the wages of sin is death

(2) Psalm 91 is precious because it addresses the all-consuming dangers we face.

  • we face many all-consuming dangers:
    • Terror of the night
    • Arrow that flies by day
    • Pestilence stalks in darkness,
    • Destruction that wastes at noonday
    • Lion, adder, young lion, serpent

 

Psalm 91 itself can be dangerous (Scripture is dangerous!)

  • Hb 4:12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
  • 2 Ti 2:15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.

 

  • Satan used Psalm 91 as a weapon against Jesus

Luke 4:9-13

And he took him to Jerusalem and set him on the pinnacle of the temple and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down from here, 10 for it is written,

“‘He will command his angels concerning you,
to guard you,’

11 and

“‘On their hands they will bear you up,
lest you strike your foot against a stone.’”

12 And Jesus answered him, “It is said, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’” 13 And when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from him until an opportune time.

 

It was if Satan was saying to Jesus – don’t you trust God, don’t you trust his sovereignty,

 

#2 Conditions of the Promise

  • promises of Psalm 91 are not for everyone

 

  • these are conditional promises

 

Why Don’t We Dwell in God’s Fortress?

-1- We think it looks too restrictive.

-2- We have no sense of the danger we are in.

-3- We have found another fortress.

-4- We don’t believe we’ve been invited.

 

 

#3 Fruit of the Promise

 

  • for those who really and truly digest the promises of Psalm, the fruit of the promise is confidence

 

  • Charles Spurgeon tells the story of finding great encouragement from Psalm 91 during the 1854 cholera epidemic, in a moment of sorrow he saw the words of Ps 91:9-10 posted in a shoemakers window and his hope restored

 

 

Discussion Questions

  1. If you have been memorizing Psalm 91 this month, what lessons have you learned?
  2. What verse in Psalm 91 is most meaningful for you? How so?
  3. How did Satan use Psalm 91 as a weapon against Jesus (c.f. Luke 4:9-13)?
  4. What is the line between trusting God’s promises and testing those promises?
  5. Pastor Billy listed 4 reasons we don’t dwell in the fortress of God. Which of these reasons is most applicable to you?
  6. How would internalizing the promises of Psalm 91 produce greater confidence in your life?

Sermon

Q&A