God, Where’s My Help?

Today on Summit life with Judy Greer. God takes genuinely bad things and he brings his power to bear in them so that you will be better off with them having happened. It means that from the vantage point of eternity you're going to be able to see how God exercised his power and grace in such a perfect way that all the evil that happened will in the end only lead to greater glory for God and greater joy. France, as always, I'm your host Molly, but events I've read through the Bible before, and there are some terms such as I'm just not sure what to do. It may be more than some maybe a lot but the sounds of help and protection especially fall into that category of Scripture that I'm just not sure if I'm really using correctly.

It seems like we gravitate toward but have a hard time applying them to my life so why do we have this difficulty. Pastor Jenny helps explain these types of passages in today's message title God, where's my health, so grab your Bible and notebook and let's spend this last day of the year. Understanding God just a little bit more fierce. Pastor Jane 91. If you think about it this weekend.

We are in the last weekend of a series called help in which we are looking at prayers that almost all of us have prayed at some point in our lives.

Whether you are spiritually spiritually mature person or whether you are not even sure you're Christian but you believe in God. These prayers, I would suggest you come across your lips some point this week I want to deal with the problem up on answered prayer talking about those times that you looked up toward heaven for help and you wanted to say God are you even listening to me.how come I'm not getting my help you if you like me sometimes you read these promises in the Bible about God's help in his protection. You wonder where they have been at various points in your life you know some people say that the we have a guardian angel that you think well we got a guardian angel, my things will been asleep at the wheel at some very key moments in my life. I am first grade. I remember I went to a Christian school, and I remember my very godly teacher told us a story about how she was driving up to an intersection and she said the that the red light turned green and then almost immediately.

She said it turned red. He says the craziest thing I was got irritated because on that given us any time to go through it. Under this intersection all the time and never did that. So I was mad. She said when I went through it went up to the next intersection assaulted just a couple moments ago there been a big collision and and and and God was protecting me from be a part of that collision and he sent an angel down to make that red light do that and she and she was very sincere and I believe her but I remember as a first grader thinking like what was the angel for all those other people. What an angel step in and do something for them. Maybe you felt like I where was God when I needed him to help me.

I love God's promises of protection, but honestly I'm not sure what always do with them. I do find myself gravitating toward them more more now, particularly as I get older when I was younger I was amazed at how much older people seem to worry as a kid, I was just like it was amazed. I live this general, carefree sense of peace.

I always assume that things will turn out well me and now as someone who is advancing in years. I see that is a rather fragile piece so many things in life, you know, just don't turn out like we vote no relationship.

No relationship is immune from stress dysfunction or fracture. Nobody is immune from disease or death. No organization no organization is immune from corruption everything I love seems to live under the constant threat of destruction or death.

Life is full of uncertainty and often tragedy that reminds me of the some walk across this bridge over in Germany that was there a trip and on.

This is bridge 300 years old and was built during the time of the bubonic plague that took place in part of Germany over there and so they painted every 20 feet or so. They had these scenes etched into wood that just had normal life scenes in Germany. Just be another party or or doing laundry or something and everyone seems it was a skeleton that represented the plague of death somewhere in that was kind of like a macabre how where's Waldo. We try to find the death and skeleton in this picture but the message was supposed to be that at any point in life at every turn their death works and you never know when it will overtake you to quote Shakespeare each new more new windows, how new orphans crime you sorrows strike heaven on the face or in the words of that other great poet of Western civilization. Kendrick Lamar no matter what I do, the evils of Lucy are always around me at Lucy being his metaphor for him for death and Satan, which is why I've always loved the song because it's so overwhelming being a part of the world with her so much trouble to memorize the song because it talks about God's promises of protection, Martin Luther, my favorite theologians call this on the sparkling jewel of the entire assaulter. We don't know who wrote this song I'd want to be anonymous Psalms will know the occasion of its writing, all we know is that it's promises have been loved by believers for nearly 3000 years. Psalm 91, let me walk you through it a point out a few things and then try to give you some conclusions. Toward the end somebody one he who dwells the psalmist says in the shelter of the most high will abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

I will say to the Lord, my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I will trust, we should notice in the first couple verses is the images of closeness and intimacy that are communicated in the song shelter and shadow imply that you are right up next to God, the Lord shadow does not appeal to us today is much as it would have been a hot, arid culture, with no air conditioning, but in those days getting into his shadow could make the difference between life and death.

Crime you baldheaded people know exactly what I'm talking about. It still that way for you.

However, I thought about it the other day when I was at one of my son swim meets no I don't complain about much in life. I thought I really don't like a generally happy person, but for the love Tim would not come up with a different way to do swimming what my son was in five events by event or something a lot. The total amount on the swim about 4 1/2 minutes.

The swim meet lasted five hours in the entire rest of the five hours I'm considering out in the sweltering sun for five hours….You know my son he seems to be having a good time to get in the water, but the rest of us are just sitting there on the concrete when I was a kid we did not swim meet just swam and tried to drown each other for five hours. I'm confident that Marco Polo taught me to swim faster and to avoid drowning better than any swimming ever could write survival of the fittest. This is how the world works.

The point is I sit out there for five hours. Now in the sun, and so I've learned to get there early, even though I'm at the swim meet for five and half hours to get there earlier because only three places of shade and the entire pool complex and I want one of those. So to be in the shadow of God to bring it back to the Bible never say it means that you are standing inside the protection of God and you are sheltered from everything that threatens you, I get the image here of a frightened child that is standing behind her parent using a two or three-year-old do this one. Not sure what what's happening to Stanley hold on the leg and look out from under public out from behind them. I'm feeling safe from whatever threatens them notice the personal pronouns that psalmist uses in verse two, my refuge and my fortress. Think about how audacious, how audacious it is to refer to God in a possessive sense. Honestly, I don't refer to many people in the possessive David Thompson work here for me of the church. Hank Murphy and I work together.

One of our worship leaders. We were together for many years and is a very close friend.

Both of them are, but if I was ordered to refer to paint my Hank that we just seem weird right that it would it would be weird. Now I do use that possessive sense about my children. I will say my Karas my Allie my riot my added and they say that about me.

They say my daddy that is the level of intimacy at the kind of intimacy that is implied there versus wanted to, and it's amazing first three for he will deliver you.

He says from the snare of the Fowler other words, from those who were trying to entrap you and urge you, he will deliver you from the deadly pestilence.

This means protection from disease or disaster. In other words, he's talking about protecting you from those who work intentionally trying to harm you, and he's talking about protecting you from random accidents.

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge's faithfulness is like a shield and a buckler by the way I love this image God will put us under his wings like a mother hen covering her young.

I was reminded when I was reading this and that movie march of the Penguins of you everything that that's all.

The remarkable story of how Penguins give birth to baby Penguins and how they keep them alive and protect them and basically they have been at a certain time of year and the husband-wife the father mother of the egg that future Penguin I will take turns keeping it under the flap of skin as they stand out there and 80 like 80 below degree weather with winds of 100 miles an hour and 1/2 to make a 70 mile trek to find food. It takes three or four months and so whichever spouse is not on that tractor stands there in a huddle of three or 400 other Penguins while it's 80 below mother. All these winds and they just keep that egg you got covered and keep it warm so that it can survive.

It is protecting. It is shielding it from these elements.

This is similar to what God is promising.

In Psalm 91, I will hide you underneath my wings underneath my father so that nothing would threatens you, by the way, this image of God holding us under his wings is a feminine analogy forgot. I point that out because the majority of metaphors for God in the Bible are masculine but there is a tenderness about God and his care for us that is best reflected in a mother's love. Remember, God created the Bible says both male and female differently in his image and that means that there are parts of his character that are more fully reflected in one gender than the other.

Just like there are some parts of God that reflected more often in the mail. There are more parts of God that reflected more often in the female. That's why God made us different. This is where God says like the best kind of mother on this is the way God cares for his people and because of this, the psalmist tells us verse five, you will not fear the terror of the night or the arrows are the flies by day, or the pestilence that stalks in darkness or the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, 10,000 at your right hand. By the way, 10,000 being the highest number they recorded often in those days presently on save resilience. Just everybody's all around you, but it will come near you. By the way, what would he think that experiences like what you like to be a group of a thousand, and everybody else falls except for you what you like to be in a group of 10,000, and everybody else around you dies but you stay alive and healthy. I wore that belied they would do studies on you and they would try to figure out what was special about you. Psalmist says when they study your life with her to find out that your secret is the God who shadow you said within verse nine. It is because you made the Lord your dwelling place, the most high, who is my refuge, but it is what it is, no evil, know how many are much evil.

No evil will befall you know plague will come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways on their hands they will bear you up lets you strike your foot against a stone. At this point it's almost comical. You have an angel.

He says that will keep you from so much as stubbing your toe. Verse 13 you will tread on the line and the outer young line of the serpent you will trample underfoot you can walk on broken glass like that great scene and diehard number that another great 80s movie because you're going to be tougher than Bruce Willis number 14 the Lord starts freaking up until now, you see, the psalmist is in speaking and under speaker change last couple versus here's the Lord talking back to the psalmist for 14 because he holds fast to me and love God says I will deliver him by the way, this is not a typical Hebrew word for love. It's a word that means seal passion. Her deep longing. One commentator said is the difference between loving somebody and being in love with somebody. The Lord says because I am disguise refuge because he's totally in love with me because I'm his source because I'm his hope because I miss shelter. I'm at home I'm his protection. I will deliver him. I will protect him because he knows my name. So when he calls to me, I will answer him, I'll be with him in trouble. I will rescue him and honor him with warm like I will satisfy him, and I will show him my salvation. Now you probably see why I love this song right but something you had doubts spring up even while I was reading it.

Try to deny I know what you're thinking because I think same thing. It seems to be saying.net. If you trust God nothing bad is going to happen to you and everything in your life is going to go awesome even to the point I noted of comedy if you love God and he's going to send his angels are so closely guard you, that you won't even stub your toe in the opposite seems to be implied as well. Things are not going well then it must be that you have an egg on your refuge and must be that you're not really trusting him. Otherwise you be protected from all these things, but most of us talk about timer bad things happen even when we were trusting in God and about you but I stub my toe a bunch of times at night. Where was my angel using the bathroom or looking down checking his phone your texting while protecting her something to me.

Let me stub my toe as far as I knew I wouldn't sitting at the moment when I stub my toe. I soon after that moment. By the way, for some of the words I said but I didn't start you want to me before it got things in the Bible like the entire book of Job. All all of these things of the psalmist promises won't happen.

All of them happen to Job and Job's friends. Basically counsel him with the reasoning of Psalm 91 argument shows you which is a God noticeably happen at the end of the book of Job, God calls Job's friends stupid and ignorant and they're using the reasoning of Psalm 91 the same the same thing sounds at a lower then Jesus promised us that we would experience suffering and persecution.

John 1633 in this world you're going to have tribulation stub your toe. Sometimes you get sick sometimes the lines are to bite you. There's a real kicker. Satan quotes this Psalm Psalm 91 during the temptation to try and derail Jesus as a Jesus you know if you trust God, he can protect you done Psalm 91 to close on Monday work done. Psalm 91.

Say, but he will not even allow your you stub your toe to be there yourself up as Cliff and he will protect you because any by the trust God, we protected from all harm and of God to do it. He's not even his word.

You see, Satan knows that if you take this Psalm at face value, or you just read it superficially, you become confused you get deeply disappointed and you probably get a pullback from God is what many people have done and the question that many of us have. Where was God.

And why did all these things happen to me even when I was trust, and if so what are we doing this all what you do with us all. I know discussing your small group) not getting onto it. I would write that's a question out. How do we experience the fulfillment of this Psalm in our lives ready number one we experience it, and how God uses our paying to grow us in our knowledge of God, which is life itself. John 17 three happen will put a new test or a verse in the Bible with each of these points here in John 17 Jesus declares this now this is eternal life that they know you the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. This is eternal life. The essence of eternal life is knowing God, and that means it any harm that comes to you that increases your knowledge of and trust in God is an increase in your capacity of life and that means that anything that lead you to that is not really harm. It is help in the bigger picture. The psalmist himself and Psalm 91. Alludes to this that you notice in verse 15 when we are reading something sort of slipped in there when he said that verse 15 says I will but God says to the psalmist. I will be with him in trouble. It doesn't say I'll never be in trouble. This is a clue in the Psalm the godly people or sometimes going experience trouble and the psalmist is anticipating that the fulfillment of the Psalm for many of us will not always be literal, at least initially. Sometimes we stub our toe or get smitten by the pestilence we come to know God more and that is better than simply avoiding pain rather than keeping us from the flame Jesus walks with us through the flame and the knowledge of him that we develop in the flame is better and more life-giving than mere avoidance of the flame and Luke 21 Jesus alludes to the ideas and Psalm 91 IEP references using the ideas and Psalm 91.

Here's what he says you will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends. Watch this. Some of you, they are going to put it that you will be hated by all for my namesake for safety but not much is not a hair of your head's gonna perish, but you see the contradiction. Some of you put the death but not here your head perish double of me if I perish than the hairs on my head.

So how is it that I could perish, but not to hear my head. It seems like he's contradicting himself a little. He says next is by your endurance. You actually gain your lives by your endurance, you will gain your lives to he's getting that there's a kind of life that is deeper and better than merely avoiding pain on the best illustrations are seen in this Psalm about how God uses as he ever heard him.

We can hear the church before. After a few times become cardboard testimonies, you don't talk about basically have a series of people walk up on stage here and they have a cardboard you know about this big. And on one side of it, it will describe shortly their life before Christ and then on the backs of my foot.

Whatever bill describe their life after meeting Christ my best one of those of ever seen him yet.

Always we will come to talk about the differences Jesus made within is the sum to people and there probably late 40s early 50s woke up at first you think your husband or wife. But the woman is what the woman and man and the woman says on her's is diagnosed with a very aggressive stage IV breast cancer that hurts. Then the guy poses up and it says I was the doctor who diagnosed her and it says something like, agnostic and antagonistic for the faith that he flips his over and says through her patients in joyful hope in the midst of this ordeal, I came to faith in Christ Bishop was hers over and it just says worth it worth it worth me going to all this for me to come to know God better and for him to come to know God better as well that Psalm 91, and it is the testimony of every person with whom God has used pain to deepen their knowledge of God. You see, in verse 16 verse 16 when God says with long life I will satisfy him with long life I will show him my salvation is not simply talking about adding pain-free years to our lives. He's talking about adding despair, free life to our years that the better for version of eternal life. There's a great New Testament verse that says all this, many Christians now and enter the first for the verse, for they will know that the next verse, the really important part. Romans 828 is water, but he knows and we know we know that for those who love God all things were together for good for those who are called according to his purpose.

All things were in the other for good that's party will know this next part is the part that they struggle with when they don't know for those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his son. That's a good purpose. That's the good purpose that God has promised he will work all things together for what is a good purpose that God is accomplishing in your life is conforming you to the image of his son, which means knowing God more God's goal of Christ likeness is his greatest goal for you and that is is Jesus himself explained that is eternal life itself.

This is eternal life for you know God's gonna work all things in your life out for you to have real life that is communicated in poetic images throughout Psalm 91 which leaving a number two we experience the fulfillment of the Psalm number two in God's promise to use all things for good in our lives.

But let me let me teach you a very important Bible interpretation principle Bible passages should never be interpreted in isolation you interpret certain Bible passages in light of the rest of what the Bible says that this is where a lot of false doctrine gifts is easy to write one verse, and you ignore all the other verses that that that will help you understand our this is what Satan tried to do with Psalm 91. He interprets it without knowledge of the rest of the Scriptures you gotta read this passage, the lens of the rest of the old and new Testaments like I showed you. Nevertheless, listen, this passage is still true verses like Romans 828 show you how the promises and Psalm 91 are true.

Romans 828 promises us that God is working all things together for good work together for good does not mean that bad things are really good things in the skies.

It means that God takes genuinely bad things and he brings his power to bear in them so that you will be better offer them having happened. It means that from the vantage point of eternity you're going to be able to see how God exercised his power and grace in such a perfect way that all the evil that happened will in the end only lead to greater glory for God and greater joy for us. That is the ultimate defeat of evil, all evil deeds ultimately accomplish the reverse of what their authors intended most clearly Satan and evil people do their worst. And God turned even for our salvation. You can rest assured that God is doing the same thing with your pain you're listening to Pastor JD Greer in this assignment. Life your resolution maker and he said spiritual goals for the coming year. If there's one thing that will transform your walk with the Lord more than anything else.

It's spending one-on-one time in God's word. If you'd like to take that challenge and read more of the Bible than you ever have before. We have a tool to help you with that. We've included a year-long Bible reading plan through key passages in only one or two chapters per day. In the 2022 Senate like cleaner plus the planner also comes with monthly Bible verses to memorize and remind you to rejoice always. It's also got plenty of room for you to keep track of appointments or assignment today is the last day to have your gifts count for 2021, so if you've never given to support this ministry right now is the time to take that step Senate light has made a difference in your walk with God you give my gift to someone else today by getting a generous gearing guest.

When you donate will say thanks by sending you the 2022 Senate life cleaner comes with Bible verses and a Bible reading plan to help you keep Jesus at the center of all your plans in the new year. Ask for the planner when you given important here in gift by calling 866-335-5224 by getting online. JD Greer.com if you haven't signed up for our email list yet. Be sure to do that today is the best way to stay up-to-date with this ministry dictating the latest blog post and will also make sure the never miss a new resource series. Sign up today JD Greer.com I Molly benefits. Happy new year and be sure to join us again next week for the kickoff meeting here, but if greeny teaching theories that had never before aired on Senate light nothing but the best for our Senate like family.

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