CORONAVIRUS & GOD’S PROTECTION
Ps. 91:1-16
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR
1. A young man told his friend, “My uncle in Detroit tried to make a new kind of car. He took the engine from a Ford, the transmission from a Chevy, the tires from a Cadillac, and the exhaust system from a Buick.”
2. His friend said, “Really? What did he get?”
3. He answered, “Fifteen years for theft.”
B. CORONA VIRUS OUTBREAK
1.The Coronavirus has taken hold in Southern China. Over 80,000 people have contracted it and 2700 have died. Because it is an animal virus, humans have no immunity to it. The U.S. stock market has fallen 8,000 points due to this outbreak. Why?
2. Partly because quarantines are stymying business worldwide. The other reason is that the Coronavirus escaped containment in China and has broken out in Italy, Iran, South Korea, the USA, and Europe. The cases are increasing. The USA now has 2,695 confirmed cases. Universities and schools have closed. Business in many consumer areas is drying up as people stay home and hold off spending.
3. In every country, fear of contagion is growing. There are now 137,445 cases worldwide. In S. Korea, people formed a massive line more than a mile long just to get face masks. The boring old stories we heard of the Black Plague killing millions in Europe (14th Century) comes back to haunt us.
4. Should the Christian get the same panic as non-Christians? Do we have a hope, a Protector, a Comforter they don’t have? Yes!
C. TEXT
“He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.” 3 Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. 9 If you say, “The Lord is my refuge,” and you make the Most High your dwelling, 10 no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. 11 For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; 12 they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. 13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. 14 “Because he loves me,” says the Lord, “I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name. 15 He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. 16 With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” (verse 1 =NKJV; the rest, NIV).
C. THESIS
1. This is one of the most powerful and comforting passages in the Bible. It can easily be divided into 3 sections; a. Prerequisites to Protection, b. What God saves us from, and c. HOW He does it.
2. The title of this message is, "Coronavirus & God’s Protection."
I. PREREQUISITES TO PROTECTION
A. DWELL IN THE SECRET PLACE
1. WHAT IS THE “SECRET PLACE” OF THE MOST HIGH?
a. One of David’s secret hiding-places when he was a fugitive, or…
b. Used of the central tent of the Commander of an Army, as in Psalm 27:5, "He shall hide me in His pavilion…." The enemy would have to break through rank after rank of soldiers to get to it. Or…
c. But most likely, it referred to the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle/Temple. That sacred chamber was the abode of the Shekinah glory of God's presence.
2. WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO “DWELL” THERE?
a. The words have a spiritual meaning. "Home is where the heart is." For the one who “dwells with God,” God is the center of their affections and their thoughts.
b. Like Paul said, “Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.” Col. 3:1-3.
c. CHARACTERISTICS OF SUCH A PERSON
1). Loves to be alone with God.
2). Worships within the veil.
3). Converses with God in solitude.
d. So we need to be, like David, a person after God’s own heart. We need to love God and pursue relationship with Him the best we can. It doesn’t mean perfection, but heart longing. “As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after Thee O God!” Let desire for God consume you!
B. CONFESSION OF HIS FAITH
1. "I will say of the Lord…." The psalmist confesses, by faith, God's protection and witnesses of his faith to others.
2. In vss. 1-2, he mentions five names of God; five ways He is revealed; Most High, Almighty, Lord/God, Refuge, Fortress.
3. We’re saved, not only by believing in our hearts (Rom. 10:9-10), but by confessing with our mouths. Confession is a vital part of faith. Make sure you’re not contradicting what you believe by your negative confessions. Prov. 6:2 says “You are snared by the words of your mouth.” “Life and death are in the power of the tongue!” Prov. 18:21.
II. GOD’S PROTECTION OF BELIEVERS
A. WHAT GOD WILL SAVE YOU FROM
1. “Snare of the Fowler,” vs. 3 = concealed peril, adapted to our nature, attractively baited, using decoys.
2. “Deadly Pestilence,” vs. 3 = that which seizes unawares, and from which there is no natural way to guard.
3. “Terror of night,” vs. 5 = violent robbers were the chief terrors of night (Job 24:14-16; Jer. 49:9; Obad. 5). Satan is a thief and robber.
4. “Arrow that flies by day,” vs. 5 = open attack from a distance. Speeding arrows are hard to see coming.
5. “Pestilence that stalks in the darkness,” vs.6 = the allusion is of a nocturnal (night) predator such as a lion. Imagine being an antelope in the dark hearing and smelling the dread approach of the giant hungry cat, about to pounce and sink in its claws and fangs. Fear in the extreme.
6. “The plague that destroys at midday,” vs. 6 = midday is the brightest part of the day, and if a plague is sweeping through then, it’s one that can’t be stopped. This would be the finishing stroke of disaster. But God will protect us from them ALL! No weapon formed against you will prosper!
B. COMPARISON TO OTHERS
1. Vs. 7 says, “A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you!”
2. This is an encouragement to not fear what others fear. We may see another Christian become ill and assume that we are thus susceptible. But do we know if that person is really living for the Lord? Are they claiming the promises?
3. David said, “Their Rock is not like our Rock.” Paul said, “MY GOD will supply all your needs by His riches in Christ Jesus.” Maybe other people’s God might not provide, Paul says, but MY GOD shall provide!
4. So God’s admonition is to NOT COMPARE ourselves to others; trust that your God will come through for you no matter what you see all around you. YOUR GOD is faithful!
C. THIS DOESN’T MEAN WE WON’T HAVE TROUBLES
1. Verse 3 – "deliver" indicates we got captured.
2. Verse 15B, "I will be with him in trouble." I love the statement of the 3 Hebrews, “Even if He doesn’t deliver us, we still will not bow down!” Be faithful to God even in trouble!
3. Spanish of Psalm 91:1, "Shall be kept under the Overcoat of God Almighty."
4. In years past, when the weather was bad, I would put my children inside my coat to protect them from the elements. That's what God does for us.
III. HOW WILL GOD DO IT Vss. 11-16
A. COMMANDING HIS ANGELS
1. God will place invisible supernatural Beings around you to a. Guard you, b. lift you up if you fall, and c. give you power to trample on forces that would otherwise be deadly to you – like lions and snakes in the spiritual realm.
2. We remember Elisha surrounded by the armies of the Arameans. His servant panicked. But Elisha prayed and his servant saw that the whole hill was surrounded by God’s fiery chariots and angels. The only danger was to the Arameans!
B. GOD WILL ANSWER YOUR PRAYERS
1. In Ps. 91:15 God reveals one big difference between those who abide with Him & those who don’t – they pray and God answers their prayer!
2. We can panic about the Coronavirus, but when we pray God will put invisible walls around so that it won’t come near our dwelling.
3. Remember in Egypt when the 10th plague, ‘death of the first born,’ occurred? The same plague went past everyone’s homes, but it didn’t enter any of those who had the blood of the Lamb on the doors!
4. WE NEED TO PRAY. “You receive not for you ask not” James 4:2. Story of how Prayer Controlled Fire;
a. Some years ago there was a terrible fire in Pohang, Korea, and 20 houses were burned to the ground.
b. 2 believers who lived in that district ran to the front of their houses and began to intercede to God to spare their houses.
c. In both instances, the fire stopped just short of their house. Not only was this a testimony to the saved, but the unsaved also observed that it had been a divine power that had intervened!
C. GOD WILL KEEP HIS PROMISES
1. In verse 16 God says, “With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” This is one of God’s promises for obedience (Deut. 6:2; 22:7; 1 Kgs. 3:14).
2. We can have confidence even in plague-times because we serve a God who keeps His word. “To the faithful you show yourself faithful” 2 Sam. 22:26.
3. What God promises us here in Psalm 91 He will perform for us when we stand upon His Word and trust in Him.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: KEPT FROM PLAGUE
1. A widow and her six children were stricken with a contagious illness. One morning at breakfast the minister's wife announced that she was going to take care of the stricken family.
2. Her own family protested, but she only quoted a part of Psalm 91: "You shall not fear the pestilence that stalks in darkness; nor for the plague that wastes at noon day. And there shall be no evil befall you, neither shall any plague come near your dwelling."
3. She said, "I believe that Psalm means just what it says. It is a clear call for me to go. God will take care of me." She went and was in that home for five weeks. When they were practically well again, she went back home.
4. Neither she nor her family contracted the disease. Her faith-act did more to raise the spiritual level of that community than all the sermons her husband preached.
B. THE CALL
1. How many of you are lacking God’s peace right now? Are any of you experiencing difficult times?
2. How many of you would like God to give you peace in the confident assurance that everything will be okay?
3. Let's go to God in prayer and turn our troubles over to the Lord. Prayer.
