Second Half - Trusting God in Times of Trouble Understand that God IS God and claim His promises of protection Fred R. Coulter—March 21, 2020 |
Let’s finish up a little more here in Deut. 28 before we look at how we conduct ourselves when there’s trouble everywhere. That’s what’s going to happen, there’s going to be trouble everywhere. That’s why I want you to read all the curses that come automatically that are listed here in Deut. 28. These happen!
It’s kind of like you have a pile of sand and you keep putting more and more sand on it, and all that sand represents your sins. It gets bigger and bigger, and all of that accumulative effect is going to cause different problems. There may be small problems at first, but sooner or later you get it up high enough and you’re going to have an avalanche!
· What’s going to happen if you have a horrible rain?
· What’s going to happen if someone comes with a big hose and deliberately washes it down?
Look at it that way, because it builds up and up and then there is a climax and we’re at one of those points of climax right now.
What’s going to happen? It will settle down a little bit and then it will build up and up again! So, read all the curses in Deut. 28!
Verse 15: “And it shall come to pass…”—it’s automatic, because God is Lawgiver, and:
· IF you obey God, obey His voice, there are blessings that are automatic
· IF you disobey they are penalties—curses—that come out automatically
Let’s just use lying vs truth: IF you’re always honest, you always tell the truth, you don’t have worry about what you’ve said, because you’re telling the truth! You’ll never get caught in a lie because you don’t tell lies.
What happens if you live in a dream world, a sinful world and you’re a liar to yourself, thinking you can be prospered in these sins—which you can’t—then it’s going build up and up and BAM! there’s going to be a great penalty to pay!
Another way to look at it, every time you sin and don’t repent, it’s like putting on some weight, a little here, a little there, and then you do a big sin and that’s more weight. You do more sins and pretty soon you’re loaded down with sin.
What happens when you get so much you can’t carry it? You break down! Your life falls apart! So, those all apply.
Verse 15: “And it shall come to pass, if… [meaning it’s our choice] …you will not hearken… [meaning to hear and obey] …to the voice of the LORD your God to observe and to do all His commandments and His statutes which I command you today, all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you.”
I’ll just read a few of them, and ask yourself: Does this apply to where I live?
Verse 16: “Cursed shall you be in the city, and cursed shall you be in the field. Cursed shall be your basket and your store. Cursed shall be the fruit of your body, and the fruit of your land, the increase of your livestock, and the flocks of your sheep. Cursed shall you be when you come in, and cursed shall you be when you go out” (vs 16-19). That’s like saying, nothing is going to go right!
Verse 20: “The LORD shall send on you…” It’s automatic! He doesn’t have to say, ‘Okay, I’m going to do this…’ No! It builds up! Just like the sand, or the over weight.
Verse 21: “The LORD shall make the pestilence…”,
Verse 22: “The LORD shall strike you with lung disease and with a fever, and with an inflammation…”
Verse 23: And your heavens over your head shall be bronze, and the earth that is under you iron. The LORD shall make the rain of your land powder and dust…” (vs 23-24).
Verse 25: “The LORD shall cause you to be stricken before your enemies….”
Read it all! Read the whole thing all the way through! You will understand that God is God and you can’t go against Him!
Therefore, God being merciful, loving and kind, extends forgiveness with repentance! When someone becomes a true Christian—because there are a lot of fake Christians out there--they are baptized for the remission, forgiveness, of all those sins!
They receive the Holy Spirit of God. With the Holy Spirit of God we still live in the world. So, there are still things that we have to learn, and learn how to cope with so that we don’t get overtaken by the sins of other people.
Psa. 25—here is what we are to do. This will help us!
· God will be with us!
· God will bless us!
· God will watch out for us!
· God will protect us!
We will see that we may have to live through disasters! But God will see us through it!
Here’s where we start so that God will be with us and help us; you have to turn to God! You have to repent of your sins, and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ pays the penalty for you! You turn to God and, as Jesus said, ‘Live by every Word of God!’
Psalm 25:1: “To You, O LORD, do I lift up my soul…. [that’s the main, most important thing in your life] …O my God, I trust in You… [you don’t trust in your own self and devices] …do not let me be ashamed, let not my enemies triumph over me…. [because you’re trusting in God] …Yea, let none who wait on You be ashamed; let them be ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths” (vs 1-4). That’s why you have the Bible, so you can learn of God’s way!
· What do I do?
· How do I live?
· What does God want me to do?
That’s the most important thing! He will show you; we have the promise in John 6:45 that we will all be taught of God!
How are we taught of God? We’re taught if you read His Word! If you understand it, accept it and live by it! “…teach me Your paths.”
· How do I live?
· How do I think?
· What do I do?
The whole book of Proverbs is full of that! It tells you right/wrong, good/evil, and everything that you need to know, especially for your children.
That’s especially for teenagers, and we have a special Proverbs reading that your teens can go through every day, because the most important thing for young people is get your mind programmed the right way. Too many minds are programmed the wrong way through hightech, music, friends and wrong education.
Verse 5: “Lead me in Your Truth…”
· What is Truth? The Word of God is Truth!
· How does God lead you in it? By His Spirit that is in you to lead you!
“…and teach me…” (v 5). Every day we’re to learn! I’m still learning. Everyone who is studying the Bible, learns!
Let me tell you something that is fantastic about the Bible: the more you read it, the more you study it, the more you learn! Then when you go back over it, you go over the same thing and you learn new things and make different connections with it in your mind, heart and thoughts in every way.
That’s a process and over time. All of this is preparing you for eternal life. That’s something to contemplate.
“…for You are the God of my salvation; on You do I wait all the day long” (v 5). Not doing your own thing your own way, but once you find out how God wants you to live, then you live by every Word of God!
Verse 6: “Remember, O LORD, Your tender mercies and Your loving kindness, for they have been of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth…” (vs 6-7)--or any of my sins!
When you repent they are removed from you as far as the east is from the west. That is true! However, you still may have a memory of them in your mind so that you have that as a warning: don’t do this anymore!
“…nor my transgressions; according to Your loving kindness remember me for Your goodness sake, O LORD” (v 7).
· How does that work? When you do the things that please God!
Think about that! Men and women can please God!
· How do they please God? By prayer, by study, by living God’s way!
Then when you congregate with true Christians, loving, serving and helping each other; that all comes together.
Verse 8: “Good and upright is the LORD; therefore, He will teach sinners in the way…. [You have to unlearn your sins] …The meek He will guide in judgment; and the meek He will teach His way” (vs 8-9).
Notice that this is what everybody wants. When we read the blessing in Deut. 28, that’s what everyone wants. They want:
· this, that and the other thing
· goodness
· God with them
· plenty of this and that
But they don’t want to obey Him! When you love God and obey Him, this is what happens. Here it is right here:
Verse 10: “All the paths of the LORD are mercy and Truth to those who keep His covenant and His testimonies. For Your name’s sake, O LORD, pardon my iniquity, for it is great” (vs 10-11).
I want you to think about that! Look at how many times David talks about forgiveness, confessing sin, asking God to forget it. That’s all part of how to pray, because a Psalm is a prayer.
Verse 12: What man…”--or woman! God is not against women; they are the finest most wonderful thing that God has created.
After everything that was created and even Adam, the last thing that God created was a woman! But taken from a man, so therefore the last three letters of the word woman is man. So, whenever you read the word man that applies to women as well.
“…is he who fears the LORD? He shall teach him in the way that He shall choose…. [because everything is a choice; choose to do right] …His soul shall dwell at ease… [you won’t be anxious, nervous or afraid] …and his seed shall inherit the earth. The secret of the LORD…” (vs 12-14).
That’s what the New Testament is; did you know that? It is the mystery or secret of God! That is how do to be born into the Family of God at the resurrection when Jesus returns.
“…is with those who fear Him, and He will show them His covenant” (v 14).
Psa. 91 is a great Psalm! I know a lady who reads this very regularly, and the reason is because we need strength, comfort and hope when times get bad. The way that the world is going, we’re going to be living in a lot of bad and difficult times down the road. It’s going to happen! There’s no way that it isn’t going to happen!
But if you are on God’s side… remember that God does not come to your side, you come to God’s side! Notice what this provides:
Psalm 91:1: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High…” That’s what grace is all about! You have direct connection with God the Father and Jesus Christ!
“…shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty” (v 1).
You can see a shadow on the ground, but you can’t see the shadow if you look at it sideways, so this is the invisible protection of God, coming from God!
Verse 2: “I will say of the LORD, ‘He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in Whom I will trust.’” Notice how the things are there so we can have that protection:
Verse 3: “Surely He will deliver you from the fowler’s trap… [the traps of sin] …and from the destroying pestilence.”
It will be interesting to see among the people of God, how many did not get the Coronavirus! Think of that!
Verse 4: “He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge….” Those ware the unseen protections that come from God!
“…His Truth… [all of His Word] …shall be your shield and buckler” (v 4). In other words, against the forces of evil all around you, the Truth of God, the power of God and God’s special protection will be with you!
Verse 5: “You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor for the arrow that flies by day, nor for the plague that walks in darkness, nor for the destruction laying waste at noonday.”
Now here, right in the middle of death and destruction! None of us have been there, or very few. A good number of soldiers, when they’re out there fighting have trusted in God and somehow they have survived everything! Many of them, but why did it happen to them?
Verse 7: “A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand; it shall not come near you.” That is to take you down!
Verse 8: “Only with your eyes you shall behold and see the recompense of the wicked.” This goes forward clear to the resurrection, right here! Because all of those in the first resurrection are going to see the recompense against Satan the devil, the demons and all of the wicked in the world that come to fight against Christ! We will all see it!
Here’s why; here’s a blessing; v 9: “Because you have made the LORD, Who is my refuge… [David writing] …even the Most High, your habitation, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling” (vs 9-10).
You can pray that prayer with what’s going on today! That doesn’t mean that you don’t do the things that you need to so that you’re not going to get it. You don’t walk out into the middle of it.
Verse 11: “For He shall give His angels charge over you to keep you in all your ways.” How about that! Invisible angels guarding and protecting you!
That’s something! You’ll never see it. People have experienced what angels have done in various accidents and things that they’ve been in. Yes, they’ve gotten hurt a little bit, but they survived.
Verse 12: “They shall bear you up in their hands, lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Now, v 13 is talking about the time of the resurrection and the power and strength that we will have at that time against the wicked, to get rid of them and to help institute the way and the Government of God on the whole earth.
Verse 13: “You shall tread upon the lion… [Who is the lion going around roaring? Satan the devil!] …and asp; the young lion and the jackal you shall trample underfoot.”
You’re going to get rid of all sin out of the whole earth with all the rest of the saints and Christ as King of kings and Lord of lords. Here’s why, and this gets right back to where we started:
Verse 14: “Because he… [you, the one who is trusting in God] …has set his love upon me… [David talking about the love of God] …therefore, I will deliver him…” IF you set your love upon God, He says that He will deliver you!
“…I will set him on high because he has known My name. He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him…” (v 15).
IF you have the Spirit of God in you, everything you go through with God’s Spirit, He is there with you in everything; notice this:
“…I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honor him” (v 15). That’s quite a blessing!
· Is it not worth what God has said for this tremendous blessing that He says that He will give you?
· Even in the most trying and the most difficult times that there can possibly be?
Verse 16: “With long life… [eternal life, for eternity] …I will satisfy him, and show him My salvation.”
What kind of attitude does this give us when trouble comes? We don’t have to worry about the difficult things that come along--they will come! But how do we handle them?
Every one of us are going to go through things where it may even get down to that it looks like everything you have is gone! But even if everything that you have is gone, and God is in you and with you, He’s going to replace all of that with the greatness of the power of His resurrection and being in New Jerusalem forever! That’s what we need to think on! Here’s the attitude that we have to have:
Psalm 27:1: “The LORD is my Light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?….” Don’t have to, put it all in God’s hands, come what may!
That’s how all the saints were able to, down through history, go through the slaughter and the torture, because they knew that if they lost their life they were assured of the resurrection. Christ’s plan is to annul death as if it never occurred and their tormentors couldn’t understand it. They couldn’t understand why they would be singing hymns! Why they would willingly go! An amazing thing when you think about it.
“…The LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? When the wicked, my enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell” (vs 1-2). This is with David, with his fighting for God! God had His angels out there ahead of the battle.
Verse 3: “Though an army should encamp against me, my heart shall not be afraid; though war should rise against me, even then I will be confident.”
That’s what David did when he was conquering the land as God gave him the victory. But think about taking it forward to the resurrection when we come back and fight with Christ to get rid of all the enemies of God. Get rid of Satan and demons, and see all of these people who need help, blessings, healing and all of that. This is going to be the greatest victory that ever happened!
Verse 4: “One thing… [you might say the most important thing] …I have desired from the LORD, that I will seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life… [eternal life] …to behold the beauty of the LORD and to inquire in His temple.”
When you have your mind on this, when trouble comes, you’ll be able to handle it. You’ll be able to get through it! It doesn’t matter what it is, because it’s going to be pretty heavy stuff when it comes.
Verse 5: “For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion, in the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me upon a Rock”--that’s Christ!
This is the attitude that we need to have when these troubles and difficulties come along. God will always be there:
· with you
· for you
· to help you
Here’s what we do! You’ve heard the song Take it All to God in Prayer, that is literally true. That’s what David did.
Psalm 31:1: “In You, O LORD, have I taken refuge, let me never be ashamed; deliver me in Your righteousness. Bow down Your ear to me; deliver me quickly; be my strong Rock, a fortress of defense to save me; for You are my Rock…” (vs 1-3).
Remember what Jesus said about building on a Rock: If you build on the Rock, the winds are going to blow, the rains are going to come, the floods are going to come, but you’re on the Rock and you will see it through!
Compared to the one who builds his house upon the sand. The wind will come, the rain will come and the flood will come, and the fall of that house is quick and immediate. So, here is New Testament doctrine right in the Psalms.
“…and my fortress; therefore, for Your name’s sake lead me and guide me. Pull me up out of the net that they have hidden for me, for You are my strength. ‘Into Your hand… [this is a quote from Jesus just before He died, but this is true for all of us as well]: ….I commit My spirit; You have redeemed Me, O LORD God of Truth’” (vs 3-5). That’s quite a fantastic and wonderful thing indeed!
Psalm 37:39: “But the salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; He is their strength in the time of trouble. And the LORD shall help them and deliver them; He shall deliver them from the wicked, and save them because they take refuge in Him” (vs 39-40). That’s quite a blessing! That is how God is going to:
· watch over us
· be with us
· guide us
Let’s read what Paul wrote. It’s interesting, because the books of Ephesians, Philippians and Colossians were written while Paul was a prisoner in Rome. He sent these letters to these churches, and look at his attitude. He didn’t know if he might end up being beheaded! But he:
· kept his mind on God
· kept his mind on what it should be
Philippians 4:6: “Do not be anxious about anything… [put it all in God’s hands; you do what you have to do, God will do what He has to do] …but by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God in everything.”
Notice this promise; I want you to think about this; v 7: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding… [human understanding] …shall guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.”
Heb. 13 is quite a promise; you can claim these promises. One way to do this is when you pray get on your knees and have a place where you can open your Bible and read some of the Psalms. You can read some of these verses and you’re coming before God. He has promised to hear you IF you yield to Him, desire Him and you’re doing this in a way that glorifies Him!
Here’s a promise of God. So, if you have troubles and difficulties, and it seems like you are ready to go under the water and drown… sometimes it feels like that, it’s overwhelming. You come to God with this:
Hebrews 13:5: “Do not allow the love of money to influence your behavior, but be satisfied with what you have; for He has said, ‘In no way…’”
These are the words of Christ! His Word is Truth! Heaven and earth shall pass away, but His Word shall never pass away! So, when He says:
“…‘In no way will I ever leave you… [He reiterates] …no—I will never forsake you in any way’” (v 5).
That’s Christ’s promise to us! Even if it’s difficult, tough, hard or a lot of opposition against you, all things are going to work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purpose!
It doesn’t matter what it is, because the ultimate end of it all is the resurrection and what God is going to do!
“…‘In no way will I ever leave you; no—I will never forsake you in any way.’ So then, let us boldly say, ‘The Lord is my Helper, and I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” (vs 5-6). That’s the attitude that we need to have, brethren!
· trust in God
· look to Him
· understand what’s going on
· realize that God loves you
· He’s for you
You love God and He’s going to see you through it! It’s all going to work out for the best in the long run! Keep this in mind as we go down through time and all of these difficult times come upon us!
1) Genesis 49:1, 22-26
2) Deuteronomy 33:13-17
3) Isaiah 5:1-8, 11-13, 18-25
4) Deuteronomy 28:1-9, 15-25
5) Psalm 25:1-14
6) Psalm 91:1-16
7) Psalm 27:1-5
8) Psalm 31:1-5
9) Psalm 37:39-40
10) Philippians 4:6-7
11) Hebrews 13:5-6
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
· Deuteronomy 22:43
· Isaiah 58; 56
· Deuteronomy 6
· John 6:45
Also referenced: Book:
America and Britain in Prophecy: Two Nations That Changed the World by Philip Neal