Beforehand: Be sure to check out Pastor Ben’s message online if you were not able to catch it on Sunday morning.
Below is the outline of Pastor Ben's message.
The Deep Six Study follows.
Flinch - “How God Protects Us”
1 – Practical Protection – 1 Samuel 17:40
2 – “Pre” Protection – 1 Samuel 17:40; Psalm 23:1 & 4; Psalm 119:49-52
3 – Divine Protection – 1 Samuel 17:40; 2 Samuel 21:15A & 22; Psalm 55:3-6; 16-18
Deep Six Study
Introduction
Psalm 46:1-2A – “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear.”
Us + trouble = fear ---- Us/God + trouble = no fear. That troubles come to us throughout our lives we would say with certainty is a reality. That fear is an issue for us when troubles come our way we would say is certainly an ongoing problem. That God’s presence when troubles are present can eliminate fear does not translate into actual experience as readily as we would like. This has been a series on “Fear” and we have explored it from a number of different standpoints. In this week’s Deep Six Study we are looking more closely at how God involves Himself with us when troubles come and what impact His involvement has on us and our troubles.
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Part 1 - Corresponds to the first point of the message
1 Samuel 17:40 – “He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.”
2 Kings 4:1-7 – “Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, ‘Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.’ Elisha said to her, ‘What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?’ And she said, ‘Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.’ Then he said, ‘Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.’ So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not one vessel more.’ And the oil stopped. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.’”
Matthew 14:15-21 – “When it was evening, the disciples came to Him and said, ‘This place is desolate and the hour is already late; so send the crowds away, that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves.’ But Jesus said to them, ‘They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat!’ They said to Him, ‘We have here only five loaves and two fish.’ And He said, ‘Bring them here to Me.’ Ordering the people to sit down on the grass, He took the five loaves and the two fish, and looking up toward heaven, He blessed the food, and breaking the loaves He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds, and they all ate and were satisfied. They picked up what was left over of the broken pieces, twelve full baskets. There were about five thousand men who ate, besides women and children.”
Comment – Without God’s involvement, could the Giant have been conquered, could the woman and her children have survived, could the hungry crowd have been fed? Most of us would say no. Imagine the following: (1) you don’t know these three stories, (2) someone tells you the dilemma in each story and that in each one God’s involvement was the solution (3) you are asked to write how you would picture God solving each of these dilemmas. You probably would not come up with a shepherd boy with a sling, a staff, and five smooth stones, nor the woman’s small jar of oil poured out and becoming gallons and gallons of oil, nor five loaves and two fish becoming a truckload of food for a great multitude. Many of us would picture God being involved in a more direct and intervening way. When God does choose to eliminate a problem for us, he often includes us in the solution using our experience and skills as well as the resources we have on hand. We must face our giants expecting God to show up, fully relying on Him, and always ready to participate in any way He has in mind for us.
Question # 1 – What are some of the solutions by God you might have come up with for these stories?
Question # 2 – What is one solution by God that you would like to see in your life right now for defeating a giant you are facing?
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Part 2 - Corresponds to the second point of the message
1 Samuel 17:40 – “He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.”
Psalm 23:1 & 4 – “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want …. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Psalm 119:49-52 – “Remember your promise to me; it is my only hope. Your promise revives me; it comforts me in all my troubles. The proud hold me in utter contempt, but I do not turn away from your instructions. I meditate on your age-old regulations; O LORD, they comfort me.”
Proverbs 24:10 – “If you are slack (present), in the day of distress (future), your strength is limited.”
Luke 12:16-21 – “And He told them a parable, saying, ‘The land of a rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops?’ Then he said, ‘This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, ‘Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.’ But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?’ So is the man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
1 Peter 4:1-2 – “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”
Comment – Many of the giants we face are the result of our lives not conforming to the will of God. God has revealed His intentions and desires for our lives in His Word and He is always at work through the ministry of the Holy Spirit bringing us into conformity with His will. Israel would not have faced the Philistines and the giant, Goliath, if they had surrendered fully to God and His will for them earlier on. This situation was all the product of earlier disobedience. God can keep us from much of what we otherwise might face if we don’t slack off earlier on. As we seek God and His ways while allowing His Spirit to transform us, we become rich toward Him. As a result we are protected ahead of time so that encounters with many giants do not occur. When we do face giants we are practiced in righteousness and dependence on God so that God is unhindered in working on our behalf to deal with the giant in the best way possible.
Question # 3 – What is one area where disobedience to God’s revealed will is prevalent today that accounts for some of the giants Christians face?
Question # 4 – Is there some area for which you have experienced God’s pre-protection and what has this meant for you in your life?
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Part 3 – Corresponds to the third point of the message
1 Samuel 17:40 – “He picked up five smooth stones from a stream and put them into his shepherd’s bag. Then, armed only with his shepherd’s staff and sling, he started across the valley to fight the Philistine.”
2 Samuel 21:15A & 22 – “Once again the Philistines were at war with Israel …. These four Philistines were descendants of the giants of Gath, but David and his warriors killed them.”
Psalm 55:3-6 – “My enemies shout at me, making loud and wicked threats. They bring trouble on me and angrily hunt me down. My heart pounds in my chest. The terror of death assaults me. Fear and trembling overwhelm me, and I can’t stop shaking. Oh, that I had wings like a dove; then I would fly away and rest!”
Psalm 55:16-18 – “But I will call on God, and the LORD will rescue me. Morning, noon, and night I cry out in my distress, and the LORD hears my voice. He ransoms me and keeps me safe from the battle waged against me, though many still oppose me.”
Psalm 91:1-11 – “He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will abide in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say to the LORD, ‘My refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust!’ For it is He who delivers you from the snare of the trapper and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with His pinions, and under His wings you may seek refuge; His faithfulness is a shield and bulwark. You will not be afraid of the terror by night, or of the arrow that flies by day; of the pestilence that stalks in darkness, or of the destruction that lays waste at noon. A thousand may fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand, but it shall not approach you. You will only look on with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. For you have made the LORD, my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place. No evil will befall you, nor will any plague come near your tent. For He will give His angels charge concerning you, to guard you in all your ways.”
Isaiah 43:1-3A, 10-13 – “‘But now,’ thus says the LORD, your Creator, O Jacob, and He who formed you, O Israel, ‘Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name; you are Mine! When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched, nor will the flame burn you. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior’ …. ‘You are My witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘and My servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe Me and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no God formed, and there will be none after Me. I, even I, am the LORD, and there is no savior besides Me. It is I who have declared and saved and proclaimed, and there was no strange god among you; so you are My witnesses,’ declares the LORD, ‘and I am God. Even from eternity I am He, and there is none who can deliver out of My hand; I act and who can reverse it?’”
Comment – God is our protector. Certainly, He provides a plan of protection from evils that we never have to face if we submit to Him and His revealed will in Scripture, and certainly He is able to protect us from the evils we come up against from time to time that stand before as giants which through Him we conquer in triumph. But the work of protecting He accomplishes on our behalf day in and day out without our ever being aware of it is something we can hardly imagine. If God would suddenly show us a record of all the ways He protected us over the past week we would be absolutely astonished and overwhelmed. Over and over again God keeps us from countless evils that might otherwise befall us. He is so gracious and merciful to us beyond what we could ever begin to conceive. We need to let the magnitude of Who God is and how He is at work protecting us have a life altering impact on us. While flaunting with danger is never appropriate neither is cowering in the corner because of perceived or actual troubles. Look carefully at the descriptions in the Psalms above and in the Isaiah passage of the gracious protection God provides for His people and let Him renew your Spirit with the reality of Who He is and how He works on your behalf .
Question # 5 – What is one instance where you clearly experienced God’s Divine protection in your life?
Question # 6 – How would you describe how you are doing at letting God protect you from fear at this juncture in your life?
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Conclusion
Philippians 4:4-7 – “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
While God’s protection often includes our bodies, and less our possessions, it always includes our hearts and minds. His will may include injury, illness, or even death for us or those we know and love and it may include loss of employment, shelter, money, possessions, etc. But be assured God’s Divine protection is never more at work than when it comes to guarding our hearts and minds. The Philippians passage above could easily say “Fear nothing.” Troubles (Giants) come and their presence can overwhelm our hearts and minds by unleashing fear and anxiety within us. But we have a choice to make at this point. We must turn to God in prayer and let Him exchange His supernatural peace for the fear and anxiety that crouches at the door of our hearts and minds. God is faithful and He will guard us in this way through Christ Jesus. The heart and mind of David were protected in this way for if it were not the case, he would not have considered, offered, fought, or conquered the giant, Goliath. We can contend with the tough stuff of life fearlessly. We must be prepared with the reality that God might not deliver just like Daniel’s friends expressed as they faced the fiery furnace or like Job who said that though the Lord slay him, still he would trust Him. God is absolutely, the Sovereign Lord of the universe and He is absolutely worthy of our trust and dependence. He never fails.
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Under “comments” in the Deep Six section of the church website post your thoughts, applications, and questions on anything from this week’s Deep Six Study.