Dwelling In The Shelter . . .

MELVIN NEWLAND, MINISTER RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK

TEXT: Psalm 91:1-16; John 15:5; 1 John 1:3-7; Philippians 1:20-21. 4:6-7

ILL. Back in the early days of the American colonies David Brainerd was known as “The apostle to the Indians.”

In 1739 after three years of study at Yale Divinity School, including studies of local Indian languages, Brainerd made his way toward a hostile Indian tribe living in the dense forests of the "Forks of the Delaware," an area including parts of what we know today as New Jersey & Pennsylvania.

He arrived near one of their villages late one evening & decided to spend the night in the woods before approaching them the next morning. He didn’t realize that several Indians had been following him for hours. Once he was settled in his campsite the Indians went on to the village & reported to the chief.

That night, the Indians set out to kill him because, up until then, white men had brought them nothing but grief. The warriors silently drew near Brainerd’s camp as he was on his knees praying.

While he was praying the Indians saw a large rattlesnake approach him, lift its head, flick its forked tongue close to his face, & then for no apparent reason glide away into the darkness.

This made the chief & his warriors very nervous & instead of killing him, they returned to their village.

When Brainerd entered the Indian village the next morning, he received a better welcome than he expected. It wasn’t until later that he learned of the strange event of the rattlesnake the preceding night.

When the Indians gathered around him, he opened his Bible, read from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah & tenderly told the story of how God sent His Son to die on the cross that He might take away sin from people’s hearts & make them His children.

This message was warmly received by the Indians, both in this village & later among many other Indian villages in the surrounding area.

As the years passed, in the pages of Brainerd’s diary, he wrote of how he "endured hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ."

His sufferings, caused by disease, were intensified by the rigors of life among the Indians & his difficult travels in the wilderness as his ministry spread among Indians in areas of New Jersey & PA.

It is recorded that Brainerd faithfully sowed the gospel among the Indians & watered it with his prayers & tears until his death in 1747. (http://www.wholesomewords.org/missions/biobrainerd2 & SermonCentral.com)

The story of Brainerd’s life & the result of the rattlesnake’s encounter with him is rather intriguing. Why wasn’t Brainerd bitten? Why did it happen just when the Indians were ready to kill him? And did God have anything to do with it?

For some answers to our questions, please turn with me to Psalm 91, & we’ll look at it together. By the way, some Bible scholars believe that Moses wrote Psalm 91 to assure the Israelites that God would protect them from such plagues & destruction as came upon Egypt.

Listen to the first 2 vs’s of Psalm 91. “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High shall rest in the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, ‘He is my refuge & my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.’

I. GOD WANTS TO BE OUR SHELTER & REFUGE

A. Now let’s make sure we understand what “dwelling in the shelter” means. The word “dwells” or “dwelling” means “to stay, to remain permanently.” And the place where God wants us to stay is “in the shelter of the Most High.”

And staying “in the shelter of the Most High” means to be in a personal & continual fellowship with God. In other words, staying close to God & seeking to live according to His will in all that we do & say.

That is what the Apostle John means in 1 John 1:3, “…our fellowship is with the Father & with His Son, Jesus Christ.”

Then in vs’s 6-7 John says, “If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie & do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, & the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.”

B. But these benefits are not for the person who occasionally visits the shelter.

They are for those who “dwell in the shelter of the Most High.” You can’t be indecisive about Christ & expect all the benefits of being close to Him.

Jesus said, “If you remain in me, & my words remain in you, then you’ll bear much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” (John 15:5)