WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU NEED HELP: PASTOR MENSAL OTABIL – SUNDAY SERVICE, 16TH MAY, 2021
SUNDAY SERVICE BY DR. MENSAH OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) ACCRA, GHANA)
TOPIC: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU NEED HELP.
DATE: 16TH MAY, 2021
TEXT: PSALMS 91:1-3
Amen! Let’s rise up together, as we make our DECLARATION OF FRUITFULNESS in this Year of Fruitfulness:
Are you ready? Say with me:
The Eternal God is our refuge. He opens Rivers in desolate Heights.The Lord makes the wilderness a Pool of water.
The LORD God is my Sun and Shield; The LORD gives Grace and Glory.
Therefore, I delight myself in Him. Those who are Planted in the House of the LORD shall be fresh and flourishing.
Though the Earth be shaken; the Name of the Lord is my Strong Tower. By Faith I affirm that: In Christ alone is my Salvation. In Him I live, and move and have my being.
It is written: The Righteous are like trees Planted by the waters; bearing fruits in its Season.
So I boldly declare: As for me, my God has made me EXCEEDINGLY FRUITFUL.
In this Season, my Spirit bears Fruits of Righteousness, my Talents make Way for me. With my hands, I will Plant, I will Build, I will Harvest – Day by Day, Step by Step.
In Jesus’ Name – Amen!
No matter what life hits you with I believe in Christ there is Victory; there is Strength, there is Purpose, there is Direction! And God makes a way for us where there seems to be no Way.
So no matter what comes your way, God will lift you up and He will definitely raise you up – Amen!
Today, I just feel like bringing us a Word of encouragement that will help us to know what to do when times are not looking the best for us.
So my Message is Titled: WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU NEED HELP.
It looks like we are in a Season where constantly, we need Help. Because our world is going through its own gyrations: And that which was stable is unstable, what was firm is unfirm.
… But Christ is our Solid Rock and He is our Foundation.
So, I am going to Preach from Psalms 91 – And Psalms 91 is a very beautiful Testimony about Security in life. And I know that many People have adopted it as a favourite Psalm.
As a matter of fact as a Church (ICGC) we read Psalms 91 every Cross Over Service; when we are going into the New Year.
It is a Psalm that we read, and it speaks so strongly to us, especially in troubled times or in troubling times.
If you look at Psalms 91, it has a link with the Preceding one (which is Psalms 90) and then the subsequent one (which is Psalms 92).
So, Psalms 90, 91 and 92 have links together. And the language is together.
Psalms 91 does not Proclaim any direct Authorship; so we are not sure who the Author is. But we know the Holy Spirit inspired it.
Some say Psalms 90, 91 and 92 were also written by Moses. But we are not so sure. Whatever it is, God inspired the Psalms to be written for us in such a time as this.
Psalms 91 talks about things like hidden traps and deadly plagues; terrors at night, arrows by day, the stumbling over rocks, facing lions and snakes.
… And the more you read it, the more you feel like it is speaking about 2021.
So, I will read Psalms 91:1-3 and I will Preach from the first three (3) Verses of Psalms 91.
And it reads: Psalms 91: 1-3 (NKJV):
1 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 Him I will trust.”
3 Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler
And from the perilous Pestilence.
As you read the Psalm, you read about Pestilence and all the things he talks about reminds us of the Pandemic we are experiencing now.
- WHEN A CHRISTIAN NEEDS HELP, HOW DO THEY GET HELP?
And so I am going to walk us through what the Psalmist tells us that we should do.
He tells us where to go for Help when we need Help.
And the Psalmist talks about two (2) Places that we have to go for Help.
… And I believed that those Places are still valid to us.
I. The first Place to go for Help is: THE SECRET PLACE.
The Secret Place refers to being under God’s Protection.
When everything is unsafe and insecure we go to God’s Secret Place – The place of God’s Protection.
Other translations call it GOD’S HIDING PLACE.
The idea of the Secret Place is similar to our Modern Understanding of seeking Asylum.
You know when in the Political world, somebody feels that their life is in danger in one Country and they are being Pursued; normally what they will do is that they will run to another Country to seek Asylum.
… To seek for Protection, cover under that Country.
There was a time in Ghana that many People did that.
I hear there are still People who try to seek Asylum for whatever Purpose, I don’t know!
But when People feel their lives are in danger, they go to a Place of Asylum.
Sometimes they go to an Embassy and ask that they be Protected by the Nation.
And that Place becomes their Secret Place; it becomes their Hiding Place.
So, the Bible says that when we need Help we don’t seek Asylum in an Embassy or in another Country; but there is a Place we go to and it is God’s Hiding Place. We go under God’s covering and under God’s Protection.
Where do we go for Help when we need Help? – We go to God’s Secret Place!
II. And then the Psalmist talks about another place we go to.
And he calls it: THE SHADOW OF THE ALMIGHTY.
“Under the Shadow of the Almighty;” and the idea there is coming under God’s Wings!
When we hear about all the things that are going wrong in our lives; when you hear bad News, when you hear that things are not stable. You must know where to go!
We go to God’s SECRET PLACE and we go under GOD’S SHADOW.
The image is that of a mother hen whose chicks come to hide under the wings, to escape from danger and from harm.
However, God’s Wings go beyond just the image of hen, under whose safety the chicks run to.
The centre of Israel’s worship was the Temple or the Tabernacle. And what made the Temple or Tabernacle very unique was the Ark of the Covenant.
And in the Ark of the Covenant, there was a Prominent Figure of two (2) Angels whose wings were joined together; and under the wings of the Angels was a place called the MERCY SEAT.
So, when the Bible says, we come under the Shadow of the Almighty, that is where we come to – We come to God’s Mercy Seat, under the covering of His Presence.
When life is hitting you, when things are coming against you, there is the Hiding Place, there is a Place of Covering, there is the Shadow of the Almighty, there is a Place of Shade – And it is God’s Mercy Seat.
“He that dwelleth in the Secret Place of the Most High shall abide under the Shadow of the Almighty.”
There is a Shadow to cover us, there is a Shadow to Protect us – It is God’s Secret Place and it is God’s Mercy Seat.
… So the next thing the Psalmist tells us is;
- WHAT TO DO WHEN WE GET THE GOD’S SECRET PLACE AND GOD’S SHADOW.
- What do we do there?
- How should we conduct ourselves in God’s Secret Place and under God’s Shadow?
… He tells us two (2) things to do:
I. WE MUST DWELL THERE.
You don’t go to God’s Secret Place and leave; you must DWELL there!
That word ‘DWELL’ simply means to sit in God’s Presence.
So, when you get to God’s Secret Place, you stop moving – You don’t continue fretting, you don’t continue being anxious when you get to God’s Secret Place.
The thing about trouble is that, when you have trouble you start wandering – You just keep moving, and you move from Place to Place.
For some of us Christians, our wandering takes us from Church to Church; from Prayer Meeting to Prayer Meeting, from Prophet to Prophet, from Apostle to Apostle, from Bishop to Bishop.
So, one moment you hear: ‘Oh, there is Help here’; you go there! The next moment you hear: ‘Oh, there is another Powerful Man of God’, you go there! There is some Help over there, you go there! And you keep wandering and wandering.
But when you find God’s Mercy Seat, you stop wandering you sit, you settle, you Dwell.
The fact that you keep moving simply means you haven’t found God’s Secret Place because, if you find God’s Secret Place, then there will be no need for you to keep moving and moving!
The Passage says we Dwell in that Place! We don’t keep moving when we get to God’s Secret Place.
It is not a sign of Faith for the Christian to move from one Prayer Meeting to the other!
… It is okay if you have Prayer Meetings in your Church and you attend the Prayer Meetings.
But some of you have about ten (10) different Prayer Meetings you attend. Some of you have about fifty (50) Prophets – Prophet for Prosperity, Prophet for Deliverance from Accident, Prophet for Marriage Breakthrough, Prophet for this and Prophet for that!
And you go to this one for that, and you go to that one for this! You listened to this one for that and listened to that one for this! – It is not Faith, it is unbelieve! It means you are in trouble, and you are wandering.
But if you have found the Secret Place and God’s Hiding Place you will Dwell.
II. And not only do we Dwell there, the Psalmist says that when we find the Place that God is, and come under His Covering; WE WILL ABIDE.
That means we will spend time there – “We will ABIDE under the Shadow of the Almighty.”
You don’t run from the Shadow of the Almighty, you Abide there!
As a matter of fact, the word that is used in Hebrew and the idea iys conveys (of Abiding) is of one who is a Traveller who gets to a Place (maybe a Rest Stop) and then they unpack all their bags in that Rest Place.
In other words, saying: I’m not going another further, I have arrived at the Place. They unpack all their bags and settle.
God wants you to find a Resting Place and find a Safe Place. And when you get there you unpack all your burdens and rest there!
You don’t go from one Place to the other carrying your burdens – You carry your burdens from this Prayer Meeting to that Prayer Meeting but still they are your burdens.
You carry your Problems from that Prayer Meeting and other Prayer Meetings and still you are carrying them – There is no unpacking!
But when we find God’s Secret Place, His Shadow and His Place of Rest; we will DWELL there and we will ABIDE.
And may God give you that Place where you can DWELL and ABIDE – Amen.
… Tthen the Psalmist tells us;
- WHOM TO TRUST.
When we get to that Place, whom do we Trust?
He says we Trust in:
I. THE MOST HIGH.
It is very interesting when you Study the Scriptures to see how words are used.
The Bible doesn’t just threw words about because there is lack of Vocabulary.
… The Bible chooses words that are appropriate for what He wants us to understand!
The Most High means He is above All – God is higher than All others.
When you trust in Him, you trust in the Most High: There is no higher Authority to report Him to; there is no higher Authority to command Him. No one can appeal to anyone higher than Jehovah Lord God Almighty!
So, when you Trust in the Lord you have trusted in the Ultimate Authority, the Highest Possible Authority. There is nothing above Him, there is no recourse beyond God. When you trust Him, that is it!
When you Trust a Human Being and he doesn’t Perform, you look for his Supervisor. If he doesn’t Perform, you look for the Managing Director, if he doesn’t Perform you go to the Board. If they don’t Perform, you take them somewhere else (laughs)!
… For there is always something above somebody!
But when it comes to God, He is the Most High; there is nothing above Him, there is no other recourse.
And because there is nothing above Him, nobody can countercommand His commandments – Nobody can counter Him!
When God says you are blessed, nobody can issue another verdict. Nobody can do that.
In a Law Court, when you are in the Lower Court and you get Judgement, you go to another Court. And you keep going and going.
With God, there is nothing beyond Him. And if He says to you: You are Blessed; you are Highly Favoured – Amen.
And nothing is beyond God to change that!
Definitely, not the devil because he is under His feet.
We Trust the Most High.
Can somebody say: “My Trust is in the Most High?
II. And then, the Second (2nd) word that is used to describe God is: THE ALMIGHTY.
Almighty means that He is Stronger than ALL.
Almighty is a Warrior’s Title – It means the Mighty Warrior or appropriately, the Mightiest Warrior.
The Psalmist uses a Human term to describe God, because Warriors are supposed to be People with Big Chest.
You know, we see all these People in Ghana we call Macho people.
Tthey have Big Chest, Big Muscles and sometimes they twerk them up and down – I just don’t know whether to fascinate People or scare People.
But whatever it is, when you see a Big Muscle Person; even without them throwing a blow, you surrender. You just know ‘I can’t fight this guy.’ You don’t attempt to fight them because they are Big Chested.
Well, God Almighty means the Big Chested One.
In other words, there are Macho People with Big Chest; but when you see Jehovah’s Chest, you will know that ‘I dare not get into battle with this One; this One is wild, this One is brutal, this One is Awesome. He is the Mighty Chested One – The Great Warrior.’
And when we come to the Secret Place, we find that the Lord is a Man of War – That He goes to battle on our behalf; that He fights for us, that He fights our enemies. And because He fights for us, we don’t need to fight!
If you want to fight your own battles do it. But when you come to the Shadow of the Almighty, and come to His Secret Place, you will find out that He is the Most High, He is the Big Chested One, He is the Mighty Warrior;
And you can REST in Him; then ABIDES under the Shadow of the Almighty.
So, we know where to go: We go to the Shadow, we go to the Secret Place.
We know what to do: We sit there, we ABIDE there, we DWELL there.
We know Whose Covering we have come Under: We have come under the Covering of the Most High God and the Almighty God, that should make us do something.
- WHAT DO WE SAY WHEN WE GET TO THAT PLACE?
The Psalmist says: “I will say of the Lord He is my Refuge;”
I. I will say to myself the Lord is my REFUGE – The One Who Protects me.
When we Trust in the Lord, we must say words that Express our Trust. We must confess and boldly Proclaim that our Trust is in the Lord.
Many times we will be tempted to talk about our Problems; but we must learn not to belittle God before our enemies.
I will say of the Lord He is my Refuge:
A. Though I may be defeated on every sides, I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge.
B. Though I am not sure what comes tomorrow, I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge.
C. I don’t know where my next meal is coming from, but I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge.
D. I don’t know how this case with turn up, but I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge!
You have to be careful what you say in the Presence of the Lord because sometimes you come to that Place of Safety in God but everything you say is wrong:
“Lord, life is so hard, things are so bad because I don’t think I can make it. I don’t think there is Hope for me. I don’t think there is any way out. I don’t think this thing will be solved!”
Have you come to the Secret Place of the Most High? If you have come there, then what you say is not “I am in trouble!” What you say is, the Lord is my REFUGE.
And he says, ‘I will say of the Lord is mine Fortress – The One Who defends me.’
Another name for Fortress is Stronghold – The Lord is my Stronghold.
The term ‘Stronghold’ for the People of Israel was very Strong because there were Natural Strongholds and there were Man-made Strongholds.
A. The Man-made Strongholds were the Walls that they built around the City; and the Towers that they built on the walls.
… That is the Man-made Stronghold!
B. But the Natural Strongholds were the Mountains.
And so they will say: “As the MOUNTAINS surround Jerusalem so the Lord surrounds me.”
They don’t see ‘as the Walls surround Jerusalem’. They said as the MOUNTAIN. Because the Natural Strongholds are Stronger than the Man-made ones!
So, whenever People were in trouble and they want to escape from danger, guess where they go to? – To the Mountains!
Because, the Mountains were very High. And if you know how to hide in the Mountains, your enemies cannot find you.
If you read the books of the Old Testament, you will find that sometimes when People were trying to hide from dangers, they go to the Mountains.
David went to the Mountains when King Saul was against him.
In fact, even up to today, when Guerrilla Fighters want to hide from the bombs of the enemies, where do they go to? – The Mountains!
There is one Particular Person who used to hide in a Particular Mountain ranges; and all the intelligence of the world and all the bombs find it so difficult to get him
Why? – Because he was on the Mountains!
In fact, they only got him when he left the Mountains and went to his home.
So, when the Psalmist says the Lord is my Fortress, he is not thinking about walls that have been built. He means, the Lord is like the Mountains in whom I hide. He is my Fortress!
When you hide in the Lord, you are safe.
Yes, People may even get you in the Natural Mountains but when the Lord God is your fortress – Your Supernatural Fortress, your Supernatural Stronghold – They will Pursue but they will not get you; they will scout for you but they cannot find you; they will send Messengers to you, but they will not find you; they may through arrows at you by day or by night, but it will not hit you.
… Because the Lord is your Fortress!
I don’t know who your enemies are that you are so scared of; because we in Africa we fear our enemies more than anything else, more than any Problems we may have.
And when we say enemies, we mean Human Beings who have Spiritual Antennas – Not from the Most High God but from the Most Low devil.
Although we trust in the Most High God, we are afraid of the Most Low One (the devil).
But the Lord is your Fortress, He is your Supernatural Stronghold; not Man-made, not Natural but supernatural! And He will Protect you – Amen!
I don’t know what next the world will throw at you; but you have a Natural and Supernatural Protection in God – He is your Fortress, He is your Refuge.
… When we say the Lord is my refuge and my fortress;
- WHAT SHOULD WE EXPECT FROM GOD?
What does the Lord do for us when we stay in His Secret Place and under His Shadow?
I. Now, if you take a look at Psalms 91; you will Notice that the Language in Verse 2 is different from the Language of Verse 3.
The Language of Verse 2 says: “He is my REFUGE.”
In Verse 3, it says: “The Lord will deliver you”.
The Language in Verse 2 is in first Person – He is the Person saying, I will say of the Lord!
Verse 3 is in Third Person – It is somebody else speaking to the one who said ‘I will say of the Lord.’
So, it is not the Person speaking to himself – There is a voice of Authority. And that voice is a Prophetic Voice that comes from God.
When you say: ‘The Lord is my refuge the Lord is my fortress’ – He speaks a Prophetic Word to you: “Surely, He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the Perilous Pestilence.”
Who said that?
It is not the One who said, I will say of the Lord. – This is a Prophetic Declaration from God. This is God issuing His Prophetic Words to come to you; to tell you: “Surely, the Lord will deliver you.”
I believe that the Message you are hearing this morning or reading on the label of DMC, is in the tune of Verse 3.
It is His Word! It is The Word Himself speaking unto you, saying: Surely, He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the Perilous Pestilence.
… So, what do we expect from?
II. The Lord will deliver you from the SNARE of the FOWLER.
Some of these Bible words are a bit difficult to understand in Modern times.
What is a FOWLER?
A Fowler is a Trapper – One who sets trap to catch birds.
So that is a Fowler! – He sets trap for fowl.
The Snare of the Fowler is the trap that the Trapper sets to catch the bird.
And the word the Psalmist used is: “The Lord will deliver you as a bird from The trap that has been set before you.”
The Lord can deliver in two (2) ways;
A. He can either order your Steps so that you don’t fall into the trap.
That is one way.
B. But even when you fall into the trap, the Lord is able to spring your feet from the trap.
I don’t know what you are falling into; but the Lord will deliver you out of them – Amen
We used to sing a song in this Church:
My soul escaped as a bird,
Out of the snare of the Fowler;
The snare is broken,
And we are escape.
Our Help is in the Name of the Lord!
… My Soul escaped out of the snare of the Fowler.
I don’t know what fowler is waiting for you tomorrow and next week; but your Soul will escape from it – Amen.
I don’t know what fowler is waiting for you for the rest of 2021; but your Soul will escape from it – Amen.
Why? – Because:
- We are in the Secret Place of the Most High.
- We are under the Shadow of the Almighty.
- We have taken refuge there.
- We Abide there.
- We Dwell there.
We said to ourselves, the Lord is our Refuge and our Fortress, therefore, we benefit from His Protection.
… Your Soul will escape – Amen!
III. And then He says: The Lord will deliver you from the Perilous Pestilence.
Other Translations – The Old King James Version says: The ‘Noisome Pestilence.’
A Pestilence is a Piercing thing. It is almost like an insect with Piercing mouth or nose (whichever they use) that Pierces you!
And it is the symbol of things that make your Life Painful – They just hit you and bite you.
God says He will deliver you from every dangerous attack that is aimed at you – Amen!
So, you look behind you, there Attackers! But when you look to where you are; you are in a Safe Place!
And the Safe Place is called God’s SECRET PLACE; the Safe Place is the SHADOW of the Almighty.
The Lord is the One under Whose Shadow you have come to take refuge.
You have been Pursued for so long; find REST in the Shadow of the Almighty. And when you get there, stop running – Settle! Be confidence in where God’s Presence is.
And it is not in a Church, it is not in a Man of God, it is not in a Woman of God, it is not in a Pastor, it is not in a Bishop, it is not even in a Pope – It is in JEHOVAH!
… We take Refuge in Him, not in a Ministry!
You know these days, I hear People say things like: ‘I tap into your Grace’. And they said that to a Man of God.
I hear People tell me: ‘Pastor I tap into your Grace.’
My grace? What kind of craziness is that?
We tap into God’s Grace – it is His Grace that is sufficient for us. It is in His Grace that there is Refuge – Not my Presence! I’m also seeking refuge!
You say ‘Pastor, I want refuge from you.’
I am also running to the Lord! Why don’t we run together to the same Place and Trust the same Lord; and be in His Presence and have safety in His Presence?
He that Abides – Not in the Shadow of their Church, not in the Shadow of a Ministry, not in the Shadow of a Man of God; but under the Shadow of the Almighty; in the Secret Place of the Most High.
… That is where we Abide!
And in all these Seasons, where things are gyrating and turning and turning; I just want to Point you to where you have to go to, so that you will find rest for your Soul and settle in the Lord.
Let your trust be in God; let Jesus be your Anchor – Trust in Him, settle in Him and He will deliver you from the Noisome Pestilence, and He will deliver you from the snare of the fowler.
… Let us rise together as we Pray!
Wherever you are now or reading this Message on the Label of DMC, the Psalmist says; I will say of the LORD…
So, I want you to begin to say of the Lord You are my Refuge, Lord You are my Fortress.
I don’t know what is facing you, but this morning, God Jehovah is bringing your Deliverance!
Help is coming from the Presence of the Lord!
Just talk to the Lord, Pray: You are my Lord, You are Higher than the letters in my hand; You are Higher than the report I am holding in my hand.
Your Word is Greater than any force that speaks – So Lord I Trust in You. Lord, we hide in You, we choose to Trust in You because, You are Higher than any Authority anywhere!
Help is coming your Way – Just receive it! Nobody can take it away from you, in the Name of Jesus!
CLOSING PRAYER
So Father, we thank you this morning; You are our Help – “Our Help is in the Name of the Lord.”
- Our Help is in Jehovah the Lord God Almighty, the Most High God.
- Our Help is in the Almighty – The Big Warrior.
And so we declare over our lives:
- Favour has come to us; Deliverance has come to us.
- There is Massive Answers to Prayers; there is turn around of situations!
- I hear Testimonies coming to you; and I hear your voice testifying of God’s Favour.
- I hear you Testifying of God’s Deliverance; I hear you celebrating God.
- I see you dancing; I hear the Sound of Laughter from your mouth.
- The Joy of the Lord coming out of your Mouth because the Lord is your Help, He is your Safety.
And so Lord, we declare all these Victory because we know Who You are!
And our Trust is resolutely fixed in You!
In Jesus’ Name – Amen and Amen.
Give the Lord some Praise – Hallelujah!
- As you shout, you are declaring Victory.
- As you shout, Walls are coming down!
- As you shout God is turning around the situations!
In the Name of Jesus, there is a sound of Abundance of Rain!
And we give You Praise Father!
In Jesus’ Mighty Name we have Prayed – AMEN!
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