TLC Heritage w/ Pastor James McFadden - Live from Trinity Life Center in Shepherdsville, KY

Psalm 91 opens up like the greatest insurance policy anybody could ever have. The psalm says that the one who dwells in the secret place of the Most High abides under the shadow of the Almighty, and God says plain and simple, “I got you.” The names in those first two verses, El Elyon, El Shaddai, Yahweh, and Adonai, show that this promise rests on the power of the living God, not on human strength.

Genesis 1 shows exactly who this God is. God stood on nothing, spoke light into darkness, set the waters in place, hung the moon and stars, called creatures from the sea and the earth, and breathed life into dirt. God created every person different, but God cares about every bit of His creation. God cares about trouble, mess, sickness, fear, bills, brokenness, and every situation that seems too far gone.

God’s names throughout Scripture testify that He is Creator, Provider, Healer, Banner, Peace, Righteousness, Shepherd, and the God who is there. God is faithful. Creation gives evidence that God is real, and life itself gives evidence that God is near. The sky is His resume, the universe is His calling card, and what controls people does not control Him. God is God all by Himself, and human hands make a mess when they try to take His place.

The phrase “but God” changes everything. Weakness says one thing, but God strengthens. Falling says one thing, but God lifts up. Sin says one thing, but God forgives. Need says one thing, but God provides. Fear, sickness, hurt, hunger, worry, and brokenness may all be real, but none of them get the final word when God steps in.

Ephesians says that people were dead in sin, but God, rich in mercy, made them alive with Christ. Joseph’s brothers meant evil, but God meant it for good. Jesus says that what is impossible with men is possible with God. A “but God moment” is holy, divine intervention, when God steps into the middle of chaos, heartache, defeat, and breakdown and says, “Enough is enough.” God can fix what is broken, restore what has been lost, and turn around what looks finished. The altar becomes the place for those who need God to show up right now.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. God is God all by Himself God does not need human advice, human strength, or human control to accomplish His purpose. Trouble may feel bigger than faith, but trouble has never become bigger than God. The hands that made creation can still hold a life together when everything feels like it is falling apart. [51:26]
• 2. But God changes every situation The word “but” interrupts the story that pain, fear, failure, or lack tries to tell. God’s presence does not deny that the struggle is real, but His power refuses to let the struggle have the final word. A believer can face the hard thing honestly and still say, “But God.” [55:04]
• 3. Mercy meets people dead in sin Ephesians 2 does not begin with human effort but with God being rich in mercy. Grace reaches people who cannot fix their own condition and makes them alive together with Christ. Salvation stands as the deepest “but God” moment because God intervenes where sin had brought death. [57:09]
• 4. God steps into the middle A but God moment is not always an escape from the mess before the mess begins. God often walks right into the middle of sickness, chaos, heartache, and defeat. Divine intervention means that the place of breakdown can become the place where God shows His faithfulness. [59:18]
• 5. Praise remembers what God has done Real praise rises from somebody who knows that life could have gone another way. God’s provision, protection, forgiveness, and restoration give people a reason to lift their voice. Thanksgiving becomes more than noise when it remembers, “I should not be here, but God.”
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [34:47] - Praise and Gratitude
• [35:45] - A Testimony of God’s Help
• [36:57] - Reading Psalm 91
• [39:31] - But God
• [40:12] - Psalm 91: God Says “I Got You”
• [41:44] - The God of Creation
• [44:38] - God Cares About the Mess
• [46:30] - The Names of a Faithful God
• [48:05] - There Is Nowhere God Is Not
• [51:26] - God All by Himself
• [55:04] - But God Changes Everything
• [57:09] - But God Throughout Scripture
• [59:18] - A Holy Divine Intervention
• [65:36] - Calling for a But God Moment
• [69:16] - Prayer and Worship

Bible Reading

Psalm 91
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 he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. You will only look with your eyes and see the recompense of the wicked. Because you have made the LORD your dwelling place— the Most High, who is my refuge— no evil shall be allowed to befall you, no plague come near your tent. For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways. On their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone. You will tread on the lion and the adder; the young lion and the serpent you will trample underfoot. “Because he holds fast to me in love, I will deliver him; I will protect him, because he knows my name. When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him. With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation.” [36:57] [39:31] [40:12]

Ephesians 2:4-5
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— [57:09]

Genesis 50:20
As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. [57:35]

Matthew 19:26
But Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” [57:47]

Genesis 1:1
In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. [41:44] [41:48]

Observation questions

1. In Psalm 91, what pictures are used to describe God’s protection and care—such as shelter, shadow, refuge, fortress, wings, shield, and angels?
2. What does God promise to do for the person who calls on Him in the closing verses of Psalm 91? [38:46]
3. According to Ephesians 2:4-5, what was people’s condition before God acted, and what did God do because of His mercy and love? [57:09]
4. In Genesis 50:20, what was the difference between what Joseph’s brothers intended and what God intended?

Interpretation questions

1. Psalm 91 calls God “refuge” and “fortress,” yet it also says, “I will be with him in trouble.” How does this shape a believer’s understanding of God’s protection when trouble does not disappear right away? [59:18]
2. Ephesians 2 says people were dead in sin, “but God” made them alive with Christ. Why is salvation the deepest example of God stepping into a situation people could not fix themselves? [57:09]
3. Joseph did not call his brothers’ evil actions good; he said God meant their evil for good. How can believers hold both truths together when they have been hurt by someone else?
4. Jesus says that what is impossible with people is possible with God. What kinds of situations may feel impossible to a person, while still being fully in God’s hands? [57:47]

Application questions

1. What trouble, fear, need, or broken place in life most needs to be brought to God as a refuge this week? What would it look like to “dwell” with Him instead of carrying it alone? [40:13]
2. God’s names show that He is Creator, Provider, Healer, Peace, Shepherd, and the God who is there. Which of these truths about God is most needed right now, and why? [46:30]
3. It is easy to try to take control and tell God how everything must work out. Where might there be a temptation to take God’s place in a situation rather than trust Him with it? [51:26]
4. Think of a time when life could have gone very differently, but God sustained, provided for, forgave, protected, or restored. How can that memory become real thanksgiving rather than just a memory? [01:04:08]
5. Is there a “but God” sentence that needs to be spoken over a present struggle—for example, “I am weak, but God strengthens me,” or “I am worried, but God comforts me”? What is the honest first half of that sentence, and what truth about God belongs after “but God”? [55:26]
6. Who in the group’s circle of family, friends, or neighbors may be facing sickness, loss, financial pressure, fear, or a broken relationship? How can the group come alongside that person with prayer, encouragement, and practical care? [01:05:49]