Your Safe Places

Jer. 32:36-43

Your Safe Places - Podcast

The passage we read speaks to both a time in Israel’s past, as well as her future...
The past has to do with her Babylonian captivity...  The future with her ultimate restoration to the LORD.
v. 36
Now the reason that Jeremiah said that Jerusalem was going to be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon, was because the Lord told him that it was.➔  v. 28
Then in the verses following, the Lord tells Jeremiah why Jerusalem was going to be delivered...  It was because of their evil, their sins, and their worshiping of other gods.
As we get past that to v. 36 & 37 we see that at the same time the Lord is preparing to send judgment, He is looking beyond Israel’s period of chastisement to her restoration.
And while Israel historically returned from Babylon after 70 years of captivity, she has not yet entered into that everlasting covenant that is mentioned after those verses.  Let’s read a bit of the passage, with that in mind➔

Jer. 32:36-41

That hasn’t happened yet... Israel departed from the Lord again after returning from Babylon.
And, they are not yet planted in Jerusalem assuredly...  Not by any stretch of the imagination in today’s Middle East social, political & religious climate...   But one day she will be!
Now it won’t be tomorrow or the next day, for it will be after the tribula-tion, “the time of Jacob's trouble;” that was mentioned in Jer. 30:7...
But it will come.
And in that day, the Lord said, at the end of Jer. 32:37➔  I will bring them again unto this place, and I will cause them to dwell safely:
In that day, Jerusalem will be the Jews’ safe place...
Safe place is a term that has become popularly used in recent times.
It is used to refer to a place of refuge, where people can find shelter from their storms of life.  A place where they will be free from the things and the people that might harm them...  Today I’m going to speak to you about Your Safe Places.
To further understand the nature of a safe place, consider Israel’s future, planted safely in Jerusalem.  Further description of that time is given in Is. 65➔
Is. 65:18-25
Now that’s a safe place!
And while neither Israel nor we are there yet...  The Lord has spiritual safe places available now to anyone who will avail themselves of them.
There are spiritual places of refuge where we can flee and be safe from all harm. 
Those are the safe places to which I will be referring in today’s message.
Places where you feel & know & experience that➔ The blessing of the LORD, it maketh rich, and he addeth no sorrow with it.               Prov. 10:22

Places where you sense the LORD... (being) a wall of fire round about (you).

The first safe place I’m going to talk about, is a place that I know by experience to be such a safe place... A place available not only to me, but to you as well, and that is, the safe place of...

1. Your Bible Reading

Now you can relax, because this is not a point to take you to task about your Bible reading failures...
This is a point to savor one of the great benefits of Bible reading, and that is the safety, comfort & peace of your Bible reading time.
I think about this often...
I relish this often...
I rejoice in this often... 
When I am reading my Bible, I just feel safe!
No matter where I’m at reading it.  Whether it’s...
*At home in my desk chair...
*Or on the couch in the living room...
*Or on the glider in the family room...
*Or up on my bed...
*Or in my office at church...
*Or in the passenger’s seat of a vehicle...
*Or on a plane...
*Or in the waiting room of the Barber Shop...
*Doctor’s office...
*Or hospital...
*Or when I was in the bleachers of one of my kid’s baseball games...
*Or any place else...
Wherever I am, when I’m reading my Bible, it is my safe place.
I love it!
Whatever circumstances of life I find myself in, I find refuge and safety in my Bible reading...
*In good times & in bad...
*When I’m happy or when I’m sad...
*In sickness & in health...
*In poverty or in wealth...
*In peace or in the midst of spiritual warfare...
*Enjoying the love of friends & loved ones, or being persecuted by an 
  enemy...
*In any and all circumstances of life, the Bible is my safe place...
You say  Why would you need a safe place when things are going well? 
*To keep me from messing them up!
*Or to keep me steady if the circumstances change for the worst...
Some folks do well spiritually in good times, but then when things fall apart, so do they. 
That’s why you need to continue to visit your safe place of Bible reading when things are going well…  Because the weather can change at any time!
And then when things are falling apart, and the fiery darts are flying, remember  There is a safe place that awaits...  A place where you can get with God, hunker down, open your Bible and just read...
Read & soak it in... Safe from all life’s trouble & trials & tribulations.
*There the sun is always shining, There there’s nought can harm thee;
  There you’re safe forever - in Beulah Land!
Even in great sickness the Bible is your safe place
Additionally in sickness, you can benefit from the fact that the words of God➔ are life unto those that find them, and health to all their flesh.   They are➔ sweet to the soul, and health to the bones.
   Prov. 4:22 & 16:24
The Bible is Strength for today & hope for tomorrow,
Light for your way & comfort in sorrow.
Peace in the storm & wisdom for life;
In cold it will warm.  It’s protection in strife.
So flee to its shelter, and hide in its pages,
Secure in its safety, though hell ‘round you rages.
Ohhh listen friends...  The world has gone crazy out there, but you don’t have to go crazy with it!  And if you do, it’s your own fault
Because you can, if only you will, bury yourself in the Bible as long as you need, until you are compassed about with songs of deliverance! 
Ps. 32:7➔ Thou art my hiding place; thou shalt preserve me from trouble; thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance. Selah.
Far below the storm of doubt upon the world is beating,
Sons of men in battle long the enemy withstand;
Safe am I within the castle of God’s word retreating,
Nothing then can reach me, ’tis Beulah Land.
The Bible is your safe place...  Visit it often.

The second safe place we will consider pairs well with the first.  It is...

2. Your Prayers

Once again, please relax...  This is not a point to beat you up over your lack of prayer...
It is rather a point in which we will relish the sweetness of tarrying in prayer, and abiding safely at the throne of grace.
Prov. 18:10 says➔ The name of the LORD is a strong tower: the righteous runneth into it, and is safe.
Six times, Jesus talked about us asking for things in His name.  For example, in John 16:23-24, He said➔
{23} And in that day ye shall ask me nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it you.
{24} Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
When we petition the throne of grace in Jesus’ name, it’s like running into the safety of that strong tower of Prov. 18:10.
If you’re following along in your Bible, turn to Psalm 91... 
And before I read you some things from Ps. 91, do you remember what Jesus said about prayer in Matt. 6:6? 
He said➔  But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
Although we can & should pray always & everywhere Praying without ceasing...  We should also come apart and have seasons of prayer in secret.
Thus Jesus instructs us in Matt. 6:6 to get with God in a secret place, and pray... 
With that in mind, listen to what the Lord tells us in Ps. 91:1➔
Ps. 91:1  He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
You can access that secret place, at the throne of grace, as you go to God in prayer, and pray to your Heavenly Father in secret...
Would you agree that abiding under the shadow of the Almighty is the safest place to be in the universe?
What could be safer?!?!?!➔
Ps. 91:1-7  He that dwelleth 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 will I trust.
{3} Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
{4} He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.
{5} Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
{6} Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
{7} A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.

There the sun is always shining, There there’s nought can harm thee;
There you’re safe forever in Beulah Land!

Ps. 91:9-12 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
{10} There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
{11} For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.
{12} They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.

Ohh, what sweetness, ohh what security, ohh what serenity, ohh what safety we can find at the throne of grace, under the shelter of His wings!
When the world’s against you  You can find safety there...
When your friends are against you  You can find safety there...
When an enemy is against you  You can find safety there...
When the devil rises up against you  You can find safety there...
When your flesh rises against you  You can find safety there...  In the safe place of prayer.

Ps. 31:19-20  Oh how great is thy goodness, which thou hast laid up for them that fear thee; which thou hast wrought for them that trust in thee before the sons of men!
{20} Thou shalt hide them in the secret of thy presence from the pride of man: thou shalt keep them secretly in a pavilion from the strife of tongues.   

Safe… at the throne of grace ...in the secret of (His) presence...

There is an old hymn called The Secret of His Presence…
The words of this hymn were written by Ellen Goreh, a high-caste na­tive of In­dia who converted to Christ­i­an­i­ty.  After her conversion it is said, she spent some years in the home of an Eng­lish cler­gy­man, and wrote the po­em there. It was published in a book of po­ems of which she authored.
The poem was put to music by George Steb­bins and first sung in a church in Brook­lyn, NY.  However, it had its larg­er in­tro­duct­ion to the pub­lic dur­ing the All-Winter Mis­sion con­duct­ed by D.L. Moo­dy and Ira Sankey in Lon­don in the win­ter of 1883-84, where Sankey sang it fre­quent­ly, as did Mr. Steb­bins, who spent sev­er­al months as­sist­ing in that mis­sion.
The hymn at once came in­to gen­er­al fa­vor, and the deep­ly spir­i­tu­al tone of the words brought bless­ing to ma­ny.
George Steb­bins and his wife spent the win­ter of 1890-91 in In­dia. While there, they visited the ci­ty of Al­la­ha­bad, the home of Miss Go­reh, the hymn’s author.  Mr. Steb­bins sought her out and made her ac­quaint­ance.
Ira Sankey said of that meeting
He found her en­gaged in mis­sion work among the wo­men of In­dia, a mo­dest, de­vot­ed Christ­ian, held in high es­teem by mis­sion­ar­ies of all de­nom­in­a­tions and by all who knew her. Thus the two sing­ers whose names had be­come as­so­ci­at­ed in Christ­ian song met each other—one from the far East, and one from be­yond far West­ern seas—both in­spired by the same Lord, in the sec­ret of whose pre­sence they long since came to abide.

Here are the words of that hymn

In the secret of His presence how my soul delights to hide!
Oh, how precious are the lessons which I learn at Jesus’ side!
Earthly cares can never vex me, neither trials lay me low;
For when Satan comes to tempt me, to the secret place I go,
To the secret place I go.

When my soul is faint and thirsty, ’neath the shadow of His wing
There is cool and pleasant shelter, and a fresh and crystal spring;
And my Savior rests beside me, as we hold communion sweet:
If I tried, I could not utter what He says when thus we meet,
What He says when thus we meet.

Only this I know: I tell Him all my doubts, my griefs and fears;
Oh, how patiently He listens! and my drooping soul He cheers:
Do you think He ne’er reproves me? What a false Friend He would be,
If He never, never told me of the sins which He must see,
Of the sins which He must see.

Would you like to know the sweetness of the secret of the Lord?
Go and hide beneath His shadow: this shall then be your reward;
And whene’er you leave the silence of that happy meeting place,
You must mind and bear the image of the Master in your face,
Of the Master in your face.

The secret of His presence can be found in The secret place of prayer...  And this is a safe place that is available to all who would come there in Jesus’ name.

Now I will speak of a third Safe Place...
A safe place that is often not recognized to be such by those who find themselves there...  For none of them go there by choice.
This is a place to which the Lord takes you when He deems it necessary...  I speak of the place of...

3. Chastisement

Who grabs their dad, and says, I need you to take me out to the woodshed and give me a whippin’?
Likewise, when we find ourselves under the chastening rod of God, we may have “asked for it” with our behavior...  But we did not request it.
And the obvious reason why we do not request it, is  as the Bible says, because➔ no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous...
Chastisement is not something we tend to enjoy, but rather endure...
Thus it is written, in Heb. 12:7➔  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
If chastisement has all this negativity surrounding it, why then would I suggest that it is a safe place for you...
If you are following along in your Bible, you are already in Ps. 91, now let’s look over at Ps. 94➔

Ps. 94:12  Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;

When God chastens you, He is trying to teach you something.  If God is trying to teach you something, then it is something you need to know.
If the vehicle through which you must learn it is chastisement, then so be it!

Moreover, Ps. 94:12 informs us that the one who is chastened by the Lord is blessed.
Job 5:17 adds➔  Behold, happy is the man whom God correcteth: therefore despise not thou the chastening of the Almighty:
All of this is well & good, but still, why would I call your place of chastisement a safe place?➔
Ps. 94:12-13  Blessed is the man whom thou chastenest, O LORD, and teachest him out of thy law;
{13} That thou mayest give him rest from the days of adversity, until the pit be digged for the wicked.
Verse 13 contrasts adversity with rest...
Adversity is a treacherous & troublesome place...  Rest is a safe place.
And while we tend to think of our days of chastening as days of adversity, they are actually days that bring us rest.
*Illus. - Street hockey on the outdoor fenced in basketball court at
  UWF.

The place of chastening is a safe place, because it calls us away from our self-destructive ways...  The Lord takes us away from our sins, to visit the woodshed of corrective chastisement.
Any time spent in sin, is dangerous...  It’s like walking on thin ice that might give way at any moment, endangering you of being swallowed up by the near freezing waters below.

The place of chastisement is a safe place because it is a place where God is not trying to harm you, but help you.  Listen now to the entirety of a verse that I only partially quoted before.➔

Heb. 12:11  Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby.

This is God’s method to what we might perceive as the madness of His chastening us...  His goal is to allow➔ the peaceable fruit of right-eousness to grow in your life.

Notice also v. 9-10  Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live? {10} For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness.

That is more of the method to the madness of our chastening...

The place of your chastening is also a safe place, because it assures you of God’s love for you.➔
Heb. 12:6  For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth.
The Lord’s chastisement is also a safe place, because it helps to assure you that you are a child of God...
Heb. 12:7-8  If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?
{8} But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons.
The place of chastisement is, for the child of God, a safe place  so long as he doth not resist it.  Because➔
He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.  (Prov. 29:1)
Dr. Ruckman used to say, that many a child learned that when they were getting a whippin’, the safest place they could be was to grab on to their father, and get as close to him as possible...
The theory being, that this would make it harder for him to get any leverage to really lay it on you.
*The application being that when we are being chastened by God, the   
  safest place for us to be, is as close to Him as possible... 
Not that the Lord couldn’t get any leverage there to really lay it on us!
But rather, He would see that His purpose was being accomplished by you getting close to Him, so there was no need to lay it on you harder.
Eccl. 10:4  If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences.

Ps. 103:9  He will not always chide: neither will he keep his anger for ever.

Ps. 103:13  Like as a father pitieth his children, so the LORD pitieth them that fear him.
All right, now...  Some of our safe places are more tenuous than others... 

That is, there are some places that should be safe places, but they are not always so.

In the right conditions they are a safe place...   But sometimes they are not in the right condition...
Just as Jerusalem should have been a safe place back in Jeremiah’s time but it was not, because of Israel’s sins...
In like manner, sin can cause the hedge of protection to be broken down around certain of our safe places, allowing danger to enter in.

One such place is...

4. Your Home

The home should be a safe place...  An unwavering safe place of refuge for all that dwell therein...

It should be a slice of heaven on earth...  A Christian home, should most certainly be that way.

A Christian home starts with a husband & wife who pledge themselves to each other before God, and commit to love & cherish each other in all of life’s possible circumstances so long as they both shall live.

And a couple who commits to that and follows through with it, finds that no matter what the world dishes out to them during the day, they can come home to a safe place of peace & love & harmony.

A child added into that mix, only enhances the attraction of the home.

And many a parent has testified, that no matter how bad things go at work, when they come home and are greeted by their little kids that are so excited to see them, all the rest of it melts away...  It is because there, they are in their safe place.

Children have found it that way too...  While they may be mistreated outside the home, at school or in the neighborhood, they can come back home to their safe place & be sheltered in the safety of a loving family.

But what happens when that safe place is no longer a safe place?
What happens when the adversary has taken up residence in the house?

*Woe to the parents that turn their children’s safe place into a house of
  horrors by the sin that they allow in.

*And woe to the spouses who make their homes more of a hell on
  earth than a heaven on earth!

When the prodigal came to himself and returned home, the Bible says in Luke 15:27, that his father➔ received him safe and sound.

When he was out in the far country, feeding the swine➔ And he would fain have filled his belly with the husks that the swine did eat...  The prodigal son remembered his safe place and determined to try to make his way back there...

And he did...  And when he got there, he found it just like he left it! 

*And it was a credit to his father, that it was still a safe place.

Moms & Dads, Husbands & Wives, let’s keep our homes safe places... 
Safe for our children, and safe for our spouses...  Physically, mentally, and spiritually...

Let me also mention another place that should be a safe place, but may not always be so...  And that is➔

5. Church

A church should be a place of spiritual refuge & safety for all that attend.

Unfortunately it is not always so.  Sometimes the place where a person comes to find the Lord, they instead find the devil in some wolf there, in sheep’s clothing.

Sometimes it is because they are in the wrong type of church, and getting fed the wrong doctrine.

Then, sometimes in both doctrinally sound churches as well as doctrinally corrupt churches, the church fails to be a safe place because of immoral behavior from the pastor, staff, or some church member. 

*Woe be to the pastors, staff members, or church members who
  corrupt someone who came to their church to seek a closer walk with
  the Lord!

Jesus said➔ whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.


If you are going to practice such immorality then get out of the church...  And don’t go back until you’ve got the victory.

A child should not have to worry about being taken advantage of and being defiled by someone in the church!  Nor should an adult…


And by the way, this happens in other organizations as well, which ought to be a safe place for a child...  It’s happened in schools, the Boy Scouts, organized youth sports, etc., etc., etc.

*Woe be to the predators who prey on innocent children!  You will
  answer to God!  And you may well wind up in prison before that,
  for➔ be sure your sin will find you out.

And sometimes the sanctuary of a church is not a place of sanctuary at all, not because of immorality, per se, but because of unkindness...

A church can fail to be a safe place when the brethren fail to dwell together in unity.

Eph. 4:1-3  I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
{2} With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;
{3} Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

When people will not endeavour to keep that unity, strife can enter in.

And James said➔  where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.

And Paul said➔  God is not the author of confusion, but of peace, as in all churches of the saints.

So let there be peace in the church, and let it be a place of refuge for all that enter in!!!

Help guard the spirit of the church by guarding your spirit, both inside and outside the church.

Do your best to be like John the apostle, who said in Rev. 1:10➔ 

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day...

Let’s each do our part to see that our church is a Safe Place.


All right, a few more quick things and we’ll be done  First, the ulti-mate safe place is...

6. In Christ

You get in Christ by getting saved.

The instant you are saved the Holy Spirit baptizes you into the body of Christ and you are saved, safe, and eternally secure!

If you’ve never been saved, you can get that fixed it today, by repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

*Give the gospel...

So again, when you get saved, you are placed in Christ...  And in Him you are safe evermore... 

In Christ, you do not have to worry about losing your salvation.➔

John 10:27-29  My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
{28} And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.
{29} My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

In Christ is the safest place for your soul to be... 

If you’ve never been saved, why not get it settled today? 

And then...  If you are a born again, child of God living in this world, remember your safe place of...

7. Abiding in Christ

In John ch. 15 we are exhorted to abide in Christ... 

To abide in Christ is simply to stay close to the Lord and keep yourself in a right relationship with Him. 

Being what you are supposed to be...

Doing what you are supposed to do...

Growing like you are supposed to grow...

Loving Him like you are supposed to love Him...

Serving Him like you are supposed to serve Him...

Walking with Him & talking with Him, and following at His lead...

The benefits of properly abiding in Christ include

*Bringing forth much fruit...

*Bringing glory to God...

*And getting answers to prayer...

Another benefit is found in a lesson from an OT verse, where David, as a type of Christ, says to Abiathar the priest in I Sam. 22:23➔ 

Abide thou with me, fear not: for he that seeketh my life seeketh thy life: but with me thou shalt be in safeguard.

Each of these things applies to our relationship with the Lord...

A. If we abide in Him, we need not fear...

B. The same adversary that sought the Lord’s life, is seeking to devour ours...

C. But, as we abide in Him...  we shall be in safeguard!

And that is why abiding in Christ, being right with the Lord, is another one of your Safe Places...

Mary Ann Baker said it well in her hymn, Master the Tempest is raging

Whether the wrath of the storm tossed sea,
Or demons, or men, or whatever it be...
No water can swallow the ship where lies,
The Master of ocean and earth and skies!                 

So abide close to Jesus, keeping yourself right there under the shadow of the Almighty!

And while this world is going stark raving mad… 

Filled with Fear & Anxiety & Worry…  You can find refuge in one of your safe places…

And when your heart is overwhelmed within you… you can find refuge in the Rock that is higher than I!

And then finally, when you have to walk out in this world…   Like at the job, the store, school, etc…  God has given you a portable safe place that you can take with you And that is…

8. The Whole Armour of God!  

Time would fail me to expound it to you now, so I will say this and then be done.  From Eph. 6:13 & 16➔  Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day…  Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Do we not live in the evil day?!   Then don’t go out without your armour on!  

Keep that shield of faith up, and the fiery darts won’t be able to get to you... ‘Cause you will be

Living by faith in Jesus above, Trusting, confiding in His great love; From all harm safe in His sheltering arm, I’m living by faith and I feel no alarm.

So these are your safe places that are available to you...

8. The Whole Armour of God
7. Abiding in Christ
 6. In Christ 
5. Church
4. Your Home
3. Chastisement 
2. Your Prayers 
1. Your Bible Reading

So go to your safe places... and the ones that are in your power to choose... visit them again & again & again...  For Prov. 27:8 says➔ As a bird that wandereth from her nest, so is a man that wandereth from his place.