"Walking in the power and protection of the 91 psalm"

As I mentioned in my previous blog I would like to share about psalm 91, as I believe that this psalm provides us with some wonderful revelation on how to live in the protection and shelter of God as we walk through life.
Insecurity is without a doubt on the rise in our modern society and we know that if Jesus called His generation wicked and corrupt, how much more is ours. So these are dangerous and tempestuous times in this world but it is important for us as believers to know that we can permanently abide in a place of Divine protection and Peace.
Too many believers simply do not walk in their spiritual inheritance in this life partly because of wrong teaching that is rife with unbelief, that rolls most of our spiritual inheritance over onto the life to come in heaven.
I have discovered that you will face the ire of some people when you teach from God's word in such a way that the responsibility for receiving from God is placed in our hands, but those same individuals will almost never object to teaching in such a way that everything is laid upon God and His sovereignty. For example some believers will say "Well, I believe that God will protect me if it is His will to do so. However if it is His Will for me to die in some tragic accident and go to be with Him, then there is nothing that I can do." But we cannot afford to have this kind of ambiguity if we are going to receive the blessing of walking in the protection of psalm 91. We cannot say "yes I believe that The Lord is my refuge and my fortress, that if I make Him my refuge and habitation then no evil will befall me or plague or disaster come near my dwelling", and then express doubts about whether we have a right to divine protection in our lives always and at all times. For the bible calls that double mindedness.

Of course we have all known of individuals who loved God and died in tragic circumstances, but too often we have read this psalm through the filter of that consciousness and do not not take every word of the promises it contains as true and absolutely "bankable" to all who believe. We are tainted as it were by our unbelief, which hides under the guise of "realism"
So why we may ask do some Christians die young or in tragic circumstances?
I will endeavour in this blog to give you my conviction of what is required of anyone in order to apprehend and walk in the manifestation of these promises, however I certainly would not purport to hold all the answers. The Word of God says that "the secret things belong to the Lord our God but the things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever." There are without doubt those occasions when we would have to place a particular event into the category of a secret thing, not to God but to man.
We may not know until we get to heaven why a certain thing happened. However the things that are revealed do belong to us and to our children. That includes all that God has revealed to us in His exceedingly great and precious promises, which are to be established as yes and as amen in our life's testimony to bring great Glory to God.
There is a great emphasis that the Word of God places upon our faith in believing His Word in order for those promises to be effectual and activated in our lives .
Some sincere Christians sincerely believe that all of the promises of God will sort of automatically fall on their heads rather like ripe apples falling in season off an apple tree into a basket. I believe that the testimony of Gods word would mitigate against this being so.
So having said that by way of an introduction let me share with you some of these exceedingly great and precious promises, from psalm 91.

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High (El Elyon in hebrew) shall abide or restfully remain under the shadow of the Almighty (El Shaddai in hebrew)

I will say of the Lord "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God in whom I will trust.

v4 He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge or actively trust.
v9 Because you have made the Lord who is my refuge, Even the Most High your habitation, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;

For he shall give his angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways.
They shall lift you up in their hands lest you dash your foot against a stone.

Notice that the first thing that the psalmist mentions concerning his responsibility is that "I will say of the Lord He is my refuge and my fortress; my God in whom I trust "
He does not say "I will think about the Lord, He is my refuge and fortress", or "I believe about the Lord, but " I will say". What we say about Gods word is so vitally important in it bearing fruit in our lives.
In the new testament Paul expounds upon just how important this principle is concerning our salvation. In Romans Ch 10v6 it says "But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, Do not say in your heart."Who will ascend into heaven?"(that is to bring Christ down from above) or, "Who will descend into the abyss"? (that is to bring Christ up from the dead)
But what does it say? "the Word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart (that is the word of faith which we preach or speak), that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
In our coming to Christ we had to both believe something and say something with our confession as well. Notice the order in v 8: it needs to be in our mouths before it gets into our hearts. Notice also that this is called the "word of faith" v8 or "the righteousness of faith" v6 which we speak.
Paul is contrasting the Pharisaical righteousness which is based upon what they do or fail to do, and this righteousness ,which is by faith in Christ Jesus.
In other words what he is clearly establishing here is that this is to be a lifestyle for the believer; one that we began at the first in our salvation and continues throughout this life. And it is that of putting the Word of God in our mouths and keeping it in our hearts and this he describes as the righteousness of faith.
In the parable of the sower it is precisely the same principle; that of being those determined to let Gods word become rooted and established in us.
If we consider Abraham, who is one of the greatest examples of this righteousness of faith for us to follow, what God accomplished in both his life and that of Sarah's was not independent of his faith to believe.
Rom 5 17 says "I have made you a father of many nations in the presence of him whom he believed, even God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things that do not exist as though they did,
who contrary to hope,in hope believed,so that he became....."

v20 He did not waver at the promise of God through unbelief,but was strengthened in faith, giving glory to God. and being fully persuaded that what he had promised he was also able to perform.

God's power to quicken Abraham's body and Sarah's womb came after a process where Abraham's faith was perfected and became strong and unwavering. There is a little phrase here that is of massive importance and it is" fully persuaded". Abraham was fully persuaded. The word of promise had become so rooted and grounded down in his heart that he was completely and totally convinced that it was coming to pass.
Many Christians are not fully persuaded when it comes to the promise of God, for it takes putting it in our mouths and in our hearts and in our hearts and in our mouths over and over again, until we believe the promise and an inward knowing and conviction begins to form on the inside of us where we know that we know that we know that this promise is sure and certain to us who believe.When that conviction drops down like an anvil in our hearts nothing is going to dissuade us or take it out.
That is why Abraham could willingly contemplate sacrificing Isaac and burning him to a crisp as a burnt offering , because the bible tells us He believed that God was able to raise him from the dead.
What even from a pile of ashes? Yes absolutely, and that conviction went down so deep that as incredulous as it may seem to some who consider this, He knew that God would do anything that He needed to to fulfill His promise through Issac.
How often have we been robbed of becoming likewise fully persuaded of a promise from God because we don't stay long enough with that promise continuing to believe it and say it and consider it, until faith blossoms in our hearts?
In psalm 91 this principle applies. If we read it bringing to bear upon it our doubt or scepticism because of this or that situation we know about or have heard about then it will be of little value to us. Remember that for every story of someone who did not receive deliverance from danger there is an equal testimony of someone who did.
We must root out our unbelief and determine that these promises of God are going to powerfully work in us who do believe.(1 thess2 :13)
I know of a pastor of a large church in America whose wife is a woman dedicated to prayer, and is experienced in listening to the leading and promptings of the Holy Spirit. Once when her husband was returning from a ministry trip, the plane that he was travelling on got into some difficulties, and as a result lost power in one of the engines . At the time that this was happening his wife ,who knew nothing of this ,was praying in the spirit and had an urgent burden to pray for her husband's deliverance from danger. She stood upon the promises of psalm 91 and as the plane was forced to make a crash landing, though many were injured her husband emerged from that ordeal without a scratch or a bruise.
John G lake the great apostle to south Africa was travelling by car one day when the Holy Spirit spoke to his spirit saying "pull the car over right now ". This command was repeated and when he obeyed, it was but seconds before a large lorry came hurtling around the corner on the wrong side of the road,with a complete brake failure. Had he not obeyed he would have faced a head on collision causing certain death to himself and the other driver. Lake was walking in the protection of psalm 91 and repeatedly received miraculous deliverance from danger because he also was listening to God and obedient to his voice. It was his faith and obedience that activated the power of God's provision, and so it is in the lives if all of Gods children.
Every day I say of the Lord that He is the refuge and the fortress over my family, and recount psalm 91 in His presence. I determine to establish this authority over my life and that of my family, knowing that Jesus is called the faithful high priest over my confession to watch over His word to perform it.
This is not a mere ritual or a trivial thing with me, I am in serious earnest concerning these things and we have seen situations turned around because Jan and I stood our ground on this psalm and refused to let go.
One last point that is important to consider is the importance of our love walk in connection with knowing God's Divine protection over our lives. "Because he has set his love upon me therefore I will deliver him. v 14"
We have set our love upon the Lord because as born again believers God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, and as we walk in that love towards God and in God's love towards others we are keeping ourselves walking in an environment that gives no place for the devil.
There is something about the entering in of strife or unforgiveness that short circuits our faith and provides opportunity for the devil to take an advantage over us.
Remember how Paul was careful to fully forgive any in the sight of God in 2 cor 2 v10 and then expresses the reason for this diligence in v11: lest Satan should take advantage of us for we are not ignorant of his devices.
Similarly in 1 john 5 18 we read that "We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him"
How do we keep ourselves? By abiding and walking in His love.
I would like to end this blog by quoting certain promises from this psalm, which when spoken upon the lips of believers continually bring great peace and rest to the heart.

I will say of the Lord "He is my refuge and my fortress; My God,in him I will trust"

He shall cover you with his feathers And under his wings you shall take refuge;

His truth or faithfulness shall be your shield and your buckler"

Because you have made the Lord your refuge, Even the most high your habitation, No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling"

With long life shall He satisfy you, and show to you His salvation"

Next time you are boarding a plane or embarking upon a journey ,or on the next occasion that you stand praying for your family members pray the words of psalm 91 over your life and their lives, and meditate upon this psalm sufficiently until you are fully persuaded that what the Lord has promised He is also able to perform.