(Some of the content for these messages came from Your Promise of Protection – The Power of the 91st Psalm by Gloria Copeland.)
See if these Scriptures describe our world accurately:
Genesis 6:11-12 | AMPC (11) The earth was depraved and putrid in God’s sight, and the land was filled with violence (desecration, infringement, outrage, assault, and lust for power). (12) And God looked upon the world and saw how degenerate, debased, and vicious it was, for all humanity had corrupted their way upon the earth and lost their true direction.
God’s instructions to Noah were very simple:
Genesis 6:14 | AMPC (14) Make yourself an ark…
The ark was to provide Noah and his family deliverance from the events that were to come to pass in the earth and would keep them safe while the world was perishing around them.
God is saying the same thing to us today: Build an ark; not made of wood, but an ark made from the Word of God.
If you build God’s promises of protection and deliverance into your heart and life, you can live in this crazy world with all its danger and still feel secure. You don’t have to be frightened by the things happening around us because even in the worst of times, God has proven He has the wonderful ability to deliver His people from danger.
- These wonderful promises of protection and deliverance are not automatic.
They must be received by faith just as anything that we receive from God. We must hear the Word, build that Word into our hearts, and then receive it by faith, just like salvation.
In this series of messages, we are going to learn what the Word of God says about our protection and learn how to walk in those promises in our own lives and households.
God’s Promise of Protection
Psalms 91:1-16 | 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. (4) He shall cover you with His feathers, And under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. (5) You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, Nor of the arrow that flies by day, (6) Nor of the pestilence that walks in darkness, Nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. (7) A thousand may fall at your side, And ten thousand at your right hand; But it shall not come near you. (8) Only with your eyes shall you look, And see the reward of the wicked. (9) Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place, (10) No evil shall befall you, Nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; (11) For He shall give His angels charge over you, To keep you in all your ways. (12) In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone. (13) You shall tread upon the lion and the cobra, The young lion and the serpent you shall trample underfoot. (14) “Because he has set his love upon Me, therefore I will deliver him; I will set him on high, because he has known My name. (15) He shall call upon Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him. (16) With long life I will satisfy him, And show him My salvation.”
These promises of divine protection are conditional.
Once you know from God’s Word that divine protection belongs to you, there are conditions you must keep to activate that protection in your life.
Psalms 91:1 | NKJV (1) He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Dwell (HEB) – to sit down, to remain
Abide (HEB) – to stay permanently
This word “abide” does not mean we come and go. It means this is where we make our home. It is not a temporary situation.
Psalms 91:1 | AMPC (1) HE WHO dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall remain stable and fixed under the shadow of the Almighty [Whose power no foe can withstand].
It is possible for a believer to have a relationship with Jesus but not be an “abider”.
John 15:7 | NKJV (7) If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.
For us to be an “abider”, requires us to have a more than a casual relationship with Jesus and His Word.
The truth that is alive in your heart is the truth you act on every day. This does not happen from simply reading a Scripture once and going on. It comes from being skilled in the Word and from knowing the Word so well that it comes to your thinking in a crisis situation.
Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty is the result of spending so much time in the Word of God and His presence that His truth governs your actions without even a conscious thought.
Being an abider means you are consistent. You can’t afford to get into the Word for a while and then get bored and quit.
It is the Word of God that you act on today that makes the difference; not the Word you heard last year. It isn’t even what you know. IT’S WHAT YOU DO!!
For every moment you invest in the Word of God, hearing and doing it, you will get back a harvest of faith, health, and deliverance.
We have a choice in the matter!
Deuteronomy 30:19 | NKJV (19) I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live;
God has given us the ability to make choices for our lives and the choices we make determine the kind of life we live.
If you choose to live like the world, your outcome is going to be like that of the world.
You might be going to heaven when you die but you are experiencing hell here on earth.
Proverbs 1:33 | TPT (33) But the one who always listens to me will live undisturbed in a heavenly peace. Free from fear, confident and courageous, you will rest unafraid and sheltered from the storms of life.
Thank God, we’re living in the day of grace and mercy and it’s never too late to call up on the Lord!
If you haven’t been abiding in Him and His Word, and have been living every day by the world’s standards, then simply repent and allow God’s forgiveness and the Blood of Jesus make you right and position you to abide in Him.
Revelation 3:19-22 | TPT (19) All those I dearly love I unmask and train. So repent and be eager to pursue what is right. (20) Behold, I’m standing at the door, knocking. If your heart is open to hear my voice and you open the door within, I will come in to you and feast with you, and you will feast with me. (21) And to the one who conquers I will give the privilege of sitting with me on my throne, just as I conquered and sat down with my Father on his throne. (22) The one whose heart is open let him listen carefully to what the Spirit is saying now to the churches.