Psalm 91 Part 5 of 7: Angels Watching Over Us

Psalms 91:9-12

"Because you have made the LORD, who is my refuge, Even the Most High, your dwelling place,
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. In their hands they shall bear you up, Lest you dash your foot against a stone."

ANGELS.  He will give His angels charge over us!!  What wonderful comfort, especially in light of what you read in part 4.  

Follow the link below in case you missed it:  

http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2015/05/psalm-91-part-4-fear-not.html?m=1

According to Hebrews 1:14, Paul says of them (the angels), "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister FOR those who will inherit salvation?"

Notice it says they are sent to minister "FOR" those who will inherit salvation not "TO" us, meaning believers. "What's the difference?" you ask.
Working FOR us means they are at our command when we confess God's word. 

For instance, when we recite Psalm 91 out loud, the angels hear it and spring into action on our behalf.  That's a very important component:  SPEAKING OUT LOUD.  Just like the devil, a fallen angel, cannot read your mind, so the good angel also cannot read your mind.  They only respond to God's SPOKEN WORD. 

How many angels are we talking about here?  Jesus Himself actually spilled the beans, so to speak. 

Remember when the temple guards came to arrest Jesus in the garden?  The ever impetuous Peter grabbed a sword and cut off the ear of the high priest's servant.  (He was probably aiming for his neck).  Jesus stopped him, restored the man's ear and said in Matthew 26:52-53 “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.  Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than TWELVE LEGIONS OF ANGELS?"

12 legions!!?  That's 72,000 angels, folks!  

...and we can do likewise.  

"Legions of angels" will come to work "FOR" us lest we dash our foot against a stone WHEN WE CONFESS GOD'S WORD.  Each and every believer has legions of angels serving them.  

Just let that sink in for a while......Wow!  Don't you feel safer already!?

In the dwelling place of Elyon, "the Most High," under the Shadow of Shaddai, the "Almighty One," is complete safety.  Part one of this series brings that out.  

Here again we see more of just how protected we are.  "There shall NO EVIL BEFALL YOU NOR SHALL ANY PLAGUE COME NEAR YOUR DWELLING." 

This is referring to open pestilences: 

Ebola

S.A.R.S.

A.I.D.S.

T.B on the rise.

Legionnaires disease, just to name a few. 

Incurable diseases are abroad and abound in our day; even some older ones once eradicated in the West have reared their ugly heads again.

Perhaps you ate something harmful unawares but you prayed over your food, sanctifying it in Jesus' Name.  Good practice in these last days!  Praying over your food is not a futile exercise today; IT'S ESSENTIAL. We're not playing around here.  We are consciously activating our covenant with our God to protect us.

The word for plague in Hebrew here is "néga," which means "affliction, infection, mark, plague, stripes, stroke or wounds."  

This same word for plague is used for stricken in Isaiah 53:8:  

"He {Jesus} was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was STRICKEN."

Because Jesus was "stricken" in place of His covenant people...US...we don't have to be "néga--stricken."  Our protection, deliverance, healing and safety was FULLY PAID FOR in the body of our Savior, JESUS!

It is SO AWESOME that our God actually gives His angels charge over us!  All our steps are guarded and guided lest we dash our foot against a stone in our walk as Christians.  

Now that doesn't mean we take unnecessary risks or chances to test God.  But as we WALK out our life WE NEED NOT FEAR.

Remember when the devil took Jesus up to the highest pinnacle of the temple and dared Him to jump off?  He used...well actually, he misquoted and misused...a part of this very Psalm to try and entice Jesus to take the leap, saying that the angels would "bear Him up..." 

Why did he MISquote this particular Psalm?  Probably because it has been the one most quoted by God's people. 

But Jesus defeated him every time with the words, "IT IS WRITTEN."  This time He said, "You shall not put God to a foolish test."

WHAT??!  This is Jesus we're talking about here!  The Beloved Son of Almighty God!  

Do you think that if He jumped off that pinnacle that His Father wouldn't come to His Son's rescue?  I'm sure He could have jumped off that pinnacle and not been hurt anyway.  After all, He walked on water later on, right? 

So why didn't He jump?

First of all, Jesus is secure in Who He is:  God's beloved Son.  He has nothing to prove.  Secondly, the reference to angels keeping Him from dashing His fool against a stone is referring to "walking" the Christian life not taking foolish risks, like jumping off the temple or flirting with danger.  As we "walk" along His Angels keep us safe.  God’s 24/7/365 protection has us covered!

Accidents, terror attacks, unforseen disasters, wild weather, you name it!  Our God protects us from them AS ONLY HE CAN.  

Good thing because no matter how carefully you plan, how smart you are or how many degrees you have, you cannot know when or where the dangers in the road ahead will occur.

Bur our Daddy knows......and He has His Angels watchin' over us!

Psalm 91 Part 2 of 7: I Will "SAY" Of The Lord

Psalm 91:2

I will SAY of the LORD, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” 

If there were ever a time in history when we need a sure refuge and a secure fortress, it is now.  The world is spiraling further and further down into darkness and chaos.  God's protection isn't some luxury or an nice option;  IT'S A NECESSITY!

"I will SAY of the LORD..."  David writes.  "Saying" is the essence of prayer.  He is my refuge because I "SAY" He is my refuge.  Every day, in every situation, we need to "SAY," to speak it out loud, "He is my refuge and my fortress." 

According to the terms of our lease of the earth given to Adam in the garden, GOD’S ’s PROTECTION ISN'T AUTOMATIC and it's ONLY AVALIABLE TO BELIEVERS.  But even we must ask.  God cannot be Sovereign over our lives unless we allow Him to be Sovereign. 

Those outside of Christ, however, HAVE NO PROTECTION FROM THE DEVIL WHATSOEVER.  He can pick their number out of the hat any time he pleases.  I don't think people of the world or even most Christians understand this.

(For more on this subject please follow this link:  http://emmausrevelations.blogspot.com/2015/01/why-we-pray.html)

Once upon a time God was sovereign over this world. When He was FULLY in charge...fully being the operative word...everything was perfect.  There were no hospitals because no one was sick.  There was no need for weapons because there were no wars.  There was perfect peace, perfect provision.

Then God handed the keys over to man.  It was only a temporary lease, you understand: 6 "days," meaning 6,000 years.  (See 2 Peter 3:8)

Good thing!  

Nevertheless, once given, God will not take back the keys until the appointed time. 

When Jesus returns to earth in His second coming, ownership will revert back to Him. He will once again be Sovereign over the whole world, ruling it with righteousness and truth!  HALLELUJAH!  What a day that will be!

Man rather briefly had the keys but, as you know, in the garden he committed high treason.  He bowed his knee to an outlaw spirit, satan, and in essence handed the keys over to him.  The rest is our very sad history.

Because it was a man who forfeited the keys, it must legally be another Man to get them back.  That's why Jesus had to become man:  So He could buy them back.

Until He returns, however, because of the terms of our lease, God has to find a way to intervene in the affairs of man LEGALLY.  He cannot just jump in and help whenever He wants, as much as He would like to; and He wants to more than we can possibly imagine.  He must find people who agree to covenant with Him; to agree that, yes, they need Him to reign over their affairs. 

ONLY THOSE IN COVENANT RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD CAN ASK FOR AND RECEIVE HIS PROTECTION.  

The key word here is "ASK," which means "pray."  Prayer activities our covenant with Him. 

Think About it:  If God was really in complete control do you really believe there would be all this trouble on the earth?  Wars, familne, poverty, killing, stealing, precious little children dying before their time?  

I DON'T THINK SO!  

Prayer, contrary to popular opinion, is a covenant transaction. It is a person in covenant with God ASKING Him to take charge of him or her and their situation. Prayer is what activates that covenant.  So you see, it isn't some pointless exercise by the weak-minded.  FAR FROM IT.

Every day as you step outside of your door, ASK the Lord to be your refuge and that of your family.  Don't take for granted that it's gonna be a normal day because you never know.
He is our refuge, like a bunker, for you and your family to hide in; your fortress, like Masada.  Pretty secure!

(View from top of Masada courtesy Will Metcalf.)

 

Only God can put you in the right place at the right time or keep you from the wrong place at the wrong time. Only He knows where the pot holes and the land mines are.  He knows what lies ahead on your road each day.

What we "SAY" affects what we "RECEIVE" from God.  What we "BELIEVE" about God affects what we "SAY."  

So be very careful what words you speak.  Don't be like some Christians who say things like, "God sometimes gives me troubles and sicknesses to teach me a lesson."  

Church, TROUBLE AND SICKNESSES ARE NOT FROM OUR FATHER.  He always turns our situations around to our benefit, see Romans 8:28.  He is a Good Daddy!

Would you, as a good parent, make your little child lay down in your driveway and run over their legs to teach them not to play in the street?  

I CERTAINLY HOPE NOT!  

Do you like seeing them sick or hungry?

OF COURSE NOT! 

 

Yet we accuse God of doing exactly that: of allowing accidents and sicknesses to teach us a lesson.

AS IF!!! 

How horrible is that thought?   Are we better than God that we wouldn't want our kids hurt or sick but He would?  

Another big fat lie from you-know-who. 

The Bible says, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how MUCH MORE will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!"  (Matthew 7:11 NKJV)

"SAY" of the Lord every day, "He is my refuge and my fortress.  My God; in Him will I trust."  

When you speak out God's word it activates His angels, who work for us by the way.  They respond to God's SPOKEN WORD.

SAYING God’s word instead of your own throws the devil off guard.  He cannot read your mind, nor can God's angels.  The only way the devil knows he's got you is by WHAT COMES OUT OF YOUR MOUTH! 

"SAY" of the Lord "He is my refuge," often.  

See Him as your salvation.  

Invite Him into every area of your life. 

You will have what you say, so be very careful what you "SAY" of the Lord.