Live life with boldness under the protective wings of the Almighty when you know how much He loves you as Father God! This excerpt is from: Intimacy With The Father Brings Protection—Truths From Psalm 91 (27 Jul 2014)
This excerpt is brought to you by JosephPrince.com
I wanna tell you something about the sermon
series that I am doing now on Psalm 91.
We have done this before in 2003 and in 2003,
we had an incident.
In fact, not just a national incident but
an international incident where a disease
called SARS began to take so many lives.
The world that we live in today, if it is
not terror, there are plagues.
If it isn’t plagues, there is destruction
even in the air and the food we eat.
More than at any other time, we are in dire
need of divine protection.
And for us to acknowledge that, we need to
humble ourselves and say: “With all my smarts,
with all my degrees and qualifications, with
all the titles to my name, only God can put
me at the right place and the right time.
We read the entire Psalm 91 last week and
it is important and imperative that you are
aware of the promises in Psalm 91.
Remember this: Psalm 91 begins with the names
of God in the Old Testament.
“He who dwells in the secret place of the
Most High shall abide under the shadow of
the Almighty”.
We mentioned last week that the secret place
of the ‘Most High’ is ‘Elyon’.
Today we go further, alright, “I will say
of the Lord,” “the Lord” there is Yahweh.
We touched on Yahweh last week.
He is my refuge and my fortress.
My Elohim.
Alright, “My God” is “My Elohim”, “in Him
I will trust.”
I will trust.
“Batach” – “trust”.
Verse 3, “Surely He shall deliver you from
the snare of the fowler.”
Very interesting.
The snare of the fowler.
It is a picture of a bird trap, ok, and we
are likened like birds.
In fact, the analogy in the picture of birds,
are used often in this psalm of protection.
God says, “Surely, God will deliver you from
any trap the devil lays up for you.”
Can I have a good amen?
And that’s why, if something is attractive
by itself, you don’t need to—if something
is so beautiful, then you don’t need a trap.
You need a trap when you want someone to believe
that the thing that he wants is there but
try to distract him from the fact that he
would—this—this box will come crashing
on him, for the bird.
So, we have seen this God wanting to deliver
us from the perilous pestilence.
This pestilence here is open pestilence.
You will see this word “pestilence” here,
“perilous pestilence” which means open pestilence.
Like the Ebola, like the SARS.
Well, God SURELY will deliver you, He says.
Right?
So that—we are starting the—to see the
promises of God, of Psalms 91.
And here, the next promise, “He will cover
you with His feathers and under His wings
you shall take refuge.
His truth shall be your shield and buckler.”
Now we have a picture of God as an eagle which
many other scriptures talks about Him, as
an eagle.
Alright, He will cover you with His feathers
and under His wings you shall trust.
And when you start thinking about it, we must
use language of scripture.
If the Bible says that God wants to be an
eagle for protection, we ask ourselves, why?
Why an eagle, ok?
And the last line says, “His truth shall be
your shield and buckler.”
“Shield” is a large shield that covers your
front.
But “buckler” is a very interesting shield
that really don’t really you know, fit the
bill.
Because shield is a large shield like the
Romans would use in the front.
In fact, the first mention of that shield,
the front shield is in the story of David
and Goliath, where Goliath, when he went down
the valley of Elah, he had a man carrying
his shield.
That’s how big it was.
Nothing was told about the man after Goliath
died.
He must have fled.
That’s—that’s a front shield, a large shield.
But buckler, literally is a shield that goes
around.
It goes around the person.
Like in the ancient times, they have a fortress
or a fort.
You have walls that go around.
It is a protection all around.
So we have, we have Most High, Almighty Lord
and Elohim.
And the last verse of Psalms 91.
Here is something that God gave me many years
ago.
Never heard anyone preach this but I’m telling
you that people will stop there and they say
the names of God are in verse 1 and 2 but
I tell you, the Lord’s name in the last
verse.
“With long life I will satisfy him, and
show him my salvation.”
The entire Psalm ends with Jesus literally.
My Yeshua, in Hebrew.
So that, that is a name Yeshua.
Can you see that?
So the names of God are important.
We have Yeshua, the name of Jesus.
But don’t forget there’s one more name
that Jesus came to reveal.
And this is all-important.
In as much as you learn Psalms 91, all the
Old Testament Scripture, whatever it is, it
must be brought into the new covenant.
You say, “Pastor Prince I don’t know the
names of God as much.”
It’s alright, child of God.
There’s only one name you need to know – Father.
Father.
And that name denotes what?
Family.
The Bible says you cannot call God “father”
unless you have received the spirit of sonship.
When you say “father”, all fears go.
Now how does he say he who dwells in the secret
place of the Most High shall abide under the
shadow.
Come here, bro.
Stand down here.
Okay you are now under my shadow.
See just now you were not under my shadow.
You were under my sprinkling just now.
But now, but now you are under my shadow.
You see because you came close.
He came close.
Thank you.
Alright not only that.
In verse four.
“He shall cover you with His feathers.”
You know what they do with the, the, the chicken,
mother hen?
I told you a story in one of the, I forgot
sometimes which service I preached on this.
But uh it’s a true story of a farmer whose,
whose farm got burnt down.
And he wept and finally after the,
it was all in smouldering and some
smoke was still around, and everything was
blackened with soot and all that.
He went out there with tears in his eyes and
then he passed by his chickens and they were
all burnt and all that.
Then he saw one particular chicken, alright.
And with his foot, absentmindedly, just moving
the chicken and underneath that chicken came
all the little chicks running out.
What happened?
They took refuge in the mother.
The mother gave her life.
Yes, so running to be under His feathers speaks
of what?
Closeness.
You cannot take Psalm 91 and say, “I claim
this promise.
I claim this promise.”
That’s not what God wants.
God wants you to come close to Him.
Don’t just, “I have already recited five
times.
Five is the number of grace.
Now you are obliged to protect me.”
Then something happens, you get angry.
No that’s not the way it works people.
No, no, no.
This whole thing is relationship.
It talks about abiding under the shadow.
It talks about under His wings, under His
feathers.
Jesus wept over Jerusalem and this is what
he said in Matthew.
“Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills
the prophets and stones those who are sent
to her.
How often I would want, I want to gather your
children together as a hen gathers her chicks
under her wings but you were not willing.
See?
Your house is left.”
He did not say that “I, I make your house…”
God didn’t make the house, the temple desolate.
You left the house desolate.
“I say to you, you shall see me no more
till you say blessed is he who comes in the
name of the Lord.
You know all Israel today, there’s one saying
that’s growing and Jesus promised that when
Israel says, “Blessed is he who comes in
the name of the Lord”, He will return.
And in Hebrew, it is berok kaba, blessed is
he, da shem Adonai.
Remember when you were young?
And it was thundering at night and you were
in your little toddler room and you were afraid,
what do you do?
Do you go to your toys and play?
No!
You ran to your parents’ room.
And you jump on the bed and what do you do?
You went under your mummy’s wings.
Right?
You hide there and, and after for a while,
you fall into sound sleep.
You see, you don’t have to learn the seven
steps of overcoming fear.
The presence of your parent, loving parent,
you’ve got to be a loving parent.
Alright, the last thing a child wants is to
run to a parent’s room that is abusive.
So, some of you are hurt because the name
“father” brings up ideas of pain, alright.
It reminds you of rejection, pain, abuse.
So I’m here to tell you that this Father
in heaven loves you and He wants to be like
an, an eagle, like a mother hen.
Jesus says, “How I wish I would have gathered
you under My wings.”
And He wept.
And I, and I believe that He saw the Holocaust.
Not just AD 70 when the Romans came in.
He saw the future.
“… and you are not willing.”
So in other words, you must be willing to
come under His wings.
I said, “You must be… but you were not
wiling.”
The last part of verse 37.
You must be willing.
Are you willing to be protected?
Are you willing to be close to Him?
Are you willing to have Him as your refuge?
I don’t care about you.
Amen!
Pastor Prince.
For me and my house, we say, “Amen.”
Now church, protection in the Father’s name
is amazing.
Jesus Himself said in the High Priestly prayer.
Let’s, let’s “eavesdrop” ok.
Man, “adamdrop”.
So as you listen to Jesus’ High Priestly
prayer…
That was bad.
Anyway look at John 17.
Jesus prayed, “Now I am no longer in the
world but these are in the world (his disciples),
and I come to you.
Holy Father, keep through Your name, those
whom You have given Me, that they may be one
as we are.
Keep through Your name.”
The only name that Jesus came to reveal is
Father.
And it puzzled them, even…
It was first offered to the Jewish people.
He says, “Hey, don’t worry about what
you shall eat, what you shall drink, what
you shall wear.
Your heavenly Father knows you have need of
these things.
And if your Father clothes the lilies of the
fields, which today is, tomorrow is burned
up, how much more will He clothe you?
Hey, you of little faith.
Your Father knows what you need before you
ask Him.”
He kept on preaching your Father, your Father,
your Father, only to the land, the nation
of Israel, in anticipation of them receiving
Him as the king, becoming God’s children.
But they rejected Him.
They only knew God as stern.
They want to keep God in the Holy of Holies.
They want to keep God in the temple, so that
they can do whatever they want.
They don’t want this closeness.
It’s amazing that Joseph, after he reconciled
with his brothers, the first thing he said
was this, “I am Joseph.”
The next thing he said was, “Come near me.”
And these are the brothers that betrayed him,
rejected him, causing years of pain, alright.
He said, “Come near me.”
And then he said, “I’ll put you in the
land, you and your little ones, and your flock,
and all that you have in the land of Goshen.”
Read up the word ‘Goshen’.
Everything has a meaning in the Bible.
The word ‘Goshen’, alright, means ‘drawing
near’.
Goshen.
“And in that place, I’ll provide for you.”
Draw near to God.
Before you board a plane, have some time,
say, “Father, we are getting on board together.
Father, I’m Your child.
Just say, “Father, Father in heaven how
we love You.
Father, You are close to me.
And Father, you are going on board this plane
with me.”
You don’t have to pray.
That’s more important than say, “I claim
this.
I claim that.”
You know.
Like, like, like you think that God works
by you pushing buttons.
“Now I pushed already.
Your turn.
Your turn.
Don’t forget Your turn.”
You know.
And sometimes we think that our confessions,
our this and our that, you know.
Friend, let’s get real.
Come on.
This is not, this is not claiming promises
without drawing near.
All these ‘abide under the shadow, under
His wings you will take refuge’ speaks of
closeness, love, family.
You know the only ones that can, little ones
that can take refuge under that, little eaglets
under the, the, that mother eagle, are her
own.
It’s a family thing.
It’s a family thing.
A puppy can’t do that.
Alright?
A mother loves the child because he is hers.
No one can compare the Father’s love.
So Jesus says, “Keep through Your name.”
So there is protection in the name of the
Father.
Aren’t you glad that there is a place of refuge
during times like these?
Amen?
A place of refuge where it is not, you know,
use this product—and it is a heavy promotion
on the product, and it is all about money.
You know, or—or use this cream, or use this.
I mean there is one Person who will never
want to get anything out of you just for His
benefit.
He is out to love you and I mean love you,
and protect you and your family.
He is the only One you can trust.
He has no marketing ploy.
Amen?
And what He says is what He says.
He doesn’t give—give empty guarantees.
He backs up every promise.
And he doesn’t even have to promise and yet
the Bible says He promises.
His word alone is enough.
So, He is our God.