No Evil Shall Befall Thee.pdf

8/14/2019 No Evil Shall Befall Thee.pdf

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No Evil Shall Befall Thee




by

Kennith Stewart, D. Min.

Harrison House

Tulsa, Oklahoma



Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken rom The

Holy Bible, King James Version.


!S"# $%&'()*%))$%+

opyri-ht /''/ by Kennith 0. Stewart, D. Min.

1. O. "o2 (*'3

"roken 4rrow, Oklahoma )*$/3%(*'3

1ublished by Harrison House, !nc.

1. O. "o2 35$35Tulsa, Oklahoma )*/53

1rinted in the United States o 4merica. 4ll ri-hts reser6ed under

!nternational opyri-ht 7aw. ontents and8or co6er may not be

reproduced in whole or in part in any orm without the e2press written

consent o the 1ublisher.



Contents!ntroduction )

1salm '/ '

/ Dwellin- in the Secret 1lace //

( The Shadow o the Most Hi-h /'

3 My 9eu-e and My :ortress (5

* He ;ill Deli6er <ou 35

5 :eathers May #ot "e 0nou-h *5

+ :ear Makes Holes in <our Hed-e 55

) :aith ;orks by 7o6e +5

& Satan=s Three "asic Tactics Temptation, Doubt, and :ear ))

' The 9ole o 4n-els in the #ew o6enant &5

/$ !n har-e o 4n-els '3

// ;hat !s Underneath Our :eet> /$5

/( Set <our 7o6e Upon ?od //)



Introduction

The protection o ?od is a pi6otal issue in the lie o the

hurch. !n act, there is probably no other sin-ular issue about

which there is more conusion in the hurch.

On a daily basis we see hristians 6ictimi@ed, abused, and

suerin- Aust the same as those who do not know ?od. Ocourse, this raises some 6ery serious questions.

Do ! ha6e a ri-ht as a belie6er to e2pect my lie to really be

any dierent rom the unbelie6er=s> Spiritually, ! know that my

lie is. "ut in terms o health, accidents and outri-ht attacks rom

e6il orces, does ?od really pro6ide any e2tra beneits to me as

His child>

! am shocked and ama@ed at the 6ariety o answers ! ha6e

recei6ed to those questions. They run to both e2tremes.

There are those people who speak as thou-h ?od pro6ides

no protection at all or His children. Many people e6en -o as ar

as to accuse ?od o doin- the 6ery thin-s rom which 1salm '/

says He will protect us.

<et, at the other e2treme there are those who seem to belie6e that ?od=s -uardianship is irre6ocable. They also seem to

ha6e no understandin- that there are conditions to be met.

Somewhere in the middle o all the conusion and e2tremes

is the "ible answer we are all lon-in- to disco6er. 4 balance on

this subAect does e2ist.

;hile ! do not be-in to belie6e that ! can e2plain ully e6en

a small percenta-e o the calamities that ha6e beallen hristians,! do belie6e ?od has -i6en me somethin- to say on the subAect.

"e assured, ! also deplore and reAect simplistic answers to 6ital

lie and death questions.

! also want to know WHY?

7




"ut, ! do not know all the whys. ! only know that ?od=s

;ord is true. ! we will simply learn to take it or what it says,

we will in this lietime understand enou-h o those na--in-questions.

4s you read the ollowin- pa-es, ! sincerely hope that two

thin-s leap rom the pa-e a-ain and a-ain. The irst is e2tremely

important. There are always conditions to be met. The second is

e6en more important. ?od really lo6es you, and that is why He

made all the conditions.

<ou see, ! did not make the conditions ! am -oin- to pointout to you. This is not a book desi-ned to support a particular

reli-ious do-ma. 9ather, it is my sincere desire to clearly and

accurately present truth rom ?od=s ;ord on this 6ital subAect.

4t a time when 6iolence, crime, hatred, abuse, ear and

an-er are on the rise at an unprecedented rate, this subAect is

most important. ! ur-e you to take this book to heart.

9ead it careully. Meditate on the principles you ind here.

4llow them to brin- stren-th and coura-e to your heart. That

was ?od=s ori-inal intent when He inspired the psalmist with

these beautiul words. !t is only my humble pri6ile-e to make a

ew comments about what was written in this psalm.

May any blessin- these words brin- to your lie ultimately

brin- e6en -reater -lory and Aoy to the heart o ?od.

8



Psalm 91

He that delleth in the secret !lace of the most

Hi"h shall a#ide under the shado of the $lmi"ht%&

I ill sa% of the 'ord( He is m% refu"e and m%

fortress) m% *od+ in him ill I trust&

Surel% he shall deliver thee from the snare of the

foler( and from the noisome !estilence&He shall cover thee ith his feathers( and under his

in"s shalt thou trust) his truth shall #e th% shield and

#uc,ler&

Thou shalt not #e afraid for the terror #% ni"ht+ nor

for the arro that flieth #% da%+

Nor for the !estilence that al,eth in dar,ness+

nor for the destruction that asteth at noonda%&

$ thousand shall fall at th% side( and ten thousand

at th% ri"ht hand+ #ut it shall not come ni"h thee&

-nl% ith thine e%es shalt thou #ehold and see the

reard of the ic,ed&

Because thou hast made the 'ord( hich is m%

refu"e( even the most Hi"h( th% ha#itation+

There shall no evil #efall thee( neither shall an%

!la"ue come ni"h th% dellin"&

.or he shall "ive his an"els char"e over thee( to

,ee! thee in all th% a%s&

The% shall #ear thee u! in their hands( lest thou

dash th% foot a"ainst a stone&

Thou shalt tread u!on the lion and adder) the

%oun" lion and the dra"on shalt thou tram!le under

foot&

Because he hath set his love u!on me( thereforeill I deliver him) I ill set him on hi"h( #ecause he

hath ,non m% name&

He shall call u!on me( and I ill anser him) I ill

#e ith him in trou#le+ I ill deliver him( and honour

him&

9




With lon" life ill I satisf% him( and she him m%

salvation&

10



1

1 /ellin" in the Secret Place

He that delleth in the secret !lace of the most

Hi"h& & &

Psalm 91)1

4lmost all hristians ! know belie6e they should be able to

beneit rom the thin-s spoken o in 1salm '/. Howe6er, a

careul readin- o it will show clearly that the promises are not

for e6eryone.

The '/st 1salm has been called the Bser6iceman=s psalmB

because men on the battle ront ha6e talked o recitin- this in

prayer and relyin- on its promises or protection.! recall hearin- a story about a ser6iceman who carried a

#ew Testament with the 1salms in his shirt pocket. He was shot

in battle, the story -oes, and the bullet went throu-h the #ew

Testament and lod-ed at the se6enth 6erse o the '/st 1salmC

$ thousand shall fall at th% side and ten thousand


That is a -ood story, and ! like it. Howe6er, the story may

be true, and it may not. ! do not know. ! would like to belie6e it

is true, and i so, ! would like to meet the man to whom this

happened. Howe6er, the purpose o this psalm is not or people

to carry "ibles in their pockets or protection.

The psalmist did not say, BHe who carries a #ew Testament

in his shirt pocket shall abide under the shadow o the

4lmi-hty.B

The psalmist makes it clear who he is talkin- about those

who dwell in the secret place o ?od. 06erythin- that ollows

11




those words in this psalm applies to those people. 4nyone who

chooses can make the decision to dwell in the secret place o the

Most Hi-h.Howe6er, most hristians ha6e not made that decision.

Many people are born a-ain. "ut only a ew ha6e made the

decision to dwell in ?od=s secret place.

Eust because you ha6e conessed that BEesus hrist is 7ordB

does not mean you are dwellin- in the secret place o the 7ord.

There is a lot more to this psalm than thatFbut that is the place

to start. 4ny born%a-ain person can choose to dwell there. <oudo not ha6e to be rich, nor do you ha6e to be poorG you do not

ha6e to be smart, nor do you ha6e to be dumb. <ou Aust ha6e to

be born a-ain and make a decision to li6e in ?od=s secret place.

The word dwell means Bto make one=s homeG resideG li6e.B/

Dwell reers to your habitat, your en6ironment, where you are

rom day to day. So anyone who makes the decision that the

secret !lace of the most Hi"h will be his dwellin- place, his

residence, his habitat, his homeFand who abides by that

decisionFcan be-in to claim what is said in the '/st 1salm.

Howe6er, bein- able to li6e in that secret place requires

meetin- some conditions.

4s a hristian, ! must irst accept the "ible as bein- ?od=s

words spoken directly to me as an indi6idual. :or e2ample,when the Scripture says that ?od will& & &"ive his an"els char"e

over thee( to ,ee! thee in all th% a%s 1s. '///I, it is necessary

to take that 6ery personally. ! must belie6e that ?od will do that

or me. !n addition to belie6in- these thin-s, it is necessary also

to talk and act as i ! belie6e them. ! must come to e2pect them to

happen in my lie.

4nother way o e2pressin- the same idea is to reer to it asBabidin- in Eesus.B !n cases such as this, the actual teachin-s or

commandments o Eesus as recorded in the Scriptures are usually

bein- reerred to. 4-ain, ! must take them 6ery personally, as

/We#ster0s New World Dictionary, d Coll& Ed&( S& 2& 3dell&3

12



Dwelling in the Secret Place

thou-h Eesus was speakin- directly to me. ! must obey what

Eesus has said. ! must e2pect the thin-s He has spoken to happen

in my lie.

The Psalm Has Conditions

! ha6e known people who said to their children, riends or

amily members, B;ell, Aust claim the '/st 1salm. 4ter all, you

are a born%a-ain hristian, so Aust claim what it says there, and

?od will ha6e to do it.B

! ha6e heard that said so many timesC Howe6er, bein- born

a-ain is only the irst step. How do you make the decision to

dwell in that secret place> 7ook at 0phesians 3

.or this cause I #o m% ,nees unto the .ather of

our 'ord 4esus Christ(

-f hom the hole famil% in heaven and earth is

named&

E!hesians )15(16

#otice who that 6erse is talkin- about ?od=s family. The

irst thin- that comes to my mind about that 6erse, in the conte2t

o all that ! ha6e written abo6e, is people dwellin- to-ether,

ha6in- their habitat to-ether, li6in- in the same household.

The 4postle 1aul was writin- here about the whole amilyin hea6en and earth that is named ater ?od.

That he ould "rant %ou( accordin" to the riches of

his "lor%( to #e stren"thened ith mi"ht #% his S!irit in

the inner man+

That Christ ma% dell in %our hearts #% faith+ that

%e( #ein" rooted and "rounded in love(

7a% #e a#le to com!rehend ith all saints hat isthe #readth( and len"th( and de!th( and hei"ht+

$nd to ,no the love of Christ( hich !asseth

,noled"e( that %e mi"ht #e filled ith all the fulness

of *od&

E!hesians )1819

13




!n these 6erses, 1aul was tellin- the 0phesiansFand all

hristians who ha6e li6ed since his timeFhow to dwell in the

secret place o the Most Hi-h. 4ctually, he was prayin-. This isthe kind o petition 1aul was makin- to the :ather

B! am -oin- to pray or you, and !=m bowin- my knees unto

the :ather o our 7ord Eesus hrist. !=m bowin- to the :ather

because it is in His name, it is by His name, it is throgh His

name, it is with His name, that the whole amily in hea6en and in

earth is named.B

;hat amily does 1aul mean> 4ll o those who are borna-ain. So when 1aul prayed this prayer, he prayed it not only or

the hristians at 0phesus but or all o us that we mi-ht be

stren-thened in the inner man so that hrist may dwell in our

hearts by aith.

1aul was prayin- or those o us who are born a-ain that

Eesus mi-ht dwell in our hearts by aith, that Eesus mi-ht take up

residence within us, that He mi-ht become a part o each o us in

order that we mi-ht comprehend the riches o -lory in Him. The

Briches o His -loryB that we may ha6e are spelled out in 6erses

(%/+ o the '/st 1salm.

Ho To Be Satisfied With 'ife

! will -et ahead o mysel a little bit and -i6e you ane2ample o the Blen-th, depth, breadth, and hei-ht.B The last

6erse o the '/st 1salm says, ;ith lon- lie will ! satisy him. 6.

/+.I To some people Blon- lieB is ity, si2ty, or se6enty years. To

others, it is ninety or a hundred. How about the word satisfy!

4re you satisied with lie> 4re you /$$ percent, absolutely,

completely, without a doubt at all, satisied with lie> ;e do not

e6en be-in to comprehend what that means or what it would belike to be satisied with lie, much less satisied with long lie.

So we can see that there is somethin- about dwellin- in the

secret place o the Most Hi-h that has to do with hrist dwellin-

in us richly. ! belie6e the reason we ha6e such a hard time

14




understandin- that concept is that we ha6e a hard time recei6in-

a real re6elation o the act that hrist can dwell in our hearts by

aith.!n 0phesians 3/), the 4postle 1aul also talked about

hristians bein- B-rounded in lo6e.B 7et us look at that or a

moment.

<ou say to someone, B! lo6e you,B and perhaps you do try to

show that you lo6e the person. <et, e6ery now and then, Satan is

able to slip in and cause some word to be said or some act to be

done that really does not communicate lo6e.

1aul=s prayer was that hrist mi-ht dwell in hristians=

hearts by aith so that they mi-ht be rooted and -rounded in

lo6e. ! we are rooted and -rounded in the lo6e o hrist, the

times when we do not show lo6e to others become arther and

arther apart. 06ery day o our li6es, we need to be so rooted and

-rounded in hrist that we show lo6e toward e6eryone with

whom we come in contact.

Thereore, the way to dwell in the secret place o the Most

Hi-h is #umber one, be born a-ainG and number two, turn your

whole heart o6er to hrist so that He really does dwell in you. !

you walk in lo6e, people can see Eesus in you.

;hen you make the decision to be born a-ainFto belie6e in

your heart and coness with your mouth that Eesus is 7ord 9om./$',/$IFin that moment, the Spirit o ?od=s Son, the Spirit o

adoption, mo6es into your heart.

:rom that moment orward, the hardest Aob Eesus has is to

keep you rom throwin- Him out o certain areas o your heart.

He wants to make more and more o you His dwellin- place.

;hen you coness that Eesus is 7ord, and He mo6es into your

heart as Sa6ior, that state should not only continue but pro-ress.

! you ha6e -enuinely made that conession, you are born

a-ain. "ut you ha6e heard or read about the house that was

cleaned, -arnished, and let empty, ha6e you not> 4nd because it

was cleaned but remained empty, the e6il spirit that let came

15




back into the heart and brou-ht se6en others worse than he.

7uke //(*%(+.I

This is not written to ri-hten nor to brin- anycondemnation on youG howe6er, what ! want you to understand

is that becomin- born a-ain is Aust the be-innin-. :rom that day

orward, you are responsible to read ?od=s ;ord, to pray, and to

allow Eesus to ill more and more o your heart by aith so that

you can trust Him more and more.

Simply because you coness that Eesus hrist is 7ord does

not mean that Eesus mo6es in and li6es there rom then on.Otherwise, 1aul would ne6er ha6e had to pray this prayer or

the whole amily in hea6en and in earth. "ein- born a-ain is Aust

the introduction that opens the door or Eesus to enter. Then you

want to keep Him indwellin- your heart.

The psalmist, o course, did not understand this, bein- born

so many hundreds o years beore Eesus was cruciied and

resurrected. ;e ha6e a #ew o6enant, and in studyin- this

psalm, we are lookin- back on the days o the Old o6enant.

4s Eesus dwells in your heart, you will be-in to understand

a lot o thin-s and know more about the lo6e o hrist that

passes understandin-. <ou will know more and more about it,

but you will ne6er comprehend His lo6e totallyFbecause the

;ord says His lo6e surpasses our natural knowled-e. 0ph.3/'.I

Dwellin- in the secret place o the Most Hi-h does not

simply in6ol6e yor mo6in- into the Kin-dom o ?od. !t also is

based on your allowin- the King to mo6e into your heart.

"ecause the Kin- has mo6ed into your heart, you ha6e a ri-ht to

li6e in His Kin-dom.

1hilippians 3($ says

.or our conversation is in heaven+ from hence

also e loo, for the Saviour( the 'ord 4esus Christ)

The ?reek word "olitema translated #onversation in the

16




King James Version is translated dierently in other 6ersions,

because #onversation means somethin- dierent to us today. !n

the /+$$s, #onversation meant [email protected] Today, it meansBtalkin- with others.B(

1aul said, B:or our #iti$enshi" is in hea6en rom where we

look or our Kin- to return to us one day.B

;e are citi@ens o hea6en, not because we li6e or dwell

there now. ;e are citi@ens because the Kin- o hea6en, Eesus

hrist our 7ord, dwells in us and is a citi@en o our hearts. 4nd,

thereore, we are citi@ens o the hea6enly land as He is a citi@enthere.

Until we make our home in our ri-htul land, howe6er, we

must li6e in a orei-n en6ironment. !n this alien land, we need a

place o security, a place o saety, a place o protection. That is

?od=s se#ret "la#e or us.

What Is a Secret Place?

4 BsecretB place is one remote rom human tra6el. 0stimates

are that, by the year ($$$, there will be se6en billion people on

earth. !n /'&&, hristians numbered 33 percent o the world=s

population. !n any -eneration, no more than a third o the world

has been hristian, accordin- to missionary e2perts. 4n o6erall

estimate is that, out o all the people who ha6e li6ed since hristdied, was resurrected, and went to sit at the ri-ht hand o the

:ather, only about a ourth ha6e counted themsel6es hristian.3

!n terms o a personal relationship with Eesus, a -enuinely

born%a-ain e2perience, the percenta-e is e6en lower. #ot all who

call themsel6es BhristianB are born a-ain, unortunately.

<ou can see that bein- in Him is a 6ery secret place. #ot

many humans are requentin- the place called in Him. ! am

( 2ine( W&E&( Vine's Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words :-ld Ta!!an)

.lemin" H& ;evell Com!an%( 19<1=( 2ol& 1( !& 19&

3 Barrett( /avid B& Cosmos( Chaos( and Gospel :Birmin"ham) Ne Ho!e( Co!%ri"ht 19<>(

.orei"n 7ission Board of the Southern Ba!tist Convention=&

17




reerrin- to all o those precious scriptures in the #ew Testament

that tell us who we are in hrist Eesus, who we are in Him. (

or. 5/),(/G ?al. (($G 9om. &/G 0ph. (/%'.I;hen Eesus really dwells in your heart by aith, and you

be-in to comprehend some thin-s about lo6e, you will start to

understand what a 6erse such as Second orinthians 5(/ really

means.

That 6erse talks about a born%a-ain person ha6in- been

made the ri-hteousness o ?od in hrist Eesus. Do you ully

comprehend that> ! doubt anyone really does. "ut i Eesus dwellsin your heart by aith, you ha6e a certain le6el o comprehension.

! you dwell in that secret place o the Most Hi-h, you ha6e an

e6en better comprehension than thousands o born%a-ain

belie6ers do.

!n talkin- about that secret place, we mi-ht say it this way

BHe that has Eesus dwellin- in his heart, and who knows who he

is in Him, shall abide under the shadow o the 4lmi-hty.B

!s that true, or is that alse> !s that consistent with the rest o

the ;ord o ?od, or is it inconsistent> That statement is

absolutely true and entirely consistent. ! Eesus is dwellin- in

your heart by aith, and you know who you are in Him, then you

abide under the shadow o the 4lmi-hty.

Eohn /5) says

If %e a#ide in me( and m% ords a#ide in %ou( %e

shall as, hat %e ill( and it shall #e done unto %ou&

That sounds to me like

B! you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you shall

li6e in the protection o ?od.B

That is the #ew o6enant way o sayin-, BHe that dwelleth

in the secret place o the Most Hi-h, shall abide under the

shadow o the 4lmi-hty.B

18



2

2 The Shadow of the Most High

Shall a#ide under the shado of the $lmi"ht%&

Psalm 91)1

To abide under the shadow o ?od, you must dwell in the

secret place o the Most Hi-h. 4nd ! do not want to pass o6er

that phrase the %ost High too quickly. 7ook at 1hilippians (5%//

'et this mind #e in %ou( hich as also in Christ

4esus)

Who( #ein" in the form of *od( thou"ht it not

ro##er% to #e eual ith *od)But made himself of no re!utation( and too, u!on

him the form of a servant( and as made in the li,eness

of men)

$nd #ein" found in fashion as a man( he hum#led

himself( and #ecame o#edient unto death( even the

death of the cross&

Wherefore *od also hath hi"hl% e@alted him( and

"iven him a name which is aboe eery name!That at the name of 4esus ever% ,nee should #o(

of thin"s in heaven( and thin"s in earth( and thin"s

under the earth+

$nd that ever% ton"ue should confess that 4esus

Christ is 'ord( to the "lor% of *od the .ather&

4 name which is abo6e e6ery name Does that sound like

the %ost High! ;e are abidin- in the One whose name has been

e2alted abo6e e6ery name that is named. ;e are abidin- in the

One ;ho has the name to which e6ery knee shall bow. He is Bthe

Most Hi-h.B

19




The person who meets these qualiications, the person who

has Eesus dwellin- in his heart, and knows who he is in Him,

shall abide under the shadow o the 4lmi-hty. 4nd what doesthat mean> That means you will li6e, you will abide, you will

remain steadast, you will -o on bein- in the shadow o the

4lmi-hty. "elie6e me, the 4lmi-hty casts a powerul and

wonderul shadow.

!n the natural realm, a shadow is a deinite area o shade

cast upon a surace by somethin- that intercepts the li-ht rays.

Howe6er, the 4lmi-hty=s shadow is not a dark ima-e. ;hen wethink o Ba shadow,B we think o somethin- dark. ;e think o a

shade.

Sunli-ht is bri-hter than any li-ht that we -i6e o, so the

shadows we cast are dark. "ut suppose the li-ht ! -a6e o was

bri-hter than sunli-ht> Then the shadow ! cast would be li-ht

and not dark. ;hen ! walked outside, thin-s would -et bri-hter

so that my shadow would be bri-ht rather than dark.

That is the way Eesus= shadow has been since the

9esurrection. He is bri-hter than the sun that han-s in our sky.

9e6elation (/(3 says that in the new earth, there will be no need

o the sun nor the moon, or the Son o ?od will be the li-ht.

His shadow is a bri-ht shadow, not a dark one, or His li-ht

is -reater than any natural li-ht.;hen you study the word shadow in the ?reek lan-ua-e,

you are directed to two passa-es Matthew /)/%) and 4cts

5/(%/+.

$nd after si@ da%s( 4esus ta,eth Peter( 4ames( and

4ohn his #rother( and #rin"eth them u! into an hi"h

mountain a!art(

$nd as transfi"ured #efore them) and his face didshine as the sun( and his raiment as hite as the li"ht&

$nd( #ehold( there a!!eared unto them 7oses and

Elias tal,in" ith him&

Then ansered Peter( and said unto 4esus( 'ord( it

is "ood for us to #e here) if thou ilt( let us ma,e here

20



The Shadow of the Most High

three ta#ernacles+ one for thee( and one for 7oses( and

one for Elias&

While he %et s!a,e( #ehold( a #ri"ht cloud

oershadowed them) and #ehold a voice out of the

cloud( hich said( 0This is m% #eloved Son( in hom I

am ell !leased+ hear %e him&

$nd hen the disci!les heard it( the% fell on their

face( and ere sore afraid&

#otice in the ith 6erse, Matthew wrote that a bright #lod

overshadowed them. The word overshadowed in the ori-inal is the?reek word or shadow. ?od=s shadow does not cast a dark

ima-e. This is a bright cloud. ?od=s shadow is li-ht, not dark.

Eesus and the three disciples were on a hi-h mountain. The li-ht

o the :ather, and now o the Son, is so bri-ht that it outshines

our sun.

#ow look at the 6erses in 4cts, the second reerence to

shadow that ! mentioned abo6e.

$nd #% the hands of the a!ostles ere man% si"ns

and onders rou"ht amon" the !eo!le+ :and the% ere

all ith one accord in Solomon0s !orch&

$nd of the rest durst no man Aoin himself to them)

#ut the !eo!le ma"nified them&

$nd #elievers ere the more added to the 'ord(

multitudes #oth of men and omen&=Insomuch that the% #rou"ht forth the sic, into the

streets( and laid them on #eds and couches( that at the

least the shadow of Peter !assin" #% mi"ht overshado

some of them&

There came also a multitude out of the cities round

a#out unto 4erusalem( #rin"in" sic, fol,s( and them

hich ere ve@ed ith unclean s!irits) and the% erehealed ever% one&

The ?reek word used or shadow in 6erse /5 is the same

word used in Matthew /)5. The conte2t here is not talkin- about

the dark shadow 1eter would ha6e cast as he came in ront o the

21




rays o the sun. !t is not talkin- about the normal, natural, dark

shadow that his body would cast. "ut, by that time, 1eter was

dwellin- in the secret place o the Most Hi-h so much that the6ery same kind o shadow that had been there at the Mount o

Transi-uration was lowin- throu-h 1eter. 4s that shadow

passed o6er the people, e6ery one o them was healed.

What Was the Transfi"uration $#out?

!n the past, as ! studied the Transi-uration passa-es, !

wondered, B;hy is that in the "ible> Eesus walked the earth as a

man, anointed o the Holy Spirit. He did not operate in His Deity

while here on earth. So what was the Transi-uration all about>B

! will -uarantee you one thin- On the day when 1eter

walked down the street with his shadow allin- on people,

makin- them well, he had a much better understandin- o the

Transi-uration. The Transi-uration was a si-n, an illustration, a

6ery clear picture to us concernin- Eesus. !t shows us we can

dwell in Him so the o6ershadowin- o ?od will be such a part o

our li6es that it is clear we are in6ol6ed in eternity ri-ht now.

<ou do not ha6e to die to be in6ol6ed in eternity. ! you did,

the Transi-uration ne6er could ha6e taken place. !nstead, that

would be the one time when Eesus took back His Deity and did

somethin- completely out o character or His human nature.4nd we know that did not happen.

0ach hristian=s -oal in lie should be to ha6e Eesus so

dwellin- in his or her heart by aith that more and more

comprehension o that secret place in Him would be possible.

1salm '// actually is sayin-

BHe that li6es under the shadow o the -reater One, with

the ;ord in his heart, shall abide under the acti6e, creati6e,

ener-i@in-, healin-, powerul low o the anointin- o 4lmi-hty

?od.B

#ow that is a Bmouthul,B ! know, but it is true. That is

22



The Shadow of the Most High

really what is bein- said to us as new creatures in hrist Eesus,

#ew o6enant people who walk in the li-ht o what ?od has

-i6en us.

E@!ect 7iracles

1eter did not ha6e Ba cornerB on this. <es, we can e2pect

thin-s like that in our li6es. ! dare you to e2pectC

The shadow o the 4lmi-hty is a bri-ht cloud, a wonderul

shadow. 4ll kinds o thin-s happen when you are under the

shadow o the 4lmi-hty. ;hat this means is that e6erywhere

1eter walked, that shadow ollowed him, because he was

abidin- under it. 06erywhere 1eter went, the shadow o the

4lmi-hty went.

7et=s -et hrist dwellin- in our hearts by aith, daily. 7et=s

learn and comprehend more and more o who we are in Him.

1eter did not sit down one day and i-ure out how to -et ?od=sshadow to o6ershadow him. He Aust -ot in6ol6ed with the act

that Eesus was dwellin- in his heart.

4nd remember This is the same 1eter who denied His 7ord

three times on the day o Eesus= crucii2ion. This is old unaithul

1eter, who cursed in a courtyard while Eesus was inside the

house bein- tried. <et 1eter is the one who walked down the

road with his shadow o6ershadowin- people so that they roseup healed.

So do not rule yoursel out o this kind o miracle. Do not

say, BOh, !=m so unworthy. ! could ne6er do that.B 7et Eesus dwell

in your heart, and learn more and more o who you are in Him.

Then let the rest o it take care o itsel.

Thank ?od we do lay hands on the sick, and they reco6er.

Thank ?od that as we a-ree in prayer, people are healed and

inancial needs are met. "ut there is a whole lot more that ?od

wants to do in and throu-h us, i we will Aust put oursel6es in a

place where He can. 7earn how to ind that secret place.

23



3

3 My Refuge and My Fortress

& & & He is m% refu"e and m% fortress&

Psalm 91)

4s ! read 1salm '/(, more Old Testament than #ew

Testament 6erses come to mind. There is nothin- wron- with

Old Testament 6erses, but at irst, ! wondered why there were

not more 6erses in the #ew Testament that conirmed this

second 6erse o 1salm '/.

4 word study, howe6er, re6ealed why there were more

6erses in the Old Testament ha6in- to do with refge and fortress.The Old Testament was written in Hebrew, and in those times,

there was more occasion to desire and look or places o shelter

rom trouble.

!n the #ew Testament, there is little mention o such places.

!n act, there is only one use o refge, and that is in Hebrews

+/&. The word fortress is not ound at all in the #ew Testament.

So, under the #ew o6enant, we ha6e to look or some

words or phrases that con6ey the idea o a spiritual hidin- place

instead o a literal hidin- place.

;hat is a reu-e> 4ccordin- to a dictionary, refge is

Bshelter or protection rom dan-er, diicultyG a place o saetyG

shelterG sae retreatG action taken to escape trouble or diiculty.B/

Here are some #ew Testament 6erses that describe thiskind o spiritual place

.or in Him e live( and move( and have our

#ein"&

/ Ne World Dictionary, Second Colle"e Edition&

25




$cts 1>)<a

There hath no tem!tation ta,en %ou #ut such

as is common to man) #ut *od is faithful( ho ill

not suffer %ou to #e tem!ted a#ove that %e are a#le+

#ut ill ith the tem!tation also ma,e a way to

escape :a refu"e=( that %e ma% #e a#le to #ear it&

1 Corinthians 1D)1

There are thin-s that you are -oin- to ace in your lie that

are common to man. :or e2ampleFdeath. #o one likes to talkabout death, but it is one thin- that certainly is common to man.

<our amily members and riends are -oin- to die. <ou are -oin-

to die. ! am -oin- to die. Unless the 7ord returns in our time, all

o us will -o throu-h the e2perience o physical death.

! belie6e that, unless Eesus returns, ! am -oin- to li6e a lon-

time because the last 6erse o 1salm '/ says ith lon" life ill I

satisf% him& ! do not know how lon- my lie will ha6e to be orme to be satisied, but ! know it has not been lon- enou-h yetC

Howe6er, i Eesus tarries, some day ! will die a physical death.

Here are some other thin-s that are common to man

• #ot e6eryone will be sa6ed.

• 1eople will try to take ad6anta-e o you and misuse you.

• <ou will be critici@ed.

• Satan will try to make you sick.

• Satan will attack your inances.

<ou will ne6er ind yoursel in a position where you can

say truthully, B#o one has e6er -one throu-h this beore.B

"ut, no matter what you ace, &od is faithfl. / or. /'.I ;e

ha6e a refge, a way o escape, and we can bear the thin-s thathappen. ! am not sayin- we can stand the thin-s that happenF

stay sick, broke, hurt, or deeated. ! do not mean that. #oC ! mean

that under the #ew o6enant, when we come to Eesus, our

reu-e, we ind oursel6es in the secret place o the Most Hi-h.

26



My Refuge and My Fortress

Who 7isses ItYou or *od?

4 lady came to me once and asked me about a 6ery badcircumstance which had happened in her lie.

She said, B! did e6erythin- ! knew to do. ! belie6ed

e6erythin- ! knew to belie6e. ! said e6erythin- ! knew to say. !

was as stron- in aith as ! knew how to be. ;hy did it happen>

;hy>B

! shared a lot o thin-s with her that ! am sharin- with you

in this book. :irst o all, the Bway o escapeB is not turnin-around and runnin-. The Bway o escapeB does not lie in turnin-

rom the ;ord to bitterness. The Bway o escapeB is not to say,

B;ell, the ;ord didn=t work,B and walk away rom the "ible.

;hen you -o to the ;ord o ?od and be-in lookin- or a

way to escape, the way will lead you ri-ht back to the ;ord,

solidly, completely. Eesus told us the way o escape 'f ye abide in

me, and my words abide in yo Eohn /5)I.

<ou will ind that, no matter what Satan throws your way,

no matter what he brin-s across your pathway, when you look

or a way to escape, it is in the ;ord.

The lady ! mentioned was dealin- with a lot o bitterness.

4s the de6il kept on attackin- a-ain and a-ain, there were many

times when she should ha6e -one to the ;ord. !nstead, she onlyheld on to what she already knew.

! do not think ! am a hard person, but ! ha6e to tell the truth

accordin- to the ;ord. ! did not say what ! did to her to be hard,

but either ?od=s ;ord is true, or it is not true. 0ither that lady

somehow missed indin- her way to escape, or ?od missed itF

and ?od has ne6er missed it. His ;ord is true. There is a reu-e.

<ou may say, BDo you mean to tell me that you are so hardand cruel you would tell that woman she missed it>B

! made sure she knew that ! did not mean to be hard and

did not want to be cruel. "ut there are only two alternati6es She

missed it, or ?od missed it. ! would rather point out to her that

27




she must ha6e missed it than tell ?od He didC

<ou say, B;ell, what is the answer then> ! someone is

doin- their best to li6e their lie accordin- to e6erythin- theyknow and understand about ?od=s ;ord in a lie or death

situation and misses it, can any o us e6er li6e accordin- to the

"ible>B

<es, we absolutely can. That is the reason ! keep teachin-

the ;ord and teachin- the ;ord, because it takes a continuous

intake o the ;ord to make our spirits stron-. Then, when the

de6il brin-s somethin- a-ainst us, we can know how to ind theway to escape. 9eadin- the ;ord once a week is not enou-h. !n

act, two or three times a week is not enou-h. "ein- in6ol6ed in

the ;ord must be a way o lie. <ou must live in the ;ord.

Sometimes, people are inclined to think that Bollowin-

EesusB means sellin- the car, the urniture, the house, and -oin-

into the ministry. "ut there is a much deeper meanin- than that.

The real way to ollow Him is to take hold o His ;ord and

make it mean e6erythin- to you, so much so that i you are

conronted with a lady like ! was aced with, there is nothin- but

the ;ord to say to her.

! sat in my chair across the desk rom her and squirmed. !

tried to oer her some other answer. ! will be honest. My mind

brou-ht up some thin-s ! had learned in seminary aboutcomortin- people. ! thou-ht this would be a -ood time to brin-

out some o those thin-s.

"ut ! suddenly disco6ered how much the ;ord had become

a part o me, because there was not anythin- else to say but that

?od=s ;ord is true, and He did not miss it. ! would hope ! ne6er

ha6e to say anythin- like that a-ain to someone in turmoil,

someone who is hurtin-. Howe6er, i the same situation arises, !will ha6e to say the same thin-.

The best help ! could -i6e her, the kindest thin- ! could do

or her, was show her that she had missed it. ! could show her

that e6en when we do miss the way to escape, you ha6e to ace it

28




and -et back in the ;ord in order to reco6er. There is a way to

escape when you ha6e missed the way to escapeC That is to

always come back to the ;ord o ?od and belie6e your way outo your situation.

! you do not ind the way to escape, it is not ?od=s ault. !t

is ne6er ?od=s ault.

4ny time you depart rom the ;ord, i you want what ?od

has in the ;ord to minister to you, you will ha6e to come back

to it. 4ny time you walk away rom ?od=s ;ord, any time you

miss it, there is only one way to -et His beneits workin- a-ainin your lie, and that is to come ri-ht back where you missed it,

line up with ?od=s ;ord, and -o on rom there. ! you are not

willin- to do that, then you cannot e6er e2pect the -reat thin-s

?od has said in this book to work in your lie.

Ne Covenant Believers $re /ifferent

!n the times co6ered by the Old Testament, belie6ers were

always runnin-. Moses ran. 0liAah ran. Eonah ran. Da6id ran.

Dan-er threatened, and they hunted a reu-e in the earth, a place

to hide. 4nd ?od hid them in ca6es or in the wildernessFe2cept

in Eonah=s case.

The others were runnin- rom earthly dan-er, but Eonah

was runnin- rom ?od=s call on his lie. The 4lmi-hty will notpro6ide a reu-e for disobedience. Howe6er, He will pro6ide a

place o repentance. ?od did pro6ide Eonah a reu-e rom

destruction, as wellFthe belly o a whale.

The picture o the #ew Testament belie6er is 6ery dierent.

;e are not told to run to a natural reu-e. ;e are told to stand.

Wherefore ta,e unto %ou the hole armour of *od(

that %e ma% #e a#le to ithstand in the evil da%( and

havin" done all( to stand&

Stand therefore & & & &

E!hesians 8)1(15

29




4bide in HimG -et His ;ord abidin- in you, and stand.

9esist the de6il, and he will run rom you. Eames *).I !nstead o

always runnin- rom the enemy as they had to in the OldTestament, thank ?od, we are to take our places in Him and

stand a-ainst the enemy.

! used to wonder how lon- we ha6e to stand, but ! inally

i-ured that out. Do you want to know how lon- to stand> <ou

must stand until the way to escape is ri-ht in ront o you. That is

how lon-.

The reason it takes so lon- or most o us to ind the way toescape is that it takes us so lon- to decide to stand. !t takes so

lon- to put on the armor o ?od. Most people want to count all

o the time they were puttin- on the armor as standing. Howe6er,

the standin- time does not start until you ta(e on the whole

armor o ?od. 0ph. +//.I

Many hristians only ha6e on the helmet o sal6ation, and

they think they are standin-. <ou do not ha6e on the whole

armor until you abide in Eesus and His words abide in you.

9emember 4 sword -oes with that armor, and the sword is the

;ord o ?od. 0ph. +/).I

<ou do not be-in to stand until you are ully dressed in

your armor and ha6e the ;ord o ?od on the inside o you

ready to use. 4nd about the time you -et ready or battle and be-in to stand, you will ind the way to escape is thereC

! ha6e ound that it always works that way. The reason !

know so well is that ! ha6e been there. ! ha6e tried to stand

without the whole armor, and it does not work. On the other

hand, ! ha6e put on the whole armor and seen the de6il lee

when ! took my stand. The ;ord o ?od makes it clear that the

de6il will lee rom us under those circumstances. He will run asin terror.

Hundreds o times ! ha6e had people tell me, B! resisted the

de6il, and he didn=t lee. ;hy didn=t he lee>B

There are a number o possible reasons, but none o those

30




reasons are that the ;ord does not work. The ;ord always is

true. More than likely, those people who thou-ht they were

resistin- the de6il were not usin- the ;ord o ?od. 4lso, thatdemon may ha6e been yellin-, as he was runnin- away, B!=m not

lea6in-.B The de6il and all o his troops are liars. They will lea6e

when you resist them, because the ;ord says so.

1salm '/ is not or e6eryone, and those who make it a way

o lie may ind themsel6es bein- called Banatics.B Other people

will call them Bstuck up,B or Bhi-h and mi-hty.B "ut what it

amounts to is that you either make ?od=s ;ord a way o lie, oryou do not. ;hen you make it a way o lie, the ;ord works.

! the ;ord is not workin- in your lie, then you ha6e not

made the "ible a way o lie.

1eople who say, B!t=s not workin- or me,B should reali@e

that they really are sayin-, BThe ;ord is not a way o lie to me.B

Once ! -ot a i6e%pa-e, sin-le%spaced letter rom a lady whosaid, B! Aust want you to know !=m not conessin- the ;ord

anymore. !=m not talkin- the ;ord anymore. !=m not standin- on

the ;ord anymore. !=m Aust tellin- it like it is.B

That was really too bad. <ou see, she had made a choice.

The ;ord was not -oin- to be a way o lie to her. ! she thou-ht

she had problems beore, ! really hate to think what her lie was

like once she be-an to -et in a-reement with her problemsinstead o with the 7ord.

-ur .ortress Is /oin" the Word

<ou ha6e seen that the word refge is only in the #ew

Testament once. The word fortress is not in there at all. Howe6er,

a fortress is simply a stron- place o protection rom which you

can i-ht the enemy.

That deinition does remind me o some #ew Testament

6erses

Not ever%one that saith unto me( 'ord( 'ord shall

31




enter into the ,in"dom of heaven+ #ut he that doeth the

ill of 7% .ather hich is in heaven&

7an% ill sa% to me in that da%( 'ord( 'ord( have

e not !ro!hesied in th% name? and in th% name have

cast out devils? and in th% name done man% onderful

or,s?

$nd then ill I !rofess unto them( I never ,ne

%ou) de!art from me( %e that or, iniuit%&

Therefore hosoever heareth these sa%in"s of

mine( and doeth them( I ill li,en him unto a ise man(

hich #uilt his house u!on a roc,)$nd the rain descended( and the floods came( and

the inds #le( and #eat u!on that house+ and it fell

not) for it as founded u!on a roc,&

7atthe >)16

The ortress talked about in the '/st 1salm, to a #ew

o6enant belie6er, is hearing and doing the words o Eesus.

Simply knowin- the words, sin-in- the words, or sayin- thewords will not place you in a stron- ortress. The stren-th comes

in doing the ;ord that you know.

The reason you are like a house built on rock when you

hear and do the sayin-s o Eesus is that He is the 9ock. ;hen you

know His teachin-s and do His words, you are built upon Him,

and He becomes your ortress, your rock.

1salm /&/,( presents this truth e6en in Old Testament

times

I ill love thee( - 'ord( m% stren"th&

The 'ord is m% roc,( and m% fortress( and m%

deliverer+ m% *od( m% stren"th( in hom I ill trust+ m%

#uc,ler( and the horn of m% salvation( and m% hi"h

toer&

!n Deuteronomy, Moses wrote the same thin- in these

words

Ho should one chase a thousand( and to !ut ten

thousand to fli"ht( e@ce!t their ;oc, had sold them( and

32




the 'ord had shut them u!?

.or their roc, is not as our ;oc,( even our enemies

themselves #ein" Aud"es&

/euteronom% )D(1

Their ro#( was a sand pile, a house built out o sand. Their

rock is Satan, and he always runs when you stand up to him, so

that all o those ser6in- him ha6e their oundations pulled out

rom under them.

! reali@e this 6erse was reerrin- to !srael=s literal, physicalenemies. "ut beyond the people i-htin- !srael, Moses was

talkin- about their Brock,B who was a heathen -od, a demon. He

said their BrockB had sold them out.

There were two kinds o BrocksB then, and there are two

kinds o BrocksB now. Their rock sold them, and our 9ock bou-ht

us. He will ne6er desert us.

There are people you will meet tomorrow, people you will

talk to on the phone, people who will come into your place o

business who ha6e a rock all ri-htC "ut i they could only see

their rock, they would disco6er it is nothin- but a sand pile.

Their rock is Satan. They may be i-htin- you with e6erythin-

they ha6e.

Howe6er, when you, a born%a-ain belie6er, take a irmstand a-ainst the enemy, who is their rock, their -od, their

stren-th, their reu-e, he will lea6e them. Many times belie6ers

encounter unbelie6ers and try to deal with their unair ways,

with their tryin- to take ad6anta-e. "ut, i belie6ers could Aust

reali@e that takin- a irm stand a-ainst the enemy would cause

him to desert those people, then the opposition would cease.

#o matter how much they want to put you down, say no towhat you need, or take ad6anta-e o you, they are standin- on

sand. <our 9ock, on the other hand, will ne6er, ne6er desert you.

#ow, who are you -oin- to trust> ;ho are you -oin- to

make your reu-e and ortress>

33



4

4 He Will Deliver You

Surel% he shall deliver thee from the snare of the

foler( and from the noisome !estilence&

Psalm 91)

"eore we be-in to discuss this 6erse, there are our words

that ! want to deine snare, fowler, noisome, and "estilen#e.

) snare is a trap or small animals, but it also can be

anythin- dan-erous or risky in your spiritual walk.

4 snare is anythin- that tempts or attracts you, but it will

catch you by the ootFso to speakFand pre6ent you romwalkin- on with the 7ord.

4 snare is a trap set by the enemy and can be anythin- that

entan-les a hristian in sinul beha6ior or attitudes.

4 fowler is the word used in 0n-land or a person who

hunts, traps, or shoots wild birds. Today, in the United States,

we usually call this person Ba sportsmanB or a hunter.The third word that readers sometimes ha6e diiculty with

is noisome. ;e -enerally think o that as someone who is noisy.

Howe6er, in this case, it means somethin- that smells bad and is

oensi6e. 4lso, somethin- that is noisome can be somethin-

dan-erous.

Many hristians think the way ! did at one time about this

phrase noisome "estilen#e. Once ! saw part o a mo6ie aboutswarms o locusts co6erin- a certain place. Since they were pests

and 6ery noisy, ! thou-ht that sort o thin- was what the third

6erse o 1salm '/ meant.

Howe6er, a "estilen#e, ! ha6e ound, really is a pla-ue, a atal

35




or conta-ious disease.

The irst thin- to notice about this 6erse is somethin-

typical o the Old Testament. The psalmist wrote, Surely he shalldeli6er thee. O course He reers to ?od 4lmi-hty, the Most

Hi-h. "ut the tense in the psalm is uture He will deli6er you.

Since the Day o 1entecost, those promises ha6e become

past tense or those o us under the #ew o6enant He already

has deli6ered us.

The psalmist belie6ed that ?od wold deli6er him. He had

to put it in uture tense because it had not yet happened. His

statements became airmations to uture -enerations.

BDon=t -et into worryin-, because the Most Hi-h will deli6er

you rom all o the traps and pla-ues o the enemy.B

Today, deli6erance already has been accomplished. Too

many hristians are still prayin- uture prayers. They are not

walkin- in the aith a6ailable to them throu-h the knowled-ethat Eesus already has won the war and the 6ictory.

The way to pray in aith is not, B7ord, ! know that you will,*

but B7ord, ! know that you have already deli6ered me.

#ew o6enant belie6ers must read the '/st 1salm in the

past tense, not as uture tense, the way it was written by the

author. <ou have been deli6ered rom the snare o the Bowler,B

the de6il. <ou are not lookin- or somethin- to happen. <ou are brin-in- your thou-hts, attitudes, and actions in line with

somethin- that already has happened.

Many people are still askin-, e2pectin-, e6en be--in- ?od

to do what He says already has been done. ;hen they do that, it

is a clear si-n o one o two thin-s They are i-norant, and the

7ord said i-norance would destroy His people Hos. *+I, or they

are into doubt and disbelie. !n that case, the Holy Spirit wrote

throu-h the 4postle Eames, they will recei6e nothin- rom the

7ord. Eames /+,).I

<ears a-o, when ! ministered, ! would ha6e people who

36



He Will Deliver ou

needed healin- come to the ront to ha6e hands laid on them.

Then ! would pray or ?od to heal them.

One day, the 7ord stopped me and said, BDon=t pray thatway any lon-er. ! ha6e said in My ;ord that ! ha6e already

healed them. / 1et. ((*.I Tell their bodies to come in line with

My ;ord. ! am not the problemG My ;ord is not the problemG

their bodies are the problems. ! their bodies will -et in line with

the ;ord, healin- will maniest in them.B

:rom then on, that has been the way ! ha6e prayed or

people.

The /evil Is the .oler

4s ! mentioned beore, ob6iously, the de6il is the owler in

the li6es o #ew o6enant belie6ers. He is the one who Bhunts,

traps, and shootsB hristians. So, in this word picture painted by

the psalmist, we must be the birdsC The de6il is the one who triesto tempt or attract us into thin-s that are dan-erous and risky to

our spiritual -rowth, thin-s that are traps or us.

7ook at Eames //(%/+

Blessed is the man that endureth tem!tation) for

hen he is tried( he shall receive the cron of life(

hich the 'ord hath !romised to them that love him&

'et no man sa% hen he is tem!ted( I am tem!tedof *od) for *od cannot #e tem!ted ith evil( neither

tem!teth he an% man)

But ever% man is tem!ted( hen he is dran aa%

of his on lust( and enticed&

Then hen lust hath conceived( it #rin"eth forth

sin) and sin( hen it is finished( #rin"eth forth death&

/o not err( m% #eloved #rethren&

:irst o all, these 6erses say that the person who endres

temptation is blessed. Eames did not say that the person who

yields, then repents and reco6ers to rise abo6e his sin is blessed.

;hen you do not all or the temptationFthe snare set beore

37




youFyou are blessed.

Eames //3 speciically spells out that ?od is not the

tempter. He does not set the snare. The de6il sets the trap, butonly man can trip it. ! am not a hunter or a trapper, but !

understand a little bit about rabbit traps.

Suppose a man makes a rabbit trap and sets it some place

where there is supposed to be rabbits. 4ll he does is set the trap.

He does not catch the rabbit. !n act, the trap does not reach out

and catch the rabbit. The rabbit #at#hes himself.

4ny animal cau-ht in a snare is there because he has -i6en

in to temptation and reached or the bait, thus -ettin- himsel

cau-ht in whate6er kind o trap has been set. So all the de6il

does is set the trap and place the temptation out there as bait.

;hen a hristian is drawn into the trap by his own lust Eames

//*I, then he is cau-ht.

That is why yo are responsible. #o matter what kind otrap the de6il has set, you are accountable or allin- into it.

! belie6e that thousands o years a-o, the de6il desi-ned

e6ery orm o sin and set it in motion. 4s ar as most sin -oes, he

does not ha6e to do anythin- anymore. He set the 6arious kinds

o traps a-es a-o, and men come alon- and all into them.

Other men see how attracti6e these traps are. They see how

to -ain a personal proit rom makin- them. So they work tomake the de6il=s snares look more enticin- and more desirable.

They prey on their ellow men and -ain proit rom the

entrapment o others by makin- the BbaitB taste better.

4ll the de6il is doin- now, in most cases, is watchin- his

traps. Man keeps -ettin- himsel cau-ht in them a-ain and

a-ain.

The 4postle was inspired to stick that one little sentence in

there /o not err( m% #eloved #rethren Eames //+I. ! it were

not possible or you to keep rom -ettin- into error the snareI,

that 6erse would not be in the ;ord.

38



He Will Deliver ou

4n Old Testament 6erse about bein- snared is 1ro6erbs +(

Thou art snared ith the ords of th% mouth&

! the snare is sin, how does this pro6erb about words it>The answer may sound hard, but it is truth. 4nythin- you

speak that is contradictory to the ;ord o ?od is a lie. 4nythin-

you speak that is not in line with the ;ord, anythin- you say

that is contradictory to ?od can be a snare to you. <ou are

entrapped by the words you speak, or you are 6ictorious by the

words you speak. Eames 35%&G 1ro6. /&(/.I

7ook at ?alatians 5/

Stand fast therefore in the li#ert% hereith Christ

hath made us free( and #e not entan"led a"ain ith the

%o,e of #onda"e&

4lso, look at 0phesians +/+

$#ove all( ta,in" the shield of faith( hereith %eshall #e a#le to uench all the fier% darts of the ic,ed

one&

The wi#(ed one is the de6il. Here he is described as

Bshootin-B at us. So deinitely, the de6il is the owler, the hunter

o men=s souls. "ut remember this ?od has deli6ered us rom the

snare o the owler.

You Can ;ise $#ove Sin

Many hristians want to take the attitude o B! can=t help it.B

"ut, i you do sin, it is not because you could not help it. ?od has

already BhelpedB it. He already has deeated the de6il and raised

you abo6e sin. ! sin has become a part o your lie, it is by your

own choice to Btake the baitB in the trap. <ou made a decision toa-ree with the owler or with ?od, and that decision determined

whether you were cau-ht or escaped.

! wrestled with this truth or a lon- time because o my

reli-ious back-round as a child. ! did not want to sin. !t was not

39




my desire nor my plan. ! Aust thou-ht that somewhere down the

line, the de6il was -oin- to throw a temptation in ront o me

that somehow ! could not o6ercome."ut the ;ord clearly shows that there is not one sin-le

temptation the de6il can place in ront o you that you cannot

o6ercome. / or. /$/3.I

! suppose ! must ha6e thou-ht subconsciously that there

were some temptations let out o the atonementC ! must ha6e

assumed there were some kinds o temptation that escaped

when Eesus died on the cross. "ut there are none.

Many hristians today apparently still ha6e this same

assumption operatin- in their minds. ! can tell you o a certainty,

howe6er, that i you keep mo6in- toward the Son o ?od, keep

makin- the ;ord a way o lie, a year rom now many o those

thin-s that tempt you today will not be a temptation any lon-er.

<ou have been deli6ered rom the de6il=s snares.

?alatians 5/ tells us that we can rise abo6e sin

Stand fast therefore in the li#ert% hereith Christ

hath made us free&

Ob6iously, you can rise abo6e temptation and sin, or the

4postle 1aul would not ha6e told us to stand ast in the liberty

with which Eesus has made us ree.4nother act about the de6il that always e2cites me is ound

in 7uke /$/),/&

$nd the sevent% returned a"ain ith Ao%( sa%in"(

'ord( even the devils are su#Aect unto us throu"h th%

name&

$nd he said unto them( I #eheld Satan as li"htnin"

fall from heaven&

Eesus, the Son o ?od, while on earth in His mortal body,

told the disciples that He had seen the de6il all rom hea6en.

That incident had to ha6e happened at least *,$$$ years beore

40



He Will Deliver ou

Eesus made that statement.

That was kind o a Bput down,B i you think about it. There

were )$ disciples Aumpin- up and down with Aoy, e2cited because the demons were subAect to them throu-h Eesus= name.

4nd Eesus Aust kind o shru--ed His shoulders and said, BSo

what> ! saw him all thousands o years a-o. !t=s no bi- deal.B

Today, it has been at least +,$$$ years since Satan ell rom

hea6en. ?od did not ha6e to wait or Eesus to die on the cross to

deeat the de6il. He had been deeated in the hea6enlies. "ut

4dam and 06e=s sin allowed the de6il to win a place in the li6es

o mankind and o6er the systems o the world. The sacriice o

the 7amb o ?od on the cross deeated Satan in the li6es o men.

He has been twice deeated, and the third and inal time is

comin- up.

Eesus translated the promises o 1salm '/ into past tense

when He saidBehold( I "ive %ou !oer to tread on ser!ents and

scor!ions( and over all the !oer of the enem%) and

nothin" shall #% an% means hurt %ou&

'u,e 1D)19

;e need to -et a clear understandin- o the act that

whether the de6il is huntin-, trappin-, or shootin-, nothin- shall

by any means hurt us. <et so many hristians li6e as i they arenot sure the de6il has been deeated. They look at how stron- he

comes on, how hard he attacks, and how hard the thin-s he

brin-s a-ainst them are to o6ercome. Howe6er, i they once see

how deeated he is, those thin-s will not seem so stron- or hard.

The 4postle Matthew reported the same act about Eesus a

little dierently in his -ospel

$nd 4esus came and s!a,e unto them( sa%in"( $ll

!oer is "iven unto me in heaven and in earth&

*o %e therefore( and teach all nations( #a!tiFin"

them in the name of the .ather( and of the Son( and of

the Hol% *host)

41




Teachin" them to o#serve all thin"s hatsoever I

have commanded %ou) and( lo( I am ith %ou ala%(

even unto the end of the orld& $men&

7atthe <)1<D

Matthew reported that Eesus said all power had been -i6en

to Him in hea6en and in the earth. Then in 7uke /$/', it is

recorded that Eesus said, B! -i6e my ollowers power o6er all o

the power o the enemy.B He could do that because ?od had

-i6en all power to Him.

The complete Bdeclaration o reedomB rom Satan is oundin Mark /+/5%/&

$nd he said unto them( *o %e into all the orld(

and !reach the "os!el to ever% creature&

He that #elieveth and is #a!tiFed shall #e saved+

#ut he that #elieveth not shall #e damned&

$nd these si"ns shall follo them that #elieve+ In

m% name shall the% cast out devils+ the% shall s!ea, ithne ton"ues+

The% shall ta,e u! ser!ents+ and if the% drin, an%

deadl% thin"( it shall not hurt them+ the% shall la% hands

on the sic,( and the% shall recover&

Eesus is sayin- that we ha6e total deli6erance rom Satan. So

when we declare that He has deli6ered us rom the snare o the

owler, we are includin- all o the thin-s mentioned in the abo6e

6erses o scripture. ;e ha6e total and complete deli6erance.

<ou may say, B;ell, ! know Eesus has deli6ered us, but the

de6il comes a-ain and a-ain. He Aust keeps sayin- these thin-s to

my mind. ! know what the ;ord o ?od says, but how can ! deal

with the act that the de6il keeps comin- a-ainst me>B

Satan is a Noisome "estilence

Satan is noisy, oul%smellin-, oensi6e, and a pest. He is the

source o atal conta-ious diseases in the natural and conta-ious

errors o doctrines in the spiritual. "ut we ha6e been deli6ered.

42



He Will Deliver ou

The de6il wants to deeat us. He did not deeat Eesus, but he

thinks he can deeat those who are members o Eesus= "odyFand

he can, if we let him.He wants to put sicknessFconta-ious and atal diseases on

us. "ut Matthew &/) and / 1eter ((* clearly say that Eesus took

those thin-s or us. Thereore, we no lon-er ha6e to ha6e them.

Think about cancer, which is usually called a Bterminal

disease.B ! belie6e the thin- that brin-s the -reatest ear to most

men and women is hearin- those words, B<ou ha6e a terminal

disease. <ou ha6e a atal disease. There is no cure known toman.B

That is not a true statement and ne6er will be. The cure is

known to man, and that is Eesus. ;e have been deli6ered rom the

noisome pestilence. ancer is a pestilence, and the world is ull

o ear o it. "ut the ;ord declares that we ha6e been reed rom

it.

There is not one atal disease, not one conta-ious disease,

that we ha6e not been deli6ered rom.

The de6il also wants to -et us into doubt, disbelie, and

errors o doctrine. "ut he has been deeated there also, or the

;ord says

$ll scri!ture is "iven #% ins!iration of *od( and is

!rofita#le for doctrine( for re!roof( for correction( forinstruction in ri"hteousness) That the man of *od ma%

#e !erfect( and thorou"hl% furnished unto all "ood

or,s&

Timoth% )18

So the de6il comes back to your mind a-ain and a-ain and

a-ain> Eust remember that he probably is the noisiest bein- in

e2istence. He may come and speak the same thin-s to your mindo6er and o6er. Howe6er, if yo will believe what the Bible says and

tell him to leave, yo #an effe#tively resist him, and he will lee. That

means he will run away so ar that you cannot hear him.

9omans /(( says

43




$nd #e not conformed to this orld) #ut #e %e

transformed #% the renein" of %our mind( that %e ma%

!rove hat is that "ood( and acce!ta#le( and !erfect( ill

of *od&

That means many thin-s, but one o them is this ! you

ha6e your mind renewed 9om. /((I, you ha6e resisted the

de6il. He has led, and your mind is no lon-er ull o his doubts.

The person who knows who he is in hrist Eesus abides

under the shadow o the 4lmi-hty in a place that is ull o ?od=s

anointin-, ?od=s power, ?od=s workin-. Thus the ;ord o ?od becomes your reu-e and your ortress, because your trust is in

?od and His ;ord.

;hen you can truly say that and mean it, you are sayin-

that you ha6e been deli6ered rom the snare o the owler. <ou

ha6e been deli6ered rom anythin- Satan would try to do in

your lie. ;e are li6in- in the blessin- o what Eesus has already

done.

The responsibility that alls on us is simply to brin- our

li6es in line with what Eesus already has done. ;e do that by

aith in ?od=s ;ord, by belie6in- what it says, sayin- what it

says, and walkin- in the ullness o it.

44



Feathers May !ot "e #nough

He shall cover thee ith His feathers( and under

His in"s shalt thou trust) his truth shall #e th% shield

and #uc,ler&

Psalm 91)5

;hen ! read that ourth 6erse, ! always think o an incident

! heard about once. The story -oes that a woman was standin-

on the street corner one ni-ht in downtown :ort ;orth, Te2as.

4ll o the stores had closed, so it was ater dark. She was alone

and waitin- or a bus.She said her handba- was one o those o6ersi@ed ones, and

she had it slun- o6er her shoulder. 4s she stood there alone, a

man walked up and kind o eased o6er ne2t to her. Then he

-rabbed that bi- purse, tryin- to take it away rom her.

4s she -rappled with him, han-in- onto her purse, she

tried to think o some scripture to claim or somethin- to say. 4ll

she could think o was 1salm '/*Fand only one word o that6erse came to herC

So she be-an to yell at the top o her 6oice, B:eathers,

eathers, eathers, eathersCB

!n a ew seconds, the man -a6e her a real odd look, as you

can well ima-ine. Then he turned loose o her purse and ran o

as hard as he could -o. This actually happened. ! ha6e met this

lady.

! the ;ord really works that way, it is worth lookin- intoC

Howe6er, yo may not be able to deal with dan-er by Aust

screamin-, B:eathers.B

45




Ho /oes *od 3Cover3 You?

The ;ord says, He shall co6er thee. Usually when we thinko the word #over, we ha6e in mind puttin- somethin- on, or

puttin- somethin- o6er or in ront o somethin- else. The idea

usually is to conceal, hide, or protect somethin-. 4nd there are

se6eral Hebrew words that carry that particular meanin-.

Howe6er, the Hebrew word translated #over in 6erse * is a

dierent word. !t is sa(a(, and it is only used our times as #over

in the entire Old Testament. There are perhaps a do@en otherplaces where it appears in 6ariations such as #overed, #overeth, or

#overed, but always with the primary meanin- o Bto entwine as a

screen.B "y implication, it means Bto deend, hed-e in, Aoin

to-ether, set, shut upB in an enclosure./

7et=s look at one place where two dierent Hebrew words

are translated #over, in order to see the dierent meanin-s.

!n 02odus *$/)%/', Moses wrote

$nd it came to !ass in the first month in the second

%ear( on the first da% of the month( that the ta#ernacle

as reared u!&

$nd 7oses reared u! the ta#ernacle( and fastened

his soc,ets( and set u! the #oards thereof( and !ut in the

#ars thereof( and reared u! his !illars&

$nd he s!read a#road the tent over the ta#ernacle(

and !ut the coerin# of the tent a#ove u!on it+ as the

'ord commanded 7oses&

Here the word #overing has the meanin- that we -enerally

attribute to it Moses put the co6erin- o6er the tent. The Hebrew

word is mi(#eh, meanin- co6erin-, such as Bweather%boardin-.B(

"ut in 02odus *$(/, the word sakak is used

$nd he #rou"ht the ar, into the ta#ernacle( and set

/ Stron"( 4ames& The New $tron#'s Exha%stie &oncordance of the ible :Nashville) Thomas

Nelson Pu#lishers( 19<5=( 3He#re and Chaldee /ictionar%(3 !& <( G668&

( Stron"& (ebrew and &haldee Dictionary, !& 88( G5>&

46



Feathers May Not Be Enough

u! the vail of the coerin#, and coered the ar, of the

testimon%+ as the 'ord commanded 7oses&

4s we saw rom the Hebrew, Sa(a( does not mean simply

Bto hide or to conceal,B but Bto hed-e in.B Moses did not lay the

6eil o6er the ark as a co6erin-. The 6eil was a 6ery thick curtain

that di6ided a small inner room rom the two outer courts. The

4rk o the o6enant was Bhed-ed inB behind that 6eil.

Most o us think o ?od co6erin- us so that the de6il will

ne6er see us a-ain. ;e will be completely hidden, and the de6il

cannot ind us to do anythin- to us. "ut this 6erse is not talkin-

about that kind o co6erin-. ?od has not promised to hide you

so the de6il cannot ind you.

;hat ?od is promisin- is to hedge yo in. He will Bco6er you

with His eathers,B a word picture o a hen co6erin- her little

chicks protecti6ely. 4s lon- as you stay inside that hed-e, the

enemy cannot harm you. Howe6er, i you stray otside thehed-e, you not only are not hidden, you are not protectedC

The enemy knows you are there in that hed-e. He can hear

you, and perhaps he can see you. "ut he cannot -et to you as

lon- as you remain behind the hed-e.

The 4rk o the o6enant was completely cut oFnot to

hide it, but to keep people away rom it. Only the hi-h priest was

allowed in the holy o holies.

Satan Is Not -mni!resent

Satan is limited to bein- in one place at one time. He is not

omnipresent, as ?od is. One place in the "ible that clearly shows

this act is the book o Eob.

No there as a da% hen the sons of *od came to!resent themselves #efore the 'ord( and Satan came also

amon" them&

$nd the 'ord said unto Satan( Whence comest

thou? Then Satan ansered the 'ord( and said( .rom

47




"oin" to and fro in the earth( and from al,in" u! and

don in it&

4o# 1)8(>

<ou can see that when you are -oin- to and ro, walkin- up

and down, you are mo6in- rom one place to another, not bein-

in all places at once. 4nd that is what the enemy is doin- today,

constantly mo6in- all o6er the ace o the earth.

$nd the 'ord said unto Satan( Hast thou

considered m% servant 4o#( that there is none li,e him inthe earth( a !erfect and an u!ri"ht man( one that feareth

*od( and escheeth evil?

Then Satan ansered the 'ord( and said( /oth 4o#

fear *od for nou"ht?

Hast not thou made an hed#e a#out him( and a#out

his house( and a#out all that he hath on ever% side? thou

hast #lessed the or, of his hands( and his su#stance is

increased in the land&But !ut forth thine hand no( and touch all that he

hath( and he ill curse thee to th% face&

$nd the 'ord said unto Satan( Behold( all that he

hath is in th% !oer+ onl% u!on himself !ut not forth

thine hand& So Satan ent forth from the !resence of the

'ord&

4o# 1)<1

#otice that, in 6erse /$, Satan is quoted as usin- the word

hedge. This is yet a dierent Hebrew word, sw(, literally

meanin- Bshut in or ormation, protection, or restraintIFence,

make anI hed-e upI.B3

?od did not deny that he had put a hed-e around Eob, a

hed-e that apparently looked to Satan like an impre-nable ence.

;hen we think about a hed-e, we think about shrubbery. ;ethink o bushes that are only a ew eet hi-h, bushes that it is

possible to make a way throu-h. 7ittle boys, do-s, and cats are

always makin- paths throu-h most o the kinds o hed-es we

3 Stron"& 3He#re and Chaldee /ictionar%(3 !& 11( G>>6&

48




know.

"ut the hed-e ?od had placed around Eob looked like a

-reat, hi-h ence to Satan. He knew there was no way he could-et beyond it, althou-h he could see Eob within it. He could see

Eob prosperin- inside ?od=s ence. Satan was complainin- to

?od about this ence that surrounded Eob, his amily, and

e6erythin- that belon-ed to him.

He is sayin-, B! can=t do anythin- to Eob. <ou ha6e a ence

around him. #o wonder he =ears= lo6es, respects, is in awe oI

you. How do you know he would do this i he were out in theopen where ! could tempt and test him>B

Eob li6ed in Old Testament times. !n act, most scholars

belie6e that Eob is the oldest book in the "ible, which means it

had to be written lon- beore Moses took the children o !srael

out o 0-ypt.

7on- beore Satan tried to tempt Eesus ater His orty%dayast in the wilderness, he tried to subtly tempt ?od. Here he

challen-ed ?od to test Eob

But !ut forth thine hand no( and touch all that he

hath( and he ill curse thee to th% face&

4o# 1)11

Satan was su--estin- that ?od be the reason or Eob=s

destruction. He wanted to tempt ?od into makin- a mo6ea-ainst Eob in order to pro6e His point that Eob lo6ed Him

wholeheartedly or himsel. 4nd ?od would not do it. The de6il

is so ull o pride that he still thinks he is smarter than ?odC

This ou-ht to be e6idence to anyone that ?od does not

brin- sickness and disease or po6erty on His children. This one

6erse ou-ht to show that ?od does not wipe out His people.

Satan challen-ed Him to on this one occasion, at least, and ?od

reused.

Howe6er, ?od allowed Satan to touch e6erythin- Eob hadF

not because ?od wondered what Eob would do, but as a lesson

49




or Satan. 4lso, Eob=s aith was much stron-er ater all o this was

o6er.

#otice that ?od still kept the hed-e around Eob personally.Satan could not kill Eob. 4 lot o hristians are araid Satan is

-oin- to kill them. "ut, althou-h Satan could attack e6erythin-

Eob had, he could not touch his lie. There are many dierent

6iews on the book o Eob, which ! cannot -et into in this book. !

want to concentrate on one thin- ?od=s hed-e around Eob.

*od Has a Hed"e $round s?od has a similar hed-e around us, and ! will show you

that under the #ew o6enant. ;hen ?od established your

redemption in the 7ord Eesus hrist, He built a hu-e hed-e

around you and cut you o rom spiritual death, po6erty, and

sickness and disease.

Satan can see you inside that ence, and he can hear you.Howe6er, he cannot -et to you unless you come outside it

throu-h your choices. 4s lon- as you walk in the li-ht o your

redemption, Satan cannot cross that hed-e. ;e ha6e a -reater

hed-e than Eob didC Nothing shall by any means hrt s. 7uke

/$/'.I

The second phrase o 1salm '/* says, and under his in"s

shalt thou tr%st) So trustin- ?od has a bi- part in your protection.! do not know anyone who has seen this hed-e o the 7ord=s. ! do

not know e2actly what it looks like. 4ll o this is a matter o

trst. ! belie6e in the redemption o the 7ord Eesus hrist. ! trust

?od=s ;ord, and so ! walk boldly by aith. !t is all a matter o

trustin- what ?od said in His ;ord.

4nd the last part o that 6erse is his truth shall #e th% shield

and #uc,ler& ;hat is His truth> His truth is His ;ord.9emember, 0phesians +/+ says to take the shield o aith to

quench all the iery darts o the wicked. ;hat de6elops your

shield o aith> :aith comes by hearin- the ;ord o ?od. 9om.

/$/).I 4s you hear His truths in the ;ord, your shield o aith is

50




ormed and de6eloped.

;hy do you need a shield o aith> ! you are inside the

hed-e, i the ad6ersary cannot -et o6er or throu-h the ence, youmay think you do not need a shield. ;ell, there is one more

word in 1salm '/* that we ha6e not talked about, and that is

b#(ler.

There are our dierent Hebrew words translated in the

King James Version as b#(ler. The irst three mean a shield, or a

lar-er shield, or a Aa6elinFso that could mean some kind o

shield with a weapon. Howe6er, none o those three is the wordused here.

The word is #o#herah, and it is only used this one time in the

Old Testament. !t means Bsomethin- surroundin- the person.B*

So this b#(ler the psalmist is reerrin- to is a hed-e that

completely surrounds a person.

<our shield o aith, howe6er, is the de6il=s tar-etC ! you arewithin that surroundin- hed-e, or shield o aith, then he cannot

directly attack you. 4ll he can do is shoot iery darts at your

shield. He Aust keeps shootin- at that tar-et.

So i ?od=s truth is your buckler, and the shield o aith is

de6eloped by hearin- the truth, what is Satan shootin- at all o

the time> He is shootin- at the ;ord o ?od. So keep your shield

o aith intact. Stay in the ;ord, and those darts o the enemywill Aust all o harmlessly.

! picture that shield o aith as a hu-e waterall ri-ht there

in ront o me all the time, because 0phesians 5(+ talks about the

cleansin- o the hurch with the washin- o water by the word. !

stay behind ?od=s wonderul waterall which surrounds me,

ri-ht inside ?od=s hed-e.

Do you see how your oensi6e weapon works when you

use it> Here you are inside the hed-e, behind the shield o aith,

and all o Satan=s iery darts are lyin- ri-ht into your shield o

aith and bein- quenched immediately. 06ery now and then, you

* Stron"& 3He#re and Chaldee /ictionar%(3 !& <( G66D>&

51




Aust reach out with the sword o the Spirit and -i6e the enemy

one -ood chop. 7ay the ;ord out beore you.

:or one last scripture concernin- this truth, let=s look at /Timothy +/(

.i"ht the "ood fi"ht of faith( la% hold on eternal

life( hereunto thou art also called( and hast !rofessed a

"ood !rofession #efore man% itnesses&

! belie6e we always ou-ht to make a -ood "rofession, so i

you a-ree, pray this prayer with your whole heartThan( +o, ord, that ' am redeemed from s"irital death. ' am

redeemed from the #rse of the law. ' am redeemed from si#(ness and

disease. ' am redeemed from "overty and destr#tion. The adversary

has no "ower over me, bt all "ower over all the "ower of the enemy has

been given nto me by the ord Jess -hrist. ' live inside +or hedge. '

live and reoi#e in my redem"tion, whi#h was "r#hased for me at

-alvary. ' will stay inside +or hedge. ' will (ee" my shield of faithinta#t, and ' will se my wea"on. Than( yo, ord, that all of the

enemy/s fiery darts are 0en#hed.

! you ha6e made holes in your hed-e by runnin- back and

orth throu-h it, i you ha6e not used the sword o the Spirit, i

you ha6e recei6ed the attacks o the enemy, do not get nder

#ondemnation. The time when you are wounded is no time to

allow the enemy to brin- condemnation on you as another iery

dartC

7earnin- such truths as ?od is re6ealin- about His ;ord in

this book is the place where you be-in to li6e the hristian lie. !

you already were walkin- in total 6ictory, you mi-ht not need to

be readin- and learnin-.

So i you are in the process o ha6in- your aith built byhearin- the ;ord, then ind a -ood church where you can hear

more and more o the ;ord, ind people to -et in a-reement

with you to Bshore upB your hed-e, and most o all, -et in the

;ord o ?od. Make it an entire way o lie. 9ead it out loud to

52




yoursel, and your hed-e will become more and more secure.

53



$

$ Fear Ma%es Holes in Your

Hedge

Thou shalt not #e afraid for the terror #% ni"ht+ nor

for the arro that flieth #% da%+Nor for the !estilence that al,eth in dar,ness+

nor for the destruction that asteth at noonda%&



Psalm 91)6>

There are our more thin-s about Eob=s situation that ! want

you to look at, because they will help you to better understand1salm '/ under the #ew o6enant. Those thin-s are

/. ?od placed a hed-e around Eob.

(. This hed-e looked like a -reat ence to Satan.

3. ?od narrowed the perimeter o that ence to include

only Eob=s lie.

*. Eob=s ear about losin- his children and his possessionsmay ha6e been what ultimately -a6e the de6il access to

them. On the other hand, Eob was not araid o losin- his

lie, so his bein- in a-reement with ?od in this area

allowed ?od to preser6e his lie. :irst, look at the 6erses

that show ear.

$nd it as so( hen the da%s of their :4o#0s sons0

and dau"hters0= feastin" ere "one a#out( that 4o# sentand sanctified them( and rose u! earl% in the mornin"(

and offered #urnt offerin"s accordin" to the num#er of

them all) for 4o# said( It ma% #e that m% sons have

sinned( and cursed *od in their hearts& Thus did 4o#

continuall%& :He feared for his children&=

55




4o# 1)6

.or the thin" hich I #reatly feared is come u!on

me( and that hich I as afraid of is come unto me&I as not in safet%( neither had I rest( neither as I

uiet+ %et trou#le came&

4o# )6(8

4nother translation o those two 6erses says/

.or a fear I feared and it meeteth me( $nd hat I

as afraid of doth come to me& I as not safenor as Iuietnor as I at restand trou#le cometh

#ow, let=s look at the 6erse that shows Eob was not in ear

o6er losin- his lie.

.or I ,no that m% redeemer liveth( and that he

shall stand at the latter da% u!on the earth)

$nd thou"h after m% s,in orms destro% this

#od%( %et in m% flesh shall I see *od)

Whom I shall see for m%self( and mine e%es shall

#ehold( and not another+ thou"h m% reins #e consumed

ithin me&

4o# 19)6>

:or years those 6erses ha6e dri6en liberal theolo-ians up

the wall. 1eople in Eob=s day were not supposed to know about

the 9edeemer. They did not ha6e the #ew o6enant. They were

not supposed to ha6e an understandin- o the Messiah. #ot until

the #ew Testament is it spelled out clearly in writin- by

inspiration o the Holy Spirit that when Eesus returns or His

"ody, we will see ?od in the lesh.

<et Eob anticipated seein- ?od. He understood that he was

-oin- to stand beore ?od when he died. He understood that hewas -oin- to li6e on, so he was not araid o dyin-. The one

thin- Eob did not ear was physical death. He was araid he

/ Youn"( ;o#ert& *o%n#'s +iteral Translation of the (oly ible, ;evised Edition :*rand

;a!ids) Ba,er Boo, House( 1<9<( Third Edition=( !& <&

56



Fear Ma!es Holes in our Hedge

would lose his money, he was araid his children would die and

all his cattle, he was araid a storm would come and blow away

his house, but he was not araid o losin- his lie."ecause he eared all o those thin-s, howe6er, he was

ste""ing otside the hedge.

Eesus addressed a similar situation in Matthew (33), when

He said

- 4erusalem( 4erusalem( thou that ,illest the

!ro!hets( and stonest them hich are sent unto thee(ho often ould I have "athered th% children to"ether(

even as a hen "athereth her chic,ens under her in"s(

and %e ould not

;hat Eesus actually was sayin- is this

B7isten, Eerusalem, you ha6e -otten outside the hed-e. <ou

stepped outside the ence. 06erytime a prophet comes, you kill

him. <ou ha6e stoned the prophets. 06eryone who tries to tellyou to -et back behind the ence, you kill.

BHow oten would ! ha6e -athered you as a hen -athers her

little chicks beneath her win-s, but you would not let Me. !

would ha6e brou-ht you back inside the hed-e, but because you

would not allow it, your house is let unto you desolate. "ecause

you -ot outside my protection, Satan is -oin- to come in and

wipe out your city and your nation.B

Thou Shalt Not Be $fraid

! you are not to be araid in the daytime, or the ni-httime,

in the li-ht or in the darkness, then when can you be araid> The

answer is that ?od has not made any pro6ision or His children

to be araid at any time. He did not lea6e out one minute o theni-ht or day. He did not lea6e out any place you can -o on the

ace o the earth and ha6e an e2cuse to be araid.

That statement is not a platitude or a phrase inAected to ill

space. 't is a #ommandment. The reason 1salm '/ does not work

57




or many hristians is that they ne6er -et beyond that

commandment. Howe6er, it is more than a commandment, it is a

prophetic statement.;hen all o the thin-s in the irst our 6erses are workin- in

your lie, when the secret place o the Most Hi-h is a reality to

you, then you shall not be araid. ! you are co6ered with His

eathers and trustin- in His win-s, you will not ear.

That is a pretty -ood indicator that when ear -rips us, we

ha6e not been walkin- in the li-ht o our redemption. ;hen you

ind that ear has come into your lie, when you are constantly battlin- ear, you are not li6in- in the pro6isions o 1salm '/.

There are two kinds o people who deal with ear. Those in

the irst -roup belie6e ear is somethin- they already ha6e and

are tryin- to -et rid o. Those in the second -roup belie6e that

ear belon-s to Satan, who is tryin- to put it on them. ;hich

-roup are you in>

Members o the irst -roup would say, B! ha6e a lot o ears

in my lie. There are a lot o thin-s that =scare me to death.= B

Members o the second -roup say, B! used to ha6e ear,

because Satan is ull o ears. #ow ! am a new creature in hrist

Eesus, and all o the old thin-s in my nature ha6e passed away.

4ll thin-s ha6e become new. ! do not ha6e any ear, but Satan

tries to put his ears on me. 4nd ! am not -oin- to recei6e anyear.B

9omans &/5 tells you the truth about ear

.or %e have not received the s!irit of #onda"e

a"ain to fear) But %e have received the S!irit of ado!tion(

here#% e cr%( $##a( .ather&

! you ha6e recei6ed the spirit o adoption, then ob6iouslyyou do not ha6e a spirit o bonda-e. The spirit that brin-s

bonda-e brin-s ear. ?od did not -i6e us ear. He -a6e us

power, lo6e, and a sound mind. 1ear does not #ome from &od.

;e are told to BearB ?od, but that means Bto re6erenceB

58




?od, to bow down and worship ?od. ;e are to be in awe o the

reator o the uni6erse and e6erythin- in it. "ut when He is our

:ather, we do not fear Him in the sense o Bterror and panic.B4nother way o lookin- at the attitude o ear and what it

causes is this

Those in the irst -roup o people, who ha6e ear and are

tryin- to -et rid o it, ha6e re6erence for what they fear. The latest

aller-y, losin- their Aobs, all kinds o problemsFthose are what

they spend time thinkin- and talkin- about. They Bbow downB to

their ears, while those in the second -roup bow down to ?od.<our hea6enly :ather does not want you bowin- down to

anythin- but Him.

:earin- anythin- will result in your bowin- down to it. <ou

re6erence it. B"owin- downB is not only an act o worship, but it

is an act o submission. <ou can bow down to the :ather in

6oluntary submission and not be in bonda-e. Bt yo #annot bow

down to anything else in the world withot #oming nder bondage to

it.

1salm '/5 says you will not be araid o the terror at ni-ht.

Terror also means Bdread,B so you will not dread the darkness or

be araid o the dark. ! you are araid, it always -ets worse at

ni-ht. Ha6e you noticed that> ! you are sick, most o the time, it

seems you -et worse at ni-ht. There apparently is a 6ery closeconnection between this matter o ear and your physical health.

There is somethin- about ear and darkness and ni-ht that

seems to cause them to low to-ether. Somehow i you ha6e ear,

you eel more 6ulnerable in the dark and at ni-ht. Howe6er,

Satan really does not care whether it is dark or notG he wants to

brin- destruction e6en in the noon day.

7en0s Hearts .ail for .ear

The prophetic 6erse o 7uke (/(5 says that men=s hearts

will ail them or ear because o lookin- at the thin-s that are

comin- on the earth, for the !oers of heaven shall #e sha,en&

59




! was not born until lon- ater the ?reat Depression o /'('.

<et, some thirty years later, when ! was youn-, many people

were in ear o another oneFB;e may ha6e another depression.;hat i we ha6e another depression>B ;hen ! was a child, most

adults remembered those awul times, or had heard o them

rom their parents so much that it seemed they remembered.

They were araid the same thin-s could happen a-ain. Then

we went throu-h the period when e6eryone was araid o

nuclear war. #ow the world also is earin- en6ironmental

destruction o one kind or another. Men=s hearts probably ha6eailed them or ear more in this century than any since hrist.

"ut none o these BearsB can equal all o the si-ns in the

sun, moon, and stars that Eesus said were -oin- to happen in the

uture. ;orldwide, at that time, many men will ha6e hearts

ailin- them or ear. ;hen all o those thin-s be-in to happen in

the sky, it is -oin- to be quite awesome.

4 lot o hristians ha6e their hearts turned toward

problems in natural circumstances, and i thin-s be-an to

happen in the uni6erse ri-ht now, their hearts would ail them

or ear. Their hearts are built up and ready or ear, not or trust

in ?od.

;hat is the cure or this> The cure is to -et your heart and

attention back on the ;ord o ?od. The cure is to take theposition ?od takes not to allow ear to become part o your lie

at any time nor in any place.

<ou may say, BOh, but ! Aust can=t help it.B

Jerses /%* o 1salm '/ tell you how to help it. They tell you

how to reach that place o saety, how to be in the position o

escape. 4nother psalm sheds more li-ht on this

7% soul is amon" lions) and I lie even amon" themthat are set on fire( even the sons of men( hose teeth are

s!ears and arros( and their ton"ue a shar! sord&

Psalm 6>)5

60




The 4postle 1eter wrote that the de6il Bwalks about as a

roarin- lionB lookin- or those belie6ers that he can de6our. /

1et. 5&.I 2hi#h belie6ers> Satan seeks to de6our those who donot resist stedfast in the faith 6. 'I.

7en $re Not Your Enemies

The author o 1salm 5) reers to men who come a-ainst you

alon- with the de6il. "ut what the psalmist really was talkin-

about is the enemy workin- throgh men.

9emember that any time someone says somethin- bad

about you, anytime someone critici@es you, complains about

somethin- you ha6e done, disa-rees with you, or e6en curses

youFdo not get angry. Satan is takin- ad6anta-e o weaknesses in

that person to strike out at the weaknesses in you.

7o6e your enemy. 7o6e those who despiteully use you.

7o6e is a choice, not a eelin-. Make a decision to lo6e them withthe lo6e o Eesus, and that will put the brakes on Satan=s ability to

work throu-h that person to strike out at you.

So, in 1salm 5), the composer is really talkin- about Satan

workin- throu-h men to shoot iery darts. The de6il or any o his

demons can only speak to your mind. He cannot speak to you

audibly, which is why he uses human 6oices to reach your

natural ear.He works throu-h those who will recei6e his thou-hts and

act on them. Satan taunts and works in an indi6idual=s lie, a

person who is susceptible because o certain thou-hts o his own,

and stirs him up so that he becomes a 6oice or the enemy.

Se6eral other scriptures alon- this line may come to your

mind. One that comes to my mind is !saiah 5*/)

No ea!on that is formed a"ainst thee shall

!ros!er( and ever% ton"ue that shall rise a"ainst thee in

Aud"ment thou shalt condemn& & & &

#o matter what it is, the Holy Spirit said under the Old

61




o6enantFand we ha6e a better oneFno weapon ormed

a-ainst the people o ?od shall prosper. Some o the weapons

the de6il has ormed a-ainst us are po6erty, sickness anddisease, reAection and persecution, and ear.

Then He assured us that anyone who rises up a-ainst us

will be condemned in Aud-ment. That does not mean to rise up

and say to those people, B! condemn you.B ;hat the Holy Spirit

was sayin- is or us to take a irm stand in ?od=s ;ord. Then we

will come out on top, and e6eryone who was listenin- to those

thin-s that were said will see that you were the one who rose tothe top. The person sayin- all those thin-s was the one who was

wron-.

!saiah 5*/) ends this way

& & & This is the herita"e of the servants of the 'ord(

and their ri"hteousness is of me&

!saiah *3/ says

.ear not) for I have redeemed thee&

! ear becomes a real part o your lie, you are not walkin-

in the li-ht o your redemption.

& & & .ear not) for I have redeemed thee( I have called

thee #% th% name+ thou art mine&

When thou !assest throu"h the aters( I ill #e

ith thee+ and throu"h the rivers( the% shall not

overflo thee) hen thou al,est throu"h the fire( thou

shalt not #e #urned+ neither shall the flame ,indle u!on

thee&

.or I am the 'ord th% *od( the Hol% -ne of Israel(

th% Saviour& & & &

Isaiah 5)1

Under the #ew o6enant, the 4postle Eohn put it this way

There is no fear in loe #ut !erfect love casteth out

fear) #ecause fear hath torment& He that feareth is not

made !erfect in love&

62




1 4ohn 5)1<

63



&

& Faith Wor%s 'y (ove



Psalm 91)>

#ow we come to 6erse ) o 1salm '/. This is the 6erse that

has caused it to be called Bthe ser6iceman=s psalm.B That promise

sounds wonderul. "ut how can a thousand all at your side and

ten thousand at your ri-ht hand>

:irst o all, remember that in Deuteronomy 3(3$,3/, we saw

that the rock o our enemies is Satan. Our 9ock is the 7ord Eesus

hrist. Their rock Bsells them out,B and our rock shuts them up.;ho is them! They are all o the enemy shootin- the arrows that

ly by day, brin-in- the pestilence in the darkness, and causin-

the destruction that wastes at noonday.

The Bthousand at your sideB and the Bten thousand at your

ri-ht handB are those o Satan=s host that would come a-ainst

you. <ou see the ;ord is sayin- that i you will remain, stay, or

live in the shadow o the 4lmi-hty, you shall not ear.

<ou will not ear because no matter how many demons

come a-ainst you, no matter how many people are out there

workin- a-ainst you and runnin- their mouths all day lon-

a-ainst you, Aust stand irm in the 7ord, and He will shut them

up. <ou will see a thousand all at your side.

!n Deuteronomy 3(3$, Moses told us a little more abouthow this can come about. He shows that i e6en two belie6ers -et

in a-reement, they can put ten thousand to li-ht instead o a

thousand.

;hen you understand all o the ramiications o what these

65




6erses really mean, then tho shalt not be afraid stops bein- an

impersonal commandment and becomes a reality.

<ou can say, B! don=t ha6e ear that !=m tryin- to -et rid o.#oC :ear will not come near me. Satan will not put that ear on

me.B

4nd i the ear does not come on you, then Satan cannot put

the wastin-, the pestilence, and the destruction on you, either. !n

the words o the prophet !saiah

No ea!on that is formed a"ainst thee shall

!ros!er&Isaiah 65)1>a

Many times, when people -et ready to take a trip, they

want to pray, BOh, 7ord, keep us sae. Oh, 7ord, protect us. Oh,

7ord, -o with us.B

06en when it comes to tra6elin-, i you will -o with Him

and dwell in the secret place o the Most Hi-h, you will abideunder the shadow o the 4lmi-hty, and accidents or mishaps

will not come near you.

!ncorporate this truth into your lie. Take it e6erywhere you

-o. Make li6in- in the ;ord a liestyle, and you will not ear.

! am sure that you noticed a dierence in e2pression

between what was said in Deuteronomy 3(3$ and 1salm '/).

Moses wrote about Bchasin-B and Bputtin- to li-ht,B and the

psalmist wrote about thousands Ballin-.B <ou mi-ht say that the

enemies o ?od=s people were -oin- to run and then all, but !

think there is more to it than that.

;hate6er it is that is -oin- to run or all, whoe6er is -oin-

to be put to li-ht, it is not supposed to be born%a-ain, Spirit%

illed, ;ord%belie6in- peopleC

Believers $re Not To Be Put To .li"ht

There ha6e been times when ! ha6e seen two hristians

tryin- to Boutbelie6eB one another. 1erhaps you ha6e ne6er seen

66



Faith Wor!s "y #ove

two Spirit%illed hristians both belie6in- or the same thin-. "ut

! certainly ha6e. !n one instance, there was a buildin- or sale in a

certain city, and each o two men was Bbelie6in- ?odB andBconessin-B that the buildin- was his.

These two men knew each other 6ery well. #either o them

would -i6e in. ! suppose each thou-ht his aith was stron-er, so

?od would honor his belie6in- o6er the other man=s. ;hat kind

o position does that put ?od in> "oth o them or-ot that faith

wor(s by love.

?od ne6er intended or me to use my aith a-ainst another belie6er. ?od ne6er intended or us to belie6e or another

brother in hrist to run or all. He ne6er intended or us to try to

outdo or outwit one another.

Under the Old o6enant, ?od worked in behal o !srael.

He caused a lot o people to run rom them and be deeated.

Howe6er, those who were deeated were unbelie6ers allowin-

themsel6es to be used by the de6il a-ainst ?od=s people.

!n spite o how it looks in the Old Testament in the natural,

?od was ne6er comin- a-ainst the people but deeatin- the

enemy workin- throu-h them. The people always had the choice

o cooperatin- with !srael or workin- a-ainst her. 4nd, i they

were not or ?od, they were or Satan and were used by him.

onsider 9ahab in Eericho Aust beore !srael be-an to marcharound the walls. Eosh. (.I ! she reco-ni@ed ?od in what was

happenin- and chose to come o6er on His side, thus sa6in- her

entire amily, it stands to reason there were others who could

ha6e done the same.

!n Eoshua ', the inhabitants o ?ibeon came o6er on the side

o the 7ord by makin- a treaty with !srael, thus escapin-

destruction.

Some hristians today who work with people who are

intererin- with what they want, be-in to belie6e ?od to do

somethin- to those indi6iduals. ! ha6e heard some pretty stron-

Baith conessionsB concernin- what ?od was -oin- to do about

67




some other person who was in that belie6er=s way. 4ll o that is

based on a misunderstandin- o the ;ord.

1eople are ne6er your problem. !t is a mistake to be-in tolook at the person causin- trouble and not see the enemy behind

that person. ?od was ne6er comin- a-ainst the people. The

reason those people were run o6er and killed was because they

allowed themsel6es to become instruments o Satan.

! am not talkin- about demon possession. ! am simply

talkin- about people who allow Satan to work throu-h them.

;hen anyone complains, -rumbles, -ossips, critici@es, and Aud-es, he is bein- an instrument o Satan as much as when he

co6ets, lusts, steals, or commits adultery.

;hen a person allows Satan to cause him to walk in doubt

and lack o trust, he is bein- an instrument o the de6il. <ou may

think worry and doubt are not sins, but the ;ord says, for

hatsoever is not of faith is sin 9om. /*(3bI. That is a 6ery

stron- statement that hristians like to o6erlookC

1eople do not oten quote that, but they say, B! know !=m not

in aith like ! ou-ht to beG !=m not belie6in- ?od like ! ou-ht to,

!=m not walkin- in aith like ! ou-ht to. !=m doubtin- the

promises in ?od=s ;ord.B

They do not think this is sin. They ha6e this little Bproblem.B

The truth is that they do not belie6e ?od=s ;ord.This is not meant as condemnation, but to -i6e you

understandin-. 1erhaps this is an area you ha6e not seen beore.

"ut i you allow yoursel to -et cau-ht up with complainin- and

critici@in- other people, or your pastor and leaders o your

church, you are allowin- Satan to use you to some de-ree as one

o his instruments.

;e must watch oursel6es and keep oursel6es in line with

?od=s ;ord, so that at no time do we become an instrument

throu-h which Satan is able to do some o his work.

*od /oes Not Want $n% To Perish

68



Faith Wor!s "y #ove

Satan is destined to run. Satan is destined to all. Satan is

destined to be destroyed. ! he is workin- in you and throu-h

you, then when he runs, yo are going to rn. ;hen he -etsknocked down, you will too. Those thousands o people in the

Old Testament who were destroyed had so ali-ned themsel6es

with the enemy that when he ran or ell, so did they.

One e2ample that is proo o the act that ?od did not want

any o them to die is the city o #ine6eh. This was a whole city

that had become instruments o Satan. The de6il had ull and

complete ri-ht o way in their li6es to do anythin- he wanted to, but ?od still did not want them to be destroyed.

So He sent a little Hebrew man o6er there to warn them to

repent. Eonah /%*.I ?od had a hard time -ettin- Eonah there.

;hy was Eonah reluctant to -o preach to #ine6eh> He was not

araid, but the 4ssyrians were so wicked that Eonah did not want

them to be sa6edC

$nd *od sa their or,s( that the% turned from

their evil a%+ and *od re!ented of the evil( that he had

said that he ould do unto them+ and he did it not&

But it dis!leased 4onah e@ceedin"l%( and he as

ver% an"r%&

$nd he !ra%ed unto the 'ord( and said( I !ra% thee(

- 'ord( as not this m% sa%in"( hen I as %et in m%

countr%? Therefore I fled #efore unto Tarshish) for I,ne that thou art a "racious *od( and merciful( slo to

an"er( and of "reat ,indness( and re!entest thee of the

evil&

4onah )1D5)

!n other words, Eonah said, B7ord, ! knew you were lo6in-

and kind and hard to pro6oke. ! told you this is what <ou would

doC ! knew <ou would sa6e them i they repented, and theydeser6e to be destroyedCB

?od -ot the situation chan-ed, and those people were no

lon-er instruments o Satan. The whole city was sa6ed.

4lso, look at Sodom and ?omorrah. 4n entire city had

69




become the instruments o Satan in terms o se2ual per6ersion,

sel%indul-ence, and 6iolence a-ainst one another. !n spite o

that, ?od be-an to look or an intercessor so He would not ha6eto destroy them.

He went to 4braham, who be-an to pray that ?od spare the

city or at least 5$ ri-hteous. ?od a-reed, and 4braham be-an a

countdown to /$. "ut there he stopped. He must ha6e assumed

there were at least that many ri-hteous in his nephew 7ot=s

household. "ut he was wron-.

;hat i he had kept -oin- to three, or e6en one> ?od didnot want the city destroyed, althou-h the people allowed Satan

to work throu-h them all day and all ni-ht, apparently. ?od did

not want those people destroyed, but neither did he want Satan

to be able to use them to contaminate or destroy 4braham=s seed.

That is what was happenin- with Moses and 1haraoh, as

well. The 0-yptians o that time had become instruments o

Satan. They were cruel and mean. The "ible says they were hard

taskmasters. 02od. /&%/*.I ?od did His best to separate those

people rom bein- instruments o Satan. He must ha6e known

the demonic powers were headed or the bottom o the 9ed Sea,

and i the people would not be separated rom them, that is

where they would end up as well.

"ecause Satan was workin- throu-h them, the 0-yptianshad become enemies o ?od=s people. ! 1haraoh had said,

BOkay, ! belie6e your ?od is the real, true ?od. He is 7ord,B "ible

history would read a lot dierently.

9emember the story o the demon%possessed man o

?adara who ran out o the tombs at Eesus> ;hen Eesus cast the

demons out o him, they entered into pi-s and the pi-s ran into

the water. ! 1haraoh had committed to belie6e in ?od, thenation would ha6e ollowed him, and !srael would ha6e let

0-ypt. ! think all o those demonic orces that had been workin-

throu-h the 0-yptians mi-ht still ha6e wound up at the bottom

o the 9ed Sea.

70



Faith Wor!s "y #ove

This is similar to what will happen at the ?reat ;hite

Throne Aud-ment. 9e6. ($//.I ?od ne6er intended or a sin-le

human bein- to -o to hell. He did not prepare hell or humans.Matt. (5*/.I He has done e6erythin- within His power, short o

o6erridin- man=s inherent ri-ht to choose, to keep human bein-s

out o hell.

?od sent His only Son, Eesus, to be cruciied because He

lo6ed human bein-s, His creation, so much. Eohn 3/+.I !t is not

His will or any to perish. ( 1et. 3'.I

"ut Satan and all o his orces are headed that way, ast anduriously. ;hen Satan -oes to hell, those who ha6e ali-ned

themsel6es with him will -o alon-, in spite o ?od=s lo6e and the

way to escape He has prepared.

*od $la%s Wins

?od always wins.?od always comes out on top.

?od ne6er ails.

?od ne6er runs.

?od always is successul.

! you are ?od=s instrument, i He is workin- in and

throu-h you, and i you are inseparable rom Him, then when Hewins, yo win3

;hen He stands stron-, you stand stron-.

;hen a thousand all at His side, they all at your side.

4re you seein- the underlyin- principle here> Satan always

is going to lose. He is always -oin- to wind up on the bottom. !t

does not make any dierence what you think is -oin- on in the

world, or how successul someone looks who is not li6in- or

?od, Satan is always -oin- to lose. So are his instruments. They

may not BloseB until they die, but they are losers.

06ery human bein- is a Bborn loserB until he or she is born

71




again. Then those people become Bborn winners.B

Situations and circumstances in the world may look as i

?od lost, but He did not. The humans in6ol6ed who wereSatan=s instruments are the ones who lost.

Suppose on your Aob, you decide, B;ell, i ! really want

thin-s to chan-e, ! had better raise some racket around here.B

Then you be-in to critici@e, use sharp words, cause hurt

eelin-s, and misuse a ew people, because, B! you Aust step on a

ew people around here, you=ll -et someone=s attention. Then

they will do somethin- or you.B

06en i you achie6e your obAecti6e, you ha6e lost, because

you allowed Satan to use you as his instrument. ;hat happened

to the act that ?od is lo6e> ;hat happened to the truth that ?od

is lo6e, and that lo6e works by aith>

On the other hand, i you become an instrument o ?od,

and stay in line with His ;ord, you will come out on top in theend.

! you are ali-ned with ?od, then the last statement in

1salm '/) will come true it shall not come ni"h thee&

;hen Mr. "elie6er understands that in dealin- with Mr.

Unbelie6er, he is dealin- with the -od that li6es in that person,

then Mr. "elie6er can deal with the situation accordin- to the

?od whom he ser6es, the 4lmi-hty. Sometimes, unortunately,another belie6er still acts as thou-h he is ser6in- the enemy. To

that e2tent, Satan will use that person as an instrument.

! ha6e met quite a ew belie6ers who did not walk

accordin- to the principles o the ;ord. They tried to walk all

o6er me. They misused and mistreated me and said horrible

thin-s about me. ! wanted to react to the person, but ! did not say

a word. ! knew who my enemy really was, and it was not those

people. ! ! had reacted, ! would ha6e been ollowin- his ways

the same as those who were attackin- me. ! would ha6e been no

better an instrument o ?od than they.

72



Faith Wor!s "y #ove

4 -ood e2ample o this is Eesus at His trial. ;hy did He not

yell out at those men hecklin- and tormentin- Him> ;hy did He

not answer His accusers> ;hy did He not respond> Those menthou-ht they were attackin- Eesus when they hun- Him on a

cross until He died.

Howe6er, Eesus knew they were comin- a-ainst the :ather

and not Him. He knew the ?od inside o Him was ultimately

bi--er than all o them. He knew what was really comin- a-ainst

Him was all the orces o hell workin- in and throu-h those men.

He did not bother to answer. 4nythin- He could ha6e saidhad already been said durin- His three years o ministry. 4lso,

He knew that ?od always wins. Three days later, He arose rom

the dead. ;ho won> ?od or Satan> Those men or Eesus>

"elie6ers need to be aware that anytime they are bein-

attacked, i they will stay in the ;ord o ?od and operate in

lo6e, they cannot be deeated. ! they be-in to react to people or

circumstances, then they be-in to allow Satan to operate throu-h

themFand they will lose, because he always loses.

1salm '/) will work or you when you ha6e identiied

yoursel with ?od, because "reater is he that is in %ou( than he

that is in the orld / Eohn **I.

<ou may think this is too simple. <ou may say, B;ell, i it is

all ?od and Satan, then where do human bein-s it into all this>B2e are the only ones who #an #hoose.

Satan cannot choose or you. He cannot make the decision

that you are to be his instrument. He cannot decide that you are

-oin- to ail, be destroyed, or cast down. He does not ha6e the

ri-ht, pri6ile-e, or ability to make choices or you.

#either will ?od make choices or you. O course, He is

so6erei-n. He can do anythin-. Howe6er, His whole plan or

mankind is based on allowin- each indi6idual the right to #hoose.

! He were -oin- to choose or man, He would choose or each

person to be sa6ed. That is His willG howe6er, each person has

73




the ri-ht to choose ?od=s will or his lie, or to choose his own

wayFwhich really is Satan=s way.

4 lot o hristians say, BOh, ! don=t know about all o this. !see thin-s happenin- in other people=s li6es, and ! see

destruction here and destruction there, and ! -et concerned.

4ter all, i it happens to them, who am !>B

! ha6e Aust been tellin- you who you are. <ou are the person

who is ali-ned with the One ;ho always wins. <our ?od always

stands and ne6er ails. He will ne6er all. ! belie6e that, e6en i

your house is on a certain street and a tornado strikes, yourhouse will be let standin-.

Many times, we spirituali@e the promises entirely. ;e want

to think this psalm only means demons cannot come near us.

Howe6er, the more your lie is ali-ned with the ;ord o ?od,

you will come to the place o lookin- back at the people you

ha6e known or the past /$ or ($ years and seein- how one, then

another, has allen.

<ou will hear how this one has that problem, and the other

had this problem. 4ll the while, you ha6e walked ri-ht throu-h

the middle o thin-s, and lie has been beautiul. <ou will look at

people you went to school with se6eral years a-o, and they look

($ years older than you do, althou-h they are the same a-e as

you.<ou will hear o this one ha6in- a heart attack, and that one

-oin- into a rest home. 4nd here you are Aust as stron-, -oin-

ri-ht on, and enAoyin- lie.

;hy> ! repeat one more time that it is certainly not because

?od wants them to all or to ail. <ou ha6e won, and they ha6e

been losers because you chose to abide under the shadow o the

4lmi-hty. ?od has been winnin- all those years in and throu-hyour lie, and you ha6e won alon- with Him.

1salm '/) be-ins or you with a decision. ?o back and look

at some o the stories in the Old Testament. <ou will see that

when !srael was ali-ned with her ?od, the nation won. ;hen

74



Faith Wor!s "y #ove

they lost, it was because they had orsaken ?od and ali-ned

themsel6es with the enemy.

! know my ?od, and ! know His book, so ! can tell you withcertainty that ?od had a plan or !srael to occupy the 1romised

7and without a sin-le one o them bein- killed. The central

theme o the whole "ible is that ?od is not willin- that any

should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

He -a6e His only be-otten Son to defeat the wor(s of Satan

Eohn 3/+G / Eohn 3&I, and those works were deeated at

al6ary.

;hen !srael inally marched into the 1romised 7and, their

story had spread all o6er the re-ion

BThis is a -roup o people whose ?od has brou-ht them out

o sla6ery in 0-ypt. They are e2tremely wealthy and blessed.

Their ?od e6en parted the 9ed Sea or them to walk o6er on dry

land. He pro6ided ood or them supernaturally and water out oa rock.B

;hen they reached anaan, the irst people they came to

should ha6e opened their arms and said, Bome on in and tell us

about your ?od.B That was ?od=s plan.

;hy did thin-s not work out that way> !srael would not

make the decision to walk totally in ali-nment with ?od. They

kept -ettin- into disobedience and rebellion, which caused themto become instruments o Satan. Those who yielded to the

temptation, doubt, and ear o the enemy lost when he lost. They

died in the wilderness.

Howe6er, ?od won. His plan or deeatin- the works o

Satan and ha6in- a people who would lo6e Him by #hoi#e and

walk in His ways by #hoi#e kept ri-ht on -oin- into eect.

! you ha6e allowed yoursel to become ali-ned with Satan

in any way, all you ha6e to do is repent and come back to the

;inner. 4li-n your lie with ?od=s will and wayFobey His

;ord, listen to the still, small 6oice o the Holy Spirit, and you

75




will become a winner. <ou will be able to li6e that 6ictorious lie

many people talk and preach about and many others yearn or.

76



)

) Satan*s Three "asi+ Ta+ti+s

Te,-tation. Dou't. and Fear

-nl% ith thine e%es shalt thou #ehold and see the

reard of the ic,ed&Because thou hast made the 'ord( hich is m%

refu"e( even the most Hi"h th% ha#itation+

There shall no evil #efall thee( neither shall an%

!la"ue come ni"h th% dellin"&

Psalm 91)<1D

7ook at 6erse & in the li-ht o what we ha6e learned about

6erses 5%);e are not to be araid or

• The terror by ni-ht,

• The arrow by day,

• The pestilence in the darkness,

• The destruction at noon.

<ou are not to ear those thin-s because a thousand are

allin- at your side and ten thousand at your ri-ht hand, bt

whatever it is will not #ome near yo.

Jerse & continues the thou-ht. <ou will see those thin-s,

but they will not touch you.

<ou are not to be araid o any kind o terror at ni-ht,

be#ase it will not #ome near yo.<ou are not to be araid o the arrow somethin- that comes

to killI by day, be#ase it will not to#h yo.

<ou are not to be araid o pestilence sickness and diseaseI,

be#ase it #annot #ome near yo.

77




+o are not to be afraid of any (ind of destr#tion, be#ase

"overty, tornadoes, floods, and so forth, #annot #ome near yor

dwelling.06en i a thousand people drop dead at your side and ten

thousand all around you, you are not to ear. <ou will still be

standin-.

!t is the wicked who will be terriied at ni-ht, hit by arrows,

destroyed by pestilence. Satan has no positi6e emotions

re-ardin- those who ser6e him. :ear, hatred, and brute orce

powerI in the supernatural demonic realm are what -o6erns theattitudes o Satan toward his cohorts, and amon- them, to one

another.

So he certainly has no eelin-s or the people he decei6es or

tempts into ser6in- him. He does not care how many people he

kills, makes sick, or destroys. The more the better, as ar as he is

concerned. He knows now or sure that he cannot deeat ?od.

4ll that is let is or him to take as many humans with him as he

can and to delay the accomplishin- o ?od=s plan as lon- as He

can.

Satan uses three basic tactics to -et men to work with him

temptation, doubt, and ear. He also has three basic lies throu-h

which he presents these tactics.

Three Basic 'ies

Satan=s three basic lies are

/. B06eryone else is doin- it, why don=t you>B This is an

insidious thou-ht o the enemy that leads you into

tem"tation.

(. B! it is not workin- or anyone else, why do you think?od=s ;ord will work or you>B This thou-ht builds

dobt instead o aith.

3. BTerror, pestilence, and destruction are happenin- to

other people. ! see those thin-s all around me. ;hy

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Satan$s Three Basic Tactics Te%&tation' Dou"t' and Fear

shouldn=t it happen to me as well>B O course, that idea

is fear.

! you will understand these lies, and -et them irmly i2edin your mind as lies, then the ne2t time one o these thou-hts

comes to you, you will know the enemy is speakin-.

! you are not 6ery alert, lie number three can slip into your

thinkin- easily. "ecause there are so many belie6ers who do not

yet know how to walk in aith, it is easy to line up a lon- list o

born%a-ain people who ha6e -otten the lu, or cancer, or ha6e

had their houses broken into. "eore you know it, you are belie6in- the lie that it is happenin- to e6eryone elseG thereore,

it is also -oin- to happen to you.

That is e2actly what Satan wants. He creates this cycle o6er

and o6er a-ain, usin- those three basic lies. ! you will e2amine

your own lie, you will ind that a lar-e percenta-e o the time

when you were deeated, one o those three lies was in6ol6ed.

Satan lo6es to point out people and speak these thou-hts to

your mind BSee, that scripture didn=t work or them. They didn=t

-et healed. They didn=t -et the money they needed. ;hat makes

you think you=re -oin- to>B

He i-nores, and you o6erlook, that those people may not

ha6e belie6ed they were -oin- to -et their prayers answered in

the irst place. <ou can count on the act that those people hadallen or one o Satan=s basic three lies, or they would ha6e been

6ictorious.

Satan knows that certain thin-s cannot be "roven in the

natural, and he keeps workin- this ed-e a-ainst us. He will

scare, terriy, mutilate, destroy, cause pla-ue ater pla-ue, and

anythin- else he can do to shake our belie in ?od.

;hat ?od wants you to reali@e is that some o His children

ind out how to abide under the shelter o His win-s and some

do not. "e one o those who do. "elie6e the ;ord o ?od and not

the words o Satan.

79




:or e2ample, Satan may try to con6ince you that one out o

our people -ets cancer, so you will -et it. Eust remember that, in

that case, three out o our will not -et it. <ou determine to beone o those who do not, because Eesus is your hed-e a-ainst the

pestilence.

! you belie6ed one scripture that you could be born a-ain

9om. /$',/$I, and it happened, and you belie6ed another

scripture that you could be illed with the Spirit Mark /+/), /

or. /*(,*,/*I, and it happened, why would 1salm '/ not be true

as well>;hen you take hold o this one little 6erse, it shall not come

ni-h thee 1s. '/)bI, ! promise you that you will li6e a successul

hristian lie. Meet the conditions o dwellin- in the secret place

o the Most Hi-h, and you are qualiied or that kind o

protection. <ou will see the works o Satan, but they will not

come near you.

'ive #% .aith( Not Si"ht

Human bein-s tend to think that anythin- they can see is

more real than what they cannot see. ! cannot see the shadow o

the 4lmi-hty. ! ha6e ne6er seen the Beathers and win-sB the

psalmist wrote about. Bt ' have seen the wi#(ed destroyed. ! ha6e

seen the reward o the wicked. ! ha6e beheld thousands and tenthousands allin-.

! remember the polio scare when ! was a child. 06eryone

was araid o polio. ! can still 6i6idly recall wakin- up one

mornin- with a headache and checkin- to see i ! also had a sti

neckC

;e saw a lot o people with polio, and those iron lun-s that

many o them had to li6e in made quite an impression. <ouwould look at that and be terriied. That was so realC !

somethin- like that is rampant in our societyFas 4!DS is nowF

it can become more real to you than the shadow o the 4lmi-hty.

#ot only that, we ha6e the tendency to think that anythin-

80




we see is ni-h us. ;e relate #lose with nigh. Somethin- that is ar

away rom us, we think, is somethin- we cannot see with our

natural eyes. 4nd, i somethin- is close enou-h to see, we eel itis close enou-h to B-etB us.

"ut, the Holy Spirit said throu-h the psalmist that we

would see it, and yet, it would not come near us. 6. ),&.I

! do not know how ar your physical eyes can see, but !

ha6e been in an airplane on a clear day when you could see or

miles and miles. 4nother plane could be close enou-h or me to

see, but that did not mean it would come near us.

Satan can only -et within a certain distance o my reu-e.

He can -et only so close to my habitation. 4s lon- as ! stay in my

dwellin-, Satan and his pla-ues and e6il cannot come ni-h me.

4nd this is a big habitation ! am talkin- about. ! can look out the

windows and see what he is doin- to thousands o people

around, and he can see me lookin- out at him. Howe6er, he

cannot do those thin-s to me.

The only way Satan can -et close enou-h to me to do me

any harm is or me to mo6e closer to him. ! can lea6e my

habitation, and be 6ulnerable to his attacks.

9eally, it does not take a lot o B-ray matterB to i-ure out

which is the best thin- to do. "ut Satan keeps tellin- you lies. He

catches you lookin- out the window and says, B7ook what=shappenin- to all those peopleCB

?od will do e6erythin- He can to keep you rom lea6in-

His habitation. He will not orce you to stay inside, but He will

-i6e you warnin- ater warnin- not to -o outside o His

protection. His warnin-s are kind, -entle si-nals in your spirit.

That BcheckB you eel now and then is ?od tryin- to keep you

rom harm.

! remember a time in my hristian lie when ! had Aust

started -ettin- hold o the ;ord in my heart. ! would ha6e a ew

days that were Aust -reat.

81




4nd ! would think, BManC 7i6in- or ?od is the -reatest

thin- in the world. This is tremendous. 06erythin- is -oin-

-reat.BThen ! would kind o -et out o the ;ord. Thin-s would

be-in to happen. ! would ha6e a ew problems come alon-, and !

would stru--le with them or a ew weeks. Then ! would -et

back in the ;ord, o6ercome the problems, and climb back up on

top o the pile a-ain.

! was up and down, up and down. :inally, one day !

decided that i ! could Aust le6el o and stay somewhere betweenup and down, that would be pretty -ood. ! kept eedin- my

spirit the ;ord o ?od. Then ! remember the irst time ! went or

days and days and days without a problem. #othin- went

wron-. #othin- bad happened. ! be-an to think somethin- was

wron- because nothin- was wron-C

! had come to e4"e#t that what ! was seein- happen to other

people was -oin- to happen to me. 7ater, ! be-an to see that

e2pectation was 6ery wron-. ! came to see ! had no ri-ht to

e2pect thin-s to happen to me that happen to the unri-hteous.

#ow, ! do not e4"e#t to -et sick. ! do not e4"e#t problems. !

do not anticipate turmoil, strie, sickness, and disease. ;hen my

wie and ! plan trips, we e2pect to ha6e a beautiul time. #othin-

is -oin- to -o wron-. ;hy> "ecause as we tra6el, we are -oin-to dwell in the secret place o the Most Hi-h and abide under the

shadow o the 4lmi-hty.

#o matter what comes ni-h other people, it will not come

ni-h me. ! belie6e that, and as ! -row in aith, ! am indin- plenty

o -ood thin-s to put my aith on, and plenty o -ood thin-s to

belie6e are -oin- to happen to me. ! do not waste my aith on

belie6in- ne-ati6e thin-s.' am going to state this fa#t of the 2ord very strongly5 )

-hristian has no right to e4"e#t all the horrible things to ha""en to him

that ha""en to "eo"le in the world.

;e could turn to the #ew Testament and look at scripture

82




ater scripture that say the same thin- in dierent words. One o

those is / 1eter ((* B% hose EesusI stri!es %e ere healed&

That points out the boundary line ?od drew with the blood o Eesus.

?od said, B!=m drawin- the line ri-ht here, Satan, and you

can=t cross that line.B

06ery person who is born a-ain stepped across the line and

-ot on the side where the :ather is. "ut so many o them do not

know they ha6e crossed that line, so they keep steppin- back

across the line and pickin- up Satan=s sicknesses and diseases.

"ut when ?od drew that line, you were healed. That means

i you are born a-ain and li6in- on ?od=s side o that line, He

ne6er intends or you to be sick a-ain. 4s ar as ?od is

concerned, it is o6er. "ut e6ery now and then, one o us will slip

out o the habitation o ?od. The thin-s o Satan still do not come

ni-h us, but we come ni-h them.

4t this point, i you are one o those who keeps slippin- out

o the secret place o the Most Hi-h, you need to stop and take a

look at your lie. <ou need to seek ?od on what causes you to

mo6e o6er that line. ;hat is it that happens causin- you to come

ni-h those thin-s o Satan=s> "ecause it certainly is not that he is

able to cross the blood o Eesus to -et near to you.

Once you became a ri-hteous person, when any o Satan=s Aunk -ets near you, it is because yo -ot near it.

;hat e6ery hristian needs to do is simply look at his or

her own lie daily, and make sure to stay in the secret place o

the Most Hi-h. Tell yoursel this e6ery day

Today, ' am going to abide nder the shadow of the )lmighty.

)nd tomorrow, all day long ' am going to ma(e sre ' abide nder the

shadow of the )lmighty.

83



/

/ The Role of 0ngels in the !ew

ovenant

.or He shall "ive his an"els char"e over thee( to

,ee! thee in all th% a%s&The% shall #ear thee u! in their hands( lest thou


Psalm 91)11(1

Jerse // actually reers back to 6erse /$. ! you used be#ase

instead o 1or in 6erse //, it would be more ob6ious.

B#o e6il will happen to you, and no pla-ue will come near

your house, be#ase ?od has an-els watchin- o6er you.B

Then the psalmist went on to write, under the inspiration o

the Holy Spirit, that the an-els would carry him so that he would

not e6en hit his oot a-ainst a rock. :rom those three 6erses,

/$%/(, we can see that an-els ha6e a lot to do with the li6es o

?od=s children.

Many e6il thin-s, pla-ues, e6en accidents, do not occur in belie6ers= li6es because o an-els. !n the last ew years, a lot has

been tau-ht and written about an-els. !t has been as thou-h the

hurch Aust awakened in modern times to the act that an-els do

e2ist and ha6e a purpose and reason or e2istence.

O course, most o us ha6e always known that an-els really

e2ist, but there has been a tremendous amount o uncertainty

concernin- their purpose and reason or bein-.

! -rew up thinkin- ?od made an-els Aust to praise Him,

and that was all they e6er did.

! thou-ht there was one lar-e -roup o an-els who all had

85




win-s and who Aust stood praisin- ?od year ater year, century

ater century. 4ll the other an-els were little at babies with bows

and arrows. That was my concept o an-elic bein-s.Then ! be-an to see that an-els were 6ery, 6ery acti6e under

the Old o6enant, and ! also saw them in the #ew Testament.

4s ar as we are concerned today, ! suppose the a6orite

scripture about an-els is Hebrews /3(

Be not for"etful to entertain stran"ers) for there#%

some have entertained an"els unaares&

! hear that scripture used in reerence to an-els more than

any other. Oten, the underlyin- interpretation is that i an-els

ha6e anythin- to do with your lie, you will probably ne6er

know it.

Until ! be-an to study the ;ord o ?od or mysel

concernin- an-els, ! did not learn a whole lot more about the

subAect. !n act, it seemed that the only thin-s attributed to an-els

were thin-s or which we had no other e2planationC

!n the ne2t two chapters, ! want to share some thin-s the

7ord has tau-ht me rom His ;ord about an-els.

Seven Conclusions $#out $n"els

!n the #ew Testament, one 6erse oten reerred to about

an-els is Matthew /&/$

Ta,e heed that %e des!ise not one of these little

ones+ for I sa% unto %ou( That in heaven their an"els do

ala%s #ehold the face of m% .ather hich is in heaven&

;hen we consider 1salm 3)*, Matthew /&/$, and 1salm

'//$%/(, there are se6eral thin-s that immediately become

ob6ious

/. ;hen we are born, or as children, an-els are assi-ned to

us. ;e can draw that conclusion immediately. !n

86



The Role of (ngels in the New )ovenant

Matthew /&(, the apostle writes about Eesus drawin- a

little child to Him. Then He set that child in the midst o

them and be-an to teach the disciples. Jerse /$, quotedabo6e, is in the conte2t o that teachin-.

(. ;hen Eesus said the an-els o these little ones& & & do

ala%s #ehold the face of 7% .ather hich is in heaven(

that means the an-els always ha6e immediate access to

the presence o ?od the :ather.

3. ;e know the ;ord o ?od is trueG thereore, that means

there are a lot o an-els ri-ht here on this earth. <et the;ord says they ha6e immediate access to the :ather in

hea6en. That tells you somethin- 6ery comortin- about

an-els, i you stop and think a minute.

4n an-el who is standin- ri-ht beside you this minute can

be beore the throne o ?od in less than a split second. !ma-ineC

He can be standin- in the 6ery 6isible presence o the :ather,

acin- the throne, and then be back with you the 6ery ne2t

second.

*. There is a deinite purpose connected with each an-el=s

assi-nment which must be related to terms o protection.

Eesus said, Ta,e heed that %e des!ise not one of these

little ones& That is a warnin-.

Eesus had this little child in ront o a -roup o people. !nessence, He was sayin-

B4n-els are assi-ned to these little ones or their protection.

<ou had better be 6ery careul about despisin- one o these little

ones, because there are an-els who ha6e immediate access to the

presence o the :ather, an-els personally assi-ned to these little

ones to protect them. So i you decide that you are -oin- to

despise and come a-ainst them, look outCB

5. The an-els are assi-ned to the little ones, and encamp

around about those who ear ?od.

+. The an-els deli6er those who ear ?od. 1s. 3*).I

87




). The an-els deli6er those who dwell in the secret place

rom e6il and pla-ues. They keep us in all our ways and

bear us up in their hands, not e6en allowin- us to dashour eet a-ainst a stone.

Those are se6en basic assumptions, or conclusions, that you

can arri6e at based on Aust the ew scriptures ! ha6e shared.

4nother conclusion we can draw is that Satan is aware o

these acts ! ha6e Aust shared. ;e know that because it was

1salm '///,/( that Satan quoted to Eesus durin- the time He was

temptin- him.

The /evil Even /istorts the Bi#le

ompare Matthew *5,+G 7uke *'%//G and, 1salm '///,/(

Then the devil ta,eth him u! into the hol% cit%(

and setteth him on a !innacle of the tem!le(

$nd saith unto him( If thou #e the Son of *od( castth%self don) for it is ritten( He shall "ive his an"els

char"e concernin" thee) and in their hands the% shall

#ear thee u!( lest at any time thou dash th% foot a"ainst

a stone&

7atthe 5)6(8

$nd he #rou"ht him to 4erusalem( and set him on a

!innacle of the tem!le( and said unto him( If thou #e theSon of *od( cast th%self don from hence)

.or it is ritten( He shall "ive his an"els char"e

over thee( to ,ee! thee)

$nd in their hands the% shall #ear thee u!( lest at

any time thou dash th% foot a"ainst a stone&

'u,e 5)911

.or he shall "ive his an"els char"e over thee( to,ee! thee in all th% a%s&

The% shall #ear thee u! in their hands( lest thou


Psalm 91)11(1

88




4s you compare Matthew * with 7uke *, you see there is a

dierence in the wordin-, but the thou-ht remains the same.

Howe6er, in both Matthew *+ and 7uke */$,//, the de6il usedalmost e2actly the same wordin-. "ut did he quote 1salm '///

and /( correctly>

#o, he did not quote it correctly. He misquoted the passa-e

by insertin- our words, lest at any time. The '/st 1salm does not

say, Bat any time.B !t says, when yo dwell in the se#ret "la#e of the

%ost High.

The de6il cannot e6en quote scriptures correctly. The ;ordsays he is a liar and the ather o lies. The truth is not in him.

Eohn &**.I He not only could not quote the 6erse ri-ht, he had

to add somethin- to make his quote a lie, not truth.

Eesus knew that yieldin- to Satan in any way would be

ceasin- to dwell in the secret place o the Most Hi-h. Eesus knew

when He went into the wilderness that He was -oin- to be

tempted by Satan. 4nd He knew that yieldin- to that temptation

would cause him to come out o the secret place o the Most

Hi-h.

4lso, Eesus knew the ;ord o ?od, and He knew that the

de6il had misquoted the ;ord. Eesus could not deliberately -et

out o the ;ord and e2pect an-els to protect Him. Satan was

takin- the chance that Eesus did not know the Old Testament,and i He had not known it, He might ha6e been tricked.

He could ha6e said, B;ell, the de6il is quotin- one o

Da6id=s psalms, but e6en i he is the enemy, the ;ord is true. So,

i ! Aump o this pinnacle, the an-els are -oin- to be there

because the :ather said it.B

Satan also takes that chance with you. <ou will ind that the

more o ?od=s ;ord you know, the easier it will be to reusetemptation. <ou will know rom the ;ord some thin-s so

deinitely that Satan will ne6er try to tempt you with those

thin-s a-ain. He will not waste his time.

That would be like the de6il tellin- Eesus, BSee that bread>

89




<ou are tired and hun-ry. Steal that bread and eat it. <our :ather

will or-i6e you. He understands where you are. He will

o6erlook it this one time.BThat would ha6e been so clear cut, so ob6iously wron-, that

it would not e6en ha6e been a temptation. "ut the de6il tests

Eesus= knowled-e o the ;ord by addin- one little wron- phrase.

This is not le-alismG howe6er, we are res"onsible for what we

(now. ! you know the ;ord, the de6il cannot ool you with

misquotes rom the "ible, so that you -et into presumption

instead o aith.

*od0s *race Is Infinite

"ecause o ?od=s -race, there are times when an-els

inter6ene or people who are not dwellin- in the secret place o

the Most Hi-h. Howe6er, to deliberately, knowin-ly not dwell in

that place, and yet e2pect to count on an-elic protection is notonly oolish, but presumptuous.

4 ellow ! know was in Jietnam durin- the war. One day,

he was assi-ned to transport supplies rom one position to

another in one o those lar-e helicopters. 4ll day lon-, he and the

crew lew back and orth deli6erin- supplies rom one spot to

another.

This youn- man was not a hristian at the time. He knewnothin- about the 7ord Eesus. :urthermore, he was takin- all the

dru-s he could -et his hands on and drinkin- all the beer he

could -et. 4nd he was -ettin- plenty o both, accordin- to him.

They had not seen any Jietcon- all day. There had not been

any shots ired at them until sunset, when they were on the way

back to the base ater makin- the last trip. 4s they lew o6er the

Aun-le, suddenly there was a loud e2plosion, and the helicopter

blew apart. There were i6e men on this mission, ! belie6e, and

all o them were killed but this youn- man.

He told me he was lyin- on the loor o the helicopter, and

90




the ne2t thin- he knew, he was standin- in the middle o a ield

completely unharmed, with not e6en a scratch or bruise. The

helicopter was about /,5$$ eet away -oin- up in lames, and theother men who were with him were dead.

How did he -et in that ield> That was the -race o ?od in

operation. My riend deinitely was not dwellin- in the secret

place o the Most Hi-h. He did not e6en ha6e the ri-ht to hope

that ?od would send an an-el to -et him out o that helicopter

and away rom the lames without a scratch or bruise.

! ha6e to belie6e there was an an-el who had somethin- todo with that. #ow, this youn- man is born a-ain, illed with the

Spirit, and so is his wie. The last time ! saw them, both were

ser6in- ?od and bein- -reat witnesses or the 7ord Eesus. There

are many stories like that. 06idently the an-els ha6e sa6ed the

li6es o countless humans who did not know ?od.

1eople will say, B;hen ! was in sin, when ! did not know

Eesus, this or that happened to meFand ! know it must ha6e

been an an-el.B

That is ?od=s so6erei-n -race, and the an-els acted or

?od=s reasons. Howe6er, you cannot count on that always

happenin-. The one thin- you #an count on is what ?od has

promised in His ;ord ! you li6e under the shadow o the

4lmi-hty, you can e4"e#t the an-els to be there when you needthem.

7ovin" Closer to $n"els

4n-els are not born a-ain. They were not created in the

ima-e o ?od, and they do not ha6e the ri-ht to choose. Eesus did

not die or an-els. 4ll an-els were already set in their places lon-

beore Eesus came to earth as a baby.

Those who chose ille-ally to -o with Satan were cast out o

hea6en. Those who remained in the Birst estate,B the place and

position where they were placed by ?od are still in their places.

Those an-els dwell in the secret place o the Most Hi-h, in the

91




shadow o the 4lmi-hty, but in a dierent sense than we do.

They are there because ?od created them to be there, and

they were obedient. ;e are there because o our redemption by Eesus and or own #hoi#es. ;e can stay there because Eesus died

or us, was buried, and rose a-ain, and we ha6e belie6ed in our

hearts and conessed with our mouths that Eesus hrist is 7ord.

4n-els who are in the secret place o ?od now are not

about to lea6e it. They ha6e seen the results o rebellion. So when

we mo6e into that place, we are not only mo6in- closer to ?od,

we are mo6in- closer to His an-els. 4nd they encamp aroundthose who ear the 7ord.

#ot only would the enemy ha6e to -et past the hed-e o

our redemption, he would ha6e to -et past that wall o an-elsC !

ha6e ne6er seen an an-el that ! know o, but ! ha6e heard other

people tell o seein- an-els. ! an-els look anythin- like what !

ha6e heard described, ! know the enemy is ne6er -oin- to -et

past them. "ut the main reason ! know he will not -et past them

is because the ;ord says so.

The ;ord states 6ery clearly that the enemy will not come

near my dwellin- because an-els are encamped around me.

They do not Aust han- around there a ew hours a day. They are

not there today and o on 6acation ne2t week. They are there all

o the time.?od is concerned about the 6ery smallest thin- that

happens to you. ;e are as one with Him, so anythin- aectin-

our li6es is 6ery deinitely ha6in- an eect upon ?od, and

e6erythin- -oin- on with ?od is 6ery deinitely ha6in- an

impact on our li6es.

The smartest thin- you can do as a hristian is mo6e closer

and closer to ?od. ?et inside that secret place, and li6e there.

92



1

1 n harge of 0ngels

He shall "ive his an"els char"e over thee&

Psalm 91)11a

To shed some more li-ht on the role o an-els, let=s look at#umbers ((

$nd the children of Israel set forard( and !itched

in the !lains of 7oa# on this side 4ordan #% 4ericho&

$nd Bala, the son of i!!or sa all that Israel had

done to the $morites&

$nd 7oa# as sore afraid of the !eo!le( #ecause

the% ere man%) and 7oa# as distressed #ecause of

the children of Israel&

$nd 7oa# said unto the elders of 7idian( No

shall this com!an% lic, u! all that are round a#out us( as

the o@ lic,eth u! the "rass of the field& $nd Bala, the

son of i!!or as ,in" of the 7oa#ites at that time&

Num#ers )15

"alak was araid o the people o !srael. ;hy was he araid>

He was araid they could do to his nation what they had done to

the 4morites. He was araid the !sraelites were -oin- to mo6e in

and completely take o6er, because there were so many o them.

He used the i-ure o speech that they would Blick up

e6erythin- around Aust as an o2 licks up the -rass o the ield.B

He actually was araid that !srael would use up all o the ood

supply, and the nation o Moab would be o6errun. So he made adecision to do somethin- about it, somethin- that would -i6e

Moab an Bed-eB o6er !srael.

He sent messen"ers therefore unto Balaam the son

of Beor to Pethor( hich is #% the river of the land of the

93




children of his !eo!le( to call him( sa%in"( Behold( there

is a !eo!le come out from E"%!t) #ehold( the% cover the

face of the earth( and the% a#ide over a"ainst me)

Come no therefore( I !ra% thee( curse me this

!eo!le+ for the% are too mi"ht% for me) !eradventure I

shall !revail( that e ma% smite them( and that I ma%

drive them out of the land) for I ot that he hom thou

#lessest is #lessed( and he hom thou cursest is cursed&

Num#ers )6(8

"alaam apparently was noted or the act that his blessin-s

and cursin-s came true. He was not a alse prophet. He was not

a witch or warlock. He was a -odly man, who talked to the true

?od about what he did.

The elders o Moab and the elders o Midian came to-ether

and made a trip to "alaam=s house with money o some kind to

pay or his eorts on their behal. They told "alaam what the

kin- wanted him to do, and the prophet asked them to spend theni-ht while he talked to the 7ord about the situation.

$nd *od came unto Balaam( and said( What men

are these ith thee?

$nd Balaam said unto *od( Bala, the son of

i!!or( ,in" of 7oa#( hath sent unto me( sa%in"( :and

he told *od ho the men ere and hat the ,in" had

sent them foras if *od did not alread% ,no=&&&&

$nd *od said unto Balaam( Thou shalt not "o ith

them+ thou shalt not curse the !eo!le) for the% are

#lessed&

Num#ers )9(1D(1

The ne2t mornin-, "alaam told the dele-ation that ?od had

orbidden him to curse this people. They went back and told the

kin-, who immediately tried a-ain. This time, he sent a hi-herle6el dele-ation and promised "alaam not only riches but -reat

honor. !n act, the kin- told "alaam he could Bwrite his own

ticket,B ask whate6er he chose.

$nd Balaam ansered and said unto the servants

94



*n )harge of (ngels

of Bala,( If Bala, ould "ive me his house full of silver

and "old( I cannot "o #e%ond the ord of the 'ord m%

*od( to do less or more&

Num#ers )1<

"ut that ni-ht, he approached the 7ord a-ain

$nd *od came unto Balaam at ni"ht( and said unto

him( If the men come to call thee, rise %p( and "o ith

them+ #ut %et the ord hich I shall sa% unto thee( that

shalt thou do&

$nd Balaam rose u! in the mornin"( and saddledhis ass( and ent ith the !rinces of 7oa#&

$nd *od0s an"er as ,indled #ecause he ent)

and the an"el of the 'ord stood in the a% for an

adversar% a"ainst him&

2erses 1<(Da

;hy was ?od=s an-er kindled> 06idently "alaam did not

do what ?od had said to do. The 7ord told him that if the mencalled him, he was to -o and speak only what ?od said. "alaam

was Bpullin- on ?od=s coat tailB like a whinin- child be--in- or

his own way. ?od patiently -a6e him a si-n to watch or, an

indication o His will, as well as ha6in- told him not to -o in the

irst place.

$n $n"el Sto!s a Pro!het"alaam did not wait to be called by the men. He rose up,

saddled his donkey, and took o. 4s he and his two ser6ants

rode alon-, an an-el stood in the way with his sword drawn. The

donkey saw the an-el and turned out o the road into a ield. "ut

"alaam hit the animal a -ood hard lick to turn her back onto the

path.

But the an"el of the 'ord stood in a !ath of the

vine%ards( a all #ein" on this side( and a all on that

side&

$nd hen the ass sa the an"el of the 'ord( she

thrust herself unto the all( and crushed Balaam0s foot

95




a"ainst the all) and he smote her a"ain&

$nd the an"el of the 'ord ent further( and stood

in a narro !lace( here as no a% to turn either to the

ri"ht hand or to the left&

$nd hen the ass sa the an"el of the 'ord( she

fell don under Balaam) and Balaam0s an"er as

,indled( and he smote the ass ith a staff&

$nd the 'ord o!ened the mouth of the ass( and she

said unto Balaam( What have I done unto thee( that thou

hast smitten me these three times?

$nd Balaam said unto the ass( Because thou hastmoc,ed me) I ould there ere a sord in mine hand(

for no ould I ,ill thee&

Num#ers )59

4pparently "alaam was so enra-ed that he did not think it

stran-e or his donkey to speak to him, because he answered herC

4nyone who has e6er worked with donkeys can surely

understand "alaam=s eelin-s.One summer when ! was Aust into my teens, ! had a riend

whose uncle owned an amusement park, and the ourth o Euly

was cornin- up. He had se6eral little donkeys or children to ride

at the park. The donkeys were kept in a short corral with ences

on each side.

The children were put on at one end o the corral and rode

around the ence to -et o at the other end. ! took a Aob helpin-

or the ourth o Euly. ! had ne6er been around a donkey in my

lie. ! ! had read this "ible story beore then, ! mi-ht ha6e been

wiser.

Howe6er, ! kind o know how "alaam eltC 06ery time the

ireworks went o, so did the donkeys. ! would be at one end o

the corral, and some ireworks would -o o, and all o a sudden,the donkeys would be back down at the other end with the little

kids han-in- on or dear lie.

That was quite an e2perience, so ! do ha6e some sympathy

or "alaam. 4t the time his donkey spoke, he had not yet seen

96



*n )harge of (ngels

the an-el. "ut he had ridden this animal, and he knew her

personalityC 4pparently, he thou-ht his donkey was Aust bein-

hersel. 4bout that time, howe6er, the 7ord opened his eyes, andhe saw the an-el with a drawn sword.

"alaam did the irst smart thin- he had done all mornin-

he bowed his head and ell on his ace. 4nd the an-el scolded

him sternly, tellin- "alaam the donkey had sa6ed his lie. ! she

had not seen the an-el and had ridden on into him, "alaam

would ha6e diedC 66. 3/%33.I

So the prophet repented and oered to turn back home. 6.3*.I

$nd the an"el of the 'ord said unto Balaam( *o

ith the men) #ut onl% the ord that I shall s!ea, unto

thee( that thou shalt s!ea,& So Balaam ent ith the

!rinces of Bala,&

Num#ers )6

The story -oes on and on, because "alaam was 6ery, 6ery

persistent about -ettin- his own wayFin spite o the warnin-s

rom ?od. !n act, three times, "alak made a 6ery serious attempt

to -et the prophet to curse !srael, and "alaam tried e6ery way he

could think o to -et around ?od=s prohibition.

The 7ord knew the temptation to curse !srael was -oin- to

-row stron-er and stron-er, and He took stron- measures tohelp "alaam resist the temptation. !n the end, "alaam did ind a

way around ?od=s instructionsFnot to curse !srael directly but

to help "alak and the Moab%Midian coalition.

#umbers 3//+ says that he ad6ised "alak to use Moabite

women to seduce the !sraelite men, and a pla-ue ell on !srael

because o this. Then, when the ne2t -eneration o !srael inally

marched into the 1romised 7and, Eoshua /3(( tells us that"alaam was amon- those slain by the sword.

!n spite o ?od=s speakin- to "alaam Himsel and then

sendin- His an-el to warn him, the prophet is mentioned

throu-hout the #ew Testament or his sin, which was

97




prostitutin- the -its o ?od or personal -ain. ( 1et. (/5, Eude

//, and 9e6. (/*.I

The point is that an-els worked with ?od=s people underthe Old o6enant, but an-els cannot cause men=s hearts to

chan-e. Only Eesus throu-h the #ew o6enant can do that.

The thin- ! like best about this story is that it shows so well

the e2tent to which ?od will -o to keep one o His children rom

makin- a mess out o his lie. "alaam did not set out to dey ?od,

or he would ha6e -one with the irst dele-ation. His heart was

toward ?od, but the lust o the world sparked disobedience.

$n $n"el Saves an $!ostle

#ow let us look at a 6ery dierent story. This one is ound

in 4cts /(.

No a#out that time Herod the ,in" stretched

forth his hands to ve@ certain of the church&$nd he ,illed 4ames the #rother of 4ohn ith the

sord&

$nd #ecause he sa it !leased the 4es( he

!roceeded further to ta,e Peter also& :Then ere the da%s

of unleavened #read&=

$nd hen he had a!!rehended him( he !ut him in

!rison( and delivered him to four uaternions of soldiers

to ,ee! him+ intendin" after Easter to #rin" him forth tothe !eo!le&

Peter therefore as ,e!t in !rison( #ut !ra%er as

made ithout ceasin" of the church unto *od for him&

$nd hen Herod ould have #rou"ht him forth(

the same ni"ht Peter as slee!in" #eteen to soldiers(

#ound ith to chains) and the ,ee!ers #efore the door

,e!t the !rison&

$nd( #ehold( the an"el of the 'ord came u!on him(

and a li"ht shined in the !rison) and he smote Peter on

the side( and raised him u!( sa%in"( $rise u! uic,l%&

$nd his chains fell off from his hands&

$nd the an"el said unto him( *ird th%self( and

98



*n )harge of (ngels

#ind on th% sandals& $nd so he did& $nd he saith unto

him( Cast th% "arment a#out thee( and follo me&

$nd he ent out( and folloed him+ and ist not

that it as true hich as done #% the an"el+ #ut

thou"ht he sa a vision&

$cts 1)19

Up to a certain point, "alaam did not know there was an

an-el in ront o him. Some odd thin-s were -oin- on, such as

his donkey speakin- to him, but he had not seen the an-el.

!n 1eter=s case, he also saw some 6ery interestin- thin-shappenin-, but at irst he did not reali@e what was happenin-

was real. He was sound asleep, the soldiers were beside him, his

chains ell o, the -uards were outside the door, and he ollowed

an an-el out o the door. Howe6er, he was still hal%asleep and

thou-ht all o that was a 6ision.

When the% ere !ast the first and the second ard(

the% came unto the iron "ate that leadeth unto the cit%+hich o!ened to them of his on accord) and the% ent

out( and !assed on throu"h one street+ and forthith the

an"el de!arted from him&

$nd hen Peter as come to himself( he said( No

I ,no of a suret%( that the 'ord hath sent his an"el( and

hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod( and from all

the e@!ectation of the !eo!le of the 4es&

$nd hen he had considered the thin"( he came to

the house of 7ar% the mother of 4ohn( hose surname

as 7ar,+ here man% ere "athered to"ether !ra%in"&

$nd as Peter ,noc,ed at the door of the "ate( a

damsel came to hear,en( named ;hoda&

$nd hen she ,ne Peter0s voice( she o!ened not

the "ate for "ladness( #ut ran in( and told ho Peter

stood #efore the "ate&

$nd the% said unto her( Thou art mad& But she

constantl% affirmed that it as even so& :7an%

Christians o!erate this same a%) !ra% earnestl%( #ut

then ould dou#t it as true if their !ra%ers ere

ansered= Then said( the%( It is his an"el&

99




But Peter continued ,noc,in") and hen the% had

o!ened the door( and sa him( the% ere astonished&

$cts 1)1D18

The thin- ! want you to see in this story is that an angel was

given #harge o6er 1eter=s saety. 4nd ! want you to see the

dierence between an an-el bein- -i6en char-e o6er someone in

the Old Testament and someone in the #ew Testament.

"alaam was about to -et into somethin- that would put him

in opposition to the will o ?od. He was on the 6er-e o makin-

a mistake. 4s we saw earlier, in the end, "alaam mo6ed into

disobedience. "ut, in the be-innin- o this incident, when "alak

tried three times to -et him to curse !srael, "alaam in act blessed

them three times.

The angel of the ord was sent to Balaam to (ee" him from

ma(ing a mista(e. Hopeully, he would take heed to the messa-e

o the an-el and not be disobedient.

!n the case o 1eter, who was in trouble or obeying the 7ord,

the an-el was sent to rescue him and to (ee" Herod from ma(ing a

mista(e.

The an-el sa6ed 1eter rom bein- killed by Herod. 1eter not

only -ot out o prison but was able to -o his way preachin- the

;ord o ?od.

$n"els 7a,e a Hed"e

The Hebrew word translated #harge in 1salm '/// is taavah,

which means Bto enAoin, to appoint,B or Bto send with.B / So the

7ord was sayin- He would appoint or send an-els with the one

who dwells in His secret place. The an-els sent to "alaam and to

1eter carried out their assi-nments and then apparently went on

to do somethin- else.

4lso, the #ew Testament saints apparently had some

understandin- o this, because they thou-ht the maidser6ant

/ Stron"( -(ebrew and &haldee Dictionary,. !& <&

100



*n )harge of (ngels

had seen 1eter=s an-el. The assumption was that 1eter had a

personal an-el.

Jerse // then says that an-els are appointed to keep us inall our ways. The Hebrew word translated (ee" is shamar which

means Bto hed-e about as with thornsI, i.e. -uardG to protect, to

attend to, etc.B 4lso, it can mean Bto obser6e, to preser6e,B or Bto

watch.B( So, the an-els are appointed to orm a hed-e about us,

to -uard, protect, and obser6e us, in order that they may

preser6e us.

<ou need to understand, howe6er, that an-els do notcontrol our li6es. They do not determine our acti6ities. They do

not keep us rom sinnin-. The direction o your lie is yor

responsibility. :or an-els to do their Aobs, or them to ulill the

commissions they ha6e been -i6en, we must abide under the

shadow o the 4lmi-hty.

;e should not be tryin- to i-ure out how ar we can -o

and still ha6e an-elic protection. !t seems there always are

people wantin- to do that. That is not the point. The point is to

stay close to the 7ord. ! we do what we are supposed to do, the

an-els can do what they are supposed to do, and we will be

protected.

Jerse /( says the an-els shall #ear thee u!& The Hebrew

word or bear used in 6erse /( is na#ah, a root word that hasmany meanin-s, amon- which are Bto lit,B Bto spare,B and Bto

raise upI.B3

;hen ! be-an to study this 6erse, ! wondered i there was

an illustration ! could use that would clariy the phrase, #ear

thee u! in their hands& So ! be-an to study the Hebrew word

(a"h used or hands. ! ound this is not the usual word used or

hand or hands. This word reers to the "alm o the hand, or orthe Bbowl o a dish or slin- . . . the lea6es o a palm tree.B*

( I#id( !& 11<&

3 I#id( !& <1&

* I#id( !& 6>&

101




;hen ! saw that, ! thou-ht o hands cupped to-ether. ! you

were real small and bein- held in the hands o a -iant, there

would be what amounted to a hed-e around you. 4nd this is thepicture bein- presented in this 6erse.

The Hebrew word used or dash in lest thou dash 6. /(I is

used only that one time in the Old Testament. The word is

naga"h, which has a 6ariety o meanin-s, anythin- rom Bstub

the toeIB to bein- pushed, -ored as by a bull, deeated, hurt,

pla-ued, or struck in any way. The last deinition in Strong/s

New E4hastive -on#ordan#e is to Bput to the worseCB5

So you mi-ht read that phrase as Blest you be put to the

worse.B ;hen the de6il tempted Eesus and quoted this 6erse in

the #ew Testament Matt. *+, 7uke *//I, the ?reek word is

"ros(o"to, which means the same thin- as the Hebrew.+

<ou can see that ?od simply ound another way to e2press

the same sentiment as in no e6il shall beall thee 6. /$I and



Psalm 91)>

There is a tremendous amount o repetition in 1salm '/, not

repetition o words, but repetition o meanin-s

• The secret place o the Most Hi-h 6. /I.

• The shadow o the 4lmi-hty 6. /I.

• He is my reu-e and my ortress 6. (I.

• Deli6er thee rom the snare o the owler 6. 3I.

• He shall co6er thee with his eathers 6. *I.

• His truth shall be thy shield and buckler 6. *I.

• The 7ord . . . thy habitation 6. 'I.

• He shall -i6e his an-els char-e o6er thee 6. //I.

4nd there are other phrases in this psalm that we ha6e not

5 I#id( !& >8( G6D8&

+ Stron"( -Gree/ Dictionary of the New Testament,. !& 81( G56D&

102



*n )harge of (ngels

yet talked about that reiterate the same idea. The Holy Spirit was

tryin- to dri6e home to the hearts o those who heard or read

this psalm that there is a place in ?od where there is saety romthe enemy.

103



11

11 What s nderneath 5ur Feet6

Thou shalt tread u!on the lion and adder) the

%oun" lion and the dra"on shalt thou tram!le under feet&

Psalm 91)1

Most o this book has been spent discussin- what is abo6e

us and around us. #ow it is time to talk about what is

underneath our eet.

7ike the rest o 1salm '/, the promises are uture tense

Thou shalt. Many o the psalms are prophetic. 1salm '/ is

prophetic in the sense that, until Eesus was cruciied and rose

rom the dead, the children o ?od were not able to walk in theullness o these promises.

O course, you know that you are not literally to -o out and

walk on lions or snakes and e2pect to be protectedC One cult in

the 4ppalachian Mountains has -otten way out in let ield by

takin- such e2pressions literally. !n act, we are dealin- with

i-ures o speech throu-hout the entire '/st psalm. ?od really

does not ha6e eathersC

The dictionary deinition o figre of s"ee#h is BUsin- words

in a nonliteral sense or unusual manner to add 6i6idness, beauty,

etc. to what is said or written.B/

The Hebrew lan-ua-e is rich in such colorul i-ures o

speech, e2pressions that add illumination to the concept they

represent. The concepts or thin-s represented by these i-ures ospeech are literally true, althou-h the words themsel6es are not

literal.

So we know ?od does not ha6e eathers, but that

/ We#ster0s New World Dictionary, rd Coll& Ed&( s& v& 3fi"ure of s!eech&3

105




e2pression -i6es us a comortin- knowled-e that He will -ather

us under His protection st as a mother hen -athers her chickens

under her win-s. That e2pression tells us that ?od lo6es us,wants to protect us, and that in Him there is saety.

Somehow that mental picture o a mother hen and chickens

which Eesus used o Eerusalem in Matt. (33)I is -raphic and real

to us. The promise in a mental picture e2plains more to us than

simply sayin-, B! you stay in the ;ord o ?od and close to Him

in your daily walk and prayer lie, He will protect you.B

The e2pressions used were used e6eryday in Da6id=s timeand were easily understood by his people. Howe6er, this /3th

6erse would be meanin-less to most o us i it were literal. Most

o us ne6er see lions e2cept in a @oo, and many hristians ha6e

ne6er encountered a poisonous snake.

.i"ures of S!eech Paint ;eal Pictures

;hen ! was a teena-er, ! 6ery oolishly stomped a snake to

death. ! did not ha6e anythin- in my hands to hit it with, and !

had on shoes. He was there, and ! was there, and he did not

seem to want to -o the way ! wanted him to -oFawayC So !

Aumped on him with both eet and literally trampled him to

death.

! know now that was dan-erous, because a rattlesnake=san-s can pierce e6en hea6y boots. ! ha6e had no other occasion

to be aced with that kind o situation. 4lso, ! do not plan to do it

a-ainC

Howe6er, this 6erse was not talkin- about real lions and

snakes, but about a time when Satan and his demons would be

placed beneath our eet. That is why ! say this 6erse, in

particular, is prophetic.

This promise is one o the earliest in the "ible. ?od spoke it

in a prophecy to the serpent, Satan, but it was or the hope o

mankind.

106



What *s +nderneath ,ur Feet-

$nd the 'ord *od said unto the ser!ent( Because

thou hast done this( thou art cursed a#ove all cattle( and

a#ove ever% #east of the field+ u!on th% #ell% shalt thou

"o( and dust shalt thou eat all the da%s of th% life&

$nd I ill !ut enmit% #eteen thee and the

oman( and #eteen th% seed and her seed+ it shall

#ruise th% head( and thou shalt #ruise his heel&

*enesis )15(16

;hen Da6id wrote 1salm '/, Satan was not beneath his

eet. Da6id could dwell in the secret place o the Most Hi-h, andhe could recei6e many o the other promises in that psalm. "ut

he could not tread on Satan. The de6il still had the dominion

o6er the earth that he -ot ille-ally rom 4dam and 06e.

The de6il was a heel bruiserFbut he is not that anymoreG at

least, not to ?od=s children. Howe6er, we can see rom what ?od

said to him, upon thy belly shalt thou -o, that He intended all o

the time or us to put Satan under our eet. That is why He puthim on his belly, eatin- dust. He put Satan under the eet o

mankind at the 6ery moment the de6il thou-ht he had won

dominion o6er the earth ore6er.

#ow look at 7uke /$/&,/'

$nd he said unto them( I #eheld Satan as li"htnin"

fall from heaven&

Behold( I "ive unto %ou !oer to tread on ser!ents

and scor!ions( and over all the !oer of the enem%) and

nothin" shall #% an% means hurt %ou&

1salm '//3 is not prophetic any lon-er. !t has been

ulilled. Eesus deeated the serpent, Satan, and He will yet

punish the de6il and all o his demons by castin- them into the

lake o ire. 9e6. ($/$.IThe conte2t o 7uke /$ shows that Eesus was not speakin-

literally anymore than the psalmist had been. He really was

usin- a i-ure o speech to tell the disciples that Satan had been

put under their eet in a spiritual sense.

107




Howe6er, as Eesus continued to talk, He put matters in the

proper perspecti6e

Notithstandin" in this reAoice not( that the s!irits

are su#Aect unto %ou+ #ut rather reAoice( #ecause %our

names are ritten in heaven&

'u,e 1D)D

How could Eesus -i6e us that power> !n the irst place, He

could dele-ate His power to us ater His resurrection because

?od the :ather put e6erythin- under the eet o Eesus. :irstorinthians /5() says, :or he ?odI hath put all thin-s under his

Eesus=I eet.

Eesus was -i6en all power o6er Satan by the :ather, and

then Eesus dele-ated that power to the hurch, His "ody,

indi6idually and corporately. O course, Ball thin-s,B means

e6erythin- but ?od. / or. /5(/,(&.I

$ll Thin"s $re nder -ur .eet

7ook at 1aul=s letter to the church at 0phesus

The e%es of %our understandin" #ein" enli"htened+

that %e ma% ,no hat is the ho!e of his callin"( and

hat the riches of the "lor% of his inheritance in the

saints($nd hat is the e@ceedin" "reatness of his !oer

to usard ho #elieve( accordin" to the or,in" of his

mi"ht% !oer&

Which he rou"ht in Christ( hen he raised him

from the dead( and set him at his on ri"ht hand in the

heavenl% !laces(

.ar a#ove all !rinci!alit%( and !oer( and mi"ht(

and dominion( and ever% name that is named( not onl%in this orld( #ut also in that hich is to come)

$nd hath p%t all thin#s %nder his feet, and "ave him

to #e the head over all thin"s to the church(

Which is his #od%( the fulness of him that filleth

all in all&

108




E!hesians 1)1<

$nd %ou hath he uic,ened( ho ere dead intres!asses and sins+

Wherein in time !ast %e al,ed accordin" to the

course of this orld( accordin" to the !rince of the

!oer of the air( the s!irit that no or,eth in the

children of diso#edience)

$mon" hom also e all had our conversation

:citiFenshi!= in times !ast in the lusts of our flesh(

fulfillin" the desires of the flesh and of the mind+ andere #% nature the children of rath( even as others&

But *od( ho is rich in merc%( for his "reat love

hereith he loved us(

Even hen e ere dead in sins( hath uic,ened

us to"ether ith Christ( :#% "race %e are saved+=

$nd hath raised us u! to"ether( and made us sit

to"ether in heavenl% !laces in Christ 4esus)

That in the a"es to come he mi"ht she thee@ceedin" riches of his "race in his ,indness toard us

throu"h Christ 4esus&

E!hesians )1>

;hen ?od raised Eesus rom the dead, He raised us with

Him. ;hen were you raised rom the dead> #ot the day you

were born a-ain. That is the day you re#eived ha6in- been raised

rom the dead. That is when you accepted the act that new lie

was yours the moment you conessed Eesus hrist as your 7ord

and Sa6ior.

"ut ?od the :ather saw you raised rom the dead when He

raised Eesus. He saw e6ery person who would e6er be born a-ain

made spiritually ali6e when Eesus was resurrected. #ot last

week, nor last month, nor last year, but almost (,$$$ years a-o,?od raised all o us up to-ether with Eesus.

;hen He set Eesus at His own ri-ht hand, ?od also set us in

hea6enly places in hrist Eesus. This happened in ?od=s mind

and si-ht that 6ery instant. So, i you were raised up with Eesus

109




and all thin-s were put under your eet, then where are you

now>

Eesus knew the moment He sat down in hea6enly places atthe ri-ht hand o the :ather that His power o6er the enemy

would belon- to e6ery man and woman who belie6ed on Him.

He knew that moment, thank ?od, that we could tread on

BserpentsB and Bscorpions.B So He said, Behold( I "ive unto %ou

!oer & & & and nothin" shall #% an% means hurt %ou 7uke

/$/'I.

"ut that is not the end o the story.

The ;est of the Stor%

7ook at Hebrews (

.or unto the an"els hath he not !ut in su#Aection

the orld to come( hereof e s!ea,&

But one in a certain !lace testified( sa%in"( What isman( that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man(

that thou visitest him? :Ps& <)5&=Thou madest him :man= a little loer than the

an"els+ thou cronedst him ith "lor% and honour( and

didst set him :man( in the *arden of Eden= over the

or,s of th% hands) :Ps& <)6(8&=

Thou hast !ut all thin#s in s%b0ection %nder his feet).or in that he !ut all in su#Aection under him( he left

nothin" that is not !ut under him& But no e see not

%et all thin"s !ut under him :man=&

He#res )6<

!n the ne2t 6erse, the writer o Hebrews switches rom

writin- about man to writin- about Eesus speciically.

%t we see 1es%s, ho as made a little loer than

the an"els :too, on the nature of man= for the sufferin"

of death( croned ith "lor% and honour+ that he #% the

"race of *od should taste death for ever% man&

He#res )9

110




4s the seed o 4dam, we were a little lower than the an-els,

and when Eesus came as man under the Old o6enant, he was

also made a little lower than the an-els, as we see in the 6ersesabo6e.

Howe6er, the end o the story is ound in Hebrews /, where

the writer pointed out that ?od used to speak to His people

throu-h prophets, but rom now on would speak by His Son,

Eesus, by ;hom He made the worlds and ;ho had been

appointed heir o all thin-s. Then he wrote

Who #ein" the #ri"htness of his "lor%( and the

e@!ress ima"e of his !erson( and u!holdin" all thin"s #%

the ord of his !oer( hen he had #% himself !ur"ed

our sins( sat don on the ri"ht hand of the 7aAest% on

hi"h)

ein# made so m%ch better than the an#els, as he

hath #% inheritance o#tained a more e@cellent name than

the%&.or unto hich of the an"els said he at an% time(

Thou art m% Son( this da% have I #e"otten thee? $nd

a"ain( I ill #e to him a .ather( and he shall #e to me a

Son?

$nd a"ain( hen he #rin"eth in the first #e"otten

into the orld( he saith( $nd let all the an"els of *od

orshi! him&

$nd of the an"els he saith( Who ma,eth his an"elss!irits( and his ministers a flame of fire&

But unto the Son he saith( Th% throne( - *od( is

for ever and ever) a sce!tre of ri"hteousness is the

sce!tre of th% ,in"dom&

He#res 1)<

4s Aoint heirs with Eesus, and as new creatures throu-h

Him, we also ha6e been made BbetterB than an-els. 4nd part oour inheritance throu-h Eesus will be puttin- deathFthe last

enemyFunder our eet. The last enemy is physical death.

Spiritual death, which came on 4dam and 06e when they

sinned, was immediately put under oot at al6ary.

111




Eesus has already suered death and has been crowned

with -lory and honor. Thank ?od, we can ha6e eternal lie ri-ht

this moment. Our physical bodies are -oin- to die, but themoment we are loosed rom these physical bodies, we enter into

a complete and total ore6er%lie with the 7ord Eesus.

The death o the physical body is no problem, because to be

absent rom the body, is to be present with the 7ord ( or. 5&bI.

Eesus could -i6e us that ri-ht, because we ha6e been raised up

with Him, ar abo6e all principalities and powers.

;e can tread on the adder. ;e can BtrampleB demons underour eet. Satan is not e6en a heel bruiser anymore, because Eesus

said, #othin- shall by any means hurt you 7uke /$/'I. Eesus

has put all thin-s under subAection to us e2cept physical death,

and that is ours by His pro6ision, althou-h the maniestation

will not come until the 9esurrection.

Keep the enemy, Satan, under your eet where he belon-s.

Stop seein- him in ront o the window, shootin- arrows in at

you. ! you understand that he is under your eet, you can mo6e

any way ?od tells you to mo6e. <ou do not ha6e to be hesitant

in ollowin- ?od=s leadin-. <ou do not ha6e to ear doin- the

will o ?od when you know that e6ery step you take in

obedience to the :ather means you are tramplin- the enemy

under your eet.

;hen hristians are araid to do what the ;ord o ?od

says, it is because in their minds they ha6e allowed the enemy to

slip out rom under their eet and -et out in ront o them. Then

all they can see is him. Keep him under your eet. That is where

?od intends or him to be. That is the reason He raised you up

with the 7ord Eesus.

Do not let demons sit on your shoulder and whisper to you.They ha6e no business there at all. <ank them o your shoulder

and step on themC

<ou do not ha6e to wait until Eesus returns to ha6e 6ictory

o6er the enemy. <ou will not need to trample him underoot

112




durin- the Millennium or ater. He will be bound in prison or

/,$$$ years and then thrown into the lake o ire. 9e6. ($/%).I

?od is not talkin- about somethin- to happen some day. !nthe #ew Testament, the Holy Spirit inspired the writers to tell o

somethin- that already has occurred and that hristians o the

past almost%(,$$$ years ha6e had a ri-ht to appropriate.

Satan Is /on

! you are not walkin- the hristian lie with the de6il

under your eet, probably it is because you ha6e not known this

is the position in which ?od wanted you to be. ! used to let the

de6il run me around all the time, because ! did not know these

thin-s. Many hristians still ha6e no comprehension o their

position in relation to the enemy.

! Satan has been -i6in- you a rou-h time, your

understandin- o his position and yours needs to be enli-htened.The quicker you -et hold o the truth that Satan is down and you

are up, the more 6ictory you are -oin- to ha6e. 4lso, that

understandin- will cause your lie in Eesus to become better,

your prayin- more eecti6e, and your mind more peaceable.

1salm '//3 says Thou shalt tread u!on the lion and the

adder& That is not only uture tense but is a command.

Da6id uttered those words in a prophetic sense, but today,they ha6e been ulilled. They are a reality ri-ht now, i you will

Aust learn to walk in that reality instead o Satan=s delusion that

he is powerul and you are not.

"ut why did Da6id write that we would tread on the lion

and the youn- lion> ;hen ! irst looked at that, ! wondered

about it. Ob6iously, the words are not Aust a repetition or

emphasis, because the second reerence to lion has an adAecti6eF

the descripti6e word yong6added.

;hen ! be-an to study this, ! saw that a youn- lion is a

roaring lion. Older lions tend not to roar as much. Someone has

113




said that the mark o immaturity is a bi- mouth. 1eople who are

spiritually mature ha6e quiet spirits and the ability to keep their

mouths shut.More mature people are quieter because they ha6e learned

to bridle their ton-ues. "ut the de6il has the bi--est mouth o

anythin- in e2istenceC ;hy> That is because he is the least

spiritually mature. :irst 1eter 5&,' e2plains this 6ery well

Be so#er( #e vi"ilant( #ecause %our adversar% the

devil( as a roarin" lion( al,eth a#out( see,in" hom he

ma% devour&

Whom resist stedfast in the faith( ,noin" that the

same afflictions are accom!lished in %our #rethren that

are in the orld&

How do you resist the de6il and see him lee rom you>

;hich way does he lee> ! used to picture this as him out in ront

o me, and when ! would speak the ;ord to him, he would runaway rom me. Then ! remembered that Eesus told the de6il to

-et behind Him. 7uke *&.I Then ! saw the de6il runnin- o

behind me.

Howe6er, when Eesus spoke to the de6il, He had not yet put

him underoot. :rom the time o Eesus= resurrection on, Satan has

been under our eet. He has to -o down. He cannot -o any other

way. So ! trample on him. <ou may ask how to trample on the

de6il. <ou do it with the ;ord o ?od.

;hen you read 0phesians + concernin- puttin- on the ull

armor o ?od, you see that our eet are to be shod with the

preparation o the ?ospel o peace. Thank ?od or that. Maintain

peace in your heart, and you will resist the enemy. <ou speak the

;ord, and you will dri6e him arther, arther, and arther down.

Down is the only direction ?od has intended Satan to -o

rom the time he rebelled and was thrown out o hea6en. The

de6il wal(s about seekin- whom he may de6our, and the eyes o

the 7ord rn to and ro. ech. */$.I So i the eyes o the 7ord are

114




runnin-, and the de6il is walkin-, there is no way the de6il can

-et to you beore the 7ord does.

The downall o Satan runs rom ?enesis to 9e6elation, andso does the raisin- up o Eesus, our "lessed Hope.

115



12

12 Set Your (ove -on 7od

Because he hath set his love u!on me( therefore

ill I deliver him) I ill set him on hi"h( #ecause he

hath ,non m% name&

He shall call u!on me( and I ill anser him) I ill

#e ith him in trou#le+ I ill deliver him( and honour

him&


salvation&

Psalm 91)1518

These three 6erses mark a chan-e in this psalm, which

really should be di6ided into two parts, because it has two

dierent speakers. 1art one, 6erses /%/3, is the psalmist,

-enerally considered to be Da6id, talkin- about the 7ord and

what it means to li6e in the shadow o His win-s.

Jerses /*%/+ are ?od speakin- to the psalmist, in the irst

person. ?od said, BThe person who sets his lo6e on Me, !

• ;ill deli6er.B• ;ill set on hi-h.B

• ;ill answer.B

• ;ill be with in trouble.B

• ;ill honour.B

• ;ill satisy with lon- lie.B

#otice also that or the 6ery irst time in this psalm, theword love is mentioned. ?od made an unequi6ocal statement,

lea6in- absolutely no room or question He will deli6er those

who establish their lo6e on Him.

117




The word set in 6erse /* means Bi2ed.B Sometimes it seems

that when we tell people they need to lo6e ?od, or lo6e one

another, our words come out kind o like, B4ll you ha6e to do isnothin-. 4ll you need is some kind o eelin-.B

"ut ?od was not talkin- about a eelin-, or a passin- ancy,

or somethin- nice that occurs once in a while.

He was sayin-, B"ecause you ha6e determined, no matter

what, that you lo6e Me, then nothin- will come beore Me in

your heart. <ou ha6e i2ed your lo6e on Me to the e2clusion o

amily, career, riends, ministry, and e6en lie.B

That is a Bquality decision.B

4lso, ?od did not say, B! will deli6er him because ! ha6e set

My lo6e on him.B

?od set His lo6e on us, His creation, beore the be-innin- o

time. He established that lo6e on record in the uni6erse ore6er

when He sent the 7ord Eesus to die or us at al6ary. ?od has setHis lo6e on man eternally.

Howe6er, the act that will brin- you deli6erance is that yo

set yor lo6e on ?od.

?od lon-s to deli6er man, but what enables Him to ulill

this lon-in- is man=s response to what ?od already has done.

Man needs to set his lo6e upon ?od. ;hen you set your lo6e on

?od, that -i6es Him the spiritually le-al ri-ht, the opportunity,the openin- to deli6er you.

<ou will always ind that the deli6erance ?od is able to

brin- to a man=s lie is determined by the de-ree to which he has

set his lo6e upon ?od.

Eesus said or us to lo6e ?od with our heart, soul, mind, and

stren-th. Mark /(3$.I There are hristians who lo6e ?od withtheir hearts, but their minds are set on somethin- else. ?od has

deli6ered their hearts throu-h sal6ation, but their minds are

illed with the world.

Then there are people who do not lo6e ?od with their

118



Set our #ove +&on .od

bodies. They let their bodies do as they please, althou-h their

hearts lo6e ?od. Settin- all o their lo6e on ?od, without holdin-

back any area, will brin- deli6erance in all areas.

Satan Wants To Hold s Hosta"e

;hen the !ran hosta-e crisis was -oin- on durin- the late%

Se6enties, the 7ord showed me somethin- about the de6il and

his operations.

The assumptions the !ranian -o6ernment were operatin- on

were these

F"ecause the hosta-es are 4merican citi@ens, the rest o us

ha6e set our lo6e on them.

F"ecause they are 4merican citi@ens, they ha6e set their

lo6e on their country.

6Therefore, we would ransom them out o bonda-e in any

way the kidnappers asked be#ase we love them and they love s.The whole world was watchin-, and i the United States did not

deli6er its people rom this situation, then that would ha6e

shown that the country did not care about its citi@ens.

Then some o the hosta-es were orced to make public

statements critici@in- their country, !ran was walkin- a ine line

with all o this, and the scheme ollowed the de6il=s tactics. O

course, that was because the whole idea o it came rom him to

the 4yatollah Khomeini.

Satan holds the maAority o mankind as hosta-es and has

been doin- that since 4dam and 06e were put out o the ?arden

o 0den.

;hy did Satan come to 06e in the irst place> His

temptation o 4dam and 06e was not because the de6il caredanythin- about man. He had no desire or the human race. "ut

he had lost his own place with ?od. He had been dethroned and

lost his power. He had not only lost his position, he had lost

e6erythin-.

119




So he set out to take man hosta-e, because he saw that &od

had set his love on mankind. #o doubt he thou-ht, and perhaps

still thinks, that because ?od lo6es us and we lo6e ?od, that hewill be able to -et what he wants out o ?od.

1erhaps he thou-ht in the 6ery be-innin-, B!=ll Aust take the

whole thin- hosta-e, and ! will be able to orce ?od into -i6in-

me what ! want. ! will -et ?od to do or me what ! want.B

He still wants e6en more authority than he used to ha6e

beore he was kicked out o hea6en. Satan set out to hold

mankind hosta-e. #o doubt, he still thinks by strikin- back at?od in this way, he can -et what he wants.

"ut ?od sent Eesus to die or you and me to establish that

He has the le-al ri-ht to -et His hosta-es away rom the de6il.

The only thin- that is now necessary to -et away rom the one

who holds you capti6e is or you to recei6e Eesus as the ransom

payment.

Satan, howe6er, has always done what the 4yatollah did

attempt to brainwash the hosta-es to -et them to make

humiliatin- and dero-atory statements about ?od. He thinks

that is BpubliclyB embarrassin- ?od. He sets hristians up in

6arious problem situations or actual destruction, thinkin- their

pli-hts will cause others to wonder whether ?od really lo6es His

children.He wants us to wonder whether ?od=s ;ord is true and

whether He really will deli6er us. The truth, o course, is that

?od already has deli6ered us. #ow it is up to us to recei6e that

deli6erance.

?od said to Da6id, B06ery time ! see a man held hosta-e by

the de6il, a man who has set his lo6e on Me, ! will deli6er himBF

and He has.

The Si"n of 'ove Set on *od

4 way has been established in which ?od could absolutely

120




tell that a man had set his lo6e upon the Most Hi-h. O course

?od knows our heartsG howe6er, in 1salm '//*, ?od -a6e a si-n

o an established heart, one that is set on ?od. That si-n is oundin the last phrase o that phrase o that 6erse. The 7ord said,

because he hath known my name.

!n 9omans /$', ?od said that i you belie6e in your heart

and coness with your mouth that Eesus was raised rom the

dead, you will be sa6ed. 4nd you cannot do that without settin-

your lo6e upon ?od. The moment you make that conession and

recei6e Eesus as 7ord, immediately ?od has the le-al ri-ht todeli6er you. <ou are no lon-er Satan=s hosta-e.

?od is sayin-, thereore, in 1salm '//*, B! am -oin- to

establish the one who sets his lo6e on me in such a way that he is

secure because he has known My name.B

!n ancient times, names had real meanin-. 4 person=s name

made a statement about him or her. Today, names are simply

labels. "ut when Da6id was writin-, a person=s name was more

than a label. 4s a rule, today, names do not mean much at all. !

belie6e that is one reason why bein- able to use the name o

Eesus does not mean 6ery much to many hristians.

?od has -i6en us a name to use that is abo6e e6ery other

name, the name that He has e2alted. ;hen Da6id was writin-,

they knew all the names or ?od. They knew, or e2ample, thatwhen they prayed to El Shaddai, they were sayin- B4ll%Suicient

One, <ou can supply e6erythin- we need.B

The closest thin- we ha6e in our society to the use o names

in the way the !sraelites did is what we call Bname droppin-.B !

you want a special a6or rom those in authority, you can use

some important person=s name as i he were your personal

riend. Howe6er, i that person really is your personal riend,you are careul not to abuse that riendship by throwin- his or

her name around loosely.

!n those days, it was the same way. ;hen you were in

co6enant with someone or had permission to use his name, all he

121




was and all he had was at your disposal when you called on his

name.

! understand that in some places in the Middle 0ast untilthis day, the 4rabs ha6e continued this tradition. ! heard this

story se6eral years a-o

4n 4rab named 4ba Shosho li6ed in the desert close to a

lar-e oasis. He was 6ery, 6ery wealthy with enou-h men in his

amily alon- with ser6ants to make up a small army to protect

his holdin-s. One day another 4rab was tra6elin- across the

desert not 6ery ar rom this oasis, when a band o robbers be-anto chase him.

He did whate6er you do to -et a camel to run, but the

robbers were -ettin- closer and closer. So the man bein- chased

headed strai-ht or the oasis and be-an to call 4ba Shosho=s

name.

4ba was sittin- in his tent takin- it easy, because it wasdurin- the heat o the day. He heard his name bein- called.

#ow, i he did not bother to -o check out the situation, his name

would be dishonored. 4 man in distress was callin- his name. !

he Aust sat on in the cool o his tent and i-nored the call, he

would brin- dishonor on his name.

The word would -et out that 4ba Shosho will not back up

his name. So he -ot up, called his little army to mount up, rodeout on the desert, and rescued this -uy. Then he brou-ht the

tra6eler to his tent, ed him, and -a6e him water. <ou mi-ht say

that old Shosho Bset him securely on hi-h.B

4lso, as lon- as the tra6eler was in the tent, 4ba Shosho=s

name was still on the line. So he posted his ollowers around the

oasis to keep the robbers away. ! they came any closer, his men

would kill them i necessary. They would do what was necessaryto see that this man who called upon the name o their lord was

not harmed in any way.

The man could ha6e stayed there as lon- as he wanted,

because he called on 4ba Shosho=s name, and there is nothin- in

122




tradition that says, Bater thirty days, the use o the name runs

out.B

<ou need to understand that, in e6en a -reater way, ?od is-oin- to see that the name o Eesus is ne6er dishonored. ! you

call upon the :ather in the name o Eesus, accordin- to the ;ord

o ?od, the ;ord will be ulilled. Eesus has already done

e6erythin- He can to brin- that principle into reality in your lie.

Eesus said

Whatsoever %e shall as, the .ather in m% name( heill "ive it %ou&

Hitherto have %e as,ed nothin" in 7% name) as,(

and %e shall receive( that %our Ao% ma% #e full&

4ohn 18)#(5

4 lot o people ha6e set their lo6e upon ?od, and He has

deli6ered them. They lo6e ?od with all their hearts and their

nei-hbors as themsel6es. "ut they ha6e ne6er been tau-ht thatthey can use the name o Eesus. They do not know that, e6en

now, they are sittin- in hea6enly places in Him. They do not

know they can speak the ;ord o ?od in the name o Eesus and

see the ;ord work in their li6es.

Then there are others who ha6e a hard time settin- their

lo6e on ?od. <et, when there is a disaster, a problem, or a

situation in their li6es, they call out and e2pect ?od to -et themout o a mess. "ut when He does, they want to -o on their way

and still not set their lo6e upon Him.

$ 'on" 'ife

?od said that i one who has his lo6e set on ?od calls Him,

He will answer and be with him in trouble. ?od said He woulddeli6er that one and honor him. ! tradition shows us that earthly

men honored their names to the e2tent re6ealed in Middle

0astern culture, then how much more must ?od honor the name

o Eesus>

123




The last 6erse o that psalm is particularly encoura-in-.


salvation&

Second Kin-s, hapter ($, records a 6ery interestin- story

that ! would like or us to consider. 4 man whose name was

He@ekiah was 6ery sick. !n act, the irst 6erse o this chapter

says that the prophet !saiah came to him and told him that he

was -oin- to die.

! think that would be a diicult thin- to deal with. !t is badenou-h to be inormed by a physician that you don=t ha6e lon-

to li6e. "ut to be told by a prophet that ?od says you are -oin-

to die is much worse. ! think most people would Aust accept that

word as bein- inal.

He@ekiah did not. Jerse 3 tells us that he prayed, I #eseech

thee( - 'ord( remem#er no ho I have al,ed #efore thee in

truth and ith a !erfect heart( and have done that hich is

"ood in th% si"ht& $nd HeFe,iah e!t sore&

This man prayed the 6ery best prayer he knew how to pray.

?od heard that prayer and sent !saiah back to -i6e He@ekiah an

answer.

$nd it came to !ass( afore Isaiah as "one out into

the middle court( that the ord of the 'ord came to him(sa%in"(

Turn a"ain( and tell HeFe,iah the ca!tain of m%

!eo!le( Thus saith the 'ord( the *od of /avid th% father(

I have heard th% !ra%er( I have seen th% tears) #ehold( I

ill heal thee) on the third da% thou shalt "o u! unto the

house of the 'ord&

$nd I ill add unto th% da%s fifteen %ears+ and I

ill deliver thee and this cit% out of the hand of the ,in"

of $ss%ria+ and I ill defend this cit% for mine on sa,e(

and for m% servant /avid0s sa,e&

$nd Isaiah said( Ta,e a lum! of fi"s& $nd the%

too, and laid it on the #oil( and he recovered&

124




Jin"s D)5>

! must coness that ! really do not know why ?od used that

lump o i-s to restore this man=s health. !t really does not matter.

!t workedC So let me come to the point o why ! chose to consider

this story.

! ?od said to me, B!=m -oin- to add iteen years to your

lieG be-innin- today, you ha6e iteen more years to li6e,B !

would respond, BThat is not enou-h.B

;hy would ! say that> Simply because ! am not sure that initeen years ! will be totally satisied with lie.

! am sure that someone will read this and be a-hast that !

would make such a statement.

There is such a stron- belie in the reli-ious world that Bwe

ha6e no promise o tomorrow,B that my comments seem

ridiculous. "ut ! belie6e that we do ha6e a promise o tomorrow.

Throu-hout this book ! ha6e been sharin- with you some

6ery speciic instructions or li6in- a lon- lie. ! am completely

con6inced that those who dili-ently and aithully do the thin-s

spoken o in the psalms are assured o tomorrow. !n act, it is

more than a promise. !t is a declaration that we can li6e until we

are satisied with lie.

One could respond, B"ut you ha6e not had a prophet sent toyou personally by ?od to tell you how much lon-er you can

li6e.B My response is that ! ha6e no need o such a messen-er. !

ha6e ?od=s ;ord.

! am doin- my 6ery best to con6ince you to accept and

belie6e the "ible in a 6ery personal way. !t is ?od talkin- to you.

?od wants you to li6e. ?od wants you to li6e a lon-,

satisyin- lie. 4nd, there is a 6ery -ood reason why He wantsthat or you.

! belie6e that Eesus -a6e us some insi-ht into this situation

in what is recorded in Eohn /5/+. Eesus said to His disciples, Ye

have not chosen me( #ut I have chosen %ou( and ordained %ou(

125




that %e should "o and #rin" forth fruit( and that %our fruit

should remain) that hatsoever %e shall as, of the .ather in

m% name( he ma% "ive it %ou&?od chose you. Throu-h the 7ord Eesus, He chose you to

ulill a purpose on this earth. Do not e6er allow the de6il to

cause you to think otherwise. ?od has a reason or you to be

ali6e.

;hat is that reason> So that you can bear ruit. ! am talkin-

about the ruit o the Spirit. ?od wants all nine o the ruit o the

Spirit in ull maniestation in your lie. ?al. 5((,(3.I ?od is notsatisied that your lie is o6er until that ruit is maniested in

your lie. How much lon-er am ! -oin- to li6e> ! can -i6e you an

idea o how much lon-er ?od wants you to li6e. He desires or

all that ruit to be maniested in your lie. "ut then He is not

satisied with that bein- the end o your lie. He said that He

wants your ruit to remain. ;hat does that mean>

?od desires that lo6e, Aoy, peace, lon-suerin-, -entleness,

-oodness, aith, meekness, and temperance be so e6ident in your

lie that other people will want to know ?od because o knowin-

you. That is reason enou-h to -o on li6in-.

So ! am -oin- to li6e. ?od is not throu-h with me yet.

7et=s ha6e the ruit -rowin-, de6elopin-, maniestin- in our

li6es. 7et=s be-in to share that ruit with others. There are a lot opeople who do not ha6e lo6e in their li6es. There are a lot o

people who do not ha6e Aoy in their li6es. There are a lot o

people who do not ha6e peace in their li6es.

! you could share the peace o ?od with them, or His lo6e

or Aoy, it could completely chan-e their li6es. That is reason

enou-h to -o on li6in-. ! ha6e not yet -i6en ?od=s lo6e, Aoy and

peace to enou-h people who desperately need it. So, ! am notsatisied with lie.

&&&ith lon" life ill I satisf% him& ! want you to stop

readin- or a moment and say those words out loud. B;ith lon-

lie will ! satisy him.B &od wants yo to be satisfied with life. So

126




many people die beore they would naturally die o old a-eI

because they are dissatisied with lie. ! belie6e that is why they

dieFbecause o their dissatisaction with lie.4 little trouble kills a lot o people. ;orry, an2iety,

rustration, and ear oten brin- death. "ut accordin- to 1salm

'//+, the only reason to die is because you are satisied with lie.

7i6e until you are absolutely satisied with li6in-.

How lon- will that take> 1ersonally, ! do not think ! am

close enou-h to know. So ! am -oin- to -o on li6in-.

! know these are 6ery simple 0n-lish words, but ! decided

to check their meanin- in Hebrew to see i it would add richness

to their 0n-lish meanin-.

The Hebrew word translated life is rom an unused root

meanin- Bto be hot7 a day as the warm hoursI, whether lit. rom

sunrise to sunset, or rom one sunset to the ne2tI, or i-. a space

o time deined by an associated termI...B

/

The Hebrew word translated satisfy means Bto sate, i.e. fill to

satisaction lit. or i-.IFha6e enou-h...B !t can e6en mean to Bbe

weary o.B(

! belie6e that ?od is sayin- to us, B<ou can ha6e as many

sunsets as it takes to satisy you.B ! ha6e not had enou-h yet.

<ou can ha6e so many sunsets that are so satisyin- that

you -row weary rom so much satisaction.

How 6ery ar that is rom the way most o the population o

this earth is li6in-. ;hy is it that way>

! sincerely belie6e ! ha6e -i6en you many o the reasons in

this book. Most o the world does not know ?od. 4nd many o

those who do know Him do not ollow the 6ery simple

-uidelines o this psalm. ! belie6e that act is determinin- boththe le6el o satisaction they ind in lie and how lon- they li6e.

;hat kind o lie do you ha6e> !s it satisyin-> Or is it 6ery

/ Stron"( (ebrew and &haldee Dictionary, !& 5<( G11>&

( Stron"( (ebrew and &haldee Dictionary, !& 11( G>858&

127




troubled> !s your lie rich and rewardin-> Or would you really

Aust as soon your lie be o6er> 1erhaps you are araid or your

lie to end. <ou need not be.!t is no coincidence that this -reat psalm ends with the

phrase . . .and shew him my sal6ation 6. /+I.

The Hebrew word or salvation means *deliveran#e7 hence

aid, vi#tory, "ros"erity56.. .health, help,.. .sa6e...B3 ! your lie is

not a satisyin- one, let me ur-e you to turn to Eesus. 7et Him

help you. 7et Him brin- 6ictory and deli6erance into your lie.

He lon-s to -i6e you the aid you need, e6en inancial andphysical aid.

7ook toward hea6en ri-ht now and ask ?od to help you

and to chan-e your lie.

<ou can pray a 6ery simple prayer, somethin- like this

&od, ' need +or hel". ife is not going well for me. 'n fa#t, ' am

hrting dee" inside. ' need +o, &od. ' need +o very m#h. &ive tome the deliveran#e, the vi#tory, +o said +o wold show to those who

wold live a##ording to the words of the "salm.

' have not lived by the words of this "salm. Bt today ' am

ma(ing the de#ision to do so, to the best of my ability. So ' as( that +o

hel" me.

' #hoose right now to a##e"t Jess as my Savior. ord, ' #hoose to

believe that +o sent Him to this earth to die for me. ' believe that +oraised Him from the dead. )nd at this moment in my life, ' am trsting

in Jess.

So than( +o for hearing and answering my "rayer. 'n Jess/

name ' as( these things. )men.

<our choice to belie6e what ?od has said in 1salm '/ is the

decidin- actor. ! you belie6e what you Aust prayed, ?od willanswer that prayer. ?od will show you His sal6ation.

oness the ollowin- requently

Be#ase ' dwell in the se#ret "la#e of the most High, ' abide in the

3 $tron#, (ebrew and &haldee Dictionary, !& 6( G555&

128




shadow of the )lmighty, in the light of His glorios "resen#e, ' am a

"art of the family of &od, those who are born again of His S"irit.

The ord is my refge and my fortress. He is my shelter and "rote#tion, my way of es#a"e from all danger and harm. ' wal( in His

2ord, #lothed in His armor. He is my ro#( and my fortress, my

deliverer7 my &od, my strength, and my high tower.

He delivers me from all snares, tra"s, and tem"tation. 'n Him '

trn away from evil and rise " over sin. He has given me "ower to

tread on ser"ents and s#or"ions, and over all the "ower of the enemy.

%y &od #overs me with His feathers, and in His wings ' trst.

He hedges me in so that the evil one #annot to#h me. Be#ase of my

trst in Him, ' wal( boldly by faith so that ' am not afraid of the terror

at night, the "estilen#e in dar(ness or the destr#tion at noon. ' fear no

evil, bt my reverent fear is in the ord.

Be#ase ' #hoose to wal( in faith and in love, no harm will #ome

to me. ) thosand may fall at my side, and ten thosand at my righthand, bt it will not #ome near me. No wea"on formed against me will

"ros"er.

2ith my eyes ' will behold the reward of the wi#(ed, those who

are terrified at night, hit by arrows, destroyed by "estilen#e, #onsmed

by fear. Be#ase ' am a -hristian, ' do not e4"e#t the horrible things

that ha""en to others to ha""en to me. Sin#e ' have made the ord, the

most High, my refge and habitation, no evil will befall me, no "lagewill #ome near my dwelling.

The ord has given His angels #harge over me, to (ee" me in all

my ways. They wat#h over me and a#t in my behalf, st as they

wat#hed over, gided and "rote#ted the #hildren of 'srael and the

a"ostles. The angels of the ord ma(e " a hedge arond me and my

family. They bear me " in the "alms of their hands.

Therefore ' will tread on the lion and the adder, the yong lion

and the dragon will ' tram"le nder foot. )s a oint heir with -hrist

Jess, all things6in#lding Satan, the roaring lion6are nder my

feet.

129




Be#ase the ord has set His love on me6and ' have set mine on

Him6He delivers me and sets me on high. ' #all "on Him and He

answers me. Satan #an no longer hold me hostage be#ase ' have beendelivered from him and his "ower.

2ith long life the ord satisfies me, and He shows me His

salvation. Before the fondation o f the world, He #hose me and set me

a"art to flfill His "r"ose on this earth. He has a reason for me to live

and not die. ' have no fear of my life ending "rematrely for the ord

has saved me from sin, si#(ness, fear, "overty and death and has

delivered me into righteosness, health, "ea#e, "ros"erity and life in allits fllness, oy, satisfa#tion and abndan#e. Than(s be to &od3

;hat an incredible psalmC ! challen-e you to li6e it e6ery

day o your lie.

130



/r& Jennith E& Steart) 4uthor, pastor, colle-e proessor,

consultant to "ible schools, and tra6elin- minister, is best known

and lo6ed or his strai-ht orward teachin- o the ;ord o ?od.:or many years the ocus o Dr. Stewart=s ministry has been

amily relationships. He has authored se6eral books which deal

with this 6ital area o lie. He is in much demand as a speaker,

tra6elin- throu-hout this country and other countries o the

world to minister the ;ord o ?od to amilies. His e2tensi6e

knowled-e o ?od=s ;ord is always presented in proound, yet

practical, truths which ha6e helped many to ha6e meanin-ulli6es whether sin-le or married.

Dr. Stewart attended "rite Di6inity School, Te2as hristian

Uni6ersity, :orth ;orth, Te2as, where he recei6ed his Master o

Di6inity de-ree and his Doctor o Ministry de-ree.

He is the ounder and 1astor o :amily ;orship enter in

Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he resides with his wie Donna, and his

two sons, Eonathan and Eason.

:or a complete list o tapes and

books by Dr. Stewart, write

Dr. Kennith Stewart1. O. "o2 (*'3

"roken 4rrow, OK )*$/3%(*'3

8lease in#lde yor "rayer re0ests

and #omments when yo write.



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4 % +'$$ "re-en@

4UST9!4



The Harrison House 2ision

1roclaimin- the truth and the power

O the ?ospel o Eesus hrist

;ith e2cellenceG

hallen-in- hristians to7i6e 6ictoriously,

?row spiritually,

Know ?od intimately.

No Evil Shall Befall Thee.pdf

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Transcript of No Evil Shall Befall Thee.pdf