There are many promises and facts in scripture that assure us of wonderful things. Promises for a future in the heavenly Kingdom of God, and facts that we can stand on right now to secure us in the truth and free us from bondage and fear.
One particular fact that is very powerful yet a often ignored or misunderstood comes from Psalm 91:10 which says that no evil shall befall you.
For many people, these words are too fantastic to believe. Surely God did mean to suggest that no evil could touch us! You’re dreaming!
But what if He did mean it? How would that change your outlook, your emotions, or even your life? Let’s check it out.
Welcome back to part of our series looking at the blessings and promises of God.
In the introductory segment last week, we began by looking at the foundation of why you can be sure of your blessings in Christ. We also ended that video with an encouragement to start building your own personalized list of blessings.
Today we will continue from where we paused last week, and examine some blessings from the perspective of what it means to “know” them on a personal level.
Last week, in part one, we began taking a closer look at the names of God. As mentioned, names carry more of a meaning than what we have come to generally think. That’s why we see God changing the name of people whenever He made a covenant with them, or blessed them; such as Abram to Abraham, or Jacob to Isaac for example.
Given the importance of names, it would therefore benefit us to examine the names which God has given Himself. If He places importance on names, then all-the-more would God then want us to understand the names which He has revealed to s about Himself. After all, He didn’t name Himself for His own benefit, He did it for our benefit, because He wants us to know Him and His character.
So we continue today to look at the names of God and what they show us about Himself, that we would have a deeper understanding and relationship with Him.
In a few of our past studies, I’ve alluded to the fact that faith is information. And I have received some messages from people since those studies, with questions regarding exactly what this means and how to apply it.
In those messages which people sent to me, it became immediately clear that they were not understanding the difference between world information and spiritual information. Indeed, those two things are very different. Not all information is faith. Faith is a very specific type of information; information that deals specifically with Christ, what He has accomplished, and who we are in Him today.
So today in this study, I would like to share with you, the very important difference between world information (information that comes from worldly circumstances and what the world presents to us) versus Spiritual information (information about Jesus Christ, what He has accomplished on the cross, and our identity in Him today) – that is the information which is properly identified as faith.
This is what we will be looking at today.
I titled today's study this way, on purpose, after some consideration, because these two things: prosperity and protection, are some of the most often attacked – not just by the world in general, but from inside Christian circles as well. In many places it is considered “radical” or “extreme” to believe in and trust God for prosperity, whether it be financial prosperity, or prosperity of other kinds such as prosperity in your relationships or prosperity in your health (i.e. healing).
There seems to be a disconnect in these areas, because the people that I often speak with, seem to have no real issue believing in a God who can give them eternal life, and save them from final destruction in hell; yet they have great difficulty believing that this same God is able or willing to provide for their temporal needs right now on this earth.
What I want to share with you today, is precisely what Jesus said about the provision, prosperity and protection, which the Father has for you, right now, today. And by seeing this, you will no longer be subject to the doubt that is so prevalent in the world today.
When someone mentions the word “curse”, how do you react? For many Christians, fear comes over them when they hear of curses… they are afraid that they can be cursed – and some that I have spoken with, even believed that a curse was on them already.
It seems that when it comes to curses, many of us have lost sight of the finished work of Christ and the truth of His redemption. We have more trust in the power of the curse, than the power of Jesus’ redemption; or we just don’t believe that He has redeemed us. In either case, the false belief must give way to the truth, and in this study today, I want to share with you the truth regarding curses – that just like the title of this study says: No Curse Can Touch You!
Psalms 91 is one of the greatest Psalms for those who believe on Jesus Christ, because it is a detailed list showing us all of the many ways in which God demonstrates His love for us – and what the finished work of Christ has given to us, even in this life.
In Part 1 of our study, we looked at the foundation: our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, our connection to Him, our oneness with Him – as mentioned in verse 1.
In Part 2 last week, we looked at the many gifts and blessings that are included in that relationship in verses 2 through 14.
Now today, in this third and final part of our study on Psalms 91, we conclude by completing the circle, as this all returns once again to our relationship with Jesus Christ, our personal connection with Him, as we see the final blessings and marvelous promises for us, found in the final verses of the chapter, verses 15 and 16.
Many times in scripture God has said to not be afraid (it’s not actually 365 times, closer to 110), but really once should be enough for anyone who takes the word of God seriously. However, we still find it difficult to not be afraid in certain circumstances. Often we think that being afraid of certain things is normal. Just a part of being human. However we still have the very words of God that tell us to “fear not”, “do not be afraid”. Was He just saying it for the sake of saying it… or is there something for us to learn and see in His words?
It might be interesting to note that whenever God said to not be afraid, it always accompanied a revelation of Himself… who He is and His nature, character and power. This is key when considering His words. God never tells us to not be afraid, without telling the reason why we do not have to fear. It’s one thing to simply say “aww, don’t be afraid!” – but it’s quite another thing to say “Don’t be afraid, because I am here!” and when God is the one saying it, you now have a very solid foundation upon which to securely stand. What we will be studying today is the security that we have in Christ, and how His words of fear not, are not just empty suggestions, but a reality for us to live in – all because of Jesus.
As believers, I think it is safe to say that all of us want to know the will of God. We all want to know what His desire and His intentions are in every area and in every situation. Many times we cry out to God asking Him to reveal His will to us, and we preface our prayers with “Lord, if it’s your will...”, and we pray this way because we do not know His will… we are unsure of what His will is. However it is very difficult; some would even say impossible, to act with boldness and confidence if we are not sure that God is backing us up. It’s very difficult to step out in faith if we are uncertain whether God’s will is for us to do that.
The good news is that He knows that we want to know – and He has not left us wondering what His will is. God has given us the perfect image and example of His will. And as we look at the living image of God – Jesus – we will know what the will of God is, and not be in doubt or uncertainty any longer. This is what we will be studying today.