The Shelter of the Most High...

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It seems to me the Spirit of God is warning us that chaos is approaching the United States of America. If I am hearing the Lord correctly, much blood is going to be shed. Then the United States will slip down to a lower status in world affairs and the power of the world will move to the East.

(12/12/2010). I am not certain that a great deal of prayer is going to alter the destiny of our country. I think the Lord is saying that it is up to each believer to save himself and his loved ones and whoever else listens to him or her.

There are millions of professing Christians in the United States but not that many genuine disciples. A true disciple of the Lord Jesus is someone who denies himself (turns away from his own will and does the Lord's will); take us his cross (accepts the "prison" in which he has been placed); and follows the Lord Jesus at all times, looking to him for every decision that is made throughout the day.

Notice the following verse:

Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. (Psalms 91:1)

"Dwells in the shelter of the Most High." This is speaking of abiding in Christ; living in Christ at all times. I have found the best way to do this is to keep up a running conversation with Jesus throughout the day and night So many decisions have to be made each day. We can reason our way through all these, or we can keep on referring each decision—in fact, all that we are doing—to the Lord Jesus. "Help me Lord with this." "Thank You for helping me with that," and so forth. Do you do this? It is an excellent way of maintaining the Presence of Christ throughout the day and night.

There is no way in which I could overemphasize the importance of looking to Jesus at all times, in every situation. We are to keep opening the door to Him and dining with Him, not just on one occasion but all the time.

We are to keep up this dialogue with the Lord Jesus until we are living by His life. There is no life worth living except that which is shared with the Lord Jesus. He and He alone is our wisdom, power, righteousness, and holiness. The night of moral chaos is approaching rapidly when no human being will be able to work the works of God. But the Lord Jesus can and shall through us if we are willing to "die in the Lord."

Do you remember that the Lord said whoever believes in Him shall never die? Whoever is serving Jesus now, when he or she dies will continue in full memory and consciousness to serve the Lord. The remainder of mankind will be assigned to their appropriate places, some pleasant and some unpleasant, until they come back to life in the Day of Resurrection. Therefore no true Christian need be terrified when the Divine judgment on America commences.

The believer who is living in the Presence of the Lord Jesus, under His shelter, will find perfect peace and rest in God's shadow. Whatever goes on on the outside cannot possibly reach through and harm the person who is living under the shadow of the Lord. The angel of the Lord surrounds those who fear Him and delivers them whenever danger is present.

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. (Psalms 34:7)

I will say of the LORD, "He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust." (Psalms 91:2)

We Americans, most of us, may not in time past have seen the need to have a refuge or a fortress. But I believe we will in the coming days. It can be difficult to keep trusting God for our preservation when all around us destruction is occurring. We have to keep exercising our faith and trust rather than to give way to fear and dread. Faith and fear cannot dwell in our heart at the same time.

Surely he will save you from the fowler’s snare and from the deadly pestilence. (Psalms 91:3)

Jesus advised us to pray, "Lead me not into temptation but deliver me from the evil one." The "fowler" continually is laying traps for us. If we are wise we always will post a guard. There are many occasions when Christians let down their guard, when at a party, out shopping, or just at home with their family. If we do not pray without ceasing, we will fall into some sort of trap. It may be a while before we recover.

Personally, I don't think Christian people realize we are in a war. The enemy always is seeking to trip us up. We may be comfortable in our religion, not understanding that the climax of the ages is upon us. Christ alone is Truth. The world spirit is a lie, and that lie continually is being communicated to us in America. It requires a strong Christian consecration if we are to keep our mind from being polluted by the lie that the world is.

One of the "deadly pestilences" of our day is cancer of all kinds. There also are other afflictions, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, cholera and kidney diseases. There are many childhood diseases such as cerebral palsy and Down's syndrome. The promise is that God will save us from these if we are abiding faithfully in Christ.

Sometimes fervent Christians are afflicted with cancer or another affliction. If we have been following the Lord diligently, then these are to perfect us. Nevertheless, we always are to look to Christ for healing in His time.

He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. (Psalms 91:4)

Again we are reminded that God hovers over those who choose to live in Christ's Presence at all times. We are far more precious to God than a baby chick is to the mother hen, or a cygnet is to a mother swan.

God's faithfulness! How often does the experienced Christian depend upon God's faithfulness. None of us would last very long if it were not for God's faithfulness. When we are brought into a place of danger we have to rely on God's faithfulness.

Faithfulness is part of the image of God, and He will help us grow in this virtue.

I never have found God to lie. Have you? It is a point of honor with Him.

A rampart is a defensive wall. The faithfulness of God is our shield against the enemy, a wall that keeps out those who would harm us, particularly unclean spirits. We keep our rampart and shield in place as we look to Jesus continually.

As I stated previously, we Americans have lived in a relatively safe environment. The Spirit seems to be speaking that we need to prepare ourselves for the dangers that are ahead. We must live close to Jesus if we are to be able to stand and help others to stand as the period of judgment draws near

You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, (Psalms 91:5)

Have you noticed that you are weak at night? I make it a practice that the moment I awaken and feel dread or fear, I ask in Jesus' name that fear be cast out of every room of our house and the grounds outside, God is quick to honor this prayer, and soon there is a sense of peace and safety.

The "arrow that flies by day" speaks of military conflict. It is not unlikely that our country will be attacked one day. There are tensions among the various nations, and America is a target of envy and jealousy. The promise is that we will not "fear."

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)

He will have no fear of bad news; his heart is steadfast, trusting in the LORD. (Psalms 112:7)

I sought the LORD, and he answered me; he delivered me from all my fears. Psalms 34:4)

In our time, two of the greatest dangers are that of a nuclear bomb or a electromagnetic pulse bomb. We will be tempted to jump in our car, join the traffic jam, and attempt to go somewhere we think will be safer. This could very well be "out of the frying pan and into the fire." We must practice today to look to Jesus for wisdom when we see danger approaching. This is so very important!

nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. (Psalms 91:6)

There have been pestilences and plagues at various times in history that have killed millions of people. One of the best known is the "black death," bubonic plague that killed over a fourth of the population of Europe. The influenza pandemic of 1918 killed more people than died in the First World War.

There is no certainty that a similar plague will not come upon the world one of these days, such as cholera. There is so much wickedness being practiced that Divine judgment surely is not far off. But we are not to fear any plague, because we are protected by God's faithfulness. This is true provided that we are dwelling in the shelter of the Most High.

A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. (Psalms 91:7) The teaching of the "pre-tribulation rapture" is a major error of our day. It is designed to allay the fears of the believers by promising them a free trip to Paradise before they could possibly be faced with the dangers outlined in the ninety-first Psalm.

That the rapture teaching is erroneous can be seen in the verse above. "A thousand may fall at your side." That sounds to me like we will be present during these violent dangers, but preserved by God's faithfulness. Does it sound like that to you? If we are removed to Heaven, how is it possible that a thousand people will fall at our side and ten thousand at our right hand?

Christians who place their faith in the so-called "rapture" will not prepare themselves to stand in the evil day. If this is what is happening today in America, then we know the source of the "rapture" concept.

God did not "rapture" Daniel to Heaven when he was thrown into the lions' den. God protected Daniel while in this dangerous situation. This is God's way of deliverance, not removal from the danger. Think about the three Hebrew young men in Nebuchadnezzar's furnace!

You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked. (Psalms 91:8)

Again, we are not going to be carried up to Paradise when plagues come. We are going to be protected while in the midst of them. We actually will be here to see what happens to wicked people.

If you say, "The LORD is my refuge," and you make the Most High your dwelling, no harm will overtake you, no disaster will come near your tent. (Psalms 91:9,10)

Notice the "If." "If we say 'the Lord is my refuge.'" If we choose to honor the Lord by saying "He is my refuge," and make Him our dwelling place, then no harm will overtake us nor will disaster come near us.

This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles. (Psalms 34:6)

There is an expression circulating today among Christian people. It is "God's unconditional love." Anyone who is familiar with the Bible realizes that God's blessing is always based on the behavior of the recipient.

It absolutely is true that God can forgive the worst of sinners. The atonement is not prevented by any past works of wickedness. The forgiveness is full, free, and does not need additional works of penance.

The Bible tells us that God repays the faithful with faithfulness and the wicked with destruction. The current idea that a believer can live in sin and disobedience to God, and still be protected by grace, is as big a lie as has ever entered the universe.

God sees all that we do, whether or not we are a Christian. If we serve Christ faithfully, we will abide under God's blessing. If we live according to our sinful nature, we will reap corruption. As we sow we shall reap. This truth is not always heard in today's preaching in America, but it most certainly is what both the Old Testament and the New Testament declare clearly and forcefully.

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone. (Psalms 91:11,12)

As I was writing my new book, Godwill Castle, I began to realize the great number of angels who work in God's universe and the variety of their services. There are angels protecting every one of the true followers of the Lord Jesus. They guard us in all of our ways, not just some of our ways.

We have been created to love God and to be in union with God through the Lord Jesus. This is not true of any angel. The angels do the work of the Kingdom, including fighting against the evil spirits, and serve the elect in numerous other ways as well

I rather suspect that Jesus was able to walk on the water because angels were lifting Him up in their hands. God sent an angel to Gethsemane to strengthen Christ at the time of His greatest agony. Angels keep us from innumerable dangers and traps.

But we must remember that God's angels belong to God and do His will. God's angels always will honor and assist those who are obeying Christ. We never are to presume to direct an angel. Our role is to pray to Jesus. When we do, God sends His angels to deliver and help us.

Do you remember how the Commander of the army of the Lord told Joshua that he was not for Israel or for Israel's enemies? Rather he is the servant of God! We need to keep this in mind, because there is presumptuous talk in our time about what great spiritual power and authority we think we have.

You will tread on the lion and the cobra; you will trample the great lion and the serpent. (Psalms 91:13)

One of the ideas that accompany the unscriptural teaching of the "rapture" of the believers is that such an evacuation is necessary so we will not be injured by Antichrist or the Great Tribulation. This teaching does not take into account the power of Christ or the authority He has given to those who live in His Presence.

We not only are protected against Satan and all his helpers, we will stamp on them. As Paul wrote, "God will crush Satan under your feet shortly."

This does not mean we are to go charging about, rebuking unclean spirits. We must wait until the Lord Jesus directs us to go on the attack.

"Because he loves me," says the LORD, "I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges my name." (Psalms 91:14)

Again, we have a condition: "Because he loves me." How do we know we love Jesus? We know we love Him when we keep His commands. We know we love Him when we talk to Him all day and through part of the night. We know we love Him when we are willing to lose our life in Him that He may control our mind, emotions, words, and deeds. We know we love Him when we have no other gods that we worship.

Then He rescues us. Then He protects us. Then He sets us on high with Him, far above the turmoil and dangers of the present world. Rather than trust in our own understanding, we acknowledge the name of Jesus in all that we do; in every decision we make; in all our hopes and desires.

He will call on me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble, I will deliver him and honor him. (Psalms 91:15)

"He will call on me, and I will answer him." There is a tendency today in Christian circles to try to find some formula that will bring an answer to prayer. There is a multitude of books and tapes that counsel us to do this or do that. Then we will be healed, or receive a large amount of money, or otherwise get what we want.

In the eighteenth Psalm, King David, when he was in trouble, called on the Lord. Read this Psalm and notice the tremendous response. This is what we are to do. We are not to look for a formula or something that someone says will "work." Do not try to be your own deliverer. Call on the Lord!

Be courteous and thankful for all your blessings. Don't rely on some method to obtain what you desire. Call on the Lord!

Call on the Lord! Call on the Lord! Always be courteous and thankful, not rude or belligerent. But call on the Lord! He likes to hear your voice. Blow the trumpet of prayer so God knows you are in a battle and need deliverance. Call on the Lord until you receive your answer. This is what David did

"With long life I will satisfy him and show him my salvation." (Psalms 91:16)

Such is the reward for serving the Lord. As I said previously, if we spend our life calling on the Lord, then, when we die, we will keep on serving the Lord. He who follows Christ like this will never actually die but will walk into the spirit world; continuing to look to Jesus for all things; continuing to come to know Him; continuing to endeavor to find His will and perform it diligently. This procedure will keep on like this for eternity.

To partake of God's salvation means to be conformed to the inner and outer likeness of the Lord Jesus, our elder Brother, and to abide in complete rest in the very center of God's Person and will. It means to have unbroken fellowship with God and His Son, Jesus Christ. It means to inherit people whom we can love and bring into God's Person and ways.

All this if we choose to dwell in the shelter of the Most High and rest in His shadow. (Taken from "The Shelter of the Most High," an excerpt from The Theology of Robert B. Thompson. Copyright © 2010, by Robert B. Thompson.)

You can hear the morning sermon at morning. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

You can hear the evening sermon at evening. http://www.wor.org/audio/audio.htm

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