Great Promises of Salvation From Our God

Psalm 91:9-16

Ps 91:9    If you say, “The LORD is my refuge,”

and you make the Most High your dwelling,

10 no harm will overtake you,

no disaster will come near your tent.

11 For he will command his angels concerning you

to guard you in all your ways;

12 they will lift you up in their hands,

so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.

13 You will tread on the lion and the cobra;

you will trample the great lion and the serpent.

Ps 91:14    “Because they love me,” says the LORD, “I will rescue them;

I will protect them, for they acknowledge my name.

15 They will call on me, and I will answer them;

I will be with them in trouble,

I will deliver them and honor them.

16 With long life I will satisfy them

and show them my salvation.”

When beginning to open this selection from Psalm 91 and delving deep into it, we need to to recognize that it is a psalm of personal testimony.  This means that since God is an unchanging God and since the context of this passage could relate to believers in every age depending on their personal circumstances, the promises of this passage could be seen as being for believers everywhere.  So, we turn to the initial verses.  This passage opens, with verses that have often been misinterpreted and misunderstood.  Vv. 9-10 are not intended to be taken as a promise that nothing bad will every happen to us in life if we simply take the LORD, Yahweh, as our refuge and strength.  If we do this, we will be very disappointed in life.  Instead, these verses are intended to show us that God will protect us in the midst of the judgment and calamity that is happening around us.  But he will not always protects us from "going through the fire," so-to-speak.  But he will keep us from getting severely singed.  This idea is backed up by the next two verses (vv. 11-12), which are the only mention of guardian angels in the whole Bible.  Since, it is the only one, this is where many have gotten the idea of God giving us guardian angels.  I don't have much to say on this, except God can choose to protect his chosen people however he desires of course, and he could use angels.  But it probably is not responsible to make a doctrine of guardian angels and to popularize it as we have done in Christian culture based upon only two verses.  If guardian angels were so important, than I imagine that God would have mentioned them again at least once in his 66 books of the Bible.

But in the following verses (vv. 14-16), God gives 8 promises: 1) rescue - God's mediating action on our behalf of the believer), 2) security - protection by keeping out of reach of danger, 3) answered prayer - God's response to our petition, 4) fellowship in the middle of our distress, 5) deliverance - God's work to keep us from the threat of peril, 6) reward and authentication - God's work in honoring us making us recognized, 7) personal fulfillment - God's work to bring us satisfaction and contentment, and finally, 8) the enjoyment of salvation.

When we look that these 8 promises more closely we find that they have a natural progression.  It should be noted here that I have reordered these promises and they are simply bundled together in the last three verses of the chapter.  But if they are ordered this way, we can see that there is a progression from an opening act of rescue and help to a final enjoyment and satisfaction in that salvation.  And in between God's promises to take care of the needs that do occur.

However, it should be noted that there are 3 conditions for these promises to be fulfilled: 1) the person must love God (v. 14) - this means that we have a yearning to cling to our God and remain true to him, 2) the person must know God's name (v. 14) - to know God's name in the Bible displays a closeness between that person and God because the name reveals God's character, and 3) the person must pray (v. 15) - we have to call upon God to receive his blessings at times, and this is part of God's blessing and promise that he will hear us.

So, as we have looked at the final eight verses of Psalm 91, we see that God has many great promises in store for us, but that are conditional to some extent.  Therefore, we should strive to love God, to understand God's character, and to pray to him often.  These three things build a relationship, which is the most important of all, and one that is eternal.

The Encouragement of a Friend

            Sometimes in life God throws us into difficult and challenging situations long before we would have ventured to step out on our own.  Such is case for my wife and myself right now at First Baptist.  We moved here almost 9 months ago, and now we find ourselves in positions we never thought possible.  Honestly, this time last year we have circumstances that we thought were about as stretching as we could handle.  Last May, I was a recent graduate of Wheaton Graduate School, and my wife was just completing her degree at Moody Bible Institute.  I was working part time, and flooding the postal system with resumes, making contacts, and basically just networking to find a job.  You see, we were engaged to be married in just three short months, and I had yet to find a job.  But we believed that we were in the center of God's will and had been seeking Him throughout our relationship together.  He had led us to this point, so we really had no reason to doubt that He knew what He was doing.  He has been guiding and looking out for us each step of the way.  It's always a comfort to know that someone has your best interest at heart.  That after-all is the main point of God's Law-filled instruction in the Old Testament.  Jesus summed it up well that the whole of the Old Testament stood upon two commandments: 1) Love God with all that you are, and 2) Love your neighbor just as you love yourself.  Even though we trust the Lord to take care of us as we move along life's path and have complete confidence in Him, it still is a fact of life that often the Lord uses people as instruments in helping us along the way.  I appreciate all the friends and members of the church who have compassionately and purposefully extended grace to both Kristine in our few short months here.  We truly feel blessed that so many are looking out for our best interest as we do the same for theirs.  We all are in need of help in living the Christian life faithfully, and we all need encouragement along the way.  I could be sit here all afternoon and list people that have been incredibly helpful to us, as we have transitioned into marriage, a new home, a new town, a new job, and now even more responsibilities in service to our King.  With the topic of encouragement in mind, I would like to take the opportunity to share a little about what the Bible has to contribute on the topic of encouraging our brothers and sisters in Christ.  It comes from a little book that we probably don't spend too much time on given its small size.  The book of 3 John gives us insight into the relationship between the apostle John and his friend Gaius.  John sets out to encourage his brother in Christ, and I believe he sets a great example for us today.  We find this insight primarily in vs. 1-6. 

            First, John begins in vs. 1 by calling Gaius, his "friend."  John repeats it 4 times in this, the 2^nd shortest book in the English Bible.  To say something 4 times throughout the letter, and to begin the letter by referring to Gaius as someone he "love(s) in the truth," shows the level of Christian fellowship that these two had.  Whether or not we have someone in our life that we care for this much is not so important; rather, John sets the example of encouragement by affirming the Christian love that the Holy Spirit has caused to blossom in John for his brother in Christ.  We too should affirm this love that we have for each other by demonstrating it.  This can take shape in words of encouragement, acts of service, giving of a gift, spending quality time, or other simple actions that show the bond that we have in the Spirit.  It doesn't take a grand gesture - just something simple.

            Second, in vs. 2 we see that John prayed for his brother.  And to go even further, John prayed for both the physical well being of Gaius - for health and safety - and for the well being of Gaius' soul.  John is praying for physical blessing for Gaius during a turbulent time in church history.  Christians were undergoing persecution for their faith, and John wants Gaius to be healthy and safe from harm.  But John does not stop there.  He further desires God to bless the bond that Gaius has to Christ in the Spirit.  We can do so much to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ by taking the time to get on our knees for their benefit petitioning God to give them physical and spiritual health in their life with Christ.  And one of the best parts of praying for someone is getting to express to them that they have been held up in prayer.  What great encouragement!

            Third, in vs. 3-4 John expresses his joy at the obedience that he has witnessed in Gaius and the reports of faithful obedience to Christ that others have expressed about Gaius.  Joy is one of those great characteristics of the Christian that is contagious.  My wife is one of those people, and I know of many others, in which it is evident that the Spirit causes their joy to bubble over and spread to others around them.  But we all can be people like that if we are asking the Spirit to fill us each day and to let us share that joy.  One of the best ways to share it is to simply share the joy that we have about life with God, and then just watch what happens.  It may be instant, or it may take time, but most likely joy will spring that person's life eventually if they are walking with the Spirit. 

            Fourth and finally, in vs. 5-6 John seeks to encourage Gaius by letting him know that John is aware of the efforts, service, and ministry that he has seen Gaius perform so well for others.  There are many believers in our lives who are faithfully serving the Lord, through the power of the Spirit, and they need to be commended for their service to Christ and to others.  And all we have to do is give them a heart-felt message that we see it and it that it makes a difference for Christ's kingdom.  Let's not forget that ministry to others can be taxing and tiresome at times, and we all need a helpful commendation to keep us focused on Christ and the reason why we serve.  John does just that for his friend, and with it we see a great example of how we can encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ.

In 3 John, the apostle gives us four helpful ways that we can follow his example to encourage someone in Christ today.  And in a way, all four ways are part of the simple command that Paul gives in 1 Thess. 5:11, "Therefore encourage one another and build each other up....” Why not pick one of these examples and try it on someone you care for today.  These are all efforts we can make to encourage our neighbors, and to fulfill the what Jesus says in Matt. 22:39, "Love your neighbor." and through it encourage them while also pleasing our Lord in the process.  God bless you all and thank you so much for the encouragement that we have received along the way!