Psalm 91:2

• Have you ever heard it said, Silence is golden?• That is not always true. • Silence can actually cost us our lives or, at the very

least, our safety. • Sometimes it is better to speak up and let your

audible voice be heard.

• Edmond Burke: All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.

• New Twist—All that is necessary for evil to triumph in our lives is for us to remain silent.

• This will be our focus today!• Have you tried to protect yourself from all the bad

things that could potentially happen to you?

• If you think about it, you could:1. Go to the Doctor monthly2. Have a full body CAT scan monthly3. Check your car’s tires, engine, fluid levels, and

brakes twice daily.4. Fireproof your house.5. Store up food and supplies in case of emergencies.6. Have an extensive alarm system installed at your

home.

6. Build a fortress around your house equipped with all the latest technology the military has to offer.

7. You could walk around wearing a mask, so you will not get airborne diseases.

• In spite of all the precautions, you can never do enough to fully protect yourself and your family from bad things happening.

• A meteorite could fall out of the sky and hit you. • Anything’s possible!

• It is not that any of these precautionary steps are bad in and of themselves, but they cannot fully foolproof your life.

• To add insult to injury—man is not much help.• Psalm 60:11 – Oh, please help us against our

enemies, for all human help is useless. (NLT) • Even man’s help is not reliable. • That is the Bad News. • But like last week, I have more good news than bad.

• Good News: God knows we can’t do it on our own. • God is the only One we can run to for safety. • He is the only One who can protect us from the evil

that is around us. • And, He has given us a covenant Psalm in Psalm 91

which we can confess that covers all the potential evils known to man.

• Much easier than all the precautionary steps.

• This morning we are going to look at the 2nd condition that we need to meet in order to activate the powerful Promises contained within this Psalm.

Psalm 91:1-16 – 1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. 3 For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from deadly disease.

4 He will cover you with His feathers. He will shelter you with His wings. His faithful promises are your armor and protection. 5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor the arrow that flies in the day. 6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday. 7 Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you.

8 Just open your eyes, and see how the wicked are punished. 9 If you make the Lord your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, 10 no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your home. 11 For He will order His angels to protect you wherever you go. 12 They will hold you up with their hands so you won't even hurt your foot on a stone. 13 You will trample upon lions and cobras; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

14 The Lord says, "I will rescue those who love Me. I will protect those who trust in My name. 15 When they call on Me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honor them. 16 I will reward them with a long life and give them My salvation."

• Last week we began our study of Psalm 91 by focusing on the 1st verse.

• Combined with verse 2, it gives us the key to unlocking the powerful promises contained within this Psalm.

• 1 Those who live in the shelter [secret place] of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

• In order to find rest in the shadow of the Almighty, there is a condition attached to it.

• We must 1st choose to go to the secret place of the Most High.

• We also discussed there are 3 blessings in the Secret Place:

1. It is a place of Safety and Protection.2. It is a place of Relationship and Nurturing.3. It is a place of Provision—God meets all needs.

• That, however, is Part 1 of the condition to activate the Promises contained in this Psalm.

• Condition #1: We must choose to go to the Secret Place then we can rest under God’s shadow.

• What is the 2nd Condition?• 2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my

refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I trust Him. (NLT)

• 2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust." (NKJV)

• The 2nd Part of the condition to activate the protective promises is found in verse 2.

• What is it?• I will NOT be SILENT!• Last week I told you that Psalm 91 is known as the

Soldier’s Psalm. • Here is another amazing story that will very clearly

illustrate Part 2 of the condition.

• During one of the most famous battles of WW II, more than 400 British soldiers were trapped on the beach at Dunkirk.

• Nazi planes were repeatedly spraying them with bullets and bombs.

• There were no shelters on the beach for them to run to for protection.

• They were literally sitting ducks! • The British Navy worked feverishly to get them

loaded up and shipped back to England for safety.

• Although the men were repeatedly attacked, not one man was hit or killed that day!

• They all safely left the beach at Dunkirk without even one scratch.

• It was nothing short of miraculous. • Amazed by this incident, C. B. Morelock, a member

of the press corps, investigated to find out what actually happened.

• This was what he stated, I have personally been told by Navy men who picked up those particular survivors from Dunkirk, that the men not only recited Psalm 91, but they shouted it at the top of their lungs!

• In other words, I will not be silent!• Silence was NOT golden for them!• Let’s look at verse 2.

• 2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust." (NKJV)

• If you have your Bible open and are taking notes, circle the phrase, I will say.

• The reason I want you to do this is because we need to learn to speak the Word out loud.

• We have to make the choice that we will no longer be silent when it comes to God’s Word.

• We are answering God back with what He said to us.

• There is tremendous power in saying His Word back to Him.

• God doesn’t mind if we talk back to Him as long as it is with His Word we speaking back to Him.

• The Bible doesn’t say to just think about the Word. • It says to speak it—loud!

• Romans 10:17 – So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (NKJV)

• Think about what is being taught here. • How does faith come? • By thinking the Word? • No, by hearing the Word. • So, the conclusion is that we must first speak it out

loud before we can hear it.

• Verse 2 of Psalm 91 confirms this. • It exhorts us to speak the Promises of God’s Word

audibly. • I will say of the Lord He is my refuge, my fortress . . .• For example, Joel 3:10 – Let the weak say, “I am

Strong!” • How can the weak do that? • They are declaring out loud their faith in God to

make them strong even though they are weak.

• Throughout the Bible, we find examples of men and women who declared their confession of faith in times of trouble.

• Such as David, Joshua, Shadrach, Meshach, and the Big Bad One.

• Even the angel declared that Gideon was a Mighty Man of Valor even though he was hiding when the angel spoke it to him.

• The angel was declaring by faith God’s will.

• Each time you declare, Lord, You are my Refuge; You are my Fortress; You are my Lord and my God in whom I trust . . . 2 things are happening.

1. Your faith level rises and the more confident you become in God’s protection over your life.

• So often we just mentally agree that God is our Refuge, but that is not enough.

• God’s Holy Spirit Power is released when we speak the Word of God out loud.

• Voicing His Lordship and Protection is how we walk through the door of the secret place.

• THE KEY TO GAINING ENTRANCE TO THE SECRET PLACE!

• This is not positive confessions either. • This is speaking the Word of God out loud. • Good sayings are just that—good. • But, only the Word of God is powerful and sharper

than any two-edged sword (Hebrew 4:12).

2. Causes Environmental Change!• CAUTION: Take notice what comes out of your

mouth in times of trouble. • Cursing gives God absolutely nothing to work with. • In fact, it actually gives the enemy permission to

work in your life. • Instead, choose to speak LIFE! • Speak the Word of God in those times of trouble.• This gives God something to work with!

• What I do is say something like this: Lord, I choose to give [name the situation] to You, and I trust You to move in my favor on this.

• It is amazing the difference it makes in the situation when I declare my trust in the Lord out loud.

• It will literally change the entire environment. • It will charge it with faith!

• Look at that verse again:2 I will say of the Lord, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust." (NKJV)

• 3 Points here:1. Personalize it – He is Hal’s refuge and . . . 2. Notice how many times the word my is used. • What does that make you think of? • A very personal relationship with God.• By stating it, you are making a personal claim.

• Why can you trust in God for your protection? • Because you know Him personally and know

beyond the shadow of any doubt that He will protect you!

• We know who God is to us.• It is based on a relationship because you have been

to the secret place.

3. Definition of Terms• Refuge – What does that word make you think of? • 2 things come to mind:• First, I think of the image I created last week. • Imagine yourself sitting by a warm, cozy fire while a

blazing snow storm is blowing outside. • Even though the evils of this age are roaring around

us, we can find refuge in the safety of the Secret Place.

• Second, the Cities of Refuge that Moses had Joshua set up in the Promise Land.

• If a man accidently killed another man, he could flee to one of the designated Cities of Refuge.

• The deceased man’s relatives could not come and seek revenge.

• He was safe as long as he stayed in the City of Refuge.

• The same is true for us. • The enemy is coming after each of us. • Mark my word, we are a target to the devil. • If we are in our City of Refuge or Secret Place, he

cannot touch us! • He knows that and he hates it!

• Fortress – Both refuge and fortress are actually military terms.

• The word fortress literally means a place of defense. • It is a place so strong that an enemy could not even

approach it much less conquer it. • Such fortresses were often constructed on the rocks

or on hills. • Those who fled there would be completely safe and

high above the trouble below.

• God has to be our Refuge and Fortress before the promises of Psalm 91 will ever work for us.

• He has to be our only Source of safety and protection.

• We have to choose to dwell in the Secret Place or in the Refuge.

• Then, we speak the Promises out loud to activate them.

• For some reason, God has set it up this way. • Speaking God’s Word activates the supernatural. • Remember that this is the method God used to

create the world. • It is one of the fundamental truths upon which the

entire universe is built.

• If you think about it, we are incapable of protecting ourselves on our own.

• We are just like sheep. • They have no natural, built-in protection. • Sheep do not have sharp teeth, smelly spray, loud

bark, venom, and it can’t run fast. • It couldn’t even fight its way out of a wet paper bag. • Their only real protection is their Shepherd.

• That is how the Lord wants us to see Him—as our only source of Protection!

• The Good Shepherd! • Without His help, guidance and protection, we will

never make it! • It is not about our intelligence or abilities, but our

willingness to run to Him.

• 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my Refuge and my Fortress, my God; on Him I lean and rely, and in Him I [confidently] trust! (AMP)

• The word trust is a quiet, confident trust in the Lord. • When the evils of the world are raging around us,

we can have that quiet, confident peace that we are in God’s protective place.

• Our part in this Protection Psalm is detailed in the first 2 verses.

• He who dwells • I will say. • Both are choices!• This is the Key that releases God’s power to activate

the protective promises contained in the rest of the Psalm.

• i will not be SILENT anymore!

Psalm 91:2