A Place For You To Dwell

July 9, 2006

Morning Worship

Text: Psalm 91

Subject: God’s Protection

Title: A Place for You to Dwell

There are several areas that I have based my preaching ministry upon. 1) I believe people need to be saved and in order to do so they need to hear the gospel from you. 2) I believe that God’s promises are as much for us today as they were for those in the time the Scriptures were written and we need to accept that by faith. 3) I believe that a Christian is called to live a life of holiness that separates him or her from the world.

I believe that a life lived in contradiction to any of these points will result in the lack of Holy Spirit power in your life and ultimately in the life of this church. Now, to a person, I can accurately say that you want to see true revival break out. I believe it is going to happen but not without changes being made in your life.

I want to share with you one really basic principle that will enable you, if you put it into practice, to live a victorious and power packed Christian life.

Christians need to stay filled with the Holy Spirit and empty themselves of the world.

I. A PLACE TO DWELL (1-8)

A. It’s a Place of Rest. Verse 1, He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty. Three things to look at here. Dwelling, shelter and rest. Dwelling talks about living in a certain place. Do you live in the shelter of the Most High or do you just visit there on Sunday mornings? Do you see the difference? God wants us to live in His presence always. Listen to the words of Jesus in John 15:1-8, 1"I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. 2He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, so that it will be even more fruitful. 3You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. 4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. 5"I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. 7If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you. 8This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. 2) the second thing is shelter. It is a place for you dwell out of the storm. God’s shelter doesn’t keep the storms from coming, but it does keep you from being washed away by the torrents that will come. 3) Rest. How much time and resources do we spend trying to find the right vacation place or the right hideaway? We all look for a place to get away from the hustle and bustle of life. Sometimes you just have to leave and go somewhere. Jesus said, "Come unto Me and I will give you rest." I’m not saying that it is wrong to take a vacation. I’m saying that if you abide in the shelter of the Lord you will always find rest.

B. It’s a Place of Battle. Verse 2 tells us that the Lord is a refuge and a fortress. Webster’s dictionary defines fortress as a military stronghold. Does that tell you what takes place in the life of every Christian? There is a continual battle raging.

C. It’s a Place of Protection. You have a refuge to protect you from the enemy. Proverbs 18:10 "10 The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." Psalm 24:8, "8 Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle." Abiding in God affords us protection that we could find nowhere else. The Lord is mighty in battle because the victory has already been given to us. Read Verse 7&8

II. A CONDITION TO MEET. (9-13)

A. Abiding. Notice in verse 8 that God applies a condition to the above promises. If you make the Most High your dwelling; If you constantly dwell in His presence; If you are living in and for Him and not in the world; If you are constantly thinking about your relationship with Him and rejoicing in your position in Him. The world is full of "Christians" who abide in Christ on Sunday morning and then live like the world the rest of the week. As a matter of fact the only time they think of God is when they hear a co-worker use His name in vain. I read from John 15 earlier. Let’s go back and look at that a little closer. "4Remain in me, and I will remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me." If we abide in Jesus His life will flow through us. Abiding means saying connected. A life of power, the answer to prayer, and our Christian walk itself is contingent on whether we stay connected to Jesus at all times.