Security in Time

Last week I shared with you a message on Eternal Security - True and permanent security through this age and into the next. This message concerns true and permanent security in time, which means security in this life on earth. There are two important areas that come to mind - Security in times of trouble and emotional security.

Security in times of trouble

The world over is going through times of trouble. Every one of us, a Christian or an unbeliever is experiencing various forms and degree of distress and trouble. We are going through a time of wars, disasters (natural or manmade), earthquakes, floods, extreme weather conditions, terrors, famine, diseases and pestilence and so on. Bible prophecy says things will get worse. But those of us who trust the Word of God will be comforted by what the psalmist said:

"He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust.' Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the perilous pestilence. He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge; His truth shall be your shield and buckler. You shall not be afraid of the terror by night, nor of the arrow that flies by day, nor the pestilence that walks in darkness, nor of the destruction that lays waste at noonday. A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand; but it shall not come near you. Only with your eyes shall you look, and see the reward of the wicked. Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling; ....." (Psalm 91:1 - 10, NKJV, emphasis added).

Here are some statements of truth:

1. There are conditions attached for coming into that total security psalmist spoke about. The first condition is, you must be "dwelling in the secret place". The word "dwell" speaks of continuously living in the secret place provided by God. It is not a place just for someone who runs into in time of a crisis. It is a place for someone who are dwelling in and abiding in it. The word "abiding" means "resting". This speaks of complete protection - dwelling and resting!

2. The second condition is a bold personal confession of faith in God and our relationship to Him - Say boldly, "He is my refuge and my fortress; my God, in Him I will trust".

The psalmist said, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, ..." (Psalm 107:2).

Redemption is not effective till we say it. We make it effective by our own personal confession.

3. What is a "secret place"? Well, first of all a secret place is hidden behind something; it has to be searched for; it is not advertised and there is no sign hanging out there telling you that this is the secret place. We have no choice but to find it - or we have someone leads us to it.

In the Book of Job there are passages which relate to the search of the secret place:

"The path no bird knows, nor has the falcon's eyes seen it. The proud lions have not trodden it, nor has the fierce lion passed over it. The deep says, 'It is not with me.' It is hidden from the eyes of all living, and concealed from the birds of the air. Destruction and Death say, 'We have heard a report about it with our ears.' God understand its way, and He knows its place" (Job 28:7, 8, 14, 21, 22, 23, NKJV, emphasis added).

I believe, in the context of Psalm 91, the door to the secret place is the cross of Jesus Christ. That is why no animal can find it, no bird can see it. In fact the whole natural creation does no know it - Only God understand its way and knows its place! The secret place is in the spiritual realm and not in the natural realm. When God leads us to the Cross of Jesus Christ and we are born again by the Spirit of God the secret place will be revealed to us!

Concerning this "secret place" Paul said:

"For you died, and your life IS hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:3, emphasis added).

I have to emphasis this - The phrase "your life is hidden" means "you are in the secret place now". The secret place is not in the next world but already true now! The truth is, when Jesus died, he did not die for Himself; He died for us. When Jesus died we died. That is why Paul said:

"I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; ..." (Gal. 2:20).

As a believer you died, you passed through the death of Jesus, through the cross into a new realm, a realm that is not in the natural world, a realm the senses can't discern, a realm in Christ and hidden with Christ in God. This represents total and permanent security! You have double protection, first you are in Christ and then you are in God. Nothing in the whole universe can reach you except it comes through God and through Christ. As true Christians we are so totally identified with Jesus Christ that nothing can ever happens to us unless it is in the will of God and of Christ - that is total and perfect security! It is the security in this life in the midst of war, famine, earthquake, pestilence, diseases and all kinds of trouble and disaster. In Christ we are in that secret place of the most High protected from all harm and all danger. The door to this secret place is the Cross!

Emotional Security

Mental and emotional pressures are increasing in our contemporary life style. Extreme stressful life style can cause heart disease, hypertension and ultimately sudden death.

God's remedy against mental and emotional pressure is summed up in one word - peace. Peace not in the sense of not having any war but in the sense of fulfillment, completeness and rest. The common enemies of peace are fear and worry. They can come in many disguises - we can be afraid of sicknesses and diseases including cancer, afraid of accidents, afraid of people's opinion, fear of financial crash, fear of stocks and shares sell-out and we can worry about all kinds of things. Someone has said worry is like a nagging worm that eats away; fear is more like a dagger that thrusts into us. But each of them in the end is destruction.

Fear and Worry

God's main protection against fear and worry is trust.

"You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. Trust in the Lord forever, ...." (Isaiah 26:3, 4).

A person who trusts in the Lord will focus his mind on the Lord. In return, the Lord will keep him in perfect peace.

There are two steps in achieving trust:

1. Be renewed in the spirit of your mind (Eph. 4:23). Let the Holy Spirit takes control of your mind. If you allow Him to reprogram your thinking and to redirect your thoughts, He will give you a new thought pattern.

Paul said, "For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline" (2 Tim. 1:7, NIV).

Paul brought out the contrast between the kind of spirit that operates in the people of the world and the kind of Spirit that should be operating in a child of God. We should always invite the Holy Spirit, which is the Spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline to control our mind. When the Holy Spirit comes in it excludes the spirit of timidity and fear.

2. Focus our mind on the positive

Paul said, "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and mind through Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, 7, NKJV, emphasis added).

We must trust the above above promise of God without reasoning and questioning. We simply receive the peace of God by faith.

Further on in verse 8 Paul gave instruction on how to retain the peace of God:

"Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy - meditate on these things" (Phil. 4:8).

We must at all times, never to let our mind be preoccupied with the negative. Don't think about the problems that may arise. Instead focus on that which is good; focus on God, His love, His promises and His faithfulness and thank Him.

Tension between Fear and Trust

David the psalmist said, "Whenever I am afraid, I will trust in You. In God (I will praise His word), in Cod I have put my trust; I will not fear. What can flesh do to me? (Ps. 56:3, 4, NKJV, emphasis added).

Notice that David didn't say that he would never be afraid. He said that whenever he was afraid he wouldn't yield to fear, he wouldn't focus on fear, he wouldn't let fear dominates his thinking. But he would turn away from the spirit of fear to the Lord. He would put his trust in the Lord.

As we turn to the Lord and put our trust in Him we have to honor His Word. The expression of God's will, God's counsel and God's attitude toward us is found in His Word. Circumstances might seem to suggest that God doesn't care, that God is far away and things are not under God's control. But when we put our trust in God and in His Word we can't believe the lies of Satan. This is the remedy against all kinds of fear.

Discouragement and Depression

Two of the most common enemies in the life of God's people are discouragement and depression. The work of the wrong spirit in our mind causes us to feel depress and discourage.

Discouragement

Jesus said, "I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, ...." (John 14:16, 17, NKJV, emphasis added).

The word "Helper" also menas "Comforter" or "Encourger" in other versions of the Bible. The Holy Spirit never discourages the people of God. He may convicts and rebukes us but He will never discourage us. The Holy Spirit encourages us by bringing to us the truth. On the other hand, Satan is a liar and he discourages us by bringing us his lies. The ultimate input of the Holy Spirit is always positive and never negative.

Jeus prayed to the Father, "Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth" (John 17:17).

Put the Helper (Holy Spirit) and His Word (His Truth) together, you'll notice that the Holy Spirit encourages us by bringing to our mind the truth of God's Word.

Depression

The Lord spoke through Isaiah, "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon Me, because the Lord has anointed Me to preach good tidings to the poor; .... To console those who mourn in Zion, to give them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they may be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He may be glorified" (Isaiah 61:1, 3, NKJV, emphasis added).

"The spirit of heaviness" is "the spirit of depression". Depression is a spirit. The phrase, "those who morn in Zion" means "those who are depressed in the Church - believers". The "Oil of joy" is the Holy Spirit.

When we put on the garment of praise and begin to praise God and worship Him the sprit of heaviness and depression will not be able to get at us - he is defeated. Notice that praise is a garment for us to put on all the time. We must live with the garment of praise on just as we live in other items of clothing. The garment of praise continuously protects our whole being and personality against the spirit of heaviness which is the source of depression.