Psalm 27:4, One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple. (Let us altogether pray)
KEY VERSES: Psa 91:1-2, 1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I will I trust.
Mat 6:6, “But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; & thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly.
LESSON: “THE SECRET PLACE" - A place for God's people whom He will protect. It's a difficult to find because it's a private and exclusively reserved for those who undergo circumcision of the heart by the cleansing process of the precious blood of Jesus. A clean heart which is the centrality of praise & worship to honor and glorify God in our body and in our spirit.
INTRODUCTION:
Psalm 91 is the most popular chapters in the Bible. It starts with these words: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High ...” Most people had read this verse, however not all know the deep meaning behind it. What does it mean to dwell in the secret place of the Most High? What is its implication and how does it apply to our lives as Christians? In this lesson, let us take a deeper look at the meaning and see what is the ‘secret,’ or what it really means to dwell in the ‘secret place’ of the “Most High?”
This statement makes it clear right from the start whom God will protect.
II. TOPIC TO BE DISCUSS: First thing first! The start of the two verses in Psalm 91:1-2, describe the titles specifically mentioned to the supreme being as the Most High, Almighty, LORD & God. We might read Psalm 91 many times but never noticed the four names of the full assurance that the most powerful and Supreme Being will protect, and help His people to the breaking down of the strongholds that many times we dishonor HIM. Here observe the:
- Two powerful centers of dominion. These are great forts or a strongholds constantly attacking that prevent from receiving the supernatural things. Breaking down of these strongholds must overthrow so that we can be able to make a rapid strides of our spiritual advancement and progress. These must be conquered to have real victory that we can be able to dwell in the secret place of the Most High. Here observe, these are carnality and unbelief:
- Carnality. Live in darkness-worldly. In 2Cor 10:3-4, “For though we walk in the flesh, we don't war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)”
- a) Things not spiritual called carnal.
a-1) Law of sowing & reaping. In Gal 6:8, "For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.
a-2) Favoritism, causing division. In 1Cor 3:4, “For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?”
b) Reprobate mind. A believers with backsliding heart & the Word of God is no longer convicts. They start losing the ability to discern from right and wrong. Starts calling "GOOD" for evil and "EVIL" for good.
b-1) Carnal mind. Rom 1:28, “And even as they didn't like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”
b-2) Evil thought. In Mat 9:4, “And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts?”
b-3) Evil imagination. In Rom 1:21, “Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful but became vain in their imaginations, & their foolish heart was darkened.
Unbelief. The worst enemy of our soul. It's as great an ally of Satan as faith is an ally of Christian.
a) Unbelief cause by:
a-1) Sin. In Jhn 16:9, “Of sin, because they believe not on me;”
a-2) Satan. In Jhn 8:44, “Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, & the father of it.”
a-3) Evil heart. In Heb 3:12, “Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.”
b) Manifested in questioning:
b-1) God’s word. 2Pet 3:4,5, "... , Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation."
b-2) God’s power. Psa 78:19,20, 19 Yea, they spake against God; they said, Can God furnish a table in the wilderness? 20 Behold, he smote the rock, that the waters gushed out, and the streams overflowed; can he give bread also? can he provide flesh for his people?
b-3) Hates God’s messengers (Stephen). (Act 7:57), "Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord."
b-4) Resist the spirit. (Act 7:51), "Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye."
b-5) Oppose the Gospel (1The 2:15-16). 15 Who both killed the Lord Jesus, & their own prophets, & have persecuted us; & they please not God, & are contrary to all men: 16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost.
b-6) Reject Christ. Jhn 12:48. "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last ..."
God’s name or titles reveal His character. The start of the two verses in Psalm 91, we read that He is called the Most High, Almighty, LORD and God. These are the FULL assurance that the most powerful and supreme Being will protect us at all time! Even all the forces in the world combines, including Satan’s evil devices, nothing can overcome God’s power to protect us, that even "... the gate of hell shall not prevail against it" (Mat 16:18).
- Most High. In Hebrew ‘Elyon.’It denotes God’s supreme authority over all other authorities.
- Almighty. In Hebrew ‘Shadday.’ It means, there's no power greater than God in the vast universe.
- LORD. In Hebrew ‘JHVH’ (Yahweh). It means, the Self-Existent or Eternal One. He is not limi- ted by time, space, and matter! Yahweh has no beginning or ending.
- God. Came from the Hebrew word, ‘Elohim.’ It basically means the one true God of sovereignty.
- Strive to be with God. Psalm 91:1, the opening verse tell us a clear picture of a powerful statement:
- He that dwelleth. Present tense. It didn’t say, “he who dwelt” or “he who will dwell,” but it clearly says, “he who dwells” in the secret place of the Most High. Here observe:
- a) Actively seek God’s presence. It denotes an active willingness to stay within God's territory. a-1) No compromise. We can’t even enter into our closet to pray while enjoying the pleasures of sins. Because we can't hide our sin from God, In Mat 6:6, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
a-2) The double vision are allowed. We can’t serve two-master, ‘God or mammon.’
a-3) A Power of choice. We need to make the decision that we choose to be with God, not just temporary but for good. It means that we makes our companionship to God as our permanent dwelling.
a-4) Intimacy. We must have that burning desire, urge, and passion to be with God.
b) Difficult place to find. Where should the righteous dwell? In a secret place. Have we thought why and what makes that place so special to become secret?
b-1) The design. God won’t just shelter His people in the open court or to the part of the house where any kind of people can easily come and go.
b-2) Secret place. God will shelter His people in a secret place, in a private & reserved place. A place where God, Himself, withdraw to be alone.
b-3) God’s will. He want to share with His people the most private, and exclusive part of His dwelling area.
b-4) Exclusive. A difficult place to find. Something that is not known to most people.
b-5) Hidden. The place is hidden that it takes a lot of effort, energy & sacrifice for a person to find it.
c) In contrary wise. If the closet in Mat 6:6 which is expose & easily can enter, how much more difficult to strive to be with God in a place which is in secret? Have we thought why?
c-1) The closet is exposed. Therefore, there is no need to look nor to locate to find it. But still many seekers encounters and claim the difficulty to enter.
c-2) The throne room of God’s grace. This is a place where to find God. It is the place where seekers need boldness to enter with a bargaining power. Heb 10:19, “Having therefor brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus (application)”
c-3) No need of blood sacrifices. Heb 10:17-18, “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.
d) Access to enter the secret place. A circumcise heart allows us to enter; therefore we can now shut the door.
d-1) He that dwells. With eyes closed and a clean mind, we can shut the door of our heart, that there’s no forces of the devil can stop us to see the Father (Most High) in a secret place.
d-2) Reward openly. As we now abide under the shadow of the Almighty, then we can pray to “…, thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
The owner of the secret place. Now, who owns the secret place
a) The Most High. This secret place is guarded by the most powerful, Supreme, & Almighty Be No one can breach (break) its defenses. Absolutely no one!
a-1) Security. No doubt; God’s secret place is the secured and safest place in the universe!
a-2) Clarity. Can we now see how God protect His people & how they can live their lives with the incredible confidence in the fact that God shields them from harm?
a-3) No choice. Indeed, if we want someone to protect, then let it be God. We have no choice.
b) The reflection. So, ask ourselves these questions:
b-1) Determination. Are we striving to dwell in God’s secret place?
b-2) Consistency. Are we constantly looking for ways to stay close to God?
b-3) Burning desire. Do we have that yearning to be with God’s side every single moment of our life? Think about it! The secret of the Most High is revealed only for the dwellers in the secret place.
III. CONCLUSION: I hope our answers to the questions are definitely ‘yes’! The above study guides gave us “no excuse at all.” If not, a drastic change to the way we live is a MUST. We have no choice! If our ultimate goal is to make heaven, then let’s be serious & honest to ourselves. All we need to do is to stay in the secret place & let’s be at peace with God. Otherwise, if we do not have the peace of God, then we still have that forts or strongholds. We might as well have a backsliding heart. More worst a “Reprobate Mind,” a polluted mind that the glory of God departed (Ichabod). Therefore we're captives in the House of God, meaning that we are detain in the presence of God. No more open vision because our whole being are polluted.
PTLGA & TGBATG