Don't Leave Home Without Him!

Psalm 125:1-2  They that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but abideth for ever.

2 As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.

After reading these verses, I went online to find a picture of the landscape around Jerusalem.  What I found was a picture and a description of the mountains around Jerusalem.  Let me share it with you:

The ancient City of David known as Jerusalem, as well as the entire Temple Mount of Solomon, lies hundreds of feet lower in elevation than the eastern range known as Olivet.  The northern hills also provide a vantage point that looks down to Old City as well.  To the west, the area known today as Mt. Zion, … is higher than the city captured by David....  Even the hill to the south, on the southern side of the Hinnom Valley where it wraps around from the west to join the Kidron Valley, is several hundred feet higher than even the walls of Jerusalem below. (www.bible-history.com)

This gives us a clear description of the mountains that are round about Jerusalem.  It sounds like a protected area.  And the scripture is also saying that in the same way, the Lord is round about his people from henceforth even for ever.  So the Lord is protecting his people forever.

Over the past several months, God has given me 2 experiences which have demonstrated to me - once again - that he has covered us.  We have his protection, and we should not be afraid.  He dwells in us so He is always with us.  Therefore I have chosen as my topic:  Don’t Leave Home Without Him!

Earlier this year, I was out for my walk on a beautiful morning with a clear, blue sky, and the sun was just beginning to show through the trees.  It was about 8:15am.  We had had a heavy frost the night before, and I was marveling at the sparkling blades of grass where the sun was shining on them.  The ground looked like hundreds of diamonds sparkling along the side of the road as I walked.  There were some areas which were not covered in the frost because the sun had been shining on them and melted the frost.  But those areas that sparkled were a sight to behold.

As I continued to walk, God shared with me that these neighbors’ yards are like green pastures where the ground is fertile because it has had sufficient water, nutrients, and sunshine for growing.  And He showed me that it is the same for us.  We are like the blades of grass growing in these yards.  Because we are under the revelation teaching of our Pastor, we are residing in and growing in the spiritual green pastures.  This means we are receiving an abundance of water (that Living Water), nutrients (the Word of God), and sunshine or the light of the S-O-N!

Let’s look at the phrase “green pastures”.  

• “Green” comes from the Hebrew word deshe’ (deh-sheh’) and means a sprout; tender grass; fresh grass; new growth.  “Green” also comes from dasha (daw-shaw’) and means to sprout; bring forth.   
• “Pasture” comes from the Hebrew word na’ah (naw-aw’) meaning home; a habitation; house; pleasant place.  It can also be referring to a person's situation in life.

In putting the 2 words together, “Green pastures” sounds like life to me -  a pleasant place or habitation to graze and feed on the new and fresh life that is being taught to us and is springing forth into our hearts, souls, minds, and bodies.

With the overnight frost, God had covered each blade of grass with the frozen water or ice crystals.  The word “frost” used as a noun means a deposit of small white ice crystals formed on the ground or other surfaces when the temperature falls below freezing.   

When it is used as a verb, it means to cover with.  When each blade of grass is covered, it is covered completely and thoroughly.  In the same way, God covers each of us with his protection; he covers us completely and thoroughly and protects us.  

What does it mean that God has “covered” us as demonstrated by the frost covering the blades of grass?

Isaiah 61:10  For he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.

Let’s look at the first phrase - he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation.  The word "clothed" in Hebrew is labash (pronounced lawbash') which means to wrap around, arm, come upon, put upon.

By clothing us with the "garments of salvation", God has wrapped us up, armed us, come upon us, and put upon us our deliverance from sin and death.  He has put us into prosperity and into safety in Him.

Let’s look at the 2nd phrase - he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness.  The word “covered” in Hebrew is ya’at (yaw-at’) which means to clothe.  Additional definitions include to guard from attack; to lie over or envelope; to afford protection or security; to make provision for by means of a reserve or deposit.  Didn't God make provision for us by sending His Son to make that blood deposit?

In this scripture, the word "hath" is used in both phrases and is the present singular form of the word "have" which indicates present tense.  This means that God has already covered us with the robe of righteousness.  He's not waiting for some other time as religion would have us to believe.  He is not waiting for us to die and go be with Him.  Think about it … Why would Elohim, the Creator, make us in his image and bring us into existence at just the right time for his purpose but then make us wait to be clothed ... with the garments of salvation and covered ... with the robe of righteousness?

He wants us to have it all right now, and he has already provided the deposit through Jesus and covered us with Jesus's blood.  

John 6:47  Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life.  There is that word “hath” again which is present tense!  We can have it right now!

Just as the blades of grass were covered with the frost, we are covered by God with the robe of righteousness which means that we are guarded from attack, furnished with protection and security, and provided for by means of that deposit.

As I continued my walk around the neighborhood, I felt the sun rising above the trees and warming me.  But what was also happening was that the sun was melting away the frost on each blade of grass.  I thought “OK God, you covered us with that frost - your protection - but what does this mean as it melts away?”  

What happens when frost melts off the roof of a house?  The frost turns to water, and it drips down the roof into a gutter and the drainpipe.  The drainpipe directs the water away from the house usually through a tube of some sort.  So the water does no good for the house; it provides no benefits to the house.  In fact, it can certainly do harm if the water puddles around the foundation for too long.

Think about this - As the frost was melting from each blade of grass, it was seeping into the ground as water where the grass seed and its root system are buried.  This water nourishes and hydrates each blade of grass which will ensure that it continues to grow and grow deeply.

For deep root growth, the grass needs the following 3 things: (http://www.lawn-care-academy.com/grass-root-growth.html)

1. To be planted in proper soil & watered

The type of soil you have will either encourage or discourage deep root

development.  Rich or fertile soil refers to the ability of a soil to sustain plant

growth - to result in lasting constant yields of high quality.

The type of soil we have in us must allow the Word of God to sink into our minds

and our hearts and take root; in other words, to be understood.  This allows for

the deep root development of the truth within us.

2. To be fertilized

Plants need fertilization which releases nutrients into the soil.  Slow release

fertilizers are favorites for those promoting grass root growth because they are

distributed over time as opposed to fast release fertilizers that release all the

nutrients at once.

God is the director of our fertilization process.  He knows the nutrients, or gold

nuggets, that we need as we study and grow in His word.  However he uses slow

release fertilizers because he knows that we cannot absorb all of these nutrients

at one time.

3. To be mowed at a higher level

Mowing height may affect grass root growth more than anything else. There is a

direct link between grass height and root depth. As a rule, the higher the grass is

cut, the deeper the roots go.  Deeper roots help grasses to endure heat and

environment stress much easier.

Just as a lawn mower trims the grass, God will trim out of us what is not like him,

but he doesn’t “mow us down” to the grass nub.  When that happens, all is

exposed, and the heat and environment stress is too great.  Therefore our roots

are unable to grow deeper in the word.  So while God is trimming us at just the

right elevation or allowing us to go through these trials and tribulations, he is also

allowing our roots to grow deeper in the word.  He is still covering us and

protecting us so that we cannot be hurt by what we see.

So with the frost melting from the grass, I realized that God wasn’t removing his protection from us.  It will always be with us because God is always with us.  

Hebrews 13:5  I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.  

What the frost did was to protect each blade of grass from the freezing temperatures until the warmth of the sun took over.  As the frost was melting, the sun was calling those blades of grass to stand up tall - to take a stand - and continue to grow.   

That’s what God is doing through His protection.  He is calling us to take a stand; to be positioned for victory; to be in a place where we can continue to grow and activate the Word; to be the victor and not the victim.  Even when the “lawn mowers of life” come along and try to cut us down a notch or two, we will continue to grow as long as we have deep roots and are in the right position because after all, we have God’s protection.

Then a few weeks later God gave me another lesson on his protection and faithfulness.  I was listening to this song, and the phrase “cleft of the rock” stood out to me.  Let me play it for you:

In Your presence   (Travis Cottrell; Unashamed Love CD; Track 9; May 22, 2003)

CHORUS:

In Your presence

That's where I am strong

In Your presence

O Lord, my God

In Your presence

That's where I belong

Seeking Your face

Touching Your grace

In the cleft of the rock

In Your presence, O God

VERSE:

I want to go

Where the rivers cannot overflow me

Where my feet are on the Rock

I want to hide

Where the blazing fire cannot burn me

In Your presence, O God

The song says that I belong in the cleft of the rock, and this is where I am strong - where rivers can’t overflow me and the blazing fire cannot burn me.  It sounds like a place of protection to me.  

Webster defines the word “cleft” as “a space or opening; an indented formation; a hollow between ridges or protrusions”.  It is from an unused root meaning to take refuge; a rift in rocks.  God’s protection is in the cleft of the rock.  God’s protection is in his presence.  Being in the “cleft of the rock” is the same as being in the “presence of God!

Even though I could not confirm this, I believe that the following scripture could have been the basis of this song.

Isaiah 43:2  When thou pass through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee:  when thou walk through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee!!!

• When thou pass through the waters, I will be with thee.  

Revelation 17:15 tells us that the “waters” are peoples, and multitudes, and

nations, and tongues.  We will be and already are meeting new people of various

faiths and beliefs as we talk one-on-one with them or sing for them or deliver

messages to them, but God says don’t be afraid because He will be with us.  

Jeremiah 1:8  Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee,

saith the LORD.

Ezekiel 2:6  be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks,

though they be a rebellious house.

Each of the words “pass” and “through” are words that indicate movement

meaning you are moving from one point to another.  Together the phrase “pass

through” means to carry over, transition, cover, alter, deliver.  As we “pass

through” these people in life, our interactions with them shall be covering them;

altering them; carrying them over into the light; and delivering them from the

enemy.

Because we will be passing through or moving, we will not be stationary in these

situations unless God wants us to be.  He will have us in various locations for a

season and then direct us to move on.  When I say “move on”, that does not

necessarily mean that we will move from 1 city or town to another.  It may mean

we move from 1 person to another or one church group to another or one job to

another - all the while ministering to those God has put in our paths.  

It may not always be a smooth ride.  Regardless of the enemy’s efforts through what people say to us, write about us, tell others about us, email or text about us or put on FB, we will not be stopped by those efforts.  Once a seed is planted, we will move on or pass through as God directs us.

• and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee.  

rivers - Webster:  a stream of water of considerable volume; large or

overwhelming quantities

overflow - Hebrew word shataph means to inundate; overwhelm; drown; rush;

wash away

God says that as we move through the rivers or overwhelming circumstances, He

will see that they do not inundate us or drown us or wash us away.  

1 Corinthians 10:13  There hath no temptation taken you but such as is

common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above

that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye

may be able to bear it.

• when thou walk through the fire, thou shalt not be burnt.  

walk - Hebrew word yalak which means to carry; grow; lead forth; march; prosper

fire - Webster:  severe trial or ordeal; intense verbal attack

burnt - prick or penetrate; to blister

When we walk through the fire, we are growing, prospering, leading forth through

the severe trials, ordeals, and intense verbal attacks.  They will have no effect on

us.  They will not prick or penetrate us or blister us.

neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.  

flame - Hebrew word lahab which means flaming; head of a spear; a sharply

polished blade or point of a weapon; bright; glittering

kindle - consume; heat; set on fire; waste; cause to eat up

The sharp weapons (physical or verbal), which can be deceivingly bright and

glittery at first, shall not consume us or waste us or cause something to eat us

up.  

We are still talking about God’s protection.

Hebrews 13:6  The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.

Psalm 91:4-5  He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day

Proverbs 29:25  The fear of man bringeth a snare: but whoso putteth his trust in the Lord shall be safe.

God tells us “Fear not” or “Be not afraid” throughout the Bible.  In the King James Version, He tells us that 103 times.  103 times!!!!  And we know that if God said it, it is so!!!

God’s protection is our security system, and it’s a whole lot better than a house security system.

We have a security system in our home called Vector Security system.  Its purpose is to protect the contents of our house.  When it is turned on, it will alert us to intruders, fire or carbon monoxide fumes.  It is meant to give us peace of mind, especially when we are away from home or when we are sleeping and a fire breaks out.  But listen to what I just said -

1. It is a security system for our house and its contents only.  What happens to us when we leave the house?  Are we protected by this security system?  No!
2. It has to be turned on to work.  It has to be activated or it won’t give us any protection for the house.

So when we leave, we have left the protection of our home security system.

Instead of Vector Security system, I believe that we should all be under the Victor Security system because we know that we are the victors and not the victims.  We have the best security system in the world living in us!!  Scripture tells us that he will be “round about” us for ever!  And do you know what activates this awesome security system?  The Living Word.  When we are activating the Word of God, we will have a security system covering us no matter where we are, and God says it will last for ever.  The Hebrew word for “forever” is owlam (o-lawm’) meaning the beginning of the world and without end.  We can’t ask God for anything better than that!

I’m sure you have seen the advertisement on TV about the Capital One credit card in which Alec Baldwin tells us “Don’t leave home without it”.  Now they have Samuel Jackson asking us “What’s in your wallet?”  

Well, when it comes to God’s protection, I say that there is no way we can leave home without it - not because it is in our wallet but because He is in us!  Praise God for His Protection!!!!

~ Deaconess Rachel West