WHAT GOD KEEPS
NUMBERS 6:22-27
Key verse: v. 24, “The LORD bless thee, and keep thee.”
Introduction:
Since God is omnipotent, when He keeps something, it is permanent—a fact readily seen in Scriptures. The true child of God should constantly rejoice in God’s keeping power.
The security of the Believer is one of the doctrines of the Word of God that Satan hates and he has tried for centuries to destroy this doctrine. However, God continues to KEEP His people in many ways. Listed here are a number of examples of what God keeps:
I. HE KEEPS US FROM LOSING OUR SALVATION
A. He is able, Jude 24, “Now unto Him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy”
1. To keep us from falling, Romans 8:31, “What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?”
2. To present us faultless before His presence, Revelation 14:5, “And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God.”
B. By the power of His name, John 17:11, “Holy Father, keep through thine own name those whom thou hast given me, that they may be one, as we are.”
1. To keep us from evil, John 17:15, “I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”
2. He keeps us night and day, Isaiah 27:3, “I the LORD do keep it; I will water it every moment: lest any hurt it, I will keep it night and day.”
II. HE KEEPS US FROM STUMBLING
A. He will keep the feet of His saints, 1 Samuel 2:9, “He will keep the feet of his saints, and the wicked shall be silent in darkness; for by strength shall no man prevail.”
1. Our steps are established by the Lord, Psalm 37:23-24, “The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD: and he delighteth in his way. 24- Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with his hand.”
2. The Lord preserves our goings and comings, Psalm 121:8, “The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.”
B. His angels have charge over us, Psalm 91:11-12, “For He shall give His angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12- They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.”
III. HE KEEPS US AS A TREASURE
A. We are the Apple of His Eye, Psalm 17:8, “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.”
1. He found us in a desert land, Deuteronomy 32:10, “He found him in a desert land, and in the waste howling wilderness; he led him about, he instructed him, he kept him as the apple of his eye.”
2. The Lord protects those that are precious to Him, Zechariah 2:8, “For thus saith the LORD of hosts; After the glory hath he sent me unto the nations which spoiled you: for he that toucheth you toucheth the apple of his eye.”
B. We are His jewels, His special treasure, Malachi 3:17, “And they shall be mine, saith the LORD of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels [Heb. special treasure]; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.”
IV. THE LORD KEEPS US IN THE PEACE OF GOD
A. The Peace that passes understanding, Philippians 4:7, “And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
1. It is to know Christ, Ephesians 3:19, “And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”
2. It is like eating hidden manna, Revelation 2:17, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”
B. God’s peace is a perfect peace, Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee.”
1. God offers His peace to those who will trust Him, Isaiah 57:19, “I create the fruit of the lips; Peace, peace to him that is far off, and to him that is near, saith the LORD; and I will heal him.”
2. For those who will not trust Christ there is no peace, Isaiah 57:20-21, “But the wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire and dirt. 21- There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked.”
CONCLUSION
“The LORD bless thee, and keep thee” are great words to hear. It is to know that the Lord is protecting us from every sort of evil. He allows us to go through difficulty, but His protection is always there to lean on during those times.