Building Hedges of Spiritual Protection
A Hedges in biblical times were special barriers/fences placed around grape vineyards.
1 They served many purposes (Keep out insects, bugs, rodents, birds, or thieves from coming in and stealing the harvest).
a Ezekiel 13.5 “ You have not gone up into the breaches, nor did you build the wall around the house of Israel to stand in the battle on the day of the Lord.
Ezek 13:5 (NASB)
b Spiritually, a hedge is God’s wall of protection promised to all of those who believe/trust in/walk with in Him.
aa As Christians believing in the promises of God (Yes & Amen) it is time we start reclaiming what the enemy has stolen from us.
bb It’s time we appropriate God’s protective barrier around our life and around our family.
2 God longs for churches/Christians who will stand in the broken-down gaps so the enemy will have no right to plunder what He has given.
a The gaps are there because we’ve not maintained them.
b Lack of care, maintenance, neglect . . . etc.
B Can God remove a hedge? (The bible says at least two times/or two reasons he did)
1 JUDGEMENT
Is. 5.1-6, Let me sing now for my well-beloved A song of my beloved concerning His vineyard. My well-beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. 2 He dug it all around, removed its stones, And planted it with the choicest vine. And He built a tower in the middle of it And also hewed out a wine vat in it; Then He expected it to produce good grapes, But it produced only worthless ones.3 "And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem and men of Judah, Judge between Me and My vineyard. 4 " What more was there to do for My vineyard that I have not done in it? Why, when I expected it to produce good grapes did it produce worthless ones? 5 "So now let Me tell you what I am going to do to My vineyard: I will remove its hedge and it will be consumed; I will break down its wall and it will become trampled ground. 6 "I will lay it waste; It will not be pruned or hoed,
But briars and thorns will come up. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it."
Isaiah 5:1-6 (NASB)
a God is saying, “I gave My Beloved as a vine, and I cleaned out the stones/planted My people into My choice vineyard I removed everything.”
b Then, “I put a hedge around you to protect you. But when I came in there to get My fruit instead of a beautiful sweet cluster of choice grapes, the fruit stunk. It was wild and worthless.”
c God told Isaiah that because of their disobedience He brought judgement on them and removed the hedge of protection allowing judgement/destruction to come to the nation. (Trouble always follows when God removes the hedge around a nation, church, family, individual)
2 TO PROVE SATAN IS A LIAR
a 8 The Lord said to Satan, "Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil." 9 Then Satan answered the Lord, "Does Job fear God for nothing? 10 Have You not made a hedge about him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land. 11 But put forth Your hand now and touch all that he has; he will surely curse You to Your face." Job 1:8-11 (NASB)
aa God’s reply was, “I don’t think Ol’Job loves Me just because of what I’ve done for Him. He loves for who I am & with His whole heart.”
bb The hedge is removed and Job loses everything (money, home, retirement, children)
cc The hedge was removed to prove Satan wrong and prove Job’s faithfulness.
b His wife encourages him to curse God and die and yet Job never stops loving God.
aa 15 " Though He slay me, I will hope in Him. . .Job 13:15 (NASB)
bb We talk about the trials, difficulties all the time; what we don’t talk about enough is how God rewarded Job on the other side of them.
c God doubled everything that Job lost when he had passed the test of faith! (God rewarded him above and beyond what had been taken from Him)
C Ol’Job was only one of four men in the Bible that God could trust with the removal of the hedge.
1 Joseph (Allowed to endure slavery, temptation, imprisonment, and rejection for God’s glory)
a Paul (Thousands healed under his ministry yet he himself was afflicted with infirmity)
b The aliment remained so Paul’s success wouldn’t go to his head. 2 Cor. 12.7
2 Jesus (God also trusted Jesus enough bring down the hedge, let Him die on a cross, sacrificing Himself for our sins/failures)
D Are You In Need of Protection?
If we were honest, most of the gaps in our hedges are not because we’ve been chosen to stand a special test or because of our merit: the gaps are there because of we’ve made choices that have left us open to enemy attack.
a Because of those choices/sin we’re miserable, hurt, failing, and walking through difficulty.
b The good news is that God has a fivefold hedge that He wants to build around you/your family/church that the devil cannot touch.
1 First fold is a HEDGE OF PRAYER.
a Job 1.4-5, 4 His sons used to go and hold a feast in the house of each one on his day, and they would send and invite their three sisters to eat and drink with them. 5 When the days of feasting had completed their cycle, Job would send and consecrate them, rising up early in the morning and offering burnt offerings according to the number of them all; for Job said, " Perhaps my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts." Thus Job did continually. Job 1:4-5 (NASB)
aa Do you remember in v.10, Satan saying, “Have you made a hedge around Job.”
bb How do you think the hedge got around Job’s children, finances, home?
cc God saw Job’s faith because he wasn’t asleep at 8 AM, he had gotten up at 4:30 AM to intercede for his family.
b Every parent worries about their kids (preschool, college, vacation) day & night.
aa Pray a hedge around them daily.
bb Lasso them with the Holy Ghost!
c How many times do we give a five minute prayer to God for our kids/need, we don’t get an answer, we through in the towel and give up intercession.
aa Don’t give up praying . . . God rewards faithfulness.
bb You can build a hedge of prayer around your family, business, church, wife, husband.
cc If you wonder why your being robbed of your health, wealth, success it’s because the devil is a thief!
d Stand in faith and pray God’s hedge about you, binding the devil off what you own.
2 Second fold is a HEDGE OF SPIRITUAL LEADERSHIP
a If you have placed yourself under the authority of a local, Bible-believing church led by a pastor who is sensitive to the Holy Spirit, there is protection in that place.
b Ezekiel 22.30, “And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none. Ezek 22:30 (KJV)
aa Living under the ministry of a man of God will put a hedge around you.
bb Most SBC churches there is a pastor who is a “hired hand/preacher” the church is governed by the members/committees (That may be Baptist, but the Bible overrules Robert’s Rules of Order)
3 Third fold is a HEDGE OF UNITY
a People in unity can build a hedge!
aa Abraham went to God to spare Sodom & Gomorrah to see if He’d consider withholding judgement if he could find 50 . . . got Him down to 10. (Gen 12.22-26)
bb It’s sobering to think 10 people in unity, praying for God’s mercy would have spared those two cities!
b Amazing things could happen if began seriously praying for our nation, government, leaders, churches.
c What if 10 of you started getting together regularly and prayed for revival, nation?
4 Fourth fold is ANGELIC PROTECTION
a “The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.” Psalms 34:7 (NASB)
aa Hebrews 1.14, “Are they not all ministering spirits, sent out to render service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?”
bb You, your family can be behind a hedge of angelic protection.
b God’s eye is always on your family; He never sleeps . . . even when we do!
aa He’s watching and stationing His angels around your house, possessions, kids.
bb No distance is too vast . . . for they travel at the speed of light!
c Daniel was praying for three weeks requesting God for a breakthrough.
aa God sent His answer on day one but Daniel didn’t see the evidence of the answer until an angel arrived.
bb 12 Then he said to me, " Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. 13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia. Dan 10:12-13 (NASB)
d Some of you give up to quickly when your praying!
(You forget angels are at work, demons are fighting them, but God is on His way with the answer.)
5 Fifth fold is REVIVAL
a O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech You; Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, Psalms 80:14 (NASB)
aa . . . Revive us, and we will call upon Your name. Psalms 80:18 (NASB)
bb When revival comes, it puts a hedge around everything going on in the house.
b Return to Isaiah’s picture of the vineyard.
aa Vine dressers valued their grapes and protected their vines at all costs so they put up a hedge to protect their precious crop.
bb Many times the hedge was multi-layered: 1st hedge was stone, 2nd hedge was thorns. . . right before the harvest they would build a fire to keep lying insects & birds away.
c Here is the picture!
aa The stone wall is a symbol of God the father who is eternal, unchanging, and a solid foundation!
bb With our family, finances, church planted on the Rock of Ages we can find peace & security in the Father’s strength & guidance.
cc Next, hedge of thorns is Jesus whose blood was spilled to protect our souls.
dd Wall of fire at harvest time!!!
d The harvest season is LONG . . . waiting, waiting for the grapes to get ripe.
aa The Father has watched over us and the blood has taken care of us, but now the fruit is ripe (smell it from 1/4 mile down the road)
bb It’s at this point when the harvest is about to be realized/blessing is coming . . . every demon of hell/insect/bird comes to pick apart what you have labored and taken care.
cc God says, “I’m sending Holy Ghost fire!” and when that fire begins to burns, the smoke of His glory rises and nothing can come and get our harvest.
E When you are saved you are living under the blood of the crucified Christ there some things that need to happen...
1 Baptized in water
a anointed with the Spirit of God and the baptism of fire (aka Baptism as the Holy Spirit.)
b No demon in hell is going to touch anything you have! Immune! Walking in freedom!
2 Aren’t you tired of him stealing, tampering, breaking, killing, aborting what is yours in Christ?
a God has promised to be our protector, provider against the onslaught of Satan.
aa Ol’Sloothfoot has devoured a lot of harvests in the past, but he can’t penetrate the powerful hedge of God.
bb We are safe behind the hedge.
b It is time for you to have all the protection He’s provided . . . claim it tonight for yourself.
aa Lord, build a hedge around me, around my church, around my family, and around our nation. Protect my possessions, Lord, because it all really belongs to You. Lord, let me live long enough to see revival, to taste the new wine. Thank You for the harvest that is coming.
b
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