Psalm 46, Psalm 46 is Psalm that offers words of comfort in the midst of scary times. It's all about words of comfort in the midst of scary times. Is it possible in this world, in this life to come up against some moments and days in your life that are incredibly fearful, that are just incredibly scary? I think we all find ourselves from time to time in moments that are really scary.
News we receive, things that occur, scary moments. God knows this. God knows that we're not as strong as we think we are. God knows we tend to get fearful.
In fact, the Bible mentions fear over 500 times. And you've probably heard it said, the Bible says, do not fear 365 times. Meaning every day of the year, God whispers into your heart, you don't have to be afraid. You don't have to be afraid.
Now, what's the basis of that? If God is going to call us to live lives without fear, you don't have to be afraid. What's the basis of a lack of fear? What is it that causes us to not be a fearful people?
And that's what's really going to be in this. In fact, it's redundant. He just tells you two things over and over again. I give it to you on the front end.
Two things that he's going to drive home. An English teacher would have counted off. They would have given him a bad grade because he just would have done it. Two things he says, number one, God is sovereign and God is with us.
God is sovereign and God is with us. Such as read this song that will work our way through it. Song 46 verse 1, God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in times of trouble. Therefore, we will not be afraid.
Though the earth should change in the mountains slip and hard to see, though it's water's roar and foam and the mountains quake at a swelling pride. There's a river whose streams make glad the city of God. The holy dwelling places the most high. God is in the midst of her.
God will help her when mourning dawns. The nations made an uproar. The kingdoms tottered. He raised his voice.
The earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Come behold the works of the Lord who has wrought desolations in the earth, who makes wars to cease to the ends of the earth, who breaks the bow and cuts the spear into, who burns the chariots with fire, cease striving and know that I'm God.
I'll be exalted among the nations. I'll be exalted in all the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Amen. Father, we pray that you bless us this morning as we come before you. God speak to us. Remind us of who you are.
If there's anybody here watching online, DeSoto, pay all the right town that doesn't know you. I pray that you draw them to yourself this morning. That God you would become to them their refuge and their strength, their help in times of trouble. God encourages us by means of your word this morning.
We need you. We pray this in Christ's name. Amen. Well, the Son of Starts out here makes this bold claim.
God is our refuge. God is our strength. God is our refuge, meaning that God is our safe place. God is the place we go to when instability occurs, when things shake us, when we're terrified, He's the place that we run to for safety and security, a place of refuge.
When I was reading this in States, I couldn't help but think of when we were in Israel. Those bombsirens started going off. We ran to the bomb shelter. We got in a bomb shelter.
Big concrete walls, three stories below the ground, air filtration system. We just rested there. You're not anything to worry about when you're a bomb shelter. We sang songs of praise.
We prayed. We read scripture. We just rested in a place of total security. That's what a refuge is.
You don't do anything to achieve it. You just rest in it. You just run to it and you rest in it. That's what we do when we find ourselves in difficult days, when times get scary, we just run to the Lord and we just rest in His sovereign control, amen.
We just rest in the fact that He's the God of all creation. He's sovereign and He's with us. He's our refuge. He's our strength.
I mean, He supplies us with the strength that we need. No matter how difficult the days become, the joy of the Lord is our strength. We have joy in Christ, joy in the Lord. And then He says this, He's our refuge in our strength, a very present help in times of trouble.
Isn't that a great, great verse? It's a verse we should all know. You should all memorize our refuge in our strength, a very present help. Not just a help.
That alone would have been good. In a good to know you got a helper who is God today. That's a pretty good deal. But He's not just our help.
He's a present help, meaning He is always there. He'll never leave you. He's always there. He's a present help.
He's not just a present help. He's a very present help. The Psalmist is going overboard to let you know you have a God who is always with you and ready to supply you with what you need to glorify Him, a very present help in times of trouble. I thought of, you know, when we dropped our oldest son off at college, when he's freshman, dropped him off in Tuscaloos, Alabama, five states away.
And, you know, it was a fearful moment. Fearful for him. We could see a tough young man. He was putting on himself.
We could tell a little bit of fear there. And there's a little fear on our end too. But I remember we, me and model, we looked at our son and we told him, listen, all you have to do is call. You call, we ain't going to let it ring three times.
You call and we will be on the other end and we'll be there. You need something where phone call away will be present. And if you said that to your kids, you'll be there, amen. Now think about this.
If us as sinful wretched sinners think that way about our kids, how do you think God feels about you? We have a very present help. He's a phone call away. He's a prayer away.
All you got to do is mention the word and he's there. A very present help in times of trouble. Then that psalmist says, therefore, we will not fear. We'll not fear.
Now, you got to be careful because I don't think this means, I don't think this psalmist is indicating here that we never get afraid, that we're never scared because I'll just be honest with you. I've had times, many times in my life where I was scared, legitimately scared. I don't think this doesn't mean that there's not moments. We have days in our lives when things occur that can shake us to our very core, that we don't get a little terrified.
I think what the author is indicating here is that we don't let fear dictate our lives. Fear doesn't control us. Fear doesn't dictate the decisions that we make. Faith in God dictates that there's somebody above us that we fear more than the circumstances and faith drives us not fear.
You can get a picture of this. Shadrach, Meshach and Abindigo. We've created this image. You've been the need.
We've been the need. We ain't going to do it. And you remember they call him, the king, Nebuchadnezzar he calls him in. Hey, did y'all miss here?
Did you not get the text message? Did you not see that thing? Why didn't the king just immediately kill him? Why didn't he just immediately kill him?
Because he could have. They didn't know. Why didn't he kill him? Because they were the best.
He didn't want to kill him. He didn't want to throw him. Why? Because he was the best.
That's what we're supposed to be the best. He didn't want to bring him back in. You know what they said? We got no excuse.
Basically they were saying to Nebuchadnezzar we didn't bow. We ain't ever going to bow. Why? Do you not think they were scared?
I guarantee you they were scared. But I'll tell you who they were scared of most. See, we don't have to live, but we have to be faithful to God. That what I fear the most is being unfaithful to the Lord.
Fear is not going to take fear of the circumstances. Fear of this world is not going to drive my life. It's not going to determine what decisions I make. My faith in God is going to drive my life.
That's the people of God. Therefore we will not fear. Though the earth should change and the mountains slip into the heart of the sea. The earth change.
These are the most stable, secure thing. The things that you would see as unchangeable. Things that could never change. The earth.
The mountains. They saw these things as immovable objects. They never, nothing ever happens to these things. By the way, in Revelation are the mountains going to go into the sea?
Yeah. They will one day. But what the author is indicating here, those things in our life that we look to as ultimately stable and ultimately secure, even when those things start to come down. And I don't know what it is in your lives that you see as well, I'll tell you whatever you're hoping in today as your security.
Whether that be well, I mean I'll be fine. I got a really good 401K. Well, something could happen to that. I'm going to be fine because I got a good job or something could happen to that.
Some of you say, well, listen, no, really matter what happens, I'll always have my health. You may not. One day you won't. The author is saying, whenever those things that you consider to be most stable, even when those things start to fade, we will not fear.
Because we know there's somebody bigger than us, way bigger than us, he's above us, and he's sovereign and he controls everything. Therefore, we will not fear. Though the earth should change, the mountains slipping the heart of sea, though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake at their swelling pride. Now, most believe that what precipitated the inspiration behind this song is 2 Kings 19.
And if you know your Old Testament, you know, in 2 Kings 19, Sinaccharob is coming against Israel. He's besieged Israel and he's coming against them. This huge army that's just decimated the nations. And Hezekchar is trying to appease him and he doesn't really care.
He's going to destroy him and that army is coming down. And so that's what many countries believe is the waters roaring and foaming. And the mountains quaking at their shore, that mean this army, this intimidating army is coming upon them. And this army is going to destroy them just like it's destroyed every other nation that's stood against them.
And they're scared and they're fearful. What is the very next verse today, though? The very next verse of verse 4, there's a river whose streams may glad the city of God. So the earth changing, mountains slipping, waters roaring, mountains quaking.
But there's a river. There's a river. Now what does that mean? There's a river.
What does it mean that they're not going to get all bent out of shape because there's a river. What does that mean? There's a river. Well, if you know Jerusalem, if you know the city, and you can just say there's a river who makes glad the city of God, the city of God, that's Jerusalem.
Jerusalem was a significant city Old Testament even prior to Israel. We first encountered Jerusalem in Genesis 14 when Melchizedek king of Salem, Jerusalem comes out and meets Abraham and blesses him after his great victory. It was a significant city and it was significant for two reasons. Number one, it was a high place.
If you're going to establish the city, you want to find a really high place, you put a wall around it and then you become impenetrable. These armies would have to come up against you and you could fend them off. And so Jerusalem became an incredibly important significant city. And that's the reason that David, you remember when he had to push out the Jebusites.
He pushed out the Jebusites. I think it's like the same, but he pushed them out and he took the city. In fact, that reason, the second point, it was important because it was a high place, but it was also important because it had a water source. So if you're going to establish the city, you want a high place, but you also want a nearby water source.
And the city had something called the dehone spring. Dehone means gushing. It was a gushing spring. A gush-forced water.
You could set your watch by it. It would just gush-forced water and it was a constant source of life and sustenance to that city. So it made it the ideal place. And in fact, you remember when David pushes out the Jebusites, how does he access the city through the spring of the home?
He goes in that way and then gets into the city and then pushes out the Jebusites. And so when you think about what precipitates this psalm, that you've got the Assyrian army coming upon the people of Israel and besieging them. Well, Hezekiah, it's the second chronicle, 32. Hezekiah, he knew the Assyrians were coming and he knew they would have access to that spring.
And it would keep the Assyrians alive as they battled the people of Israel. What He did in anticipation of them coming is He stopped up the Geon spring and He tunneled down. And He made a tunnel of water that would bring the water. It would stop it up outside and it would bring the spring inside the city and create a constant source of life to them.
So the Assyrians would be without water, but they would have water within the city. In fact, it's an architectural miracle. They actually, in order to hasten the building, they had to get it done so quickly because they knew the Assyrians were coming. They dug from both sides.
So they dug from both sides. We actually discovered this. If you're in Israel, you can go in Hezekiah's tunnel. When we found Warren's shaft that goes down in 1980s, they named after the guy who discovered it, but there's two shafts.
They had to do it so quickly that they started a tunnel from one side to the other and in a miracle, a divine miracle. Both groups working from opposite ends met 1,700 feet. They met in the middle perfectly. And it provided water source to the people of God even though they were besieged.
That's why they say even though the waters weren't from the mountains quake, we got a river. We got a river, a constant supply of life that God gives to us that sustains us even when it looks like we're all going to die. God takes care of us. In fact, you want to see a bigger picture in the scripture.
You go to the Garden of Eden, in Genesis chapter 2, what's the thing? The Garden of Eden. A river supplied the Garden of Eden and then broke into four rivers. They were the Pichon, the Gehaun, the Tigris, and the Euphrates in that Austin.
A gushing river came out of the Garden of Eden and supplied it with life. You get to the people of Israel, they had the spring of Gehaun. In fact, that spring of Gehaun, you know where it flowed to on the western side of the city? It's called the Pool of Siloam.
You remember when Jesus puts the clay on the guys' eyes and goes and says, wash yourself in the pool of Siloam? That's where they tunnel through to bring the water up inside the city. Now in the New Testament, do we have a spring flowing up to life in us called the Holy Spirit of God? You remember Jesus, the woman of the well?
You drink in my water, you'll never thirst again? In my water, I'll become a living water, I'll become a well, springing up to eternal life in you. That no matter how bad things forget for us, do we not have the Spirit of God inside of us? Do we not have the Word of God in front of us?
Do we not have prayer and access to God and obedience to God and the church of God, amen, that flow to us is a spring, in good together with the people of God on Saturdays and Sundays? I love seeing you, I'll drink your coffee and grab a donut and hug each other and it's a source of life and then we got the hope of heaven, amen? And it's like a river flowing up within us, no matter how bad things get. In fact, in Revelation 22, in the New Jerusalem, flowing from the throne of God is what?
A river. Genesis 22, verse 1, and it's crystal clear. It's almost as if God wants to let you know from creation to consummation, from Genesis to Revelation, I will supply you with life to glorify me no matter how bad things get. I don't care for my people.
There's a river that makes glad, makes glad, it gets us excited. We are, we are to be weird. I mean, some of you are really weird, but we are to be weird in general as Christians. Why?
Because we don't lose our minds when everybody else is losing theirs. That's why in COVID we should have been, it was our greatest moment to say, we're just a sovereign God, he's with us. We're not scared, we're not stupid, but we're not scared. We don't lose our minds.
And not only do we not lose our minds, we actually laugh, we got joy. The illustration I thought about, how many of you have seen the commercials for Generac, Generators? Generac, you've seen those commercials, big thing, now you get an external generator, the storms that went on this week, everybody wants one of these things, you never know when the power is going to go out. But the picture in that commercial, if you ever seen it, the storm comes, power goes out.
The entire block, everybody's losing power, but there's one house, there's one house, they got to Generac, I'm going to call them, get some money for this, they're going to pay me for this advertisement. But they got, they got a generator, and so the power goes, they're going to stop, and then everything comes back on, and guess what they do, they just keep on party. Everybody else is freaking out, and they're just playing their games and dancing and living room, they're having a party. Why?
Because they have a source of power outside of themselves that keeps outside the city grid, that keeps them going in the midst of a dark day. Is that not the church that we got a constant supply of life in our hearts that undergirds us and strengthen us no matter how dark the days get? Because God's sovereign, he is with us. There's a river that makes glad the city of God, the holy dwelling place, the most high.
Verse 5, God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved. God is in the midst of her, God is with us. It's one of the greatest name of God, Emmanuel, God with us, that we are not beest who believe God's spun this world in motion and then walked away. We leave God who is intimately involved in everyday activities of our life.
Amen? He's omnipresent, he is with us. And you see this painted throughout scripture, some of the greatest moments in God's word. In fact, Shadrach and Meshach are going to be in the me.
Well, I guess if you're not going to do it, we're going to throw you in the furnace. And they throw them in. And you remember what the king says? Did we not throw three men in there?
Because now I'm picturing four in there, and one of them looks like the son of man. There's a divine being with them. That's to be us. The world kind of scratches their heads, these odd people, it's almost like they have a divine presence with them.
It's like a fourth man is walking with them all the time. That's us. God's with us. Jacob, remember at Bethel, he's deceived his brother out of the birthright, he stops off at the Kaway camp of Bethel on his way to Laban.
He's sleeping on a rock for a pillow. He's miserable. He's got regret and sin behind him. He's got fear and uncertainty in front of him.
He doesn't know if he's going to make it. You remember what God does? Jacob's ladder. God shows a staircase of cascading angels giving him divine aid.
Remember what he says? The Lord was here and I didn't even know it. Can I tell you at your darkest Bethel moments, can I just tell you God just might be there and you didn't even know it? God was telling Jacob, I have a divine thoroughfare of aid that's ready to supply you with everything you need.
In fact, when he goes back home, he's at the Fortage abock. And he calls it double camp because the angels come back to the minimum. Because now he's scared again. Why?
Because he says don't kill him. And God comes and ministers and says I'm with you. Peter in Acts 12 is going to die. He's in prison and God shows up and says I'm with you.
Paul, Acts 16, he's going to die. God says I'm with you. He's at Corinth. You're going to die.
God says don't be afraid. I'm with you. He's in a prison ship headed around. God comes to him and says don't be afraid.
I am with you. God is always with us. Amen. He's always with us.
But do you all ever run in? Maybe I'm the only oddball here. Do you ever run in a moment where you know it up here? But sometimes you begin to doubt it out there.
You ever prayed God, I just need some kind of reminder. Speak to me through your word or give me some kind of reminder. Because right now I don't need you to take me out of this. I just need to know you're here.
I pray that for couples and people all the time. God, they know this. These are solid Christians. But they're going to some things right now.
God, you know we're weak. Would you just give them a visible reminder that you're right there? And the Lord of hosts is with us. God is in the midst of her.
She will not be moved. The picture there when it says God, she will not be moved. Be moved in verse 5. It's the same root word as verse 2.
The earth should change. It's the same root word as the mountain slip. That word slip, same root word. It means while the earth is moving and the mountains are moving, the people of God are not moved.
We don't move. We're just going to stand right here in the faithfulness to the Lord. We're going to just trust in Him. God will help her when morning dawns.
Don't you love this when morning dawns. Now for your remember, for Synacharib, Rax Shaba, 2 Kings 19, they're coming against them. They're going to defeat them. And you remember Isaiah, God tells Isaiah, you go tell Hezekiah, they're going to touch you.
You're going to be just fine. And I'm going to send them back, tail tucked between the legs. They're going to go on home. They're going to be afraid of.
They go to bed that night. Probably scared of death. They wake up the next morning and what happened? 185,000 soldiers fell by the angel of the Lord.
You think that was a glorious morning? They thought we're all going to die and they get up and see a bunch of dead soldiers laying out there. And you remember, the army left. Tail tucked between the legs.
Synacharib would actually go home and his two sons would kill him. God just took him out. God will help her when morning dawns. When morning dawns, you know the greatest demonstration of God's power in the Old Testament is the Exodus moment.
God leads the people out, brings them to the Red Sea. God parts the Red Sea. They go through the Red Sea wind. They go at night.
Can you imagine that? Walking through the mist of sea at night. They get to the other side. The Egyptian army is coming after them.
The Egyptian army was going to kill them. They're scared. They were the great miracle. But now Egypt is going to kill us.
And it says at the break of day, God caused the waters to fall over the Egyptians and he eliminated the fear of death at the break of day. What's the greatest demonstration of God's power in the New Testament called the resurrection at the break of day? Do you know what Jesus called in Revelation? The bright and that morning star is the first star, the last star you see before the morning dawns.
You know what Peter said in 2 Peter 1 19? He says we have the prophetic word made more sure referring to the transfiguration. They got to see the glory. God just pulled back the covers.
And Peter, John got to see Christ in all his glory. He said we got the prophetic word made more certain which you do well to pay attention to as a light shining in a dark day until the sun rises in your hearts and the morning star breaks the day. You know what he's referring to? You just keep clinging to this hope until Christ returns.
When's he going to return at the break of day? Do we have hope that God's going to take care of us, that God's going to bring us through, and he's going to win the day. When's he going to do it? When the morning dawns.
God will help her with morning dawns. Verse 6, the nations made it up, Lord, the kingdoms tottered. He raised his voice in the earth melted. The nations made it up, the kingdoms tottered.
Meaning there's all these kings out there that have run their mouth. Now he's referring to Rax Shabbos and Sennacherib in this moment because they were taunting the people of God. They were running their mouths. The kings needed to do that.
They run their mouths. They're saying you is your light to trust in God? Listen, all the other gods. We defeated them.
They're all dead. Go look at them. We defeated them. We're going to figure your God can't save you.
Running his mouth. What did God do? 185 soldiers. Thousands soldiers.
Boom. All he got to do is speak. Did Pharaoh run his mouth? Oh yeah.
God brought him down too, didn't he? Did Haman in the book of Esther run his mouth? I'm going to kill the Israelites. I'm going to wipe them off the face of the earth.
And God hung him on the gallows that he built for more. I love it. That's the biggest. Nah, nah, boo, boo.
You'll ever see in scripture. You don't mess with my people. You can go on and on. They listen to me.
They run their mouth. All God's got to do is raise his voice. And the earth melted. The earth melted.
The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold. The works of the Lord who's rod desolation to the earth. He makes the wars to cease to the end of the earth.
Breaks the boat, cuts the spirit to. Burns the chairs with fire. Meaning you can go back and say come and hold the works of the Lord. He's saying go back and look at history.
I love this about the word of God. The word of God is a book that can take this. Not necessarily a history book, but it contains these supernatural ideas of salvation by faith and justification by faith on the basis of grace alone and faith in the world. And faith in Christ alone.
These supernatural ideas that we didn't come up with that are from God. But these supernatural ideas are contained within the context of history. Amen. We can go back and view these things.
We can look at these things. There's a historical record that the Bible offers to us so that we can see the picture of what God has been doing. That's the beauty of being a Christian and knowing God's word. You can know what God has done and you can know what God is going to do.
Because you can see his hand running throughout history. That history is God's story. Amen. It was revolutionary to me.
It's what I love to do is to paint the Christian meta narrative of how God started all things. And man sinned. But God had a plan. It's the Christian meta.
We just have a tendency to look at the instrumental cause. And we miss the efficient cause. That God's behind it all amen. You see man moving but God is controlling it all.
And what the author says, go back and look at history. God always wins. You can't defeat God. He makes wars to cease from the ends of the earth.
God does it. He's the only thing we have negotiations that are going on right now. When God wants it to be done, it'll be done. I promise you, I'm grateful for people working in these things.
But God's in control. We look at the instrumental cause. The efficient cause is God. He's in control.
He's doing what he's doing. He's bringing about his story. Come and hold the works of the Lord. He makes the wars to cease.
He breaks the bell because of spirit too. Those are the most sophisticated forms of weaponry. And the author saying it don't matter to God. A.I.
God ain't worried. You think God's in there saying they've created robots now. I think I'm scared. Israel never lost a battle because they didn't have enough weaponry.
They only lost when they were in faithful to God. God doesn't get scared of weapons. He's sovereign. He's in control.
The author says go back and look. God's in control. He raises up and he puts down. And then look at what it says in verse 10.
It's as if God says, hey, Psalm, let's give me the pin. I'm going to write these last verses because God speaks here. God says, see striving and know that I'm God. I'll be exalted among the nations.
I'll be exalted in all the earth. See striving. It's very similar to Jesus on the water. Hush.
Be still. Stop it. See, now this is not words of comfort to the Christian. This is words of warning to the pagan.
This is words of warning to the nonbeliever. Do you understand today that God has placed the knowledge of himself in every one of us? Romans chapter 1. And what we choose to do in our sin is we suppress that truth.
Why? Because we want to do whatever we want to do. It's in the heart of man to say, I want to live, however I want to live, I want to do. Is that not the mantra of the world today?
We don't care what God has said. It's Psalms 2. Why the nations raise. People's plot in vain.
Kings of the earth take their stand. Really take counsel together against the Lord and against his anoint. Let us tear their fidders apart. Let us cast away their courts from us.
The world has always said, fallen man has always said, we don't want God and we don't want Jesus. We don't want Lord. We don't want anybody telling us what to do. We're the master of our own fate.
We do whatever we want to do. And nobody's going to stop us and we're accountable to no one. We're going to do whatever we want to do. Man shakes his fist to God.
You know what Psalms 2 says? He who sits in the heavens laughs. God says, that's funny. That's funny.
You think you're in control, don't you? You remember what he says? But as for me, I have installed my king. It doesn't really matter what you want.
It doesn't really matter what you think. I have established the king and his name is Jesus. And remember Jesus in that Psalm speaks it. I'll surely tell the Korean my Lord for he said to me, you're my king today, I've been caught in you.
Ask him and I'll surely give you the nations. He's here in here. He says, you shall break them like a rod of iron. You shall shatter them like earth and where.
He says, you know what God is waiting on? He says, I'll give them to you. You just say the word. It's all coming down.
And Psalm is here. Psalm 4 says, see striving. Know this, he's God and you're not going to change that. And he will be exalted among the nations in all the art.
He will be exalted meaning. Listen, you've got one or two options. Everybody in this room, watch it online. You've got one or two options.
You can bend the knee today willingly. You can recognize him as king. You can realize you're a sinner and realize I can't say myself. You can recognize him as king.
You can recognize him as king. You can realize you're a sinner and realize I can't say myself. You can recognize him as king. You can recognize him as king.
You can recognize him as king. You can recognize him as king. You can realize you're a sinner and realize I can't say myself. And I'm tired of striving against God.
And now I want to work with God. I want to go God's way. I want to go my way. I'm realizing this is not getting me anywhere.
I want to submit to the Lord. He's saying if you'll recognize that. See, I know that he's God. And trust in him.
You know what? You can know his salvation, his grace, mercy, mercy. He's ready for you. He's ready for you.
All in righteous. All your sin. There's a limited grace. It doesn't even know where you've been or what you've done.
If you'll turn to Christ and repent and say come on. And you'll bend the knee today to his lordship and he'll become your God and he'll become your king and he'll be with you and he'll never leave you. You'll have the security and the hope of heaven and he'll change you and he'll make you and he wants you to be for his glory. But listen to me.
If you continue to bow the neck, there's a day coming. You can bow today willingly and know his salvation or you can bow that day forcibly when he returns and extends his scepter and you will know his judgment, his wrath. But every day you will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. You can worship and glorify him and heaven or you'll worship and glorify him and hell.
But he will be worshiped and glorified. And you really have those two options. But listen to me. That's what I love about this.
He says the Lord of Hostess with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold. I love how he uses the God of Jacob. The Lord of Host just demonstrates his infinite power. But God of Jacob.
I've always wondered about that. Why not title himself God of Abraham? Which he is the God of Abraham. It oftentimes says God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
The patriarchs. But the one patriarch he chooses more often than any of the other patriarchs to identify himself with is who? Jacob. The onreist of them all.
The most messed up sinner of them all. Why in the world would God say you know what I'm most proud of? The fact that I'm the God of that goofball. Do you know why he loves that?
Because God says look at what I can do through anybody who will just cling to me. Do you remember Jacob? He was a deceiver. But do you know how he prevailed?
Not because he was a moral man because he wasn't. It's not because he was an intelligent man. Do you remember he prevailed because he just wouldn't let go of God. He said I will not let you go until you bless me.
I finally come to the realization that you're my only hope. And it's either death or you but I ain't letting go of you. And that's when God changed his name from sneaky to stud. And listen to me today.
He's the God of Jacob. You may be a sneaky liar today. But if you'll be in the need of Jesus, he'll wrap his arms around you. He'll raise you up and he'll never leave you.
The Lord of hosts will be with you forever. You know there's a famous sermon by a pastor named Peter Marshall. Peter Marshall, Scottish pastor who came to the States and became very influential. He was a senate chaplain for many, many years.
And he had an opportunity on a December Sunday. He had an opportunity to preach a very famous message sermon called go down death. And the basis of his message was James chapter four where he talks about life being a vapor. He actually changed the message at the last minute.
He stood before these men on that December Sunday and God prompted his heart to preach something different than he had originally planned, which is always dangerous for a pastor. But he felt impressed by the Lord. I got to preach something different. So he preached from James chapter four about life being a vapor and he was looking at these midship and he was saying to them, listen, I may only have one opportunity to preach to you and I want you to know this.
Life is a vapor and one day you're going to face death. And you need to think about that and what you're trusting in that moment. And you want to trust in a God who will be with you at that moment and carry you home. You're going to face some scary moments and scary times and you're going to die and you need to know there's a God out there who loves you, made you and sent a son to die for you and if you'll trust in him he'll never leave you and he'll be with you even to the moment of death.
In fact, he used my favorite illustration for death. He says that there was this mama who had a boy that was terminally ill with cancer. Can you imagine having a young boy terminally ill with cancer? The mom's sitting there with her boy one day and the boy asks his mama, mama, what is death like?
Can you imagine? Your son, one of you to describe what death will be like because that boy knows it's coming. And the mama prayed and asked God to give her wisdom and she looked at that little boy and she said, you know those times when you go outside after dinner, you eat your dinner, you're going to run and play and you just wear yourself out and then you come back inside and you fall asleep on the couch. And then suddenly the next morning somehow you wake up in your own bed because you didn't know it but when you fell asleep on the couch your dad who loves you so much came with his big strong arms and he picked you up and he carried you to where you belong.
And that mama said that's death. For those who know Christ you fall asleep and Jesus comes with his loving strong arms and he picks you up and he carries you to where you belong. And Peter Marshall preached this to the young men's shipment and he says you want to trust in God who will never leave you. And many of those men's shipment gave their life to Christ that day.
We'll change, repent of their sins and trust it in Jesus. That December, that December Sunday just so happened to be December 7, 1941. And as Peter Marshall was driving home with his wife, Catherine, they were on the east coast obviously, Hawaii, Pacific time. Later that afternoon for them on the east coast as they were driving home a bulletin came over the radio that Japan had bombed Pearl Harbor.
And they know that the majority of those young men that heard that message and gave their life to Christ would end up dying on the field of battle. In fact, at the Naval Academy they have stars representing those who gave their life in battle, more soldiers died in World War II, more Navy men, 60,000. But that day they got to hear a message about a God who is all powerful and sovereign, who loves them and if they've been the need to him, he would be with them even at the moment of death. Can I tell you today, what are you trusting in?
Your life is a vapor too. One day you're going to come to the end of it. What are you trusting in? I don't know about you but I want to trust in God who's defeated death.
I want to trust in God who's ever present, who's all powerful and even at that moment won't leave me alone and he will come to me and take me home where I belong. Amen. That's a good word. Let's pray together.
Father, we thank you so much. I thank you for the salvation that you provided through faith in Jesus Christ. That you loved us so much, you sent your son despite all of our sin. We're just a bunch of Jacobs, a bunch of sinners, liars, deceivers.
But we can't fool you. I'm just sure I believe in all my heart. There's probably some people in this room watching online. They've been striving against you.
You've been moving in their life. You've been drawing them to yourself. But they've been putting you off. They've been pushing you back.
They've been striving with you. But maybe today you're overwhelming them with your love. They're beginning to understand how much you love them. They're understanding the depth of their sin.
But more than that, they're seeing the beauty of your grace demonstrated in Christ who came and lived and died for them. And you're overwhelming them with your grace, your loving kindness, your mercy. God, I pray today they would see striving and they'd been the need to King Jesus. Who says, come to me all you're weary and heavy.
I'll give you rest. He's a wonderful King. He's a merciful Savior. May they know his salvation.
God for those of us who do know you, I trust and know that there's probably many of this room watching online today. They're going through some really difficult things that are scary. The likes of which I could probably never even begin to imagine. Maybe it was a medical diagnosis.
Maybe it's a loved one that's passed. Maybe it's a marriage that's struggling and it feels like the earth is changing. The mountains are slipping. God, I pray that you would remind them that nothing has caught you by surprise.
You're sovereign. And God, I pray with all my heart, just as you did for Jacob. And just as you did for Peter and just as you did for Paul. And just as you did for Stephen at the moment of his death.
God, may you show yourself to them. May you remind them that you are with him. Lord, we pray this in Christ's name. Amen.