A Mighty Fortress is Our God

Introduction

How many of you all have ever been to Branson before? Few drives are prettier than the drive from Salem to Branson in the fall as the trees start to change color. If you’ve ever taken that drive before, have you ever taken time to notice the Castle that is about halfway between Ozark and Branson on the East side of Highway 65? A little more than a decade ago, the Pensmore Mansion was built in Highlandville and was the 5th largest home in the entire country when it was built. It is over 72,000 square feet with massive rooms and unique architectural engineering from top to bottom. Why was this massive home built by a now 70 year old? The home’s owner believes that this particular home will be able to withstand any natural disaster from an earthquake to an F5 tornado to a direct bomb blast. He made the claim in 2015 that the home will still be standing in 2,000 years… However, months later, it was discovered that the original design that was the key to its stability was flawed as the concrete company didn’t fulfill their obligations as they took some shortcuts to save money… Come to find out, the owner of the house sued the concrete company for $63 million. The fortress that promised protection turned out to be flawed from the start.

Isn’t this how things work in our lives? Things break down and often fail. Now, we expect this to happen sometimes. Take an igloo for example. Have you ever built or seen an igloo made out of snow? I built one with some friends in high school and it was a lot of fun for a few days… but what happened to the igloo whenever the temperature started to rise? It melted and eventually was destroyed. We expect some things to break down - but what about the big things? The Twin Towers? That rocked the world. The Joplin Tornado several years ago? That devastated many in our state. Other things can be broken in our world too such as trust and relationships - things that at one point appeared to be safe and secure. In a world where things break down, where can we turn to for lasting refuge and safety?

Jesus shares in Matthew 7 that the person who builds his house on God’s Word is like a person who builds a house on a solid rock. See, everything in this world will break down… but God’s Kingdom cannot be shaken. Because of this, we must turn to our God for refuge. He never lets us down. He doesn’t break down. He holds us fast in the good times and in the storms too. If you have your Bible with you, turn to Psalm 46 as we continue walking through the Psalms this summer. This beloved Psalm will encourage us this morning to build our life on the foundation of God’s Word and to find strength in the God of the Word… Because He is our Mighty Fortress who always comes through. Let’s read this chapter together!

Psalm 46 CSB

For the choir director. A song of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth. 1 God is our refuge and strength, a helper who is always found in times of trouble. 2 Therefore we will not be afraid, though the earth trembles and the mountains topple into the depths of the seas, 3 though its water roars and foams and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah 4 There is a river— its streams delight the city of God, the holy dwelling place of the Most High. 5 God is within her; she will not be toppled. God will help her when the morning dawns. 6 Nations rage, kingdoms topple; the earth melts when he lifts his voice. 7 The Lord of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah 8 Come, see the works of the Lord, who brings devastation on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease throughout the earth. He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces; he sets wagons ablaze. 10 “Stop fighting, and know that I am God, exalted among the nations, exalted on the earth.” 11 The Lord of Armies is with us; the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah

Nations rage… but God remains on His throne. He is still our strength and refuge. We can trust in Him today. Let’s pray.

God Saves His People (1)

In times of trouble, we need help. Think of a time in which this has been you… you find yourself in a time of need and you’re looking around for refuge and assistance, but no one is there to help. That’s a lonesome feeling. In our time of need, we need someone to be present and actually able to help us out.

Have you ever stood looking out into the future only to see no safe and sure way forward? Graduation with no job in sight. Or at the other end of things, you get laid off. A child who is a rebel and wants nothing to do with the Lord? The consuming depression. Broken relationship. A terrible decision to be made. A move away from all you’ve known and loved. Retirement to what? The terrible diagnosis. The list goes on, we all know what it feels like to be in need. We also know what it feels like to be in need with no answer in sight. Trouble is real and it threatens to take away our joy. Years ago, there was a missionary in a remote island and he was surrounded by native villagers who had varying views of this missionary and his wife. One evening, he and his wife heard many men outside of their house plotting to burn their home to the ground. They were in a time of trouble! What did they do? John Paton and his wife began to pray that God would deliver them somehow, some way. As evening turned to morning, they looked outside and the villagers had left. Why would they pray to God in a situation of trouble? Because they knew the promise of Psalm 46:1 that God is present with His people in times of peril! They prayed and God answered their prayer by frightening the villagers and sending them away from the house through divine intervention as the leader of the villagers years later claimed to have seen hundreds of soldiers with swords circling the mission house. God provided. And our God still provides strength and refuge in times of trouble.

God saves His people. This is what we see here in Psalm 46, and we’ll unpack this context a little bit more in a few moments. But this is also what we see in the entire Old Testament as God provides for His people even though they make mistakes and are in trouble an awful lot of the time. God also provides for people in the New Testament. God provides for people with food, purpose, healing, and so much more. But the main way that God provides for His people in times of need is with salvation. How is God always found in times of trouble? Our friends abandon us, our family isn’t always with us, our society leaves us in the dust… How is God always there? Because of WHO He is. He is the Savior and Sustainer of His people. Look at what Psalm 62:7-8 says about God being our refuge and strength

Psalm 62:7–8 CSB

7 My salvation and glory depend on God, my strong rock. My refuge is in God. 8 Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before him. God is our refuge. Selah

In a world where things break down, God doesn’t. He holds us fast and He deserves our trust because He’s always with us. The main way that we see this truth today is with the cross. In our times of trouble, whether that be relationally, physically, emotionally, or even spiritually, we can always look to the cross and see that Jesus Christ came to this earth in order to save sinners like you and me! He loved us enough to take our place on that cross. He is our helper. He is our refuge. He knows what it’s like to suffer and have things not always be easy. He gives us strength in the hard days whenever we’re wondering how on earth we’re going to survive. He is our refuge. He’s got us. Our needs are many, but He’s got the goods to get it done. When defeat is imminent, God is our fortress and we know that He saves His people. 2nd, God secures His people

God Secures His People (2-7)

We know that God is with us. That He is our refuge. That He is our strength. That He is all powerful and all knowing and all good and all of those things… We know what He did for us on the cross. We know the promises He has made in Scripture concerning our future. But whenever push comes to shove, and trouble strikes, and fears rear its head in our lives, there’s a temptation in our brains to doubt. We trade faith for fear. We know that our God is with us. We know that He is our strength and our salvation. But as Yoda would say it, “Afraid we are still.” Look at what is going on in verses 2 and 3. We see destruction and devastation here unlike anything we can really even imagine. The earth trembles - ok, an earthquake, maybe. The mountains go into the seas - a massive explosion, maybe. The water roars and the mountains quake - what could be describing these types of things? This is a picture of God’s judgment. Why would a Psalm talking about God being a refuge and fortress, also deal with destruction and judgment? Because you can’t see one without the other.

This Psalm is a Psalm of celebration penned after the events that took place in 2 Kings 19 and Isaiah 37 as we see the city of Jerusalem surrounded by the Assyrians. You and I can’t even imagine being in a city that was surrounded because we are blessed to live in a free country, not just a free city. Think through the fear that would exist if you are living in this world and you start to hear from other people that an enemy army captured a town a few miles away and they have a large army and they might be coming to your city next. Do you see the fear that this would cause to fester in such a situation? This is where the people of Jerusalem are at before Psalm 46. The Assyrians are the major powers in the world and they were certified bad guys. The book of Jonah talks about Jonah going to a city called Nineveh and Nineveh was the capital city of the Assyrians and Jonah wanted to run the other way before he dared go to Nineveh because of the type of people who lived there. They were cruel people. They were powerful people. They captured nation after nation and they were on their way to Jerusalem after already capturing the northern Kingdom of Israel a generations before. Now, 20 years later, they’re back and this time they’re coming for Jerusalem. They wanted to burn the city to the ground, throw people in jail, and steal the things that belonged to them. If you were facing this type of foe, do you think you’d be a little afraid? ABSOLUTELY!

Yet, Psalm 46 says to not be afraid. What do you think the King of Jerusalem did? If we were in this situation, we’d probably get on our phone and call another king and ask for help. Maybe we’d get on YouTube and see if we could search up some warfare tips in order to maybe pull off an upset victory. Maybe we’d just surrender because we knew what would happen… This isn’t what we see happen in Isaiah 37, though.

Listen to Hezekiah, the king, and his prayer

Isaiah 37:15–20 CSB

15 Then Hezekiah prayed to the Lord: 16 Lord of Armies, God of Israel, enthroned between the cherubim, you are God—you alone—of all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth. 17 Listen closely, Lord, and hear; open your eyes, Lord, and see. Hear all the words that Sennacherib has sent to mock the living God. 18 Lord, it is true that the kings of Assyria have devastated all these countries and their lands. 19 They have thrown their gods into the fire, for they were not gods but made from wood and stone by human hands. So they have destroyed them. 20 Now, Lord our God, save us from his power so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, Lord, are God—you alone.

This is Hezekiah’s prayer - there is fear all around him and his country… and in this moment of difficulty and trouble, he prays and he prays that God would save His people not because they deserve it… but so that all the earth would know that God is God. This is the security found in belonging to God, friends. God not only saves His people - He keeps His people secure. Look in our passage with the trouble happening throughout the earth with chaos and destruction happening, and contrast that with verses 4-5. The earth is in trouble. The nations rage. Kingdoms topple. The earth melts. But this is not so for God’s City. She won’t be toppled. All is well. God is there. What is being talked about here? The security found exclusively in God and the lack of security found in the things of this world.

Over the last few years we’ve learned of the lack of security in the things around us. Things can be taken away from us and they can change in the blink of an eye! Schools, shut. Faces, covered. Trust, destroyed. Just in an instant, everything changes and it can leave us feeling hopeless and helpless… in this type of world, where can we find security? We can’t find it in sin. We can’t find it in self. We can’t find it in society. We can only find it in our snake-crushing, soul-satisfying Savior! How does God secure us? Why do we not have to fear God’s coming judgment against evil and wickedness?

There’s a song by Shane and Shane called “You’ve Already Won” and it says this, “I don’t know what you’re doing, but I know what you’ve done… I’m fighting a battle that You’ve already won!” We don’t have to be afraid in this life as followers of God. We don’t have to fear His coming judgment… not because of our greatness and how amazing we are… Instead, the reason that we don’t have to be afraid is because our God sent His Son to this earth to live a perfect life and to save us from our sins and to secure us for all eternity. This is only good news, though, for the person who has placed their trust in Him and found refuge in Him. For this person, Romans 8:1 becomes their testimony

Romans 8:1 CSB

1 Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus,

The Lord of Armies is with them… God is their strength. There is no condemnation for this person! They are safe and secure. How can this happen? How can you and I, people who have all sinned and disobeyed God over and over, how can we be saved and secured?

Romans 3:24–26 CSB

24 they are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25 God presented him as the mercy seat by his blood, through faith, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his restraint God passed over the sins previously committed. 26 God presented him to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so that he would be just and justify the one who has faith in Jesus.

Each one of us must look to God and trust in His goodness and grace. We must repent of our sin and trust in Him. Whenever we do this, we see a promise from God to forgive us - even though we’ve dropped the ball. Even though we’ve made mistakes. We find salvation and security in Jesus - even in difficult times, we can rejoice in that salvation and security because, finally, we see that

God Slays His Enemies (8-11)

Whenever we think about the works of God, we usually think of the positive works. Think of Creation, God said each day that it was good. As we get ready for VBS this week and look at all the things that God has made in the universe, we see many good things that take our breath away. Look at the pictures that Tim Hines puts on Facebook and you’ll have your breath taken away as the heavens truly do declare the glory of God as Psalm 19:1 proclaims. We think of the New Testament and we see the miracles of Jesus and we think of all the positive and good things that take place… But in the midst of the grace of God, we also see the justness of God. The Psalmist invites us in verse 8 to come and see the works of the Lord and this is in reference to His judgment as His enemies will be destroyed. Whenever we say that God has already won - that’s a positive thing for those of us who are Christians… but for people who reject Jesus, this seals their fate. The God of the Bible wins the battle for His people - and by default if you have a winner, you also have a loser… and those who oppose God are defeated!

Specifically, Psalm 46 looks at the Assyrians trying to capture Jerusalem. How does God show up and answer Hezekiah’s prayer?

2 Kings 19:32–35 CSB

32 Therefore, this is what the Lord says about the king of Assyria: He will not enter this city, shoot an arrow here, come before it with a shield, or build up a siege ramp against it. 33 He will go back the way he came, and he will not enter this city. This is the Lord’s declaration. 34 I will defend this city and rescue it for my sake and for the sake of my servant David.” 35 That night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down one hundred eighty-five thousand in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies!

God not only secured His people from judgment… He actually defeated His enemies and the enemies of His people! Can you imagine 185,000 people being destroyed? The population of Salem is 5,000 people. Rolla is roughly 25,000 people. Taylor Swift had a concert in Kansas City and there were 80,000 people there… Still not close to 185,000. Springfield, 2 hours down the road, has 170,000 people. You’re talking about an army the size of Springfield marching against you. You have no hope of survival, much less victory, outside of God stepping up and showing out. And this is what He does. God slays His enemies. The Angel of the Lord appeared and the enemy was destroyed. He promised that they wouldn’t destroy the city and they wouldn’t even shoot off a single arrow. And this is what happened. All that was left was chariots on fire.

God wins the victory for His people and He defeats and destroys His foes. How often do we forget this? In the midst of our suffering and struggling, as we look to our problem, how often do we forget the might and power of the God we are blessed to call Father? He speaks and there it is. He throws mountains into the sea. He raises nations up and He brings them crashing down. He stops wars. What is the command in light of God’s power and works in Psalm 46? Simply this: Be still. Cease striving. Stop fighting. You and I are professional worriers and have PhD’s in doubt. We are experts at saying, “But God (this or that)…” In a world consumed with striving, strive for stillness. In the stillness, we remember WHOSE you are and rest in that. The Lord of Armies is with us - He is our stronghold. He defeats His foes - evil and wickedness has an expiration date. Because of this, the Psalmist shares that we are to be still and know… The Hebrew here is more along the lines of “Cease and Desist” - kind of like whenever there is a fight breaking out and a teacher has to step up and break it up. This doesn’t exclusively mean to stop talking as it does to stop doing what you’ve been doing and be still. Only when we are still and stop striving to earn our own way can we see and know that our God is good. Because He is good, He must slay His enemies. This is what Psalm 46 tells us. And one day, we know that this will happen once and for all as Christ will return. Wrong will be made right. Fears will fall away. Peace will endure forevermore. God wins!

In a world of striving - strive for stillness

Be Still and Trust in God

Noise and busyness are two of the best ways to avoid listening to God and discovering where God wants you to go in life… Because of this, silence and stillness are the best ways to listen and discover what God wants us to do next. One of the reasons why we are drowning in stress and anxious about tomorrow is because we aren’t still today. We’re busy. We live in a noisy world. In such a world, we need to breathe and we need to listen. We need to reflect on all that our God has done.

“The Christian is a man who can be certain about the ultimate even when he is most uncertain about the immediate.” Martyn Lloyd-Jones. In this life there are things we won’t know. There are accidents that will take place. People will let us down. Things will break down. The immediate might look uncertain. Have you been there before? Maybe you’re there right now. Maybe this is you today: I don’t know how this work situation will work out… but I know that God is good. He is my strength. He is my refuge. He has saved me and He has secured me. He has a plan for me. He will sustain me.

Maybe this is you instead: I don’t know how this relationship will work out - I feel confused, betrayed, weary, and I just don’t know what to do… Even there, Christian, you know that God is good. He is your strength. He is your refuge. He has saved you and He has secured you. He has a plan for you. He will sustain you.

Maybe this is you: I’m so stressed about a situation that I absolutely cannot control and I don’t know what the near future looks like. Friend, I’m right there with you. Stress sucks the life out of us and it threatens to steal our joy too. What must we do? Breathe in and close your eyes. Trust these promises, Christian. God is good. God is my strength. God is my refuge. God has saved me and He has secured me. God has a plan for me - even in this moment - and God will sustain me through it. In the highs and lows, God is good and we can always trust in Him. He is with us and He is for us.

Robert Murray, M’Cheyne said that preachers stand as a dying man in the face of dying men and women, and the issue of eternity is at stake. On one hand is the lostness of the grave and the other is eternal life and in between stands an old cross with a Savior who is risen with two outstretched arms pleading with people like you and me to come… He is true and trustworthy. He is gentle and lowly. He is pure and holy. He is strong and mighty. He is strong and kind and today He says: Come Home. Repent and believe. Place your confidence and trust in the person and work of Jesus Christ and be changed through His Gospel today, tomorrow, and for all eternity! He will bring us safely to that golden shore. He will wipe away every tear. Sin’s warrant is cancelled. Death’s power is defeated. The serpent’s head is crushed… All because our King died and rose. Come behold the works of the Lord - taste and see that He is good!