The Eternal God We Serve

Psalm 90:1–2 KJV (WS)

1 A Prayer of Moses the man of God. Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations. 2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God.

Sermon Idea: Because God is eternal and unchanging, He alone is worthy of our trust and worship.

Purpose: My purpose is to move hearers to place their full confidence in the eternal, unchanging God and to respond to Him with reverent worship and faithful obedience.

Introduction

Attention:

Everything in life changes faster than we want it to.

Schedules shift, seasons pass, kids grow up, bodies wear down, and the things that feel secure can suddenly feel shaky.

We do our best to hold things together, but deep down we know how fragile life really is.

That is why this message matters.

In a world where everything seems to change, we need to know the God who never does.

Need:

If your heart has been unsettled by how uncertain life feels, this message is for you, because the more clearly you see who God is, the more steady your soul can become.

You do not need a little more inspiration or a better coping strategy.

You need a bigger view of God.

When you know the eternal God you serve, you can face a changing world with greater confidence.

History:

From the earliest pages of Scripture, the doctrine of God stands at the center of divine revelation.

The Bible does not begin by arguing for God’s existence, but by declaring Him: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

Throughout the Old Testament, God reveals Himself as the eternal, self-existent, holy, sovereign Lord who made all things and rules over all things.

Then in the New Testament, that same God is more fully made known through Jesus Christ, the eternal Son, and through the Holy Spirit, so that Christians have rightly understood the doctrine of God as the truth that there is one true and living God, perfect in all His attributes, existing eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

Interrogative: Why is God alone worthy of our trust and worship?

Transition: God alone is worthy of our trust and worship because He stands above time and remains the same forever.

Body

Division #1 - God stands above time.

Explain:

Before anything existed, God already was

Psalm 90:2 begins, “Before the mountains were brought forth…”

Moses reaches back to a time before creation itself

The mountains represent what seems ancient and permanent to us

Yet God existed before the mountains, the earth, and the world

God is not part of creation

God is the Creator who existed before all things

Supporting Scriptures:

Genesis 1:1 “1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.”

John 1:1–3 “1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 The same was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.”

Colossians 1:16–17 “16 For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: 17 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.”

God has no beginning and no ending

Psalm 90:2 says, “from everlasting to everlasting, thou art God”

“Everlasting to everlasting” points to eternity past and eternity future

Everything in our world has a beginning

Most things in our world also have an ending

God alone has neither

He is not simply old or long-lasting

He is eternal

Supporting Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 33:27 “27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”

1 Timothy 1:17 “17 Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Revelation 1:8 “8 I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is to come, the Almighty.”

God is not limited by time the way we are

Human life is ruled by clocks, calendars, aging, and deadlines

God is never pressured by time

He is never rushed, late, surprised, or overwhelmed

Psalm 90 as a whole contrasts eternal God with frail man

This means God sees history from a position we never can

Supporting Scriptures:

Psalm 90:4 “4 For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.”

2 Peter 3:8 “8 But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.”

Illustrate: The timeline illustration

Put a long timeline in people’s minds: birth, school, marriage, work, aging, death

Every human life fits somewhere on that line

Every nation fits somewhere on that line

Every empire, invention, and generation fits somewhere on that line

But God does not fit on the line at all

He created the line

Argue:

What begins is dependent. God never began.

What is ruled by time is limited. God is not ruled by time.

What is created cannot outrank its Creator. God stands above all because He existed before all.

Apply: If you are constantly trying to keep everything under control, you need to stop living as though it all rests on your shoulders and start resting in the God who already holds every moment of your life in His hands.

Be honest with God about the fears and pressures you have been carrying

Turn your worries into prayer instead of letting them sit and grow in your mind

Stop acting as though your peace depends on having every detail figured out

When you feel rushed or overwhelmed, remind yourself that God is never rushed and never uncertain

Submit your plans, your future, and your unanswered questions to the Lord

Transition: If God stands above time, then the next question is what that means about His nature, and Psalm 90 makes it clear that the God who is eternal is also the God who never changes.

Division #2 - God remains the same forever.

Explain:

God never changes in who He is

Psalm 90:2 ends with, “thou art God”

Moses does not say God was God

He does not say God will become God

He says, “thou art God”

God is always fully and perfectly Himself

His holiness, wisdom, truth, and power never diminish

Supporting Scriptures:

Malachi 3:6 “6 For I am the Lord, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.”

James 1:17 “17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.”

Hebrews 13:8 “8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.”

God has been faithful to every generation

Psalm 90:1 says, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place in all generations”

Generations come and go

Cultures change

Nations rise and fall

But God has remained steady through them all

Moses says the Lord has always been a refuge for His people

Even in unstable times, God has been dependable

Supporting Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 32:4 “4 He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”

Psalm 102:24–27 “24 I said, O my God, take me not away in the midst of my days: thy years are throughout all generations. 25 Of old hast thou laid the foundation of the earth: and the heavens are the work of thy hands. 26 They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed: 27 But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.”

Lamentations 3:22–23 “22 It is of the Lord'S mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. 23 They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.”

What God says and purposes will never fail

Human promises often fail because people change

People forget, weaken, retreat, or die

God does none of those things

Because God does not change, His Word remains sure

Because God does not change, His purposes remain certain

What God has said is still true

What God has planned will still stand

Supporting Scriptures:

Numbers 23:19 “19 God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good?”

Isaiah 46:9–10 “9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:”

2 Timothy 2:13 “13 If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.”

Illustrate: The moving shadows illustration

Throughout the day shadows shift constantly as the sun changes position

What was bright becomes shaded, and what was shaded becomes bright

Human life is full of shifting shadows

But with God there is no “shadow of turning”

He is never altered by changing conditions

Argue:

Only an imperfect being needs to improve.

Only a weak being declines.

Only a limited being reacts in ways it cannot control.

But God is perfect, full, and absolute. Therefore, He does not change.

Apply: If your heart has been up one day and down the next, if your confidence in God has been tied too closely to how life is going, then you need to stop measuring God by your changing feelings and start anchoring your soul in who He always is.

Stop letting a hard week convince you that God has changed

Go back to Scripture and let God tell you who He is

Preach God’s promises to yourself when your emotions are unsettled

Build steady habits of prayer and Bible reading so your heart is being shaped by truth

Choose to trust God’s character even when your circumstances feel confusing

Transition: And if God never changes, then we are not left with a distant doctrine to admire, but with a sure refuge to which we can run in every generation and every season of life.

Division #3 - God alone is our refuge and King.

Explain:

God Himself is the place of safety for His people

Psalm 90:1 says, “Lord, thou hast been our dwelling place”

Moses points first to a Person, not a location

“Dwelling place” carries the idea of shelter, home, and safety

God Himself is the refuge of His people

Our safety is not ultimately in circumstances or surroundings

Our safety is in the Lord

Supporting Scriptures:

Deuteronomy 33:27 “27 The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms: and he shall thrust out the enemy from before thee; and shall say, Destroy them.”

Psalm 46:1 “1 To the chief Musician for the sons of Korah, A Song upon Alamoth. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”

Psalm 91:1–2 “1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. 2 I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.”

God has always been enough for His people

Psalm 90:1 says He has been that dwelling place “in all generations”

No generation has ever outgrown its need for God

No generation has ever found God to be insufficient

The same God who sustained His people in the past sustains them now

Our problems may feel new to us

But God’s sufficiency is not new and it is not diminished

Supporting Scriptures:

Psalm 48:14 “14 For this God is our God for ever and ever: he will be our guide even unto death.”

Isaiah 26:4 “4 Trust ye in the Lord for ever: for in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:”

Romans 15:4 “4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.”

The eternal God is the only refuge that will never fail

Psalm 90 emphasizes the frailty and brevity of human life

Man returns to dust, but God remains forever

Every earthly refuge has limits

Health can fail

Money can disappear

People can disappoint

Strength can run out

But the eternal God never collapses

He is the only refuge strong enough for life, death, and eternity

Supporting Scriptures:

Psalm 61:1–3 “1 To the chief Musician upon Neginah, A Psalm of David. Hear my cry, O God; attend unto my prayer. 2 From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee, when my heart is overwhelmed: lead me to the rock that is higher than I. 3 For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.”

Isaiah 57:15 “15 For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.”

John 17:3 “3 And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.”

Illustrate: The storm shelter illustration

When tornado warnings come, people do not look for something decorative

They look for something secure

In the storm, appearance does not matter. Strength matters

God is not merely inspiring or comforting in a sentimental way

He is a refuge strong enough to hold His people when life shakes

Argue:

A weak refuge is no refuge.

A temporary refuge cannot secure an eternal soul.

If only God never fails, then only God is worthy of full trust.

Apply: If you have been leaning on money, health, routines, relationships, or your own strength to feel secure, you need to stop asking temporary things to carry the weight of your soul and start running to God as the only refuge that will never fail you.

Ask yourself what you have really been depending on for peace

Confess where you have trusted something created more than the Creator

In trouble, go to God first instead of only turning to Him when everything else has failed

Strengthen your confidence in Him through prayer, worship, and time in His Word

When fear rises, deliberately remind yourself that the Lord is your dwelling place

Transition: So when life feels fragile, Psalm 90 calls us to lift our eyes above what is passing and rest in the eternal God who alone is worthy of our trust and worship.

Conclusion

Visualize:

Fanny Crosby lost her sight as a baby, yet her life became a testimony of deep confidence in God.

Instead of being defined by what she lacked, she wrote hymns that overflowed with assurance, joy, and trust in the Lord.

That is what happens when a person’s soul is anchored in the eternal God.

Hardship may still be real, and loss may still be painful, but the heart can remain steady because its refuge is not in changing circumstances, but in the God who never changes.

Reiterate: Because God stands above time, remains the same forever, and is our sure refuge, He alone is worthy of our trust and worship.

Action: So stop resting your heart on things that change, and place your full trust in the eternal God who never does.

Appeal:

If you have never trusted Christ, come to Him today.

You are not saved by church attendance, morality, or effort.

You are saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, who died for your sins and rose again.

Turn from your sin and place your trust in Him.

And believer, if you know this God, then trust Him, worship Him, and run to Him as your sure refuge.