The Lord of Hosts
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Walking through Psalm 44 last week in our sermon titled “COME TO OUR HELP”...
....we saw how the Psalm takes a dramatic twist mid-way through
It started with the authors acknowledging God for how He had rescued the forefathers...
COMING to their aid...
to then…hearing the authors to begin praising God for His what He had done in their own lives...
They were looking to the past and praising God for all He had done to help them...
BUT then…midway thru...
They begin explaining how they had been faithful to God and His covenant...
Yet - God didn’t come through for them...
They were begin overrun by their enemies...
Regarding as sheep to be slaughtered…with no help in sight!
And the authors begin to ask God - WHERE ARE YOU!
You’ve not helped us…You’ve not come through for us!
Your name is being mocked...
Our enemies are winning...
And it had seemed as though these writers of this Psalm - had come to feel entitled!
BUT - at the end of the Psalm we see that there motive is not merely for comfort’s sake...
BUT what?
26 Rise up; come to our help! Redeem us for the sake of your steadfast love!
They say - Redeem us for YOUR SAKE! The sake of your never-ending love...
For us here, today, we’re facing some major struggles...
Struggles with:
family
friends
work
money
health
YOU NAME IT -
And as we left last week, we just prayed that God would help us see HOPE in our darkness!
Why?
Because HOPE will carry you - one.more.step.
And the HOPE that aims at Christ Himself - is an enduring HOPE...
Yet, as we know - sometimes it’s hard to see that HOPE - the Hope of Christ...
When our world is crumbling...
When love seems to be FRACTURED all around us...
We want to see that God is working...
*Brandy at IMARC - want her dad to reach out to her!!!!
And so where last week, we sort of ended with a “We’ll see...” kind of prayer...
Some questions still to be answered...
today - we respond with some powerful statements and truths of God...
Truths that we can rest in, even in our darkest of times!!
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
Many times in this Psalm we see the phrase - Lord of Hosts...
Now i had heard this before, but never really sure what it meant...
So i looked it up...
“Lord of Hosts” is the OT name for God mostly found in the Prophets...
Now - the Hosts are the heavenly powers and angels that act as the Lord commands.
And when I thought about that - I first thought of the song - God of Angel Armies
And so, sitting here NOW - on the BACKDROP of what we talked about last week - PSALM 44...
where we saw God’s people - CALLING out to God - where are You?
We NEED your help!
DON’T forget us!
COME to our HELP!
When we get to a place where we feel like we have NOTHING left...
Where it seems there is NO SIGN of life UP THERE...
We MUST DO THIS ONE THING FIRST!!
SLIDE: When the Walls of Life Crash Down: Focus on Who God Is
When The Walls of Life Crash Down
When The Walls of Life Crash Down
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
Some of us right now are walking through - GREAT TROUBLE...
The earth has GIVEN way...
The mountains in your life have been moved into the sea...
The waters are roaring and foaming...
AND you CANNOT see how all of THAT will get fixed! … Put back TOGETHER...
And you’re afraid - terrified
Terrified that you’re going to lose that person...
Maybe you’re being CRUSHED under the weight of DEBT!
Maybe you’re being TORN apart by those around you...
And you don’t.know.what.to.do
v1
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
No calls here to 911...
No brainstorming session trying to come up with the best plan-of-action...
Just PURE truth...
SLIDE: GOD IS
GOD IS...
GOD IS...
And if you ARE HIS - Then the first thought you should have when CHAOS comes is this - GOD IS!
DWELL on who He is!
God IS - our refuge...
He is our shelter
He is our SAFE PLACE...
NOW - we’ve had some pretty good storms so far this year…I’m sure there are more to come...
*AL’s house - Ask when the tree flew into his house...
*Storms - In our houses, when tornado warnings occur where do they tell you to go?
Basement - why?
Because even in our houses, we’re not COMPLETELY safe…(Case in point - Al)
BUT With God - the walls that surround us and protect us are HIS TRUTH...
And so just as we know we can’t TRUST the wood and nails and brick and mortar of our houses to ultimately protect us..
With God - we CAN TRUST that He will...
As Followers of CHrist, we know that there will NEVER be a situation that we face that is OUT of His control!
In Scripture we see both sides - Men who looked to God as their refuge…and men who looked elsewhere...
David himself was a great example of someone who KNEW that God was his refuge!
At different points in his life - David was literally on the run from people trying to kill him...
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.
8 Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us. Selah
When we need help from God - POUR out your heart to HIM...
And when we DO that - we’ll begin to KNOW God as our refuge!
On the other side, we have men who looked elsewhere for refuge...
The leaders of Israel in Isaiah’s day tried to FIND SECURITY in things other than God...
15 Because you have said, “We have made a covenant with death, and with Sheol we have an agreement, when the overwhelming whip passes through it will not come to us, for we have made lies our refuge, and in falsehood we have taken shelter”;
They made LIES their refuge…and falsehood their shelter
Now before we ridicule them - know that we do the same!
We OFTEN will make our:
ASSUMPTIONS our refuge! (assumptions about God)
JUSTIFICATIONS our refuge (we’ll justify ourselves before God using our own version of the truth and rest in it)
**Mormons believe in Jesus....and that He died for sins....SO THAT we can have the chance to EARN a place in heaven and acquire our own planet one day and become the God of it.
And in THAT - they find rest. THAT is their refuge!
YET in the end - they will find no comfort.
When the TRUTH of God surrounds you…you can weather the toughest of storms!
REGARDING this verse…God then offered them a TRUE refuge!
16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’
17 And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
See, when we have Christ - we have PEACE....
33 I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
And so FEAR has no place to GROW in a CHRIST-TRUSTING HEART...
2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. Selah
v4
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
What we see here is actually very comforting...
Our first point today was that WHEN the WALLS of this world Crash Down- we should FOCUS on who God is...
HERE - we see that...
SLIDE: Who is God? - Our Security and Supplier of Our Security
WHO IS GOD?
WHO IS GOD?
These verses reference God as a RIVER…which surrounds and defends the city!
NOT ONLY THAT - But whose STREAMS (Blessings) flow to those within the city of God...
And so what we see is God not only BEING that security, but producing the security!
6 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
We know this world is going to hell in a hand-basket...
This says - REGARDLESS of what happens...
God REIGNS over all of it…NOTHING falls outside of His control...
The Lord of Hosts is - WITH US!
He’s on OUR side!
We can be CONFIDENT that ALL the pain and trouble we’re walking thru has NOT surprised our KING!
He’s in COMPLETE control!
Think if HE WASN’T in control...
Would that be COMFORTING?
No! - WHY?
Because if He’s NOT in control then He can’t turn it for our GOOD!
ALL things work together for the good to those who LOVE Him!
H’e WITH us!
But we’re not done yet!
SLIDE: When the Wall of Like Crash Down: Behold the Works of God
When The Walls of Life Crash Down
When The Walls of Life Crash Down
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth.
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
The Love of God is a PEACEFUL love, and it is a violent LOVE!
We can hear and feel the SOVEREIGNTY of God in these passages…!
And it’s MEANT to bring peace to us...
His control
His rule
His authority - brings PEACE...
And it’s IN HIS WORKS that these things are DISPLAYED!
Do you remember this passage?
8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts?
9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’?
10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic—
11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”
12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”
So Jesus says to this paralytic - “You’re sins are forgiven”...
And the pharisees begin to QUESTION Jesus in their hearts - thinking - “How can He say that? Only God forgives sins!”
So Jesus, BEING Jesus, knows what they’re thinking.
And says - “Ok, what’s harder to do?....tell this man his sins are forgiven, or tell him to stand and walk?”
See JESUS KNOWS how miraculous it is to TAKE out a heart of stone and replace it with a heart of flesh!
Jesus KNOWS how miraculous it is to CALL a soul out from the grave and say LIVE - and it lives...!
But He also knows that we CAN'T FULLY grasp this...
And so He performs a WORK...
He tells this man to rise and walk, and he rises up and walks!
And it’s ALL MEANT to display the AUTHORITY of Christ!
TO WHAT END?
v12 says what - Man received the joy…God received the GLORY!
Our Psalm says -
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth.
And so a way that we can PERSEVERE in this world...
When life GOES south!!
When it seems the enemy is WINNING!!...
LOOK to the works of Christ!
Gaze upon His power!
Meditate on what HE HAS DONE!!
He has already WON the battle!
He REIGNS over your horrible circumstances!
Over the thoughts of man
9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire.
He heals relationships!
He softens hearts
He changes plans
He arranges meetings and conversations
He IS and PROVIDES security...
Draw closer to Him!!
Not only that…but
SLIDE: When the Walls of Life Crash Down: Be Still and Know That I Am God
When The Walls of Life Crash Down
When The Walls of Life Crash Down
10 “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
We KNOW this phrase....we’ve heard this phrase....(Be Still…) but have we heard it in the context of this Psalm?
The context puts this phrase on a WHOLE NEW LEVEL!
God makes WARS CEASE...
He BREAKS the bow, and shatters the spear!
He makes the Earth MELT
and Burns the chariots with fire!
BE STILL and KNOW that I am God!
I WILL be exalted!
I WILL be exalted!
If we want to persevere in this life…we must - IN THE DARK TIMES...
MEDITATE on the Lord!
FEAR not!
And STAND firm...
13 And Moses said to the people, “Fear not, stand firm, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again.
I know many of you are walking through trouble....even as i speak..
and so I want us to take some time right now...
…to be still, and know that He is God.
Meditate on His works...
Meditate on who God is...
Do that now....
What have we seen today?
SUMMARY
When Life Crumbles Around Us:
Focus On Who God Is (He is and provides us security)
Behold His Works
Be Still and Know
As verse 11 ends
11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah
And so I pray for you now that you would TRUST that…to what end?
6 So we can confidently say, “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?”
Let’s pray!