Amen. I invite you all to stand up now so that we can read Psalm 46, which is the text where the sermon is based. The title of the message is, Our God is our refuge and strength. God is our refuge and strength. So let us read Psalm 46. And as I read it, listen with faith, hope, and love. Faith, hope, and love. Here's the word of our God. to the choir master of the songs of Korah, according to Elamoth, a song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved in the heart of the sea, though its waters war and foam, though the mountains tremble at swelling. Sila, there is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. He shall not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. The nations rage, the kingdoms totter. He authors his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Come, behold the words of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Let us pray once again. Father, help us. Help us, please. We are limited, weak, fragile. and we need the power of Your Word. Help us to sense Your special presence with us as we hear Christ's Word this morning. In His name that we pray, Amen. You may be seated. Life is hard. If you do not know about this, you will if you live long enough, right? Life is really, really hard. And this text this morning will teach us how to deal with the troubles of life, the hardships with our God in three ways. Okay? How to deal with our sufferings, hardships, and troubles with our God. And the first way that we see here in the text is verses 1 through 3. It's look at your present and see God as your refuge and strength. So the first way is look at your present and see your God as your refuge and strength. Look at your presence. See Him there. So in verse 1, you see the text says God is our refuge. It doesn't say that God was. or that God will be, even though those things are true. But the text says God is in the present, our refuge and strength. And refuge here, like I said to the kids, is a shelter, a protection in a storm, on a war, when we are in danger, we try to find something to hide. That's where our God is. He's our refuge. And also, He's our strength. When we are weak, fragile, we do not have any power, then He is our strength, our source of power. And when you put those things together, refuge and strength, you have what? A fortress. And that's what you have in your God. And the text also says in verse 1 that He is your help. And here, pay attention, because help here is not to give a hand. for something that you can do for yourself, by yourself. No. The sense of the word here, help, is that God will provide something that you cannot do for yourself. It's what you read in 1 Samuel 7, when Israel was losing the battle against the Philistines, and then God came and helped them. And save them and redeem them something that they could not do for themselves And that is why you see The word ebenezer comes from that chapter But means stone of help the lord helped us So he is our deliverer our redeemer. He's our salvation And not someone who give us Simply to give us a hand. No. To give a help. Mere hand for a problem. No. He is our salvation. So what problem is that? Well, the text says He is a very present help in trouble. Very present help in trouble. And trouble here means a sense of confinement. A risk of life. Where it seems there's no way out, there's no escape. You are surrounded by enemies and you try to find an escape and you can't find. And anxiety and fear comes into our hearts. Distress. And probably the historical background of Psalm 46 is a siege of Jerusalem. when all the 45 cities of Judah had already been besieged. And even the Assyrians were mocking Israel, Judah, saying, we can lend you guys 2,000 horses. And even if we lend you our own horses to fight against us, you will never have a chance against us. They're mocking. And as you know the story, 185,000 soldiers, they besieged Jerusalem. So maybe that's the kind of trouble, historical background that you have here in Psalm 46. But the psalm goes even deeper in verses 2 and 3 to describe for us what kind of trouble this is. So in verse 2 and 3, if you go with me, listen. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling." Do you see the trouble there? Well, the trouble here described is not a tsunami. It's not a tsunami at all. A local tsunami. It's a global one, but not a local one. It's not a disaster in a family car accident. It's not even an epidemic of virus. Now what you see here, the psalm describing as trouble, is a worst case scenario, a decreation of the whole planet, as if the planet is being unmade. Can you picture it? Can you see it? It's everything is falling apart. It's total chaos. It's universal and cosmic calamity. It's a worldwide catastrophe as you see here in verse 2 and 3. Where the most secure thing in the world like the mountains are shaken and taken by the sea. And here's the principle that I want you to see your present situation, but see your God as your refuge and strength, a very present help in this kind of trouble that you just read in verses 2 and 3. What is the principle? That even if the entire globe is disintegrating before your own eyes, even if the world is falling apart, Because your God is your refuge and strength and a present help in trouble, then you reason with verse 2, then you can say, I will not fear. Even if everything gets from bad to worse, a total chaos, you look at your present situation and see your God as your refuge and strength, a very present help in an ending world, Therefore, we will not fear. I think it's hard to believe that truth, right? But here are some applications for all of us. The first one that comes to my mind is that we need to be realistic. things can get worse. It's not wrong for us to be optimistic when we have a problem, a cancer, a difficulty in the family, and think, well, things will be all right. It'll be OK. It's all right. It's correct many times that we do that. But I think there are times that we deceive ourselves, thinking that the things will get better, but they will not. And when the errors of afflictions are coming, And we are thinking that we'll get better and we'll not. Sometimes it's too late to fight something, to hide ourselves. Because we are not realistic. I remember here, Jeremiah in Jeremiah 12, when he was going through hardship. And God said, do you think it's hard for you to run against men? What if you run against horses, Jeremiah? If you think it's hard for you that there are people in the nation against you, what about people from your own family? So we need to be realistic many times so that we can get prepared, ready for even the worst case scenario to run to the one who is with us as our refuge and strength. Second application at this first point. Look at your presence. See Him there as your refuge and strength. The second application is this. At least I have a tendency when things are pretty bad in my life, I think that God is far away from me. He's not present. Where is God? Where is He when everything is so bad? Where is He? God, where are You? But here Psalm 46 changes our mindset in this regard. Because the text says, even if things get from bad to worse, His is a very present help, not out of trouble, not without trouble, but in trouble. Do you see that? So here's the application, the second application. God is present not only when everything is well for us Christians, but also when everything is from bad to worse. He's a very present help in trouble. We need to reason with Psalm 46 in that way, which is very hard, but we need to think again in light of this truth, that He is a very present help. when everything is from bad to worse. Third application. Don't think about anybody else, but think about yourself. And I'll think about myself, too. What is your refuge? In trouble, what is your shelter? Is there comfort? Nothing wrong with comfort, but I think many times we can replace God for comfort. What is your shelter? Is it work? Is that money, knowing that you have money in your bank account and you'll be all right? Is that entertainment, social media? Is that sex? Or is that shopping? Like a lady in my homeland said to her husband, don't worry, we don't need to go to a psychologist or pastor. Just give me, just let's go to a shopping mall and we'll be all right. Or is it romance? Or is it loneliness? For you to go to a dark room, you don't wanna see anybody, that's your shelter. Or is it food? You go through a fridge when you have that kind of anxiety, you go to the fridge and fast food, and food is like the things that calms you down. Is it alcohol? Is it beauty? Romance? Intellectualism? Children? Pills? Or maybe you are here this morning. You tried so many things that I didn't even mention now. You tried and it didn't work. There's no more refuge, you think, for you anymore. You are just in despair. There is no way to hide. There's no way for protection. It has amassed my life. I want to tell you as an application through this Psalm 46, know today God calls you. I am the one who is a very present help in trouble. Come with me. You have to find shelter in me. It is with me that you have strength. Only I can really help you, is God telling you this morning. So look at your present reality and see your God as your refuge and strength, even when the world is falling apart. Last application. Here's where you find freedom from our anxieties. You see the text says, we will not fear. Anxiety is a type of fear. And I think that's one of the ways that we have to think not only physically, our biological structure, of course we have things that give us anxiety because of our biological structure, but there's also here a spiritual reality as well. And this truth, that freedom from anxiety may come through this truth, I learned from Elizabeth Elliot. She wrote a book, a fiction book. It's not based on history, but a lot of truth in it. It's a story about a nurse from America who had a dream to reach the indigenous people in Ecuador. She was so excited, she planned out everything for her life to preach the gospel and see the people being converted and then she went to Ecuador when she got there she knew that she had to translate the Bible to their language but she could not she tried so hard to find someone then she found Pedro and there's as they were working for that project so exciting Peter cut his leg. As a nurse, she gave him an antibiotic that he was allergic to it, and he started to die. And she started to pray, Oh, Lord, do not let him go. Save him. Heal him. It doesn't make any sense. All the plans that I did, that I dreamed of, you cannot do this. Heal him. And then that story tells us that Peter died. And people who read the book said, what kind of God is this? It doesn't make any sense. But then there is a phrase in that book that changed my life. And I think where you see freedom from anxiety when everything is from bad to worse. Remember, the title of the book is No Graven Image. And the phrase is this, she writes, if God was merely my accomplice, my counselor, he had betrayed me. If on the other hand, he was God, he had freed me. Do you see what she's teaching us that we see here in Psalm 46 too? We think that God is, even though we profess that God is sovereign and control of everything, he's the king of the universe, in daily life, in hourly life, we are the ones who are ruling our own lives with our dreams, with our plans, and God is just our counselor to give us a hand, a compliance, a counselor. And then we think when everything goes from bad to worse, where is God to help me in that way? But when you see God as your God, in not of someone which is merely a helper to give you a hand for your graven image in your own heart, for your life that you think you run it, you think you control it, when everything is from bad to worse, you realize finally that He is not merely a counselor. And He is God of the universe. And no matter what happens, He is in control of your life for your good. And that frees you from yourself, from your own idols, from your own dreams, and rest in him. So look at your present and see your God there as your refuge and strength. Secondly, look back at your past. Verses four through seven. And as you contemplate this, remember as someone said, you can never learn that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have. Let me say that again. You can never learn that Christ is all you need until Christ is all you have, especially when things go from bad to worse. And here now the text makes us to look back at our past, verses 4 through 7. You see the contrast now in verse 4? In verse 2 and 3, everything was in turmoil, right? The mountains and the earth were shaking. But now in verse 4, can you see it? The city of God is unshakable. to mutuals and raging sea, verses two and three. In verse four and five, you see a calm river of Zion, which makes the city of God glad, joy, peace, provision, tranquility. Because God is in their midst. God is there in Jerusalem. God is there in the temple with his people. But you ask me, a river there? Well, when you go to Jerusalem, there's no river there. What's going on here? The text is saying that there is a river in verse 4. Well, there was a man-made spring of water to fill the pool of Shiloh so that they would have supply of water at all times and when the city was being besieged. But verse four, making reference to a river, is for us to remember the past. How so? Because verse four is evoking the Garden of Eden in creation that had a river of which the temple was a prototype or a replica of the presence of God in Eden. And that's what the text is making reference to. You see? It's for us to remember when there was no sin, no pain, no tears, and God was with Adam and Eve in perfect communion with His special presence. As you see Him in the temple there, remember that reality. But also in verse 5, and here kids, just like I told you, in verse 5 the text says that God will help. See it's the same, it's a verb of the same word in verse 1. He's a very present help. And here you see He will help when? The text says in verse five, God is in the midst of her, he shall not be moved, God will help her when? When morning dawns. That's a very special expression for you to remember the past. To help when? Right early or at the turning of the morning. Or when the morning dawns. What does that mean? Well remember creation, when everything was dark and then God said let there be light and it was light. The turning of the morning reminds us of this truth. But there's one specific story in the past of Israel that when they read this, they right away remembered the past. Well, there was another siege. Mountains on both sides, Egyptian army behind them, and in front of them, the Red Sea. And if you read again at home in Exodus chapter 14, verse 27, when it was early in the morning, the only repetition of this expression in the whole Bible is in Exodus chapter 14, verse 27, that in the early of the morning, the turning of the morning, Moses touched the sea, God opened up the sea, made his people to cross over, and when the Egyptians came, boom, he saved them. He made, the psalm is making us to remember the past of redemption. And as you see also in verse seven, I mean in verse six, you see the same thing. He has a voice that melts the earth. That's again an allusion to Exodus chapter 15 with the song of Moses when it says there are nations that against God will be melt. will be melted. He melts the Canaanites in Exodus chapter 15, 15. So what the text is teaching us is for us to remember the past and apply the truth of redemption of the past to your present reality and hope and see that your God is there as a refuge and strength. And we do that all the time, I think. At least I do. When I'm in trouble, I have a problem, I tend to think about my past. Oh, I was so good when I was a kid. No problem, just playing around and climbing the tree and having fun with no problems in mind. We do that naturally to cope with problems. But here, the text is telling us to remember our past, not of 30 years ago, or 20 years ago, or 10 years ago, but a past of 2,000 years ago. You say, 2,000 years ago? That's exactly right, 2,000 years ago. That's what you need to remember. And I wanna quote here a person who did this. that remembered the cross of Calvary and applied that truth of the past of redemption to his own problem and difficulty in the present and saw God as his refuge and strength. The guy's name is Greg Lucas. He has a special kid. And he writes this, listen how he applies the past of the gospel to his present hardship and see God there as a refuge and strength. Listen and apply to your own situation and problem. Almost daily I have to physically restrain my son. It is a physical battle to change his diaper and clean his body. Many times while cleaning and changing him, I have been kicked in the face, beaten, smacked, clawed, or hit with flying objects. It is not all that uncommon to come away from a cleanup with a bloody lip or a new scratch. Jake is the size of a small man now and strong on the most full-sized man. It takes at least two people to bathe him. I must confess that on many mornings I leave Jake's room dejected, hurt, and emotionally drained. And many nights I find myself restraining the violent resistance of a struggling boy by wrapping him in my arms against his will and gently whispering, I love you, I love you, I love you, no matter what. Most children are relational and have the ability to reciprocate affection. But what happens when the child cannot communicate love? How does the relationship between parent and child grow and thrive when the child is not relational? What bonds parent and child together when the child does not share in the affection? How do you care for someone that resists your care with violence and opposes your very presence when even your presence is for his good? Now listen how he applies the truth of the past of the gospel to his problem right here. He says, the only possible way to make any sense of this kind of relationship is to experience it through the truly eternal love of God the Father. As I reflect on my seemingly one-sided relationship with my son, I am forced to see how it is sometimes a portrait of my own relationship with God. In the defiance of my son to be loved, cared for, and washed clean, I am shown a portrait of the cross. The one-sided violence of love reveals a blurred vision of my own redemption as a bloody, beaten, crucified savior wraps me in his arms, subdues me with his affection, and whispers in my ear, I love you, I love you. I love you no matter what. And this morning, dear Christian, as you go home and tonight you lay down your head on your pillow, listen to God whispering in your ears again that He did not spare His own Son for you on that bloody cross. He's saying to you, I love you, I love you, I love you, beloved Christian, no matter what, because I gave up my own son for you. Remember, look back at your past of the cross and apply that truth to your hardship now. Third and lastly, in the text, because the text has a refrain, right? Refrain in verse 7, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. That's the theme. He's with us. He's our refuge and strength. Now look at your present and see me with you. He's saying, look back at your past and see me there. And I'm here with you because I was in the past for you. And now, as if the author of Psalm 46 goes into a time machine, okay? He was in the past, now he gets in the DeLorean and goes now to the future. Now we go to the future in verses eight to the end. See, now it says, look to your future now. It says in verse eight, behold, Behold! Come! He's inviting us! Come! Come! Come! He's inviting all of us! What? What do you want? Behold! What do you mean by behold? Well, that verb is not a common word for common people. That's a verb used usually in the Bible for prophets. So he's telling us, come, let us have a prophetic vision, a eschatological vision, an end time vision of the future. Come, I'll show you. And then in verse nine it says, I will cease all war, all war until the end of the earth. You see, it's about the future. Come, I'll give you what I did, the desolations, that I'm gonna do in the future. I'm gonna cease and end all war. I'm gonna end all evil, all injustice. And he uses all the instruments of war at that time. The bow, the spear, and the chariots. They will be burned in the fire. It will be all gone. All problems, all difficulties, all battles and struggles and war and rumors of war will be done away! Come! You need to see that future! He says. So much so, and in verse 10, it makes all the sense, right? So well-known verse. when everything is so bad you see the future that awaits for us in the gospel then God stops the writer of Psalm 46 stops Instead of describing about your God in the third person, that he is your refuge and his strength, now in verse 10, God talks to you. See in verse 10? He's talking directly to you in verse 10 now. It says, be still and know that I am God. Isn't it an amazing kind of literature? You see all the ways that the persons are talking and describing about our God now. It's God speaking to you kids as God spoke to Moses and Abraham. As you see your future in the gospel, he says to all of us Christians and the enemies, both groups of people, his people and the enemies, and he says, as you see the future, be still, calm down. And I think this psalm is wonderful because in the beginning you see it's all a turmoil in the sea. You see the shaking of the mountains. Everything is crazy. Now here in verse 10, be still, calm. And let me talk to you as you see the future. I want you to see that I am God, that I will be exalted among the nations. I'll be exalted in the earth. For that reason, calm down. And you cease to struggle and fight against me if you are my enemy. Because the future will be mine. Know that I am God, that I will defeat all enemies. There will be no pain, no tears, no suffering. Be still and know that I am God. Be still and you will know it will be complete victory. You will know that I am God, that I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth. There will be no King Sennacherib, there will be no president, no emperor, no Biden, no leader in the future. Everyone will know I am the one who is God, I am the one who is King, I am the one who will be exalted. Therefore, be still, calm, calm. as you contemplate as a prophet that future for you and see who I am as your refuge and strength. And pay attention to this because this is unique Christian view of suffering that we have here in this psalm. On one hand, we must be realistic as we saw in the first point, right? Remember, be realistic. Things can get from bad to worse. But on the other hand, we have the God-given right to be romantics. To be romantics, why? Because in the future, God will end all evil and suffering, kids. Isn't it amazing? But the problem is that we think that we will live in this world forever. That's our problem. Our hearts is fixed in this falling world. But here you see the future having significance for now. New heaven and new earth are real. It must be relevant for now. The future must make a difference now in the present. Look to the future and let it make a difference now, Christians. When I look at my own life, that truth about the future of the gospel is not even on the radar of my life. It's so hard. But here today, God opened up our eyes to see that future. But you can even argue with me, I cannot think that way because I cannot see any purpose in my problem. With my suffering, what's the purpose? Come on, you're telling all of that but I don't see any reason or rhyme that I'm suffering like this. So let me give you one that I see here about this future of the gospel that I think all Christian should rejoice in. You know what it is? It is this, you see the text says everything is problem, we are going through difficulties, the world is shaking, but at the end, our God will be exalted among the nations. He will be exalted through suffering, through pain, through problems, with a wonderful future that all our suffering will be done, so that His name will be glorified and exalted among the nations. You see what the purpose is? That reminds me of the women in my homeland, in the church of my country, with so much pain, so much suffering, and I ask them, how can you endure so much pain? And they answer me, because of my God, who promised me that in my future, there will be no pain, no tears, no more suffering, and I will be with my Jesus. What a testimony! You're a suffering Christian, has missionary purpose. And especially when you are suffering, going through so much pain, that people can see the character of your Christ in your life. People around you in your home, people in your neighborhood, people around in the world, they will see how can they endure such a thing? Because the promises of the future of my Lord, I can look more like him. In his name be exalted among the nations. What other purpose better than this do you want? Do I want? That reminds me of a little girl. She was born with spina bifida, you know, that spine that divided in two as she was born. She cannot walk. She can only walk with crutches and wheelchair for the rest of her life. Eight, nine years old kid, that little girl. And one of the things that she loves the most is to see ballerinas dancing. ballerina dancing. And her pastor gave her a ticket to one of the most best concerts or shows of ballerina dancing. And she was so excited in the car. She looked at her, can you picture your own kid? Very happy. excited, and she's talking with her brother. Isn't it amazing, Levi, that I get to see the ballerina dancing? It's amazing that I get to see them. But do you know what is more amazing, Levi? Do you know what is more amazing, she said? One day, One day, my Jesus will come back. And when he comes back, he's gonna give me new legs. And the first thing that I'm gonna do with my new legs to dance for my Christ. a little girl of seven, eight, or nine years old have the capacity to see her future of the gospel and apply that truth for her reality that she will suffer for the rest of her life. And many of us, me included, to have that ability to do that every day of our lives. Today, this morning, It's for you and me to look to our future and see our Christ there. The problem is that our future hope is not real to us. It's not palpable. It's not even on our radar. No, in order for you to grow in sanctification, in your suffering, you must remember the gospel of the past, the gospel for the present, and the gospel promises of the future, as Psalm 46 teaches us this morning. And the psalm ends in verse 11 with the refrain, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Can you sing that? Let me end with this. Can you sing it with all your conviction and faith? When you see a hurricane of problems in your life, can you say it with all conviction? Oh, he is with me. He's my fortress, can you? How can you sing this song and know that God is with you when everything in your life is falling apart? How can you sing that and your life is a hurricane of problems? Let me answer with another question and then you can go home. What a question, 2,000 years ago, he cried out with his lungs filled with air on that bloody cross. He cried out, remember? My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you not my refuge now? He was crying. Why the Lord of hosts is not with me here? I cannot see it. It's just like darkness here at midday. Midday is midnight. I know the sun is there, but it's all dark. I cannot sense your presence here on this cross. My family, my friends, my disciples abandoned me and even my God is silent. Why am I suffering hell on this cross? So that God can look into your eyes, beloved Christians. and say to you once again, I did not spare my own son so that I would and could be with you forevermore, no matter what happens in your life. For this reason, we can sing the psalm with all conviction and all certainty that even if things get from bad to worse, even if everything is lost, the family and pleasure and goods are gone like we sang with Luther, my mighty fortress is our God. Based on this psalm, everything can fall apart. My God is with us, is with me. Because the circumstances of my life are not my ultimate authority. The circumstances are not the ones that tell me if my God is with me or not. No, my ultimate authority is the Holy Scripture, or more specifically, the gospel of Jesus Christ, who felt the forsakenness of God, so that I could be with my God for eternity. For this reason, the world may fall apart. Kids, I'm safe in Christ, refuge and strength. Christ is our very present help in the worst of troubles in this life. Glory be to Christ. What an amazing Savior you have. And if you don't, how can you deal with suffering in this life without him? Answer, how? How can you cope life without those promises and truths that you can find only in the gospel of Jesus Christ? Today is for you to come and believe it and have Him as your refuge and strength. As you look at your present, you see Him there. As you look back at your past, you see Him there again. And as you look to your future, You see the most amazing truth with your Christ because he died on that cross for you. Let us pray. Father, thank you so much for Christ. And once again, plead with you, please help us. to let that truth sink in in our minds and souls. Please, we pray for your Holy Spirit to open up our eyes as we live our lives with so much trouble and problems, but knowing that you love us, that you are a refuge and strength because of the gospel. In Jesus' name.