All right, well, welcome to Mercy Hill. My name is Brian Miller, one of the pastors here. And welcome on this 4th of July weekend. Whether your celebrations include fireworks, works, hot dogs, World Cup soccer, we do have a lot to be thankful for. Certainly, the ability to gather here as an assembly is something that we should not take for granted.
We're going to be continuing our series through the selected Psalms today. And the Psalms we're going to come to today is Psalm 46. Psalm 46 acknowledges that we live in an unpredictable and chaotic world. There are natural disasters, floods, and earthquakes that happen all the time. There is political unrest.
Wars and rebellions break out all the time. This is the reality in which we live. In Psalm 46. wants us to ask the question, where do we find security? Where do we go for a place of Refuge.
How many of you grew up in the 90s, Cassie, with a show of hands?
Okay, yep, you're my people, okay? I grew up in the 90s, and I don't know if you remember this show, Rescue 911.
Okay, Rescue 911. It was a show that reenacted real 91 emergency.
Sometimes you would actually hear the actual recordings of the call between the person in crisis and the dispatch person, and they would reenact it, right? And I want you to understand: like, hey, this wasn't me inadvertently coming across, flipping through the channels, and finding this. No, this was Tuesday night, 8 o'clock. My family in the living room, channel three, we're watching the newest episode. I don't know why my parents thought that that was a good idea for family-friendly entertainment.
I was terrified. I can remember wanting to go to sleep with all of my clothes dressed in case there was a fire that broke out and I had to evacuate immediately. It terrified me. You could probably relate to some childhood fears that you had. And maybe you have outgrown some of those fears, but every season of life.
brings its own set of new fears.
Now it seems more like when I go to bed and I'm about to lay my head on the pillow and just drift off into blissful unconsciousness. That is the time that my wife says, Did you lock the doors? And I'm beginning to second guess what I'm like, I think I did, but let me go check, and I get up and I go do that, right?
So one season of life, it may be a break-in. that we fear. And in other seasons in life, it may be a breakup that we fear, or it could be going bankrupt. We long for Security. As a society, as a culture, we spend billions of dollars.
On insurance policies to hopefully safeguard us from catastrophic disaster. We have been a culture of location notification apps and Front door doorbell cameras and backup generators and tax-sheltered savings funds. We long for security. It's been very hot here this Fourth of July weekend. In fact, this whole week here in North Carolina, it has been tremendously hot.
But if you recall, only a few months ago it was very cold. And when the winter storm was about to come through, you know, in North Carolina, good North Carolina fashion, everybody goes and runs for bread at the grocery store. And my family, likewise, was making these preparations. I can remember one of my children asks me, hey, what if the power goes out? I said, well, hey, have no fear.
Because we have a generator now. Right, and so he's asking questions about the generator, how it works, and stuff. And so then he asked, well, what if it runs out of gas? I said, Well, then we're out of power, right? It only took a couple questions for my son to get at the cracks in my security, just kind of reveal those cracks.
And when the cracks in our confidence begins to show, Our tendency is to panic. Our tendency is to fret. Did you know that almost every day in the United States, the United States President receives a briefing of the most severe threats to our national security? If the president was to go public with that information, was to share that with the country at large, it would be pandemonium. Right, it would be sheer chaos and panic.
Just because we aren't aware of those threats doesn't mean that they don't exist. Just because we can go to a grocery store and we can see that the shelves are stocked full of food doesn't mean that we are a few events away from a serious food crisis. We long for security, but we turn on the news and we see another earthquake. There's a ground. shaking beneath people's feet in an instance.
Now for some of you Before I started talking. Your biggest worry was thinking that maybe you left the oven on. And now we're all in these anxious knots. Right, thinking about the what-ifs, the what could be's. the instability, the unrest in our world.
And that's exactly what happens. When we begin our focus on the possible threats around us, rather than on the God. above us. And see, Psalm 46 takes a very realistic view of this chaotic and unpredictable world that we live in. It talks about natural disasters and political unrest, but Psalm 46 is not about those things.
Psalm 46 is about God. And that's where Psalm 46 begins. It's about his overwhelming power, his abiding presence, his enduring plan. God is our surest source of security.
So, I invite you to go with me to Psalm 46. The words will be on the screen as I read. Psalm 46, it starts with this inscription: it says, To the choir master of the sons of Korah. According to Alamoth, a song. Then verse 1.
God is Yeah. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help. in trouble. Therefore, We will not fear. Though the earth give 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. 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. She shall not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage. The kingdoms taught her. He utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come. Behold the works 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. Confidence starts with God. The very first words of this psalm or God Is We must start with the reality of God. God is more real than whatever worst-case scenario fears you have.
And every day we have the choice. Every day we have the choice. To either live in response to our fears. Order and response. To God.
See, the Bible itself It's not a religious handbook that says, hey, if you do these things, then perhaps God might. No, no, no. The Bible is the revelation of who God is. It tells us what he is like. It tells us what he has done.
And therefore We live accordingly. We live in response to who he is. and his ability of what he can do. God. is our refuge and strength, a very present help.
in trouble. Well, what is a refuge? A refuge, it's a shelter, it's a place that offers protection. It's where danger can't get at me. And we can look to God to shield us.
to protect us, to keep harm far, far away. But God is not only only a refuge. It says God is our refuge and strength. See, there are some things that God will protect us from, but there are other things that in His providence. He allows us to go through.
He permits them into our lives and These troubles that he permits. He provides the strength for us to endure. See, God's help does not mean that He keeps us away from crisis. God's help means that He keeps us through crisis. He never gives up on us.
He is always there. God is our refuge in strength. It's a picture of God's... Strength. of his power, his unbelievable.
Power. I mean in this psalm. We see waters that were roaring and foaming, he can channel into a life-giving river. He can make wars cease and he can make kingdoms topple. He merely speaks a word and creation is formed.
He is a mighty father. Fortress. You know, but what benefit? is such power If it is not guided and willed by goodness, like what benefit would God's power be? If his power was not exerted on our behalf, if it was completely unaccessible to us.
Well, God is our refuge and strength. A very present heaven. Help. in trouble. See, God is near.
The author of this psalm, inspired by God, is painstakingly trying to emphasize that God is very near. God is eager to help. God is eager to come to our aid. God does not need to sleep. God doesn't need to go on vacation.
God has not set up some automated customer service line. He bends his ear to hear. He stretches out his arm. to save. God is our refuge in strength, a very present help in trouble.
We see in this Psalm that God is really all that we need. And the picture of Psalm 46 is this. The picture of Psalm 46 is that God cares and God can. God cares and God can. How many times in life?
You've encountered, maybe you've even said this yourself: when someone is going through a really hard time, something difficult, you say, hey, There's anything you need. If there's anything I can do to help. Let me know. And those words are genuine, sincere. They convey sympathy and compassion.
But how many times those words really, there's nothing that person can do? That person can't change the circumstances, can't change the situation. But with God? His compassion is equally matched with his power. With his ability, with his strength.
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help. in trouble. Now some of you may be thinking, you know, My troubles, the troubles that I've experienced. Nothing so much as catastrophic. You know, like these disasters that we read about in this Psalm.
Well, I want to encourage you with some words by Elizabeth Elliott. Elizabeth Elliott, she was widowed twice in her life. The first time was in her late 20s when her and her husband Jim had moved to Ecuador. As missionaries to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ to a people group who had never heard of him. And two years into their work, Jim, he was murdered by those very people that they had went to love and serve.
About two years after that, amazingly, Elizabeth Elliott decide to return to those people, To continue the ministry that her and her husband had started, to continue loving them and sharing them without Jesus, and she did that. Remarkable story. Her life is one of forgiveness, of fortitude, of resiliency, of faith. And even as she demonstrated faith, in those hard times. It didn't insulate her from future trouble.
Because in her 40s, her second husband died. of cancer. And I realize that some of you, under the sound of my voice today, like you have received. The call of tragic news. Right, you have Experience being at the bedside of someone that you love who passes away.
You have experienced such troubles as Elizabeth Elliott went through, but others maybe have not. You say, I don't know that my trouble can compare.
Well, listen to the words that. she has to offer us. They'll be on the screen. It says the word is suffering. It's much too grand to apply to most of our troubles.
But if we don't learn to refer the little things to God, How shall we learn to refer The big ones. I love that. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Small trouble? or big trouble.
Any trouble that you may be facing, anything that is rocking your world, anything that is creating a feeling of instability under your feet, that is something worthy for you to take before God. That is something for you to see, not just the problem as it exists, but to see God who reigns over it all. Psalm 46. Verse 1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
Verse 2: Therefore. Therefore, we live in response to who God is. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth give 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. It's hard for me to think of a natural phenomenon that is more unsettling.
Then an earthquake. as is depicted here. Right? One minute. firm ground beneath your feet.
Building seems secure. The next minute everything is shaking. Right, we have the capabilities now to predict. The paths of hurricanes in at least enough time to know if we need to evacuate and get away. We have the ability to monitor storm clouds and thunderstorms and be able to heed warning and take shelter if perhaps a tornado might touch down.
Even volcanoes tend to smolder before they erupt. Right now, I can't imagine that even if a moon-sized meteor was heading towards the Earth. Set to collide with our Earth. I imagine that there will be enough time for us to see it coming and hopefully to send Bruce Willis up into space to blast it apart. But an earthquake is not so.
An earthquake happens in an instant. In 1811 and 1812, in the very heartland of our country. In a place called New Madrid, Missouri, if you've ever lived in Memphis, Tennessee, or you have friends or family there, they would be very familiar with what's called the New Madrid fault lines. When 1811 and 1812, these fault lines, the New Madrid fault lines, there was an earthquake, multiple earthquakes. and the tremors were so severe that James Madison in the White House could feel them.
That church bells in Boston, Massachusetts would ring spontaneously because of these tremors. It was amazing. Even for a moment, the mighty Mississippi ran backwards. And there was a lake, Realfoot Lake in Tennessee, that was created almost instantaneously by these earthquakes.
Well, there was a man by John Bradbury. He was a British traveler at the time, and he was going through, kind of exploring it, still very frontier-type land, and he was taking notes of it. And he documented that he saw sand and water shoot up higher than the tops of the trees. He said, as he was floating down the mighty Mississippi River, he came to a settlement. He said that the people there, he described them as distracted with fear.
That is a very good description of what fear does. Right, fear distracts us. Fear, it calls to our attention. Pay attention. It grabs us and it.
We focus on our fear. And it's hard to focus on anything else. It pushes aside all the other concerns. If we don't start with God. Fear will overrule us.
Our fear will be the only thing that we can see, the only thing that feels like it matters if we don't start. with God. Jesus knew this even when he taught us to pray. Right. Yes, Jesus wants us to ask him.
with our knees to ask him for our daily bread, but he said, begin. Acknowledging God and who He is. Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. We start with God. Your fear, it wants to lead you.
Your fear wants to be in charge. And here are some of the ways that I've seen fear leading people. The security Found in a salary keeps people from pursuing God's call. The security of a spouse justifies dating a guy who doesn't follow Jesus. The security of savings.
robs people. of the joy of generosity. The security of status or appearance causes people to invest and expend an enormous amount of time with fitness and Cosmetic and apparel to the neglect of being rich in good works and loving their neighbor.
Now, salaries, savings, spouses, these are not evil things, right? These are good things. These are gifts from God. But the point is, they are not our ultimate source for security. Another story from history.
is in the 1920s after World War I. In Germany, the German currency completely plummeted. There's an account of one school teacher who was entering his retirement. And he had been very diligent. All of his life, he lived on less than he had earned to save enough so he would have a comfortable retirement.
He should have had that. But he kept he found that when he came to retirement, all of those savings He couldn't Use them to buy a loaf of bread. Things were so bad that it is told that middle class families would pile all of the cash savings that they had into wheelbarrows and take them to the store, hoping to buy something, only to find that the wheelbarrow itself was worth more than the mounds of cash. They'd worked hard. They saved diligently.
They plan for the future, yet forces outside of their control. And their wealth. evaporated. Their savings were only an illusion. of security.
So where do you find security? Where do you go for Refuge. Can you identify it? Is it your retirement account? Is it a relationship?
Is it an ability that you have? You know, sometimes it's one thing one day, and then the next day it's another thing that we go to for our security. I've recently I've talked to some high school students and college students and And some of them are in a little bit of a frenzy trying to... trying to pivot and and think of, okay, well what What degree do I need to pursue now? What career path do I need to follow because of the way that artificial intelligence, AI has just completely changed things.
It's revolutionizing the workplace. This world around us, it's unpredictable. It's ever-changing, but God remains the same.
So though the earth gives way, though the mountains tremble, Our God. is a refuge and strength, a very present help. in trouble. Look back at verse 4. It says, 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. She shall not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. I love this imagery. The waters that were once foaming and swelling, God now orders and channels into a river that makes glad.
It brings joy to a city. In ancient times, the easiest way to defeat a city was to cut off their water supply. But a city who had a protected water source could outlast their enemy. And again, we see this picture of God's presence being the ultimate factor that preserves his people, even when trouble comes knocking at their gates. Verse 6: The nations rage, the kingdoms totter, he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Come, behold the works 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. So now the imagery of the psalm shifts from one of natural catastrophe to international crises. Here, the nations are raging. Once it was the waters foaming, now the nations are raging.
This is battle language. E even that. Come and observe. Come, behold the works of the Lord. It's almost like a taunt.
to the other nations? Like, hey, hey, come and see who is on our side. Come and see our God who fights for us. The word host usually refers to armies.
So, to say that he is the Lord of hosts, he is God of hosts, means that the Lord is in control, not of one army, but of many. Even heaven's armies are under his command. English translations Say, Lord Almighty.
Sometimes, right? To convey this idea that God is the most powerful. He has no equal, he has no rival. This is a battle song. And what's interesting is that throughout history, There have been different groups, different nations.
Armies on opposing sides who have both claimed 46 for themselves. Who, before entering into battle, have read Psalm 46 or sung a song that was based off Psalm 46. Right, it's a song of confidence. Hey, God, He's with us, God is on our side. I can remember watching a movie one time and kind of provoked this idea of.
God being on both sides of the battle. And the soldier just simply said, You know, I imagine God gets pretty tired. of being called down on both sides of this war. It's an interesting Fall. And each of us would do well to ask ourselves.
Am I and God? On the same side? Like, what right do I have, do we have, to claim Psalm 46? as truth for us.
Well this week I've been wondering why God Had the author of this psalm or authors Use the phrase, God of Jacob. It's repeated twice, verses 7 and verse 11. That's how it ends. God of Jacob. is our fortress.
Anytime that things are repeated in scripture, it's a clue to take note. Hey, here's something important.
So I've been really thinking about this. Is God of Jacob the phrase that's used? God is often referred to, especially in the Old Testament, as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. And God of Jacob can be just kind of a shorthand way of referring to the same thing. And God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is a reminder that God is the God of his promises.
He's the God who has made a covenant with his people. He's committed himself to his people. Also, Only the tribes of Israel could trace their ancestry back to Jacob. Right for example, there were other peoples that were living in the land like the Edomites for example Who they could claim Abraham and Isaac as their forefathers, but they could not claim Jacob. That was Israel alone.
And so the point is, the God of Jacob. is specifically referring to the God of Scripture. The God of the Bible. Not the God that... We kind of fashion ourselves because hey, we like what this Group says about God, and we like this idea of what God may be like over here.
It's like, no, no, no, no. Only the God of the Bible can save. If you are counting. on any other God to save, that God cannot save. It's a false god.
But perhaps God inspired this very phrase, God of Jacob, to add. even another layer of depth to this song.
So, if you go back and you read the story of Jacob, it's found in the book of Genesis. Jacob lived a life that was full of trial and trouble.
Now, a lot of that Trouble and trial. because of his own actions. Right, like Jacob himself, his name. It means heel grabber, right? Because even when he was born, he was trying to like grab his twin brother's heel.
And he was doing that all throughout life. He was trying to trip other people up so that he could get ahead. He was always scheming. He was always navigating, always deceiving to try to get himself. Ahead.
And it created massive issues in his family. You think your family has issues? Jacob's family had some issues. His family was marked with bitterness. Envy Deception.
Looting, murder, retribution, extortion. You name it. Jacob lived on the run, fearing what was behind him pursuing him. and also fearing what lie Ahead. Towards the end of his life.
He described his life as evil and unpleasant. He lived through many worst case Scenarios. But through all the darkness that seemed to follow Jacob, What his story reveals is it reveals God's commitment to preserve. His people. To preserve them through trouble.
to preserve them through famine, to preserve them through war. Not because of Jacob's Good intentions? Not because of Jacob's moral behavior, not because of any altar that Jacob erected. No, God. was faithful.
on the basis of his promise. On the fact that he had committed to these people. And so we learned that our confidence It's not even in our own faithfulness. Our confidence is only in God and His faithfulness. His faithfulness to His promises.
Well, what are God's promises? The main promise traced throughout Scripture Is the promise that God would send. A son. A son who would defeat Satan and death. A son who would rule forever, a kingdom marked by peace and justice.
The image of this psalm where Instruments for war are completely done away with. The chariots are burned, and there's this kingdom, this ruler. That is God's promised son, a son who would come in the line of Abraham, Isaac. And Jacob. And we see that this promise is fulfilled in the man, Jesus Christ.
So our confidence It's Jesus. Colossians 1 says that Jesus is the one who holds all things together. Jesus is our refuge from sin. And he removes even the fear of death. The same God, who is faithful to preserve his people, is our God through Jesus.
Well, now we come to a very famous verse in Psalm 46. Psalm 46:10. It says, be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.
This verse is often found on coffee mugs and pillows and on paintings of very pastoral scenes, like a bubbling brook. meant to kind of evoke this these calm feelings. This rightly This verse rightly has a place of prominence in our life. It's a very important verse. But this verse, it's not a whispered invitation.
This verse is a warning. in a command. I think we can get that when we understand the way parents often have to warn their child, right? Their toddler who just can't sit still, who can't be quiet. What do they say?
They say, be still. It's like the final warning. It's like, hey, if you don't settle down, if you don't pay attention, then, hey, there's going to be some severe consequences you're going to have to pay.
So to be still means to give your full attention. To God. Is he far more dangerous? Then an earthquake? or a hurricane.
Or nuclear war. is to ignore God. To live this life without reference to him. See, to ignore God is our greatest. Peril.
Have you given God your full attention? This psalm has revealed God's power. The Psalm has revealed God's presence, and now we see it reveal God's plan. God's plan, His enduring plan, is to be exalted. Jesus will be exalted.
Above all nations, above all rulers, above all powers, above everything. Jesus is far mightier than any storm or any army. Jesus is the one who could utter the words: Be still, and the wind and the waves obey him. But those who continue to oppose him. He will melt away.
and destroy. This is why we are so passionate here at Mercy Hill. About seeing people go from where the gospel is to the places where the gospel is not. Because we understand that Christ will one day reign over the entire earth. We understand that every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord.
And we desire that that would be a day of gladness for those people rather than a day of destruction.
So we go. And we share. Because to ignore God is your greatest peril. But on the flip side, if we Are still If we surrender to him. Then we can know his saving power.
Right? We we can know His sustaining presence, we can know. His enduring plan. God is our refuge and strength. a very present help in trouble.
Therefore, we will not fear. You know, there are so many things in this life. that we don't know. Right. There are outcomes that we can't predict.
There are things that happen and we don't know why. But even though there's so much that we don't know, one thing we can know. is that God remains on his throne. That God is supreme and our confidence is in him. You know, fear has this affect to agitate us.
Right, fear stirs us. Fear wants us to move. It's fight or flight. That's what fear is designed to do. Stillness, on the other hand, it happens.
when we realize that neither fighting nor fleeing will do any good. To be still is to surrender. To rest, to trust. You know, our fears, they show us what we truly value. I have never feared.
any harm coming to my daughter. I have never feared. Her being Abused or taken. I've never feared her growing up and walking away from the values that I have worked hard to instill. You know why?
Because I don't have a daughter. But I have three boys. And those fears are a daily battle. They can so easily become the focal point of my life. And direct all my decisions that fear can.
Try to lead me. If I don't bring God. into the picture. Say, God, you're far above it all. God, you love them more than I love them.
If you fear. Going down in a plane crash. It's because you value your life. And you should value your life. God values.
Your life.
So our fears, they show us what we value. But our faith Shows us that Even more than we fear losing our own life, we can entrust. The one who gave us life. Centuries ago. Christians Followers of Jesus, believers, they asked a very, very important question.
They asked this question. They said, What is our only comfort in life and death. What is our only comfort in life and death? And here's the answer that they thought of, and they wrote it down so that they could teach it to their children, they could pass it on from generation to generation to generation. The answer to the question: What is our only comfort in life or death?
is this. It's so good. That we are not our own. But that we belong both body and soul. to God.
We can entrust ourselves to Him because He is trustworthy. He has proven that by sending his son Jesus, who died. In our place for our sin to deliver us. from our sin and the fear of death. Did you know that if you are in Jesus?
If you are on God's side, if you've surrendered to him, then not a hair from your head can fall without him permitting it to do so. He keeps you. And no matter what life throws its way.
So though the earth gives way, Do the mountains tremble? God is our refuge and strength, a very present help. in trouble. Though nations rage The threats of war Come God is our refuge and strength. A very present help.
in trouble. They're the cancer returns. And you lose your ability. Though you lose the account and your job is replaced. Though your spouse abandons you.
Your children walk away. Though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. God is. God is. Our refuge and strength.
a very present help. in trouble. As we close, I'm going to invite us just into a moment of reflection.
So put away your notes. Close your Bibles and You don't have to do this, but I'd invite you to even just bow your head and close your eyes, just to create an opportunity to not be distracted by anything else in the room. Not trying to embarrass anybody, not going to call anybody out. I just want to lead you in this moment of response because, really, the application of this message is simply to assess. To ask the question, What is it that I tend to put my trust in?
other than Jesus. And if God's Spirit Has helped you to identify something that you tend to put your trust in that is not him. Then the most important question that I could pose to you is this. Are you willing to transfer that trust to Christ? The way that we transfer our trust is to declare our need.
To say, God, this is bigger than I can handle. And I need you. I need you to guide me through this. I need you to be present with me. I need your power in my life.
Here in a moment, we're going to have an opportunity where the band comes and leads us in a song that is all about us surrendering. us declaring, God, I need you. You. And so I encourage you to respond to God in that moment. Let me pray for you, Father.
We believe. that your power is for us. God, we believe that your presence is with us. And God, we believe that your plan will never fail. Your plan, it directs us and it leads us for our ultimate good and your greater glory.
So Father, give us the faith to respond to you. rather than live life responding to our fears. In Christ's name I pray. Amen. Mm.
