God Our Helper | Psalm 46

[music] Well, please open in your Bible if you will to Psalm 46. As I was praying about what the Lord would have us study together this morning, uh he put on my heart one of the greatest among the Psalms, Psalm 46. And the title of this Bible study is God our helper. God our helper. And the text we're going to look at is Psalm 46. And as we come to God's word, let's pause and let's pray. And as we come to pray, if you will do me a huge favor, if you would please just hold your open Bible out in front of you as we pray. Uh that would be so great. Let's pray. Can we? Heavenly Father, there are no words in all the languages of the world combined that could thank you enough, for the Bible, for this book that we hold in our hands. It is the greatest book in the world. It is the greatest book in all of human history. or this book and only this book is the word of the living God, the very breath of God. We thank you Lord that your word always tells us the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. We thank you that your word is living and active. It's powerful, Lord. That as we study the Bible, something happens in our minds and our hearts. And so we pray your Holy Spirit would make the word of God come alive today in a way that we will never ever forget it. Well, thank you, bless you, and praise you for it. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Well, 110 miles southeast of Salt Lake City, there's an interesting little town called Helper, Utah. And the origin of the name of that town helper is rather interesting. Way back in the era of the steam locomotives, when a train would come to the base of very a very uh high and steep hill, a hill it was unable to get over on its own. What they would do is they would attach the train to the back of a much more powerful locomotive that they called a helper. that it would attach the train to the helper and then that helper would pull the train and all of its cars up and over whatever mountain it was facing. Well, down in Carbon County, Utah, there is one of the steepest climbs in all of the United States of America. It's called Soldier Summit and it goes up and up and up and up and up and up and up for 15 miles. It goes straight up until it reaches a high height of 7,500 ft. And no ordinary train could get up and over Soldier Summit on its own. So at the base of Soldier Summit, there was a little town and that town had a helper and trains would attach themselves to that helper locomotive and the helper would pull them up and over Soldier Summit and onto the other side. And so in 1881, that little town voted to officially call it its name Helper, Utah. Amazing. And do you know, you can still go to Helper Utah today. And and you can still watch trains attached to a helper. Even with all of our technology and powerful engines today, they still cannot get over Soldier Summit on their own. They need to connect to a helper that will pull them up and over. Now, I love that illustration because you're already ahead of me and you know that this is a great illustration of God and us. In case you haven't figured it out, life is filled with many mountainous obstacle. You will face many things in your life that on your own in your own ability and your own strength, you will not be able to get up and over them. But if you will attach the train of your life to the helper of who God is, God will pull you up and over whatever mountain you are facing. And this is exactly what Psalm 46 is about. It's about God our helper. But to understand the psalm, you got to understand the story behind the psalm. It is one of the most incredible, dramatic, amazing stories in all of the Bible. In fact, it's such an amazing story that the Bible tells it three times. You can read it in second Kings 18-19. You can read it in 2 Chronicles 32. And you can read it in Isaiah 36. Three times it tells this incredible, this amazing story. It's the story of a godly king named Hezekiah. who's being attacked and surrounded by an evil, wicked king named Sinakarb. About 700 years before the time of Christ, there was a wicked, evil king named Sinakarb. And he wanted to go and destroy the city of Jerusalem. And so he sent his soldiers and they surrounded the city of Jerusalem. They surrounded Jerusalem with 185,000 soldiers. Now 185,000 soldiers is a lot of soldiers when your city is only 25,000 people. And you can imagine how they must have felt as they were holed up in the city of Jerusalem. They were anxious. They were worried. They were afraid. What is going to happen to us? But thankfully they had a prophet who was in the city with him. His name was Isaiah. And Isaiah prophesied the word of the Lord to him to them. He said, quote, "Thus says the Lord, do not be afraid, for I will help you. I will deliver you, says the Lord." End quote. Well, Hezekiah, he believed in God. He grabbed a hold of that promise of God. He called all of his soldiers. He called all of his people to the square in the center of the city. And here's what he said to them. He said, ' Be strong and courageous. Be not afraid of the king of Assyria, nor of all the multitude that is with him, for there be more with us than there are with him. With him is the arm of the flesh. But with us is the Lord our God. He is our refuge. He is our strength. He is our help." End quote. Well, what happened? The Bible tells us that Hezekiah and all of the people in Jerusalem, they went to bed. They went to sleep. And in the middle of the night, the Lord of Hosts, the God of angel armies, sent just one angel. And that angel came down AND WIPED OUT all 185,000 Assyrian soldiers. I have a word for that. Wow. Incredible. One of the some of the most amazing victories IN ALL OF THE BIBLE. SO MUCH SO IT tells the story three times. And not long after that amazing victory, Jewish tradition tells us that Hezekiah is actually the one who wrote Psalm 46. At the top of it, it says the sons of Kora, but they were just the musicians. And they took this psalm that Hezekiah wrote and they included it into the book of Psalms because there is no other psalm that so exalts and glorifies God as our refuge and our strength and our help like Psalm 46. Look then with new eyes at Psalm 46. Look then with new understanding thinking about the children of Israel holed up in Jerusalem surrounded by all these soldiers and then how God brought them this great victory and then you'll really understand Psalm 46. Look at what Hezekiah wrote. He said, "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. Even though the earth be removed, though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though the waters roar and be troubled, though the mountain shake with its swelling. Say law. There is a river whose stream shall make glad the city of God, Jerusalem, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most high. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her. Just the break of dawn. The nations raged. The kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Say la come behold the works of the Lord who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and he cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariot in 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 refuge. Sah. This is a psalm about God our helper. Now notice if you will three key words that we see in this psalm. The first key word is the most important word in the psalm is so important. I want every single one of you to circle in your Bible right now. The fir the the key the key word of the psalm is the first word of the psalm. God. Circle that right now. God. This is a psalm about God. Did you know 15 times God is mentioned in just 11 verses? God. God. God. God. God. God. God. God. God. God is the star of the show. God is the center of the stage. This is all about God. Interesting. In in just a short psalm, this psalm gives six Hebrew names of God. If you're a careful student of the Bible, maybe you have heard Pastor David Rosales use these names of God before, but six beautiful Hebrew names of God. Five times he's called Elohheim, which means God. Three times he's called Jehovah, which means Lord. Two times he's called Jehovah Saboth, which means the Lord of hosts, or better, the God of angel armies. Two times he's called Elohim Yob, the God of Jacob. One time he's called Llan, which means God most high. And one time he's called El Shadai, which means God Almighty. God, God, God, God, God. Six Hebrew names about God. And what is it about God in this psalm? Second key word. Everyone circle in your Bible right now in verse one, the word help. God is a help. That's what this psalm is all about. What you notice is so beautiful. You notice he's not just a help. He's a present help. I love that word present in Hebrew. It means a speedy help. It means uh in the nick of time help. It means just when you need him most help. But God is not only a present help. You saw it. You You caught it there. He's a very present help. Oh, I like that. He is not just a speedy help. He's a very speedy help. He's not just a in the nick of time help. He's a very in the nick of time help. He He's not uh just when you need him most help. He's a very just when you need him most help. God help. The third key word. You saw it. An unusual word repeated three times. The word say la. Say la. Say la. Say laah. At the end of verse three, say la. At the end of verse seven, say la. At the end of verse 11, say la. Say la. Say la. Say laah. You say, "Pastor Larry, what does mean?" Well, I'm glad you asked because I'm going to explain it. It's going to bless your heart and you'll never forget it. Sa, as best we can tell, was a musical term. You remember Psalm 46 is not just a chapter in the Bible. It's a song. And it was what it was. It was a pause in the song. So there could be a musical sort of interlude. So they would sing verse 1 to three. Then there would be a pause while the music's playing. Then they would sing verse 4 to 7. Then there would be a pause while the music was playing. Then in verse 8 to 11, there would be a pause and the music playing. Kind of like if you've ever been to a traditional church that sings hymns. They got a piano and an organ. You sing out of a hymbook and you sing one verse and then the piano and organ play a little interlude. Then you sing a second verse and the piano organ play a little interlude. Then you sing a third verse and the piano organ play a little interlude. So there's a pause, a pause, a pause. Why the pause? The reason for the pause was so you could think about what you just sang because we have a bad habit. We often sing things and we don't we're not really thinking about what we're singing. We sing I surrender all. Really? Probably not. [laughter] But we sing it and it sounds good. But God wants us to stop and think about what it is that we're singing. And Psalm 46 is so important. God put three pauses in it. Three says in it. Say you say, "What does that mean?" I I believe it means stop and think. Stop and think. They would sing verse 1 to three, stop and think. They would sing verse 4 to 7, stop and think. They would sing verse 8 to 11. Stop and think. Think about what? Think Think about three things about God. Three say los because there are three things about God, our helper. Number one, God is a refuge. Number two, God is a river. And number three, God is a ruler. In verse 1 to3, he's a refuge. In verse 4-7, he's a river. In verse 8 to 11, he's a ruler. A first thing we see about God in Psalm 46 is that he is a refuge. That's verse 1:3. Look there again. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. Even though the earth be removed, even though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with his swelling, say, "Lot." Now, there's a lot here, but the key is in verse one. Go back there again. God is our what? Underline it. Circle it. God is our refuge. refuge. Now, a refuge was a place of safety and security that people who were in danger, they would run into that place and they would be safe. Now, keep in mind who this was referring to. The people of God are holed up in the city of Jerusalem with the Assyrians surrounding them. And Jerusalem, they're in the walls of Jerusalem. And Jerusalem was their refuge. But God taught them a lesson and that is there's a better refuge than earthly refues and that's the heavenly refuge of God. Every refuge we can run to on this earth is nothing at all compared to the refuge of who God is. You know this idea that God is a refuge is found all over the Bible. We don't have time enough to mention all the verses but let me give you three of them. Nahome 17, the Lord is good. He is a refuge in the time of trouble. Proverbs 18:10, the name of the Lord is a strong tower. The righteous run into it and they are safe. In Isaiah 25 and verse4, Isaiah says,"Oh Lord, you have been a refuge, a refuge for the needy in their distress, a shelter in the time of storm." I like that. A shelter in the time of storm. Many years ago, there was a worship leader who wrote a song called A Shelter in the Time of Storm. I love the words to that old song. Three verses. It says, "The Lord is our rock. In him we hide, a shelter in the time of storm. Secure whatever ill betide. A shelter in the time of storm." Second verse. The raging storms may round us beat. A shelter in the time of storm will never leave our safe retreat. A shelter in the time of storm. Third verse. Oh savior strong. Oh refuge dear, a shelter in the time of storm. Listen, listen, listen. Be thou our helper always near, a shelter in the time of storm. God is helper. God is a refuge. God is a safe place. They tell us the safest place in the world. They tell us the most secure place on the planet is a place in Washington DC. It is deep, deep down below the east wing of the White House. It is called the president's bunker. They tell us it's the most secure place in the world. What happened in World War II? The Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. Our government leaders realized if they do that to the White House, we're in real trouble. So, they decided to make the president's bunker. They dug below the east wing of the the White House. They dug down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down, down. 2,000 ft. They dug down. They created a huge bunker down under the ground. And that bunker has enough food and water to last for years. It has technology and screens and everything that the president can be in contact with anyone and everyone all around the world. If there's a natural disaster or the threat of nuclear war, they take the president, they shove him in a high-speed elevator, zip, 2,000 ft, he goes down, and he's IN THE SAFEST PLACE IN THE WORLD. WELL, I got NEWS FOR THE PRESIDENT AND ALL OF YOU. There's a safer place, and it's God. God is the most secure place in the world, not the president's bunker. Psalm 91:1, he who dwells in the secret place of the most high will abide in the shelter of the Almighty. I've written in my Bible, the bunker of the Almighty. God's the safest place and the righteous run into God and they are safe. No wonder [laughter] Hezekiah said, "Stop, pause, and think about it. Do you remember the times when you were surrounded by enemies? You were s sur surrounded by trouble and you had no way out. You had nowhere to go. You had nobody to help you. And then you got down on your knees and you cried out to the Lord and all of a sudden you found yourself in the most secure place on the planet. You found yourself in the bunker of God. Pause. Think about it. Take a few hours this afternoon and think about it. God is not only a refuge, he is a river. That's what we see in verse 4 to7. Notice there again, there he is a river whose stream shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the most high. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God will help her. Just at the break of dawn, the nations raised, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. Sah not much here. But the key again is back here in verse four. Look there. There is a underline circle it. There is a what? A river. Verse one says he's a refuge. Verse four says he's a river. Now, when it says here, there is a river that makes glad the city of God, Jerusalem, as a careful student of the Bible, you have a big question right now. As a careful student of the Bible, when you read those words, there's a river that makes glad the city of God jumps off the page at you. And the reason why is because Jerusalem didn't have a river. That's what made it unusual. Many cities in ancient times and modern times are built right by a river. That way you have rivers that you can get fish out of it. You can get water out for cooking and cleaning. You can use it for transportation or whatever. But Jerusalem did not have a river. So you say, "Pastor Larry, what in the world is Hezekiah talking about when he says there is a river that makes glad the people of God?" Well, I'm so glad you asked, cuz I'm going to explain it to you. When I do, it'll bless your heart so much you'll never ever forget it. Jerusalem didn't have a river, but it did have a source of water. It was called the spring of Guihon. Outside of the walls on the southeast corner of the city was the spring of Gion. And every day the people in Jerusalem would take their big old pots. They would go down to the spring of Gon. They would dip it in the water. They would take the water back to their houses so they would have water for cooking and cleaning and bathing and all of those kinds of things. They didn't have a river, but they did have a source of water, the spring of Guon. But Hezekiah hears Sakarim's coming and he's going to surround the city and he knows that all Sagar has to do is cut them off from their water supply and they're defeated. So Hezekiah has a genius idea. Really, it wasn't his idea. It was a God idea. God put the idea in his mind. What he did is he got two teams of diggers right below Jerusalem. He had one team of diggers out at the spring of Gon outside the walls. He had another team of diggers. And they begin digging toward each other. Listen, listen, listen. With nothing more than pickaxes and shovels, they were digging through solid rock. Unbelievable. And they started digging toward each other. They dug a tunnel 1,750 ft. I have a word for that. WOW. AND WHEN they had dug toward each other, miraculously, they met right in the middle. Even modern engineers don't know how did they meet in the middle. I can tell them it was God. God was guiding them. They met right in the middle. The minute they met in the middle, all of a sudden the water from the spring of Gon started flowing through that tunnel to Jerusalem. What Hezekiah did is covered up the spring of Gon so that the when the enemy came, he didn't know there was any source of water. And then they had all the water they needed. They could last out anytime they wanted. They call 1,750 ft. They call that tunnel Hezekiah's tunnel. Uh you can go to Jerusalem today and you can actually walk through Hezekiah's tunnel. I've been through it myself. If you are claustrophobic, don't do it. [laughter] It's only about 5t tall. It's about three feet wide. It is pitch black and you are waiting through waste deep water. If you're claustrophobic, don't do it. 1,750 f feet. You get in the middle, man, it's a little dicey in there. You're like, yay. But it's amazing to go in there and see all the chisel marks on the wall and be standing in the very water the people of God would drink from. Oh, listen. There is a river that makes glad the city of God. It's a secret river. The enemy doesn't know about it. [laughter] He comes along AND THINKS, "I GOT HIM. They don't have any provision. They don't have any resource. I got them." And then the people of God just keep getting blessed and blessed and blessed. Oh, there is a river. And God is that river. There are many Bible teachers who think the Apostle Paul actually had this picture in mind when he wrote Philippians 4:1 19. And my God will supply sacred supply. It's coming out underneath. My God will supply everything you need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Amazing. There's a river and that river is God. They tell us the largest river in the world is the Amazon River. It is 4,000 miles long. It is 15 miles wide and every second it empties out 60 million gallons of water into the ocean. I have a word for that. Wow. Are you kidding me? 60 million gallons of water a second. Can you imagine one little daisy at the mouth of the Amazon River all worried and afraid? I'm not going to have enough water. There's not going to be enough water for me. The great Bible teacher FB Meyer once wrote, "God is to us like the Amazon River flowing to water the single daisy of our lives. Dear ones, I'm here to tell you today that God is not only enough, he's more than enough. He's not only more than enough. He's way MORE THAN ENOUGH. He's beyond WHAT YOU CAN IMAGINE OR THINK ENOUGH. He will supply to you whatever it is that you need. and he will especially supply to you his peace. Do you know what's interesting? In the Bible, it often likens God's peace to a river that flows to the believer's mind and heart. Years ago, there was a worship leader named Francis Havgle, and she got sick. Really sick. So sick, she almost died. But the Lord God brought her through it all. And amazing in the whole ordeal, she just had the peace of God, a peace that passes all understanding. And when she got through the ordeal, she wrote a song about it. A great song called Like a River Glorious. Says, "Like a river glorious is God's perfect peace overall victorious in its bright increase. Perfect yet it flowth. Fuller every day. Perfect yet it groweth. Deeper all the way stayed upon Jehovah. Hearts are fully blessed. Finding as he promised perfect peace and rest. There is a river and that river is God. It's a secret river and God will bring you his peace and you will discover it's a peace that passes all understanding. And I know that with absolute certainty. The Thanksgiving of 2005 is a Thanksgiving I'll never forget as long as I live. We had just purchased a new home out in the new area of Fontana and we wanted to have all of our family over to enjoy Thanksgiving for with us. And so they started arriving the day before Thanksgiving. Piles and piles of people came into the house and uh the everybody was so excited to just be together eating and enjoying Thanksgiving together. And so we all went to bed and we had people sleeping everywhere. They were sleeping in the bedrooms. They were sleeping in the kitchen. They were sleeping in the dining room. They were sleeping in the TV room. They were sleeping in the hallways. They were almost sleeping in the bathroom, but not quite. I mean, they were everywhere. And we were all excited. And then all of a sudden, at 2:00 a.m., my phone rang. And I thought, "Who's that? Who would call at 2:00 a.m. on Thanksgiving. I picked up the phone. It was my mother's pastor up in Oregon." And he said, "Um, Larry, I'm so sorry to tell you your stepdaddy died tonight." What did you say, "Larry, I'm so sorry. Your your stepdaddy died tonight." What are you talking about? No way. What happened? He said, "Your mama was watching TV. Your stepdaddy was on the computer checking his Facebook. All of a sudden, he stood up, grabbed his head, AND SAID, "MY HEAD. MY HEAD." AND HE FELL FACE down into the sofa and he was dead instantly. An aneurysm had exploded in his brain. Your stepdad is dead. And then he said, "Your mama is so brokenhearted. Could you come up and be with your mama?" I said, "Well, of course. There's nothing that would stop me from being with my mama." So, I hung up the phone and we're trying to get a flight at 2 am on Thanksgiving, right? Well, we did. We got a flight. I flew up there, a friend of hers and my mama picked me up at the airport. We went on to my mom's house. We ate a little dinner. By then, it was late, so we went to bed and I crawled into the guest bed and and I could hear my mama crying in the next room. It was her first night without her husband. It was her first night without the love of her life. I quietly got up and I stood in the doorway of my mama's bedroom and I said, "Mama." I said, "Would you like me to come lay down beside you for a little while?" "Oh, please." And I assure you there was nothing weird going on. She was under the covers. I was over the covers, right? But I laid on top of the covers there. I just reached over and grabbed my mama's hand and I held my mama's hand and she cried herself to sleep. And God is by witness that in that dark room all of a sudden there was a peace that started flowing to my mind and my heart. It was like a river. It was a peace that passes understanding. A peace I can't even begin to explain to you. It was the peace of God like I've never experienced in my life before or since. Oh, there is a river and I know that for sure. NO WONDER HEZEKIAH SAID, "SA, stop and think about it. Some of you in the sound of my voice know exactly what I'm talking about. You lost your mom or your dad. You've lost your husband or your wife. God forbid you've lost one of your children and you're so heartbroken. But there is a river and that river is God. And he will help you. He will flow to you his peace. But God is not only a refuge in a river. He's he's a ruler. This is what we see in verse 8 to 11. Verse 8, "Come, behold the works of the Lord, who made desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease in the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariot in fire." Stop there. You say, "What in the world is he talking about?" Let's make it simple. Verse eight, he's the Lord of nature. Verse 9, he's the Lord of nations. Come, behold the works of the Lord. He's the Lord of nature. He's got the whole world in his hand. >> He's sitting on the throne ruling and reigning. And he's the Lord over nations. The nations ARE BUT A DROP in the bucket to God. He raised up the Babylonians, put him aside. He raised up the Persians, put him aside. He raised up the Greeks, put him aside. He raised up the Romans, put him aside. God, listen, is the Lord over nations. But I got good news for you, dear ones, this morning. He is not only the ruler over nature and the ruler over nations. He's your ruler and he's my ruler. God is still on the throne right now. That's why verse 10 says, "Be still. Be still and know that I am God." The Hebrew reads, "Cease striving and know that I am God." Be still and know that I am God. The Hebrew reads, "Stop worrying and know that I am God." Be still and know that I am God. The Hebrew reads, "Rest easy and know that I am God." Be still and know that I am God. The Hebrew reads, "Calm down. Calm down and know that I am God." Be still and know that I am God. What does that mean? Best illustration is of sweet old lady named Agnes Smith. During World War II, Agnes Smith lived in London and the Nazis were bombing London every single night, night after night after night. And what they would do in London is uh the night after bombing in the morning, they would do roll call to make sure everybody in their neighborhood was accounted for. Well, in Agnes Smith's neighborhood, they had bombing one night. Next morning, they start to do the roll call and Agnes isn't there. People are worried. Where is this sweet old lady? So they look here, there, everywhere. Finally, they found Agnes Smith. She was asleep in her bed. And they said, well, how in the world with all this explosion, this noise? How could you sleep? How could you sleep when everybody thought they was going to die? How could you be asleep in your bed? I love her response. She said, "Well, the Bible says that God never sleeps. So, since I knew God was going to be up all night, I just went to bed. [laughter] I love it. But isn't that what Hezekiah did? When God said, "I'll protect you. I'll deliver you. I'll help you." Hezekiah and the people, they just went to bed. Be still. Be still and know the Lord is God. Verse 10. 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 refuge. Now, notice one last thing. So much here, but notice one last name of God right there in verse 11. Underline the name Lord of Hosts. A very unique, beautiful name of God. Lord of hosts. Someone asked a good question. What are the hosts? Well, some Bible teachers think the host here are stars because sometimes in the Old Testament it says the stars are the host. Like Isaiah 40 26, he brings out the host by number and calls them all by name. So Lord of hosts could be the God the creator God. That would be wonderful. But most often host in the Old Testament refers to angels. And here where God has delivered his people through an angel that wiped out all those soldiers. Clearly it's referring to angels. So Lord of hosts really could be translated the God of angel armies. And our God is no ordinary God. Our God is a God of angel armies. And all those angels are there to help you and me. See, we take the Bible literally. And because I take the Bible literally, I know with absolute certainty that there are twice as many beings in this room as I can see with my eyes. Because there are angels in this room. We cannot see them. But you and I have at least one guardian angel, maybe more. We just don't know. And they're here right now. Larry, you can't see him. Well, you can't see the air, but it's real. Larry, you can't see him. Well, you can't see music, but it's real. Larry, you can't see him. Well, listen. You can't see the signal going to your cell phone, but it's very real. L can't see him. Well, listen. If you get an X-ray, here's a hot tip. Wear a lead vest. You can't see those X-rays, but they are very real. And you cannot see angels, but they are very real and they're here right now to watch over you and watch over me. And they've always watched over God's people. I think I think of the story of the great missionary uh John G. Patton. He went to the New Hedes to reach the savage tribes there. And he built this little mission station and uh one afternoon he was informed that there was a savage tribe that was going to burn the mission station down and kill everybody inside. And as they looked out in the afternoon, they could see all the savage natives in the bushes just ready and waiting for it to get dark. Then they would attack and kill them. Well, the sun set and they never attacked. They never attacked. They never attacked. Next morning they got up and the natives were totally gone. What in the world happened? Couple of weeks later, John G. Pat actually led the chief of the tribe to faith in Christ. and he was talking to him and he said, 'You know, a couple of weeks ago, we heard that you were going to uh burn down the mission station and kill all of us inside, but you didn't do it. What do you mind if I ask you? Why didn't you attack us? He said, well, that's easy. He said, when it got dark, all of a sudden, these huge men appeared. They were very tall. They were all in bright shining garments, and each one of them had a flaming sword in his hand. There were so many of them they completely surrounded your mission station. So we got out of there. Well, Patton knew who they were. So do you. The angel of God, Psalm 91:1 says, "He will give his angels charge over you to guard you in all your ways." So beautiful. But but but but but this is Calvary Chapel Chino Valley. So I know you are careful students of the Bible. And you're looking at verse 11 there and you notice something very important. It does not say the hosts of the Lord are with us. Though that's true. It doesn't say the host of the Lord are with us. It says the Lord of the hosts is with us. Which is better? THE HOST OR THE LORD? THE LORD. And we don't just have the hosts with us. We have the Lord of hosts with us. Commentator John Phillips describes it so well. He says, "Think of it. The Lord of hosts is with us. The mighty Jehovah who commands all the countless ranks of angels is on our side. One angel in one night could smite all Sakar's hosts. Right now, all the angels of God are mustered around his throne, ready to do his bidding, ready to rush to our aid. But the good news is better than that. It does not say here that the hosts are with us. It says the Lord of hosts is with us. Think of it. God is with you at the kitchen sink. God is with you as you drive through rush hour traffic. God is with you as you go to an unbearable job and face an impossible boss. God is with you in your desperate marriage and family struggles. God is with you in your current financial bind. God is with you in your loneliness and weakness. God is with you despite your faults and failures. God is with you in the death of a loved one. Oh, the Lord of O is with us. And what more do we need than that? And the answer is nothing. See, my Bible says, if God is for us, who can be against us? Answer, nobody. because the Lord of hosts is with us. And when you know the Lord is with you, it makes all the difference in the world. When you know your father is with you, it makes all the difference in the world. When I was 12 years old, I took my first job. I grew up in a very poor family in Oregon. And to buy my own school clothes, to buy my sporting goods equipment so I could play sports, I bought my own football, bought my own basketball, bought my own baseball mitt, bought my own bat, bought my own everything. I had to take a paper route job. Delivering newspapers early in the morning. Now, some of you younger ones, I know you know, you don't know what a newspaper is, but it's this folded over thing of paper with typing all over it or whatever. Newspapers. And about 4 in the morning, they would deliver this huge stack of newspapers on my porch. I would take all those newspapers and put them in a pouch I had. It was a canvas pouch. It had a pouch on the front and a pouch on the back. I would load up all the papers. I would climb on my bike. I would pedal throughout the streets in Springfield, Oregon, and I would drop newspapers on different porches, the people who had signed up for the newspapers. And the first time I did it, man, I was having a good old time all by myself and just kind of worshiping the Lord in the ring. And then then I came to the last stop on my paper route. The last stop was a mortuary. No, no, no, no, no. I'm only 12 years old, man. I'm thinking zombies, dead bodies. Yeah, yay. die. And they had there was this eerie blue light in one of the windows. I'm like, "Oh, this is this is just not good." So, I grabbed the last paper. I mustered up all the bit of courage I could. I ran up to the porch, put the paper down, ran back to my bike, pedal home as fast as I could, slammed the door behind me, and that's what I did every single morning. [snorts] And after a while, I didn't want to do it anymore. I was so tired. I was so afraid. I'll never forget one very cold Sunday morning. I got up, got all my papers in my pouch, started to walk out the door, and all of a sudden the bedroom door opened and my daddy stepped out of the door and he said, "Hey, Larry." He said, "Why don't you put your newspapers in the back of my pickup truck and I'll drive you around today." Oh, thank you so much. So, we had the best time delivering newspapers that morning. He would pull up in a park somewhere and he would take a paper and run to one side of the street. I would take a paper and run to the other side of the street and we delivered all those newspapers in record time. And then we came to that dreaded last stop. Never forget it. I grabbed the paper, slowly walked up, slowly put it down, slowly walked back to the truck and drove away with my daddy. And I wasn't afraid because my daddy was with me and your heavenly father is with you. The Lord of hosts is with us and he will never leave you. He will never forsake you. NO WONDER HEZEKIAH SAID, "SAY LOT. Just stop for a while." And think of it. If you have to go to the hospital tomorrow, you're not alone. You have to go to court tomorrow, you're not alone. You got to go to school tomorrow, you're not alone. You have to go for chemotherapy therapy tomorrow, you're not alone. You have to go for dialysis tomorrow, you're not alone. God the Lord of hosts is with us. What is the message about this morning? It's about God. That God is a helper. He's a refuge. He's a river and he's a ruler. And if you will [laughter] just attach the puny little train of your life to the massive, powerful, incredible locomotive of who God is. He will pull you up and over whatever mountain you are facing. Well, let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word this morning. We thank you for this beautiful, wonderful psalm that is such an encouragement to all of us. We thank you that you are a very present help. We pray for those who need to know you're a refuge today. They're in trouble, big trouble in their life. We pray that they would run into you and find out you are the most secure place on the planet. No doubt, Lord, there are some here this morning who need to remember you are a river. They need your supply. The finances are down. Bills are coming in. They've been hit with a lawsuit and unexpected medical bills. They don't know how they're going to make it through. Lord, flow to them what they need. Some have experienced death in their family. They need peace. Give them your peace that passes understanding. And for all of us, Lord, remind us as we leave this place today that you are a ruler. You're over nature. You're over the nations. And you are over our lives. So help us to be still and know that you are God. Lord, we thank you so much for Calvary Chapel Chino Valley. What an amazing church. You've done great things, but we believe even greater things are yet to come. We thank you so much for Pastor David Rosales. We pray your blessing on him and Marie. We love them so much. Just be with them today. Bring them back. Just encouraged, excited, thrilled in you. We thank, bless, and praise you for it. In Jesus name we pray. Everybody said amen.