Alright, if you will take your
Bibles and turn with me to Psalm 48. Psalm 48. Tonight we'll be
looking at verses 6 through 8. Verses 6 through 8. And the title
of the message is, A Sure Fear and a Sure Foundation. A Sure Fear and a Sure Foundation. Psalm chapter 48. Let's begin
our reading in verse four, where we went off, where we began last
week. The scripture says for low, the kings were assembled. They passed by together. They
saw it. And so they marveled. They were
troubled and hasted away. Fear took hold upon them there
and pain. as of a woman in travail. Thou
breakest the ships of Tarsus with the east wind. As we have
heard, so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in
the city of our God. God will establish it forever."
A sure fear and a sure foundation. First of all, I want us to see
that there is a sure fear. A sure fear. Now, last week we
saw this, that the only thing that this world and false religion
can agree on is this, the destruction of Christ and the gospel. That's
the only thing they're ever going to assemble together over. They
will fight and compromise in every other area But this, they
will not and do not tolerate the gospel of God's free and
sovereign grace. The scripture says in Psalm 2
that they have set themselves against the Lord and His anointed. This world and its false religion
is against the Lord. It is against His anointed and
it is set against the church of God. You see, they cannot
get to Christ. And the only thing that's near
Christ is His church. And this is their heart's desire.
And we saw this, that they would do three things. When they pass
by and assemble themselves together, we saw this, that they would
see it. That they would see it. They may hear the gospel of Jesus
Christ. This world may look even in the
history of the church. Can they not see that the most
powerful empire was the Roman Empire, and yet that system that
was against Christ was destroyed, and yet the church endured? The
Jews who were against Christ, that system of Judaism failed
and the church continued. And so no matter how the church
has been persecuted throughout history, we know this, that God's
church endures. Now they can't deny that. They
can't deny it. They can see it. And I'll tell
you, some of them will see the gospel of God's grace and for
a short time it says they marvel. They'll marvel at it. This gospel
of God's grace is something to marvel at. It is a marvelous
and wonderful doctrine. But unless the Holy Spirit comes
and plants a seed of the Word of God in the hearts of men,
they will be troubled and haste away. They will be troubled. And they'll move away from it.
They'll get away from it as fast as they can. But we who are believers
in Christ, One thing that we have the confidence in is that
we are not planted of ourselves. That God has planted us in His
kingdom. And that God that planted us
will continue to give us faith in Christ. Everyone that is born
of the Spirit of God will continue in faith. This is the promise
of God. This is the promise of His kingdom.
Because God's saints, we are saved in righteousness, we are
also protected of God from all the enemies that would destroy
us. Every enemy that would destroy you and me, God has and will
protect us and keep us safe from harm. Does that mean He'll keep
us from physical harm? No. Emotional harm? No. We will
not be kept from the troubles and trials of this life, but
whatever trouble, whatever trial, it is for our good and for our
growth, whatever it is. And I know this, that all of
God's saints will be kept. Jesus said to that church in
Smyrna, I will keep you. I will keep you. And we are kept
by this. In Psalm 121, you know it well,
it says the Lord, is our keeper. The Lord is the shade on our
right hand. Now, how close is the shade on
your right hand? If you tilt your hand, you'll
have a shade on the back of it. Now, how close is that? Well,
God's closer. God is the shade on our right
hand. And not even the sun or the moon's
light will touch us without His permission. Now, that's something. If God did not want the sun to
touch your body, He would protect you. and it would not touch you.
That's amazing. That's how much God cares and
keeps His people. But I'll tell you this, all who
pass by and see the cross of the Gospel and pass by the Gospel,
friends, there is a certain fear to come. There is a sure fear. Tonight, I set before you Jesus
Christ and Him crucified. Once again, God has given us
the privilege giving me the privilege to preach Christ unto you. Paul said, I evidently set Christ
and Him crucified before your eyes, before you. That He from eternity was God's
anointed Savior. That there is no other Savior.
There is no other righteousness. There is no other hope. He's
it. Christ came into the world and became a man. He felt everything
we felt. Everything but sin. He experienced
betrayal and hatred of men. And He even experienced the rejection
of God on the cross for our sins. You see, He came as the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. In Psalm
85, Psalm 85 verse 10 said, Mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have
kissed each other. Now where did mercy and truth,
righteousness and peace meet? They met in the cross. That's
where they met. The truth of God is we deserve
hell. That's the truth of God. Well,
how then did God give us grace? By the cross of Christ. The righteousness
of God demanded perfection. It demanded death for every sinner. But how then did mercy meet with
righteousness? In the cross. As He bore our
sins in His own body on the tree, God it met justice and mercy
together in this one man, Jesus Christ, His Son. How can God
honor truth and yet show us grace? The only answer is a very simple
answer. Jesus Christ is the only way
God can have mercy on us. He is the only way. Listen very
carefully. Everyone listen. Listen very
carefully. The gospel is not complicated. It's very simple. It is very
simple. This is a simple gospel. First
of all, we have a simple fact. We broke God's law. Every one
of us has broken God's law. God said, Thou shalt not, and
our heart said, I will. And we broke God's law. It's
a simple fact, isn't it? God has a simple requirement. Here's God's requirement. What
does God want from us? Perfect righteousness. Perfect obedience. And God demands death to every
sinner. That's simple, isn't it? Everyone
here understand that? That is plain. God demands perfection. A simple declaration. Jesus Christ
has visited His people and saved them from their sins. Very simple. He's done everything that God
required. for His people. A simple command. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. Everyone here can understand
that. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.
A simple promise. And thou shalt be saved. Is that
not a simple promise? And all who believe have a simple
life. Do you know that there's really
only one thing that a believer in Christ is obligated to do
and will do. He will believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ the rest of his life. That's it. In everything, believe
Christ alone. In everything. Very simple. Very
simple. Believe Christ. No matter what. No matter what,
believe Christ. Very simple gospel, isn't it?
Yet it's impossible. Simple, but impossible. But I'll tell you this, everyone
who believes, whosoever believes, will be saved. That's God's promise. That's God's gospel. Therefore, we who have believed
are safe, are safe from all our enemies. But that does not mean
that all who will not believe are safe. Assure fear. Look at our text.
Go back to your text in Psalm 48. Those who passed by, those
who were troubled, those who hasted away from the gospel,
fear took hold upon them there and Pain. Though the world come
together... Oh, I'm sorry, let me read the
next verse. Thou breakest the ships of Tarsus
with an east wind. I'll tell you, though the world
come together in their ships of self-righteousness, though
this world come together in their ships of pride, and they come to conquer God's church, they come in their wisdom, They
come with their philosophy. They come boasting in their morality
or spirituality. They come boasting in their religion
or in their reason. One day, all of that will come
to an end. One day, all of that pride and
arrogancy will come to an end. And that day is written in stone
by the finger of God. There will come a time when they
will breathe their last. There is a time and a moment,
a second that God has recorded in His omnipotent decrees that
they will breathe their last and immediately their souls will
be taken in fear. and be taken in pain. The psalmist
illustrates this by the sudden pain of childbirth. Sudden pain. I'll tell you what, men feel
the pains, the symptoms of this trouble, don't they? All men,
all wicked men feel the symptoms of sin, right? You commit a sin,
there's always a consequence. Everybody faces consequences
for sin. They feel the beginnings of these
pains. You women know this, that the
pain, they have those precursors to get ready. There's little
bitty pains, but when that big pain comes, It's a surprise. Now, you've
been preparing yourself for it, but it's still a surprise. It's
the, oh, pain immediate. And that's what he's talking
about. It's just a sudden pain that will come upon all those
who try and resist the precious gospel of God's grace. When God
will reveal Himself in His holiness and the power of His wrath, they
who were proud will be abased. They'll be brought to tremble
as a woman taken in childbirth before God. All who boasted that there was
no God, the worst fear in the world will come to their eyes,
there is a God. Those who were self-righteous,
those who believed in their works' religion, they'll be taken in
fear and pain because they thought they could add to the righteousness
of Christ. They who thought to get heaven
found themselves in hell. In Matthew 25, the Lord tells
us this, that in that day, when He stands to judge all nations,
and He will. Do you realize that no man or
woman is ever going to escape God's judgment? Not one. Every person who has been born
into this world, they will stand before Christ. They will be judged
of Him. And on that day, He will divide
the world. He'll divide his sheep on his
right hand and his goats on his left hand. And the sheep will be blessed
and entered into the kingdom of heaven. Because Jesus said,
when I was hungry, you fed me. When I was in prison, you visited
me. When I was sick, you took care of me. And what is the response
of the sheep? Lord, when did we do anything
like that? When did we ever love you or
serve you? We had no righteousness of our
own. And then those who are the ghosts,
they'll say, Lord, when did we not do those things? And they will immediately be
cast out into everlasting darkness. And as I said, this fear is sure.
All those who do not believe in Christ, this is sure. I'm
telling you right now that every one of us, if we would not believe
in Christ, this is sure. God will send you to hell. That is sure. Sure as you're
sitting here. If you are not as righteous as
God, He will judge you. and you will be found guilty. And this pain will be sudden.
How many do you suppose have ever heard the gospel and said,
well, tomorrow? Tomorrow. Not today. Tomorrow. Surely I'll believe
later. Right now, I've got too many
important things to do. I've got to have too much fun.
There's too many sins that I want to commit before I believe in
Christ. Surely, I'll believe tomorrow. Boast not thyself of tomorrow.
You don't know what a day brings forth. Do you suppose those football
players that were shot this week, they thought that they would
be dead? Last week? Do you suppose the four teenagers
that were killed right before their graduation, do you suppose
they had plans? Do you suppose that they wanted
to do something with their lives? That they wanted to grow old?
That they wanted to get married? That they had thoughts and dreams
and hopes? And in an instant they were gone! They were ushered into eternity. The Lord gives us the example
of Felix. Go over to Acts chapter 24. The Lord gives us the example
of this man Felix, who was a governor in the Roman Empire. And the Lord sent the apostle
Paul into his prison. And look at verse 24. And after certain days, when
Felix came with his wife, Drusilla, before Paul was sent for Paul,
and he heard him concerning the faith in Christ. He heard just
what I told you. Just what I told you, he heard. And he reasoned of righteousness,
temperance, and judgment to come. And what did Felix do? He trembled
at it. He feared. But friends, fear
is not salvation. Fear is not faith. He trembled and answered, go
thy way for this time. And when I have a convenient
season, I will call for thee. Go away, Paul. And when I'm ready
to hear what you've got to say, I'll come. I'll believe then. Do you realize that that man
heard Paul for two more years? And then after that, Festus came
and took his spot and that man committed suicide and went into
eternity never knowing Christ. If there are any sinners here, Do not tarry. Don't wait till
you're better. You'll never come at all. Only sinners need a Savior. But the wicked will continue
in their sin and sail on the uncertain seas of life. Look
back at your text. I want you to get the picture
here. It's a beautiful picture. You see the mountain of God.
You see the city of God on the hill. You see it protected by
the holiness of God. And then you see these assembled
together at war. And there they are on their mighty
ships. They come in ready for battle. Beautiful, majestic ships sailing
on the ocean, ready to destroy the city of God. I'll tell you, the wicked seem
very confident, don't they? They seem bold in their assertions,
bold in their sin, parading it in front of everybody. Wicked
or bold, they wear their sin like a gold chain around their
neck and they're proud. But behold the end. of everyone
that is not in Christ. Thou breakest the ships of Tarsus
with an east wind. When their ships are broken,
when God comes for them, and all their self-righteousness
is torn out from underneath their feet, What is their foundation? If you're on a ship and a big
tsunami comes and crushes your ship, where's your foundation?
What are you going to stand on? You'll sink to the bottom of
the depths of the sea. You see, they have no sure foundation. Their foundation is nothing more
than a boat rocking in the water. It's nothing! When that boat
is gone, they have no hope. And one day that ship will be
crushed. I'll tell you, all may seem to
be in their favor. The sea may be like glass unto
them. But when the billows of God's
wrath rolls over their soul and crushes all their hopes, They
have nowhere to stand. Soon the sea will overwhelm them
and God will consume them. There is a sure fear. A sure fear of the wicked. Number
two, a sure foundation. A sure foundation. Look at this
in verse 8. As we have seen, as we have heard,
so have we seen in the city of the Lord of hosts, in the city
of our God. Here it is. God will establish
it forever. Believer in Christ, behold the
surety of your salvation. God will establish it. God will build it. That's what that word established
means. He will erect it. Erect His church. He will build
His church. On what? On the sure foundation
of Jesus Christ. You have a sure foundation. You
who believe. Christian, it was God in the
Trinity of His persons, in His eternal persons, that established
all the elect people in Christ. And Jesus Christ, the anointed
of God, when He came, He came as the foundation of our souls
and obtained the righteousness of God, and by His blood, He
obtained the redemption for our sins. What did Jesus say to Peter?
He said, you're a little rock. You're a little pebble. Well, that's what we are. Peter
said, we are living stones. Little stones. But what are these
stones built on? He said, you're a little rock.
And I will build my church on the rock. pointing to himself. And that word means massive rock. He will build his church so that
the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Friends, hell will
not touch you if you are a believer in Christ. It will not come near
you because you are built on a solid foundation. Jesus Christ,
the foundation of His church. The Holy Spirit reveals to us
throughout Scripture about this rock, this mountain, this foundation
is Jesus Christ. We know this. The souls of the lost are founded
on a sea. They're founded on shifting waters. Isn't that always a way with
false religion that it evolves? It changes, it moves like the
waves of the ocean. Yeah, that's exactly what they're
built on. A changing, shifting tide. But not us. We are built on a
solid rock of a foundation and nothing, nothing will move us
off of Christ. Nothing. Praise be to God. that our foundation is not made
with hands. It wasn't made by my hands and
your foundation was not made by your hands. The foundation
of your soul is made by the hands of Jesus Christ Himself. And He said, the gates of hell
shall not prevail against Him. My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest
frame, but wholly lean on Jesus' name. On Christ, the solid rock,
I stand all other ground. is sinking sand. All other ground
is sinking sand. Flip over to Isaiah real fast.
Isaiah chapter 28. Look at this. Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 16. God said, therefore, Thus saith
the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone,
a tried stone. I'll tell you what, you don't
want a foundation unless it's tried, unless it's proven. Christ
is a proven stone, a precious cornerstone. a sure foundation. He that believeth shall not make
haste. He won't move from it. I'm not going nowhere. I'm not
going nowhere. Why? Christ is a proven stone.
Why would I go anywhere else? Satan tried Him, men tried Him,
and God Himself tried Him. And he was found righteous. When God poured all our sins,
put our sins in his own body on that tree, and God poured
out his wrath, when God was finished, he still endured. He rose from the dead to prove
that God was satisfied with his offering. That's a tried stone. Has anybody else rose from the
dead? Has anybody else rose from the dead by their own right and
power? No. You see, he's the only one
that had the right to be raised from the dead. I like that when
he said, I saw the lamb and he took the book from the hand of
God. He took it because he deserved
it. He deserved it. He earned it. He's a tried stone, a precious
corner stone. And we that believe on him will
not leave. When David was going through
difficulties and troubles, he said that God was the rock of his
salvation. He said, I shall not greatly
be moved. I'll tell you, sometimes we feel
moved. We feel shaken. But as soon as God gave him his
word and testimony, David said, the Lord is my rock. I shall
not be moved. And that's exactly the point
tonight. Friends, we who believe we will
not be moved from this rock and this world and hell and Satan
and all the religions of this world won't move us. Why? Because we didn't establish it,
we didn't do anything to merit it, we didn't do anything to
earn it. God gave it by His own free,
omnipotent, sovereign grace and it will not be moved because
He said so. What a contrast to those who
are on shifting sands of the sea, built in the ships of their
pride and arrogancy. In a moment, they'll be taken
in a sure fear. But friends, we who believe on
Christ have a sure foundation and we will not be moved. Is that not a message of hope
for us? I'll tell you what, if it's up
to me, I'd be moved in a minute. If God didn't keep me, I couldn't
keep myself. But He promised to keep me. So
my hope rests in His promise, in His Word. And not my righteousness,
not myself, not my works. only in Christ. I pray that God
blesses and keep it in your hearts. Keep it close to you. That Christ
is our sure, positive, complete, absolute, unmovable, immutable
foundation. And we can rest in him. We can
rest. I pray that God bless you. Let's
stand and be dismissed in prayer.