Good morning, everyone. It's
a joy to be here. I have my own little revival
with the worship songs singing. That was just marvelous. We sing the gospel. It's amazing. We sing and we give Him all the
glory. It's wonderful. Turn with me, if you would, to
Deuteronomy chapter 33. Deuteronomy chapter 33. The name of the message is, The
Eternal God, Our Refuge. The Eternal God, Our Refuge.
Now, I had set out to preach a different text this week, and
I came across this text by God's providence in my studies, and
oh, I just marveled at this text, and felt the desire to preach
it, that the Lord put it on my heart to preach it. So, I hope
it's a blessing. Deuteronomy chapter 33, starting
in verse 26. There is none like unto the God
of Jeshurun, who rideth upon the heaven in thy help, and in
his excellency on the sky. The eternal God is thy refuge. These are the last words of Moses
to the Israelites. The eternal God is thy refuge,
and underneath are the everlasting arms. He shall thrust out the
enemy from before thee, and shall say, Destroy them. Israel then
shall dwell in safety alone. The fountain of Jacob shall be
upon a land of corn and wine. Also his heaven shall drop down
due. Happier thou, O Israel, who is
like unto thee. O people saved by the Lord, the
shield of thy help, and who is the sword of thy excellency,
and thine enemies shall be found liars unto thee, and thou shalt
tread upon their high places. The eternal God, beloved, let
us just rest in this little phrase here, the eternal God is thy
refuge. The eternal God. Here before us we have the last
words of Moses, a man of God, and he tells Israel who their
refuge is. And we can find great comfort
in these words. These are the words, these words are for us as believers
too. The eternal God. The eternal
God is thy refuge. Do you think the comfort that
must have bought the Israelites when they heard these words? And what comfort it brings us.
The eternal God is thy refuge. God who is eternal, who is from
everlasting The Ancient of Days is the believer's refuge. The one who rules and reigns
supreme, answers to no one. He's our refuge. He's our refuge. And think of this, when we go
through the trials and tribulations that we go through in this world,
let us remember, the eternal God is thy refuge. He's my refuge, the believer
can say. The eternal God. Each day we go into the world,
don't we? And we see turmoil all over, right? In our eyes.
What's going on? We sometimes think. But let us
remember this. The eternal God is our refuge. He's in full control. I have
to remind myself, He's in control. It's all working out according
to His will. and he is in full control, and
he is my refuge. And every believer can say this.
The eternal God is my refuge. So a refuge defined in Hebrew
is this. Dwelling. These are dwelling
places. Habitation. Refuge. Refuge. He is our dwelling place,
our habitation, in our refuge, in the shelter in the time of
storm, isn't he? He is. He's the only one we find
comfort in. When I look to myself, I'm a
mess. But when I look to Him, the Eternal God is my refuge. My King. My King. And we think on this this week
too, whatever comes, he already knows what's coming. And he's our refuge. Number one, we'll look at the
point. Number one is man needs a refuge. Man needs a refuge. Think of this. We build homes,
right? to protect us from the elements
all around us. It's a refuge for us. It keeps
us safe. It keeps us warm. We wear clothes
and jackets to prevent the elements, to prevent the cold. They protect
us. During World War II, People sought
shelters in bomb shelters. They sought shelters both in
Germany and in England and all of Europe when the bombers were
coming. Folks, they sought a refuge. They sought a shelter. They sought
where they could be protected. So humans naturally, we naturally
seek a refuge. Naturally. But unfortunately
for us, before the Lord saves us, and
for all of natural man, all men who are born dead and trespasses
in, unfortunately, we seek a refuge, and a refuge lies. Think of this. People think that
they can be saved by attending a certain church, right? They
believe that salvation is in a certain church. Okay? But always remember, it is important
to go to a gospel preaching church, right? It's important. But the
church itself can't save you. Only Christ can save, right?
It's important for us to, this is why we can't just go anywhere. The gospel is being preached
here. It's being proclaimed here. It's not being preached and proclaimed
everywhere. But people think that, I remember
before the Lord saved me, I was a Catholic. And I thought, well,
I'm a Catholic. I go to church three or four times a year. But
still, I went to church, of course. Of course I did. That didn't
save me. I was lost as a white goose in
a snowstorm. I didn't know Christ at all. Man naturally thinks that he
can build his own refuge before God, based upon his own works. But it's the gospel of Christ
that's the power to save. Going to church won't save you, but Christ can. And folks will
proudly tell you, well, I'll go to church. I'm okay, I'm okay,
I'll go to church. Well, church never saved anyone.
So this, therefore, is a refuge of lies for people. It's a refuge
of lies. Only Christ can save a sinner.
Only Christ can. And we hear by the preaching
of his word through the gospel of God's free grace. and the
Holy Spirit regenerates us, and we flee to Christ. Some folks think that religious
deeds will save them. They get charcoal on their forehead.
I used to do that. You think, well, I'm good. Surely
I'm good. Don't you see? John and I were
talking about when I was a Catholic, and he asked me, he said, well,
did you ever give up anything? I said, no. You're supposed to,
but I never did. And I remember my dad taking
communion one time, or what they call, and he said, well, I'm
holy for another week, and I thought, oh my gosh. You don't have a
clue. So they think that religious
deeds make them holy, or will save them, And it's a refuge
of lies, beloved. They're doing nothing but trusting
in themselves. Some people think that baptism
will save them. And some people, whole denominations
have been made that believe in what's called baptismal regeneration,
that they're not saved until they're baptized. The Church
of Christ is famous for this. That's what they promote. that
you're not saved unless you're baptized. And the Catholic Church
believes the same lie. And it's another refuge lie.
Baptism didn't save anyone, and it doesn't save anyone. But it's
an outward confession of an inward conversion. And we in obedience
do it. We call it believer's baptism
because only believers are baptized. Only those who have professed
Christ. But folks believe that their
baptism's safe. It's a refuge of lies. And notice everything is based
upon what they're doing. So baptism can't save anyone,
but Christ can. Christ can. He can save a sinner,
and he saves his people by the preaching of his word through
the gospel of God's free grace. Some folks trust in a profession. Well, I prayed a prayer years
and years ago. I made a profession. I professed
years ago. But they have no care for the
things of God, no care for the things of Christ, no care for
God's people, no care to attend where the gospel's
being preached. And they say this, well, I fixed
it up years ago. I took care of it. I've heard it many times. And this is nothing but a refuge
of lies. We look to Christ who has done
everything for us. And we continue to look to Christ. We don't look back to a time
and say, well, back here. I need to look to Christ all the
time. All the time. We look to Christ who has done
everything for our salvation. And we don't look just once.
We continue to look. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians
chapter 2. Ephesians chapter 2. Some folks
trust in the prayer that they prayed, or the fact that they
walked an aisle a long time ago, or that they talked with a preacher. They trust in something that
they've done. And we call this decisional regeneration. I made a decision, I tell you. Decisional regeneration. Not
Holy Spirit regeneration. Now repeating the prayer of someone
else will not save you. And if we are saved, then God
must save us. He must regenerate us. You must
be born again. You must be. Or we'll never seek Him. Ephesians
2, verses 8 to 13. For by grace are ye saved through
faith, and that not of yourselves. Everything we've looked at is
man thinking he can justify himself before God. And that not of yourselves,
Scripture declares, it is a gift of God. If you're saved, it's
a gift of God. Verse 9, not of works, lest any
man should boast. We boast in Christ and what He's
done. Look at this in verse 10. For
we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works
which God hath ordained that we should walk in them. He ordained
them before the foundation of the world, beloved. Wherefore remember that ye in
times past, Gentiles in the that ye, being in times past Gentiles
in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which
is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands, that
at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth
of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, heaven,
no hope." What a hope we have now, beloved. What a hope we have now in Christ. He is the hope of my salvation. It's all in Him. having no hope, and without God
in this world. But now in Christ Jesus, ye who
were sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Oh, what a precious, wonderful
salvation we have in Jesus Christ our Lord, purchased by the precious
blood of Christ. Purchased by him, made nigh by
the blood of Christ. made nigh by the blood of Christ. So praying a prayer, supposedly
making a decision for Christ is another refuge of lies. Some
folks make themselves their own refuge by their supposed good
works or religious deeds like we looked at earlier. Galatians 2.16 says this, knowing
that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by
the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus
that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by
the works of the law, for by the works of the law shall no
flesh be justified. Galatians 2.16, by the works
of the law shall no flesh be justified. We cannot justify ourselves. And some folks, this is the last
refuge we'll look at of lies, and then we'll get back to our
text, but some folks say this, I heard this many times, and
I want you to turn to John chapter three, if you could, John chapter
three. They say this, they say, well
I was born Christian. Heard it through the years, I've
heard it many times. I was born a Christian. Really?
Because I ain't never heard of that. It's not in the Bible. But people say that. Well, I
was born, I've been going to this church my whole life. I'm
a Christian, right? Really? Heard it many times, but it's
a refuge of lies. We're born sinners. We're not
born Christians. We're born sinners. Christian is one who's been born
again by the Holy Spirit of God, and who's resting and trusting
in Christ and Him alone. Look at John chapter three here.
There was a man, verse one, of the Pharisees named Nicodemus,
a ruler of the Jews. The same came to Jesus by night
and said unto him, Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher
come from God, for no man can do these miracles that thou doest
except God be with him. Jesus answered and said unto
him, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again,
he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, how
can a man be born when he's old? Can he enter the second time
into his mother's womb and be born? This is a natural man's
response to the mystery of regeneration. Jesus answered, verily, verily,
I say unto thee, except a man be born of water and the spirit,
He cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of
the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the spirit
is spirit. Marvel not that I say unto thee,
ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it
cometh, and whither it goeth. So is every one that is born
of the spirit. Nicodemus answered and said to
them, how can these things be? Now remember this, Nicodemus
was a high teacher in Jewish religion, wasn't he? He read
the scriptures. But remember what we looked at
earlier this morning in Sunday school, that if God doesn't reveal
the truth to you, you'd never see it. You'd never see it. Look what our Lord, look what
our master says to him. Jesus answered and said unto
them, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
A teacher? That's the blind leading the
blind, beloved. Nicodemus is the blind leading
the blind. Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these
things? You've studied the scriptures? Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
we speak what we do know. Remember before I said that I
can't tell you about somewhere I've never been? Grace preachers preach what we
know. We've been saved by the grace
of God in Christ. And He did it all, and He gets
all the glory, and He gets all the honor. We speak what we do know and
testify that we have seen, and you receive not our witness, So a Christian is one who's been
born again of the Holy Spirit. He's done a mighty work. Hebrews
chapter four, if you want to turn there, Hebrews chapter four,
in Acts 26, if you could put your finger in both those places. Hebrews four, verse seven to
11. When we are born again, Christ
becomes our rest. He becomes our refuge. He becomes
our hope. Outside of Him, we have none
of that. Hebrews chapter 4, verses 7 to 11. Again, He limits a certain
day, saying in David, today, after so long a time, as it is
said, today, if you will hear His voice, harden not your heart. Or if Jesus had given them rest,
then he would not afterward have spoken of another day. There
remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his
rest, into Christ, there is a rest. He hath also ceased, look at
this, remember everything we looked at? All those refuges
of lies are all based upon what man does, right? Look what Scripture
declares right before our eyes. For he that has entered into
his rest, he hath also ceased from his own works, as God did
from his. Let us labor, therefore, to enter
into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of
unbelief. He has ceased. What has the believer,
when he rests and trusts in Christ, he's ceased from his works. He's
laid, Brother Scott Richardson used to say, he's laid down his
arms before God. And he makes his headquarters
in the dust. He says, oh God, have mercy upon me. In Acts 26,
a Christian is one who has been bought from death to life. Death to life. So the rest that
we have is Christ. He's our refuge. He's our refuge. Acts chapter 26 says this. But rise and stand upon thy feet,
verse 16, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to
make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou
hast seen and of those things in which I will appear unto thee,
delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles unto whom
now I send, to open their eyes and to turn them from darkness
to light. A believer is one who's being
turned from darkness to light. He's ceased from his labors.
And God, the Holy Spirit, regenerates us, and we turn from darkness
to light. And from the power of Satan unto
God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins. How many sins? All of them. And inheritance among them which
are sanctified by faith that is in me. Turn, if you would, to 2nd Timothy,
chapter 1. Christian is one who was lost
and who is now saved by the grace of God in Christ. 2nd Timothy, chapter 1, verses
7-11. 2 Timothy 1, verse 7 to 11. For
God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of
love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, his prisoner. But
be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel, according to the
power of God, who has saved us. Who has saved us. Well, to be
saved means that you are in peril. Oh, he saved us, hasn't he, beloved,
who has saved us and called us with a holy calling. You're called
with a holy calling. Called with a holy calling. Not according to our works. But according to his own purpose,
his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ before
the world began. is now made manifest by the appearing
of our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and
hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher
of the Gentiles." So we have one refuge, one refuge, and that
is Christ and Him alone. Let's go back to our text in
Deuteronomy chapter 33. So we've seen now that men naturally
make refuges Refuges of lies based upon their works, right?
But the believer's refuge is the eternal God. The eternal
God. He ceased from his labors, he
ceased from his works, and flees to Christ, Jesus Christ, the
eternal God is the believer's refuge. He was God in the flesh. Fully God and fully man. He is
the eternal God. He is the believer's refuge.
We find no refuge in ourselves when God reveals to us who we
are and what we are. Sinners by birth, nature, and
choice. We find no refuge in ourselves,
but we are shown that Christ is the one refuge that we need.
And we flee to Him. He is the believer's city of
refuge. The Lord Jesus Christ, God in
the flesh, who is now in heaven above, is our refuge, our Savior,
and our Lord. The eternal God, our text says
in verse 27, the eternal God is thy refuge. And underneath
are the everlasting arms, and He shall thrust out the enemy
from before thee, and shall say, Destroy them." God who inhabits
eternity, God who inhabits eternity is the believer's refuge. The eternal everlasting God is
the believer's refuge. The believer in Christ has their
eternal God, has the eternal God as their refuge. Think of some scriptures that
we've looked at in the past weeks. Christ is our shield. He's our
shield and our strength. And He's the eternal God. He's our refuge in the storms
of life. He's a shelter in a time of storm. He is the eternal God. He's our high tower and our defense. And he is the eternal God. He's our shelter against all
the wrath and justice of God. And he is the eternal God. Christ, who was God, and is our
refuge, is the eternal God. There is no other Savior for
us. None. None but Christ. Where shall
we go? There is no other mediator, is
there, between God and man, but Christ. There's no other fountain
in which sinners can be cleansed. Surely we cannot cure ourselves
of our sin, let alone anyone else. But the great physician can. He is the eternal God. So there's no refuge among men
for sinners And we can't help ourselves, let alone anyone else. And there's no refuge among the
false gods that man's imagination drums up. I remember hearing one commentator
say that in our unregenerate states, our hearts are like idle
factories, just pumping out gods. But there's no refuge there.
There's no refuge in our works. The sinner's only refuge is Jesus
Christ our Lord. He is our only refuge. And the
scripture says the eternal God is thy refuge. Words to think on. Words for us to think on through
this week. The eternal God is thy refuge. Underneath are the everlasting
arms. Underneath are the everlasting... We sing the song, leaning on
the everlasting arms. We've all seen a mother holding
the child. Or a father holding the child,
right? Child is safe, right? Safe under
the... on those arms. holding that precious
little one, you remember? I remember my boy, he's 16 now,
my girl, 25, and I remember, I remember when I just held them
in my arms. And they were safe there. They were safe. And underneath, the eternal God
is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. The believer has God as his refuge,
and underneath them are the everlasting arms. What comfort this brings us as
we go through this world. We go through this world. The
eternal God is the support of his people. Why don't we fall
away? Because he keeps us. He keeps
us. In Him, in Christ, we are safe. And we're secure in Him. If it was up to us, we'd be in
a lot of trouble. But the eternal God is thy refuge.
And underneath are the everlasting arms. His everlasting love encircles
us, beloved. And it covers us. And it's love eternal. It doesn't
change. It doesn't change. God's love
never changes towards his people. Never. His everlasting covenant is immovable. It can't be changed. And it's
eternal. This is why Christ says, I'll
not lose one of them. Not one. The everlasting arms are underneath
us and they uphold us and they comfort us. They comfort us. Human arms grow weary even in
a loving embrace. And when death comes, our arms
are folded in death. But these everlasting arms, these
are the arms of God. They will never unclasp. And we who believe are in the
everlasting arms of God, our eternal God, who is our refuge. I need that. I need to know that. Turn with me, if you would, to
Hebrews chapter 9. What comfort this brings to God's people.
Jesus Christ, our Lord, obtained eternal redemption for us. He
obtained it. So that's why He's our refuge.
He obtained it. Oh, this is wonderful. Hebrews
chapter 9, verse 11, and then we'll go to
Psalm 46 after that. Christ has obtained eternal redemption
for us. Hebrews 9, 11, and 12, but Christ
being common high priest of good things to come by a greater and
more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say,
not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves.
All that blood in the Old Testament couldn't take away sins, but
it was pointing to one who could. It was pointing to one who could,
one who could take away all your sins, past, present, and future. All of them. Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood. By his own blood. God's blood. By his own blood. He entered
in once into the holy place, having obtained. He did it. He redeemed His people
from all their sins. Having obtained eternal redemption,
you can't lose it because it rests in Him. The eternal God
is our refuge. It's in Him. Having obtained
eternal redemption for us, for His people, for ones who didn't even want
to have anything to do with them in their lives. But they were His from before
the foundation of the world. They were given to Christ before
the foundation of the world. And He will not lose one of them. The eternal God is my refuge. having obtained eternal redemption
for us. So if our salvation is in Christ,
who is the eternal God, and Scripture says that He has obtained it,
then we can rest in Him that it is eternal. It is eternal. I remember hearing
folks say, You can lose your salvation and
get it back and lose it. Well, that's not eternal redemption,
is it? That's not eternal salvation. You know why? Because it's based
upon their works. It's a refuge of lies. My refuge is in what Christ has
done for me. He obtained eternal redemption
for me, and every believer can say that. He did it. This is wonderful news for sinners. Wonderful news for those who
have been showing that all their religious labors, all that they
did to try to save themselves, were useless. Wonderful news for sinners who've
been brought to an end of themselves. And that's what Christ does for
his people. He brings us, and that's our prayer, that he'd
bring you, those of you who don't know him, that he would bring
you to an end of yourself and that you would see your desperate
need for Christ. Because he's the only hope. Man
will make up several different refuges and several different
reasons. Why they won't come to Christ,
but only Christ can save you. Only He can save you. And those
reasons and things that they think that they're doing is just
a refuge lies. But this is wonderful news for
sinners. The eternal God is thy refuge. The eternal God is thy
refuge. Turn, if you would, to Psalm
46. So believers in Christ have been brought to an end of themselves. And God is our refuge. God is
our refuge. And underneath are the everlasting
arms. David says this in Psalm 46,
verse 1. We'll read all the way to 11.
God is our refuge and strength. I like this. A very present help
in trouble. Whatever you're going through,
if you're one of his people, he's right there. He's a present
help in trouble. A very present help in trouble.
Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed and though
the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though
the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains
shake with the swellings thereof, Selah, there is a river, the
streams whereof 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. Oh, there's a place for us to
rest. God will help her. And that right early, the heathen
raged, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth melted. That's a God who is absolutely
sovereign. The Lord of hosts is with us.
The God of Jacob is our refuge. He's our refuge, Selah. Come
behold the works of the Lord. Oh, I pray God makes you willing.
Come, behold the works of the Lord, what desolations He hath
made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto
the end of the earth. He breaketh the bow and cutteth
the spear and sunder. He burneth the chariot in the
fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen.
I will be exalted in the earth. You remember our text? The eternal
God is thy refuge. The last verse of Psalm 46, or
46.11, the Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. And this is what the believer
says, the God of Jacob is our refuge. He's my shelter. And He upholds all things by,
the very one who upholds all things by the word of His power,
who rules and reigns supreme, is the believer's refuge. So
think of this when we go through things and trials and tribulations
and different things come up. This is why it's so important
for me, for all of us who believe, to keep our eyes on Christ. Oh, God is my refuge and my strength. Very present help in trouble.
The Eternal One. And think of this, that He had
mercy on sinners like you and me. What mercy. What grace. And all because it pleased Him.
You have mercy on whom you have mercy. And those he keeps are
kept secure in his arms. That's wonderful news. He bears us through all the trials
and all the tribulations, all the temptations, all the afflictions,
and he comforts us and he supports us through them all. And one
day, like he did for our two brothers this week, here take
us home to be with him in glory. The eternal, everlasting, ancient
of days is our refuge. Is our refuge. God is our refuge
and strength. Oh, and our prayer for those
who don't believe is may God grant you faith. May He grant
you faith to believe and to flee to the sinner's only refuge.
the Lord Jesus Christ in him alone.