It is so good to be here. All
the folks from Millside send their love and prayers. Thought
of you, Austin, over the last several months, and I was telling
someone this is the first trip we've been out of West Virginia
since probably Christmas, and we was looking forward to it.
Not saw my family or my grandkids in that length of time, but we're
supposed to go next month. My youngest daughter's getting
married, and we're real excited about that. The Lord's good to
us. He's gracious. We are here today
by God's grace and his help. That's what we need. Unless the
Lord helps me, it's just empty words. And unless the Lord helps
you to hear and to understand, it's just words. And that's what
I want to preach on this one. I've just entitled the message
help. So if you would turn in your Bible to Psalms chapter
46, Psalms chapter 46. Psalms chapter 46, verse one. God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble. He's a help that is near. Therefore,
because he's a very present help in trouble, we will not 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 swelling thereof, Selah, there is a river, the
streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place
of the tabernacles of the Most High. God is in the midst of
her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her, and that
right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms
were moved. He uttered his voice and the
earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge,
Selah. Come behold the works of the
Lord, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh
wars to cease and to the ends of the earth he breaketh the
bow and he cutteth the spear in thunder. He burneth the chariot
in the fire. Now watch verse 10. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen.
I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refuge. What a psalm, what a savior. He's with us, the God of Jacob.
As I thought about this word, help, I usually try to say, well,
where is it used in other scriptures? And I thought this was ironic.
The first time that it's used is in the book of Genesis. when
God made Adam of the dust of the earth and breathed into his
nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living soul.
And God said, it's not good that man should be alone. And he said,
I'm going to make him a help meet for him. He said, did Adam
need help? Well, he was perfect in and of
himself, but he needed a help meet or the Lord wouldn't have
gave him. He couldn't talk to the animals. Maybe he did, it
doesn't matter, but he had no one that he could sit down and
share things with. Then in chapter two, verse 20,
and Adam gave names to all the cattle and to the fowls of the
air and every beast of the field. But for Adam, there was not found
to help meet for him. God provided just exactly who
he needed. He could sit down and talk. They
could share. You imagine sharing all the beauty
of that garden. They could share it with each
other. They could sit down and talk about the things of God. But then I thought about when
Adam sinned. Now he's in trouble. Now he's in big trouble and he
needs help and Eve can't help him. I've thought many times,
I wonder who come up with the idea. They may have come up with
it together. How are we going to come do what
we've just done? We can sew fig leaves together
and maybe that'll help. Maybe that'll help our conscience
that's condemning us. But it wasn't help. God came
and provided the sacrifice. God provided the atonement. You
know, you'll see we're all in trouble. We may not realize that
man that's born a woman is few days and full of trouble. But
it's where does a man run when he's in trouble? Where does he
run for help? Like I said, where did Adam run?
He didn't go running to God. He went running to try to hide
himself. As I thought about this, I thought
about my niece. This was several years ago. I
probably hadn't saw her in six or seven years. I kind of knew
pretty close to where she lived. She lived on a place called Oak
Island, which was off the coast of North Carolina down below
Wilmington. And me and Sandy were sitting
there at the table one Saturday evening, or Saturday morning,
and she calls. You know why she called? She
needed help. She would have never called me
if she hadn't needed help. And she said, Uncle Mike, she
said, I'm in trouble. She said, would you come get
me? And we went, and we picked her up, and I said, Mandy, I
said, you won't be back to this place. What I'm saying is, why
did she call? She needed help. And she looked,
and where did she turn to? She had probably turned to everybody
else. None of her friends would help her. None of her friends
could help her. But you know, Lord brings people to the place
they're in trouble. And they need help, but where
did they run to? The scripture says, woe unto
the man that goes down to Egypt for help. That's a picture of
man running to the things of the world. He will run to a profession. He runs to all these things.
He's looking for some help. You know why? He's in trouble.
Some examples, what happened when there was a famine? Abraham's
in trouble. You know where he went? He went
to Egypt. Isn't that a picture of us? We still have that old
nature. We think the world can help us.
And that's what he did, and we know the results of it. By nature,
we are prone to look to the arm of the flesh for help. The flesh
will always fail, and the world will always fail. But our Lord
is just a cry away. He's a very present help in time
of need. Or what? Lord, don't ever let
us get past the point where we see our need of help, of help. It says in Psalms 50 verse 15,
call upon me in the day of trouble, and I'll deliver thee. Psalms
108 verse 12, give us help from trouble, for vain is the help
of men. Give us help from trouble. As I thought about this, can
you imagine when our Lord walked upon this earth, when he robed
himself in human flesh? He knows what it is. He knew
what it was to be in trouble. And he knew what it was to be
in need. Turn with me, I want you to see
this. Turn to Psalms chapter 22. Psalms chapter 22. You know, this is such a picture
of our Lord as he hung there on the cross when he was made
sin for his people. He said, my God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? And there's the next statement,
why art thou so far from helping me? From the words of thy my roaring,
oh my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not. And in
the night season, and I'm not silent, but thou art holy, O
thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted
in thee, they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried
unto thee and were delivered, they trusted in thee, and they
were not confounded. But I'm a worm, an old man, who
reproacheth men and despiseth the people. All they that see
me laugh me to scorn, they shoot out the lip, they shake the head,
saying, he trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him. Let
him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. But thou art he that
took me out of the womb. Thou didst make me hope when
I was upon my mother's breast. Now would you think about this
for a second. When he was born into this world like any other
child, now he's the son of God, But he needed the breast of his
mother or he would have died. The son of God. He looked to,
I mean, Joseph and Mary, and God used him to provide for him
when he was a child. And that's what he's saying here.
Thou made me hope when I was upon my brother's breast, my
mother's breast. I was cast upon thee from the
womb. Thou art my God from my belly.
Now watch this. Be not far from me, for trouble
is near, and there is none to help. None to help. Many bulls have come past me.
Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me around. They gaped upon me
with their mouth as a ravening and roaring lion. I am poured
out like water. All my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax. It is melted in the midst of
my bowels. My strength is dried up like
a posture. My tongue cleaveth to my jaw,
and now has brought me into the dust of death. For dogs have
come past me. The assembly of the wicked have
enclosed me. They pierced my hands and my
feet. I may tell all my bones that they look and stare at me. They part my garment among them
and they cast lots upon my baster. Be not far from me, O Lord, my
strength. Haste thee to help me." So three
times, three times in that psalms, he made reference to nobody would
help him. And he looked to the Father for
grace and strength. He said, hasten to help me. So what am I saying? He knows
what you need. He knows what it is to be, he's
able to be felt with the feelings of our infirmities. Does he know? Oh, yes. Does he know what it
is to cry out for help and need? Yes, as a man. He humbled himself and became
obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. I may not
know what you need, but he does. He's a very present help in time
of need. In Isaiah 63, verse one, listen. Who is this that cometh from
Eden with dyed garments from Basra? This that is glorious
in his apparel, drabbling in the greatness of his strength.
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. Wherefore art
thou red in thine apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth
in the wine-thread? I've treaded the wine-threads
alone, and the people there were none with me. For I will tread
them in mine anger, and trample them in my fury, and their blood
shall be sprinkled upon my garments. And I will stay in my raiment,
for the day of vengeance is in my heart, and the year of the
redeemed has come. And I looked, and there was none
to help. I wondered that there was none
to uphold. Therefore, now this is, if you
want to go with, to me it's a paradox. He needed help, but then on the
other hand, he needed no help. Because he brought salvation
of his own arm. No one helped him because he
said, I looked and there was none to help. I wondered that
there was none to uphold. Therefore, my own arm brought
salvation unto me and my fury, it upheld me. No one could help
him. He knows what it is to be left
alone, to need help. And there were, now listen, there
was no eye to pity him. Psalm 69, 20, reproach hath
broken my heart. I am full of heaviness. I looked
for some to take pity. Will anybody show pity? And my
fury, and I'm sorry, I looked for some to help and there was
none. And for comforters and I found none. No one will help
this man as he hangs upon this cross, none. Someone said, listen,
no one to say to him a kind word or drop a sympathetic tear. A
sick man needs comforters. A persecuted man needs sympathy. But our blessed surety found
neither on that dark and dreadful night when the powers of darkness
had their hour. as God left him alone. You know why? That he would not
forsake you in your time of need. Right when he needed help, they
were all gone away. All the disciples forsook our
Lord and fled, every one of them. Someone said, now listen to this,
backward and forward, thrice, three times he ran, as if he
sought some help from man, or which at least they would console. T'was all they could, his tortured
soul. Whatever he sought, for there
was none. Our captain fought the field
alone. Soon as the chief to the battlefield
led, that moment every Soldier fled. You picture going into
the battle and they're all there. They all say, Lord, we won't
forsake you. We won't leave you. And they
meant it. And now they all flee. Imagine
walking in on the battlefield and you look and you're the only
one there. No one to help. This is illustrated. Second Samuel
chapter 23 verses 9 and 10, remember David's mighty men? Mighty men. There was one, his name was Eliezer,
the son of Dodo, the Ahorathite, one of the three mighty men of
David. He defiled the Philistines when they were gathered together
to battle. And the men of Israel were gone away. What happened
is this man takes on the battlefield with the Philistines and everybody
else leaves him. But what did he do? He arose,
our Lord, and smoked the Philistines until his hand was weary. And
his hand claved to the sword. That's the same word when Adam
clave unto his wife. It's like his hand was welded
to that sword, and he would not lay it down. His own arm brought
salvation. Everybody forsook him. His hand
clave unto the sword. And the Lord wrought a great
victory that day. Who did, that man? Eliezer. When the battle's over, there's
one man standing. Eliezer. When the battle's over, there's
one standing. Who had no help? His own arm. brought salvation. And His arm is the only one that
can give salvation. We must be brought to the place,
now listen, that we see we need help. Here's what the psalmist
said in Psalms 40 verse 17. But I am poor and needy, yet
the Lord thinketh upon me. Thou art my help. And my deliverer,
take no tarrying on my God. Isaiah 41, 17, when the poor
and needy seek water and there is none, and their tongue faileth
for thirst, I, the Lord, will hear them. I, the God of Israel,
won't forsake them. Listen, Psalms 107. Because they
rebelled against the words of God and contended the counsel
of the Most High, therefore he brought down their hearts with
labor. They fell down, and there was none to help. None to help. You see a sinner, I can't help
him. You can't help him. I can point him to Christ, and
I can say, come and sit and listen, but I can't help him. He said,
and we see there's none. Can nobody help me? You can't
help me. But he can. I looked, and there
was none to help. There was none to help. Then they, then, when? When there's none to help. Then,
then they cried unto the Lord in their trouble. He caused the
trouble. He sent the trouble to bring
them to the place. You go, why am I in so much trouble?
There's a reason for it. There is a reason for it. Then
they cried out to him. Then they cried out and he heard
them. And he saved them out of their
distresses. Another example, remember the woman of Canaan
of Galilee who came to our Lord, you know, she has a need. She
needs help. No one can help her daughter.
And so we see that many times in the scripture. Sometimes Lord
will use people's children to bring them and they see they
can't help. I can't help my children. And she comes because she needs
help for her daughter. And he said, it's not me to take
the children's bread and to cast it to dogs. But she said, that's
true, Lord, but I'm your dog. And the dogs eat of the crumbs
which fall from the master's table. And then she came to him
and worshipped him, saying, Lord, help me. Help me." But he answered, it's
not me to take the children's bread and cast it to dogs. And
she said, true Lord, but the dogs eat of the crumbs which
fall from the master's table. Then Jesus answered and said
unto her, O woman, great is thy faith. Be unto thee even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that same hour. Then there was another man, remember
when our Lord come down off the man of transfiguration? And this
man brought his son to the disciples to cast his demon out of this
man, and the disciples couldn't help him. And I can see the religious men,
they're standing and saying, there's nothing to this, there's
nothing to this. Then Christ came, Christ came. And listen, in Mark chapter nine,
verse 20, they brought him, The son, when he saw him and straightway
the spirit tear this young man, he fell on the ground wallowing.
And he asked his father, how long is it ago since this came
upon him? He said, of a child. And oftentimes
it's cast him into the fire and into the water to destroy him.
Now watch this. This man said, if thou canst do anything, have
compassion upon us and help us. He put the if on the wrong place.
It's not if he can do something. He said, if you can, if you can. The one that won the battle alone,
if he can, if, if you can. He's confused, this
is us. If you can, help us, help us. But Jesus said, he put the if
in the right place, if you can believe. It's not if I can help. The problem is if you can believe.
All things are possible to him that believeth. And straightway
the father of the child cried out, and he said with tears,
Lord, I believe. Now watch this. Help my unbelief. Is that not us? Lord, help. I want to believe. Really believe,
I don't want it to be some pretending. I want to believe. Believe him. Do you believe him this morning?
Do you believe he's able to do for you far more than you could
ever ask or think? If you believe him in what he'll
do, you'll cry out to him. That woman with the cane in her
drawer, there's nowhere else to go. This man brought his son. And when he left, he helped his
son. If you have any faith, God gave
it to you. And if God gives you faith, you
see your need of help. And you see that you're totally
always in trouble. In trouble. If he leaves us alone,
we're in a mess. If he don't help us, we're in
a mess. If he don't help you understand that book, it's just
a dry book. If you don't comfort your heart,
no one else can. But he's able. He knows what
you need. And he knows just exactly how
to help. Do you ever think about that
we need each other? Since this virus, this is...
You know, we didn't even meet. We met, we did our, we did audio
for probably a couple months. We've only been back meeting
since the end of May. And you know, there's no substitute
for what we have right here. I know this is, I think someone
said the first year in several years, you've not had a Bible
conference. And you know, I think, I wonder how many times we took
those things for granted. I don't know, one conference
all year, you know, we just, we just not able to have them.
He knows what we need. Oh, that we would cry out to
him for help, because we need each other. Listen, it's Ecclesiastes
chapter four, verse 10. For if they fall, the one will
lift up his fellow, but woe to him that is alone when he falls,
for he hath not another to help him up. He's talking about walking in
the woods, falling. Can you imagine if nobody was
to help you? Out there all alone, help you get up. Help you get
up. Luke chapter 5, verse 7. I think
it was Peter was in his boat, and they were fishing. And they're
beckoning to their partners that were in the other ship. And you
know what they said? Would you come help us? We've got such
a net full of fish. Would you come and help us?" And they came, and both the ships
were filled, and they began to sink. Another one I thought about is
sometimes we can become upset when it seems like we have no
help. You remember Murray and Martha? Mary is sitting at the feet of
our Lord. You know why she's sitting there?
She needs help. And the only one that can help
her, she's hungry, so she sits at his feet. Martha's in the kitchen fixing
dinner. And we don't know how many were there. Well, they would
have probably been our Lord and all his disciples. They may have
been a few more. Ladies, you know what that is
to have to fix that dinner? And you can imagine she's in
here cooking. She goes, where's Mariette? Well,
what's she doing? Why won't she come in here and
help me? And she actually walks in there and she says, Lord,
do you not care that I have to work alone in the kitchen? Tell
her to come help me. Isn't that us? You know, it would have been
a big, it was a big help what Martha was doing. Somebody had
to fix them some dinner. Somebody had to fix them lunch.
What a help. It's nice to, and you're talking
about when we used to come here for the conferences, somebody
did a lot of work so we could go and sit down and partake of
that meal. We needed something. to eat,
and somebody worked. But she said, Lord, do you not
care? Does he care? Oh, yes, he cares.
He says, Martha, Martha, you're so cumbered about many things.
Why are you so tore up? He said, she's chosen that good
part. But see, what we should have done, like Martha, she should
have said, well, I'm thankful I can do anything. I'm thankful
I can be a little help. You know what Paul said, let
me find my scripture, in Philippians 4, 3, he said, I entreat thee
also, true yoke fellow, help those women which labored with
me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other fellow laborers,
whose names are in the book of life. You mean they helped Paul? Yes, they did. I read one time,
I think it's in the book of Luke, where the women ministered unto
his needs. I can see our Lord, don't you
know he enjoyed going to Mary and Martha and Lazarus' house?
He went many times. He went many times. You remember Paul in the book
of Acts, he had a desire to go to Asia. The Lord said, you're
not going to Asia right now. Said the Holy Spirit forbid him.
I think it says twice, the Holy Spirit forbid him. But it says
in Acts chapter 16 verse nine, and in a vision there appeared
unto Paul at the night, there stood a man over in Macedonia,
and he prayed saying, you know what he said? Come over into
Macedonia and help us. And after he had seen the vision,
immediately he endeavored to go into Macedonia, surely endeavoring
that the Lord had called him to preach the gospel unto them.
And you know who was there? Lydia. Would you come over and help
us? How did he help them? He went and preached the gospel
to them. And God raised up that church, saved a Philippian jailer. Come over and help us. Come over
and help us. We need the Lord's help. Don't forget it. If you take
anything from the message, remember this, we need the Lord's help. Here's what Paul said in Acts
chapter 26. Having therefore obtained help of God, I continue
to this day. Some of you I've seen for a long
time. I was trying to remember the other day, I think the first
time I came here was in the mid 90s. That's almost 25 years ago.
Why are we still here? Having therefore obtained help
of God, we continue to this day, to this day. Let me give you a few more scriptures
and we'll be closed. Hebrews 4.16, this is most probably
every one of you could quote this verse. Let us therefore
come boldly unto the throne of grace. that we may obtain mercy
and find grace to help in time of need. Fear not, I am with thee, Isaiah
41, verse 10. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I'll strengthen thee, I'll help
thee. I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.
Verse 13, for I am the Lord thy God, will hold thy right hand,
saying unto thee, fear not. Imagine, Lord, it's like he takes
you by the hand. He said, shall we fear not? I'll help thee. Then it says in verse 14, so
three times, I know in those few verses, he's not just repeating
himself. There's a reason. Fear not. Who's he talking to? Thou worm
Jacob. What did we read in Psalms 22? What did he say? I am a worm. And no, man. Fear not. Who you were, you maggot, Jacob,
you men of Israel, I help thee, saith the Lord and thy Redeemer,
the Holy One of Israel. Let me give you one more. Remember the children of Israel
in the first part of the book of 1 Samuel, where they had been
so wrapped up in religion, when they were getting ready to fight
the Philistines, They called for the Ark of the Covenant.
It had just become some religious trinket, that's all it was. Well,
if we've got the Ark, well then the Lord's on our side and he's
bound to help us. Well, they go call for the Ark
and what happens? Eli dies, Eli's two sons die. the Philistines take the Ark
and Eli's daughter-in-law's having a child and she dies having the
child and names it Ichabod, the glory's departed. And for 20
years, nobody had went and worshiped God. No one had went after the
Ark. We know that they sent it back,
but it stayed in a man's house for 20 years. But now in 1 Samuel
7, God brings Israel back to the very same piece of property
where they lost that battle 20 years earlier. Can you imagine
what you would think? Oh, here we go again. You know
what, they realized they needed help. It was different this time.
Now they begin to seek the Lord. Now they begin to cry out to
God. And God rang thunder down, God
spoke, and Israel never fired a weapon. They're not coming
out there with spears or swords. God drove the Philistines away.
And you know what Samuel did? Now listen to this. On the very
piece of property where they'd been defeated, some had maybe
survived from that battle until now, and they remember it. Samuel
took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shem and called the
name of it Ebenezer. Hither to hath the Lord helped. Why did they win the battle?
The Lord helped them. And they knew it. You know that
word, Hitherto, you know what that means? It means to look
backward and forward. God give us a memory. We can
look back through those things and I say, you know what? There
was the Lord's hand. There the Lord helped me. And
listen, even in them losing the battle, the Lord helped them. As we were coming up, we were
reading Sandy was reading a message from Spurgeon on this very thing,
on hitherto. And Spurgeon talked about when
they were in Surrey, it was a tabernacle or something, where they were
meeting. And I don't know how many people were in that large
building. Somebody cried fire. And they
were people trampled to death. Spurgeon said it always bothered
him. He was always afraid somebody was going to do that again. And
he said, you know what? As he looked back, hitherto,
he said that was one of the greatest blessings they ever had. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose. You know, we just think, well,
what about the good things? Well, what about the bad thing? What
about the battles we lost? When we lose the battle, what
do we learn? We learn we're nothing. You think you can handle it,
God'll say, okay, you go right ahead. And you know what, you
will find out that you need him. Hitherto, hitherto have I come,
hitherto the Lord's helped me. Did the Lord help him through
it? Yeah, he did. The Lord teaches his children.
Those that he loves, he rebukes and chastens. He said, it's to
look backward and forward and see the future in the past. He has helped us, and therefore,
he will help us. Has he stopped helping us? No. Because he knows what it's like
to need help. I said, Lord, would you help
me? Would you help me to understand? Would you help me to have faith?
Would you help me to trust you? He helps us by griefs and losses,
by disappointments and defeats. Whatever brings us closer to
him is helpful beyond all age. I think it's Newton that wrote
that song. He said, I ask the Lord that
I may grow in faith and love and those things. Was it Newton?
I can't remember. But then he said, Lord, would
you pursue this worm to death? He said, like he turned loose
the angry forces of hell, and he said, Lord, this is not what
I asked for. But then the Lord said, yeah,
that's what you asked for. You just didn't realize it. He said,
boy, I'd love to, since the Lord's presence, Him to draw me near
to Him, He let trouble come. So we realized that we need Him. Newton did say, each sweet Ebenezer
I have in review confirms his good pleasure to help me qua
through. He's a very present help in time
of trouble. Do you need him? Cry out for
him. Amen.