A Man - Our Hiding Place

Q: What does the Bible say about Jesus as our hiding place?

Isaiah 32:2 portrays Jesus as a hiding place, sheltering us from life's troubles and God's wrath. Isaiah 32:2 states that 'a man shall be as a hiding place from the wind, and a covert from the tempest.' This prophecy initially referred to King Hezekiah, who exemplified faith in God amidst the Assyrian siege. However, the ultimate fulfillment is found in Christ, who is our hiding place from the spiritual winds and storms of life. Jesus provides safety from the trials we face, acting as our refuge against evil and delivering us from the wrath of God, as beautifully encapsulated in His role as our Savior.

Q: How do we know that Christ is our shelter in times of trouble?

Christ is our shelter, as He promised to provide refuge and strength during our troubles. The Apostle Paul affirms in 2 Corinthians 12:9 that Christ's strength is made perfect in our weakness. This means that in our times of distress, instead of retreating, we should run to Him for shelter. He is not only aware of our tribulations but has provided a way through them. Isaiah's metaphor of a shelter is clearly fulfilled in Jesus, who experienced our trials and offers Himself as protection from the storms and uncertainties of life. His grace offers us a refuge that nurtures faith amid adversity.

Q: Why is recognizing our need for Christ important for Christians?

Recognizing our need for Christ allows us to seek Him as our source of hope and strength. Understanding our need for Christ is crucial for Christians since it aligns us with the truth of our dependency on Him. As we journey through life, we will inevitably face storms and dry places that highlight our weaknesses. This reality drives us to Christ, who is described as the water in dry places and the shade in a weary land (Isaiah 32:2). Our tribulations teach us to rely on Him, recognizing that His grace is sufficient for our every need. When we embrace our shortcomings, we experience His presence more profoundly and learn that He is glorified in our hardships.

Q: How does trouble in life relate to entering the Kingdom of God?

The Bible teaches that we must go through much tribulation to enter the Kingdom of God. Acts 14:22 states, 'we must, through much tribulation, enter into the kingdom of God.' This acknowledges the reality of the Christian experience, where trials are both expected and transformative. Tribulation serves to refine our faith, demonstrate our need for Christ, and deepen our reliance on Him. Each struggle teaches us about His grace and mercy, ultimately leading us closer to the freedom and joy found in His Kingdom. In understanding that these challenges are part of our spiritual journey, we are more able to confront them with the hope that Christ offers.

Q: Why is it essential to seek Christ in times of distress?

Seeking Christ in distress is essential because He is our true source of comfort and support. In times of distress, running to Christ is crucial because He alone can provide the refuge we need. As Isaiah depicted Him as a hiding place and shelter in challenging circumstances, our response to trouble should be to seek Him rather than retreat into despair. When we turn to Him, we find safety and peace, as His love casts out fear. Psalm 42 exemplifies this by encouraging believers to hope in God during times when their soul is cast down. It is in these moments of vulnerability that we can experience His transformative grace and restoration most profoundly.

Now let's open our Bibles to
the book of Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 32. I'll read verse 2 of Isaiah 32. And a man shall be as an hiding
place from the wind, and a covert or shelter from the tempest, as rivers of water in a dry place,
as the shadow of a great rock in a weary land. Now perhaps some of you here
tonight do not especially need what I have to say in this message
at this present time. But I would say to you, file
it away. What I'm going to say, file it
away somewhere or else get the tape from Brother Ronnie and
keep it in a drawer because you will need it someday. My text in the amplified version
reads this way. A man shall be a hiding place
from the wind, a shelter from the storm, water like streams of water in
a dry place, like the shade of a great rock in a weary land. Now I wouldn't burden you, but
in the first place, this text right here, Isaiah 32, 2, refers
to King Hezekiah. That's the first reference and
application. Hezekiah was king of Judah. And the Assyrians had invaded
the land, and the nation was powerless to defend itself against
the hordes of Assyrians that had come across the border, it
appeared that the whole nation would perish, that the enemy
would overrun them completely. But there was a man, there was
a man, much like Josiah that you read about tonight, there
was a man whom God had raised up, though he had no great army,
but he had one characteristic, he believed God. Hezekiah believed
God. And he sent to Isaiah, begging
the prophet of God to go to the Lord and plead for the people. And that's when Isaiah said,
this man, Hezekiah, will be a hiding place, a shelter, like streams
of water in a desert country and like a gray shade of a rock
in a weary But like all scripture, as our Lord indicated to his
disciples in Luke 24, this text may initially point to Hezekiah,
but it is Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus is that man. He's
the sinner's savior. Christ Jesus is that king and
that prince that rules in judgment and executes righteousness. Christ
Jesus is the hiding place. from the wind of evil, Satan,
principalities and powers, rulers of the darkness. Christ Jesus
is that shelter from the storm of God's wrath. Christ Jesus
is indeed the water of life in a dry and thirsty land. And Christ
Jesus, no question about it, is that tried stone that sure
foundation, that great shade in a weary land, is he not? But
the third application, which is my topic tonight, is addressed
to believers. I would address this text to
believers, and the believers make up the great majority of
this congregation tonight, I'm certain of that, but in reference
to me and to you. the word says, and a man shall
be a hiding place from the wind, and a shelter in the storm, and
the refreshing water in a dry place, and the shade in the weary
land. Now the words of this verse,
the wind, the storm, Dry places and the weary land is a description
of life on this planet, life on this earth. And he who reckons
on a peaceful calm from the cradle to the grave is a fool or a dreamer. And you may set sail in early
years on a calm, peaceful sea. But I promise before the journey's
over, the old ship will reel to and fro. Is that right, older
folks? It'll reel to and fro, and you'll
be thinking in your heart, she's going to the bottom. I'll never
survive this storm. I just never will. Well, the
scriptures are clear on this subject. He who reckons on a
peaceful calm from the cradle to the grave is either a fool
or a dreamer. But the Word of God says, in
this world you shall have trouble. The Word of God says, man that
is born of woman is a few days and full of trouble, trouble. And I want you to hold that text
there and go with me to Acts 14. I don't know how that I have
missed this verse and used it so infrequently in reference
to this particular subject. Acts 14, 21. Acts 14, 21. And
when they had preached the gospel to that city, and
had taught many, they returned again to Lystra and to Arconium
and Antioch, confirming the souls of the disciples and exhorting
them to continue in the faith, and that we must, through much
trouble, enter into the kingdom of God. Well, back in our text,
let's look at the fourfold description of this trouble. This trouble. We must, with much tribulation
and trouble, enter the kingdom of heaven. Let's look at this
fourfold description of this trouble. First of all, Isaiah
said it's a wind. A man shall be a hiding place
from the wind. Our Lord said the wind is mysterious. You can't tell whence it cometh
or whither it goeth. And many of our troubles are
like the wind. They're mysterious. We're disturbed
by mysterious causes for which we can't account. We have confusion
of heart and confusion of mind and depression of spirit. And
they call it nerves, and they call it a virus, and they call
it emotion, and they call it whatever. A person says, I'm unhappy, and
I don't know why. I have no real cause to be unhappy.
I'm distressed, and I don't know why. I have no cause to be distressed. I'm discouraged for no apparent
reason. And people look at me and say,
what's wrong with you? And I say, I don't know. You
ever been in that condition? I don't know. I don't know. David asked that question. He
said, why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why? You have food
and clothing and shelter. You have the blessings of family
and friends. You have all these things. Why
are you disquieted? Why are you cast down? Why do
you mourn within me? That's the wind. That's the mysterious
causes within, from within, and we can't account for it. We don't
know why. We're just depressed. We're distressed. We're discouraged.
We're unhappy because of these mysterious problems. And then
the second thing he uses, we know a lot about this. We know
the cause of these tears. We know the cause of this pain.
It's called a storm. A storm. He said a man will be
a shelter from the storm. The tempest is the storm. Well,
there are a lot of storms. There's the storm of sicknesses. Some of our beloved friends right
now are going through distressing sicknesses. Turn to Isaiah 38
and listen to Hezekiah. When this body gets sick and
hurts, and our days seem to be coming to their close, that's
a storm, a dreadful, dreadful storm. Chapter 38 of Isaiah,
verse 1, And those days was Hezekiah sick unto death. And Isaiah the
prophet, the son of Amos, came unto him, and said, Thus saith
the Lord, Set your house in order, you'll die and not live." And
Hezekiah turned his face to the wall, and he prayed unto the
Lord. And he said, Lord, remember now
I beseech Thee how I've walked before Thee in truth with a perfect
heart. I've done that which is good
in Thy sight. And Hezekiah wept, and the word
there is with great weeping. with great weeping." That's a
storm, isn't it? Sickness is a storm. When you
think about leaving your loved ones, when you think about making
orphans of your children and a widow of your wife, that's
a storm. And then David wrote about the
enemies without that troubled him. And then one of the saddest
scriptures in the Bible is found in 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel chapter
18. I never read this verse of scripture
that it doesn't move my heart. Here's a man who had lost his
son. Absalom had been killed. He inquired
about the safety of Absalom and the messenger told him the young
man was dead. His son was dead. and 2 Samuel
18.33, and the king David was much moved. This is a storm. And he went up to the chamber
over the gate, and he wept. And as he went, thus he said,
O my son Absalom, my son, my son Absalom, would God I died
for thee, O Absalom, my son, my son. Would you say that's
a storm? sickness, enemies, divisions,
trouble, death of loved ones, and then our own sins, their
storms. The Apostle Paul cried, O wretched
man that I am, that I am, who shall deliver me from this body,
this house of death? David cried, O God, purge me
with hyssop, wash me. and I'll be clean. My sins are
ever before me." That's a storm, is it not? And then another verse
I won't ask you to turn to, I'll just quote it. Over there in Genesis, Jacob. Jacob. Joseph was gone, he thought
he was dead, and now Benjamin was gone, He didn't know what
had happened to him and he called his sons in and he said, he said,
go down there into Egypt and talk to that man. Maybe he'll
let my children go. Because he said, when I am bereaved
of my children, I am bereaved. Did you ever read that? When
I, when my children are on my heart and they're causing me
pain and distress, That's real pain and distress. When I am
bereaved of my children, then am I bereaved. That's a storm,
isn't it? Ah, some of you have been through
it, some of you are going through it, some of you will go through
it. That's a storm. And then thirdly, he talks about
the dry places. He says, we need a hiding place
from this wind. We need a shelter from the storm. And then he says something about
dry places. Do you know anything about dry
places? Well, David did. Turn to Psalm 63 and listen to
him. David, oh yeah, yeah. I like to use him as an example
because one thing I know about him, he loved God and God loved
him. Because the Lord said so twice.
Man after my own heart. So I like to read after David.
And he says here in Psalm 63, O God, thou art my God, early
will I seek thee, my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for
thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is, to see thy
power and thy glory, so as I have seen thee in the sanctuary. Turn to Psalm 77, here's another
account, listen to this. You know anything about a dry
land? Are there times when reading the Word of God is a chore? Come
on now, isn't it? Or are you happy all the time? Used to sing that chorus, happy
all the time, that's a lie. It's fun being saved. You mean
there are no times when study is a chore? You see, there are
no times when your heart's cold and indifferent, none. There
are no times when the flesh is so strong and the spirit is weak. The disciples had that problem.
Our Lord told them, he said, your spirit indeed is willing,
but the flesh is weak. Now, there are no times in your
experience when prayer is just words. Now, come on. Do you always
lay hold of the horns of the altar when you pray? or sometimes
are they just words? Somebody wrote a poem about that.
I often say my prayers, but do I always pray? Do the wishes of my heart always
go with the words I say? I may as well kneel down and worship
a God of stone as to offer to the living God a prayer of words
alone. David said in Psalm 77, I cried
unto the Lord with my voice, even unto God with my voice. And he gave ear to me in the
day of my trouble. I sought the Lord. My soul ran
in the night and ceased not. My soul refused to be comforted.
You ever been there? I remembered God and I was troubled.
I complained and my spirit was overwhelmed. Thou holdest mine
eyes waking. I couldn't go to sleep. I'm so
troubled I can't speak. I've considered the days of old,
the years of ancient times. I call to remember. It's my song
in the night. I commune with mine own heart
and my spirit made diligent search. Will the Lord cast off forever? Will he be favorable no more? Is it over? Is his mercy clean,
gone forever? Does his promise fail forevermore? John Newton must have known something
about these times, for that great old man who wrote Amazing Grace,
how sweet the sound was grace that taught my heart to fear.
He also wrote It is a point I long to know, oft it gives me anxious
thought. Do I really love the Lord? Or
no? Am I His or am I not? That's
pretty dry isn't it? I've been there. You ever been
to dry places? Like Brother Scott said, like
listening to a dog walk through dry leaves. I've heard sermons
like that. Walking through dry leaves, dry
parts. And then he says there's a weary
land. Now listen to me. Winds, storms, dryness, and weariness. A weary land. He said the shadow
of a rock in a weary land. Now let me tell you this, this
world does not become a weary land. It does not become a weary
land. It is a weary land. And believers, one at a time,
realize it. That's right. It is. It is the shadow of death. It is a weary land. But it takes
us a while to realize it and to discover it. It takes a while. That's right. Preacher, when
does this world become, in reality, a weary land for a believer? When his sorrows outnumber his
joys, when his pain exceeds his pleasure, when there are more lonely hours
than there are cheerful hours. when tears come easier than laughter, when we need others more than
they need us, when the nights grow longer and
the days get shorter, we realize it is indeed a weary life. Is it not true that we must pass
through much trouble in entering the kingdom of God? But for all
these troubles there is a sure and certain deliverance, is the
happiness. And he says, a man shall be a
hiding place from the wind. I've got a place to go when the
wind distresses me. And a man shall be a shelter
in the storm. I've got a place to go during
the storm. The storms are real now, and
the wind is real, and the way is dry, but there's a place to
go. And there is a stream, the rivers
of water, the rivers, the stream of which make glad the heart.
There is a place to go during this famine. There's a shadow
of a great rock in a weary land. Where shall I go when storms
arise? Where shall I go when the winds
blow? Where shall I go when life grows weary? Well, the poet put
it this way. From every stormy wind that blows,
from every swelling tide of woe, there is a calm, there is a safe
retreat, and it's found in him. our mercy seat. Where can my
soul flee for aid when troubled and desolate and dismayed,
when mysterious winds would defeat? Oh, it is found in him, my mercy
seat. You know, I quoted David a while
ago, and I did him an injustice. Turn to Psalm 42. I did David
an injustice. I only quoted half of what he
said. But I did it on purpose, because
most of the time we live on that half. In Psalm 42, 5, David said,
Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou disquieted? Why do you mourn in me? Hope
thou in God. Hope thou in God. For I shall yet praise him for
the help of his countenance. I did the Apostle Paul an injustice
while ago. I only quoted half of what he
said. Turn to Romans 7, but I did it
on purpose because that's the half we live on most of the time. We chew on the bone. We get an ear of corn and chew
on the cob. He said in Romans 7, 24, a wretched
man that I am. Who shall deliver me from this
body, this house of death? He didn't quit there. He said,
I thank God. I thank God. That's the part
that you own, Jim, isn't it? I thank God for Jesus Christ
our Lord. I am delivered. I shall be delivered. So my friends, Don't allow the
trials, I don't care if they're the mysterious winds, or the horrible, terrible storms,
or the times of indifference and dryness and famine, or the
days of traveling and sojourning in this weary land. Don't allow
them to turn you away from Christ. Don't let it happen. Don't let
it happen. Don't let it happen. Make trying
times seeking times. Make troubled times times of
seeking the Lord. Do you not understand? Do I not
understand that this is exactly when I need Him? This is when
I need Him. I don't know why we think our
relationship with Christ is always at its best when we're at our
best. He's at His best when we're at
our worst. That's when I need Him. When
the wind blows is when I need the hiding place, isn't that
right? When the storm rages, that's when I need the shelter.
Don't run the other way. Run to the shelter. We do, don't
we have? We run the other way, we run
right into the heart of the storm. And when we get in there, we
got to come out the other side too. When the wind blows, head for
the hiding place. When the storm rages, head for
the shelter. When the ground is dry, head
for the spring. Don't just keep on, don't look
up some fellas that are dry too. Look up somebody that's got some
water. Misery loves company. This misery don't. This misery
loves healing. When the sun is hot in this weary
land, I'm going to run to the shade, not away from it. Do you not understand that this
is in reality his office? This is his work. He's the savior
of sinners. He's not the savior of good people,
he's the savior of sinners. We got this thing backwards.
I'm in good fellowship with the Lord. Why are you in good fellowship
with the Lord? Because I'm good. Well, he's the mediator for the
helpless. He's the high priest for the
guilty. He said, I came to seek and to save the lost. That's
my office. That's why I came. Paul said,
Jesus Christ is coming to the world to save sinners. He died
for them ungodly. What's a hiding place for? It's to protect. Isn't that what
it's for? What's a shelter for? What is
the purpose of a shelter? Why, to shield me from the storm.
What in the world is water for? What's the stream and the spring
for? What's the fountain for? To quench
the thirst. It's not to look at or to admire
or to build your own water fountain like it. It's to go get a drink. What
a shade park for the weary. Do we not understand that? Somehow
I don't think that we fully do. When trouble comes and sin comes
and trial comes and the wind blows and these things, you know,
We go the other way. Get deeper and deeper into the
storm, deeper and deeper into the dark woods, deeper and deeper
into our confusion, instead of running immediately to the hiding
place, immediately to the shelter, to the water, to the great rock,
because that's what it's for. And do you not understand, do
I not understand that this is His greatest glory? What is the
glory of the sun? To give warmth, and life. And when it's not doing that,
it's got no glory. What's the glory of the hiding
place? What's the glory of the shelter? To protect. What's the glory of the water?
To satisfy. What's the glory of the rock?
To provide shade. Look at this verse, 2 Corinthians
12. The Apostle Paul, I don't know
what his horn in the flesh was, and if he wanted us to know,
he'd have told us, so let's don't debate it. But I know this, he
called it a messenger of Satan, and he called it the gift of
God, God gave it to him, and he called it trouble in the flesh.
But in verse 8 of 2 Corinthians 12, he said, I besought the Lord
three times that it might depart from me, and he said to me, God
Almighty said to me." Now, you can believe, Paul, that God did
indeed say this, but you don't believe any other preacher who
says God said something to him, because God speaks to us through
his Word. And nobody is hearing God's voice today except through
the Word. It's complete. That's right. That's right. But you can believe
he did say this to Paul. He said, My grace is sufficient
for thee for, you know we quote that, My grace is sufficient
all the time and we never touch this second line. God said this
too. For my strength is made perfect
in your weakness. That's what he said. Do we understand
that He is greatest? Show me your glory, Moses said.
Show me your glory. And God said, all right, I'll
show you my glory. My glory is my goodness. My glory
is my goodness. I'm going to be merciful. I'm
going to be gracious. And God's greatest glory, He
said, strength, my power, my grace
is made glorious and perfect in ministering to your weakness." That's exactly what he said.
I wonder sometimes if we really understand those things. Perhaps it's the fault of the
pulpit that they haven't been clearly enunciated. Or maybe
it's the fault of our way we've been raised and the way we've
been taught. God helps them to help themselves. Blasphemy. Do the best you can and God will
bless you. Blasphemy. When I'm in trouble is when I
need Him. And this is in reality His office. He is a hiding place. He is a
shelter. He is the water. He is the rock
provided for trouble. And his beauty and his glory
is most clearly seen in my trouble. That's right. And his strength
is made perfect in my weakness. Do we not understand, now move
to the close, that this is why he became a man? That's what
my text said, a man. A man shall be a hiding place
in this horrible wind. A man shall be a shelter in this
storm. A man shall be rivers of water
and of drought. A man shall be the shade. He
became a man. I want to read from Hebrews 2.
Now go with me there. This is important here. Hebrews
2. Verse 14. This is why he became a man.
This is why he became a man. For as much then as the children,
that's you and me, Hebrews 2.14, are partakers of flesh and blood,
he also himself likewise took part of the same, that through
death, through sacrifice and suffering, he might destroy him
that had the power of death, that is, the devil. and deliver
them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject
to bondage. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, he took on him the seed of Abraham, the
flesh of Abraham. Wherefore in all things it behooved
him to be made like us, like his brethren. flesh and bones,
that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things
pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. That's
why he became a man. He became a man. He's the Savior
because I'm a sinner. He's faithful because I'm unstable. He's sinless because I'm sinful. He's full of grace because I'm
empty. That's why he came into this
world. If I could have handled it, he wouldn't have come. If
we could all handle it together, he wouldn't have had to come.
But we can't handle nothing. As a man, he represents me. It
behooved him. It was necessary, required of
him that he become a man to represent me. He became a holy man to make
me righteous. He became a crucified man to
redeem me. He became a risen man to justify
me, and an interceding man to bring me to God. That's why He
became a man, and that's why a man is my hiding place, the
God-man. In closing, do you understand,
and I don't think we do, Foley, I wish we did, Do we understand that our drought
enhances the preciousness of Christ? It enhances the preciousness
of Christ. For example, remember last summer? The longer the drought, the drier
the land, the deader the vegetation, the more welcome is the water.
Isn't that right? Oh, it's good for me to go through
the dry places. I appreciate the water more. It's good for me. David said,
it's good for me that I've been afflicted. I learned something
about your mercy. I'll tell you this, a river of water is a lot more
quickly discovered in a desert than anywhere else. That's where that spring is going
to stick out more than anywhere else, is when things are dry. And it's much more valued in
the desert. And the people of the desert
are more thankful for water than anyone else. In fact, over in
the old country, they used to go to the well and get water
in these big skins and put it on the shoulder. And they'd start
home, and you know what they'd be saying? The gift of God. The gift of God. Walking through
that old oriental, dry, desert, parched, famine country, carrying
that water, they'd cry, the gift of God. The gift of God. And He is, indeed, the gift of
God. Just when I need Him, Jesus is
near, just when I falter, just when I need Him, ready to help
me, ready to cheer, because that's His office, and that's when He's
most glorified. Let me ask you this, when is
the Father, when is the Father in His character most magnified? when he's sitting
there in the home giving to those two sons their inheritance, or
when he is running out yonder across the field to meet that
dirty, ragged, wayward, prodigal son and kiss him on the cheek. Now, which place is that father
most glorified? You know. Huh? And thus, he delights to show
mercy. He delights. All right, Mike's going to sing
for us a song I requested. Listen to the words of it. It's
a good song, and we'll be dismissed after he sings this.

A Man - Our Hiding Place

What does the Bible say about Jesus as our hiding place?

How do we know that Christ is our shelter in times of trouble?

Why is recognizing our need for Christ important for Christians?

How does trouble in life relate to entering the Kingdom of God?

Why is it essential to seek Christ in times of distress?

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A Man - Our Hiding Place

What does the Bible say about Jesus as our hiding place?

How do we know that Christ is our shelter in times of trouble?

Why is recognizing our need for Christ important for Christians?

How does trouble in life relate to entering the Kingdom of God?

Why is it essential to seek Christ in times of distress?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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