Blessed Are All Who Take Refuge In Him

[0:00] I wanted to ask Robert, when was your second birthday, Robert? Oh, what a memory. This morning I said to Grace, could you pray for me for this morning, please?

[0:16] And then just as she started to pray, I remembered she told me she was 11 years old when she became a Christian.

[0:28] 11 years old. I was 22 when I was saved. She was 11. And she ran to the Brethren Hall, wherever that was, down in wherever you guys know who are Brethren Hall people, and ran home to tell her father that the evangelist had led her to the Lord.

[0:47] I can't remember the evangelist's name. He was an older man, well known here for being evangelist. Who? Who? And everybody knew him, and she was running home to tell her dad, I've become a Christian at 11 years old.

[1:03] I mean, that's amazing. But, when I think about Christmas, it's about the Son of God being born as a male child.

[1:23] Now, I don't know what time of year she was converted. I don't recall her telling me that. But I thought, I wonder how precious is it to you and me that he became like us?

[1:40] Because the whole purpose is that we become like him. One day, if you're born again from above and got a second birthday, Robert, thank the Lord, I have one too, then the Holy Spirit's leading us to a place where we're going to meet Jesus personally.

[2:03] And I'm going to be like him spiritually. I hope he's not like me manually. But I'm going to be like him spiritually.

[2:16] And so are you. But if you're not the Lord's, Christmas can just pass by as a Christian festival, quote unquote.

[2:28] And this happens all over the earth. Everywhere. In Israel too. Are you his?

[2:41] Do you belong to him? Because if you don't, he won't be precious to you.

[2:53] As I thought about this morning, I was speaking with Carl a couple of weeks ago. And he referred to this earlier on and stole half my sermon.

[3:13] I said to me, Carl, I was looking at the Herod, Herod the Great situation. Nothing's changed.

[3:26] How could a man, Herod the Great was very sick. He was rotting away inside. He was an old man. When he told the soldiers in Bethlehem, go get the two-year-olds, boys and under, and murder them.

[3:44] He was an old man rotting away with sickness. Nothing has changed. And the Lord stepped in with the angelic ministry to Joseph and Mary and Egypt, of all places, became a safer place than Israel.

[4:06] Would you believe that? Egypt was a safer place in North Africa than Israel for Israel's saviour.

[4:22] We live in a world in which people do terrible things and it's all down to sin, selfishness, corruption from within.

[4:36] But, but, I want to take you to Psalm 1 and Psalm 2, please. because I want us to think about God's attitude to the evil in this world and many other things that relate to it, but we don't have time for all that.

[4:54] Let me read Psalm 1 and Psalm 2. These are the two Psalms that introduce the songs of Israel. And they're beautifully connected and they connect so well with the New Testament.

[5:08] But my main concern in my heart this morning is, as it says in the very last verse of Psalm 2, blessed are all who take refuge in him.

[5:25] that's my concern. Have you taken refuge in him? Let me read the two Psalms.

[5:39] Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord and who meditates on his law day and night.

[5:55] That person is like a tree planted by streams of water which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither.

[6:08] Whatever they do prospers. Not so the wicked. They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

[6:23] For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked leads to destruction. Why do the nations conspire?

[6:38] And the peoples plot in vain. The kings of the earth rise up and the rulers band together against the Lord and his anointed saying let us break their chains throw off their shackles.

[6:57] The one enthroned in heaven laughs mocks the Lord scoffs at them. He rebukes them in his anger terrifies them in his wrath saying I have installed my king on Zion my holy mountain.

[7:17] I will proclaim the Lord's decree says the next speaker. He said to me you are my son today I have become your father asking me and I will make the nations your inheritance the ends of the earth your possession you will break them with a rod of iron you will dash them to pieces like pottery.

[7:46] Then there's another speaker therefore you kings be wise be warned you rulers of the earth serve the Lord with fear celebrate his rule with trembling kiss his son or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction for his wrath can flare up in a moment that doesn't mean he's quick tempered he's not a man God is not a man that he should lie or repent of anything it means there comes a point where the elastic of his grace stops and it's judgment day and then you have that beautiful phrase at the end blessed are all all not some all who take refuge in him how precious to you today is the

[8:55] Lord's unfailing love Alan was playing that for us how precious oh Lord is your unfailing love what would you do what would I do without it as a sinner saved by grace and now being sanctified through the Holy Spirit being prepared for a holy home in heaven that Jesus left to come here for me what would I do without that where is the security if it's not in the grace of God free free at his price why would I need to take refuge in him because by nature I am a sinner by nature I am corrupt I remember when my two sons now in their mid and late fifties were having a real do one day the two of them were getting stuck into one another like they had never seen one was trying to attack what are you doing he he he he and Eddie had to swipe at each other and I thought they're definitely my sons

[10:17] I didn't say they're her son no I said they're my son but I realised that day my boys have all the seats of war inside them it just needs somebody to develop it there are many people in prison and many other places people who knew them would never believe they're there refuge friends are you in refuge in the Lord blessed are all who take refuge in him when I was travelling through Australia with my daughter it was my turn to drive to Willa Roo the radio came on John had turned the radio on to his husband and this man totally out of the blue

[11:19] I don't know the context of what they were talking about in the programme but he said to the people listening it was obviously a programme people tuned into daily by the sounds of it he said they are only people he said they can't see through other people that clicked they are only people whoever the allusion was to I don't know they can't see through other people do you know what came straight to my mind listen to these words the very last verses of John's gospel chapter two after Jesus has turned the water into wine and cleansed the temple listen to these words he's right the man was right I can't see what you're thinking only the spirit in a man knows what's in a man that's what the new testament says you keep all the secrets you like but you can't keep them from him listen to these words the very last verses 24 25 of

[12:31] John 2 many people saw the signs he was performing and believed in his name but Jesus would not entrust himself to them for he knew all people he did not need any testimony about mankind for he knew listen to these words what was in each person that's John's testimony to the saviour's insight that no other human being has ever had or ever will have or ever be given because we're not mankind's judge and yet we're forever judging each other and judging other people as though we do know what's going on inside people we don't even know what's going on inside ourselves half the time when I heard that man on the radio

[13:45] I thought wow and my mind went to the Christmas verse in Luke 2 14 glory to God in the highest heaven and on earth peace to those on whom his favour rests his favour brings peace to an individual and there it is in the baby in the manger in person the incarnation of the son of God to be a man for a certain amount of time until the fullness of God's time when he opens the door through his atoning sacrifice takes the wrath of

[14:47] God in place of all of us standing in judgment with God's hatchet over our head and saying now you can be forgiven of all your sins you can have God's favour by trusting in me and what I've done that was why the father sent me that that's a Christian not because you're religious the people that crucified the Lord were religious very religious but very self righteous they did not have the righteousness of God that comes through the saviour friends my concern this Christmas time again is

[15:48] Christ your refuge if he's your refuge your life will tell it the patterns of your life will tell it the habits of your life will tell it whether you are or not you can hide it from everybody else but not from him he knowing every person as we read he knows those who as in psalm one who walk not in step with the mockers not in step with the wicked or the practicing sinners shameless in their whatever but whose delight is in the things of the Lord that person is like a tree planted by living water you see we blossom where we're planted when we know the

[16:51] Lord and we become fruitful we're not a hypocrite though we may fall into hypocrisy nobody's perfect but if we are sincere and genuine and in the object of our faith in Jesus Christ we look you're first Lord nobody else you're first before everyone else it was him that died and was crucified and lay as a corpse for three days and three nights in a grave in God's will his father's will then was raised and vindicated by the resurrection that he was and is the son of God the resurrection vindicates him the grave could hold every one of us but not him because he's not there because he's a sinner he's there because we are oh may

[17:57] God bless us this Christmas time amongst your family if you are his amongst our fellowship amongst your friends maybe even amongst your foes if you have any speak of him in the way that people know you trust him you see verse 4 of someone not so the wicked not so the wicked they're like chaff the wind comes and blows them away they'll not stand in the seat of judgment but the Lord watches over like a shepherd over the flock the Lord watches over leads and feeds and feeds but the way of the wicked leads to destruction see friends I think it's awful important for us to remember without faith Hebrews 11 6 it is impossible to please

[19:02] God impossible and that's why you have the history of the heroes and heroines under the old covenant in Hebrews 11 leading to the closing chapters the people of faith the Lord was able to use employ and they were servants because they pleased him they found favour like the shepherds heard from the angels favour favour with God let me just ask Stephen to put up I'm not going to say a first heading because you'll go oh no Bill you can't have another six after this that's where I'm thinking right that's the verse for the last verse in

[20:07] Psalm 2 the decisive precious pathway before us if you're a Christian you've obviously seen your need of the Saviour the pathway before you is a pathway of pleasing God serving God loving God in return for him loving you first when you didn't deserve it that loving mercy is priceless it's hard to put words to it but you see it in action for God so loved the world he gave who a lamb without blemish yes but not an animal his son and whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life the condemnation label over your head is gone because Christ has kept the law for you you have a righteousness from his bank account to our bankrupt lives that decision to trust him you look back now as a

[21:18] Christian how long you are a Christian if you are one you look back and see how things worked out for the good because you love him you look and think I couldn't have opened that door I couldn't have closed that door but by prayer and care and fellowship and worship and practicing what the scripture says the Holy Spirit leads you in this precious pathway and you find refuge again and again and again no matter how difficult it becomes you look back and you say he's led me again you think of how many times the psalmist said lead me in the way of and then another psalm lead me in the way of and then another psalm lead me in the way of he keeps asking

[22:21] God lead me in the way you want me to live walk go that's a precious precious relationship that can't be exaggerated that's the third point but that's not the end the first one there's two more I asked even to do that just to make the point of what I'm thinking of is that please don't what can I say to you Lord remember this people talk about a global crisis today I don't believe we have a global crisis I believe we have a cosmic crisis you you and

[23:24] I think the best thing at this point Stephen that's the first one let me retake you to Revelation chapter 12 if you have your Bible and the reason why I'm reading Revelation chapter 12 is for you to see who it is that's behind all the warring in our world Revelation chapter 12 and you'll see his name is spelled out the meaning of it it is a vision of a woman and a dragon now I want to say this right away to you the woman giving birth is not Mary right the woman giving birth is Israel to the Messiah but let me read through it and you'll see that who's behind the wickedness in our world able to use us as people vulnerable and able to be twisted and turned in the wrong way and set on an army warfare that's not

[24:44] God's will mankind is so vulnerable let me read this to you a great sign appeared in heaven a woman clothed with the sun with the moon under her feet and a crown of 12 stars on her head you know who they are she was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth then another sign appeared in heaven an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its head his tail swept down a third of the stars of the sky and flung them to the earth now stop the stars are not stars they are angels the symbolism for the stars in revelation are angels the devil came was hurled down out of heaven to hear with many disobedient angels the dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth so that it might devour her child the moment he was born she gave birth to a son a male child here we have it

[25:58] Sam 2 who will rule all the nations with an iron scepter and her child was snatched up to God and to his throne the woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God where she might be taken care of for 1260 days that's the times and times and half a times of Daniel as he prophesied then war broke out in heaven Michael and his angels fought against the dragon and the dragon and his angels fought back but he was not strong enough and they lost their place in heaven do you know there are many people today who believe in angels who believe in the devil but they don't believe in God that's how twisted the evil one makes people because they are vulnerable they are not safe in

[27:00] Jesus the great dragon was hurled down he had no choice God is sovereign that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan who leads the whole world astray the whole world is led astray by Satan see why God had to take the initiative the divine prerogative I will set my king in Zion and no way I'm leaving it to Israel there's no way I'm leaving it to the Gentiles it's God's act God's sovereign son he puts in place if he didn't we have no hope we have no object of grace no object of faith if he doesn't do this the great dragon was hurled down that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan who leads the whole world that includes

[28:03] Bells Hill by the way astray he was hurled to the earth and his angels with him then I heard a loud voice in heaven say now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Messiah for the accuser of our brothers and sisters who accuses them before our God day and night he has been hurled down that's tragic but there was no place in heaven for him anymore he's here leading the whole world astray who could deny that looking at our divided world determined to be antichrist atheistic secular who could deny that with a

[29:04] Bible open in front of them don't let the enemy lie to you he is a liar by nature the father of lies verse 11 they triumphed over him by the blood of the lamb there it is amen the blood of the lamb that's how they triumphed and by the word of their testimony they did not have they did not love their life so much as to shrink from death therefore rejoice you heavens and you who dwell in them but woe to the earth and the sea because the devil has gone down to you he's filled with fury because he knows his time is short when the dragon saw he had been hurled to the earth listen to what he did here is the wickedness of the evil one and what he inspires he pursued the woman has Israel been pursued you bet she has what she's been through the woman was given the two wings of a great eagle so that she might fly to the place prepared for her in the wilderness where she would be taken care of for a time times and half a time out of the serpent's reach then from his mouth the serpent spewed water like a river to overtake the woman and sweep her away with the torrent but the earth helped the woman by opening its mouth and swallowing the river that the dragon has spewed out of his mouth then the dragon was enraged at the woman and went off to wage war against whom her children the rest is offspring those who keep

[31:10] God's commands that is and hold fast their testimony about whom the Baptist church Israel Jesus Prince Charles said or King Charles I should say please forgive me if you're a royalist King Charles said the earth does not belong to us listen to what he says next we belong to it I felt my heart sink to the soles of my feet we belong to the earth it's just silly the bible says the earth belongs to god and everything in it the world and all who dwell in it see there's no place for god in his statement that the whole world is listening to that's how the wicked one works the determined divided world around us but let me go to number two and close the derision of our god above us psalm two the one enthroned in heaven laughs the lord scoffs at them he rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath saying i have installed my king on zion my holy mountain i will proclaim the lord's decree says the son and some people divide this psalm into the father speaking the son speaking and the spirit speaking which is quite logical he said to me you are my son today i have become your father ask me and i will make the nations your inheritance the ends of the earth your possession you will break them with a rod of iron you will dash them to pieces like pottery and if this is a spirit speaking as it no doubt is therefore you kings be wise be warned you rulers of the earth serve the lord with fear celebrate his rule with trembling honorably kiss his son honorably or he will be angry in your way will lead to your destruction for his wrath can flare up in a moment blessed are all who take refuge in him i don't know of any of you listened to the videos on youtube that were the result of the lectures given in the tron church in glasgow the lectures were given under the heading the war of world views and the first man to speak i listened to on the plane between edinburgh and doa when going to australia i listened to on my ipad because i had gone onto youtube but paul brennan is the first man that lectures on this subject and he takes the pergamum letter at the beginning of the book of revelation chapter 2 and he said this because the pergamum church had been very faithful some had even died for their faith for the lord but then they had gone back he said i've this against you and

[35:10] this is what he says you can go on to youtube and you'll see them but paul brennan was the first one to speak then it was a lady speaker i think two men after that he said today in our world there is a powerful intoxicating combination and it's of the enemy be careful what you listen to what you follow do not be wooed by what the world offers you because it is nothing like what the lord offers you so simple that was how he sums up his lecture on what went wrong in the pergamum church in revelation chapter two friends i'm concerned for you and for myself be confident in your faith in jesus that he is the one god gave to you and to me and to this world which seems to detest his very name and blasphemes him all the time even in israel there are many secular jews many humanistic jews and there are many across the nations who don't want to leave their security among the gentiles in case they come to israel and they end up poor one can understand their human feeling but be careful be careful because god looks down from above and he mocks not because he's not merciful because he knows he's spoken to people and they know as being righteous he will have to bring them to judgment there has to be a judgment day or this will go on forever please be careful do what psalm one says read god's word and stay close to him and ask the holy spirit to minister to you in a way that you know lord this is what i need i need to hear your voice i hear so many other voices please speak to me and he will he will you know that if i was to say to you now let's pray the lord's prayer together you would all know what i mean matthew six but would we while praying it think as we go through that prayer it says keep me from the evil one keep me from the evil one but why did jesus include that in this lovely model prayer to all the people on the mountain this is how to pray keep me from the evil one it's part of that and when he stood with his apostles before he left them in john 17 he prayed to the father father i do not pray for you to take them out of the world but i pray you keep them from the evil one very same words you are in a spiritual battle the

[39:12] christian life is not a walk in the meadow on a sunny afternoon stay close to god as it says in psalm one be aware of what the nations are thinking and trying to do as it says in psalm two these two psalms are beautifully connected and remember you're blessed when you take refuge in you'll be welcomed no matter how terrible you feel your sins are letting you down letting him down he loves you enough to give himself for you who is he in yonder stall at whose feet the shepherds fall who is he a Jewish man a Roman emperor another Herod this one is like no one else behold the lamb of god who bears away the sin of the world take your refuge in him please going over

[40:26] Christmas when you have your lovely time with family and all sorts of people remember the one who gave his life for you became a man but god is not a man that he should lie or repent he became a man to represent us before god and he still does that this morning isn't that wonderful peerless priceless pure prayers we couldn't pray those way may the holy spirit fill you if you're a believer if you are not a believer there is no refuge from the judgment of god outside of christ you're already under condemnation please please a man came to a service i was taking in spring born baptist about 1983 when i was a pastor there before i went to the island and after the service he said to me he handed me a redemption song book that we used oh redemption songs oh look at the smiling faces he handed me a redemption song and he said oh sorry i don't really understand the bible that poor man didn't know the difference between redemption songs and the bible there are people like that even more now and they need to see the light may god bless us in our witness testimony because we are his servants dear father we honour you for your clarity and authority we honour you for your love for your mercy for the resultant peace that comes the favour that you show to the humble who are willing and indeed made to see by your grace that you have a covenant waiting to encircle them be the foundation for their life and however short or long their life may be it is an eternal covenant in jesus oh we pray for the land of israel for the people of israel we pray for the people in hamas we pray for those who are being caught between the two groups we pray for those in lebanon those in iran we pray lord for all these groups that seem to want to bring down the very people you brought the messiah through it seems so devilish father but we pray for them we know that some will be saved we ask your blessing that your own people who are believing in you lord will have an opportunity to show jesus to them bless this christmas to them and to our lives for your glory we pray amen what you for and goodbye to