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[0:00] Psalm 62, verse 5-8 My soul, wait thou only upon God, for my expectation is from Him.

[0:24] He only is my rock and my salvation. He is my defence, I shall not be moved. In God is my salvation and my glory, the rock of my strength, and my refuge is in God.

[0:37] Trust in Him at all times, ye people. Pour out your heart before Him. God is a refuge for us. God is a refuge for us.

[0:51] We're coming around the Lord's table, we're thinking of the refuge that we can run to. God is a refuge for us. His strong arms will hold you to Himself.

[1:09] I exhort you to take refuge in Him today. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cry out, call upon Him, find refuge in Him.

[1:20] He is the refuge. Psalm 9, verse 9, it says, Likewise, the Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed. Oppressed. A refuge in times of trouble.

[1:31] Times of trouble. Wouldn't that be this time? We're living in troubled times. We're living in a troubled world. And the Lord is a refuge for the oppressed.

[1:43] This word oppressed, it means crushed, injured, afflicted. He's a refuge for those who are crushed and afflicted and wounded and bruised. A refuge for us in times of trouble.

[2:00] There was a pastor one day, he'd just married a young couple. And he turned to the groom and he said, Son, God bless you. You are at the end of your troubles. A year later, that same man returned upset.

[2:15] He moaned, what a year I've gone through. And you're the man who told me that I was at the end of my troubles. The pastor said, yes, I did. But I didn't say which end you were at.

[2:26] Troubled times. Troubled times. Times of trouble. There is a refuge in troubled times. There is a refuge in troubled homes, in troubled marriages, in troubled lives.

[2:38] Even when the situation looks hopeless, he is the refuge. My God is a refuge. Our God is a refuge for us. Even when it looks hopeless, he is with you.

[2:49] He is with you. And in this at times troubled world, when life is hard, when you're feeling like you want to be oppressed, he is a refuge for you. He is your refuge, if you will, but call upon him.

[3:02] Troubled times. Someone said, everyone's worried about the economy this year. My hairline is in recession. My waistline is in inflation.

[3:14] And altogether, I'm in depression. Troubled times. Even in the worst of times, he is your refuge, if you will but call out on him, if you will but look to him today. In the worst of times, when there's a tyranny and dominion of sin that afflicts our planet and takes lives, he is your refuge.

[3:34] He is the refuge for you and for your family. In Psalm 57, verse 1, it says, Be merciful unto me, O God. Be merciful unto me, for my soul trusteth in thee.

[3:47] Yea, in the shadow of thy wings, in the shadow of thy wings, will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpassed.

[3:59] In the shadow of thy wings will I take my refuge. Those American Indians had a particular way of training young boys for manhood.

[4:14] Young boys, young Indian braves would be taken out on the night of the boys' 13th birthday. After learning hunting and camping and scouting and fishing skills, they put this young Indian brave through one final test.

[4:29] He was placed in a thick forest to spend the entire night alone. And up until that time, he had never been away from his family or from his tribe. But on this night, he was taken, he was blindfolded and thrust in the middle of a thick forest, several miles away.

[4:46] And when they took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods. He was scared to death. Every twig that made him rise, every sound, every concern that an animal would pounce upon him in this darkness, in this unfamiliar place.

[5:02] And every second seemed like an eternity. And the sun began to rise the next morning. And the boy looked around him, and he saw the flowers, the trees, the path.

[5:12] And he saw a figure of a man standing just a few feet away, a man holding a bow and arrow. It was his father, and he had been there all night long.

[5:26] God is like that. God is like that. He is a refuge in that time of trouble. He is a refuge in that time when you don't know where you are and what you're doing and you're afraid.

[5:37] God is a refuge for you. He is faithful and true. And he has promised to be our refuge in times of trouble. In Psalm 59, 16 it says, But I will sing of thy power, yea, I will sing aloud of thy mercy in the morning, for thou hast been my defence and refuge in the day of trouble.

[5:56] My refuge, my strength, my defence. It's personal. He is your refuge. He is your refuge today. He can be with you through every circumstance of life.

[6:08] And in every circumstance of life, you can know his promises are true. He says unto you, I will never leave you, nor forsake you.

[6:19] These are very strong words in the original. It's a very definite promise. An absolute guarantee. He will never leave you, nor forsake you. And our God is a God who will never leave you alone.

[6:32] He will never let you go. He will be that place of safety for you. The refuge for the believer. In Psalm 91, verse 4, you can read the whole psalm for your encouragement. That's your homework today.

[6:44] Psalm 91, verse 4, it says, He shall cover thee. With his feathers and under his wings shalt thou trust. His truth shall be thy shield and buckler.

[6:57] There was a woman who found this of particular comfort. One day she was going about her business and suddenly a man stepped out of nowhere and she was about to get into her car. He came up behind her with a gun and he said, Get in the car.

[7:12] She got in the car and he did as well. Now drive, he said. He yelled to her, Drive! She began driving. And she was filled with fear.

[7:23] She wanted to have some comfort through this trauma. So she began to recall some of the words of Psalm 91, her favourite scripture. And verse 4, she started to repeat it to herself.

[7:36] His feathers cover me. His feathers cover me. She first said to herself quietly. Then out loud, louder and louder. And finally the assailant shouted, Stop the car!

[7:48] Let me out! You're crazier than I am! His feathers cover me. That was the comfort for her. And there was safety in that knowledge of that certain comfort, of that certain refuge.

[8:03] And you can be safe under that shelter of his wings, under the cover of his feathers. You can find that safety place. That safe place. And now we think of the refuge of the cross.

[8:15] The refuge of the cross. As we come to remember, as we love to, the cross. And what it means for us. The cross. Someone said of the cross. The cross is the one safe place for sinners because the wrath of God fell there once.

[8:32] And it will never fall there again. We come to the place of refuge today. We come to the cross. We come to Calvary. We come to the crucified, risen one.

[8:43] The one who loved us so much that he shed his blood. That we might have that place of absolute safety today. To find that absolute place of refuge. Now I used to live in Queensland for a time.

[8:57] And when you got an alert over the radio, the cyclone's coming, you do something about it. You do something about it. When they say the cyclone's coming, people start battening down the hatches and putting loose things in the garden away and trying to take away anything that's going to be blown around and sheets of tin that's going to slice someone if it blows in the cyclone.

[9:22] You want to be very safe when there's a cyclone coming. Friends, there's a storm coming. There's a storm coming to Australia. There's a storm of God's wrath against sin and sinful mankind.

[9:33] There's a wrath, the wrath of God. The wrath of God, the judgment of God is coming. And friends, if you're not under the refuge, if you're not in that safe haven, if you're not under the shelter, you will be facing the wrath of God.

[9:48] Simply put, flee from the wrath to come and run to the refuge. Run to the refuge.

[9:58] If you're outside of Christ today, you're under great peril and you're in great danger today. Flee from the wrath to come, the wrath of the Lamb, the wrath of God, and find the shelter of His wings.

[10:14] Come under the covering. Come under that covering. You know, we've seen of late in news stories about the tsunami. Who's seen some of those horrific sights of people when the tsunami alert comes?

[10:30] And for some, they just didn't think anything when the tide went right out. Some people thought nothing of it. They just thought, oh, it's a bit unusual. But friends, there's a tsunami coming.

[10:42] And when the tsunami comes, people need to run. You need to run away from the danger. Run to God today. Run to Him today. Run to the cross this morning. Run to the refuge.

[10:54] Run to the stronghold. Run to the fortress. Run to the shelter. And make it yours. My shelter. My refuge. My fortress. My God. In Him will I trust.

[11:05] Run to Him. He is a refuge. He is a shelter to those who will place their trust in Him. It says in Deuteronomy 33, 27, The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms.

[11:20] The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. God personally cares. He doesn't delegate His care to an angel.

[11:31] His arms. His arms. His arms are everlasting. He is the one. He is the one you need today. The one who cares for His people. The one who gives us that assurance that no matter what, He is with you.

[11:44] Even in that thick forest. Even in that place of darkness and fear. Even in that place where you're feeling as one of the oppressed. As you're feeling it's a day of trouble. A day of affliction.

[11:55] He is your refuge today, if you will but trust Him. Trust His hope. His care. His comfort. His everlasting arms. His love. It's everlasting. Is Christ your refuge today?

[12:08] Make Him your refuge this morning. A message from a preacher called Lockridge. It says, You can trust Him. He's the one who made us.

[12:19] It is He who made us, and not we, ourselves. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork. I'm telling you today, you can trust Him.

[12:29] No barrier can hinder Him from pouring out His blessing. He's enduringly strong, and He's entirely sincere. He's eternally steadfast.

[12:40] He's the greatest phenomenon that has ever crossed the horizon of this world. He's God's Son. He's the sinner's Saviour. He's the centrepiece of civilisation.

[12:51] I'm telling you, Church, you can trust Him. He does not have to call for help, and you can't confuse Him. He's unique. He's unparalleled.

[13:02] He's unprecedented. He's supreme. He's preeminent. He's the loftiest idea in literature. He's the miracle of the age. He's the superlative of everything good that you can call Him.

[13:14] I'm telling you, you can trust Him. He can satisfy all your needs, and He can do it simultaneously. He supplies strength to the weak, and He's available for the tempted and the tried.

[13:28] He sympathises and He sees. He guards and He guides. He heals the sick. He cleanses the leper. He forgives sinners. He disjudges debtors. He delivers the captives.

[13:38] He defends the people. He blesses the young. He regards the aged. I'm telling you, church, you can trust Him. He's the doorway of deliverance. He's the path of peace.

[13:49] He's the roadway of righteousness. He's the highway of holiness. He's the gateway to glory. You can trust Him. He's the governor of the governors. He's the prince of princes.

[14:01] He's the king of kings. He's the lord of lords. You can trust Him. His goodness is limitless. His mercy is everlasting. His love never changes.

[14:11] His word is enough. His grace is sufficient. His reign is righteous. His yoke is easy. His burden is light. You can't get Him off your hands.

[14:22] And you can't get Him off your mind. You can't outlive Him. You can't live without Him. Herod couldn't kill Him. Death couldn't handle Him. And thank God the grave couldn't hold Him.

[14:34] There was nobody before Him. There'll be nobody after Him. He has no predecessor. He has no successor. You can't impeach Him. And He's not going to resign. You can trust Him.

[14:47] He's the Alpha and Omega. The beginning and the end. He's the first and the last. He's all things. He's the giver of life. He's the joy out of every sorrow. He's the light out of every darkness.

[14:58] He's the peace that passes all understanding. He's the giver of every good and perfect gift. You can trust Him. There's no God before Him. There'll be none after Him.

[15:10] He is the first. He is the last. There is no other God. You can trust Him. You can trust Him. You can trust Him.