"My Refuge and My Fortress"
First Sunday of Lent- 2/25/07
Psalm 91:1-2, 9-16

Introduction: Illustration: (Internet, sermonillustrations.com)- The early American Indians had a unique practice of training young braves. On the night of a boy's thirteenth birthday, after learning hunting, scouting, and fishing skills, he was put to one final test. He was placed in a dense forest to spend the entire night alone. Until then, he had never been away from the security of the family and the tribe. But on this night, he was blindfolded and taken several miles away. When he took off the blindfold, he was in the middle of a thick woods and he was terrified! Every time a twig snapped, he visualized a wild animal ready to pounce. After what seemed like an eternity, dawn broke and the first rays of sunlight entered the interior of the forest. Looking around, the boy saw flowers, trees, and the outline of the path. Then, to his utter astonishment, he beheld the figure of a man standing just a few feet away, armed with a bow and arrow. It was his father. He had been there all night long.

Maybe in life you feel like this young brave; all alone in the midst of a dense forest. But the good news is that if we let God be our refuge and our fortress, then we will never be alone; our heavenly Father is there watching over us. This morning as we start our Lenten Sundays (the 40 days that leads up to Easter), I want to talk about a promise God makes to us, how it is important to commit ourselves to God, and how this promise plays out.

I. The Promise- (Psalm 91:9-10)

a. We call, God saves- The Bible says that whoever calls on the name of

the Lord, will be saved. This is a promise from the Lord. And so as we understand this promise, we can understand that God is always there to watch over us and to be with us. As we just read in Psalm 91:9-10, “Because you have made the Lord your refuge, the Most High your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, no scourge come near your tent.” The psalmist reminds us that we can have divine protection; protection from the creator of the universe Himself. We live in a world that can bring difficult challenges. Maybe you don’t always know how to deal with these challenges. I want you to understand this morning that you don’t have to do this alone. God is there for us, calling to us to come to Him. God is making a promise that if we come to Him, He will provide a sanctuary.

EX. In 1976 there was a movie that came out called “Logan’s Run.” This movie was set in the 23rd century, where the people are survivors of a holocaust. They now live within a domed city that is sealed off from the outside world. In the domed city, men and women live in a society where you can only live until you are 30-years old (due to population control and limited resources). So when they reach age 30, they have two choices: They can either take part in a extermination ceremony called "Carousel" where they are promised of being reborn (but the reality is that they aren’t) or they can go on the run and escape to outside the domed city. For those who run there is a mysterious place called Sanctuary where they can receive help.

When we seek God out as our place of “sanctuary,” we receive God’s help! Listen for moment to this song by Matt Papa, called “You Are Good.” The words are in the bulletin outline.

b. Song: You Are Good, by Matt Papa- You are the One, who holds the universe, and I’m standing here amazed, that you the maker of all things good, you, the author of all things true, yeah you would die upon a tree, you were made blind so all could see.

Chorus: We lift our voices, your grace (spirit) has come.

You are good and your love is everlasting,

You are good and your love is everlasting.

You are the mystery, the hope that we have,

And I can’t believe it’s true.

That you took on the world of sin,

You were dead and rose again

That I should be your dwelling place, your dwelling place.

(Chorus)

II. The Commitment- (Psalm 91:1-2)

a. Abide in God- God is good, in that He reaches out to us with a

promise of being our refuge and our fortress. And yet, we have to understand that we must make God our place of habitation; our dwelling place. This means that we have to live in communion with God. It isn’t enough to ask Jesus to be our Savior, and to be our Lord.

A little over 15 years ago I said two words that changed my life forever. The words were: “I do,” and I said them to Tami at our wedding. As we were driving away from the church, I’m not sure that I felt married. But whether I felt it or not, the reality was that I was married. And ever since that day I have been working on understanding what it means to be married and being committed in my marriage.

There are days when we don’t feel close to God, and we don’t feel like God is close to us; we don’t feel like we are in communion with God. But our relationship with God is not about feelings, just like my relationship with Tami is not just about feelings. Even though there might be times when I don’t feel close to Tami, that doesn’t make me “not married.”

That is why we need to regularly call on God. That is why we need to seek God out to be our place of refuge, and to be our fortress. For our sakes, we need to make that effort to stay committed. Listen to this song titled “Worth Everything,” by the group Pocket Full of Rocks. The words again are in the bulletin outline.

b. Song: “Worth Everything,” by Pocket Full of Rocks

I took a look inside my heart, I tried to find a part
Is there anything, I could give the King
Maybe there's something I've said,
Maybe there's something I've done
Oh, just anything to make me
one of the ones He loves.

In desperation I stepped back,
to see just what I had
And to my dismay all I saw
Was a pile of filthy rags.
What was I to say, what was I to do
Now that I stand here
with nothing I could give to You.
But I hear Your voice call out my name
And I listen close and I can hear You say:

Chorus: “You were worth everything, you were loved by the King
You were worth everything,
No there's nothing you could bring.
You were worth it all the time, I loved you all the while
Hear the angels sing.”

You stood on the edge of nothing
And looked down and saw everything
And before you spoke a word, the Father knew how it would be.

To give every man a Savior, the ultimate sacrifice
The giving of what was most dear,
the giving of His own son's life.
And he saw that hill and he saw that tree
Oh and he saw the cross, it would one day be your own.
And I hear His voice call out Your name,
If you listen close You can hear Him say:
(Chorus)

III. The Result- (Psalm 91:11-16; Romans 8:38-39)

a. Our love- It isn’t about earning God’s love. We might feel like we

don’t bring much to God./ But even those we consider to be the greatest of people, don’t have much to bring to God. The truth is, we all have something wonderful to bring to God, and this something is equal between all people. What we have to bring to God is our love. This is the only thing we really have to bring to God, and the only thing that God desires from us. That is why Psalm 91:14, speaking words from God, says, “Those who love me, I will deliver; I will protect those who know my name.”

If you ever feel like you don’t deserve God’s love, all you have to do is read the Bible. The Bible is really God’s love letter to us. The Bible tells us that we were created in God’s image for the purpose of sharing our love with God. The Bible tells us that we are God’s children; and what parent doesn’t want their child’s love? The Bible tells us that we are loved by God. The Bible tells us of the many ways God has shown His love for us. Listen to Psalm 91:11- “For He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways.” Now when you think of angels, you might think of them as great and glorious beings. But the truth is they are part of God’s creation just as we are. And angels are commanded by God to care for and watch over us.

Above our love, however, it really is about understanding God’s love. Listen to this wonderful song by Michael W. Smith, “I Am Love.” The words again are in the bulletin outline.

b. God’s love- (song by Michael W. Smith- “I Am Love”)

I am not passers by, I am not a white lie, I am not have to die, I am love, I am love.
I am not feeling sad, I am not deep in fact, I am not quickly mad, I am love, I am love.

Chorus: You can try to hide, You can try to run, but you'll never run far enough.
This is my flesh, this is my blood, And I am love.
You can fly up high, You can dig down deep, You can flee to the west, You can

flee to the east. But you can’t escape what I’ve done, cause I am love.

I am not standing by, I am not letting go,
I am not leaving you, I am love, I am love.

(Chorus)

My blood fell like rain, I did not bleed in vain,
But from my veins, I am love.

Romans 8:38-39 tells us, “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Conclusion: God desires to watch over us and keep us safe. Does that mean we will not fall into trouble? Well, much of that depends on us. Are you seeking refuge in God? If so, then that trouble will come less often. And yet, even the trouble that does come will be dealt with by God. I encourage you, as we enter the season of Lent, which is a season for making a greater commitment to God, that you find ways to seek God out more deeply, and let God be your fortress and your refuge. As you do this, you will notice all the more God’s presence and power in your life. Amen.