Strong 1

Welcome to the Refuge Sermon of the Week. To listen to any of our other messages, or to get involved, head over to therefuge.online. We hope you enjoy this message by Pastor Jerry Austin. All right, well as I said we're starting a new series today. I'm going to set this down on my knock it over when I get fired up because it's about ready to happen. I can feel it. We're starting a new series today titled Strength and we're going to just start. We're going to really slow roll into this and then give you a foundation for this. I'm actually going to spend the next three Sundays teaching the introduction and then we'll get into this. I believe it's going to be an important one for us. So let me pray. Father, we love you and we thank you so much for your precious, holy written word. We do ask today that you give us eyes to see ears to hear a heart to receive what you'd say to us. Help us to grow and learn as we look to your word today. Holy Spirit, I pray that while I talk, you would speak through me to the hearts of each and everyone here that they would hear what they're supposed to hear that you would correct any error or anything that would be wrong and that you would confirm every word that is true and right. In Jesus' name, amen. And amen. Well, as I said, we're starting this new series titled Strong. Joshua 1.9, a very familiar scripture for most of us. The Lord tools tells Paul, have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage. Do not be dismayed for the Lord your God is with you. Have I not commanded you? And then over in 1 Corinthians 16 and 13, the Apostle Paul says, watch. And fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong. Watch. Stand fast in the faith. Be brave. Be strong. You know, I think everybody wants to be strong, right? And we know from these scriptures and many, many others that God wants us to be strong, right? And so what I want to do in this series is I want us to learn what is it that makes us strong, where does strength come from? And how do we maintain that strength? How do we get strong in the first place? And then how do we actually maintain that strength? So over the next three weeks, we're going to really lay what I believe is a critical foundation that our strength must be built on. And after we lay that foundation, we'll begin to teach some, if you will, strength building techniques. Amen? Any of you ever get a gym membership and you go to a gym and you know, maybe it's new years, right? And so you get the gym membership and you go to the gym and if you get a trainer, the first thing they're going to do is they're going to begin to teach you proper techniques. They're not going to start you out by just saying, hey, here's lift this weight or do this exercise and this will make you strong. Why? Because they know if you do it wrong, you're actually not going to get stronger, you're actually going to hurt yourself, right? Well, I believe it's the same thing with spiritual truth. I believe there's a foundation that the building of our strength must be laid on. And so we want to turn, we want to really build that strong foundation. If you've got your Bibles, let's go to Ephesians chapter 6, Ephesians, the 6th chapter, very familiar scripture for many of us, the 10th verse, if you don't have your Bibles, no worries, we'll have it up on the screen for you. And I'm going to read through the 18th verse. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might. There's some tips right there, isn't there? Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in heavenly places. Therefore, take up the armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand, stand. And therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, having shud your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints. Now we know I did an extensive teaching on the armor of God a while back, but we know that this example that Paul gave of the armor of God was an illustration of an actually a Roman soldier's armor that they actually wore. And the belt was so significant because the belt in the Roman soldier's armor was the part of the armor that held everything else in place. Without the belt, nothing else functioned as it should. I won't go into a lot of details on that today, but the belt of truth, I believe, is the most important foundation for the rest of the armor. How many of you know the shield of faith or faith or the faith of God without it being based on the foundation of truth is not going to hell, right? How many of you know the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, if it's not founded on truth, is not going to do any good. In fact, it quite possibly can do harm. If we just start wielding the sword of truth around or this sword of the Word around, it's not founded on truth that can actually do damage, most of us have seen or experienced some of that. And so I believe that truth is the number one foundation that our strength must be built on. I specifically think that there's three fundamental truths that our strength must be built on. And those are the truths of number one, who God is. Number one, who you are. Number three, who your adversary is. I believe those three truths, and that's the next three weeks, that's the foundation we are going to try to build. You know, it's interesting as parents, one of the things that we instinctively know to do when we first, we can be brand new parents. Never done this before. Don't have a clue, right? Maybe we're young. And we've got this brand new baby. And instinctively, we know the first thing to do with that baby is to teach them who we are as their parents. Mom's dad's what's the first thing you wanted to do when you held that little baby in your hands. I'm your dad. I'm your mom. I'm safe. I'm trustworthy. I've got your best interest at heart. And that's the very first thing we begin to do. So I believe as Christians, when you're a new believer, the first thing you need to learn is who your heavenly father is. Before you learn anything else, you need to know who your father is. Because he's the one that your strength has to be built on. Amen? But then at some point in time, what do we do with our children? We begin to teach them who you are. We don't do that when they're first born, when they're infants. We just teach them who mom and dad is. We're here to protect you. We're here to take care of you. We're here to make sure you're safe and that you're sheltered. And then at some point in time, they grow and they get to the point we begin to tell them who they are. You can do all things through Christ to give you strength. You're made in the likeness and image of God. Cast not away your confidence, which has great reward. We begin to speak into them of who they are. You're beautiful. You're wonderful. You're amazing. I believe in you, right? And then at some point in time, as they continue on their journey, what do we do? We begin to teach them that, hey, there's a world out there that's actually against you. There's people out there that aren't actually for you. There's actually people out there that you can't trust and that you need to protect yourself from, right? And so that's the journey that we're going to go on for the next three weeks. So who is God? That's where we're going to go today is teaching on who God is. Obviously, in the next 30 minutes, I'm not going to give a full disclosure on who God is. I don't know all of who God is yet. I'm still learning more about Him every day. And it's a fabulous, fabulous journey. But I do believe this. I believe that there are four fundamental truths about God. And that's what I want to give you today is four fundamental truths about who God is. And I want you to take these things and begin to use them as your foundation for where your strength comes from. Number one, God is the eternal creator and ruler of all. God is the eternal creator and ruler of all. First Timothy 117, now to the key in eternal, immortal, invisible. God who alone is wise, be honor, glory, and glory forever. Already the foundation of my strength is being shorted up, just remembering that God is the eternal creator and the ruler of all. First Timothy 6, 15, and 16, I'm going to read this out of the ESV. To God the blessed and only sovereign, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, who dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see. This is who God is. He is the only sovereign. That word sovereign means to be in charge. He is the only one who is in charge. I said, "He is the only one who is in charge." And doesn't this bring you strength? Doesn't this help you know that, wait a minute, he is the only sovereign. He is in charge when the world can look like chaos and when it can look like nobody's in charge or when it looks like everybody thinks they're in charge but they're not really doing a very good job at being in charge and who is in charge? And well, we know. - That's right. - The only sovereign, the only one in charge. He is the ruler of all. He is the creator of all. This is the source of our strength. Nothing else will stand. Number two, who is God, he is perfect in power. He is perfect in power. Psalm 147.5. Great is our Lord and mighty in power. His understanding is infinite. Man, just meditating on that. This truth will give you strength. The latest news bite likely will not. But he is perfect in power. Jeremiah 32 17. All Lord God, behold, you have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and outstretched arm. There is nothing too hard for you. His perfect in power. I'm telling you the comfort I find these days in the perfectness of his power. Any of you ever get decision making fatigue? I do a lot. And these days, in particular this season, there's a lot of decisions that need to be made. A lot of people counting on me to make the right decision and a lot of pressure to not goof it up and make the wrong decision. And sometimes I just don't want to make another decision. And I feel weak and I feel shaken. And then I come to this and I say, "Wait a minute, he is perfect in power." Nothing is too difficult for him. I go to bed most nights these days confessing out of my mouth. He knows. He knows. That's how I put myself. That's the nursery rhyme I sing to myself to sleep with. He knows. He knows. He knows. And he lives in me. And he knows. And immediately the pressure begins to dissipate and my strength begins to be renewed because he is perfect in strength and power. He's flawless in all of his ways. There's nothing that is difficult for him. He knows. No, wonderful. Number three, he is the source of all things good. The source of all things good. James 117 says, "Every good gift is from above and comes down from the father of light with whom there is no variability or shadow of turning. Guys, it's not that deep. If it's good, it's God. If it's not, it's not." Just because God can use a problem doesn't make him the author of the problem. You know, I think one of the challenges that we have is God is so good at taking what the enemy tried to use for harm and turning it for our good. I think he's so good at it that if we're not careful, we can actually think that he's the author of it. God is the source of everything good. It's not that deep. We get into these sometimes goofy debates and I've been guilty of doing it with people of like, "Well, you know, it happened." And so maybe it is good and we just don't really understand it that much and maybe God knows more than we do. It's just not that deep. If it's good, it's God and it's from God. And he's the author of all good things. And I'm telling you, we need to know this. If we're gonna, this needs to be a part of the foundation of our strength because in two weeks, three weeks we're gonna talk about the enemy who's going to try to convince you of something other than that. And you'll know this, you face it, you deal with it. Hearing the voice of the Lord is not hard. The challenge is all the other, what do you do with all the other voices? Right? Did God really say, is God really good? God is the author of all good things. And then number four, if you're born again, God is your Father. If you're born again, God is your Father. Galatians chapter four and verses six and seven. And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your heart, crying out, "Abba, Father." Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son and a son, then an heir of God through Christ Jesus. Glory to God, we're no longer slaves, but we're sons. In 2 Corinthians 6, 18, he says, "I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters." In Romans 831 says, "If God before us, who can be against us?" This is a massive foundation for my strength that God is my Father. If God before me, who can be against me? We've already established that He's perfect in all of His ways, that He's perfect in power. He's the eternal creator and ruler of all things. He's the source of all good things. And then just to put the cherry on top, and by the way, side note, He just happens to be my dad. Who's your daddy? My Father is God, and I will exalt Him. The creator, the only sovereign, the only supreme ruler, the only king of kings, and Lord of lords, the creator of everything, the giver of good things, is my Father. Wow. Wow, that strengthens me. I brought some things with me today. I don't wanna talk just a little bit about. I was having a conversation, I think it was last week, with someone, and we were just talking and chatting back and forth and having some just catching up. And in that conversation, they were showing me pictures of something that their childhood made had built, that they were proud of, and they thought it was cool, and I thought it was pretty cool too. And look at what so and so made, isn't this cool? I'm going, yeah, that's really cool. And they're showing me this thing that he made. I thought it was so cool, and then the conversation kind of continued on, and we got talking about some other things, and then this individual said, "You know, I just don't understand why God loves us so much." I just don't, if you ever ask that question, I have. Why does God look like, I know who I am. I know things about me that trust me, you don't know, I hope you never do. But God loves me and why does He love me so much? And it was so cool that it came on the tail end of that 'cause while we were actually texting this conversation and while that question is being asked, I'm looking at the picture that this individual sent me of something that their child made that they were so proud of. And so it was so easy for me to respond. I said 'cause we're as kids. That's why He loves us. And then I had this thought. I wonder if God is as proud of the things we make as I am about the things that my kids make. I don't love my kids because of their perfection or their performance. It has no parents, you know this, right? It has no effect on our love. When they perform great, hey we're happy for them and we're excited for them. But when they utterly fail and make massive mistakes, does our love for them diminish and even one Iota? God is our father and He loves us. And so I had this, I just in that moment of that conversation, I had this thing like, like why do I never feel like anything I do for God is enough? Why do I feel like I'm always trying to build something for Him or create something for Him to say, "Dad, see what I did. Are you proud? Is this good enough?" And to be honest, most of the things in my life, I'm tempted to want to hide from Him because I'm embarrassed of Him because I don't think I did a good enough job with it. And I always wrestle with this and tell that conversation. And so I started looking around my home and I found this jewel right here. This has been on my dresser for over 10 years I suppose. Isn't it beautiful? And the reason why it's on my dresser and why I cherish it is because Jerry made it when he was in second grade. And I don't look at this floppyness of it or the flaws or I don't think, "Hmm, boys." And you probably should take a pottery class. Like, well, you probably should go to school. And really, you know, or maybe I should just hide this away somewhere and not let anybody see this because it's really not very perfect. No, I display it proudly. Not because it's perfect, but because it came from my son. And I cherish it. And I started thinking about, "God, do you view the things that I do that way?" Or you've like, "Do you have a display case of, "Come here, let me show you what, like, I don't know if he does this or not, but maybe, just maybe the father likes fences days with Michael the Archangel, I said, "Come here, come here." I got to show you the last thing that Jerry built. I've got to display case, look at this. Look at what my son did. Aren't you proud of him? We do that with our kids. Why would that be strange to think that our Heavenly Father would love us that way? Any of you feeling stronger? And then there's this jewel here. And this was made by Aaron when he was a child. And this is one of Kim's treasures that she keeps in a special place. I showed it to Aaron today, he didn't remember it. (audience laughs) He made this back when we were in Monterey, I don't know how old he was, but he glued little sea shells around this thing and it's just precious to us. And our house is filled with this. How many of you have houses that are filled with treasures that aren't necessarily perfect, but they came from ones you loved. And then last but not least, this is a birthday card from my granddaughters. Fishing you a happy birthday. (audience laughs) An inside of it, an absolute Picasso, Juniper's drawing of Papa at age three. And I treasure this and I display it and I care for it. Because it came from a grandchild or from a child. God is your father. Maybe we can quit worrying about whether or not what we're building and creating is perfect enough. And maybe we can just recognize that he's proud of us and he loves us, whether it's perfect or not. Maybe he even, I don't know, for me, I think this is more special because it's less perfect. I actually had another piece that I was gonna bring that one of my daughters made. It was actually beautiful. And I thought, you know what, that's actually too perfect. Like it wouldn't work for this illustration 'cause it was so nice. (audience laughs) She actually did take a pottery class. (audience laughs) But it isn't interesting that the imperfection is part of what makes it so special. Is it possible that our Heavenly Father feels the same way about us and our imperfections? Look at what they did. And not only do we do that, not only do we show off the things that they make, but we also try to cover their mistakes, don't we? We're never out trying to expose their mistakes. We're trying to look at this, look at what he made. Now I could get up here and I could tell you plenty of stories of him messing up. (audience laughs) Right? But I don't wanna do that. Like his love covers a multitude of sins. Your Heavenly Father is not trying to expose your weaknesses and your flaws and your mistakes. Love covers a multitude of sins. He's proud of you, and he loves you. I have a homework assignment for you that I'm gonna leave you with. Hmm, it's quite simple. Who said ye to the homework? (audience laughs) I love it. I want you to do this. If you haven't already written these four things down, I want you to write them down. God is the eternal creator and the ruler of all. He is the source of all things good and he is your father. Those four things. Your homework assignment for this week is every trial, every trouble, every problem, every decision, every fear, every anxiety that comes at you this week. I want you to expose it to these four truths. I want you to simply process it in light of these four truths. Kerbal comes at you this week. Who didn't see that coming? How am I gonna, what am I gonna do? Car breaks down and you don't have the money in the bank to fix it. What am I gonna do? How am I gonna do it? A relationship issue comes at you. It's hard and difficult. A work situation, whatever that problem or that trial may be, you go to it with these four things. It's a wait a minute, okay. My car just broke down. I don't have a spare car. I don't have a penny in the bank. However, God is the eternal creator and ruler of all. He is the source of all good things and he is my father. And see what happens. Every fear, every anxiety, every stress, every worry, everything that might come at you, simply process it through these four filters. And then we'll get together next week and we'll talk about it, all right? Let me pray. Father, we love you. We thank you so much for who you are. We thank you that you are perfect and wonderful and magnificent and powerful and ruler of all. And that you're our father and that you love us. I just pray for each and everyone here today, particularly anybody who struggles with shame or feeling like whatever they do, it's not quite fancy enough or it's not quite perfected enough or it's not quite good enough. that we would just remember that you love us and that you're proud of us and that you're for us and with us and not against us. Help us this week as we go to remember these things and to build the foundation of our strength on these truths. We love you. We thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen and amen. We hope you enjoyed that message by Pastor Jerry Olston. If you would like to partner with us or for more information visit our website at therefuge.online.