Solid Foundation, Sure Future

Dannah Gresh: Some people think the Bible isn't suitable for us in a modern world. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth would disagree.

Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth: When they say that right is wrong and wrong is right, we can trust that everything in this Book is completely reliable. It may seem dated, it may seem old-fashioned, it may seem like it isn't relevant for today. Listen, what is in this Book is more true and more relevant than anything that you can compare it to in our world.

Dannah: This is theRevive Our Heartpodcast with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth, coauthor of You Can Trust to Write Your Story for December 9, 2021. I'm Dannah Gresh.

If you found yourself in a flood with quickly rising waters or storming sea, you would probably look for some sort of a life preserver, something to cling to. What are you clinging to in the storms of life? Nancy is going to talk about that today as we look at the reliability of God's Word. She is wrapping up a series on Psalm 93. If you missed any of these episodes, you can find them all on the Revive Our Hearts app or at our website at ReviveOurHearts.com. Now, let's listen to Nancy.

Nancy: You may wonder why we are taking three whole programs to teach through a short little psalm that has only five verses in it. Psalm 93 is what we are looking at, you can start to turn there now. But the reason we are doing it is because we need the promises and the perspective that we find in Psalm 93. 

I need it, so I find myself in recent weeks soaking in this passage and letting it shape my thinking about everything that is going on around me. I've shared with you in the last couple of sessions a quote from G. Campbell Morgan who was a great Bible teacher of the early twentieth century. Here is what he said: 

The supreme need in every hour of difficulty and distress, is for a fresh vision of God. Seeing Him all else takes on proper perspective and proportion.

That's true, that supreme need we have in this hour of difficulty and distress in your world. Maybe in your world you're facing difficulties and distress. Our supreme need isn't for our circumstances to change. It's not for our circumstances to get fixed. It's not for other people to start thinking right and living right and doing right. Our supreme need is for a fresh view of God. When we see Him, everything else around us is going to take on proper perspective and proportion. 

That's why we are looking at Psalm 93, because like so many other passages throughout of all of God's Word, page after page, at every page of God’s Word, we get a fresh vision of God. Sometimes we will do a whole book study, and we will do a series that covers a lot of territory and short number of programs but sometime, I like to just camp on one passage, on a few verses, and let them soak into our hearts. So I hope you'll never forget Psalm 93 that you will go back to it again and again, and that its promises will give you strength and courage and peace and joy in the midst of whatever circumstances you may be facing.

Let's do a little review as we read Psalm 93. The first two verses I titled, “The Lord Reigns.”Say it with me, “The Lord reigns.”Once more, “The Lord reigns.” Psalm 93:1–2: 

The LORD reigns! He is robed in majesty;
the LORD is robed envelope in strength,
the world is firmly established, it cannot be shaken.
Your throne has been established
from the beginning;
you are from eternity.

Now we come to that sudden turn in verse 3. We've been saying all this greatness of God—He is majestic; He is powerful; He is eternal; His reign and rule established in the world. But then in verse 3 we see the floods roar. Let me read verse 3, “The floods have lifted up, LORD.” Notice he tells the Lord about these floods. He doesn't complain to his maid or his kids or his boss or his enemies. He says, 

[LORD,] the flood have lifted up, the floods have lifted up their voice; the floods lift up their pounding waves. 

The floods roar. Then we looked at verse 4 that reminds us the Lord is greater. So the Lord reigns, the flood roar, and the Lord is greater. He is greater than the waves, and He is sovereign over the floods. Let me read verse 4 of Psalm 93,

Greater than the roar of a huge torrent,—the mighty breaker of the sea—the LORD on high is majestic. 

As we think about storms and God's power over them, I am reminded that peace in our hearts and in our work is not the absence of storms, it's the assurance that Jesus is there with you in the storm. It's the presence of Christ in the midst of the storm, the assurance that the Lord reigns, the assurance that Heaven rules . . . that's what brings you peace. 

See, we tend to think that if there are storms going on around us that we can't have peace. A lot of people, their peace thermometer, their well-being, their emotional ups and downs are totally determined by what's going on around them. Your husband loves you? You got peace. Your husband hurt your feelings or does something really sinful, now your joy and peace tank.

Or the world seems to be blowing up around us, this is why so many people are anxious and discouraged and depressed and fearful, because their sense of emotional well-being is being determined by the storms. They have no peace because there's not alot of peace in this world. There are a lot of storms in this world, there is a lot of mess in this world. But when we fix our eyes on the One who reigns, we have peace even when there's a storm going on around us. Some of you heard me during 2020 teach more than once probably from Psalm 29. Verse 10 tells us that “The LORD sits enthroned over the flood; the LORD sits enthroned King forever.” 

So the Lord reigns, the floods roar, but the Lord is greater. The Lord is greater! Now, when we come to verse 5, I want to summarize that with this sentence. We have a solid foundation, and our future is sure! We have a solid foundation and our future is sure. Let me read that verse, and then we will talk about it. Psalms 93:5:

LORD, your testimonies are completely reliable; holiness adorns your house for all the days to come.

Now, when you are first looking at this psalm, reading it, meditating on it, soaking in it, it kind of seems that verse 5 doesn't fit with the rest of the psalm. Because you have: The Lord reigns. You have these storms. The Lord is greater than these storms, so what does this have to do with anything. 

Well, I want to tell you, verse 5 has everything to do with all of this. “Lord, your testimonies are completely reliable.” This is the solid foundation for our lives for now and for eternity. Lord, your testimonies are completely reliable. 

Now will you agree with me that our world does not at all consider God's Word to be reliable. 

We know that on every front, on every subject imaginable. What God has said in His Word is being disregarded, questioned, challenged, and mocked. In every sphere of society, education and the media, best-selling books, on social media, those of us who hold to the Scripture, who believe it's true and stake our lives on it, we are considered to be ignorant at best or bigoted at worst. 

The world doesn't believe that the statues, the Word of God, the testimonies of God are completely reliable. But this passage tells us that God's Word is completely reliable. It is our true north. It tells us the truth about God, human nature, about sin, about our hearts, about salvation, about marriage and family and gender, about the future, about what's going to happen in this world. It orients us to what's true. It points us to what's true. God's testimonies are completely reliable. 

Those around us may dismiss God's Word, and they do. They may insist that right is wrong and wrong is right. You may be in a secular workplace. You probably have people around you or family members around you or people in your neighborhood, and you get into conversations. You hear them saying things that you say, “I know that's not true.” How do you know that is not true? Because you believe that God's testimonies are completely reliable, and they don't. So there is not really a point of getting into an argument about it because you’ve got two entirely different foundations for your life. But you know, and you can be sure. 

Sometimes you can listen to the world and all the things that are concocting these days, and you think, Am I crazy? Are all christians just crazy? No! You are not crazy. Well, I hope you are not. (laughter) You are not crazy if your foundation is in the completely reliable Word of God. 

When they say that right is wrong and wrong is right, we can trust that everything in this book is completely reliable. It may seem dated, it may seem old-fashioned, it may seem like it isn't relevant for today. Listen, what is in this book is more true and more relevant than anything that you can compare it to our world. Remember that old gospel song: 

Standing on the promises that cannot fail,
When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,
By the living Word of God I shall prevail,
Standing on the promises of God.

(“Standing on the Promises” by Russell Kelso Carter)

The only way to stand strong, the only way to survive the storms, is to ground your life in this Book. Cling to Him with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might. Know His Word. Become familiar with it. Be in the Scripture—read it, meditate on it, soak in it, live in it. It is your hope in time and eternity. 

I met a woman just a few weeks ago. We had a professional appointment. I had never met her before. In our first conversation, she asked me to pray about some issues she is having with a child. I said I would. I did. Right there I prayed with her and tried to encourage her. Then I saw her again last week. I asked her, “How are you doing? How is it going?” Right in the middle of this appointment we had, she started weeping. I mean, she is sobbing. It turned out she had found out just the night before that her husband had been unfaithful to her. She started pouring out her heart about this situation. That was the big thing at the moment. But she also has this problem with this child, and then also their family finances are desperate. I mean, like everything in their world is falling apart. She thought the one rock she had was her husband, and then she found out he had not been faithful. She was just devastated, so I held her. I prayed for her, and I loved her. 

She lives hours away. I don't have a way to see her regularly. But as we were talking and praying, I pulled out a copy of this little book we've been talking about: Fifty Promises to Live By: Finding Encouragement, Peace and Hope in the Promises of God. I handed it to her, and I said, “I want you to take this booklet. I want you to keep it close to you. In this booklet are just promises from God's Word. They are my favorite go-to promises for different times of life in just one little booklet. I want you to hold onto this.” I showed her how to read a promise and then how to pray it back to God with faith. I showed her how to say, “Lord, I know I feel this way, but Your Word says . . .” and thank God that is true. I am talking about the faithfulness of God and the promises of God. You can tell the burden in that woman's heart was beginning to lift. Before she left, she was smiling. 

Now, she still has a storm going on around her. God is at work. I will say this, by the end of that day, she and her husband had a long conversation. She texted me. She said, “We've decided we are going to stay together, and by God's grace, try to make this marriage work.” So they’ve got a lot of storms and a lot of things to work on, but she is armed. She can stand firm when the howling storms of doubt and fear assail, because she is going to root her life on the foundation of God's Word which is completely reliable.

This Word of God, this promise of God, this is what's going to give that woman, it's what's going to give you, it's what is going to give me wisdom and direction and perspective and hope in the midst of the howling storms of doubt and fear. They come to everyone, maybe not that specific issue, but there are issues all around us. This Word of God, standing on the promises of God, is our sure foundation. 

So verse 5 says “Lord your testimonies are completely reliable, holiness adorns your house for all the days to come.'' That's the end of this psalm. Let's talk about the last couple of phrases.

Not only is God's Word totally trustworthy, but our God is holy! His house is holy. And those who trust His Word and live under His reign and rule will also be holy. Now, that word “holiness” may carry for you some baggage. Maybe when you think of holiness, you think of something that's straight laced, not fun, kind of pursed lips, but I want to tell you that holiness is beautiful because God is beautiful, and God is holy. 

It says holiness adorns Your house. Holiness is the decor of heaven. Heaven is the home where God lives, and holiness is His chosen decorating style. That's who He is. That's how He decorates. Unlike other styles and trends that come and go, holiness will never go out of style. Holiness adorns Your house. It says, “for all the days to come.” How long is that? Forever. God's holiness, God's house will always be adorned with holiness. Those who live in His house will always love and choose holiness. 

So back in verse 2, we saw that God's throne has been established from eternity past, and His reign will be forever. Now in verse 5 we see that God's house will be holy forever. 

One commentary I read on this passage says it this way, “Raging storms and pounding waves cannot shake His everlasting throne.” It's a holy throne, and nothing can shake it. The Lord reigns! He has been the sovereign King of the universe from all eternity past, and He will be the sovereign King of the universe for all eternity future. There never was a time when God was not on His throne and there will never be a time when He is not on His throne. We have the promise that no matter what happens to the kingdoms of this world, His kingdom will never end, throughout all days for all eternity. 

We have the promise that one day every atom of this universe will come under His reign and rule, don't you look forward to that? Remember that passage in Revelation 11 where John was given the vision that the angel blew his trumpet and there were loud voices in heaven saying the broken, sinful, corrupt, messed-up kingdom of this world has become the kingdom of our God and of His Christ, and He will reign forever and ever. 

Like that ought to made you want to sing the “Hallelujah Chorus.” Hallelujah! The kingdom of this world will all come under the foot of Jesus. The reign and rule of Christ, the throne of God, and that assurance, the eternity of God's reign and rule from eternity past to eternity future, that assurance should bring us stability and confidence and perspective and hope and peace even when the storms are raging around us. 

On July 31, 1976, thirty-five senior staff women from what was then Campus Crusade for Christ, now called Cru, were on the leadership retreat in a canyon near Loveland, Colorado. Among those women were two dear friends of mine. One of them was Vonette Bright (you’ve heard me talk about her many times). She was with those women. That night there was a torrential downpour that dumped twelve inches of rain on that mountain in just a few hours. It caused The Big Thompson River to flood. I read that five million tons of water filled that canyon. 

The women who were inside the lodge in the canyon did not know what was going on until they heard the police come by with these bullhorns. They heard a shouting to evacuate immediately. The women were confused. They had no idea where to go or how to get to safety. So as you might imagine, the next moments (and as it turned out, hours) were terrifying. Most of those women were able finally to make their way to higher ground. Some of them clung to trees until they were rescued. But two of the cars in which they were trying to escape were swept away in the rising flood tide. Seven of those women, along with more than one hundred others, perished that night. 

I remember hearing the devastating news. It was a huge tragedy, a huge loss for that whole worldwide ministry. In the days following that deadly flood, the staff of Cru (Campus Crusade for Christ) produced a full-page tribute to these women that was carried by major newspapers across the country—USA Today, L.A. Times, many different newspapers. 

That full page ad, that tribute, had a photo of each of the seven women with this headline: “These women lost their life in the Colorado flood” and then here it was the part under the picture “but they are still alive; they have a message for you.” Then in the small print at the bottom of the page, Crusade shared the gospel. They urged readers to turn to Christ for refuge. Thousands of people wrote in to say they had received Christ as a result of reading this piece.

There was later a video produced to tell the story. That video was called The Lord Reigns Over the Flood. You wouldn't think of a flood that causes that kind of loss of life as illustrating that the Lord reigns. But that documentary was produced to share the conviction of those who remembered, those who escaped, that the Lord truly does reign—even over the flood. 

Dr. Bill Bright was the cofounder along with his wife Vonette of Campus Crusade for Christ. One of the women in that group was Vonette. For hours, Bill did not know whether his wife had gotten out or not. I think it was maybe even the next morning before he got a final word that she had escaped. Here is something that he said in that video: 

When tragedy strikes, take comfort in the fact that no difficulty will come into your life without God's permission. Knowing this truth does not make adversity pleasant, but it gives us hope that the result will be worth whatever pain we endure. 

Knowing this truth isn't going to make your storm pleasant, but it will give you hope that the result will be worth whatever pain you endure as you walk through the flood. This world is inundated with flood waters, pain, suffering, evil, sin, enemies of God, false gods of this world, pagan philosophies. Maybe your life feels like it is inundated with flood waters right now. 

So what is going to sustain you in this storm? What will keep you in the end from getting washed aways in the turbulent waters? At the end of the day, it's one thing. 

My hope is built on nothing less,
Than Jesus' blood and righteousness.
I dare not trust the sweetest frame, 
But wholly lean on Jesus' name.

When darkness veils his lovely face,
I rest on His unchanging grace.
In every high and stormy gale,
My anchor holds within the veil.

His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the whelming flood.
When all around my soul gives way,
He then is all my hope and stay. 

Sing it with me!

On Christ the solid rock I stand,
All other ground is sinking sand.
All other ground is sinking sand.

(“On Christ the Solid Rock” by Edward Mote)

On Christ the solid rock I stand. On all other ground, whatever you're trusting in, whatever you're hoping for, wherever you are looking to lean on, all other ground is sinking sand. 

Nancy: So Lord, we come to affirm the truth of your Word, that the Lord reigns. The storm roars, but you are greater. Your Word, Your truth is our sure foundation for time and for all of eternity. Our future is secure if we are standing on the promise of God our Savior. 

We are standing on Christ, the solid rock. And Lord, even in this moment, I want to pray for someone listening today who is in the storm, they are in a flood, but they never found their strong and secure refuge in Christ. They are looking to things and people to satisfy them, to give hope, to give them assurance. They are miserable because they aren't standing on Christ. 

Thank You for Christ who gave His life so that we might have our hearts anchored in Him; that we might be spared from the flood of Your wrath and Your ultimate judgment. So in Christ, we have all the hope that we can ever need. I pray that this might be a day when someone would say, “Oh Lord, I need you. I cling to You. Give me life in Christ. I trust Him. I trust You to save me from my sin which is my greatest problem, and to give me eternal life in Your home forever.” 

And Lord, for many who are in other kinds of storms, they know that their eternity is settled, they know that they are in Christ, they know that their lives are grounded in Him, but they are in the midst of the storm right now. I pray that you give hope and confidence, perspective that in this hour of difficulty and distress that they would get a fresh vision of who You are and what You are doing. 

Help us to trust that You are greater; that You control the waves; that You speak the storm into existence. You tell the storm to hush and be quiet. May we wait on You with trust. May we as Your people, Lord, be seeing those around us who don't know You in this stormy, flooding, crazy world. May people look at us as Your children. May they say, “I don't know how they got that kind of peace, but I want what they have.” So give us joy and confidence in You even in midst of the floods. Thank You that our Lord reigns forever and ever, amen.

Dannah: All other ground is sinking sand. Yes, the Word of God is our hope. God is stable and steadfast in every season. Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth has been sharing that truth about God and His promises in this series on Psalm 93. 

The ministry of Revive Our Hearts exists to share the truth of Christ with women all around the world, even though sometimes the truth isn't always what we want to hear. At our recent Revive ’21conference, one woman told us how she found herself a bit resistant to the truth, but she desperately needed to hear it. She is a listener of Revive Our Hearts and of our Spanish ministry, Aviva Nuestros Corazones.

Listener: I love you, Nancy. I love the Lord. I love the ministry, but I must confess there has been a time when I say I don't want to hear this, I don't want to hear it. Nope. Especially, one of those times was when you were talking about trials and difficulties. It was about Christmastime. I was, “Really? This is my Christmas message? No! I don't want to hear it.” And lo and behold, the new year started with a health trial that lingers. So keep telling the truth. Thank you for your teaching. I know it is hard. It is hard for me when I have to tell people truths, but we have to keep doing it.

Dannah: Oh wow! I know there are so many listeners who appreciate that Revive Our Hearts is committed to sharing the truth. You know, sometimes the truth takes us to places that are not always popular.

Nancy: Yeah, Dannah. Sometimes we air practical discussions and teaching on popular topics like: how to parent children or how to resolve conflict in marriage. Those are all important, but sometimes teaching the whole counsel of God's Word which means we need to also cover material that's tougher to swallow—like repentance, personal holiness. We are committed to teaching all parts of God's Word, and that includes more user-friendly sounding parts and the tougher parts as well.

Dannah: Now, whenever we cover more user-friendly topics, we tend to get more response. People call; they order books and other resources. We are glad about that. It means that they are getting help with these practical issues. But sometimes when we are sharing Bible teaching that's a little more in-depth, the harder hitting stuff, we don't hear from people as much, because it takes time to process those hard topics.

Nancy: That's exactly right, Dannah. What I’ve found is that it’s people teaching the whole teaching over a period of time, then it takes root in their hearts and it begins to produce sweet fruit in their lives. So if you appreciate hearing all the messages on Revive Our Hearts from all the parts of the Bible, we need your support to sustain the outgoing outreach of this ministry. 

The main source of funds that keep this ministry going is donations from listeners like you, people who want the teaching of God's Word—whether it feels like eating your vegetables sometimes or like having a sweet dessert at other times. If we just eat the desserts but we don't eat the vegetables, we are not going to be strong believers. Almost half of all donations we receive for the whole year come from the month of December. So remember that if you give this month, you are going to be helping us share God's Word with women throughout 2022 and beyond.

Dannah: That’s right, Nancy. This month we are asking the Lord to provide $2.8 million, which sounds like a pretty big number. But I'm so excited to share that some special friends of the ministry have provided us with a matching challenge to help us reach that need. So when you give to Revive Our Hearts right now in December, your gift will be doubled. We are just so thankful for every gift given to help us continue reaching women with the hope of Christ. Visit ReviveOurHearts.com to make your donation, or call us at 800–569–5959.

What does that word “repentance” mean to you? Join us tomorrow as we hear from Revive Our Hearts staff member Monica Vaught. She will be sharing about how God's Word led her to experience the joy of true repentance. Please be back for Revive Our Hearts.

Revive Our Hearts with Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth wants you to experience freedom, fullness, and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the CSB.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.