Knowing God Psalm 46
Knowing God • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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Introduction: When a child is born it knows only that it needs. The senses drive behavior. I’m cold, I’m hungry, I’m tired. But there is also a driving urge to learn. Curiosity drives children to do things and ask questions that make no sense to a lot of adults because it is something that was learned a long time ago and we just simply know that’s the way it is. We seem to forget the delight a child can have in learning something new for the first time, the delight that can be found in discovering something new about the environment. This desire spills over into relationships. Children want to know their parents. Not just a bunch of facts about them, but them. They want to know that the parents can be trusted and depended on all the time, not just when needed. They want to know deep down inside that the parents have the child’s best interest at heart. This builds bonds between children and parents that should last a lifetime.
So, what about that delight that comes to a brand new Christian. A desire to learn more about this brand new Father. This new Lord and Savior who has just changed everything. A part of that learning and growth includes Knowing God. Knowing that God can be trusted and depended on all the time, during times of calm and especially in times of trouble.
Psalm 46 tells us a little bit about who God is and why we can trust Him. It also tells us how to begin knowing Him.
For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song.
1 God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah.
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.
6 The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations in the earth.
9 He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariots with fire.
10 “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.
Transitional Sentence: Knowing God gives us a correct picture of who God is and we can be at peace no matter what is happening around us.
So who is God? According to verses 1-3 of this passage God is a:
a. Refuge. The Hebrew word is mahase - something or someone turned to for assistance or security.
So, According to verse one God is our Refuge. In English a refuge is considered many things. Here is a list of three.
1. A safe place to go during danger or distress. (Photos)
2. A place to flee to in order to get away from unsafe people or places.
3. A simple, personal place of comfort.
A castle keep, a bunker, a hidden room etc… (ask for their ideas)
b. Strength - What do you think of when you read that God is our Refuge and strength. This makes me think that God is strong and can do anything He wants. Which is true. However, this particular strength in the Hebrew is defining the refuge. This isn’t any normal refuge it is a strong one. The kind of refuge that can’t be defeated. It can’t be broken down. When you run to this refuge you will be safe - no matter what. No matter what life or the Evil one throws at you, when you ae in this refuge you can not and will not fall.
c. As verse one continues it says that God is a very present Help in trouble. This means He is a helper not a fixer. When you run to Him as a strong refuge don’t expect Him to fix everything. This Hebrew word means that He will always be there to help you. Not to take care of everything for you... ....
As a parent when a child came to you what did you do? Fix the problem - or help the child figure it out and deal with it?
And being a very present help means that He is always there. No matter where you are or what you are doing. He is there. Nothing can separate you from Him. He will never abandon you. He is always present. Romans 8:38-39 says:
38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
d. Therefore, verse two tells us why God is a refuge and helper. Disasters. A disaster is a reason for Him to be refuge. This is talking about big cataclysmic change. Natural disasters that change everything. The earth changing, mountains slipping into the sea, waters roar and foam and mountains quake. This is some big stuff. Earthquakes, tidal waves, hurricanes, tornadoes, massive forest fires and epic floods. He is there for all of it.
So naturally if He is there as a strong refuge for all of this really big stuff, what can He do about our day to day fears? When you need to stand up to a bully, make a hard decision, tell someone about Jesus or just go do something important. Run to Him, get some help and then get on with it.
2. So, where is God, and what does He do? According to verses 4-7 He is in:
a. The city of God. Jerusalem. He is there as a strong refuge. In verse 6 it says that the nations made an uproar. It is believed that the city was being besieged at this time. Another nation has risen against Jerusalem and they have no where to go. Only to God can they turn for salvation. Only in Him can they trust. And only to Him can they cry to for help.
They can cry to Him for help because:
b. He is a Stronghold in her midst.
Isaiah 12:6 says:
6 Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion, For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.
It has always been so. The Lord God has always been a present help in times of trouble for the people of God. He is present whenever His people have need of Him. The question is - will His people run to Him for help or will they turn to other gods or other people around them. Where do you run to? Do you run to the God of Jacob who is our stronghold.
As we reach verse eight and nine the listener is called upon to behold the works of the Lord.
c. He has brought desolations in the earth and brings wars to an end. There is nothing beyond what He can do. The Psalmist is reminding the listener of the great power that God has. He is sovereign in all the earth and nothing can stand in His way. So why are you fussing, why are you worrying about the outcome of whatever situation you are facing. The nation of Israel was besieged and the Lord did a great and mighty thing in their midst. Eventually, He will bring all wars to an end. He will make all things right, the way they were in the beginning.
That leads us to verse 10 and:
3. Our Response.
a. The NASB95 tells us to Cease Striving. Most other versions say to Be still. They seem to be the same but are actually quit different.
This Hebrew word rapa translates to mean: “to slacken, let down or cease”. Being still doesn’t convey the same meaning as cease striving.
How do you feel when the storms of life come? Have you ever sat through a hurricane or if you are in Japan or Korea it would be a typhoon. Maybe you sat through an earthquake, a tidal wave, tornado or major flood. Have you ever been faced with the possibility of death in a combat zone, or in the streets of a city that is full of people who would like to see you dead?
These are all big things in life that cause people to worry, to be anxious or to struggle. These things create fear and doubt and a desire to escape. There is no peace in life when you are struggling against such things.
But those are the big things in life. What if you are struggling just to put food on the table and keep a roof over your head? Your children are always ill and they have bigger troubles than you? Add in whatever issue you are struggling with, big or small. So you struggle on, and then just when you think you might be getting ahead, bang!!! There is the ever present unforeseen calamity. The car blows a tire and what little you managed to save is gone. You’re struggling, striving, trying to keep your head above water, maybe to even get ahead just for a little bit.
This is the idea that doesn’t go well with be still. This needs more, this needs cease striving. This is the point of surrender. This is letting go and letting God fight for you. Run into the strong refuge when the massive calamities come around, but don’t forget that God is there as a refuge even when times are just a little bit tough.
This brings up a small teaching from Jesus. Matthew 21:18-22 says:
18 Now in the morning, when He was returning to the city, He became hungry.
19 Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, He came to it and found nothing on it except leaves only; and He said to it, “No longer shall there ever be any fruit from you.” And at once the fig tree withered.
20 Seeing this, the disciples were amazed and asked, “How did the fig tree wither all at once?”
21 And Jesus answered and said to them, “Truly I say to you, if you have faith and do not doubt, you will not only do what was done to the fig tree, but even if you say to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ it will happen.
22 “And all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.”
Verse 22 says: “all things you ask in prayer, believing, you will receive.” If you are struggling, you are full of doubt and fear, you can’t see God working in your life what do you think happens when you pray? Will you believe that it will come about or will you have doubts? Struggling and striving to manage the everyday affairs of life keeps us from believing that God is at work in our lives.
So, Cease Striving, run into that strong refuge and:
b. Know Him. In the Hebrew it means to know, notice, hear of, learn; reveal, be or become known; realize. This is more than just having a book knowledge of God. We can read the bible and learn all kinds of stuff about God which will help us know Him. But, if we don’t believe it and take it to heart and act on the knowledge we have we will never truly know Him. We will never truly realize who He is.
A marriage brings about the union of a man and woman before God. These two should make it a habit to know their other half. Not a book kind of knowledge which is a bunch of facts that can be listed off whenever someone wants to know something about them.
This should be the kind of knowledge that shows what makes the other half tick. It should be the kind of stuff that only you know. The kind of stuff that makes the two one.
This is the way we should know God. We should know Him so well that when we cease striving we can have full assurance that He will work things out. He will have our best interest at heart and will work out all things for good.
So we need to know Him. We can know Him by knowing His names and His attributes. His names tell us how people in the past have seen Him work in their lives and His attributes tell us how we can expect Him to act. By knowing Him we can have confidence and assurance that He is that strong refuge and that ever present help in trouble.
So let us follow the words of Hosea 6:3
3 “So let us know, let us press on to know the Lord. His going forth is as certain as the dawn; And He will come to us like the rain, Like the spring rain watering the earth.”
As we press on to know Him we should:
c. Exalt Him. Verse 10 ends by telling us that He will be exalted among the nations and in the earth. There is no place where He won’t be exalted.
The idea behind Him being exalted is that He will be lifted up. He will be glorified in all the earth. As believers this is what we do. As believers we lift up His name and the name of our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus and not our own. As believers we exalt Him. But there is more to this than just believers exalting Him.
Philippians 2:9 says:
9 For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name,
You see God has already exalted the name of Jesus above every other name. God has given to Jesus the place of honor at His right hand. And as the Apostle’s creed says He will judge the living and the dead.
And Philippians 2:10 goes on to say:
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
Every knee will bow before Jesus. All the nations, all the people of the earth. True believers, those who give lip service to Him, agnostics, Islamist, Hindu, Buddhist, atheist, and everyone in between, all will bow before Him. They will exalt Him in the end as they stand before Him at the time of the judgment.
Finally as we cease striving, know Him and exalt Him, let us also:
d. Abide in Him. Think about it. He is a refuge, a stronghold, a place of safety. We can abide in Him for safety during times of trouble. However, remember also that we have to live in the world and deal with the stuff that is going on. It is then that He will be our Helper. It is then that He will work for us.
So, here are a few was to abide in Him.
a. Cease Striving - stop fighting and be still - Surrender.
b. Know that He is God - acknowledge Him as Lord and Savior
c. Recognize that God is in control of all circumstances
d. Trust that God is working on your behalf.
e. Surrender in order to know that God is in control.
f. Let go in order to objectively know the saving power of God in your life.
g. Finally: 1 John 4:15-16 says:
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
So confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God so that you might abide in God and God in you. Then you will know the love of God.
Exit: So as you struggle and strive to overcome all the storms and circumstances of your life that keep dragging you down remember there is a place of safety to run. That place is a strong refuge. That place is God and He is an ever present help in times of trouble. He’s also an ever present help in times of peace and calm.
No matter what is going on in your life you don’t have to take it on alone. Overcome the urge to continue fighting and striving to make it work on your own. You don’t win a prize for doing it all by yourself. Run to God, cease striving and know Him.
Prayer: Finish with the Apostle’s Creed
