Navigating the Seas of Life

I’m so happy to be with you all tonight, thank you for giving me some time to speak. I know that if you are here you love your child and even at whatever age they are at, they are hopefully seeing how a man should treat not only their daughters but how a man should treat their significant other. Everything that we do as fathers, grandfathers, uncles, guardians should be intentional and it should be Christ-centered. Matthew Henry is known for having said: “The families of Christians should be little churches: or, Wherever we have a house, God should have a church in it.” The home should be a place where our children see Christian love and Christian values constantly at work. It should never be a question in the Christian home as to whether or not you will be going to church on Sunday. If we are to train up our children in the way that they should go, it cannot be solely on a Sunday morning. Dad’s, it is not the responsibility of the Church to be the predominant spiritual influence or player in the life of your child. It is you and your spouse and while we may not do it perfectly, we must strive to do it faithfully. We love our children, we love our daughters and tonight is such a special night not just for the young ladies in your life, dad’s it is a special night for you. My hope is that every one of you here wants to do all that he can so that the young lady in your life is prepared to navigate the seas of life. I’m sure that there are a lot of things going on in your life and in the world that are causes of stress and worry. I know that I as a father worry about what life is going to be like for my children as they grow up and I want to do all that I can to make sure that they are ready. What we all need to remember is that even though Satan roams around like a lion looking for someone to devour, this is God’s World. Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, The world, and those who dwell in it.” God is above all things and He controls all things and I wanted to spend just a few minutes tonight looking at Psalm 46. This Psalm has been an ever present help in my life and in countless other lives. I remember a time when I was visiting a man from my old church in Virginia who was dying in the hospital from a stroke and this was the first section of Scripture that I turned to. This Psalm is an excellent reminder that God, despite what it may sometimes look like, has not given up the throne. He has not given up His authority. Jesus Christ is the supreme ruler of all creation. Martin Luther said of Psalm 46: “We sing this psalm to the praise of God, because God is with us, and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends His church and His Word, against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of hell, against the implacable hatred of the devil, and against all the assaults of the world, the flesh and sin.” In fact it was this very Psalm that inspired Luther to write his great hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God. Let’s pray and then we will read this amazing Psalm together. Psalm 46 says:

Psalm 46 NASB95

For the choir director. A Psalm of the sons of Korah, set to Alamoth. A Song. God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea; Though its waters roar and foam, Though the mountains quake at its swelling pride. Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, The holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she will not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered; He raised His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has wrought desolations in the earth. 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. “Cease striving and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah.

God Our Help

In about 10-15 minutes I want to just walk us through this Psalm. It is divided up into 3 stanzas: Verses 1-3, 4-7, 8-11 and they all have much to say to us about the world that we are in and the God that we serve. In the first 3 verses we see to whom we must turn to if we want any hope of having hope whatsoever. We see the source of rescue, we see God as our Savior. It is important for you all to know that God is not just God of the good times, He is God in the bad times. He is not just an absent help that we can turn to, but the Psalmist describes Him as a “Very present help.” God is not a hands off God for the Christian. Notice too in verse 1 that the Psalmist says that God is “our” refuge and strength. Not everyone can say that. Not every person can say that the God of all creation is their refuge, strength, and present help in times of trouble. Only a Christian can say that. Just how confident can the Christian be then? The Christian can look at whatever happens in the world and see it through the lens of, “God is using this to make me better.” Because we know that God is the One that we trust, the One that we turn to, the One that we run to, we will not fear. I know that we are naturally fearful. I’m sure that you have fears. Fears of what the future may hold, fears as to what life will be like for your children in a few months, a few years, a few decades. The Christian though is unmovable because He that the Christian trusts cannot be moved. The Christian can live a life without fear because what is there that God could be afraid of? God doesn’t turn on the news and become shocked or surprised by what He sees. Even if the earth should change or mountains fall into the sea or waters roar and foam and mountains quake, if all those things were to happen, the Christian could go through them rejoicing because they know where their help comes from. Psalm 121:1–2 says, “I will lift up my eyes to the mountains; From where shall my help come? My help comes from the Lord, Who made heaven and earth.” Men are we living lives and teaching our children that Christ alone is where our help comes from? Are we teaching our children that this is our Father’s world? Charles Spurgeon once said, “Half our fears are the result of ignorance. If we knew more of God we should be as bold as lions.” We need men that are bold as lions but not through their own dependence on their own skills and strengths. We need men that are willing to tell their children, “All I have is Christ and what He has given me, I will do all I can to give to you.” God is our help and He is also our stronghold and we see this in verses 4-7.

God Our Stronghold

What is a stronghold? A stronghold at the time that this Psalm was written was seen as this castle fortress that sometimes would be on the side of a cliff where during times of war, people could flee to for safety. Because of the firm foundation and where it was located, not only was a stronghold the safest place to be, it was often considered impenetrable. That is what the Psalmist is comparing the Lord to. He will not be shaken regardless of what the nations may do. We know that the world is not pro-God by any means. I would not say that the world that our children in is becoming anti-Christian because the world has always been anti-Christian. Regardless of what the nations may do, God is with us. The Psalmist says in verse 6, “The nations made an uproar, the kingdoms tottered.” He is saying that the nations of the world are making a commotion. He recognizes that there are times of turmoil and days where kingdoms are swayed but should the Christian fear? Not at all. Why? Because when God raises His voice, the earth melts. Right now we find ourselves between two worlds. There is the city of man and the city of God. Christians live in the first but belong to the second. The Christian is one that is only passing through and is on his or her way to somewhere better. Dads, it is your responsibility to make sure that your focus is on belonging to the second kingdom and not the first. My prayer is that you are a man of God that is focused on the Kingdom of God and strives to point children to become children of God. And to the daughters in this room, regardless of how old you are, do you recognize that this world is not everything. This world, this life is not the best that there is. One of the most important things that my youth pastor told me growing up was this: You are not as smart as you think you are and you are not always right. The world does not revolve around you. I know this, one day I’m going to die and the world is going to keep on turning. But if all of your hopes, if all of my hopes are wrapped up in this world, you won’t be prepared for the next world. Is Jesus Christ the one that you have all your hopes on? Is Christ the foundation on which you stand? “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. On Christ the solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand.” Can you say that of yourself? If you want to navigate the sea of life well, you need to have God as your help, God as your stronghold, and understand that God is your King.

God Our King

In our last stanza, verses 8-11 we see that God is the king and judge of the entire world and He will judge faithfully. Not only does He judge perfectly, He rules perfectly. Understand that regardless of what happens in Hell below or the nations around us, God Himself will be exalted. The fate of the world is not left to the hands of men. God Himself will see to it that all shall be well. God does not know the end of the story without also knowing the means by which we get there. Sometimes when we think about trying to navigate life that we have to be go, go, going all the time but really one of the most important things that we can do is surrender. We need to be still and know that God is God. We know where the world is going. Everything is leading to the day where God will be completely exalted among the nations and all the earth. Paul says of Jesus in Philippians 2:9-11

Philippians 2:9–11 NASB95

For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Not some knees, EVERY knee will one day bow to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. God will be exalted on earth as He is in heaven. Trust this King now. Bow to this King now. Submit to the loving care of this King now because no one can escape His authority. I want to leave us with this great quote from Jonathan Edwards. Edwards said:

A Treasury of Great Preaching The Sole Consideration (Jonathan Edwards)

He will have all men to know that He is most high over all the earth. He does according to His will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay His hand. There is no such thing as frustrating or baffling or undermining His designs, for He is great in counsel and wonderful in working. His counsel shall stand, and He will do all His pleasure. There is no wisdom nor understanding nor counsel against the Lord. Whatsoever God does, it shall be forever; nothing shall be put to it, nor anything taken from it. He will work, and who shall let it? He is able to dash in pieces the enemy. If men join hand in hand against Him to hinder or oppose His designs, He breaks the bow; He cuts the spear in sunder; He burns the chariot in the fire. He kills, and He makes alive; He brings down and raises up just as He pleases.

Do you want to know how you can navigate the seas of this life? Be small in the hands of an infinitely great God and savior. Men, show your daughters what it means to cease striving and now that the Lord is God. Is the earth changing? Are the nations raging? Are the mountains slipping into the heart of the seas? Bring it on, we will trust in the promises of our God. Young ladies in this room, have you trusted in Jesus Christ? Do you trust that God is ruling over all things and that your life belongs to Him? Do you know that no matter what happens to you that you have a God that loves you and cares for you more than the man that has brought you here this evening? Men, understand that your children are loaned to you by our Heavenly Father. He has trusted you with this life so what are you going to do with it? Young ladies, don’t be afraid to hold your earthly father accountable. You need to know Christ. All here tonight need to know Christ better. I need to know Christ better for my own sake and for the sake of my family. We need godly fathers to lead godly daughters. Don’t say you will start that process in the future, start it now. Because we need godly men and women now. We need people in the world that are willing to say that the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Men, love your daughters, love your children and don’t be harsh to them. Love your children the way that Christ loves you. Let’s pray.