Be Still God is With Us
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Good Morning, it is truly a blessing to be able to be back together with you all after we have dealt with such difficulty over the past few weeks. However difficult it may have been, the devastation that has rocked the coast and many in our surrounding areas was truly saddening. Our constant prayers should be with those affected by the storm and with those who continue to suffer hardship around us.
Our passage of scripture that we are going to be looking at this morning is , so if you wanna make your way there we will be looking at psalms 46. Were going to be focusing in on verse 10 but if you will make your way in your Bibles to psalms 46, that would be great.
Let’s Read
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.”
Psalm
(Let’s Pray)
I have been reading a book entitled “the life you’ve always wanted” by Jon Ortberg and in it he makes this statement.
“Hurry is the great enemy of the spiritual life of our day, for many of us the big danger is not that we would deny our faith, it is that we would become so distracted and preoccupied that we will settle for some mediocre version of it.”
He goes on to describe the problem in the American culture he describes our problem as hurry/worry sickness. I mean think about it, we want pizzas delivered in 30 minutes or less, we line up in restaurants not because the foods good but because its fast and easy. Were addicted to devices that promise to gives us convienince and more time.
But the more time we spend with them, study after study proves they rob us of the things we find most valuable in life. In the normal hustle and bustle of everyday life we forget the things that matter most and what is sad is that it takes something devastating to get us back to the place where we need to be living continually.
This past week many of us were unable to go to work, we lost the convenience of our phones and televisions, and computers. We lost the convenience of electricity, of a stove to cook on, and we lost the food from our refirgerators.
But what we gained was so precious, we lended our hands to those in need, we worked together to handle very difficult tasks. We put our differences aside to work together for the betterment of others.
I believe with all my heart that this happened in order to get our attention and to remind us how life is supposed to be. Ortberg goes on to prove that all of our efforts to get more done in less time have not produced what we thought it would. Many other societies are poor by the material perspective but they are rich in time.
they are not driven or hurried or worried, they live in the sense that there is plenty of time to do what needs to be done. Much like our friends in Haiti who are some of the joyful people many of you have ever met, they are poor in goods but rich in time.
So what happens to us is that we live in a society of stress and worry and fear, according to national center for mental health 40 million americans nearly 1 in 7 of us are suffering from some sort of anxiety disorder.
When you have noise and activity and constant movement you begin to neglect what your life is all about.
I’m talking with you this morning about the importance of becoming intimately close with your Lord. All kinds of things will crowd into your lives and they will beg for your attention, but I am telling you we must value quietness and rest. So this morning I am pleading with you, BE STILL, BE QUIET, SLOW DOWN.
CALM DOWN
Instead of worrying and fretting, spend time resting and trusting.
In there is a command that is easy to miss, Which is this STOP just like the signs we see everyday, that we are by law made to listen to, STOP, dont roll through them STOP.
This command in verse 10 comes after a list of things that could really really get to you.
Psalm 46:
God is our refuge and strength,
a helper who is always found
in times of trouble.
A TOWERING STRENGTH IS OUR GOD
Our god is a help for now, right now and immediate help, today. He is a very present help tomorrow just when you need him. Our God is right there, dont become so familiar with Him that you forget that. Don’t become numb to the reality that God is alive and He desires to be your helper!
The Situations
The Situations
In light of the truth that God is a helper a very present helper in times of trouble… watch closely
WE WILL NOT FEAR
Though we go through natural disasters and the Earth should change, mountains slipping into the heart of the sea.
Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change
And though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea;
There is a helpless feeling when your left in the midst of a massive storm. While we watched the trees bending over and snapping, and we got news that the eye of the storm might pass right over us. My kids played in the interior room in the house the adults sat guarding each end and while I was sitting there I prayed.
Lord if this storm comes over us there isnt much we can do at all, the winds began to pick up and as I sat there feeling helpless I was reminded where my help came from.
I serve the maker of Heaven and Earth the one who steers the winds the direction that He wishes, fear began to leave me, I was reassured within my spirit by the very real presence of the Lord that everything would be ok. Why?
OUR GOD IS OUR REFUGE AND OUR STRENGTH A HELPER WHO IS ALWAYS FOUND IN TIMES OF TROUBLE!!!
I remembered His name:
Jehovah Sabaoth- the Lord our protector
and I was reminded of the passage in
The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
I will say to the Lord, “My refuge and my fortress,
my God, in whom I trust.”
He Himself will deliver you from the hunter’s net,
from the destructive plague.
He will cover you with His feathers;
you will take refuge under His wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
the arrow that flies by day,
the plague that stalks in darkness,
or the pestilence that ravages at noon.
Though a thousand fall at your side
and ten thousand at your right hand,
the pestilence will not reach you.
You will only see it with your eyes
and witness the punishment of the wicked.
Because you have made the Lord—my refuge,
the Most High—your dwelling place,
no harm will come to you;
no plague will come near your tent.
For He will give His angels orders concerning you,
to protect you in all your ways.
They will support you with their hands
so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.
You will tread on the lion and the cobra;
you will trample the young lion and the serpent.
Because he is lovingly devoted to Me,
I will deliver him;
I will protect him because he knows My name.
When he calls out to Me, I will answer him;
I will be with him in trouble.
I will rescue him and give him honor.
I will satisfy him with a long life
and show him My salvation.
The one who lives under the protection of the Most High
dwells in the shadow of the Almighty.
Whom or what shall we fear? If God is for us then who or what can be against us?!!
Then as I focused on who He was...... peace.... peace…
When peace like a river attendeth my way
When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot God has taught me to say
It is well with my soul
As the Holy Spirit ministered to me I thought to myself, what must it feel like for those who don’t know who the Lord is, what fear must be gripping them in that time?
WE WILL NOT FEAR
though its waters roar and foam
and the mountains quake with its turmoil. Selah
There is a river—
its streams delight the city of God,
the holy dwelling place of the Most High.
Psalm
what is this river? It’s the peace that flows into the hearts of those who know God. Notice its streams delight WHO?
THE CITY OF GOD!
I am telling you all that you can know the names of God you can know the character qualities of God but if there is no relationship there is no comfort nor peace. But if you are found in the Lord there is a river that will delight you in times of distress and disaster. How can you delight in times of trial because you know
MANY ARE THE AFFLICTIONS OF THE RIGHTEOUS BUT THE LORD DELIVERS HIM OUT OF THEM ALL!!
God is within her; she will not be toppled.
God will help her when the morning dawns.
Times may get dark and situations may look bleak but heres the beautiful thing about knowing the God who loves you, MORNING IS COMING, SEASONS OF LIFE WILL TEST AND TRY YOU BUT MORNING IS COMING, things may be uncertain in our world but MORNING IS COMING, TRIALS MAY LAST FOR A NIGHT BUT JOY COMES IN THE MORNING WHY?
BECAUSE GOD WILL HELP HER WHEN MORNING DAWNS! Now when He makes reference to her , He is talking about His bride that’s you and me, that means the ground may shake and shift but the people of God shall not be moved, everything can be chaos around them but the church of Jesus Christ cannot be moved, all of Hell itself can be dispatched but the bride cannot be moved why?
BECAUSE THE LORD IS OUR REFUGE AND OUR STRENGTH!
SOME OF YALL HAVE THE WRONG MINDSET YOU THINK I NEED TO SUCK IT UP WE NEED TO PULL OURSELVES UP BY OUR BOOTSTRAPS AND MOVE ON BUT THAT’S NOT WHAT WE NEED CHURCH! WE NEED TO RUN TO THE CROSS OF JESUS CHRIST WE NEED TO FIND OUR STRENGTH ON OUR KNEES!
OUR HELP COMES FROM THE LORD!
He moves here from a natural disaster to a national disaster
Psalm 46:6
Nations rage, kingdoms topple;
the earth melts when He lifts His voice.
The Lord of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah
pause and let that sink in
That’s actually what Selah means, it is where there was a pause or break in the music to allow the listener to ponder what the artist just sung. It also can mean forever, So let that sink in the God of angel armies is our stronghold forever, even when we are faithless He is faithful, even when we make ourselves to busy for Him He is never to busy for us, even when He is the last thing on our minds, you are the apple of His eye, even when we feel alone I’M HERE TO TELL YOU CHURCH THE LORD OF HOSTS IS WITH US!!!
Lord of Hosts- This speaks of the reality that God is Lord over both Earthly and Heavenly armies. Now let that sink in, angels who make men cower and fall on their face as dead when they are seen take their commands from our God!
He is Master over the angel armies, He dispatches them at His bidding whenever His children are in need. These angelic beings seek to do the will of God and glorify Him alone. What does this say about the majesty of our God!
If all of Heaven sits and waits for His command then how mighty how powerful and what authority must He have?!
WE SERVE THE GOD WHO MAKES A WAY WHEN THERE IS NO WAY, WE SERVE THE GOD WHO GIVES SHELTER WHEN THERE IS NO SHELTER, WE SERVE THE GOD WHO GIVES LOVE WHEN WE FEEL NO LOVE, WE SERVE THE GOD WHO CAN TAKE THE 5 LOAVES AND TWO FISH AND TURN IT INTO A BUFFET, WE SERVE THE GOD WHO SHUTS THE MOUTHS OF LIONS AND CAUSES THE WINDS AND WAVES TO HUSH, WE SERVE THE GOD WHO CAN HEAL BLIND EYES, WE SERVE THE GOD WHO CAN TURN THIS BARN INTO A PLACE OF TRUE HEARTFELT WORSHIP!
WE SERVE THE GOD WHO TURNS WATER INTO WINE, CAN MAKE THE LAME AND THE LEPER WALK IN FULL STRENGTH AGAIN, HE IS THE POTTER WHO RIGHT NOW THROUGH THIS VERY SITUATION IS WORKING SOMETHING DOWN DEEP WITHIN US AND HE SCREAMS LOUDLY AND SAYS YOU ARE NOT ALONE I AM WITH YOU WHEREVER YOU GO!!!! HE IS LORD OVER LIFE AND THE GRAVE BECAUSE AT ONE WORD FROM HIS MOUTH THE DEAD RISE UP!
OUR GOD OUR FATHER OUR SAVIOR HE IS THE HERO OF OUR STORY!
I’M TELLING YOU OUR STORY DOESN’T END UNTIL HE SAYS IT ENDS
This is your heavenly Father, He can handle any situation you may be facing internally or externally, He is Lord over all!
Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.
He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
He burns up the chariots.
Psalm 46:
Come, see the works of the Lord,
who brings devastation on the earth.
He makes wars cease throughout the earth.
He shatters bows and cuts spears to pieces;
He burns up the chariots.
Why would He bring about devastation?
Psalm 46:
“Cease striving and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Psalm
Because sometimes the heart of humanity is too stubborn to listen, because sometimes we all need to wake up in order to know God fully, HE IS THE POTTER WHO BREAKS THINGS AND THEN REMAKES THEM BETTER THAN THEY WERE BEFORE THEY WERE BROKEN!!
GOD IS DESIRING TO DO A NEW THING IN US CHURCH HE DESIRES SOMETHING NEW IN THIS TOWN, HE DESIRES SOMETHING NEW IN YOUR HOME, HE DESIRES TO BLESS US WITH HIS PRESENCE BUT WE MUST BE BROKEN IN ORDER FOR THAT TO HAPPEN
(RE-BREAK A BONE)
Jacob cried out for the Angel of the Lord to bless Him so God blessed Him with a broken Hip, He dislocated His hip which caused Jacob to walk funny on Earth because God cared more about how He walked in His spiritual life.
Some of ya’ll are just like Jacob wrestling with God He wants the best for you and yet you just keep on striving and fighting for your best instead of receiving Gods best.
Our work and our worry has no place in trusting God, stop striving, stop toiling understand who I am before you go forward, before you rush right back into the hurried nature of your life and realize that I am god and know what your primary purpose on this Earth is....
TO EXALT HIM
TO LIFT HIM HIGH
TO ACKNOWLEDGE HIS LORDSHIP
That is why we were created, not to build little kingdoms for ourselves, not to crumble when everything else crumbles around us but to PRAISE AND HONOR THE NAME OF THE LIVING GOD!!
CEASE STRIVING, STOP HURRYING, STOP WORRYING!!! ‘GOD SAYS I GOT THIS!!
CEASE YOUR STRIVING AND HE SAYS TO KNOW THAT HE IS GOD
THAT WORD FOR KNOW IS THE WORD YADA in the HEBREW and in the GREEK IT IS GINOSKO it means experiential knowledge.
In other words God doesnt just want you to know about Him , He doesnt just want us to know His name He wants us to experience His nature. Do you believe that this morning? do you believe that God is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him?
Then let me ask you something when was the last time you got alone with God and sat there and talked with Him? God desires a relationship with you not just visits on sunday He wants to interact in your lives even when nothing terrible has happened OH THAT WE AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD WOULD GRASP THIS TRUTH THAT GOD IS NOT JUST UP THERE TO BE AT OUR BECKON CALL BUT THE HE DESIRES TO BE INVOLVED IN THE LITTLE THINGS IN YOUR LIFE!!
HE IS WORTHY TO BE LIFTED UP BY YOUR LIFE!!
Yahweh of Hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our stronghold. Selah
He is our stronghold, that word means a place of safety such as a mountain fortress, guard tower, or hideout.
(during a storm they tell you to get where? The safest room in the house… why?
that is your refuge, your hiding place from the effects of the storm.
the point of this passage today church is this rather than striving and worrying and trying to control everything run to Jesus, when the cares of life weigh you down dont run to the bottle run to Jesus, when the winds of adversity hit hard on the house called your life dont run to a trusted friends first run to Jesus, when you dont understand whats happening all around you dont try to figure it out on your own run to Jesus, when your stuck in a spiritual rut dont try to climb your way out of it run to Jesus, HE IS THE IMMOVABLE, UNSHAKABLE, ALL POWERFUL FORTRESS AND WHEN THE RIGHTEOUS RUN TO HIM THEY ARE SAVED!!!
Let me ask a very serious question:
Who/What do you run to when trouble comes?
there is only one safe place to be found..... His name is Jesus Christ
He will cover you with His feathers;
you will take refuge under His wings.
His faithfulness will be a protective shield.
(God’s wrath)
(the cross)