Sermon Tone Analysis

RECORD

I’m sure that by now most of you know that the church hosts a play group here twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursdays

If you’ve never done so before I suggest that you stop by and check it out some time, it is incredible to see the many parents and kids interacting and playing

And let me just say that there are some incredible toys that these kids get to play with, toys I wish I had when I was growing up

But still some of the most popular toys are those that are not so sophisticated but are simple and easy

I bring this up because I want to bring back to your memory a book that I’m sure almost all of us had as small children that helped us learn our alphabet

It might have even looked a little like this one up on the screen or perhaps like this one which I borrowed from the play group

READ SOME EXAMPLES FROM BOOK

But recently I came across a newer version of this book which is for those who are a little more advanced in their English, it’s called P is for Pterodactyl

Let me give you a few examples from this book in addition to the one from whence it gets it title: A is for Aisle, C is for Czar, G is for Gnocchi, K is for Knight, M is fro Mnemonic, T is for Tsunami

So why do I mention these books this morning?

The reason is because whether you learn your alphabet from this one or from the newer more difficult one I believe that both of these books are wrong about 1 particular letter, the letter “P”

Yes it’s true that picture does start with the letter “P” as does Pterodactyl but neither of those words are what the letter “P” stands for

In the most important book of all the letter “P” stands for Psalms

And to illustrate why I believe this, this morning we are going to do an exegesis on one of the great Psalms, written by the Sons of Korah some time around 700 B.C. when Israel was under invasion by Syria and life the way that everyone was used to was in complete upheaval

was written to provide comfort in the midst of our storms and problems

Let’s begin with verse 1 which provides us with our first of 3 points and that is P is for Promises

Dictionary.com defines a promise as, “a declaration that something will or will not be done, an express assurance on which expectation is to be based

Dictionary.com defines a promise as, “a declaration that something will or will not be done, an express assurance on which expectation is to be based

I really like that second part, a promise of God is an express assurance on which our expectation is to be based

So what are these assurances on which we are to base our expectation?

Well this verse has 3 of them:

First we have the assurance that God is our “Protection”

Going again to dictionary.com we see that the definition for refuge is “shelter or protection from danger, trouble etc.”

When the enemy is attacking, or when the storms of life are raging, there is a place that we can go for protection and shelter and that “place” is God

Now please not that this does not promise that God will remove all the problems and storms but rather that He will be our sanctuary

The second promise that we see in verse one is that God is our “Power”

How are we to be expected to make it through those storms of life that are so much larger that we are able to handle?

Simple, we have no choice but to rely on the power of God to be manifested within us

In Paul reveals to the readers that at one point he faced one such difficulty of life that was too much for him to handle in his own strength

Most Bible scholars agree that it was probably some form of physical ailment that may have even had Paul on his deathbed

This is what he wrote about it

2 Corinthians 12:7-

You do not have to try and make it through this life in your own strength, in fact our expectation should be that we won’t for we have the assurance of God’s power when we are too weak

The 3rd promise shown in this verse is God’s “Presence”

Although the NIV translates this as “ever-present” and Strong’s Concordance further explains that it means “to be present, to deliver, to be enough, to be here, to be sufficient”

He is ever present, ever able, ever willing and that can make all the difference when we recognize it

is a famous verse in which Paul says,

But go back and take a look at the context and you will realize that Paul is not talking about preforming miracles, he is talking about getting through the hardships of life

Let’s go back one verse

God is with you giving you the ability to make it through even the roughest of days and you can be assured of that because it is His promise

As we continue on in we also see that “P is for Predicament”

Or to be more specific we already have the promises of God and now we find out when we can count on those promises

The first predicament where we can count on God’s promises is during Planetary problems

“Therefore” or because of what was promised in verse 1 we have nothing to fear when we see what is happening to our planet

Now I am not trying to suggest that there is nothing scary about a tornado or about the wildfires that are currently burning in California

What I am saying is that over my lifetime there have been many “Chicken Littles” crying that the sky was falling

Jesus said in

Luke 21:

He continued a few verses later,

Luke 21:31

I do not like all these daily natural disasters but because of the promises of God I have a different take on them

Moving on in we see that the next predicament in which we can count on the promises of God is that of Personal Problems, verse 4

‘But Pastor those verses are speaking of Jerusalem.

What’s the matter couldn’t you come up with a “P” word for Jerusalem

Well actually calls it the City of Peace and calls it Perfect of beauty so...

But I see this as less of a promise to a city and more of a promise to the dwelling place of God

Which as we all know, under the new covenant is you and I

2 Corinthians 6:16-7:1

It is one thing to hold your head high and make it through when the world is falling apart but it is an entirely different thing when it is YOUR world that is falling apart

is probably a familiar passage of scripture to you but have you ever really considered what it means to trust in Him with all your heart when the situation seems grim?

Let me read the passage for you from the Message Bible

(The Message)

5–12 Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

he’s the one who will keep you on track.

We need to know, to have an expectation based on the assurance that God’s promises of Protection, power, and presence will be fulfilled to us in the moment of our greatest need

The 3rd predicament where we can count on the promises of God is in political problems

During political meetings held after all of the Remembrance Day ceremonies in France the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel called for the formation of a single European military

During political meetings held after all of the Remembrance Day ceremonies in France the German Chancellor, Angela Merkel called for the formation of a single European military

The very thought of that and the potential consequences going forward scares me

Russia is again beginning to flex its muscle and China is preparing for war like never before

But even in the midst of all of that I can feel safe in the promises of God for none of this has taken place without His notice nor without His permission

In fact tells us that it is God who has established these rulers and it is He who sits over them in complete authority

No matter what the predicament, planetary, personal or political, God’s promises can still be counted upon

But how do we know that?

Well that is our 3rd point, P is for Proof

The authors of provide us with 3 proofs that we can trust God’s promises

The first proof is God’s Proclamation

Psalm 46:8-

Look for yourself and see how everything that He has ever promised or proclaimed has happened through His mighty power

His faithfulness in the past speaks volumes to our ability to trust Him in the present and future

Deuteronomy 7:9

The 2nd proof that we have that we can trust Him is that Peace that is ours when we do

The

Only when our trust and hope is found in Him are we able to “be still” in the midst of chaos

Isaiah 26:

Philippians 4:

John 14:27

Like the old song says, “Put your hand in the hand of the man who stilled the water.

Put your hand in the hand of the man who calmed the sea”

The peace that is ours when we do is just further proof that it is right

And the 3rd proof is found in verse 11 when the writers simply take us back to the promise

The proof is in the pudding as they used to say and our proof is that even now the presence of God is with us and in us and so we know that He will never leave us nor forsake us and that like a sheep counts upon the shepherd we too can count upon Him

2 Corinthians

Let’s pray