Sunday Song Service
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Introduction
Introduction
Welcome to First Community Church at home, we are so glad that you are here to worship with us in Spirit and in Truth this morning and pray that each one of you is well and resting in God’s amazing grace.
As we continue Church at Home, let us remember to take time out to check our emails for upcoming events, prayer requests, or just simple communication.
Prayer
Read Psalm 46
Praise God for this wonderful Psalm of God doing a work for his people.
I am reminded of:
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
Did you get that? Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever! What a promise! What a blessing! What a grace! The Lord does not change! Hallelujah! He does not change<><
Does anyone listening change? Are we at times all fickle people? Subject to change with what is going on around us, or inside of us? The Father does not change, Jesus does not change, the Holy Spirit does not change!
Does this bring comfort to your hearts? Does this just cause you to take a deep breathe and say, “The Lord has my back, the Lord will take care of us, the Lord is so so good?”
I start here, because what God did for King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah in this Psalm, he will do for us.
Review
Review
A few weeks ago we looked at 2 Chronicles 32 and 2 Kings 19.
Tell the story of the King of Assyria Sennacherib and the brutality of his army getting ready to take Jerusalem.
King Hezekiah and Isaiah prayed:
Then Isaiah the son of Amoz sent to Hezekiah, saying, “Thus says the Lord God of Israel: ‘Because you have prayed to Me against Sennacherib king of Assyria, I have heard.’
“Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the king of Assyria: ‘He shall not come into this city, Nor shoot an arrow there, Nor come before it with shield, Nor build a siege mound against it. By the way that he came, By the same shall he return; And he shall not come into this city,’ Says the Lord. ‘For I will defend this city, to save it For My own sake and for My servant David’s sake.’ ”
But let us remember, King Hezekiah encouraged the people of Jerusalem to be strong and courageous, to not be afraid.
Can you imagine a the King of Assyria and his brutal army just outside the wall looking at you, attempting to decieve and trick you? Sennacherib sent his servants to speak to Jerusalem, to attempt to confuse them, to let them know King Hezekiah will fail them.
Does this sound familiar in the midst of the battle or war? Satan is a deceiver of the brethren and the father of lies. He did this then, and he does this now. Let us not fall victim to his schemes.
What is is trying to siege you? What is your Sennacherib? The Lord desires to be your refuge!
Remember, you can read about King Hezekiah and Sennacherib in detail in: 2 Chronicles 29-32, in 2 Kings 19-21, and even in Isaiah 36-38 to get the whole story.
Let’s dive into our text:
God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble.
We talked a few weeks ago about the Lord being our refuge and strength.
There are times in all of our lives that we need a hiding place and the Lord desires to be just that:
You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah
You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your word.
Keep me as the apple of Your eye; Hide me under the shadow of Your wings,
For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.
But what is interesting is that God will hide us, but only if we let him. He will not force his way into our lives or circumstances. We must draw near to Him.
Trouble- an event causing pain or distress, a tight place, in a corner and unable to get out an enemy or anxiety.
Church, when God hides us and is our refuge, this is not meant to be escapism, or isolation, but rather rejuvenation and renewal. It a place of renewal, and place of rest.
Are you in a tight place today? – Run to Jesus, not to escape, but to receive strength to get back to face your problem or fear.
Therefore we will not fear, Even though the earth be removed, And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though its waters roar and be troubled, Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
The admonition here is, Don’t be afraid!”
In the midst of everything going on around us, the Psalmist says, Relax, God has your backs!
Be Worshipful God Is Our Tower of Strength (vv. 1–3)
The earth may change, the mountains may be hurled violently into the sea, there may come earthquakes and tidal waves, but all things are in the control of our sovereign Lord
Some scholars believe this is cosmological in nature here in verses 2-3. And are the actual cosmological events that will precede the second coming of Jesus Christ, when He comes to carry out God’s final judgments. (Rev. 6:12-14; 11:13; 16:20-21).
While other believe this is poetic and describing the worst disaster you could ever think about.
So contextually speaking, even in the worst times of disaster, God’s people need not fear because God is the refuge, strength and help for His people in times of trouble.
Circumstances may change, but God’s covenant with His people will never change:
For the mountains shall depart And the hills be removed, But My kindness shall not depart from you, Nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” Says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
Did you see the promise in that verse?
Did you catch the SELAH at the end of verse 3?
Three times in this Psalm we are asked to Pause during the song, to stop and think.
A perspective that I try to keep is that no matter what is going on in my life, it could always be worse.
So let’s remember: when God’s people feel cramped and pressured, they can know God is with them.
This is exactly what Martin Luther saw in this Psalm. He saw that our rest, our security, our strength and our help are found in God. We may expect God to work in the present, right here and right now. When we find ourselves in difficult situations or troubles, we may know that our God will protect, preserve and assist His own.
Martin Luther saw this and wrote about this in his hymn. He said, “And tho this world, with devils filled, should threaten to undo us, we will not fear, for God hath willed His truth to triumph through us.” We need not fear any trouble in the present when we belong to God for He is our refuge, our strength and our help.
“Selah”–stop and think about it.
I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn. The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; He uttered His voice, the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Here we come to the second SELAH in the great Psalm. What is the Lord trying to say to us?
Let us rest assured of God’s presence and power. The people in Jerusalem knew that God was in their midst and would take care of them.
He gives a river of refreshment and joy to the citizens of His city.
This is in contrast to the roaring waters of verse 3.
God’s river is quiet and gentle
Jerusalem is one of the ancient cities not founded on a river.
It wasn’t until Hezekiah dug his famous tunnel that Jerusalem had a water source within the walls. {The spring of Gihon, in the Kidron valley, Hez. Diverted through a 1777’ long conduit, hewn out of solid rock, into a reservoir inside the city walls.}
When an enemy would come to destroy a nation and people, they would often cut off their water source. WHY? Because we need water to survive.
Even though Jerusalem was not near a river, they had the RIVER OF LIFE!
In Scripture church, God’s presence is often symbolized by refreshing waters. Let’s look at a few texts:
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house, And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
You visit the earth and water it, You greatly enrich it; The river of God is full of water; You provide their grain, For so You have prepared it.
The prophets Ezekiel and Zechariah spoke of waters flowing out of the sanctuary of God:
And in that day it shall be— That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem, Half of them toward the eastern sea And half of them toward the western sea; In both summer and winter it shall occur. And the Lord shall be King over all the earth. In that day it shall be “The Lord is one,” And His name one.
The Apostle John the beloved saw a crystal river preceding from God’s throne:
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb.
And Jesus described the indwelling of His Holy Spirit in believers as rivers of living water flowing out of our inner being :
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”
Have you tapped into the springs of living water? Have you ever noticed when you are around water falls you always seem to be refreshed? Why?
Water in motion produces abundant negative ions, bringing more energy and vitality. Negative ions are odorless, tasteless, and invisible molecules that we inhale in abundance in certain environments such as the ocean but also mountains, and waterfalls.
Does the spring coming out of you produce energy and vitality around those your surrounded by?
Jesus said out of your belly should flow living waters.
Water quenches thirst and produces life church.
But if we are not pressing into Jesus, our wells are running dry. Let us not attempt to hewn out cisterns because they will run dry, they will break>
“For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.
The Lord of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
The Lord of hosts is with us! This means heavens armies. He is the Lord of host, the angelic host church!
SELAH- stop and think !
Come, behold the works of the Lord, Who has made desolations in the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two; He burns the chariot in the fire. Be still, 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 refuge. Selah
The third scene is on the fields surrounding Jerusalem where the Assyrian soldiers lay dead, their weapons and equipment scattered and broken.
There had been no battle, but the angel of the Lord left this evidence behind to encourage the faith of the people. “Come and see the amazing things (desolations) the Lord has made!”
And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead.
The Lord defeated and disarmed His enemies and destroyed their weapons, and they could attack no more.
Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
Be still- to put an end to a state or activity>> literally means take your hands off>RELAX<
“Be still” literally means “Take your hands off! Relax!”
Church, we like to be “hands-on” people and manage our own lives, but God is God, and we are but His servants.
Because Hezekiah and his leaders allowed God to be God, He delivered them from their enemies.
That was the way King Hezekiah had prayed: “Now therefore, O Lord our God, I pray, save us from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know You are the Lord God, You alone” (2 Kings 19:19, nkjv).
Three lessons to glean from this Psalm:
Our present trouble is an invitation for us to connect with our very present HELP the Lord Jesus Christ!
No matter terrible or difficult thing is happening around us: God is our refuge and strength. He will hide us, refresh us and release us to continue.
Church, when we find ourselves in a tight place, like King Hezekiah and the prophet Isaiah, we must pray!
Is living water coming out of your heart? Do you know the One who can quench your thirst? Are your current circumstances drawing you to God or away from Him?
Prayer
Lord, thank you for Psalm 46 and the victory you gave King Hezekiah and Jerusalem. Father, if we were honest, we could say we struggle with allowing you to be our refuge. In fact, we confess that often we run to other people, places, and things for comfort rather than you. Lord, please forgive us and quicken us to cry out to Jesus in the midst of the great war we are all in. Please continue to grant wisdom and hope to the frontline workers and God please help those we are surrounded with, with the help you know they need. And Father quicken your Church to tap into the Living Water that produces fruit for your Kingdom.
If there is any listener today that does not know you as Lord and Savior, may the Holy Spirit gently lead them through this prayer:
Lord Jesus, for too long I’ve kept you out of my life. I know that I am a sinner and that I cannot save myself. No longer will I close the door when I hear you knocking. By faith I gratefully receive your gift of salvation. I am ready to trust you as my Lord and Savior. Thank you, Lord Jesus, for coming to earth. I believe you are the Son of God who died on the cross for my sins and rose from the dead on the third day. Thank you for bearing my sins and giving me the gift of eternal life. I believe your words are true. Come into my heart, Lord Jesus, and be my Savior. IJN
Announcements
Keep an eye out for emails for our next prayer meeting
If anyone would like to create a cookie ministry or a ministry for our frontline workers, let me know.
Know that you are loved and missed bunches church.
Please check-in and pray for your brothers, sisters, and those you are surrounded by.
Benediction
Jesus answered and said to her, “Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.”
The Lord Bless your week!
Your Mission Starts Now!