Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Where is God in war?
I remember as a teenager listening to a old gentleman speaking of his time in the second world war.
He has since passed away.
He was in the army anyway - he wasn’t conscripted - so he knew what military culture was like
So he wasn’t too keen to show any fear or anxiety
- but on the first active posting on the first night as they arrived somewhere in europe and their group were allocated sleeping barracks he was terrified of what was to come.
He wanted to pray and in those days felt it was right to kneel by his bed and to pray the Lord’s prayer out loud.
He knew others would laugh at him - there’s no God in war..
but he decided he had to pray.
He knelt down by his bed, put his hand together and waited for the first army boot to get flung at his head by another soldier.
Our Father In heaven, he prayed aloud, hollowed be your name.
(no boot, no laughing)
Your kingdom come, (said another voice from another man who had knelt beside him.
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven (as 2 or 3 others joined in from their own beds.)
Give us each day our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins, as we also have forgiven those who sin against us.
And lead us not into temptation but deliver us from the evil one.
For yours is the kingdom, the power and the glory forever, Amen
After 3 or 4 days every man in the barrak would kneel and pray the Lord’s prayer together.
What war had done for them was show them their only hope was in God.
they learnt to trust the truths of what the Psalm we had read earlier tell us.
Trouble, war, strife, pain, fear rarely drives people away from God - but to him!
For there is no other hope in life.
The psalmist who wrote these words knew this truth as his own city faced attack .
It’s likley it was written for King Hezekiah in Jerusalem 3000 or so years ago -
as a great Assyrian King lay seige to the city.
Forty-six towns and villages in Judah had been taken already
and now nearly 200,000 troops encircled Jerusalem.
Sounds similar to our headlines this week.
And so they sing//
you get a picture of the turmoil being described as landslides and roaring seas, mountains quaking!
Is this a time to abandoned any hope in God?
No - for he is our only refuge and strength.
they don’t assume they will win, or survive -
they do though know God is greater than any fear or trouble in this life.
the Psalmist continues:
These are fascinating verses - for there is no river in Jerusalem - but yet he writes as if there is one.
Most cities live from the life giving water the river brings - but Jerusalem has to make other arrangements!
But they live by something else - something better!
The live in the presense of God.
In the OT times God’s presences was symbolised by the temple in Jerusalem.
To some extent it mattered not what happened to them so long as God was with them.
And then in v7 He call this God of refuge - the God of Jacob.
YOu may not know the bible well,
but whener God is described as the God of Jacob it’s a reminder that he loves and cares for his people not based on how good or important, or clever they are - but based on his grace and compassion.
Jacob was a deceiver,
he stole his older brother brith right and inheritance by fooling their Father on his death bed.
And yet - God in His grace, saves and loves his people, even people like Jacob..
people like you and me.
It is right to ask the scarly questions of life when trouble comes.
When we have seen 2 years of covid, and now war in Europe.
And it’s right to fear that we might be next.
And what hope do we have.
If there is a God how can I please him, how can i be spared?
How can he be my refuge?
Well the answer is you can’t please him by being good, or clever - none of us are ever good enough or clever enough for a perfect and just God.
Most of us don’t need to look far into our hearts or lives to know we haven’t lived our lives for God perfectly.
Some here may not even believe in him,
But if we are prepared to repent and believe in Him
well then he is then our refuge and strength.
The God of grace and forgiveness - the God of Jacob will save us.
But Grace and forgiveness does not mean God ignores sin and evil.
The Psalmist invites the enemies that surround him to come and have a look at what God’s will do to all those who stand against him..
You think Putin has power - wait until you see what God Almighty can do,
think back to what he has done.
Not a single dynasty, empire, democracy has overcome this world - or existed indefinitely.
Yes war is bad - but standing against God say the Bible is going to end in an even worse fate.
In other words -
the evil and injustices of this world will all be delt with by God.
The Putins and Hitlers will face the perfect God of Justice.
Come and see.
A time will come -the bible tells us- when Jesus the Son of God will return to judge all injustice and evil.
War is not the end.
In fact war is perhaps foretaste of what is to come for those who rebel against God.
And that includes you and me!
It would be nieve to say that everyone in Russian forces are sinful or evil and everyone on in Ukraine is good.
Of course it’s clear for all to see the overall terrible picture of rights a wrongs
the great reassurance of God is that evil will be dealt with by him.
, - but at an individual level - we all need to be ready to stand before God.
Come and see.
As terrible as war is - God’s does allow it to happen as part of his loving plan to show the world that we need Him!
That left to ourselevs look what happens!
And God will judge us for it!
Unless we hear his call
Come to my refuge and strength.
before it’s too late.
Come to the Almighty God of Jacob - who readily forgives by grace.
You might ask how can he forgive and judge sin and evil - he can’t ignore one sin but punish another?
You’re right.
That is the key - this is why God entered our world in the person of Jesus.
He became human - lived a perfect life that none of us ever did and then was put to death on a cross!
The bible tells us that in His death he chose to take the Just punishment from God that was coming towards us - on himself.
NT explains it like this
In other words - God’s justice is satisfied on Jesus,
so grace and forgiveness is availble to us if we repent and believe in Jesus.
It is why when God returns to judge - Putin will be held to account,
but for those of us who have asked for forgiveness in Jesus - well our account has already been paid by him!
This is why that soldier was able to pray the Lrod’s prayer in the face of war and potential death himself.
Safety and success in this life was not his refuge - salvation in Jesus was - in God.
And instead of facing eternal punishment as we all deserve after death before a Holy God
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