INTRO.- God is. The Psalmist doesn’t question the existence of God. He simply states, God is. Gen. 1:1 “In the beginning God.”
ILL.- An orator in Hyde Park of London was speaking out against religion. He said, “My hatred of religion is inherited; my grandfather was an atheist; my father was an atheist; and, thank God, I’m an atheist, too.”
ILL.- Years ago, a group of people in Missouri founded a town and named it Liberal about 35 miles north of Joplin. They were so extremely ‘liberal’ that churches were not to be allowed. In their literature they boasted that it was “the only town of its size in the United States without a priest, a preacher, church, God, Jesus, hell or devil.”
But Elder Clark Braden wrote up an account for the Post Dispatch showing that there was little else than hell and devil there, that it was a den of iniquity, that its hotels were brothels and virtue almost unknown. The account was so terrible that they had Braden arrested for criminal libel, and sued him and the Post Dispatch for $25,000 damages.
Liberal was a failure, and even lifelong unbelievers, who had moved there for its advantages, left in disgust. One of them said: “An infidel surrounded by Christians may spout his infidelity and the community may be able to stand it but it will never do to establish a society with infidelity as its basis.”
IT WILL NEVER DO TO ESTABLISH A SOCIETY BASED ON UNBELIEF AND INFIDELITY. Surely this should tell us something about life. God is the author of life and He’s the only one who can bless a person’s life or a city’s life or a country.
ILL.- A Dr. George Crane tells of a statement made by a clerk in the law office of Clarence Darrow, the famed criminal lawyer and self-acclaimed atheist. He said, “As Darrow lay dying, he hastily summoned three clergymen—a Presbyterian minister, a Catholic priest, and a Jewish rabbi.
“He said to them, ‘Gentlemen, I have written and spoken many things against God and the churches during my lifetime. Now I wished I hadn’t! Now I realize it is entirely possible that I may have been wrong. So I should like to ask a final favor that each one of you intercede for me with the Almighty.”
Do you think their intecession for Mr. Darrow did any good? When unbelievers leave this world they will find out that they have been wrong all along. How can any thinking person look at the starry universe, planet earth and look at a newborn baby and not believe there is a Creator?!
God is. God exists. God creates. God builds good things in this world. God blesses us with good things. Every good and perfect comes from above, not from man. The Psalmist is clear: GOD IS.
PROP.- The Psalmist declares, God is what?
1- God is our refuge, we must not fear
2- God is our strength, we must not fall
3- God is our God, we must not fight
I. GOD IS OUR REFUGE, WE MUST NOT FEAR
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.
ILL.- A young unbeliever was traveling in the West with his uncle, a banker, and they were anxious for their safety when they were forced to stop for a night in a rough wayside cabin that had two rooms. They agreed that the young man would sit up with his pistols, and watch until midnight. Then the uncle would watch until morning.
They happened to look through a crack in the partition, and saw their host, a rough-looking old man, reach for a Bible. After reading it awhile, he knelt and began to pray. Then the young unbeliever began to get ready for bed. “I thought that you were to remain on guard?” said the uncle. The young man knew that there was no need to watch all night in a cabin where there was Bible-reading and prayer.
Someone said: “Every one knows that where this Book has influence, it makes things safe.” If this is true, then what happens when the Bible is banned in a country???
ILL.- Here’s an example of that Biblical and Godly protection in a godless country. Our missionary, Ajai Lall wrote back in July: “Last month, our brave and courageous coworkers rescued 9 children from a sex trade operation in India. Ranging in ages from 2-8 years old, they were rescued from a red light area. With great risk for their own safety, the CICM leaders went in the middle of the night to save these children who were being used and prepared for prostitution. The children are now in a safe place and receiving food, shelter and an education. We also now have the opportunity to let them know of God’s love for them.
“God is clearly working through and protecting our coworkers in India who risked their lives to combat this injustice. We are happy to see that even in the most tragic of situations, God’s grace prevails over evil.” AMEN!
That’s the protection of God through Godly people, but children aren’t protected very well where God does not reign!
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea.
God is refuge, our hiding place, therefore we will not fear. But what if earth gave way and the mountains quaked? We should still not be fearful, even if some natural disasters took our lives. The reason we should be not fearful is because we would be with God! To be absent from the body is to be at home with the Lord!
Why do we fear so much in this world? And why do we fear leaving this world? Some day we will leave and be with the Lord where there will be no more pain, no more sorrow, no more death. We will be eternally blessed. I don’t see how you can get better than that!
I know why we fear, however. It’s because our faith is lacking. We believe and want to believe that we will be safe and that all will be well with us, but there is still that part of us that doesn’t believe. Jesus said, “Believe in God. Believe me too.”
In Mark 9 there is the story of the healing of a boy who had an evil spirit. The spirit within him would throw him on the ground, cause him to foam at the mouth, and gnash or grind his teeth. His father brought him to Jesus. Mark 9:19-24 “O unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.” So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth. Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?” “From childhood,” he answered. “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.” “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for him who believes.”Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!” Help my unbelief or help me to overcome my unbelief! That’s what we need to pray!
God, help me to believe you, to believe your Word and trust you completely and then I will not fear in this life! God is our refuge, we must not fear!
II. GOD IS OUR STRENGTH, WE MUST NOT FALL
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
God is our strength. God is within the city of God and He is within us! Therefore, we must not fall or falter. There are times in life, however, when we are weak or perhaps we feel weak, helpless and inadequate.
ILL.- Public speaking can be a frightening experience for almost anyone. I don’t know of too many people who are naturally gifted at public. A few but not many. And it’s one thing to preach in church and an entirely different matter preaching to people outside the church building. I remember many years ago when some high schools still had baccalaureate services and actually invited a preacher to speak. I was invited to speak one time at such a service in the small town of Iberia, MO. It seemed like everybody and his dog attended that service. You see, in small towns people turn out for things like that. It was a large crowd of people and it was my first time at speaking at a Baccalaureate service. WHAT TO PREACH? What to say?
I don’t remember the exact message I preached but it was pretty basic. I told those graduates and those people that they needed Jesus in life in order to make it and have a good life. Believe me, I was somewhat scared but at the same time, I was somewhat fearless. WHY? Because I knew what I was saying was the truth from the Word of God and they needed to hear the message of God. I’ve had similar experiences in preaching funerals. You never know your audience, but you must preach the truth.
ILL.- While preaching in southern IL a UPS man who delivered packages to our church lost his wife to cancer. She was young, probably in her early 40‘s and they had two children at home. That UPS man didn’t go to church but asked me if I would speak at his wife’s memorial service which was held, surprisingly, at Crab Orchard Lake in southern IL. As the family and friends gathered I was the first to speak. I had prayer with them, read the 23rd Psalm which I figured everyone was familiar with and made simple comments based on that Psalm of hope and comfort. I was brief and closed with prayer.
Then I and everyone else was shocked by the husband who spoke. The first words out of his mouth were, “God damn cancer to hell!” Wow! Was he ever angry that cancer took his wife. I was glad that I spoke first, because I’m not sure I would have known what to say. But afterward, the husband was very appreciative of what I said to him and his family. GOD IS OUR STRENGTH, WE MUST NOT FALL OR FALTER.
ILL.- What would say to a young couple who took their 3 and a half year old boy to the doctor and several days later he died even though he hadn’t been sick? What would you say to that young couple or would you say anything at all if you knew them?
What if a young woman who was having some marital problems, thinking perhaps her husband was cheating on her came to you? What advice would you give or would you give any advice at all?
Would you have the slightest idea from a Christian or Biblical viewpoint to know what to say to her? The idea is not so much what we think but what does God’s Word say and how would we relate it? Yes, there are times when we feel weak and helpless and perhaps not knowing what to say or what to do.
But we must remember that God is our strength and the more we lean on Him the less we will fear or fall. But He alone is our strength. WE ARE NOT STRONG IN OURSELVES.
Philippians 2:12-13 “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” We act according to His good purpose or will.
II Timothy 1:7 “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
We may be weak but God’s Spirit who lives within is not weak. He is strong and can be a source of strength to us if we live close to the Lord. Greater is He who is within us. I John 4:4. God is in us. He is at work in us. Therefore, we must fall or falter in life.
III. GOD IS OUR GOD, WE MUST NOT FIGHT
8 Come and see the works of the Lord, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear, he burns the shields with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Come and see the works of the Lord. See what He has done on planet earth with planet earth. HE ALONE IS GOD.
ILL.- Entomologists (insect guys, bug students) estimate that there may be as many as 5 million insect species, of which fewer than a million have been identified and named (there are, for examples, more than 300,000 species of beetles alone). That’s a lot of bugs in this world! I don’t like bugs! I’ve never seen a good bug in my life but there may be some! But who created all those bugs? We know and they didn’t just evolve out of nothing.
Can you make a Grand Canyon? Can you speak a Mt. Everest into existence? Can you speak the stars into the universe? Can you create a bug? Why, of course, not. Then stop playing God!
ILL.- In the 2003 comedy movie, “Bruce Almighty," Jim Carrey complains that God isn’t doing his job correctly. The 75 year old actor from Memphis, TN, Morgan Freeman played the role of God and offered Carrey the job of being God for one week. When he found how hard it was to be God, he didn’t want that job any longer.
CAN YOU IMAGINE PLAYING GOD AND ACTUALLY HAVING HIS POWER? Would you want His job? And if you did, would you make the right decisions in this world for people? Would you judge justly and fairly?
Morgan Freeman recently said in that interview, “I AM GOD.” No, he is not god even if he thinks he is god. How deceived and deluded is any person who thinks they are God. We know better, but sometimes we act like Morgan Freeman. We may not actually think or say we are God, but we sometimes act like we are God.
Many people are fighting a losing battle. They are fighting with God for control of their own lives. We must let God be God and be still before Him. We must be still and bow before Him.
10 “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
He is exalted and will always be exalted. Consequently, we need to stop playing God with our own lives and let God be God! We need to let Him control us instead of choosing our own selfish paths.
Daily we are confronted with things to do, decisions to make, thoughts to act on, and most of the time we choose our own way even when we know God has told us a different way to live! We need to let God be God in life and in our own lives!
When we do our own thing instead of bowing before God and obeying His will as revealed in His Word we are playing God!
Luke 6:46 “Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?”
Why do we call God, God and not do what He says? It’s because we often play God instead of submitting to Him who is God!
God is our God, we must not fight against Him by doing our own thing but rather submit to His will and authority!
CONCLUSION----------------
God is. God exists. God is eternal. He is from everlasting to everlasting. He is God, always has been and always will be. And He is all-powerful, all-wise, ever-present and has the right to command us.
And He does command us, but He gives us a choice in life. He deeply loves all mankind and wants us to believe Him and obey Him out of response to His great love! And I say, “Amen.”
If we respond to Him in faith and love, we will not fear, we will falter, and we will not fight with Him!
Steve Shepherd, Jonesboro Christian Church, AR
jonesborochristianchurch@suddenlink.net
