The God we worship and praise is a Holy and Just God who is forever faithful, He foresees our battles and sets provision for His faithful children. The God of Heaven is a God that is very well aware of the circumstances of life that we face every day and every hour. He is Omni-present and is not at all surprised of what our lives consist of, while we are waiting for God to move God is waiting for you to move. Within the arms of Christ, we find refuge and strength, we find security and identity. In Christ we are safe and secure.
Psalm 46:1-11 (NKJV)
46 God is our refuge and strength,?A very present help in trouble.?2 Therefore we will not fear,?Even though the earth be removed,?And though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;?3 Though its waters roar and be troubled,
Though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God,?The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.?5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;?God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.?6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved;?He uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;?The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
8 Come, behold the works of the Lord,?Who has made desolations in the earth.?9 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.
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 of hosts is with us;?The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Missionary statesman Hudson Taylor had complete trust in God's faithfulness. In his journal he wrote:
Our heavenly Father is a very experienced One. He knows very well that His children wake up with a good appetite every morning... He sustained 3 million Israelites in the wilderness for 40 years. We do not expect He will send 3 million missionaries to China; but if He did, He would have ample means to sustain them all... Depend on it, God's work done in God's way will never lack God's supply.
1st Point “Present Help”
“God loves each of us as if there were only one of us”
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.” – Martin Luther King Jr.
We live in an area of hopelessness, many people are hopeless, helpless and faithless, we live in a time where there is no God factor for the controversies of life, there is no God factor in the chaotic circumstances we see every day and probably deal with every day, nonetheless within all the assumptions of man and the lack of faith in the God of Heaven by man, God exist and is very much alive awaiting to have a vessel to pour into and work through. That man may see God in the time of need.
Trouble has become the living arrangement of today’s society, everything is about trouble, the trouble you face within your marriage, your community, your work place, school, your finances, etc. The troubles we face as a nation with terror and worry of one day having to deal with explosions, but understanding that these are realities of life, real difficulties of life and sincere concerns upon the heart of most if not all here this morning.
The glorious truth we have is that our bible tells us that God is our present help, in other words He helps today, He’s into the now and not just the yesterday, and this is the God that is the same yesterday, today and forever.
1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV)
6 Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, 7 casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.
The Christian life is not a constant high. I have my moments of deep discouragement. I have to go to God in prayer with tears in my eyes, and say, ‘O God, forgive me,’ or ‘Help me.’
Problems can weigh you down and depress you and can discourage you, and in the stream of life even knowing of God’s goodness we can forget about God’s goodness, we can forget of His greatness and His ability to provide whatever it is we need when we need it, comfort, courage, peace, clarity, hope, strength, whatever it may be He can pour out in abundance because God through Jesus Christ is our present help in this present day.
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows; it empties today of its strength.”
2nd point “The Church”
The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.?5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved;?God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.?
That is a powerful and reassuring statement coming from the very throne of God to the ears of His people, the church, even when life comes against us, even when the enemy is full force against us, even when finances are not where their supposed to be, even when the enemy of hell tries to make you feel like you’re not worth it, the word of God tell us that the Holy place, the Tabernacle which are the people of God, shall not be moved, because God is going to help just in the nick of time.
The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing. –
Zephaniah 3:17
Listen to me this morning God wants obedience, God wants faithfulness, God wants us to want Him. When we do that everything thus far that I have preached will become real to you, because you’ll begin to believe first that you are the church secondly that God will not allow anything to happen to His people.
7 The Lord of hosts is with us;?The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Romans 8:31
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us who can be against us?
Listen to me people you do not want to form a religious life never experiencing the power of God almighty, to live a dull and unfruitful life without the power of God flowing through your life is a very discouraging and depressing sight, just imagine people serving a powerless god? A Christian without faith and without the fruit of their lives being evident can sadly be a tool for the enemy to use against the church to keep unsaved people away. Beloved who doesn’t have problems, but not everyone can say that they serve a God who is able.
Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations. – Deuteronomy 7:9
3rd Point “Be still and know”
Meaning of Still:
Not moving or making a sound:
A deep silence and calmness; stillness:
Meaning of Know:
To have developed a relationship with (someone) through meeting and spending time with them; be familiar or friendly with:
10 Be still, and know that I God;?I will be exalted among the nations,?I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The Lord of hosts is with us;?The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
I understand the troubles and the worries but as we can see and read in our bible the Lord of Host has given us the antidote for our weary hearts to be able to trust Him, He first tells us that He is our present help, He is here now not just in our past victories but now.
He is here for His children, that means the faithful church, which His people that the bible tells us are living stones which make up the church, and lastly beloved being able through the streams of life we are to be able to be still and not only know God but continue to get to know God.
Some people ask me question like Pastor why is it that throughout the times we are together you continue to mention how thankful you are that God placed us together in the church and I respond to them this truth, “Let me ask you a question, what relationship do you think we would have outside of God?”
There is something powerful about God placing His people together in His church, He does that so that His church can continue to experience His presence. His present help in times of trouble, to experience Him and personally know Him, so that His peace can over shadow you and consume you that you may be still and know that is and will always be God.
Matthew 18:19-20 (NKJV)
19 “Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”
You’ve got to trust that God knows why He has you on this path and ask the Holy Spirit to empower you to run it with endurance.?Trusting God enough to guide us down the best pathway of our life requires us to first surrender our life to Him.
