TOPIC- WHEN IT`S OUT OF YOUR HANDS
Psalm 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Very briefly if I could get a Baptist amen – A Methodist nod and a sanctified Church hallelujah
I want to reason with you on the thought
(WHEN ITS OUT OF YOUR HANDS)
Have you ever been at a point in life where you didn't know what to do because there was absolutely nothing you could do?
Have you ever found yourself at the point of helplessness,
Wondering how in the world you were going to handle some circumstance, some situation,
Realizing that you did not have
The power,
The authority,
The ability
to handle it in your own strength?
Because each of us can testify that life will present a set of circumstances for which we are totally impotent to do anything about them.
In other words
We have no authority,
No ability,
No power
To facilitate a change in the circumstance in which we're dealing with .
That’s why I wanted to invite our intellect to the 46 # of Psalms
Because the 46# of Psalms
Is a psalms that let those of us who are in the community of faith understand that God is still in complete control.
Even when we are completely out of control,
That God's hands are still big and strong
And it does not matter that the circumstances are out of your hands.
Because If we put them in God's hands,
God is still able to give us victory over adversity.
Psalms 46 is a communal song of confidence and trust in God.
In the text
The community of faith are lifting their voices,
Letting everybody around them know that they trust in God,
Notice how the psalm opens.
God is our refuge and strength.
A very present help in trouble.
Okay, you should have gotten happy right there.
Let me mash the rewind button.
And Press play again.
I said the community comes together,
And when the community begins to
Sing about,
Talk about,
And shout about God,
This is what they say.
God is our refuge and strength.
A very present help in trouble.
Third time is the charm because your pew partner’s sitting there like they got a hangover
But it`s important to understand that the community has reason to rejoice.
In other words
Everybody on your pew has a reason to shout hallelujah.
Everybody under the sound of my voice can rejoice because
God is our refuge and strength, and he's a very present help in trouble.
Because when we get to verse 2,
There ought to be a shift in our attitudes.
Because verse 2 says,
Therefore will not fear.
Then the psalmist start talking about how God.
Makes wars deceased.
And how God does great and mighty things.
And How God is with us.
But when you get to verse 10
This passage of scirpture before us will make you happy all over again.
Because --- God said, be still and know that I am God
. Be still,
Stop stressing,
Stop tripping,
Stop fretting.
And be still and know that I am God.
Is it alright if I put a praise token in the praise meter
And break down what God is saying to us in the text .
Because when we find ourselves in the seasons of life that is frustrating us with life circumstances
And we don't know what to do.
God says to us ( Relax).
Because the truth of the matter is there's some folk listening to me right now who gets stressed out over a hangnail.
There's some folks here today in Gods House who can testify if you get one hint of bad news,
If you get a rumor of bad news, it stresses you out.
And God says, listen, I want you to know that if you claim to be the child of God that you claim to be,
And you know me as the God of your salvation that you know me to be,
I need you to be yourself still ------- and (Relax)
You see _______________________
Relax in the Hebrew is RAFA.
The word, RAFA is a unique word.
It literally means to be idle or lazy.
One Connotation means to be disheartened or discouraged.
Another Connotation means to be weak and weary.
But the connotation Of Psalm 46, verse 10,
Is none of those.
It literally means to withdraw,
To take your hands off,
To drop your weapons and know that God is in control.
And I thank God for those of you who caught it.
But for those of you who need to catch up,
It literally means to withdraw,
take your hands off,
Drop your weapons and realize that God is still in charge .
Notice—Notice –Notice
In the verses that precedes verse 10
The psalmist is telling how
God causes wars to cease.
Because apparently there has been some entanglement in the life of the community of faith
And they've been dealing with some enemy,
Some battles with which they had to deal with
And the Bible helps us to understand that.
When God speaks,
He says,
I don't want you stressing about what's going on around you.
Because If you know that the God you serve is handling stuff for you,
Withdraw , take your hands off, drop your weapons and believe.
And know that God is in control.
Now this is important
Because there’s some of us in the Sanctuary today
Who know that before we withdraw from anything, we'll fight about it until death do us part.
There's somebody in here today who knows you are a fighter and you know how to fight.
And you got your weapons drawn,
Because you from the hood
And are still holding on to your old hood mentalities
Because we were taught in the hood that you never run away from a good fight.
But God says there's some fights you can't handle by yourself.
There's some fights we don't need to get embroiled in.
So God says, withdraw, take your hands off, drop your weapons and recognize, realize that I am in complete control
In other words
You can't handle this because in your own authority,
In your own ability, you are too weak,
Too fragile to handle this situation.
And the good news is,
Since we got God,
And God got us and the situation were going through.
And I wonder if there is anybody in the house this morning/evening
Who is grateful that anytime you're going through whatever you're going through,
The good news is that God's got you.
God's got the situation.
And He knows what we're going through.
So we can withdraw,
Take our hands off,
Drop our weapons.
And Relax ---Because the battle is not yours, it's the Lord.
And since the battle is not your but it’s the Lord
That’s why
You ought to give your pew partner a high 5
And tell them
That God is still in the Battle Fighting Business
And since God is still fighting our battles
We must
Get ourselves together
And compose ourselves
Relax and then Remember
(2ND point Remember)
He wants us to remember that He is God
Because when you know who God really is it affects how you live
Because what you know affects how you interact with people.
What you know affects how you see the situations of life.
And if you remember the stuff you already know,
And if you know that God is God,
It shifts your perspective to let you know that the enemy will not get the last word.
You see_____________
The enemy thought he got the last word at Calvary, but on the third day,
Jesus rose with all power in Heaven and earth in his Hands.
Notice the psalmist had been talking about God the whole text.
He starts off saying in verse one.
If you really want to know who God is?
He's my refuge.
He's my strength.
He's my very present help in trouble. (repeat x2)
And it`s important to understand what a refuge is?
It's a fortress in which you can run to and can't nothing get to you.
You can hide in and be safe and secure from all alarm.
And I wonder Is there anybody here who knows that God has safeguarded you from some stuff you didn't even know was coming at you?
God has safeguarded you from some stuff that should have caught you long time ago.
Is there anybody here who is grateful that he's been your refuge, your shield and your strength.
But the text also reveals to us that
There are some seasons where God makes you trust him, even when you can't trace him.
Because He wants us to remember that He is who He says he is.
In other words
We got to remember that he can do what he says he can do.
He says, “I want you to relax .
I want you to remember.
And at the end of the day, you better Recognize.
(3rd point Recognize.)
Notice Verse 10 clause C says,
I will be exalted among the heathens.
And the word heathen means those who don't believe that God can do what He says He can do.
And God is who He says He is.
He says I'm going to be exalted even among them.
And God is saying to us,
Listen here.
Don't you fool yourself.
I don't care how big and bad the enemies of your life may be.
I still get the last word
And when the dust settles and the smoke clears,
I'm still going to have folk wondering who in the world is your God.
And they going to want to know your God and get to know your God.
Because I will be exalted among the heathens.
That's the folk who don't even know me, who don't even like me, who don't even come to church, who don't even worship.
They're gonna look at you and they're gonna wonder who your God is.
He says I will be exalted among the heathen,
But he also says I'll be exalted in the earth.
The connotation here is that God is not just going to be exalted among folk who don't know him,
But God is going to be exalted among folk who do know him.
It literally connotes that everybody who's got a relationship with GOD,
Is gonna have a reason to celebrate God in public.
And I need some members at Bethesda
Who refuse to be a part of the Secret Service saints to help me right through here.
You see
I need some members of Bethesda who refuse to be secret Christians
To help me give God some glory on this Sunday Morning
Because God is gonna be exalted among his people
And whether God moves suddenly or eventually,
I'm gonna praise him continually.
Because he`s worthy to be praised
And is there anybody in the Lord house this Morning\Evening
Who can help me close this message
And celebrate the God who still works miracles?
You see
I can't tell you when he's gonna fix your situation.
I can't tell you when he's gonna work your circumstance out.
But whether he does it suddenly or eventually, he's still worthy to be praised.
I don't know when he's gonna work it out.
I don't know how he's gonna work it out.
But since I know he's able to work it out,
And He may not come when we want him,
But he'll be there when you need Him the most
That’s why when it`s to much for your hands
Put it in Gods hands
And Watch him work it out
Watch him make a way out of no way
Watch him fight your battles
Won't he do it?
Won't he do it?
I say Won't he ?
Won't he
Won't he ?
Won't he do it?
Won't he dry tears from tear stain eyes ?
Won't he mend a broken heart
Won't he pick up a bowed down head
Won't he give you joy in sorrow
Your hope for tomorrow
A rock in a weary land
Shelter in the midist of a storm
Ain`t he alright
Can I tell you why I know He`s alright
He died
Didn’t He die
He died on a mountain call Calvary
They place him in a borrowed tomb
Oh but early
I said early
E – A- R- L-Y SUNDAY MORNING
HE Got up with all power in His Hands
