Rev. Joseph M. Comage
Word of Life Ministry
22 October 2006
Bethel AME Zion Church
SONG: We’ve Come This Far By Faith
TROUBLED WATERS
Psalms 46:1-11
1 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
(NKJ)
I want to speak to some people who know what its like to stand in troubled waters.
Some people that know what its like to have your mountain shake.
I want to speak to some people that know, sometimes in this life we will face trials and tribulations and everyday want be all candy and a piece of cake.
God does not always prevent tragedies and troubles from coming our way.
If you don’t believe me just ask brother Job.
Some believe this Psalm to have been written on the return from the Babylonian captivity, when the people once more got peaceably settled in Jerusalem.
Others believe that it was after a great earthquake that killed a great many people.
I cannot say for sure if either is correct but I can say with great assurance that it was written by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
No matter what the writer had gone through or was going through, he knew that God was his refuge and his very present help in the time of trouble.
Maybe it was written for you to help bring you through some tough time in your life. Maybe you need a hiding place, a refuge from the tolls and troubles of life.
A refuge is a place where one is guarded from attack or injury. It is also a condition of safety or security.
We need a place of refuge for are physical body but we need refuge for our mind and our spirit. Satan will attack your body but most of time he will do his damage to your mind and spirit.
He will make you feel that every one around you is your enemy and that your situation is worse than anyone else’s situation. He will try to keep you from seeing any good in life and try to take away your reasons for living.
One young lady told her father that no matter what she did everything seemed to turn out wrong. She said she felt like giving up. (Has anybody here ever been there)?
Her father was a quite man and he was a cook by trade. He listened to her and after she paused for a moment he asked her to follow him into the kitchen. He put three pots of water on the stove to boil. In the first pot he put a carrot. In the second pot he put an egg and in the third pot he put some coffee beans. He let them boil while his daughter waited impatiently. After they had finished boiling he took the carrot out and said see the carrot went in strong and hard and unrelenting but after being in the boiling water it became soft and weak. (Talk tough but really weak.) Next he took the egg out and said this was fragile when it went in but after going through the boiling water it looks the same but it is hard on the inside. (They look just like the other church folk but have become hard on the inside.) Next he asked her to taste the coffee. She said it had a strong taste. He said they all went into the same situation. The carrot became soft and the egg became hard on the inside but after the coffee went through the boiling water it became stronger and richer. Then he asked her; what are you a carrot, an egg, or coffee.
When the enemy attacked you remember that God is your refuge and your very present help in your time of need. He will preserve you when the fires of life are raging all around you and you will become stronger and richer.
THE WRITER SAID FEAR NOT.
FEAR NOT. HOW CAN I FEAR NOT WHEN I’M IN PAIN AND THE DOCTOR DOESN’T KNOW WHAT IS WRONG.
FEAR NOT. HOW CAN I FEAR NOT WHEN THE BANK NOTE IS DUE AND I DON’T HAVE THE MONEY TO PAY IT?
Matthew 10:31
31 Fear ye not therefore, ye are of more value than many sparrows.
Death was walking toward a city one morning and a man asked what are you going to do?
I’m going to take 100 people. Death replied. That’s horrible! The man said.
Death said that’s the way it is. That is what I do.
The man ran ahead and warned as many people as he could about deaths plan.
That evening the man met death again. You told me you where going to take 100 but you took 1000.
Death said, no I kept my word, I took 100 but worry took the rest.
Mental stress can lead to headaches, arthritis, heart trouble, backaches, ulcers, depression, digestive disorders and even death.
Worry will always be, a cause of death because it is the beginning of lost faith. Worry hinders God’s ability to provide.
This is an area that I have to stay in constant prayer about and I believe many people battle.
There is a quiet stream called the River of Life that makes us glad. It begins at the heavenly Sanctuary and flows through the Holy City of God, the place where God himself lives.
What I am saying is in the mist of your trouble, in the mist of your pain, in the mist of your trails; just hold on because your break through is coming. Just hold on because it want be dark always and your morning is coming.
Weeping shall endure for a night but joy comes in the morning. (Psalms 30:5)
The Lord has a healing stream in the middle of your situation that the enemy does not even know about.
God is with us at all times and does not intend for us to be destroyed. Even if my enemy where to kill me my God would still be with there.
Nothing can separate me from Him, not death, not pain, not sickness, or any other thing can separate me from Him.
Psalms 46:6
6 The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted.
When God gives you a break through, the heathen will rage and do everything they can do to bring you down.
But you stand back and look and see what the Lord can do.
It was the Lord that filled your bank account. It was the Lord that allowed you to walk out of the hospital. It was the Lord that restored your sight and gave you a voice to sing praises to his name.
You should have a testimony to say look and see what the Lord has done.
Sometimes we can’t see what the Lord has done for us because of the tears in our eyes. We live in a time when are young men are being shipped out to what seem like a never-ending war.
We live in a time when the rich seen to get richer and the poor seen to get poorer.
THE LORD SAID: Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
GOD IS SAYING YOU CAN’T HANDLE THIS. HE IS SAYING BE STILL AND LET ME HANDLE THIS.
HE LETS US KNOW HE IS THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN END WAR.
HE SAYS: 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.
WE MUST REMEMBER THAT GOD IS OUR REFUSE AND STRENGTH, AN EVER PRESENT HELP IN OUR TIME OF NEED.
PRAY WITH ME
LORD I CAN’T HANDLE THIS ON MY ON.
I NEED YOUR HELP.
I MAY NOT UNDERSTAND WHY THINGS HAPPEN THE WAY THAT THEY DO.
BUT I KNOW THAT YOU KNOW ALL THINGS AND YOU ARE WORKING THINGS OUT FOR MY GOOD.
THIS IS A DAY THAT YOU HAVE MADE AND I WILL REJOICE AND BE GLAD IN IT.
ORDER MY STEPS THAT I MAY FOLLOW YOU.
FORGIVE ME OF MY SINS.
BRIDDLE MY TOUGLE THAT I WOULD SPEAK NO EVIL.
OPEN MY EYES TO THOSE THINGS, WHICH ARE HIDDEN.
KEEP MY MIND STAYED ON YOU.
AMEN
