Sermon - Be Still And Know That I AM GOD!
Scripture: Psalm 46
Evangelist Jennifer Mears 1/25/2006
Facts on Psalm 46
A Psalm of trust (just as in Psalm 23)
Trust in God
The Psalmist (or writer)
Rejoices in the deliverance that the Lord gives His People (speaking to Israel in the passage) in the middle of fear, in the middle of war/battle, or in the middle of /during an attack (just as we face today)
This scripture was also the basis for songwriter/Psalmist Martin Luther’s hymn called “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God”.
Wonderfully placed between Psalm 45 and Psalm 47
In Psalm 45, God is revealed to us as being the Great King.
In Psalm 47, God is revealed to us as being the All Powerful, Most High God who will sub due ALL of the nations.
This evening we will be exploring the truths found in Psalm 46 which reveal to us who God is…
KNOW HE IS GOD!
(READ PSALM 46)
This Psalm (or poem) has 3 Movements (or sections
Each segment/movement are indicated by the closing word “selah” which means se·lah (sē’lə, sĕl’ə)
interj.
Used to conclude a verse in the Psalms.
[Hebrew selâ.]
"Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!" (Amplified Bible, Psalms)
Also means “think about it” (God’s way of stressing a point, sort of like highlighting…take a closer look…
Sections/Movements are as follows:
a celebration of God as our defense EVEN though the earth is moved (v. 1-3)
a celebration of God as our defense EVEN though the nations rage (v. 4-7)
a celebration of God as our defense EVEN when The Lord brings His Judgement (v. 8-11)
even though….even when… ALWAYS WILL!!!
we need to have a mind-set like this today in our trials and tribulations…Praise Him through our storms…He is STILL that SAME God…never changes – and His Word NEVER returns to Him Void…He is ALWAYS THE SAME! Think about it, Church!!! We have this same promise today through the “muck and mire” He can still pick us up out of the mirey clay and give us a firm place to stand…HIS SOLID ROCK ---- JESUS! All Glory Be To God.
I. God Is Our Strength
verse 1 boldly declares that God is our place of shelter and of strength.
(notice how the Psalms starts with the two words GOD IS!)
THIS PSALM STARTS JUST AS THE ENTIRE BIBLE STARTS---GOD IS STILL GOD NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES AND CONTRADICTIONS!
His strength which is granted to us is a help in the time of trouble. A help that is always present when we need it.
God is our refuge …God is worthy of our trust…God is in control
God is all powerful and good…as Paul also writes many times in his letters to the churches…”God is for us”
we are living in a time of trouble, Church.
The enemy (the devil, Satan) is coming against the Church in full force.
He knows that his time is running out…and he wants to hurt God and he knows the only way he can do that is thru hurting or destroying us (His Children) and he is fighting to win us back to his side and keep others from entering The Kingdom through confession of Jesus Christ and remission of sins.
Today, we must deal with problems like never before…the devil knows his time of being the prince of the air is almost over…
Several years ago, we allowed one woman and her son to be successful is having prayer and the Bible banned from our schools. Since that time, we have witnessed an explosion of divorce, teen pregnancies outside of wedlock, increased drug and alcohol abuse and many other things which are destroying the Church.
The enemy knows that if he can get our minds off of spiritual things, he can then be successful in devouring us like a roaring lion. Thank God that in the time of trouble, there is a God that we serve who is our strength and a help which is always present!
“therefore we will not fear”
fear is useless and is an indication that you lack faith in God
GOD IS THE GOD OF STRENGTH!
God is able to speak into existence a whole universe by the power of His word. He is able to watch over this universe for the purpose of sustaining it all at the same time! That is the God who is strong. Israel understood that in the time of trouble, if He was their strength, they had no reason to fear (verse 2)! We are living in a day when the enemy has paralyzed many people in the Church by fear! We fear because of such things as road rage, school shootings, riots, protests, drugs…
May I remind you that if we are to serve the living God!
We must live holy lives unto God…and in faith not in fear. Fear will paralyze you. Faith will mobilize you into action! This is a reminder (much needed) from this Psalm – that we do not need to live in fear… and must not live in fear.
Verses 2 and 3 remind us that no matter how drastic the day of trouble may be, there is still no reason to fear. ALL can come crashing down around you... BUT if you serve the True and Living God who is ALL powerful, you need not to fear.
"If God be for us, who can be against us?” (Romans 8:31)
II. God Is Our Security
The good news is that in the middle of everything crashing down during the time of trouble, there is a river!
As long as there was water present there was a source of life.
This river which is spoken could be representative of God’s grace.
It is by God’s grace that we live everyday and we have HIS life in us.
This river is representative of God and God’s Word. His word is eternal…not ever to return to Him Void (empty or cancelled)
It contains the truth needed to live this life to it’s fullest. Therefore, God’s word is literally a source of life. Where there is a source of life such as a river, there is a security. The security of knowing that the water of that river could be used to sustain them.
With the river which represents a source of life, there is the wonderful promise of verse 5. God is in the midst! How much more secure can a person be, than to know that the God of this universe is in their midst! That is a reason for security, don’t you think? Glory to God!
III. God Is Our Shelter
Three times in this Psalm, the Psalmist reminds us that God is our refuge. A refuge is a place of shelter during the time of trouble and storms of life...
God COVERS us…to get us through the storms
Like is Psalm 91 “covers us with the feathers of His Wings”
Illustration – refuge, protector, strong tower…
Jesus did not promise a carefree life. He said, “In the world you will have trouble”
And NLT (new living translation) translates this verse like this – “here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows” YOU WILL …but……
The wonderful news is that in the time of trouble, God is our refuge. There is no other place or person that I would rather be protected by than God Almight – The Lord of Heaven and Earth!
In verse 10, there is a call for each of us personally. "Be still."
In a society that is so busy, it is hard to be still. Our calendars are filled with appointments, ball games, meetings, chores, and routine that we do not get half of the work done that we need to get done because of all of our running around. We keep Running everywhere and going nowhere! The challenge to us today is that we would take time to personally sit down or stand still before our God.
The call does not stop with being still. We are called to be still for the purpose of knowing that He is God!
When was the last time that you could say beyond a shadow of a doubt that you knew He is God?
When we take time to be still and meditate upon Him, we will realize that He truly is our strength, our security, and our shelter in the time of trouble! The challenge to you today is that you would no longer rely upon your own effort during the time of trouble in your life. But, that you would allow God to become your strength, your security, and your shelter in the time of trouble.
God is ALL-Powerful but He limits this power so we can be free…making our own choices…we can choose to do good or to do evil..
We can obey God or we can disobey God…
We have a sinful nature that pushes us toward sin BUT God’s Grace is sufficient…it is present in the world to help us overcome sin!
Deliverance is possible…but you must be willing to change…willing to live a holy life unto our living example – Jesus Christ…
And willing to submit to God’s Will and Ways…
Willing to Be still…and KNOW HIM! Know Him as The God of your life…Know Him as the God that HE IS! THE I AM !
Is God YOUR refuge?
What does that mean to YOU?
What has He protected you from?
Are you willing to Stand Still? And Fear Not?
And for Him to receive ALL the Glory?
Know Him today….in a new, fresh way…
Submit yourselves to Him…lay your burdens down…
Come for your breakthrough…be still and yield to Him
See The Glory of The Lord as He will show to you today… Hallelujah!
