Secure in God
A retired couple was alarmed by the threat of nuclear war so they undertook a serious study of all the inhabited places on the globe. Their goal w as to determine where in the world would be the place to be least likely affected by a war a place of ultimate security. They studied and travelled, travelled and studied. Finally they found the place an island. And on Christmas they sent their pas tor a card from their new home in the Falkland Islands.
However, history tells us their so called " was soon turned into a war zone when The United Kingdom and Argentina went to war over a dispute about sovereignty of the Falkland Islands and South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands. What can be really secure in life? Where can one go on the face of the earth without being put in danger or where you don’t have to fear for your life? Friday we celebrated Canada Day and for the majority of a hundred and fifty four years we have enjoyed freedom and prosperity in this wonderful country. As much as we never want that to change we don’t have any guarantee my friends, that Canada will never be under attack like some nations in our world. But we c an go forward
with the wonderful assurance In God we will be secure; no matter where we find ourselves in the world. The sons of Korah, who were porters at the temple, wrote Psalm 46 at the time of the Assyrian invasion of Judah to give the people of Israel the much needed assurance of God’s presence and deliverance. Listen to their encouragement: “Come and see what the L ORD has done, the desolations He has brought on the earth….He says, ‘Be still, and
know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
Who is God to you in a generation where many have written Him off? Do you believe that He is the same God as the One Who created to heavens and the earth; the same God Who spoke from fire and clouds and winds to His people?
A Seminary professor was seated next to a little boy on a plane and thought about the paper he was scheduled to deliver as a guest speaker at the New York Theological Seminary. It was about God’s Reign in a Modern World. The professor said, “ Young man, if you can tell me something God can do, I’ll give you a nice shiny apple.” The boy replied, “ Mister, if you can tell me anything God isn’t capable of doing, I’ll give you a barrel of apples.” How big is your God?
The sons of Korah tell us how big God was to them. First they rejoiced in the fact that God Is A Refuge We can fall in adoration before God for the fact that He constantly offers reassurance during troubled times. The sons of Korah give us emphatic declaration of
God’s Almighty power to overcome any calamity that may come our way. Perhaps the most needed verse for any child of God in Psalm 46 is verse 1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever present help in trouble.” A refuge is a shelter that provides protection from all kinds of danger. When we seek refuge in God we trust Him to deliver us from danger and trouble. If there was one man who depended much on God as his refuge, it was Moses. In Psalm 90 he referred to God as a dwelling. He fled from Egypt after killing an Egyptian and
then God made him to return. It’s almost like putting someone in a lion’s den! He knew that he needed God every step of the way. By saying that God was his dwelling, he implied, “ Let me never walk away from the God of my life. God is the only One I put my trust in; only He is my refuge!” In our time too many people seek refuge in their homes, possessions or in their abilities. What they create as their foundation can be pulled from underneath them in a flash.
That’s what happened to King Saul. His foundation was himself; his kingdom; his strength….and there was no room for God. Everything he depended on was taken away from him. There is one refuge my friends that is everlasting….the God of heaven earth; He Who is
from everlasting to everlasting; He Who spoke through the prophet Hosea, For I am God and not a man.” If people in this world would just come to their senses and put God back where He belongs
where He belongs –– back in government constitutions; back in schools and other institutions, back in government constitutions; back in schools and other institutions, the world would not be in the chaos it is.
The sons of Korah continue.
They tell us that God Is Our Helper. We read in verses 4
and 5 , There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. God is within her, she w ill not fall; God will help her at break of day.” There is something wonderful we learn from these two verses It isn’t just us going to God for refuge; He is coming to us. In times of trouble, He is the One reaching out to His people. Elijah was at the end of his rope in the wilderness and the Lord had sent an angel to tend to him. Gideon had to go and set God’s people free, but not before God Himself affirmed to him that He wasn’t just going to be with him in the battle; no He, Himself was going to give him the victory. Jesus went to those who needed His help the woman at the well of Jacob,
Zacchaeus, the women at the tomb after His resurrection and then Peter didn’t go to Jesus after he denied his Lord. No, his Lord came to him. Have you kept re cord of all the times God has come to you? I don’t think we will be able to keep record of all the times He did.
Perhaps we got so use to it that our God comes to us that we don’t even realize it any more.
O my friends, our God is the only One when everybody else abandoned us, will be there for us. Isn’t that what we sing at the end of our services? Never be afraid; God will go with you each hour of every day…” If that wasn’t true, life would not have had any purpose. Then we might just as well have stopped existing. No, we have our God to help us through life as we journey until the time we will be in His presence.
There is one more truth from the sons of Korah:
God Resolves All Conflict We read about the end of wars in Psalm 46: 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.” Perhaps some of us would like to ask, “ Is it really true that wars will cease?” Because this world has always been at war there were Holy Wars described in the bible; there were two World Wars, the War in Vietnam, the Korean War, the Russian War, the War in Poland, Wars in African
countries; the conflict between Israel and Palestine. Presently the War in Ukraine is on everybody's mind. But then we read in this Psalm that God will bring all wars to an end He makes wars cease…” It wasn’t only the sons of Korah who rejoiced about the end of wars.
Isaiah prophesied about swords that will be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks God will bring the world to a state of complete peace and harmony. That will be on the day when His Son will return and He will reign over all peoples with justice. In many
places we see glimpses of how it will be at the end of time, because peace cam e where many say conflict would be the only reality.
But conflict in the world is more than just wars. There is conflict between people broken marriages and disputes in families; there is racial tension; there is conflict because of socio economical differences. We just have to read the news headlines and learn about the animosity between people in those situations. There is an answer to any conflict situation we can think of my friends. God decided to reconcile the world to Himself and people to one
another and therefore He sent His Son, Jesus Christ. This reconciliation is something that has to be accepted and lived.
We asked at the beginning of this sermon, “
What can be really secure in life?” The answer is that In God everything is secure. Let’s put our lives in His hands. There is a future for each one of us with our families in this wonderful country Canada and a wonderful world God created. Let’s all be still and know that He is God.
Amen