Confidence in the Midst of a Crisis

Rev Gideon Lee

I'm going to look at Psalms 46, but it must be read with Psalms 47 and 48 to have the proper understanding. We are gong to look at Psalms 46 so you can go back and read Psalms 47 and 48.

Psalms 46

God the Refuge of His People and Conqueror of the Nations

To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of the sons of Korah. A Song for Alamoth.

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

It starts out by saying God is our refuge and our strength. There are three things I want to share from these scriptures.

1. He is still God our protector v1-4

2. He is still God our provider v4-7

3. He is still God the proven one v8-11

I mentioned you need to read Psalms 46, 47 and 48 to really understand. God saved the city of Jerusalem miraculously.

2 Kings 19:34-36

34 ‘For I will defend this city, to save it

For My own sake and for My servant David's sake.’ ”

Sennacherib's Defeat and Death

35 And it came to pass on a certain night that the angel of the Lord went out, and killed in the camp of the Assyrians one hundred and eighty-five thousand; and when people arose early in the morning, there were the corpses—all dead. 36 So Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went away, returned home, and remained at Nineveh.

God protected the city miraculously. The Bible scholars said that these Psalms were written in response to this incident. That night 185,000 of the Assyrians died. No one knows exactly what happened. The people placed their trust in God and the enemy suddenly died. They didn't even to have to go to war for hand on hand combat. It was a miracle and it tells how God delivered them. They also said that most probably the person who wrote this Psalm is the prophet Isaiah. Because some of the phrases he used is the same as in the book of Isaiah. God protected God's people. He protect his people. I don't know what is coming but my message to you is that God protects his people.

1. He is still God our protector

God is our refuge. Some translations say he is our hiding place. Our shelter. He is your refuge. I don't know if you have a situation where you don't know where to turn to except the Lord. There you will find shelter in the storms of life.

I was one of the first in my family to have a bike. I even knew how to ride a bike even before I got a licence. The first time I rode on my motorcycle in the rain, it was painful. I thought it would be more like a shower. In that situation when in a downpour you are desperate for a shelter. In KL you cannot stop anywhere on the highway. So you look for the next flyover to find a refuge. God is that refuge. And what a relief when you find that shelter. When you have nowhere else to go. He's the only place where you can hide.

There are days when you just want to hide under the blanket in your bed. I've had days like that. Reminds me of this story when one man said he's tired and didn't want to go to church. The mother said. You must go and encouraged him. He then said I don't want to go because I have no friends in church. The mother said then must go and make friends. Then the son said, mom, give me one good reason why I must go to church. And the mother said because you are the pastor. I'm not saying that's me ar.

If you look at that word refuge it is followed by a conjunction, the word and. The word and ties refuge and strength together. Not only is God your refuge but he is also your strength. He not only give you shelter but is also your strength. It doesn't mean he is over protective where it becomes detrimental to you. He provides you with a shelter and you receive strength from him. We are strengthened to face the storm. It's like how vaccination works, so that your child can stand that disease. It's the same. He vaccinates so that you have the antibodies to face the enemy. He loves you very much.

Psalms 91:1-4

1 Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High

will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.

2 I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress, my God, in whom I trust.”

3 Surely he will save you

from the fowler’s snare

and from the deadly pestilence.

4 He will cover you with his feathers,

and under his wings you will find refuge;

his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart.

He is God your protector. Your refuge and strength. Someone you can count on to take care of you. God is not protecting us to hide us but to help us. He gets us ready for the battle by giving us his strength. And I like v3, the ever present help in time of trouble. He is present, not past tense or future tense. It's when you need it now. Not tomorrow or a few years back but right there, right now. He is never late nor early. He is always on time. If your miracle have not come to you, then it's not time yet. You can count on him to be right on time. My God is a present tense God. He is an "on time" God.

Remember Daniel and the three Hebrew boys? When in the fire, there was a fourth, so he is right there, right on time. He is our ever present help in time of trouble.

V2 and 3 it says therefore. I like therefore, like in conclusion, a lawyer's term, that we will not fear. The conclusion is that because he is our refuge and help we will not fear. How many times we have let fear overpower us? The antidote is to look at the Bible and what it says. God is able to show up in your circumstances. He is able.

2. He is still God our provider

In ancient times rivers are very valuable resources. Water sustains life. Jerusalem actually don't have a river. For the city to flourish, they must have a river nearby. But there is a spring that is nearby, the spring of Gihon and it spring leads to a place call Shalom. That water can be cut of so King Hezekiah channelled the stream underground right straight into Jerusalem. That underground tunnel provided water supply to Jerusalem whenever they were under sieged. The river because so important even when they are under sieged. It's the river of living waters.

He is the provider during our crisis and we need to tapped into him. He may be our protector and provider but we need to learn how to tapped into God's resources. Has God been your provider? He had been my provider for so long but he is not my ATM or vending machine.

I remember in Bible school when I was much younger. I quit my job from Reader's Digest and I went from 10,000 a month to zero. And God was our provider. Some may say I have savings but actually no, you can ask my wife. And they wanted to collect Faith Promise, but how much can we give? But God spoke to me to give 300.00 to that mission. That was like impossible for me as a bible school student. So I said God I'm going to trust you for it. So I put 300.00 and at the end of the trimester, I still don't have the amount yet. So I asked God that he said he will provide. I was in class when I received a text on my phone from a friend I've not met for a long time.

I'm in class so I waited till the break to call him. He said wait for me and that he's coming to see me. He came and he said he felt that God spoke to him to bless me with this amount and he said he just want to do it. He passed me an envelope of money, said God bless you and he left. I counted the money and it was 300.00. I went to the chapel and gave it to missions. God is your provider and not just your protector.

3. He is still God the proven one

He is someone who has an impeccable and unblemished record. We are praying to the one who created heaven and earth by his word. That's how powerful he is. He can do anything. Someone asked me where did God come from? Someone asked who created God? He is that he is. He exists. If someone created God then he is not God. He is God the proven one. Not just to reflect on his power but to rest in it. Be still.

Psalms 46:10-11

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

Be still literally mean let God take over. Rest in him.

2 Chronicles 20:17

You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the Lord is with you.”

This verse is for someone here. Be still. Coming to the end there were three words I did not read our loud. Selah. It's a musical word. When you play music, Selah means it tells the singer to stop and reflect. And in this chapter there are three Selahs.

After verse 3 God says reflect. After God our protector. Then after verse 7, stop and reflect because God is my provider and after verse 11, God says stop and reflect because God is the proven one.

What a wonderful God we serve and it results in that he deserves our praise and worship. This morning let God be your protector and provider because he's the proven one. Then go back and read chapter 47 and 48 and it will encourage you and let it results in praise and worship for him.