Let's Chill...
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Some songs have meaning, I imagine you can remember exactly where you were when you heard your favorite love ballad or your favorite hip hop song. I still remember driving down highway 80 to target to pick up the Kingdom Come album by Jay-Z my sophomore year in college. Psalm 46 is the national song of the early days of Josiah, the trouble in that land are comparable to an earthquake the beauty of this song is that in the midst of this proverbial trial the people of God are assured by the gracious presence of Yahweh.
Understand when reading this text, songs have meaning:
For example if I was to sing Lift Evr’y Voice and Sing majority of the people in this room would be able to sing along. As much as these words resonate to us now, imagine the feeling that those who wrote this song and sang it in 1900 felt. There was nothing they could do about segregation, there was nothing they could really do to overcome Jim Crow was to be still. The catalyst of social demonstrations of fighting injustice happened at the expense of being still! This song resonates with those who sat still at lunch counters to fight for equity and equality.
How many choices do we make? We choose to wake up on time or sleep in a become late. We made the choice to sit in sessions and take something positive away, you may have made the choice to say hello to that young lady or that young man. Regardless of the choice, decisions require poise and confidence.
The idea of patience, joy, stillness is the offspring of confidence. Ask yourself what am I confident in? Are you confident in yourself, friends, family or accomplishments more than you are in the protection of God.
The best thing we can do in the midst of being shaken is to be still, even when everything around us is crumbling, we have to learn to be still!
Do You Know God?
Do You Know God?
There’s an old adage “it’s not what you know it’s who you know”
We cannot expect to get to verse 10 if we cannot conceptualize verse 1.
“God is our refuge and strength, A very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear”
Psalm 62:7 “In God is my salvation and my glory; The rock of my strength, And my refuge, is in God.”
God is our refuge but understand we can only be protected by him if we seek His shelter.
What is the refuge of God, it’s more than just a protection from danger it is essentially a place that is FREE from danger. I have confidence in the Lord because His refuge is disaster proof. It doesn’t mean the storms do not persist it just means as long as I humble myself under his mighty hand I am free from ALL trouble.
Proverbs 14:26 “In the fear of the Lord there is strong confidence, And His children will have a place of refuge.”
Finding Shelter in the Wrong Place
Finding Shelter in the Wrong Place
It’s not that we do not know how to find refuge it’s that many of us are seeking refuge in the wrong things.
We are trying to find refuge in relationships, we are trying to find refuge in accomplishments and jobs, when God is steady trying to help us understand that the world could crumbling around us we just need to be still under His protection.
Even though the earth be removed.
Even though the mountains be carried in the sea.
Even though the waters are troubled.
There is a stream of living waters that will sustain the city of God!
No person can have the fortification of a structure built by God, His refuge was intentionally build to withstand attacks from anything the enemy can construct.
Isaiah 41:10 “Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’”
God’s strength is an on time strength. His power is present when you need and even when you think you do not need it, the problem is we have to put ourselves in positions of protection.
Stop saying yes to destructive positions, many of us get upset with our circumstance but haven’t taken the time to realize that we put ourselves in this position. We chose this spot, we decided to camp out here and then have the audacity to get upset when we can’t withstand storms when we put ourselves in the wrong spot.
Be Still
Be Still
To be still is a position of surrender. I let go of trauma, I let go of grief, I let go of heartache and pain and I surrender to the Power of God.
I do not worry about the storm surrounding me because I am still in the midst of the storm. We are always trying to go somewhere and accomplish something else because we Spiritual ADHD.
Sometimes moving to the next spot is the worst decision you can make, moving churches is not going to help your situation if you don’t deal with your hurt, getting into a new relationship isn’t going to solve your need for companionship if you haven’t dealt with the last reason your relationship failed a new relationship is not going to make things better.
Your life hangs in the balance of the “AND KNOW”. Some of us are being still but we don’t know God like we need to so we never get to a place of Godly exaltation. Remember who is WITH YOU, remember who is protecting you!
Picture a massive hurricane raging over the ocean. On the surface of the sea the violent winds whip the water into giant waves and create a scene of havoc and chaos. Yet, a mere twenty-five feet below the surface, the waters are clear and calm. The fish there go on living their lives totally unaware of the thunderous tumult just above them.
When there is “depth,” there is peace. So it is in the Christian life.
We have to get off the surface, go a little deeper and be still. You have to DIG DEEP!
The problem is we are expecting deep results with surface living! The life of a christian has to have DEPTH