1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:29,980 Let's pray. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:59,980 Let's pray. 3 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:29,980 Let's pray. 4 00:09:00,000 --> 00:09:23,000 Good morning. We are glad that you are here with us this morning. Here in our building for our service, or if you're watching outside in the parking lot, or if you're watching online, we are thankful that you are here. 5 00:09:23,000 --> 00:09:31,000 We're going to go ahead and begin with a word of prayer, then we'll read some Scripture and spend a few moments this morning in song. So would you pray with me? 6 00:09:31,000 --> 00:09:48,000 Father in heaven, I just ask that you bless our time together as we sing, as we gather around the table, as we open your word. May you encourage us deeply. May you strengthen us. May you convict us of our sins. 7 00:09:48,000 --> 00:09:57,000 May you help us to see your goodness in the midst of chaotic and troubled times. It's in Jesus name we pray. Amen. 8 00:09:57,000 --> 00:10:04,000 I'd like to begin by reading from Revelation, the fourth chapter. And John, in his Revelation, writes this: 9 00:10:04,000 --> 00:10:12,000 "And the four living creatures, each of them with wings, are full of eyes, around and within, and day and night they never cease to say, 10 00:10:12,000 --> 00:10:19,000 'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come.' 11 00:10:19,000 --> 00:10:26,000 And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, 12 00:10:26,000 --> 00:10:33,000 the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who is seated on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever. 13 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:42,000 They cast their crowns before the throne, saying, 'Worthy are you, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, 14 00:10:42,000 --> 00:10:48,000 for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created.' 15 00:10:48,000 --> 00:10:54,000 And in Revelation 4 you have the angelic choir singing 'Holy, holy, holy.' 16 00:10:54,000 --> 00:10:59,000 You have the saints gathered around casting their crowns in worship, 17 00:10:59,000 --> 00:11:07,000 and you have this picture of God firmly seated on His throne in control of the events that are in our world. 18 00:11:07,000 --> 00:11:15,000 So we're going to go ahead and stand and sing "Holy, holy, holy," number 262, if you want to follow along in your hymnal. 19 00:11:37,000 --> 00:12:06,000 Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty. Early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty. 20 00:12:06,000 --> 00:12:35,000 God in three persons, blessed Trinity. Holy, holy, holy, all the saints adore Thee. Casting down their gold, 21 00:12:35,000 --> 00:13:04,000 wear golden crowns around the glossy sea. Cherubim and seraphim, falling down before Thee. Who was then God, and evermore shall be? 22 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:33,000 Holy, holy, holy, though the darkness hide Thee. Though the eye of sinful man Thy glory may not see. Only Thou art holy, 23 00:13:33,000 --> 00:14:02,000 there is none beside Thee. Perfect in power, in love and purity. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, 24 00:14:02,000 --> 00:14:31,000 all my works shall praise Thy name in earth and sky and sea. Holy, holy, holy, merciful and mighty, God in three persons, blessed Trinity. 25 00:14:31,000 --> 00:15:00,000 I'm going to go ahead and be seated. That is one of Luke's new favorite songs. We're not sure if it's because it's holy, holy, holy or because one of his favorite cousins is named Holly and he thinks he's singing Holly, Holly, Holly. We're going to go ahead and sing It Is Well With My Soul. 26 00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:29,000 When peace like a river attendeth my way, When sorrows like sea billows roll, Whatever, my Lord, Thou hast taught me to say, 27 00:15:29,000 --> 00:15:58,000 "It is well, it is well with my soul." "It is well, it is well with my soul." "It is well, it is well with my soul." "Though come, it is well with my soul." 28 00:15:58,000 --> 00:16:27,000 "Though Satan should buffet, though trial should come, let this blessed assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, that hath shed his own blood 29 00:16:27,000 --> 00:16:56,000 for my soul. It is well, it is well, with my soul, with my soul. It is well, it is well, with my soul. And Lord hates the day when the 30 00:16:56,000 --> 00:17:25,000 faith shall be sight. The clouds be rolled back as a scroll. The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend. Even so, it is well, with my soul. 31 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:41,760 It is well, it is well, with my soul, with my soul. It is well, it is well, with my soul. 32 00:17:41,760 --> 00:18:03,520 It is well, it is well, with my soul. It is well, it is well, with my soul. 33 00:18:03,520 --> 00:18:22,840 As we prepare to gather together around the Lord's table, if you haven't had a chance or you didn't get any of the communion elements, they are available in the back hall there. You're welcome to stand up and get those if you need them. 34 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:52,800 As we prepare our minds together around the table, we're going to sing, "I Stand Amazed." As I was listening to the songs last night and this morning and thinking about them, I realized that it says, "I Stand Amazed," not "I Sit Amazed." We're not a church that stands up and sits down all the time, but we are going to stand up for this, because it seems like it's right that we should sing, "I Stand Amazed," well, "Standing Amazed." Let's sing, "I Stand Amazed," 512 if you want to follow along in your books. 35 00:18:52,840 --> 00:19:22,820 I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene. And wonder how He could love me, a sin I condemned unclean. 36 00:19:22,840 --> 00:19:43,280 How marvelous, how wonderful, and my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Saviour's love for me. 37 00:19:43,280 --> 00:20:09,720 For me it was in the garden, he prayed not my will but Thine. He had no tears for his own griefs, but sweat drops of blood for mine. 38 00:20:09,720 --> 00:20:30,160 How marvelous, how wonderful that my song shall ever be. How marvelous, how wonderful is my Saviour's love for me. 39 00:20:38,160 --> 00:20:57,660 He took my sins and my sorrows, He made them His very own. He bore the burdens of Calvary, and suffered and died alone. 40 00:20:57,660 --> 00:21:06,600 How marvelous, how wonderful that my song shall ever be. 41 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:18,100 How marvelous, how wonderful is my Saviour's love for me. 42 00:21:18,100 --> 00:21:35,040 When with the ransoming glory, His face I at last shall see. 43 00:21:35,040 --> 00:21:45,140 'Twill be my joy through the ages to sing of His love for me. 44 00:21:45,140 --> 00:21:55,540 How marvelous, how wonderful that my song shall ever be. 45 00:21:55,540 --> 00:22:03,480 How marvelous, how wonderful is my Saviour's love for me. 46 00:22:03,480 --> 00:22:14,180 How marvelous, how wonderful that my song shall ever be. 47 00:22:14,180 --> 00:22:24,040 How marvelous, how wonderful is my Saviour's love for me. 48 00:22:24,040 --> 00:22:30,920 How marvelous, how wonderful is my Saviour's love for me. 49 00:22:30,920 --> 00:22:51,880 So our dog, Dodger, sometimes he gets fixated on something, and it's really, really hard to get his attention. 50 00:22:51,880 --> 00:22:58,360 A lot of times that is the cats that roam through our neighborhood, and if there's a cat walking through, 51 00:22:58,360 --> 00:23:03,000 he's not angry about the cats. He just thinks that they want to play, and they don't want to play, 52 00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,160 and so they decide to leave the area, and Dodger says, "Well, they're going to go play, so I'm going 53 00:23:07,160 --> 00:23:13,320 to go play with them." And it's so hard to get his attention. So I was talking to our neighbor about 54 00:23:13,320 --> 00:23:17,640 that, and he said, "Well, get some tennis balls, soft tennis balls, and when you're trying to get 55 00:23:17,640 --> 00:23:23,080 his attention, just kind of throw a tennis ball near him and see if that grabs his attention." And so the 56 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:28,280 other night, it was like 11 o'clock, and we took Dodger out, and we're kind of walking around here, 57 00:23:28,280 --> 00:23:34,680 and then he kind of looks up, and you can tell what's going through his little dog mind, is that 58 00:23:34,680 --> 00:23:39,160 I bet there's some cats over there that really want to play with me. And so, thankfully, I was prepared 59 00:23:39,160 --> 00:23:43,880 with some tennis balls, so I lob a tennis ball at him, and he kind of just turns and stares at me. I go, 60 00:23:43,880 --> 00:23:49,000 "Dodger, let's go home." And I throw another one at him a little closer, and that finally gets his attention, 61 00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:55,640 and we go home, and I don't end up having to chase my dog through the neighbor's backyard in the middle 62 00:23:55,640 --> 00:24:03,080 of the night. And there are times when you and I are like that. We are fixated on something, and God 63 00:24:03,080 --> 00:24:10,200 needs to get our attention, and God does so in a lot of different ways throughout Scripture. But one way 64 00:24:10,200 --> 00:24:17,880 that I want to draw our attention to this morning is gathering around the table. This is a serious 65 00:24:17,880 --> 00:24:25,000 moment. Paul talks about the seriousness of this in 1 Corinthians, about those who eat and drink 66 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:34,200 in an unworthy manner. This is a moment designed to get our attention. It's a moment designed to focus us. 67 00:24:34,200 --> 00:24:43,080 It's a moment designed to remind us of the good news of the Gospel. One of the amazing things that I've 68 00:24:43,080 --> 00:24:49,560 noticed recently about Scripture is that God feeds His people. From the very beginning, Adam and Eve in a 69 00:24:49,560 --> 00:24:56,600 garden provided with all of the food that they wanted. As you move through, you see God providing 70 00:24:56,600 --> 00:25:04,040 for His people in the famine that comes to Egypt and the land surrounding them, providing by sending 71 00:25:04,040 --> 00:25:13,880 Joseph into Egypt ahead of his family. In the wilderness, God provides food for His people. And it's not just an 72 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:20,760 Old Testament picture, but in the New Testament as well, as Jesus is surrounded by crowds. And He 73 00:25:20,760 --> 00:25:26,120 notices they're a long way from anywhere. Nobody's going to get home in time for dinner. He calls His 74 00:25:26,120 --> 00:25:36,120 disciples together and instructs them to feed the crowds. And Jesus does so miraculously. One of the 75 00:25:36,120 --> 00:25:43,320 things you find through Scripture is that God wants His people to be fed. We're getting ready to gather 76 00:25:43,320 --> 00:25:51,560 around the table this morning to celebrate this meal. And as a physical meal goes, it's not very much a 77 00:25:51,560 --> 00:26:00,040 little square of bread and a little cup of juice. But this meal is not to nourish our physical bodies, 78 00:26:00,040 --> 00:26:10,680 to take away our physical hunger, but it's to nourish our spiritual hunger, to nourish our spiritual needs. And in 79 00:26:10,680 --> 00:26:18,040 fact, Jesus, as He's feeding the 5,000, will finish with a sermon about how He is the bread of life. 80 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:25,320 And those who come to Him will never go hungry. That those who are in Christ and who seek their 81 00:26:25,320 --> 00:26:36,440 satisfaction in Christ are nourished by Christ. And so we come to the table this morning hungry. We've seen 82 00:26:36,440 --> 00:26:43,240 very clearly in the past months and in the past weeks the brokenness of our world. And we come hungry for 83 00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:50,040 something more. We see the hurts, and we see the fears, and we see struggles, and we see injustice, and we see 84 00:26:50,040 --> 00:26:57,640 disagreement, and we see conflict, and we come hungry for something more. And God nourishes us with the 85 00:26:57,640 --> 00:27:08,360 Gospel. That Jesus, the Son of God, came and He took our place. He died for our sins. He rose again for our 86 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:19,960 victory. And this reality nourishes our soul. It's why Jesus calls the disciples to eat this meal. It's why 87 00:27:19,960 --> 00:27:27,560 He calls us to eat this meal. So I'm going to pray, and then we will partake of this meal together. 88 00:27:28,280 --> 00:27:34,600 Father in heaven, thank you for your word and your church. Thank you that you get our attention. And may 89 00:27:34,600 --> 00:27:42,200 this small piece of bread and this small bit of juice grab our attention away from our distractions, 90 00:27:42,200 --> 00:27:51,080 our fears, our worries, our struggles, our hurts. May we bring those to you, understanding that you care 91 00:27:51,080 --> 00:27:57,400 for us and that you love us. And may we focus on your goodness and on your grace. And may we 92 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:04,200 focus on the sacrifice of your son. As we break this bread, may we remember his broken body. As we 93 00:28:04,200 --> 00:28:11,640 drink this cup, may we remember the new covenant that is paid for by his blood. May we do so in 94 00:28:11,640 --> 00:28:17,480 remembrance of him. May we be a people and a church who declare his name until he comes again. It's in 95 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:25,240 his name we pray. Amen. As Jesus gathers together with the disciples, he takes the bread and he breaks it. 96 00:28:26,360 --> 00:28:29,080 And he said, "Take, eat. This is my body. Would you eat with me?" 97 00:28:29,080 --> 00:28:41,800 And after dinner, taking the cup, one of the four cups of Passover, the cup that reminded the people 98 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:49,000 of God's promise to redeem them with an outstretched arm, and the disciples not understanding that Jesus 99 00:28:49,000 --> 00:28:56,200 was about to do that very thing, he takes that cup of redemption and says, "Drink of this all of you, 100 00:28:56,360 --> 00:29:01,880 for it is the blood of my covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." Drink with me. 101 00:29:01,880 --> 00:29:14,440 Father, thank you for this meal. Thank you that you nourish us, not just physically, but spiritually. 102 00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:21,880 May we look to your Son. May we look to the good news of the Gospel. May you help us to see in the 103 00:29:21,880 --> 00:29:26,120 hopelessness of the world the hope that is found only in you. It's in Jesus' name we pray. 104 00:29:26,360 --> 00:29:36,120 Amen. Before we move into our message this morning, I want to sort of show you a short preview video. 105 00:29:36,120 --> 00:29:45,080 Starting next Sunday, we are going to move into the book of Genesis, not for a long time with the 50 106 00:29:45,080 --> 00:29:50,760 plus chapters in Genesis. It would probably take us, you know, for the rest of some of our lives to get 107 00:29:50,760 --> 00:29:57,640 through Genesis. But we want to spend a little bit of time in Genesis, and we're going to start where 108 00:29:57,640 --> 00:30:05,400 the Bible starts in the beginning. And oftentimes when we come to the beginning of Genesis, we focus 109 00:30:05,400 --> 00:30:11,560 very much on the how of God creates. How did he create the heavens? How did he create the earth? How 110 00:30:11,560 --> 00:30:17,400 did he create man? And what I want us as a church to focus on as we come to the beginning chapters of 111 00:30:17,400 --> 00:30:26,360 Genesis is the God who creates. His power, his design, his plan, his goodness, his love, and ultimately his 112 00:30:26,360 --> 00:30:32,440 justice. And so as we move through a little bit of Genesis during the course of the summer, we'll see 113 00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:41,240 that God creates. We'll see that man sins. We'll see that God promises, that God saves, that God provides. And so 114 00:30:41,880 --> 00:30:48,040 part of that, before the pandemic, we had announced we wanted to do a movie showing of this movie, 115 00:30:48,040 --> 00:30:55,160 The Riot and the Dance. It's a movie about creation, not specifically about how God created, but rather 116 00:30:55,160 --> 00:31:02,600 how creation points to the goodness of God. As the 19th Psalm says, "The heavens declare the glory of 117 00:31:02,600 --> 00:31:08,920 God." And so as part of what we're doing on the 26th of June, we're going to have an outdoor movie. We'll 118 00:31:08,920 --> 00:31:14,520 have a projector, a screen. We'll gather together. And so I just want to show you a preview before we 119 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:26,920 move into our sermon time this morning. 120 00:31:34,120 --> 00:31:48,020 I love being on land. I feel much more at home. I feel like this is my habitat. Putting fins on, going into the sea, does not make you a fish. 121 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:22,120 One artist invented water. He invented every liquid habitat and ecosystem that has ever existed. And he fills every inch with life, with death, and perpetual renewal. 122 00:32:22,120 --> 00:32:28,120 I'm Gordon Wilson, and this is Riot in the Dance: Water. 123 00:32:52,120 --> 00:33:14,120 Let's all go, and she hopes, and she hopes for me. 124 00:33:14,120 --> 00:33:20,120 So we'll be in Genesis beginning next week, June 26th. I encourage you to join us. 125 00:33:20,120 --> 00:33:25,120 Invite a friend. It's a Friday night. We'll be outside. We'll watch that. 126 00:33:25,120 --> 00:33:35,120 If you want to sort of get a head start on this, there's a previous film, "Riot in the Dance Earth," that focuses on the animals of Earth. 127 00:33:35,120 --> 00:33:42,120 And that's available if you have Amazon Prime. You can watch that for free there. 128 00:33:42,120 --> 00:33:50,120 So, we're going to go ahead and move into our message this morning, and we're going to be in the 46th Psalm. 129 00:33:50,120 --> 00:33:57,120 And over the years, I've come to love the Psalms. For a lot of years, I was sort of skeptical. 130 00:33:57,120 --> 00:34:06,120 You kind of read through, and you think, "Well, these are ancient songs, and how do they apply, and how do they change my life, how do they transform me?" 131 00:34:06,120 --> 00:34:17,120 But what you find are the Psalms are designed to engage our minds. They're designed to engage our hearts. They're designed to engage our souls. 132 00:34:17,120 --> 00:34:24,120 So, I'm going to read the 46th Psalm this morning, and then we'll spend some time in it together. 133 00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:32,120 It begins like this: "God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in trouble. 134 00:34:32,120 --> 00:34:38,120 Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 135 00:34:38,120 --> 00:34:44,120 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. 136 00:34:44,120 --> 00:34:51,120 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 137 00:34:51,120 --> 00:34:58,120 God is in the midst of her, and she shall not be moved. God will help her when the morning dawns. 138 00:34:58,120 --> 00:35:04,120 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter. He utters His voice, and the earth melts. 139 00:35:04,120 --> 00:35:09,120 The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. 140 00:35:09,120 --> 00:35:14,120 Come, behold the works of the Lord, how He has brought desolations on the earth. 141 00:35:14,120 --> 00:35:19,120 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. 142 00:35:19,120 --> 00:35:25,120 He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. 143 00:35:25,120 --> 00:35:29,120 I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. 144 00:35:29,120 --> 00:35:34,120 The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. 145 00:35:34,120 --> 00:35:37,120 This is the word of the Lord. 146 00:35:37,120 --> 00:35:44,120 Father, be with us this morning as we gather into Your Word. 147 00:35:44,120 --> 00:35:48,120 May You instruct us. May You encourage us. May You convict us. 148 00:35:48,120 --> 00:35:52,120 May Your Spirit be working and moving in our hearts 149 00:35:52,120 --> 00:35:55,120 as we see these words written thousands of years ago 150 00:35:55,120 --> 00:35:59,120 that still encourage us deeply and powerfully today, 151 00:35:59,120 --> 00:36:02,120 that still teach us deeply and powerfully today. 152 00:36:02,120 --> 00:36:07,120 Be with us during this moment. It's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. 153 00:36:07,120 --> 00:36:15,120 Now, I think probably all of us know, even though maybe we haven't voiced the thought in these specific words, 154 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:18,120 that context is important. 155 00:36:18,120 --> 00:36:24,120 So, for example, a hundred miles an hour may not be fast on a racetrack. 156 00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:28,120 It is very fast if you're driving down Pleasant Valley Road. 157 00:36:28,120 --> 00:36:33,120 And if you're doing a hundred miles an hour down Pleasant Valley Road and the local police department finds you, 158 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:38,120 you're not only going to get a ticket, but you're probably going to spend some time in jail. 159 00:36:38,120 --> 00:36:43,120 Or, with our kids, sometimes they'll wake up in the morning and maybe they'll say, 160 00:36:43,120 --> 00:36:46,120 "Dad, can I have this piece of chocolate?" 161 00:36:46,120 --> 00:36:50,120 And I'll say, "Yes, but after breakfast." 162 00:36:50,120 --> 00:36:54,120 And there may have been a time where they come in and they're eating chocolate. 163 00:36:54,120 --> 00:36:57,120 Well, Dad said we could, right? Context is important. 164 00:36:57,120 --> 00:37:01,120 I said they could, but what? After breakfast. 165 00:37:01,120 --> 00:37:04,120 And so, context is important. 166 00:37:04,120 --> 00:37:08,120 And most of us, I think, in certain situations are good at judging context. 167 00:37:08,120 --> 00:37:13,120 For example, just take the simple three-letter word, B-O-W. 168 00:37:13,120 --> 00:37:18,120 Now, that word, depending on context, can be used or pronounced as bow, right? 169 00:37:18,120 --> 00:37:22,120 You're in a dance class, they say, "Take a bow," and you bow. 170 00:37:22,120 --> 00:37:28,120 Or if you're in a medieval castle, they say, "Take your bow," right? 171 00:37:28,120 --> 00:37:36,120 Same word, same spelling, just pronounced a little differently, and it all depends on the context. 172 00:37:36,120 --> 00:37:44,120 And so we're used to, in many areas of our life, looking for context about what something means. 173 00:37:44,120 --> 00:37:51,120 And this psalm contains a verse that, in many ways, and by many Christians, has been taken out of context. 174 00:37:51,120 --> 00:37:55,120 And some of you know exactly the verse that I'm referring to. 175 00:37:55,120 --> 00:38:00,120 Verse 10, "Be still and know that I am God." 176 00:38:00,120 --> 00:38:06,120 And if you've been around Christian culture very much, you've seen this verse. We have it on coffee cups. 177 00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:11,120 We have it on posters. We have it on Bible covers. We have it on little notebooks. 178 00:38:11,120 --> 00:38:15,120 We have it on just about every kind of merchandise that you can have. 179 00:38:15,120 --> 00:38:21,120 And the implication, the common interpretation of this verse, "Be still and know that I am God," 180 00:38:21,120 --> 00:38:26,120 is this sort of peaceful, relaxing picture of somebody sitting back with their coffee 181 00:38:26,120 --> 00:38:32,120 and watching the sunrise or the sunset, depending on if you're a morning person or a night person. 182 00:38:32,120 --> 00:38:36,120 And there's this picture of peace and relaxation. 183 00:38:36,120 --> 00:38:41,120 Now this verse does contain deep and abiding peace. 184 00:38:41,120 --> 00:38:44,120 Wonderful peace. 185 00:38:44,120 --> 00:38:51,120 And while the implication is to not be afraid and to be at peace, this is not a passive verse 186 00:38:51,120 --> 00:38:59,120 that simply says just sit back, drink your coffee, watch the sunrise, and be still. 187 00:38:59,120 --> 00:39:06,120 This verse is deeper, more powerful, and more active than all of that. 188 00:39:06,120 --> 00:39:10,120 Maybe you've seen the movie Captain Phillips, right? 189 00:39:10,120 --> 00:39:17,120 It's based on a true story of a ship's captain whose Somali pirates come and take his merchant vessel. 190 00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:23,120 And in the movie, there's a scene where the pirates are boarding the vessel, and they make their way to the bridge, 191 00:39:23,120 --> 00:39:26,120 and he's trying to shut things down and be in control of the situation. 192 00:39:26,120 --> 00:39:32,120 And the pirate, holding his rifle, looks at him and goes, "Look at me! I'm the captain now!" 193 00:39:32,120 --> 00:39:41,120 And in essence, when you hear these words, "Be still and know that I am God," this is not a passive call to relax. 194 00:39:41,120 --> 00:39:48,120 But rather, this is the creator of the universe looking at you and me and saying, "Look at me!" 195 00:39:48,120 --> 00:39:54,120 And he's not saying, "I'm the captain now." He's saying, "I have always been the captain, and I always will be the captain." 196 00:39:54,120 --> 00:40:04,120 And you, Christian, in the midst of trial and difficulty and hurt and fear and unrest and physical disaster, 197 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:12,120 "Be still. Look at me and know that I am God." 198 00:40:12,120 --> 00:40:17,120 You see, this is a verse to the struggling and to the overwhelmed and to the hurting. 199 00:40:17,120 --> 00:40:21,120 It can literally be translated, "Stop striving." 200 00:40:21,120 --> 00:40:25,120 "Look at who God is." 201 00:40:25,120 --> 00:40:32,120 And you say, "Well, how does looking at God help me in the midst of my struggle and my turmoil?" 202 00:40:32,120 --> 00:40:35,120 Let me show you from the text, verse 1. 203 00:40:35,120 --> 00:40:42,120 "God is our refuge and our strength, a very present help in times of trouble." 204 00:40:42,120 --> 00:40:45,120 Three things in this verse. He starts at the very beginning. 205 00:40:45,120 --> 00:40:49,120 And one of the things I love about the Psalms is they generally don't just give us an instruction, 206 00:40:49,120 --> 00:40:52,120 "Praise the Lord," or "Be still and know that He is God," 207 00:40:52,120 --> 00:40:56,120 but rather they lay a foundation for those things. 208 00:40:56,120 --> 00:41:00,120 So if you're a person like me who is prone to asking why, 209 00:41:00,120 --> 00:41:07,120 one of the wonderful things about the Psalms is with a command often comes the answer why you should do that. 210 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:13,120 And so maybe you're saying, "Why should I be still and know that He is God?" 211 00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:16,120 It starts like this, "God is our refuge." 212 00:41:16,120 --> 00:41:21,120 And it's not just said once here, but it's repeated in different ways throughout this. 213 00:41:21,120 --> 00:41:28,120 The God of Jacob is our fortress, verse 7. Verse 11, again, the God of Jacob is our fortress. 214 00:41:28,120 --> 00:41:40,120 And the picture is of a safe place, that we have a safe place, that we don't have to run because we are in the refuge of the Almighty God. 215 00:41:40,120 --> 00:41:48,120 I mentioned earlier that Dodger, when he sees something running, he sort of sees it as a tennis ball thrown by God, 216 00:41:48,120 --> 00:41:51,120 whether that's a cat, a squirrel, or a rabbit. 217 00:41:51,120 --> 00:41:57,120 And so the other day I was taking Dodger up to run around, and we have a little rabbit that's been hanging out in our front yard, 218 00:41:57,120 --> 00:42:00,120 and in the front yard of the church and in the play area. 219 00:42:00,120 --> 00:42:07,120 And so Dodger, we take him up to the play area so he could run as fast as he could without having to worry about him running to the neighbors. 220 00:42:07,120 --> 00:42:14,120 And I take him off the leash and close the gate, and at that moment I realized that that little rabbit was sitting right in the middle of the pen. 221 00:42:14,120 --> 00:42:18,120 And Dodger sees the rabbit, and the rabbit sees Dodger, and they freeze for a moment. 222 00:42:18,120 --> 00:42:21,120 And then the next thing you know, Dodger's like, "Hey, this thing wants to play!" 223 00:42:21,120 --> 00:42:26,120 And the rabbit very decidedly did not want to play, and so he just takes off, 224 00:42:26,120 --> 00:42:29,120 and he runs straight into the fence. 225 00:42:29,120 --> 00:42:33,120 And thankfully the rabbit was fast, so he bounces off the fence and runs toward the other fence, 226 00:42:33,120 --> 00:42:38,120 and bounces off the fence, trying to find a safe place. 227 00:42:38,120 --> 00:42:42,120 And thankfully the rabbit finally came toward the gate, and I was standing there, and I opened the gate, 228 00:42:42,120 --> 00:42:46,120 and the rabbit ran out, and I shut the gate, and then Dodger ran into the fence. 229 00:42:46,120 --> 00:42:50,120 The rabbit was simply running back and forth to try to find a safe place. 230 00:42:50,120 --> 00:42:55,120 You and I in our life, in so many ways and in so many times, we're just like that rabbit. 231 00:42:55,120 --> 00:43:00,120 We're running around trying to find a safe place, and maybe we can find it here, and we bounce off the fence. 232 00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:02,120 And maybe we can find it there, and we bounce off the fence. 233 00:43:02,120 --> 00:43:09,120 And here is the Creator of the universe, Almighty God, looking at us and saying, "I am your refuge. 234 00:43:09,120 --> 00:43:16,120 I am your safe place. Come to me and hide yourself in me." 235 00:43:16,120 --> 00:43:23,120 The second thing he says is that God is our strength. 236 00:43:23,120 --> 00:43:27,120 Most of us have felt weak at one time or another. 237 00:43:27,120 --> 00:43:31,120 Most of us have needed help at one time or another. 238 00:43:31,120 --> 00:43:37,120 And we look at events in this world, and we say, "Maybe I'm not strong enough to deal with them." 239 00:43:37,120 --> 00:43:42,120 And God says, "I am your strength." And to give you an idea of the picture of this. 240 00:43:42,120 --> 00:43:47,120 In Exodus, the 15th chapter, and if you remember the context of Exodus 15, 241 00:43:47,120 --> 00:43:53,120 it's the song of praise after God has delivered His people out of Egypt and across the Red Sea. 242 00:43:53,120 --> 00:43:58,120 And so they have seen God perform powerfully, whether it's the plagues in Egypt, 243 00:43:58,120 --> 00:44:02,120 or whether it's splitting the sea in half so they can walk across on dry land, 244 00:44:02,120 --> 00:44:06,120 being led by a pillar of fire at night in the cloud during the day, 245 00:44:06,120 --> 00:44:10,120 and how God stands Himself in between the people and the Egyptians, 246 00:44:10,120 --> 00:44:14,120 and how the water of the Red Sea closes over the Egyptians. 247 00:44:14,120 --> 00:44:20,120 In Exodus 15, it says, "Speaking of how God brings His people out of Egypt, 248 00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:23,120 you have guided them by your strength." 249 00:44:23,120 --> 00:44:29,120 And so when you hear these words today, that God is our refuge and our strength, 250 00:44:29,120 --> 00:44:33,120 it's the same God who brought Israel out of Egypt, 251 00:44:33,120 --> 00:44:36,120 the same strength that parted the Red Sea, 252 00:44:36,120 --> 00:44:39,120 the same strength that brought destruction to the Egyptians, 253 00:44:39,120 --> 00:44:42,120 the same strength that led His people, 254 00:44:42,120 --> 00:44:47,120 that is the strength that God brings to us. 255 00:44:47,120 --> 00:44:52,120 God is our refuge and our strength and a very present help. 256 00:44:52,120 --> 00:44:57,120 And what's interesting about this is that those two are present. 257 00:44:57,120 --> 00:45:01,120 And present literally means found. In fact, it's used elsewhere. 258 00:45:01,120 --> 00:45:05,120 If you remember the story of Joseph when his brothers come, 259 00:45:05,120 --> 00:45:08,120 and eventually they bring Benjamin. 260 00:45:08,120 --> 00:45:13,120 And remember what Joseph does. He hides his cup in the grain. 261 00:45:13,120 --> 00:45:17,120 And then he sends his servant out and says, "You guys have been stealing from my master Joseph." 262 00:45:17,120 --> 00:45:22,120 And they open up the grain and there it is. The cup was found. 263 00:45:22,120 --> 00:45:26,120 That's the picture of present. That it's right there. It's been found. 264 00:45:26,120 --> 00:45:30,120 And notice what he says, "A very present help." 265 00:45:30,120 --> 00:45:34,120 Literally, much present. Much found. 266 00:45:34,120 --> 00:45:39,120 Very right here is what this is saying. 267 00:45:39,120 --> 00:45:47,120 And it's not just said here, but we find it again later on, that in the midst of the heavenly city, God is with his people. 268 00:45:47,120 --> 00:45:50,120 And then again, two more times. 269 00:45:50,120 --> 00:45:53,120 The Lord of hosts is with us. 270 00:45:53,120 --> 00:45:57,120 The one who commands the heavenly army. 271 00:45:57,120 --> 00:45:59,120 You're not alone. 272 00:45:59,120 --> 00:46:02,120 Have you heard it? He says, "You're not alone." 273 00:46:02,120 --> 00:46:04,120 Very present. 274 00:46:04,120 --> 00:46:11,120 Not distant, not far away, not waiting on your call, not will show up when you need help, but he is here, and he is here right now. 275 00:46:11,120 --> 00:46:13,120 He is very present. 276 00:46:13,120 --> 00:46:22,120 And the result of this truth, that God is our refuge, our strength, our very present help, is this result in verse 2: 277 00:46:22,120 --> 00:46:26,120 "We will not fear." 278 00:46:26,120 --> 00:46:31,120 And you might say, "Well, that's all well and good," to say, "Don't be afraid." 279 00:46:31,120 --> 00:46:33,120 You don't know how bad the world is. 280 00:46:33,120 --> 00:46:36,120 You don't know how bad my struggles are. 281 00:46:36,120 --> 00:46:40,120 You don't understand how difficult I find myself in. 282 00:46:40,120 --> 00:46:50,120 And you might say that to the psalmist, "Yes, I understand that God is near, that he is present, that he is my strength, that he is my refuge, and I shouldn't be afraid." 283 00:46:50,120 --> 00:46:54,120 But you don't understand how bad it is. 284 00:46:54,120 --> 00:46:58,120 Look at our text, starting in verse 2: 285 00:46:58,120 --> 00:47:01,120 "Therefore we will not fear." 286 00:47:01,120 --> 00:47:08,120 Now does it say, "We will not fear when things are great and good, and there is plenty of food, and everybody is happy and gets along?" 287 00:47:08,120 --> 00:47:09,120 That's what it says. 288 00:47:09,120 --> 00:47:20,120 "We will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though its mountains tremble at its swelling." 289 00:47:20,120 --> 00:47:26,120 And what it says here is that even if the world falls apart, this is a big deal, right? 290 00:47:26,120 --> 00:47:36,120 We're talking about complete collapse. Mountains, which we look at, that seem so timeless and strong, and they were there before we were born, and they'll be there after they die. 291 00:47:36,120 --> 00:47:44,120 The psalmist says, "If those mountains were to dissolve into the midst of the sea, natural calamity." 292 00:47:44,120 --> 00:47:50,120 God is our refuge and our strength and our very present help in times of trouble. 293 00:47:50,120 --> 00:47:56,120 Though the waters roar and foam, this is not a comforting picture, right? 294 00:47:56,120 --> 00:48:03,120 We've seen little floods. In fact, we had a really, really, really heavy rain on Friday. 295 00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:12,120 And sometimes when it rains really, really heavily, really, really, really fast, the water comes around our house and comes toward our basement. 296 00:48:12,120 --> 00:48:17,120 There was a little spot. I thought I had all the spots sealed and filled, but Rachel calls me. 297 00:48:17,120 --> 00:48:22,120 I come over from the office, and there's a little drip of water kind of coming through the bottom of the foundation. 298 00:48:22,120 --> 00:48:26,120 So I sealed it up and we dried it up and turned on the dehumidifier. 299 00:48:26,120 --> 00:48:29,120 That's not the picture here. It's a little stream of water. 300 00:48:29,120 --> 00:48:36,120 Maybe you saw the video a couple weeks ago of those dams that were overflowed and then failed. 301 00:48:36,120 --> 00:48:42,120 And you see the ground just split away in that flood of water and destruction coming through. 302 00:48:42,120 --> 00:48:50,120 That's the picture here. The mountains dissolve. The water comes raging like a tsunami. 303 00:48:50,120 --> 00:48:53,120 We're not talking about a calm and peaceful situation. 304 00:48:53,120 --> 00:48:59,120 And the psalmist says, "I am able to not be afraid because I understand that God is my refuge and my strength 305 00:48:59,120 --> 00:49:03,120 and my very present help in times of trouble." 306 00:49:03,120 --> 00:49:09,120 And notice it's not just natural chaos. The mountains and the seas. 307 00:49:09,120 --> 00:49:13,120 The nations rage. And the kingdoms totter. 308 00:49:13,120 --> 00:49:20,120 And in verse 9, you have this reference to wars, bows, spears, and chariots. 309 00:49:20,120 --> 00:49:25,120 And to us, a chariot is not something that is overly terrifying. 310 00:49:25,120 --> 00:49:30,120 But if you were a soldier in this time, a chariot was the worst of the worst. 311 00:49:30,120 --> 00:49:33,120 It was the mightiest of the mighty power. 312 00:49:33,120 --> 00:49:39,120 They provided protection for the occupants. They were fast. They were dangerous. 313 00:49:39,120 --> 00:49:47,120 They could hurt you badly and very quickly. Chariots were the epitome of battle power in this time. 314 00:49:47,120 --> 00:49:53,120 And so you have this natural disaster, the mountains dissolving, the floods coming. 315 00:49:53,120 --> 00:50:00,120 You have political and society problems with conflict and war and strife and difficulty. 316 00:50:00,120 --> 00:50:08,120 And in the midst of this chaos, natural or man-made, look at the message of the psalm. 317 00:50:08,120 --> 00:50:17,120 God is our refuge and our strength, our ever-present help in time of trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. 318 00:50:17,120 --> 00:50:22,120 The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. 319 00:50:22,120 --> 00:50:28,120 And not only is He with us, but look at the transformation that is found in this text. 320 00:50:28,120 --> 00:50:32,120 Starting in verse 2, "Therefore we will not fear, though the earth gives way, 321 00:50:32,120 --> 00:50:37,120 though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, 322 00:50:37,120 --> 00:50:42,120 the mountains tremble and swell in this picture of absolute collapse." 323 00:50:42,120 --> 00:50:49,120 And then, verse 4, "There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, 324 00:50:49,120 --> 00:50:53,120 the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. 325 00:50:53,120 --> 00:50:58,120 She shall not be moved. God will help her when the morning dawns. 326 00:50:58,120 --> 00:51:02,120 The nations rage, the kingdoms totter. He utters His voice, and the earth melts. 327 00:51:02,120 --> 00:51:06,120 The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress." 328 00:51:06,120 --> 00:51:11,120 And so on one hand you have chaos, and on the other hand you have the city of God, 329 00:51:11,120 --> 00:51:15,120 and there's a river. And it's not a flooding, raging river full of destruction, 330 00:51:15,120 --> 00:51:21,120 but it is a peaceful river that nourishes and refreshes and strengthens this city. 331 00:51:21,120 --> 00:51:27,120 And then in verse 8, "Come, behold the works of the Lord, 332 00:51:27,120 --> 00:51:35,120 and how He has brought desolation on the earth." He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. 333 00:51:35,120 --> 00:51:42,120 He makes the bow. He shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. 334 00:51:42,120 --> 00:51:50,120 Those things that terrify you, bows, spears, chariots, God's bigger than all of them. 335 00:51:50,120 --> 00:51:57,120 Whether it's natural disaster, whether it's man-made conflict, God is present with you in it, 336 00:51:57,120 --> 00:52:04,120 and He will triumph with you over it. And at the heart of this, 337 00:52:04,120 --> 00:52:12,120 you see God's power over the things that terrify us. Whether natural or man-made, God is stronger. 338 00:52:12,120 --> 00:52:18,120 And He's not just here with us, but He is in control. 339 00:52:18,120 --> 00:52:23,120 And you see the rage transformed to a peaceful city. 340 00:52:23,120 --> 00:52:29,120 One of the things that I love about this is you see the past work of God, 341 00:52:29,120 --> 00:52:33,120 you see the present reality of God, and you see the future promise of God. 342 00:52:33,120 --> 00:52:42,120 So throughout this text, you see the faithfulness of God reminded when He says, "The God of Jacob is your fortress." 343 00:52:42,120 --> 00:52:47,120 What is He doing? He's reminding them the same God that watched over Jacob, 344 00:52:47,120 --> 00:52:51,120 the same God that has been present throughout the history of Israel, 345 00:52:51,120 --> 00:52:58,120 the same God who has kept His promises, the same God who has provided, that God is with you. 346 00:52:58,120 --> 00:53:02,120 And so in part, this text calls us to look back to how God keeps His promises, 347 00:53:02,120 --> 00:53:07,120 and how God provides, and how God has worked in the midst of these situations. 348 00:53:07,120 --> 00:53:13,120 But it also is present that He is with us, that He is a very present help. 349 00:53:13,120 --> 00:53:17,120 We're not like the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel who pray, 350 00:53:17,120 --> 00:53:22,120 and we hope that we can get our God's attention, and we hope that He can hear us, 351 00:53:22,120 --> 00:53:31,120 but rather we're like Elijah who prays and fire comes down and consumes the altar because our God is present with us. 352 00:53:31,120 --> 00:53:36,120 But not only does this call our attention to look back and remember how God has been good, 353 00:53:36,120 --> 00:53:40,120 not only does it encourage us with the fact that God is present with us now, 354 00:53:40,120 --> 00:53:44,120 but it also calls us to the future. 355 00:53:44,120 --> 00:53:53,120 You see, you and I as Christians were members and citizens of a spiritual city. 356 00:53:53,120 --> 00:53:57,120 Not just a physical nation or a physical city. 357 00:53:57,120 --> 00:54:00,120 People ask where I'm from, I say Winchester, Virginia. 358 00:54:00,120 --> 00:54:04,120 But as a Christian, that answer is a little bit different. 359 00:54:04,120 --> 00:54:07,120 I'm a citizen of heaven. 360 00:54:07,120 --> 00:54:12,120 And remember this text calls us to a picture of a city, 361 00:54:12,120 --> 00:54:19,120 and spiritually you and I, if you're a Christian, are a member of that peaceful city. 362 00:54:19,120 --> 00:54:26,120 But it's not just a spiritual reality for us now, it's a physical promise for us in the future. 363 00:54:26,120 --> 00:54:32,120 In Revelation 22, I don't think it's any accident that you hear these themes repeated. 364 00:54:32,120 --> 00:54:38,120 The angel showed me the river of the water of life, 365 00:54:38,120 --> 00:54:46,120 flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the streets of the city. 366 00:54:46,120 --> 00:54:50,120 And also on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, 367 00:54:50,120 --> 00:54:55,120 yielding its fruit each month, the leaves of the tree were for the healing of all nations. 368 00:54:55,120 --> 00:55:01,120 No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of the God and the Lamb will be in it, 369 00:55:01,120 --> 00:55:04,120 and His servants will worship Him, and they will see His face, 370 00:55:04,120 --> 00:55:08,120 and His name will be on their foreheads, and night will be no more, 371 00:55:08,120 --> 00:55:12,120 and they will need no light of lamp or sun. 372 00:55:12,120 --> 00:55:18,120 For the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever." 373 00:55:18,120 --> 00:55:24,120 You see, there's a future promise for us as Christians who were citizens of that city. 374 00:55:24,120 --> 00:55:29,120 One day, we will be residents of that city. 375 00:55:29,120 --> 00:55:35,120 Where the river flows through and brings peace, and the leaves of the trees bring healings to the nation, 376 00:55:35,120 --> 00:55:38,120 and there is peace. 377 00:55:38,120 --> 00:55:44,120 So I'd say this, in the midst of our striving and our worry and our fear, we hear these words: 378 00:55:44,120 --> 00:55:47,120 "Be still and know that I am God." 379 00:55:47,120 --> 00:55:50,120 "I will be exalted among the nations." 380 00:55:50,120 --> 00:55:52,120 "I will be exalted in the earth." 381 00:55:52,120 --> 00:55:58,120 This is not a verse telling us to be still in the sense that we just sort of sit back. 382 00:55:58,120 --> 00:56:02,120 Nor is it a verse telling us to be still and we cower in fear, 383 00:56:02,120 --> 00:56:10,120 but rather a verse calling us actively to direct our attention to the Almighty God. 384 00:56:10,120 --> 00:56:14,120 You see, we don't just see stillness in this verse. 385 00:56:14,120 --> 00:56:20,120 Maybe you noticed, if you were following along in the text, there's a little word at the end of each of the three stanzas: 386 00:56:20,120 --> 00:56:28,120 Selah. And we don't know exactly what it means, but there's three pretty good theories. 387 00:56:28,120 --> 00:56:34,120 One is that this word "selah" at the end of each of these stanzas is very similar to the Hebrew word 388 00:56:34,120 --> 00:56:38,120 "to hang in a balance" or "measure in a balance." 389 00:56:38,120 --> 00:56:42,120 And you've seen those scales that are a balanced scale, and you hang the weights on one side, 390 00:56:42,120 --> 00:56:46,120 and you hang the item that you're trying to weigh on the other side, and you see how it measures up. 391 00:56:46,120 --> 00:56:55,120 And so some think that this word "selah" is a call for you and I to pause and measure. 392 00:56:55,120 --> 00:57:01,120 To measure our life by the Word of God, to put the weight of the Word of God on one side, 393 00:57:01,120 --> 00:57:08,120 the weight of these promises, and measure, "Am I living in step with what has been said?" 394 00:57:08,120 --> 00:57:14,120 But it can also be a combination of words, and there's a combination of Hebrew words that means 395 00:57:14,120 --> 00:57:19,120 to lift up that sounds very familiar. And the picture is the lift up in praise. 396 00:57:19,120 --> 00:57:26,120 And so other people have thought this is a moment to pause and to consider the thoughts and lift up in praise. 397 00:57:26,120 --> 00:57:37,120 To raise our holy hands in praise for the fact that God is sovereign over the calamities of the natural world, 398 00:57:37,120 --> 00:57:42,120 over the struggles of politics and mankind. That He is our refuge, our fortress, 399 00:57:42,120 --> 00:57:50,120 our ever-present help in times of trouble to stop and just to praise God for these truths. 400 00:57:50,120 --> 00:57:57,120 Some have thought that it's a musical term. That it literally means to stop and take a breath. 401 00:57:57,120 --> 00:58:03,120 If you're reading music and you see that little notation of a rest and you stop for a beat. 402 00:58:03,120 --> 00:58:10,120 Some have thought, because these are directed to musicians to play for God's people, that this is a moment to stop, 403 00:58:10,120 --> 00:58:15,120 take a breath and consider what has been said. 404 00:58:15,120 --> 00:58:21,120 And we don't know which one of these is the intention of this word "selah." 405 00:58:21,120 --> 00:58:28,120 But they all have something in common: to stop and to consider. 406 00:58:28,120 --> 00:58:35,120 Whether that's to consider our lives in relation to the Word of God, whether that's to consider and praise, 407 00:58:35,120 --> 00:58:41,120 or to stop and consider and simply rest in the truth of God's Word. 408 00:58:41,120 --> 00:58:48,120 To focus our attention on the One who is sovereign over all. 409 00:58:48,120 --> 00:58:55,120 May this be a moment, as we have looked at this psalm, that God stops us and gets our attention. 410 00:58:55,120 --> 00:59:02,120 In the midst of our troubles and struggles and conflict and chaos, God snaps His fingers and says, 411 00:59:02,120 --> 00:59:14,120 "Look at me. Be still. Look at me. And know that I'm your refuge. I'm your strength. And I'm your ever-present help in times of trouble." 412 00:59:14,120 --> 00:59:28,120 Will you pray with me? Father, help us to see you, to see your goodness, your love, the fact that you are our refuge, our strength, our ever-present help. 413 00:59:28,120 --> 00:59:41,120 And whether it's natural calamity or man-made calamity, that ultimately, you are in control. And that you bring peace out of the chaos. 414 00:59:41,120 --> 00:59:52,120 That you have been faithful in the past, you are faithful now, and you have faithfully promised us a future in a city where the water of life flows from your throne. 415 00:59:52,120 --> 00:59:57,120 So encourage us this morning. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 416 00:59:57,120 --> 01:00:07,120 We're going to sing a song here in just a moment. Before we do, I want to read from the 103rd Psalm. 417 01:00:07,120 --> 01:00:12,120 And the 103rd Psalm, I'm just going to read from the first five verses. It says this: 418 01:00:12,120 --> 01:00:18,120 "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. Bless His holy name. 419 01:00:18,120 --> 01:00:26,120 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, 420 01:00:26,120 --> 01:00:31,120 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 421 01:00:31,120 --> 01:00:37,120 who satisfies you with good, so that your youth is renewed like the eagles." 422 01:00:37,120 --> 01:00:42,120 So we're going to stand and sing a song, depending on where you're from, 423 01:00:42,120 --> 01:00:45,120 entitled "Bless the Lord" or "10,000 Reasons." 424 01:00:45,120 --> 01:00:53,120 And it's a song that is written based on these five verses of the 103rd Psalm. 425 01:00:53,120 --> 01:00:59,120 So would you stand with me, and let's sing "Bless the Lord." 426 01:01:15,120 --> 01:01:27,120 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His holy name. 427 01:01:27,120 --> 01:01:40,120 Sin like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. 428 01:01:45,120 --> 01:01:58,120 Sun comes up, it's a new day dawning. It's time to sing your song again. 429 01:01:58,120 --> 01:02:14,120 Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me, let me be singing when the evening goes. 430 01:02:15,120 --> 01:02:30,120 Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul, Worship His holy name. 431 01:02:30,120 --> 01:02:44,120 Send like never before, O my soul, I'll worship Your holy name. 432 01:02:45,120 --> 01:03:09,120 You're rich in love, and You're slow to wander. Your name is great, and Your heart is kind. For all Your goodness, I will keep on singing. 433 01:03:10,120 --> 01:03:33,120 Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find. Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul. Worship His Holy Name. 434 01:03:34,120 --> 01:03:47,120 Sin like never before, O my soul. I'll worship Your Holy Name. 435 01:03:47,120 --> 01:04:03,120 And on that day when my strength is failing, the end draws near and my time has come. 436 01:04:04,120 --> 01:04:19,120 Still my soul will sing Your praise unending. Ten thousand years and then forevermore. 437 01:04:23,120 --> 01:04:50,120 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before. O my soul. I'll worship Your holy name. 438 01:04:50,120 --> 01:05:17,120 Bless the Lord, O my soul. O my soul. Worship His holy name. Sing like never before. O my soul. I'll worship Your holy name. 439 01:05:17,120 --> 01:05:29,120 Lord, I'll worship Your holy name. Lord, I'll worship Your holy name. 440 01:05:29,120 --> 01:05:44,120 A couple of announcements as we get ready to close this morning. First of all, Wednesday night Bible study. 441 01:05:44,120 --> 01:05:55,120 We're going to be in 2 Peter. So if you would like to follow along with us, one of the things that I found helpful are the Scripture journals. 442 01:05:55,120 --> 01:06:01,120 They have the text on one side, lined paper on the other side. There are some on the back table. 443 01:06:01,120 --> 01:06:06,120 So if you would like to do that, we're going to begin in 2 Peter. Just a note about them. 444 01:06:06,120 --> 01:06:11,120 You may know the covers are a little bit rumpled, and so what happened is I went and got the mail, 445 01:06:11,120 --> 01:06:18,120 set them on the picnic table, ran to the house, came back to the office and totally forgot about them and it was raining. 446 01:06:18,120 --> 01:06:25,120 So they're all dry now, but there is a little bit of evidence of that. They still work just fine. 447 01:06:25,120 --> 01:06:33,120 So if you would like to follow along with these, one of my personal goals is to eventually have the entire Bible sort of filled up with these. 448 01:06:33,120 --> 01:06:38,120 So go ahead and pick one up if you want, and you want to make some notes and follow along with us. 449 01:06:38,120 --> 01:06:45,120 We'll be in 2 Peter this Wednesday night. Also, coming up, let's see if I can make this work. 450 01:06:45,120 --> 01:06:54,120 There we go. Next Sunday, we'll be in Genesis chapter 1 and 2, looking at creation. 451 01:06:54,120 --> 01:07:02,120 Our goal isn't, as we said earlier, to look at the specifics of how, but rather to see the God who creates. 452 01:07:02,120 --> 01:07:17,120 And then, on the 26th, Friday night, we'll be showing this. We'll have some more details about time as we see when the sun's going to go down. 453 01:07:17,120 --> 01:07:24,120 The good thing is, we'll be out here in front, so we get a little bit of shade on our screen earlier, so we don't have to be as late. 454 01:07:24,120 --> 01:07:31,120 We invite you to join us for this. I'm going to go ahead and have a word of prayer. 455 01:07:31,120 --> 01:07:40,120 And then we'll sing one more song. Father in heaven, thank you for caring for us, allowing us to worship and gather this morning. 456 01:07:40,120 --> 01:07:47,120 Be with us, whether we are here in person or out in the parking lot for drive-in or watching online. 457 01:07:47,120 --> 01:07:52,120 May you encourage us and strengthen us. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 458 01:08:01,120 --> 01:08:24,120 Praise God, from whom all blessings flow. Praise Him, all creatures here below. Praise Him, above ye heavenly hosts. Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. 459 01:08:31,120 --> 01:08:38,120 Praise God, Son, and Holy Spirit. Praise God, Son, and Holy Ghost. 460 01:09:01,120 --> 01:09:03,120 Amen. 461 01:09:31,120 --> 01:09:33,120 Amen. 462 01:10:01,120 --> 01:10:03,120 Amen. 463 01:10:31,120 --> 01:11:01,100 Let's pray.