Our Refuge and Strength

Lord, as we wrap up one year,

we just thank you for your faithfulness

that you've made manifest to us

this past year.

And as we look to a new year, Lord,

we ask that you would

become even more precious

in our eyes and in our hearts.

We want to know you more.

And so, Lord, we ask that you speak to us

through your word today.

Lord, I'm asking that you would,

by the power of your Holy Spirit,

speak through me to all of us.

Lord, I need your help.

Lord, I'm not adequate on my own

to speak the words you would have me

speak from your word.

So I'm asking you for your help.

Lord, for our good, for the glory of your name,

Lord, speak through me today.

Lord, we look to you in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Please be seated.

If you'd like to follow along,

we have Bibles here at the front.

You can grab and borrow for today

or take home if you need a copy of the Bible.

Please turn with me to Psalm 46.

As you do so,

I want to tell you about

Tuesday, January 12, 2010.

I received a phone call from Diane Scharf,

many of you know from this congregation,

a good friend of mine.

She called and asked how my sister Sarah was doing.

And I assured her she was doing really well.

She had just had a good holiday with us

at the Christmas season.

And she said,

no, something about an earthquake in Haiti.

And I assured her that

I didn't know what she was talking about,

but if I heard anything,

I'd let her know and thanked her for calling

and hung up the phone.

Then I went over to the internet

and Googled Haiti earthquake.

And to my horror,

I saw the first images of that earthquake

many of us will remember

following along in the news.

Well, for the next few hours,

few agonizing hours,

my family kept going to her Facebook

and checking online

to see if there's anything

that would let us know

that my sister Sarah was okay.

Eventually, we found out

that she was alive

and she was okay.

But okay is a relative term.

For all, like my sister,

and all in Haiti,

the time of the earthquake

was absolutely horrifying.

For those who lived like my sister,

they all had friends or family

who had perished

as the country crumbled.

My sister had gone down

to teach school

at a mission base.

And when she'd gone down

months before,

Haiti was already

in a state of tragedy

as the country is so poor

and so broken.

So when the earthquake came

and the few foundations

they did have crumbled,

it was just absolutely horrifying.

I remember clicking refresh

every few minutes

to see if there's any news updates

and the death toll numbers

were just skyrocketing.

It was horrifying.

And although my sister was okay,

it was really traumatizing

for her and for everyone

who lived through that time.

It was so painful.

And I didn't fully realize

how it affected me

until the next New Year

because New Year's

is a really precious time

in my family.

We often get together,

friends come over

and we play ice hockey

on the outdoor rink

and we watch some

family-friendly films.

We have a beautiful time

of worship and prayer

dedicating the New Year

to the Lord.

And 2010 was especially

a year that I was

looking forward to.

I was really confident

about a number of things

that were going to come.

And so the fact that

the earthquake came

on January 12th

just after this New Year

that was supposed to be

so precious to me

had got underway

and just out of nowhere,

bam!

This earthquake

shook everything.

And although it was

so far away in Haiti,

it was so close at home

that it affected my sister.

And so as the next New Year

was coming up,

I found myself looking forward

to the future

with this fear.

When is the next book

going to fall on our heads?

And I share the story

not because I necessarily

think you care about

my New Year's experiences,

but because I think

it's very common

for all of us

who, if you've lived

a few minutes

on this earth,

then you've probably

experienced the reality

of pain and suffering

that can be part

of the human condition.

And so it can be

a very normal human feeling

to look to the future

with a sense of dread.

What's in store?

And so,

as George asked me

to pray,

to preach today

and I was praying

for the church

and what God would have

for us in the New Year,

God really put on my heart

to go through a passage

that would show us

a biblical way

to view the future,

a biblical way

to see the New Year.

And so,

as we turn to Psalm 46,

and I won't read it all

because Nora

had just read it

in her powerful,

powerful scripture

reading voice.

Let's look at it.

The mountains

are often seen

as the things

that do not move,

those things in our lives

that we can count on

in every situation,

whereas the sea

and the oceans

are seen as those things

that are in flux

and changing

and it's the great unknown.

And in the passage

that Nora just read,

Psalm 46,

we see the mountains

giving way

and falling to the heart

of the sea.

It's those things

that should be firm,

it should not move,

are just crumbling

and those things

that are in flux

and changing

are just swelling up.

And yet we see

the psalmist saying

in Psalm 46

that though that may be

the case

and though that may be

in the future,

we don't need to fear.

God is a refuge

and strength,

a very present help

in trouble.

Therefore,

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 the mountains

tremble at its swelling.

One of the beautiful things

that first springs up

from this passage

is that the Bible

is very real

about the reality

of suffering

and pain

in our lives.

The Bible

doesn't pretend

about it,

it's real

about the reality

of pain

and suffering

in our lives.

Now this is really

special and unique

because there's a lot

of philosophies

and spiritualities

on this planet

that try to deal

with pain and suffering

by ignoring them.

There's a lot

of Eastern philosophies

and spiritualities

such as Buddhism

where the way

that you deal

with the reality

of pain and suffering

with earthquakes

in our lives,

it's just a matter

of separating yourself

from it,

just meditating

and it's all

in your mind

and you're going

to connect somehow

with something

that's more real

than a pain.

The Bible doesn't say

that the pain

isn't real,

the Bible treats

pain as real.

And it's not only

the Eastern philosophies

that you might encounter

a way of looking

at life that tries

to separate itself

from pain.

I've done a number

of initiatives

and work

in fighting human

trafficking

and sexual abuse.

One of the first,

the great hindrances

to people finding healing

is that when a child

or someone of any age

really comes to their family,

their parents,

their teachers

and tells them

that they're getting

sexually abused,

it's a very normal response

for people to say,

oh, it's just a game

or to downplay it

in some way

that we don't want

to deal with reality

of pain and suffering.

It's too painful,

especially if the abuser

is someone close to home.

It's too painful

to think that

that might be the case

and so people try

to act as if

it's not really happening.

And the tragedy

of that is that

you're not going

to find healing

unless if you deal

with the real situation,

if you deal with the pain.

And we see in Psalm 46

that the psalmist

does not beat around

the bush,

it speaks that

though there may be times

where the mountains

fall into the heart

of the sea,

we don't need to fear.

So just as the Bible

is real about pain

and suffering,

the Bible is real

about our refuge.

A refuge is a place

you go for shelter

and protection

when there is

some type of enemy

or difficulty,

danger coming.

So for example,

if you are in the Midwest

and a tornado is coming

to your house

and you run to the cellar,

that cellar,

your cellar,

becomes your refuge.

Or if there's an earthquake

and it's not as big

as the one in Haiti,

you can run to the doorposts

of your house,

the door frames,

and there you'll find refuge

as everything shakes

but the doorposts

should remain intact.

Or at the time

that these ancient words

in Psalm 46 were written,

it was very normal

for farmers.

A lot of the people

like us,

the commoners,

would have farms

outside a walled city

or near a castle

and if the enemy soldiers

were coming,

all of us farmers

would run into this walled city,

this fortress,

and that would be a refuge

and it would protect us.

Similarly,

if you yourself

was a soldier

and you went off

to a battle

and you got injured,

you'd come back

to a place of refuge,

of protection,

to find healing,

to find healing.

And so the scriptures

tell us that

just as pain and suffering

might be in store for us

and in some ways

it is in store for all of us

in different ways,

we can find refuge in God.

Now another beautiful thing

in this passage

is it doesn't speak about

God being a refuge,

it's just God being a refuge

or God being the refuge

but God being our refuge.

God is our refuge.

Just a few months ago

I was speaking,

a workshop,

I was asked to speak

on human trafficking

and the gospel

and so it was a two hour talk

and so I shared

for the first little bit

about the reality

of human trafficking

and sexual abuse

in Canada

and we looked a bit

at ways that people

can get involved

bringing rescue

and restoration

and then for the most part

of the two hours

we just looked at

different testimonies

of individuals

who found healing

and rescue

and restoration

in God

as people who were

so crushed

by the abuse

were able to be

just restored

and come alive

once again

through the power

of the gospel.

I promised not to talk

for two hours today

but it was a long

two hour talk

at the time

and afterward

a girl came up

to me

a teenager

came up

to me

and she said

do you really

believe that God

can bring me healing?

I could have responded

and said

well for sure

did you not just hear

the past two hours?

Weren't you listening?

You could have taken notes?

The whole thing

was about God

being the healer

God being a refuge

but she had heard

that God was a refuge

and she had heard

that God was the refuge

she had heard

that God was their refuge

she needed to know

could God be my refuge?

and so I want us

to pause for a moment

today and let that

sink in

that God is not

just our refuge

he's not just

the refuge

he is our refuge

and all that that means

it's so important

because

if God is our refuge

it means that we can

stop trying to be

our own refuge

we can stop trying

to be our own refuge

this is so important

for so many different

parts of life

I'm told

I don't have any

experience of this myself

but I'm told

that one of the great

challenges of marriage

is that

when communication

breaks down

and one of the ways

that communication

breaks down

is when someone

is not able to be

vulnerable with the other person

and I know for sure

this is true in friendships

that if you're trying

to protect yourself

from being vulnerable

in any type of friendship

you're not going to be able

to really communicate

you're not going to be able

to have the real intimacy

that friendship is made for

and as long as

you're not trusting God

to be your refuge

you're going to be

your own refuge

you're going to try

to protect yourself

you're not going to allow

people to truly know you

Jesus addresses this

in Luke chapter 9

Luke 9 · chapter mention

where he says

that if anyone

would seek to save his life

he'll lose it

but whoever will lose

his life for Jesus' sake

will find it

as long as we're trying

to be our own refuge

it's going to affect

the way that we spend

our money

we're always going to be

looking out for number one

as long as we're trying

to be our own refuge

we're not going to be able

to communicate with people

in a healthy way

as long as we're trying

to be our own refuge

we're not going to live

the beautiful

dangerous

risky

God glorifying life

that he made us for

because we're going to be

trying to always be

looking out for ourselves

but Jesus says

there's a lot at stake

in making God

your refuge

because if you don't do it

you're going to lose

your life

Jim Elliot

a martyr

just in the past century

said he is no fool

who gives what he cannot keep

to gain what he cannot lose

we are no fool

if we make God

our refuge

because he is the only

refuge that can really

protect us

that can give us

any true reason

for confidence

when we look at

the reality of the human condition

and see the reality

of suffering and pain

that awaits us

if we make God

our refuge

it's not going to make

those things

not happen

but it's going to give us

every reason for confidence

that we can go into the future

trusting God

not to make the earthquakes

not happen

but to sustain us

and keep us in himself

through it all

God is our refuge

now there's so much

to God being a refuge

I was quite tempted

to just keep it at that

and just continue to mind

the depths of God

being a refuge

and all that's at stake

and all that we have

to gain through learning

of God as a refuge

as I prayed about that

I think God reminded me

of the first time

I played laser tag

the first time I played

laser tag

was just a few years ago

and I had the gun

in my hand

I had the vest on

and they were counting us down

we were about to head out

I'm standing there

I'm just like

I want to win

I was committed to winning

and so the doors open

and I run in

and I found a little place

to hide

and I just stayed there

and everyone was running

and laser tagging each other

and no one was laser tagging me

I was safe

and I was confident

that I had this

the game ended

and I went out with everyone

to see on the little TV screen

that I'd won

and I looked

I think my name was probably

Aragorn or something

and I looked up

and I looked at the first few names

and no Aragorn

I looked down

I finally looked at the bottom

there was my name

Aragorn

what?

I never got hit basically

and the reason

that I lost

is that laser tag

is a lot like life

laser tag is a lot like

the call that we were made

for as human beings

by God

which is that

we're not only called

to have a refuge

we're actually called

to go out

we're called to fight

we're called to go tag

and what's interesting

as I was praying about this

I thought

okay maybe there's more

to just being a refuge

than the psalm

than just the refuge part

the psalm

is not just a

one stanza song

it was written as a song

written as a three stanza song

so whereas the first

stanza of the song

speaks about

the mountains may fall

and the oceans may rise

but God will be a refuge

then the second speaks

to what the next little bit

of the first line says

that God is a refuge

and strength

that God is not only

a refuge for us

but he's our strength

and if refuge is something

that is an external

protection to us

strength is this

inner dynamic force

within us

that enables

and empowers

and equips us

to live the life

he's called us to live

see

in the second stanza

it speaks first

of a city

and it speaks

of a river

it says

there's a river

whose streams

make glad

the city of God

the holy habitation

of the most high

God is in the midst

of her

she shall not be moved

God will help her

when morning dawns

and then it turns

our attention to wars

the nations rage

the kingdoms totter

he utters his voice

as God utters his voice

the earth melts

and it continues

into the next stanza

speaking of wars

and how God brings peace

now the first thing

to note about the city

is that

if it's speaking about

the city of God

we think Jerusalem

but unlike most

of the cities

at the time

the big cities

the important cities

that had rivers

going through them

Jerusalem as far as

I understand

at that time at least

and I think still today

does not have a river

going through it

but this river

is a river

whose streams

make glad

the city of our God

and the scriptures

elsewhere speak

of the river

of streams

of living water

coming from God

and how God

it's this image

of bringing

the nutrients

we need for life

it makes analogies

to us being like

a tree

by the streams

of water

and how God

enables us

to bear the fruit

and live the life

he's called us to

there's a strengthening

that we receive

from God

as a river

so either speaking

of Jerusalem

at the time

and how God

is in the midst

of bringing life

not as an actual

H2O water

but by the power

of his Holy Spirit

or it's looking forward

to the future time

in the new Jerusalem

where God

will be as a river

to us

either way

for me at least

I'm honest

I'm just an intern

at this church

I don't actually know

all that it's talking

about the city of God

but what I do know

with confidence

is that it's true

that God is the one

who brings us

that life

that just like water

brings trees life

so God is a river

to us

and it's in contrast

to the swelling

of the oceans

but God is a river

to us

that brings life

and then as it turns

our attention

to the wars on earth

and the reality

of the pain

and suffering

and the fighting

and the human condition

we see that God

is bringing peace

but God brings peace

not in this passive way

of just some type

of passive thing

but rather you see

God's going out

and he burns the chariots

and he speaks

and he's this act

of moving forward

and see the reason

for human suffering

the reason that there's wars

and all those things

is because

at the dawn of time

human beings

we turned away from God

and we still do this today

every time we see war

all these things

just pain and suffering

we're seeing human beings

turn us

turn away from God

saying we're not going

to honor you as king

we're going to do our own thing

and that's why

there's all this suffering

but since the dawn of time

God promised

to bring us a rescue

and God has been working

his grand scheme

through Jesus

of bringing rescue

and restoration

to the universe

as he reconciles humanity

to himself

through Jesus Christ

and if we're followers of God

if we're children of God

then we're joining him

in that rescue mission

and so my heart for us

as we head into a new year

is that we would

evermore embrace

this call of God

that we don't only look

to God as a refuge

but we look to him

as one who gives the strength

to go out

and to live

the adventure

the life that he's called us

to live

reoccurring in the psalm

is the words

the Lord of hosts

is with us

it means the God of armies

is with us

so the word host

means armies

God's call is to join him

in his army

as he brings peace

and reconciliation

to the universe

later on in the service

we're going to be

having communion

and so often

communion for us

is simply about

the refuge

that God provides

as we eat the bread

and drink the wine

we remember that

Jesus in his own body

bore the punishment

that we deserve

all of us

the ultimate earthquake

the ultimate calamity

of the human condition

is the just punishment

we should receive

from God

but as we remember

in communion

Jesus bore that punishment

for us

he took it upon himself

and so as we eat the bread

and drink the wine

we remember Jesus

bearing the punishment

that we deserve

so that we don't have

to face that punishment

and for a lot of us

that's where it ends

but Leviticus 17

speaks about the life

being in the blood

and as we drink the wine

today and in the future

let us remember

not only is Jesus

the ultimate refuge for us

but as we drink the wine

let us remember

that Jesus

gives us his own strength

his own blood

his own life

let us remember

not only the death

of Jesus

but the resurrection

and how he's called

to share in that

resurrection life

and to go and live

and sharing in that

resurrection life

from Jesus

does not mean

that we're going to be

not mean we're going

to avoid earthquakes

in life

but again

it means we can share

in the refuge

that is God

and the strength

that he gives us

now as I thought

about how to make

this practical

I thought

well we can

look at prayer

and how

prayer is one of the ways

that we go to God

to find refuge in him

I know everyone

who is God's child

in this room

has testimonies

of that time

that your back

is up against the wall

but you went to God

in prayer

and he came through

for you

like 2 Chronicles 20

where King Jehoshaphat

says Lord

we do not know

what to do

but our eyes

are on you

and God comes

through for him

or we can look

at worship

we've all had

those times

where our soul

is being crushed

and yet we

remind ourselves

remind God

of who he is

like the psalmuses

in Psalm 73

as his soul

is being crushed

and then he worships God

he enters into his presence

and he finds

such a life

and renewal in him

or we can look

at how the word

helps us find strength

and refuge in God

think of Jesus

in Luke 4

how he's getting

so tempted

and he's so weak

and tired

and hungry

he's fasting

and he quotes

the scripture

and he finds refuge

and strength

and he's able

to overcome

the temptation

or King Josiah

in 2 Kings 22

where he's living

his life

and also

they come across

the Torah

and they come across

the books of Moses

right in the temple

and it changes

the course

of the lives

it strengthens them

to live

the holy life

God's called them

to do

and to do all

that he's called

them to do

and be

or we can talk

about obedience

I mean the whole book

of Proverbs

is basically

filled with this message

that if we fear God

and seek to obey him

there's such refuge

and shelter

and life in that

there's such strength

in that

that if we

actually seek

to live the way

God's called us

to live

according to his wisdom

and his ways

applying the word

of God

to our lives

then we'll be

just like Jesus said

like the person

who built their house

on the rock

that when the winds

come and the rains

come and the floods

come we're going

to be able to stay

steadfast in the Lord

there's such a life

strength and refuge

as we seek

to obey God

and so I thought

if we had the time

to delve into

all those different ones

but as I came back

to this passage

I saw that it doesn't

at the beginning

and throughout it say

prayer is our refuge

or worship is our refuge

or even obedience

as important as that is

is our refuge

no it says God

is our refuge

and strength

and the reality

that the psalm

is pointing us to

is so much more

precious and intimate

than simply looking

at prayer and worship

those things are important

see prayer and worship

and obedience

the scriptures

those are all facets

of getting to know God

look at verse 10

in the midst of it

speaking about God

being a refuge

and strength

and how God

is bringing peace

to the world

as he crushes

the bows

and the chariots

in verse 10

it says

be still

and know

that I am God

be still

and know

that I am God

these ancient words

are so fresh

and so alive today

because all of us

live in a world

where relativism

is so dominant

I mean

we all have friends

who will be like

I'm glad that you're a Christian

Christianity works for you

but I'm an agnostic

because that works for you

this works for me

it's all good

and the idea is that

religion and spirituality

and truth

is just like a flavor

we all have our preferences

and whatever works for you

works for you

but what's undergirding

this whole philosophy

this way of life

that even some Christians

partake in

is the idea that

it's impossible

to really know anything

it's impossible

to be certain

of anything

but what we see right here

is a command

to be still

and to know

God

a few years ago

I was on the Greyhound bus

chatting with a guy

my age

it was a long bus ride

so we had a long conversation

all the way from Windsor to Ottawa

and he was an agnostic

and really a guy of the times today

telling me how it's impossible

to know anything

and I interrupted him gently

and said

hey I actually know God exists

I know God

I said how can you be certain

how can you know God

and so I shared with him

the rational logical reasons

for why I believe in God

I shared with him

the argument from design

how if you look at a

at a clock

or a watch

or for the younger people

who don't know a watch

their cell phone

if you look at a cell phone

you'll see it intricately

put together

and you'll think

for sure there's a designer

someone who made this

the universe is so much

more intricate

even our own bodies

are so much more intricate

than a watch

or a cell phone

clearly there's a designer

he said sure I'm with you

sure I'll agree with you

it's logical to believe

that there's a supreme being

who created the universe

how that works

I have no idea

I said yeah

we'd have no idea

except if there was

some reliable text

that would speak to us

about this

something that actually knows

he said sure

but there's so many

different holy books

out there

how can you know

which one's real

or I said

well let's test them out

we can talk about

the claims of many

different ones

but if you find the one

that's true

that you can trust

there you go

he said well

how would you ever find that

well it was a long bus ride

longer than we have time

for today

but we looked at

so many different prophecies

in the scripture

all these prophecies

of these words

we know we're in

long before Jesus ever came

and then from what we know

of history

about Jesus

we see that it's true

the prophecies about

where the Messiah

was going to be born

is where Jesus was born

the description

of how Jesus would live

is how Jesus lived

and about his death

and his resurrection

all these different things

and I mean that would be

a cool coincidence

if it was one

or a few prophecies

but we're talking

prophecy after prophecy

after prophecy

and not only are there

prophecies in the scriptures

about Jesus

but there's other prophecies

about Cyrus

before the guy ever came

before he was even born

prophecies about Cyrus

and how he would

restore Jerusalem

and then there was a king

history tells us

Cyrus

who restored Jerusalem

so many prophecies

in the Bible

and eventually

the Bible goes

from simply being

an interesting book

to all of a sudden

being something

that it's logical

and rational to trust

in fact it would be

a fool to ignore

and he was kind of

tracking with me

for a lot of that

and I said to him

all of those would be

reasons for why

I would claim

to know God exists

but I'm going to go

one step further

I don't just know

that God exists

and that it's the God

of the Bible

I know him

I said what do you mean

well there's two kinds

of knowing

there's a type

of knowing

that is knowing

about

say for example

you have children

who were orphans

and they hear

that there's a great king

a benevolent king

who's going to adopt them

they're so excited

to meet their new father

and kings make edicts

kings make laws

they do stuff

so it shouldn't be too hard

to find those edicts

and laws

so they start searching it out

and sure enough

they find edicts

and laws made by this king

and so they meet together

weekly

let's say Sundays

they meet together

they read these laws

these edicts by the king

and they're getting to know

more about their king

their father

and then the father

even writes letters

to them

they're so happy

they got letters from them

so they read these letters

now they can spend

as much time as they want

reading those letters

and looking at those laws

but they'll never

ever be able to claim

that they know their father

until their father comes

and they're in his presence

and they meet him

and now they know

their father

I said

so often

as Christians

we settle for

knowing about God

and that's my

one concern

with just talking about

prayer and worship

and reading the scriptures

and even obedience

is that for a lot of us

we can know a lot about God

and go through these things

that are so important

for living the life

we were called to live

and an obedient life to God

but all those things

are only getting at

knowing God

George a few weeks ago

spoke from Revelation 3

about Jesus

who says

he stands at the door

and knocks

and how by God's grace

by his power

we can open up our heart

and receive him

how we can actually

get to know him

there's such comfort

in Psalm 46

about God being a refuge

and strength

such promise of confidence

in him

and the life we can live

but that's only true

if God is actually

your refuge

and God is only

your refuge

if you actually know him

and he knows you

not just that you know

about God

not just that you speak

the liturgy each week

but that you actually

know him

the words

be still

and know that I am God

are not an invitation

they're a command

they're not an invitation

they're an ultimatum

the scriptures say

right here

be still

and know that I am God

I will be exalted

among the nations

I will be exalted

in the earth

we see this

this feature of the psalm

not just at the end

but throughout the whole thing

it keeps speaking

about the presence of God

it says repeatedly

the Lord of hosts

is with us

the Lord of hosts

isn't just alive

he's with us

it says about God

being in the midst

of the city

it's getting at the fact

that God is not only

that great king

that benevolent king

but he's our king

and he longs to adopt us

as our own

if we'll just open

the door of our hearts

to him

God will be exalted

among the nations

one of the ways

that we

not one of the ways

the way that we're able

to allow Jesus

into our hearts

is when we turn

from our own ways

and we turn to him

and say

not only are you

the God of the universe

not only are you

the king of the universe

not only are you

exalted in the universe

but Lord be my God

be my king

you are the one

with whom my life

I will worship

and obey

you be exalted

now these words

about God being exalted

or really anything

being exalted

can really scare

any of us

who've ever been abused

because if you've been

abused or bullied

it's where someone's

being exalted

who shouldn't be

it's where the more powerful

is taken from the weaker

and that's wrong

it's evil

but when Jesus

is exalted

when God is exalted

it's the rightful

benevolent king

the one who should

be exalted

the one who should

be above

being above

obeyed and exalted

and so

there is truly

such comfort

as we look at

the fact that

God promises

that he will be exalted

and I want to invite you

today

if you haven't ever

truly given your life

to God

if you've never said

that

if you've never

asked him

for forgiveness

for your sins

if you've never

actually looked to him

and said

enough of me

trying to be my own refuge

enough of me

trying to live

the good life

I can't live

but Lord

I'm going to look to you

that you would be

my refuge

from the judgment

that I'm due

and that you would also

be my strength

to live the life

you've called me to live

and as often

as we follow

as often as we

come back to him

and we say

God

Father

forgive me

for my sins

we keep looking

back to God

for he is

the savior

and not only

is he the savior

but he longs

to be our savior

my prayer for us

as a church

leading into this Sunday

as we go into

the new year

is that we can

look to God

with confidence

to be a refuge

that if you are

like me

someone who

you've experienced

pain and suffering

and so you're

kind of fearing

the future

that you can let

go of those fears

and you can look

to God

as your refuge

you can go into

2014 with confidence

that no matter

what earthquakes

no matter

what death

no matter

what pain

might be in store

for others

or for yourself

that you can know

that God

will be your refuge

that we can go

into a new year

knowing

that no matter

the frailty

we have

that God

will be our strength

that God

will be your strength

to be the dad

or the mom

the husband

or the wife

or the person

that he made you

to be

that you can

actually put to death

those sinful habits

that have riddled

our lives

and we can look

to God

for the strength

we need

to advance

the kingdom

of God

to bring

his peace

and his shalom

to this earth

but more than anything

my prayer is that

that you and I

can go into the new year

confident

that God

is not only God

who wants to be known about

but he wants to be known

he wants to know us

we find refuge

and strength in God

as we get to know him

as we look to him

would you stand with me

as we pray

heavenly father

thank you

that

these words

written so many years ago

are trustworthy

and true

lord we thank you

that you have

not only invited us

but commanded us

to know you

and lord we say

we want to know you

we thank you

for

your faithfulness

we thank you

that

you made it possible

that despite

our frailty

and defilements

that we can

be reconciled to you

and become your children

lord we thank you

that you are our refuge

and our strength

and lord we look to you

that as we enter

a new year

you would help us

entrust that to you

entrust our future to you

and stop trying to

save our own lives

but instead

seek to lose our life

for your sake

that we would live

the full adventure

of the life

that you've called us to live

confident in your goodness

and your steadfast love

lord we look to you

in Jesus' name

amen

amen

and

as well as we talk to you

of the world

who have come up

and be the depositions

so you can have them

들 proclaimed

it

they

have

years

they

rotate

their

come up

here

let me

here