Be Still and Know: Finding Refuge in God in Psalm 46:1-4

Good morning, and welcome to the preaching ministry of Dillingham Moravian Church.

My name is Pastor Simon, and what a privilege it is and delight for us to be

able to go and study God's Word together today.

A couple of weeks ago at Classical Conversations, our homeschool group,

the kids were given an assignment to build bridges out of straws and rubber bands.

My nine-year-old boy, Jonathan, partnered with his friend, and as they were

beginning their build, I went up to them and asked them if they needed my help.

Immediately, both kids turned around and said to me at the same time,

No, I don't need any help.

My point with this story is that this is often similar to our relationship with God.

When we are not recognizing our need for God and trying to do things on our

own, we end up fighting against God.

And yet God is pleading with us to surrender ourselves to Him as we trustfully

obey Him because He loves us.

You need to understand that what God commands us to do and live for is for our good.

And God knows that when we stop fighting against Him, we will know that He is

God and He will fight on our behalf. Let's pray.

Oh, Heavenly Father, what a joy it is to be able to be in your presence.

Based upon what your son, Jesus Christ, has done on the cross,

that he shed his blood and broke his body for us so that we now can be in relationship with you.

We can have access to the throne room of you.

Thank you, Lord. I pray, Lord, that as we go to your word today,

that you would teach us and guide us and use us.

Grant us your Holy Spirit. Fill us with your Spirit so that we can know your Word.

Fill us with your power so that we can be convinced of your truth and follow

you with renewed energy, renewed vigor and strength and wisdom.

We thank you and we praise you, Almighty God. We ask this in your precious Son's

name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Well, a few weeks ago, here at Dillingham Moravian Church, we studied the first part of Psalm 46.

In that passage, we had the privilege to learn that the sons of Korah sang that

God is our refuge and our strength, because He is our stronghold,

and we as God's people are safe in Him.

Now, although Psalm 46 is a prophecy of the future, it is also a psalm of trust

in God for God's people then and now.

God is with his people in trials and troubles and in natural disasters.

And as we continue studying this psalm this morning, I want you to see that

the whole psalm is an inclusio or it's bookended by this one overarching theme.

God is our refuge and our strength.

Turn with me today to Psalm 46, verses 4 through 11.

Psalms 46:4–11

There is a river whose stream 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.

The nations rage, the kingdoms totter, he utters his voice, the earth melts.

The Lord of hosts is with us.

The God of Jacob is our fortress.

Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth.

He makes wars cease to the end of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire.

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations.

I will be exalted in the earth.

The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress.

There are three principles that I want to point out to you today.

The first truth is that God, the city of God, is made glad by God's presence in the river of life.

Rivers have always been very important.

There's a reason why Dillingham is situated at the headwaters or estuaries.

We get our drinking water from the river. We can fish, trade,

and barges travel to us on the river.

We travel by river to visit villages upriver to fish, to hunt, to berry pickle camp.

The salmon and other fish swim up to their spawning grounds via the rivers.

Rivers bring life to plants and animals in the whole region where the river is.

And for the ancient world and desert

or around deserts, rivers meant the difference between life or death.

Rivers brought life, giving water to a region. And this is what the sons of

Korah were getting at in verse 4.

Psalm 46, verse 4, There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

Psalms 46:4

the holy dwelling place of the Most High. God is in the midst of her,

and she will not be moved.

God will help her when morning dawns.

The question we need to ask is, what river is this that the psalmists were referring to?

According to the Scriptures, this specific river is God, and the grace of God

that brings healing to God's people and brings joy to them.

Let's look at Zechariah 14, verses 8-9.

Zechariah 14:8–9

And in that day, living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them towards

the eastern sea and other half towards the western sea.

It will be in summer as well as in winter.

And the Lord will be king over all the earth. And in that day,

the Lord will be the only one and his name the only one.

This passage is in the context of the day of the Lord when the Lord comes a

second time and God will dwell in Jerusalem.

I want you to notice that there is a difference between Psalm 46 where the sons

of Korah sang about the river that

is God or His grace that brings joy to Jerusalem and to the people of God,

and in Zechariah 14 where the grace of God flows out from God in Jerusalem to the nations.

I believe that both passages here are two sides of the same coin.

God will dwell with his people, and his presence and grace will make Jerusalem full of joy in the Lord.

Then the Lord's grace will flow out of Jerusalem to the nations,

and God will set himself up as king over the world, and they will know that he is God.

I also want you to see that the people of God are glad because of their proximity to God.

And God's saving grace flows out of Jerusalem to the world because that is where

God will be. And this is important.

God's people will have joy because God is with them.

This is the secret of joy in all situations. Gladness or true happiness comes

only when God's people are in God's presence.

There are two aspects to us as God's people receiving gladness and God's presence.

The first truth is that God's saving grace flows to the world from where God dwells.

Where does God dwell spiritually right now? In His church.

Paul wrote to believers in Ephesians 2, verse 19-22.

Ephesians 2:19–22

So then you are now no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens

with the saints and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation

of the apostles and the prophets,

Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, on whom the whole building being

fitted together, and here's what I want you to see,

is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, and whom you are also being built

together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit.

Who is the dwelling place of God? God's universal church, the church of Christ.

God's saving grace flows out to the world through God's universal church.

And thus, the second aspect that God is teaching us is that to have and to live

with joy, God's people must stay with God where God is.

Since according to Ephesians 2, the presence of God is with His church,

the body of Christ, than to be in God's presence, we need to be with or fellowshipping

with other believers in Christ.

This is a wonderful reason for going to church every Sunday and then throughout

the week so that we can be fellowshipping.

But it needs to be more than that. It means that we are living life on life,

that we are living our lives together.

As people of God. And as much as believers are human and the church does need reform.

God's church in its entirety, for both Jew and non-Jews who are in Christ,

we are the spiritual dwelling place of God.

The third aspect of living in the joy of the Lord is that we as disciples of

Christ must be continually staying in God's presence.

How do we remain with God? Jesus in John 15, verse 7-11 promised,

John 15:7–11

Just as the fathers loved me, I have also loved you.

Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love,

just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love.

These things I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be full.

How can we apply these truths to us as Christians now as we wait for Christ to return.

The first truth that we are to realize is that God's saving grace flows out

to the world through God's universal church.

That means as part of God's church, the saving grace of God flows out of us

as believers to the world.

That means you and I are called to live in God's presence so that Christ can

work through us to others.

We live or abide in God's presence by believing and trusting in the love of Christ for us.

And as we abide in the supernatural knowledge of Christ's love.

We will obey Christ's commands. It's not that our obedience causes us to be

able to abide in Christ's love.

Our obedience is the evidence and the result of abiding.

To obey Christ, we abide in His love.

And secondly, if as believers we want true happiness, we must be fellowshipping

and spending quality time with God's church where we live.

Again, as I said before, the church of Christ is made up of saints who sin, like you and me.

And trust me, I know that it can be challenging at times to love other church

members who may not love you.

But God lives and works in and through His people.

And so being in God's presence means that we stay or abide with God's people as well.

Third way to apply these truths is that to abide or stay in God, God's Word must be in us.

And that means as Christians, you and I are to be continually reading and studying

and memorizing, meditating on, praying through God's Word.

And as we get God's Word in us, God's Word will stay in our minds and hearts,

and God's Word changes us and bears fruit in and through us.

And as God's Word grows in us, we abide or stay in the love of Christ as we trust in Christ's love.

And as we remain in the spiritual state of trusting Christ's love,

God fills us with His joy, and His joy gives us the strength to obey Christ no matter the cost.

So far, we've learned that joy and saving grace comes to God's people and goes

out from God's people because of the presence of God with His people.

We're also being taught that the Lord of hosts is the stronghold for His people.

Has the world ever been at peace? This is a question that many have asked over the centuries.

According to a New York Times article in 2003, of the past 3,400 years,

humans have been entirely at peace for 268 of them, or just 8% of recorded history.

How many people have died in war? At least 108 million people were killed in

wars in the 20th century.

Estimates for the total number of killed in wars throughout all the human history

range from 150 million to 1 billion.

War has several other effects on the population, including decreasing birth

rate by taking men away from their wives.

The reduced birth rate during World War II is estimated to have caused a population

deficit of more than 20 million people.

In 2023, 2 billion people lived in conflict-affected areas and climate change

is creating new reasons to go to war.

Between its founding in 1776 and 2020, America was at peace for all of 15 years.

It has been involved in at least 105 wars and rebellions, four of which still

involve the U.S. forces.

Of course, that last stat was from 2020, and our country is still involved in a war.

Humanity has rarely had times without war because of our selfish and violent sin natures.

And yet God has promised that he will return, and he will cause all wars to

cease, and humanity will never go to war again.

The sons of Korah prophesied in Psalm 46, verses 6-9, The nation made an uproar,

Psalms 46:6–9

the kingdoms tottered, he raised his voice, the earth melted.

The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has wrought desolations in the earth.

He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth, he breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two.

He burns the chariots with fire.

The sons of Korah portrayed that the kingdoms of the earth will be arrayed against

the people of God and surround the city of God in the camp of the saints.

And even though there will be so many armies against them, they have nothing to fear. Why?

Because God is with them. The vision here is that all the kingdoms of the earth

and their armies, beyond as far as you can see, are arrayed around and against Jerusalem.

I'd like you to look with me to Revelations 20, verses 7-10.

Revelation 20:7–10

Revelation 20, verses 7-10.

Revelation 20:7–10

When the thousand years are completed, Satan will be released from his prison,

and will come out to deceive the nations which are in the four corners of the

earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together for the war.

And the number of them is like the sand of the seashore, and they came up the

broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and in the beloved city.

We must understand that this is going to be the largest military force assembled in human history.

Hundreds of millions upon hundreds of millions of troops, all yelling and screaming

hatred against God's people and God himself.

They have Jerusalem and the camp of the saints completely surrounded.

God is there. He is their stronghold.

And the city is so secure that nobody can make a dent on it.

God is absolutely the most powerful being in the universe.

And there will be a day when God will make all wars cease to the ends of the earth.

And this leads us to the third point that I want to show you.

And that is that God, through the psalmist, continued by commanding his people

to be still and know that I am God.

The psalmist continued in Psalm 46, verse 10-11, Be still and know that I am

Psalms 46:10–11

God. I will be exalted amongst the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.

The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress.

There are two ways of looking at this verse, and both are valid.

The first way to understand this verse is be silent and know that I am God.

The image conjured up here is

that the noise of armies of millions and millions and millions of people.

And the noise from these armies will be so unbearable in the horrible sound

beyond description of hatred and yelling and fear, all directed at God and his holy city.

And God yells in a voice that stills the earth, Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.

Many people have taken this verse to mean that we are to have inner silence,

and in this silence we will meet God.

Other passages refer to inner silence, but not here.

The context of Psalm 46 is all-out war against Jerusalem and God.

So cease striving or stop fighting me and you will understand who I am would fit very well.

We can also see this passage as directed towards the people of God in Jerusalem,

who will be seeing seemingly uncountable armies arrayed against them and the

deafening noise and hatred towards them.

Be very possible that the people of God would want to run or hide or do anything

but stand against the power of the nations.

Then God stands up on the battlements and shouts to his people,

be still and know that I am God.

I know you are frightened, but be still.

Do not run. Stay with me, trust me, and I will show you that I am your God.

I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth.

God will be exalted whether we want him to be or not. He will be Lord of the earth.

I want you to see that the psalmist reminded Israel again that the Lord is the

Lord of hosts, meaning that He has far more armies and is more powerful than anyone else anywhere.

I want you to remember that in Revelation 20, God doesn't use His armies. It's just God.

Revelation 20, verse 9 through 10 says.

Revelation 20:9–10

Verse 9, and then they came up on the broad plain of the earth and surrounded

the camp of the saints in the beloved city.

Remember, this is the largest army on earth is encamped around Jerusalem and the camp of the saints.

And here it is. And fire came down from heaven and devoured them.

And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and brimstone

where the beast and the false prophet are also, and they will be tormented day

and night forever and ever.

God almost without effort brings fire down and devours the army against him.

This doesn't sound like continued bombardment from heaven either.

No, this is one shot and it's done.

There'll be nothing left to the largest army the world has ever seen,

gone, just like that, like shooing away a fly. and this is the Lord of hosts who is with us.

The God of Jacob or of Israel is your fortress and he will defend you.

We don't have to travel far to realize that the people of the world around the

globe or here in Bristol Bay are striving or fighting against God,

whether it's by opposition or just choosing not to believe in Christ.

The Lord is commanding the nations that if they would just stop striving against

Him, then they would truly know that He is God.

Here in Dillingham, we see our villages running away, far away from God instead of to God.

Drugs, alcohol, sexual morality, abuse of all kinds, theft, unforgiveness,

lack of love for God and others,

gossip and slander and hatred, and the list continues on about the way the villages,

are rebelling against the Lord.

And that's everywhere. It's not just in the villages. It's throughout our lands,

throughout our country, and throughout the world.

And even as believers, we can get sucked into the same trap.

It's easy to operate under our own power and strive on our own.

And when we do so, we're actually fighting Almighty God.

And if we do not think that we're fighting against God, we need to ask ourselves

whether prayer and God's Word are our main priorities in our day.

Where do we spend our money? Believe me, where our money goes,

that is where our treasure is.

We cannot truly know and live for God if we're working under our own strength.

Additionally, it's also when we see the opposition against us,

it is tempting to run away, compromise our faith.

And yet God is pleading with you and I to stay with Him, to trust Him,

no matter the circumstances.

And the promise is that we will see the truth in action that He is, in fact, God.

The point of this psalm is that God is God, and the whole earth is His.

Everything and everyone on this earth belongs to God, and all nations will eventually

bow down to the Lord our God.

The scripture promises that the lord jesus christ is returning

in power and glory and the world

will try to fight him but they will not win

there are no generals no armies

no force in the universe that can stand against the lord for us as believers

we are not alone the world may hate us for following christ because they hated

christ before us but hold on to your faith in christ because God is with you, and God is not weak.

Even in the midst of trials, even in the midst of grief and persecution,

if you give over control to God and trust Him and stop fighting Him,

God will give you His peace and joy and strength in the midst of these things.

And you will know without a shadow of a doubt that He is God. Let's pray.

Oh, Heavenly Father, thank you.

Thank you for the great honor to be your children, to be your sons,

heirs of your kingdom in Christ.

You are the Most High, Lord, and great God.

Thank you, Lord. And Lord, we confess today that our attitudes,

my attitude as well, have not always been focused on you being our God. Forgive us for that.

Help us to walk in your ways and surrender to you moment by moment so that you

are the one operating us. You're the one leading us.

You're the one who is in sovereign control of our life.

Help us, O Lord, to stop fighting you and let you be the one who is in charge of our lives.

In your precious son's name, Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen.

Let me leave you with this blessing from Ephesians chapter 3, verse 20 to 21.

Ephesians 3:20–21

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think,

according to the power at work within us,

to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.

Have a wonderful Sunday. May the Lord bless you.