A Very Present Help || Pastor Haron Kaisa

Welcome to the Lesse Podcast. Here at LSC, we seek the loss,

teach the found, and send the disciples. We truly hope you're encouraged by

this week's message. Yeah, I just want to thank Pastor Adam and Pastor

Nathan for this opportunity to be here with you guys. And last, could

you be praying for our next generation or Gen Z or Jen Alpha. They're

starting school next week and so we definitely need the covering of your prayers.

We definitely need you to be praying for this generation who are going through a

lot of stuff. And so let me go ahead and jump right in and

we'll pray and then we'll get started. Sound good, All right, Let's

go ahead and bow our heads, close our eyes. Father God, we

just want to say thank you, first and foremost for who you are,

a gracious and loving God. Thank you for waking us up this morning.

Thank you for your love, thank you for your kindness, Thank you for

sending your son to dine across for ours. And we want to say a

special prayer for our next generation. I pray that your hand and your covering

is upon him. Father God, we know that you are sovereign and in

control we pray that whatever they may be going through, depression, anxiety,

suicide, self esteem, self identity, we pray that you would remind them

every single morning that when they wake up, that they are loved, that

they belong, that they have purpose wherever their steps are. Father, God,

we pray that you direct them and guide them. Holy Spirit, have

your way tonight. Bless your word in Jesus name, we pray. And

God's people say, a man and a man, let's all stand for the

reading of God's word. We will be in Psalms chapter forty six, verse

one. We will be just in one verse and so here it is.

It will be reading from the ESV version, and I will be reading the

superscription, which is right next to the chapter. And it says this to

the choir master of the sons of Kora, or according to Alamoth a Psalm

verse one. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in

trouble. You may be seated. Have you ever had a time in your

life that you would call a moment of difficulty or a moment of crisis,

or a moment of trouble. I know if we live long enough that we

can look back in our lives at some moment or some time or some season,

if not many, that you can identify as a time of trouble,

a time of difficulty, a time of crisis. You know, in twenty

twenty, we are experienced the pandemic with COVID nineteen, and it left all

of us with this physical unrest and this mental unrest. And then in twenty

twenty one, we had the supply chains faltering and there was this shortage that

wiped across the United States. And on top of that, we had COVID

vaccines, and we had this political agenda that divided the nation in two and

it left us with this physical, civil, social, and political unrest.

And then in twenty twenty two, inflation is here affecting every household. So

it left you with this financial unrest. And now we're here in twenty twenty

three with the effects of that. And because of that, depression has increased

by fifty two a rate, the rate of suicide related thoughts and outcomes has

increased by fifty percent, and four and every ten American are dealing with some

form of mental illness. And we might be saying that it felt like the

very ground beneath us is shaking and just thinking about all of that brings anxiety

and stress, and at some point in our lives we will face circumstances that

we have no control, circumstances that feel like we handle it anymore. All

of us here have will or at some point or will experience a deep,

empty and helpless feeling of being able to do nothing to change our situation.

That is why the Lord wrote Psalms forty six to remind us today that no

matter what you may be going through, that you have a God who is

your place of refuge. You have a God who is your strength. You

have a God who is very present at this exact moment. We're reminded of

that truth, and so the Psalmist answers this question, what do we do

and where do we go when life is falling apart? The context of Psalms

forty six was it was written during a time of crisis. We know that

it was preserved for us today, for our times of difficulties, for our

times of trouble, for our times of crisis. This Psalms gives us this

ready vision of God, this ready vision of who he is. It's timeless.

These words were not written for one crisis, but many and if you

know Psalms forty six, we know that we don't know when it was written,

but we do know this. Theologian all agree that Israel was being besieged

by the enemies of God from the north, from the west, and from

the south, and it left the nation with this catastrophe because not only was

supplies being haltered, but there was no water, there was no food,

in the spread of disease. But we do know this the superscription of what

and when and who. It was written by the sons of Kora, who

were part of the levitical priesthood, and the reason why they wrote it is

because they were in charge of the liturgy and responsible for corporate worship. So

this song is a reflection of our need to trust the Lord in all circumstances

of life, that no matter what you may be going through, you have

a God in Heaven that you can trust, You have a confidence and who

he is, because that's who he is. And we need to be reminded

of this because there will be moments of difficulty, There will be moments of

trouble in your life. There will be moments of chrisis, and we can

run to God. We can hide in God. We can go to God

that when our world is shaken, we need to sing this song. God

is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble, our title,

Tonight's message and ever present help, a very present help. If you're

taking notes, you know in fifteen twenty seven, the Black plague re emerged

in Europe and it's swiped across all the countries, and it happened to appear

in Wittenberg, Germany, and so all the local institutions and people were faced

with this impossible decision to stay or to leave in the midst of this outbreak.

And so Martin Luther the sized the stay and help the sick. His

son got the disease but soon recovered, and his wife, who was five

months who was pregnant with her daughter, Elizabeth, she died at five months

old. Imagine the fear and despair that swirled around Luther, the depression and

worry for his family, and on top of that he had to confront the

deadly outbreak of this disease. Picture yourself in the midst of Wittenberg, Germany

with Martin Luther. Conflict and turmoil are raging all around you. Depression is

happening. You've had times where you've feared for your life because of your faith.

You find yourself in conflict with fellow Christians. You feel very alone at

times, and depression descends on you. And now, to make matters worse,

the plague is in your city. You find yourself doing the exhausting work

of nursing the desperately ill back to health, and then your own child gets

to disease and dies. But above it all, you declare in faith that

God is your mighty refuge and your safe place. You cling to Him instead

of your fear. Despite what's happening around you. You are free to serve

your neighbor. Despite your fear. You move forward even in darkness, because

you are ultimately safe in Christ. And because of that, Martin Luther writes

the greatest hymn in Christian history, A Mighty Fortress, based on Psalms forty

six. You know, I spent this summer just studying the Book of Psalms,

and I love the Book of Songs because there's so much stuff in it,

because there's nothing like Psalms twenty three. The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want, though I walk through the valley the shadow of death.

I know you are with me. There's nothing like Psalms twenty seven,

where it says the Lord is my lights, the Lord is my salvation,

He is my stronghold, whom shall I fear. There's nothing like Psalms thirty

seven, where the enemy is winning, but God says this fret not of

yourself of evil doers, for their time will come. They soon will be

cut off. There's nothing like Psalms fifty one, where you've messed up and

you've thought bad thoughts, but the Psalmi says, creating me a new heart

and a new spirit. There's nothing like Psalms seventy five, where it says

promotion does not come from the East or west, it comes from God and

God alone. There's nothing like Psalms ninety one, where it says he who

dwells in the shelter of the most Eye will be like a pavilion covered under

his wings. There's nothing like Psalms one hundred, where it says, make

a joyful noise and be glad in it. There's nothing like Psalms one eighteen,

where it says you have hidden my heart my word in your heart,

that I might not sin against you. There's nothing like Psalms one fifty,

where it says let everything that has breath praise the Lord. But there is

nothing like Psalms forty six, verse one. God is not, was not,

will be. God is at this present moment, right now, at

this hour, at this minute, at this second. God is your refuge.

God is your strength. God is present at this moment, at this

hour. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

This is the greatest promise we get as Christians. I believe this is

the greatest promise throughout all of scripture. You know why because it says this

a very present help. I don't know about you, but I need help.

Sometimes I get lost. I even use GPS and I'm still lost.

But I'm thankful for God because God reminds us every single day. Though we

don't know if we feel like he's far away, but no, he is

with us, He is near us, he is around us. You know,

there are names of God that are mentioned in the Bible, and we

probably know some right as many of you know. You know ad on Nai

means the Lord is our master. Jehovah Shalom means the Lord is our peace.

Jehovah. Jirah means God provides, Jehovah Rafa means God is our healer.

E Manu all means God is with us. But what I love about

the Psalms is the word that the Psalms use to choose you is the word

eloheim. And that word means all powerful, all sufficient, all knowing God.

It's the same word he uses in Genesis one one in the beginning Elohim

in the beginning God. That's the God that he's talking about here, the

very God who spoke the world into existence, the very God who created the

universe, the very God who holds the ocean in the palm of his hands,

the very God who measures the universe between our thumb and forefinger. This

is the God that we're talking about in this verse. God Elohim is our

refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. That's the God that

we're talking about here. The Almighty, the all sufficient, the all powerful

God is here. Three things declared of God. If you're taking notes,

God's place, God's power, in God's presence. Notice verse one. What

it says, God is our refuge. The word here refers to shelter or

to protect. It means like a harbor, protecting that. And I love

this because the Psalmist expected God to protect him. And the very reason why

he has expected God to protect him is because he was tried and proven that

He was there for them. You know, I spent some time in Israel.

We had a we had an extension program, and I spent four months

studying abroad. And I remember we visit the city called Ascalon, which is

near the gods a stripping. I remember one time we're in, we're hanging

out getting pizza, and we hear these alarms. These sirens go off,

and if you know Israel, they have bomb shelters, and so we see

everyone run, see these bomb shelters, and we're just like, where do

we go? What's going on? And that's the same imagery here, is

that God is our shelter. Because what a shelter does It keeps the harsh

and destructive elements that are outside. It keeps them from coming in and causing

harm. God comes with this promise that he will be your refuge, that

he will be your strength. You know, doctor Herschel Hobbs. Years ago

he was hunting with some friends and and and suddenly the sky turned dark and

lightning began to flash as they were hunting, and it was obvious that a

storm was brewing. And so doctor Hobbs had hunted in that area before,

and he knew the terrain, and he said to his friend, follow me.

And so they hurriedly made their way down a winding path, and there

was thunder and lightning, and it became more intense to win grew and they

were more nervous, and so doctor Hobbs tells his friend, I'm coming here.

And they lunged into a cave and they barely made it out, and

he said to his friend, I wasn't worried because I knew where to find

refuge. And so when you're going through stuff in life, when you're dealing

with stuff, you have access to that. That God is that place of

security, that place of safety, that place of harbor, that place of

protection, because He is your refuge. Isaiah forty one and eleven says this

fear not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I

am your God. I will strengthen you, I will help you, I

will uphold you in your righteous hand. Notice the text God is God is

our refuge. It's present tense. It means that He is at this very

moment, your refuge, that he is at this very moment, your strength,

That He is at this very moment present with us, not a way,

not busy, He is at this moment with you. Hey man.

Maybe maybe some of you guys may be in here and say, yeah,

that's that's all, Okay, that's that's encouraging. And I know what the

Bible says, But but you don't know what I've been through. You don't

know what I had to go through. You don't know what it's like losing

a loved one. You don't know what it's like losing a job. You

don't know what it's like losing my parents and my dad. You don't know

what it's like losing money. Finances are banked through up and it seems like

things are out of control, and your and your kids are a wayward.

You don't understand what I'm going through. You don't know the difficult times that

I've been through. You have no idea what I'm going through. And I

would say, you're right. I may not know and I may not understand,

but I do know this wholeheartedly that I believe that it's never beyond God's

care or concerned, that He is your refuge in time of need, that

He is your strength and time of need, that he is your present help

in time of need. That's what I know, and that's what I can

hold on too. So God is not only our place of refuge. In

that same connection, intertwined with this truth, is this wonderful fact, God's

power. God's power. You know. On New Year's Day in the Tournament

Roses Parade, a beautiful float suddenly sputtered and quick. It was out of

gas, and so it held up the whole parade and until someone can get

a can of gas. And the musing thing about this float was it was

represented by the Standard Oil Company, with this vast oil resources, its truck

ran out of gas. And so even though Christians have access to this omnipotence,

his power and his strength, if we don't avail ourselves to it,

we will run out of power, we will run dry. God is our

refuge and strength, a very present help in time of trouble. And the

difference between refuge and strength is this refuge is what God is to me,

and strength is what God puts in me refuge to me is He is my

strong tower, and strength is what God puts inside of me. I don't

know about you, but there are days where I need a fresh impartation of

His grace and strength. There are days when I'm tired and weary and I

say, God, I need your strength. God, I need you at

this moment. God, I need you right now. Isaiah seventy three twenty

six says this, My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is

the strength. God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Maybe you're having a week like that. Maybe your heart is failing, maybe

your marriage is failing, maybe maybe your finances is failing. But I love

this When when my heart is failing, God is my strength. I can

go to God and it says, here, forever, forever, God is

going to strengthen you forever. Here's what I know. Through all the uncertainty,

the shaking, the chaos, the difficulty, the stress, the anxiety,

the trouble to hurt, Here's what I know. When the world is

being tossed to and fro you can't turn on the news without hearing bad news.

The wonderful thing is that God's promise still holds true today that I can

hold on to this truth, and it's a promise that God is our refuge

and strength. He still comes to be our strength and refuge, and so

intertwine with this being our refuge and power, there's still another wonderful aspect of

what God offers to us in moments of difficulty, and that is God's presence.

Notice the verse one says here, God is a very present help in

trouble. You know, they're back in the era of of locomotives. They

they would often use this this thing called helpers, and what these helpers were

used for was to help push the train up the mountain, or it would

help push the train up as they were as they were carrying coal from city

to city, even to the point where they named this city in Utah helper

Utah. And I love that because like the helpers used by by railroads to

assist trains over steepness of that, God is our helper in times of need.

He helps us over the mountains of trouble, over the mountains of difficulties,

over the mountains of all the stuff that you're dealing with and that we

can never climb ourselves, but we have a helper with us that he is

there to help and push and guide us and purpose us to the direction that

we need to go to. You know, I have the unique opportunity to

play high school basketball, college basketball, and even coach at a high school

level. And one of the one of the defensive strategies that we would often

talk to to our team and tour to our coaches is this idea of playing

help side, and so on defense, you would either play man and man

defense or you would play zone. But man and man defense. If you're

on the ball, you're guarding the person and if he gets beat off the

dribble, it's your job as a teammate to play help side. And so

you can on YouTube, but you can look at it. The best teams

that win, our teams that say help, help, help, I got

your help. Right side, left side, I got your help. And

that's what God is. He is a help side. No matter what you're

going through. If you get beat, he says, here, I'm here

to help you. I'm here to carry you, I'm here to push you.

I'm here to help. A very present help in trouble. Not occasional

help, but a present help, a help that you need right now at

this moment. If you need help, he'll be there. He's there right

now. He is present, meaning he's in the midst of your situation we

are facing. And it can be very easy to feel like he's far away

right when you're up there to God, you don't know when I'm going through.

You don't know my personal life. But his word is to us that

he is near, that he is there to help. You. Notice the

text, here's some Hebrew words. When you look at look at the Hebrew

word for very, it's me old, which means abundantly, and then the

word the next word is present, which means matsa, which is to find

out, and the word help ezra, which means helper. And so what

he's saying here is to find out. God is abundantly present helper. That's

what he's saying here, that he's immediate. It is now, it's not

tomorrow, it's not in the past. That he is help right now.

God is not even ten feet away. He is right in the midst of

your situation. That's what he's saying here. He's abundantly present in the moment

of your life. I don't know about you. But that's a promise that

I can hold onto the uncertainty of life, those difficult moments that you deal

with, the trouble in our world, the chaos, the anxiety and stress.

I need to be reminded of this truth that God is present, that

God is there, that God is always on sight. He is active,

he's immediate, He's fully in, and he is more than enough in danger.

He is there in pain, he is there in anxiety, he is

there in trouble, he is there in solitude, he is there in silence.

He is still there. I believe that's the word for someone here tonight,

and God wants to remind you tonight you are not alone. Don't trust

your feelings, don't don't. Don't hear that voice. Trust me. Stop

giving to the doubts, and believe my word. My word says what I

am a very present help in time of trouble. Come to me, Seek

me, and I will be there for you. Psalms fifteen says this,

he shall call upon me, and I will answer him. I will be

with him in trouble. I will deliver him. God is our rescuer Psalms

one eighteen. The Lord is near to who to all who call on him,

He's just a phone call away. Spick up your phone, call him,

Lord. I know I've been running, but I need you at this

moment, and he'll show up. Deuteronomy four seventh. As for what great

nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our

God is to us whenever we call upon him, whenever, all times,

not sometimes not, maybe at all times. That when you call upon the

name of God, he is present. Even when you're distracted. He's present,

even when you're hurrying. He's present, even when you're selfish. He's

present, even when you have ambition. He's present, even when you lose

focus. He's present in front of us. We can trust that God is

a very present help in time of trouble. Regardless of our circumstance. God

is present with us. It's a matter. It's not based on your condition

or what's on your calendar, because everything is about you. What is it

based on? This is based on what his son has done on the cross

called Calvary, because his son died on the cross. From my sin,

I have access to this God. I know that I can trust this God

because Jesus mediates for us. God is not distracted or in a hurry.

He is consistent, He is trustworthy all the time, in all seasons of

your life. His desire is to be present with you. And because of

that truth, you and I can have this confidence. You know, every

night, my daughter Kailani, she she's scared of the dark, and so

you know, she's scared of the monsters underneath her bed, and you know

she sees something moves, She's like, Daddy, I need you to come

in the room and sleep with me. And so every night before I put

her down, we say this a little prayer, and this is what she

says. Right, here's a quick video for you to watch real quick.

I want to night and you're scared and you're afraid. What psalms do?

You say? SAMs? And that's why we have the confidence in God that

when you're going through something, you know that He is a place of refuge,

that no matter what happens, you have access to this power, you

have access to his strength, that you're reminded of his presence. Look at

verse two and it says, therefore we will not fear because we know this

who God is. Because of this declaration that the psalmist makes God's place of

refuge, God's power, God's presence. Therefore we will not fear. We

will not fear. John Wesley says this the greatest preacher was dying. His

last words were this. The best of all is this. God is with

us. In his deathbed, he quoted Psalms forty six. Wow, what

a truth that we are reminded today. No matter what happens in life,

God is near. God is with us. God is there. All end

with this quote by C. H. Spurgeon, and he says this,

as God is all sufficient, our defense in our might are equal to our

emergencies. He is not as the shallows that leave us in the winter.

He is a friend in need, and a friend indeed, when it is

very dark with us, let brave spirits say, come, let us sing

the forty six Psalms. Let's pray, Father God, we thank you for

your word, We thank you for your truth. We thank you that you

are near, that you're not far away. I pray that it resonates in

our hearts. It's not just information that we just hear, but it's but

it's information that leads to transform hearts. And I pray that your spirit would

move in such a way, Father God, to be reminded of the simple

truth that you are a place of security, that you have the power and

strength we have access to them, and that you are a presence. Help

us to never forget that. In Jesus name, we pray and God's people

say, hey, man, you know I don't want to leave here tonight

without talking about this God that we just shared. And before you leave,

I want to ask you one simple question. What makes you think that you

are going to heaven? What makes you think that you are okay with God?

And before answering the question, I want you to be real. I

want you to be honest, and I want you to talk to God right

now between you and Hammond and have a self examination. You know, some

of us in this room might say I think I'm going to heaven because I'm

a good person, when nowhere in the Bible doesn't say, because you're a

good person you have access to heaven and eternal life. Well, I think

I'm going to heaven. Nowhere in the Bible doesn't say you can think your

way into heaven. I'm going to heaven because I love God. Nowhere in

the Bible doesn't say because you love God, that you will go to heaven.

Jesus way says this in John fourteen six. I am the Way,

the truth in life. No one comes to the Father but through me.

I'm going to heaven because I wear across. Well, nowhere in the Bible

doesn't say because you have jewelry on that you will get to go to heaven.

Well, I'm going to heaven because my mom and dads they say I'm

a Christian and I follow them, When nowhere in the Bible doesn't say because

your mom and dad, your father and mother say you're a Christian, that

you have eternal life. Some of you may say, well, I'm going

to heaven because I I joined the church, and I serve with a bunnet

kids and a bunnet youth, and I sing and a choir, when nowhere

in the Bible doesn't say, because you joined the church and you serve that

you will go to heaven. We have to see it Jesus's way and the

proof of salvation. It's John three three where Jesus is talking to Nicodemus and

he tells Nicodemus, unless you are born again, you will not see the

Kingdom of God. Here's Nicodemus and his lifestyle and his action. A keeper

of the law, he knew the Bible, he memorized the Bible, He

debated about the Bible. He was a good person. Being born again means

this that you give God all of your heart and all of your life.

It's an all or nothing relationship, and tonight, the choice is yours.

If you want to know this Jesus, if you want to go to heaven,

you must be born again. Who am I talking to tonight? Someone

that's been running from God? Who am I talking to tonight? Maybe you

haven't given God your whole heart. Maybe you just show up the church and

you leave. Who am I talking tonight? Maybe you haven't given God your

whole life, or maybe you just confused, You're not sure. See,

words can't get you into heaven. Head knowledge can't get you into heaven.

God wants your heart and all of your heart and all of your life.

You know the crazy thing about this, Even the demons believe that Jesus is

the son of God. So having the right knowledge can't get you to heaven.

It's a heart decision, it's a life decision. And so if you're

to night and you want to accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior.

On account of thing, I want you to raise your hand as a sign

of surrender, as a sign of I want to follow Jesus. I want

to give Jesus my heart. I want to give Jesus my life. Because

the gospel is this paradise lost to paradise. Restore that God redeemed that mankind

because of sin, and he made a way. He made access to God

through his son, Jesus Christ. And because he died from my sin,

I now have eternal life. So on account of three, I want you

to raise your hand one, two, three, raise your hand if you

want to say, Jesus Christ, you Lord and save us. See some

hands here, some hands here, some hands here, some holds here.

And if your hand is up, I want you to say the simple prayer,

and we all enjoined, say, Dear Jesus, I confess my sin.

Help me to live for you, Help me to give you my heart

in my life. Help me to live for you for the rest of my

life. In Jesus name, we pray, Hey, man, can we

give them a round of applause. We're making that decision and that step of

faith. We really hope you enjoyed the message and if you said yes to

Jesus, we just want to say congratulations and give you a free devotional to

help you walk out your faith. Click the link of the description or head

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