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
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
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