THE RISE AND FALL

Songs of the Heart:

GOD WILL NEVER FAIL YOU!

Psalm 46:1-11

When everything is in an uproar,

we can trust God’s steadfast love.

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A sermon pr= eached by

Dr. William= O. (Bud) Reeves

First Unite= d Methodist Church

Hot Springs, Arkansas

August 2, 2= 009

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I have = become aware in the last few years of the need to stay hydrated throughout the day. That’s part of the reason I have a glass of water nearby when I preach—that and to prote= ct my throat. Different health advisors will tell you to drink eight or more glasses of water every day. I know that’s probably good = for you, but it takes some intentionality to make it happen. You have to consciously pause several times a day and drink for your health. But you know what I have discovered? The pause is heal= thy, too. I have found that in ord= er to drink a glass of water, you also have to take a deep breath. I think I need that as much as the water.

Recent = surveys of Christians around the globe have shown that about 40% of Christians feel like their lives are rushed, that they hurry from task to task on a regular basis. And 60% of Christians worldwide feel that the busyness of their lives is detrimental to their relationship with God. The pe= rcentages were slightly higher in North America. Interestingly, the professional gr= oup that felt the most rushed and most damaged in their relationship with God were—can you guess?—pastors.&n= bsp; 54% of pastors felt rushed from task to task, and 65% felt their hec= tic lifestyles made it harder to develop their relationship with God. The researcher who conducted the s= tudy said, “It's tragic and ironic: the very people who could best help us escape the bondage of busyness are themselves in chains.”= = [1]

Pastors= and every other Christian need to learn the practice of intentionally stopping = for a moment and pausing to reflect on the goodness of God. It’s like rehydrating our sp= irits throughout the day. The ancie= nts called it “practicing the presence of God.” Like a cool drink of water, we nee= d to remember the refreshing presence of the Holy Spirit as we go about our busy activities.

We need= this because the world around us is in constant turmoil. The pace of change has accelerated= to phenomenal levels. Technology= has radically altered our lifestyle. Politically, the world is in turmoil with wars and terrorism involvi= ng people we know and love. I don’t have to remind you about the economic turmoil our country and o= ther nations are facing right now. At the moment, everybody is talking about health care reform. How is that going to work out? Are you worried? I am.

Then there’s the usual turmoil that every person faces: relationships, illness, grief, all those personal struggles.

Even th= e church is changing. As our society changes, the ministry of the Gospel of Jesus Christ has to adapt to stay in conversation with the culture. We have to speak the Good News in terms the unchurched can understand, or the church will become irrelevant in today’s world. Worship, music, education, children’s and youth ministries, communication—none of that is = the same as it was even ten years ago.

Change = produces anxiety; anxiety produces fear; and fear is the opposite of faith. One writer wrote, “Not= in the lifetime of most men has there been so much grave and deep apprehension. …The domestic economic situation is in chaos. Our dollar is weak throughout the world. Prices are so high as = to be utterly impossible. Of our tr= oubles man can see no end.” The source of that quote? Harper’s Weekly, 1857!

So chan= ge, fear, and anxiety are not a new problem.&n= bsp; In fact the Psalmist was dealing with it in his day and time. Political and economic turmoil was common. Invading armies broug= ht oppression and war to their doorsteps on a regular basis. Life was a battle for survival. What was a faithful person to do?<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> “Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though = the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.”[2]<= o:p>

How do = we live without fear? How do we reduc= e our anxiety? How do we live by fa= ith in the midst of turmoil? We reme= mber the message of this wonderful psalm: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.”= = [3] The first verse is re-emphasized t= wice by the refrain, “The Lord of = hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”[4] God is bigger than our fear; God is greater than our trouble; God is with us in the middle of the storm, and he will not let us go. Take a de= ep breath and drink in those verses about eight times a day, and you won’= ;t be afraid.

One of = the classic movies that grew out of the civil rights struggle was based on a pl= ay by Lorraine Hansberry called A Rais= in in the Sun. It was about an African-American family trying to live their dreams and maintain their hopes in the changing society of post-World-War-I= I America= . There was a strong mother figure a= nd two grown children. The daughter, Beneatha, had been to college and was very “modern” in her thinking. In one unforgettable conversation, she announced to her mother that God was simply an outdated concept: “It’s all a matter of ideas, and God is one idea I just don’t accept. There is = simply no blasted God.”

Mama st= ared in shock at what had just come out of her daughter’s mouth. Then, mustering all the power and integrity and righteous wrath from deep inside her soul, she stood in Beneatha’s face and said, “Child, you say after me, ‘In my mother’s house there is still God!’”

There w= as a long silence. Beneatha looked sullenly at the fire in her mama’s eyes. Finally, realizing the passion of = her mother’s faith and the power that faith had given her mother through = all the changes she had seen, Beneatha repeated quietly, “In my mother’s house there is still God.”[5]

In my h= ouse there is still God. In our ch= urch there is still God. In the wo= rld there is still God. God is our refuge and strength and a very present help in trouble. No matter how things change, don&#= 8217;t you ever forget that.

For the Psalmist and the Jews, the special place of God was in the Holy City: “There is a river whose strea= ms make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of the city; it shall not be moved.”= = [6] = The Jews still feel that way about Jerusalem. Although the Temple has been built and destroyed = three times, and Jerusalem has been in the hands of a variety of rulers, still God is present there in= a significant way. You can stil= l go to the Western Wall of the Temple Mount and pray in the place where the shekinah, the glorious presence of= God, has resided since the last Tem= ple was destroyed 2,000 years ago.

Place c= an be important to your faith: a sanctuary, a prayer spot, someplace you feel clo= se to God. But for us Christians, it’s not so much about a place as it is a Person. We know God is with us because God “became flesh and lived among= us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full= of grace and truth.”[7] We know the Lord of Hosts is with = us because Jesus came to live among us and showed us the love of the Father. Our strength, our assurance, our f= aith in the midst of turmoil come from knowing him. It’s not about the religion; it’s about the relationship.

Buzz St= evens was the senior minister at First= United Methodist Church in Phoenix, Arizona= . He told the story of a hospital vi= sit he made early in his ministry. Y= oung pastor Buzz came to the door of the hospital room and saw the woman sitting= on her bed with her head bent over. Thinking perhaps she was sick or in a great deal of pain, he started= to leave. But she saw him out of the corner of her eye and said, ‘Come o= n in, pastor. I was just counting my blessings. Please stay.”= ;

As they visited, Buzz learned that the woman had recently lost her husband of 40 ye= ars, that her only son’s family was moving to a remote part of the country, and that she would thus lose frequent contact with her only granddaughter.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Buzz was surprised enough to say, “And you were counting your blessings?”

The eld= erly church member replied, “Well, yes, pastor. You see, Jesus is at the center of= my heart, and that gives me all I need not only to make it through this life, = but to enjoy it on the way.”

Many ti= mes we pastors discover that the people we are sent to help end up helping us more than we help them. The patient perceived the awed reaction of her young pastor and said, “Close your mouth, Reverend. This old gir= l is OK!”= [8]

We are = OK, because God is our refuge, a very present help in trouble, a steadfast fort= ress when we face anxiety or fear or grief or despair. We can trust in God, and that give= s us power to live confidently in the turmoil.

What is= our response to this Good News? T= he Psalmist tells us by quoting God: “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.”= = [9] The key to living faithfully is to = be still and know God, to develop a quiet center, a deep place in your soul where you can meet God on a regular basis, a refuge from the world that allows you to live in the world and deal with the turmoil. Be still in your spirit.

The lat= e Dr. Norman Vincent Peale had a friend who was a captain on an aircraft carrier = in World War II. On a trip to Pearl Harbor, the ship was loaded with thousands of gallons of extra fuel, all stored on the hangar deck. As the captain slowly steered the = huge vessel through a narrow channel into the inner harbor, a merchant ship star= ted through the same channel on its way out.&n= bsp; It was going to be extremely tight.

At that= moment, the junior executive officer b= urst onto the bridge and shouted, “Captain, there’s a fire on the ha= ngar deck!” That was serious= . With all that extra fuel, a fire o= n the hangar deck could blow the ship out of the water and kill hundreds of men.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Thinking the captain hadn’t = heard him, the junior officer shouted again, “Captain, there’s a fire on the hangar deck!”

Without= raising his voice or taking his eyes off the approaching merchant ship, the captain said, “I heard you the first time.&n= bsp; Put it out.”[10] I wonder if the junior officer hadn’t thought of that!

When we= are trying to navigate the tough waters of life and the passage is tricky, we c= an trust God to guide us through. When the fires of life ignite, and the danger is high, and we are in a state of panic, we can go to that calm center and hear the Voice say to our spirit, “Be still, and know that I am God.” Living out of that peaceful center= , we can then put out the fire.

One of = the days of greatest turmoil in recent history was September 11, 2001, the day terrorists flew jets into the World Trade Centers and the Pentagon. Nearly 3,000 people were killed in that heinous crime.&= nbsp; It was a day the world changed.

Genell= e Guzman was a 31-year-old office manag= er who worked on the 64^th floor of the first tower that was hit. She immediately called her boyfrie= nd, Roger McMillan, and told him she was going to stay put. Later she decided to try to get ou= t of the building. When she was in= the stairwell on the 13^th floor, the building collapsed around her.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Genelle fell between two pillars, concrete on both sides of her head, but still alive. For 26 hours, she was forced to be= still as she waited for rescue. She= had never really prayed before, but the more she did, the more she felt her fai= th in God growing. “I just wanted a second chance at life,” she sa= id. “I wanted to be with my family. I knew my life was going to change = as I prayed for a miracle. I reali= zed that I was still breathing and I knew that God had a plan for my life. I knew He was going to answer my prayer.”

Genell= e Guzman was the last person pulled alive out of the wreckage of the World Trade Center. Her boyfriend Roger said that the = ordeal was a life-changing experience: “Before, we went to church on a coupl= e of occasions. It’s somethi= ng you put off. But Genelle already = stated in the hospital bed that this is her calling to God.”= [11]

Genell= e was in the hospital several weeks and has had four or five surgeries on her damaged leg. But she accepted Christ = on September 12, 2001. Her boyfr= iend Roger also became a Christian. When she got out of the hospital, they were baptized and married on the same day. Today Roger and Genelle McMillan are faithful members of the Brooklyn Tabernacle in New York City.[12]

I hope= you never have to have a building crash down around your ears to get right with God. Genelle had 26 hours to = be still and know. Many on that = day never got the chance. But tod= ay you have a chance. You can come t= o the Lord’s Table and refresh your spirit with the elements of bread and w= ine. In the Body and Blood of Christ, y= ou can be still and know that he is God. You can know that the Lord of Hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is = our refuge. You can live in the turmoil. Amen!

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