The LORD's Day, January 21, 2007

God, Our Help

Psalm 59.16-17

16 But I will sing of your strength, in the morning I will sing of your love;
for you are my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.
17 O my Strength, I sing praise to You; You, O God, are my fortress, my loving God

When trouble comes what do we do? So often exactly what are told not to do- we fret. We are not too different than children who seem at times to do exactly opposite of what their parents tell them. I remember hearing a story about a father who was going out on a dinner date with his wife and as he was leaving the children with their babysitter said, “Now kids don’t go sticking any beans up your noses.” After they had arrived at the restaurant they got a call from the babysitter in the emergency room. Would you like to guess what she was doing there?

After we have worn ourselves out from fretting then we begin to think of ways we can get out of the trouble we are in. After that doesn’t work we get depressed or we pray. But this pattern doesn’t have to continue.

In Psalm 59, David’s life was being threatened. There was a hit team near his house to take him out. What do you do when you back is against the wall and there is no way out?

1. Sing

The idea here of singing is strolling with song- singing about life’s walk. So many songs we relate to come right out of that concept.

Singing- Dr. Granger Westburg, University of Chicago, (Lutheran Pastor and the first minister to ever be appointed to the University of Chicago’s Medical School- in fact Dr. Mucci had him as a professor when he was a student there) spoke at Good Sam years ago and I remember him talking about the physical benefits of congregational singing. He said that singing was like exercise, it releases endorphins (peptide hormones that bind to opiate receptors and are found mainly in the brain). Endorphins reduce the sensation of pain and affect emotions. Endorphins act as neurotransmitters in the pain pathways of the brain and spinal cord. Besides behaving as a pain reducer, endorphins are also thought to be connected to euphoric feelings.

Scientists had suspected that analgesic opiates, such as morphine and heroin, worked effectively against pain because the body had receptors that were activated by such drugs. They reasoned that these receptors probably existed because the body itself had natural painkilling compounds that also bonded to those receptors. When scientists in the 1970s isolated a biochemical from a pituitary gland hormone that showed analgesic properties, Choh Li, a chemist from Berkeley, California, named it endorphin, meaning the morphine within”.

Singing releases endorphins and our spirits are lifted.

The LORD has given us songs in our hearts and we should sing aloud to Him. Make music. God’s men who sang at difficult times: David, Paul and Silas (Acts 16), Habbakuk 3.17-19


Sing of God’s Strength. His Mighty God. He is the LORD God Almighty. When we are in need of help it is good to sing of His Strength.
O God Our Help In ages past Our hope in years to come (Remember)
You’re my strength, my help, my shield

Sing of God’s Love. It is so good to remind ourselves of His love as we sing to Him
*In the morning as we begin the day there may be troubling things around us but singing of God’s love as the day begins is good.

Sing praise to God
This is not singing about Him. This is singing to Him. I can talk about how much I love Lucy to you and I do but there are different words spoken when I tell her. When we talk sing about God we sing wonderful things but when we sing to God we speak intimately, we share things just between us.

In our times when we need help, we are given the example of David of worshiping the LORD. Let’s draw near to Him. Let’s tell Him how much we love Him. Let’s stroll back over our life and recount the times when He has proven Himself to be faithful to us. It will lift our spirit and strengthen our hearts. It will encourage us.

Let’s leave that time of intimate worship and stroll on through our lives singing as we go.


Keep These Truths (from these verses) Hidden In Your Heart


2. God is Our Strength
God is mighty. He can anything. Nothing is too difficult for Him. He prevails.

He can do anything. When a person has been ill I have seen God heal them. It is a wonderful thing to watch. What a thrill to see Jesus take over and go beyond what the doctors had hoped for. It is also interesting that when this has happened people generally do not move closer to the LORD

I have watched as people have been prayed over and they die. It seems that in a believer’s death there is more drawing closer to the LORD. He keeps us by His power in the hour of death and sorrow and grief in wonderful ways- ways too wonderful for words

He is our strength when we receive disheartening or shocking news. He strengthens us. He keeps us. We may feel like we can’t go on but Jesus keeps us strong. He strengthens our hearts. Deep within we receive the power to be faithful and go on.
Even in this time we are in. As we watch moral decay moving across our nation, we are strengthened for each day. I certainly do not want to minimize it as many are doing today. These are indeed troublesome times. In this time of sifting Jesus is praying that our faith will not fail and it has not failed


3. God is Our Fortress

Fortress means a high place, refuge, secure height, retreat, a stronghold

When we pray and seek the LORD in times of difficulty very often He lifts our spirits. We feel safe from the trouble. We sense security. He is with us. Communing with Him is a pulling back from the battle to regroup and get refreshed.

The LORD protects us from what would overwhelm us and render us useless. We have a great need of Him as we walk with Him. In these days of spiritual battle, intense spiritual warfare, how we need Him We need him as our Fortress. I am amazed at how Satan has come and sifted out so many these days. It is heart breaking to see someone who once served the LORD put on the shelf, taken out of the battle.

We need to retreat to the LORD regularly. Herein is a dilemma. Since the spiritual needs today are so great, we can become weighted down with them. The very places of service if we are not careful can become a place of defeat. We need to pray and read the Word of God for our own edification and strengthening. Failure to do that leaves us weak and vulnerable.

Regularly we need to find that quiet place as well as the quiet time. Do you have places you can go to where you can meet with God? Places primarily for just that?
David did. He had several of them. We know of two definite places. Jesus did as well. We know of several. The Garden of Gethsemene was one. John 18.1 When He had finished praying, Jesus left with his disciples and crossed the Kidron Valley. On the other side there was an olive grove, and He and his disciples went into it. 2Now Judas, who betrayed him, knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with His disciples. The disciples frequently met with the LORD in the Garden. I doubt if these were strategy sessions. I don’t think these were Long Range Planning sessions or board meetings. They talked about their lives. They retreated for rest and renewal. Jesus knew them and He knows us. We need from time to time to pull away from everything and everyone and spend time with the Master

How great a need that is today! We battle with the world, our own flesh and the devil and we need time to be still and know He is God. I am coming to understand that if we don’t have some quiet place to retreat to (and it can be right in our own homes) that we will eliminate much of God showing us a and our knowing He is God.



4. God is Our Refuge In Times of Trouble
Refuge means flight, place of escape.

We flee to the LORD. We move rapidly toward a place of being alone with Him. If we cannot be alone we commune with Him as if we were alone. We worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Particularly this has refers to times of trouble:
narrow, tight spots where we feel pressure from without. Places of straits, distress. Things are happening around us that cause us to like we are going to be overwhelmed. These are places of spiritual stress. Anxiety can come in we are not careful. We can, in these times, let our minds get carried away and begin to imagine the worst. God help us We can even be guilty of the 10 spies who brought a bad report.

The adversary, foe, enemy, oppressor can push on our hearts if we do not take refuge in God and we can fail in our faith. Yes things are horrific today. But God is all powerful and He can do anything He was going to destroy Ninevah but He changed His mind when they repented.

5. God Loves You.

When you are in trouble recall His goodness, kindness, faithfulness to you He is the same. He does not change He will continue to be loving to you David reminds of this in this Psalm. He is my loving God

Jesus was willing to be reproached for us. He went to the cross. No greater love has any man than this that He would lay down His life for His friends.

My prayer for you is the same as Paul , the apostle’s prayer for the Church At Ephesus: Ephesians 3.16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

God is our Help

Sing

Remember He is our Strength, Our Fortress, Our Refuge

He Loves You
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The LORD’s Day
January 21, 2007
We Worship In Singing
We Worship In Prayer
We Worship In Hearing the Word of God
God Our Help Psalm 59.16-17

*Tithes and Offerings can be placed in the box at the rear of the sanctuary*
Please join us for coffee and bagels downstairs if you are visiting today.
V
This Week
Bible Reading Psalm 61-63
Monday- Men’s Prayer Meeting- 6:30am
Wednesday- Bible Study- 7:30pm at the parsonage Psalm 58-63
Thursday- Bible Study- 10:30am at the church Psalm 61-63
Next Lord’s Day-
Morning Prayer- 10am in the church basement
Morning Worship- 10:30am(Sunday School for Children)
Spanish Service- 4pm


In Your Prayers For All of God’s People
Remember the men serving in the armed forces: Bradley, Julia Bujold’s grandson with Special Forces in Afghanistan, Ken Brown, Pastor’s friend’s son on his third tour of Iraq recently sustained injuries. Pray for his safety. Matthew Klaus, brother of Good Shepherd parent in Iraq as a firefighter for Haliburton... Pray for them and the others away from their families. Praise God for keeping David Louis, Jake Morgan and Tom Hindelang safe during their times in Iraq. Christine Frankland, Katharina’s as she continues the radiation and Pastor’s friend Rudy undergoing radiation as well.
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*A number of nursery school families are going through difficult times. If you would like to sponsor a child presently at Good Shepherd, see Alice or call the school at 666-7503
*If you would like to help with the Sunday Morning Bagel ministry see Alice Gordon.


Notes on Our Time in the Word of God This Morning:
God Our Help
Psalm 59.16-17






Pastor’s messages are now available on the Internet
http://thesundaymorningmessage.blogspot.com/

Church e-mail: bayshorenaz@rock.com
(Church Phone: 631-969-1730
*1314 Pine Acres Boulevard, Bay Shore, Long Island, NY 11706-5436
Whatever you do, in word or deed, do all for the glory of God