Sunday, January 25, 2015

sermon, "Rest and Refuge", by Pastor Ruth Foss, Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church, January 25, 2015

January 25, 2015
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Worship Theme: God is our resting place
Psalm 62:1-2, 5-12 NIV

“Rest and Refuge. . . ”

Prayer for God’s word to come from my mouth and that His word would be heard through me or in spite of me. . .  

Read Scripture. . . Psalm 62:1-2, 5-12 NIV

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will never be shaken. . .

Have you ever had something happen in your life that it just shakes you to the core? I mean something that may even have you think about your belief in God. Sometimes life just throws you a curve ball that kind of makes you rethink all that you believe. In those times you may just need to find a place to rest and regroup. . . so to speak. You need a place of refuge where you know that you are safe while you figure things out.  

Over the past few days I have been in that place. . . I have been walking through the valley of the shadow of death. But there is one thing that keeps running through my mind. There has been one thing that keeps cropping up every time I sit and contemplate on the things that have happened over the past few days. Come and rest a while in my presence. When you are at your weakest, I am strong. . . I will strengthen you for each and every moment that you walk through this season of the soul. . .

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will never be shaken. . .

Last week. . .  I read from Psalm 139. . . I read about how David was pondering, meditating, about God and His goodness and there was no sadness or disappointment within his meditating. . .  and how he realized the amazing fact that God was always with him. . . that God knew everything about him right down to how he was formed in his mother’s womb. David had found a place of rest and refuge in God. . . and we too are invited to have that same relationship with God.

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will never be shaken. . .

This week God has brought us to another one of David’s payers found in the Psalms. . . the 62nd Psalm to be exact. David is being pursued by Saul’s men and his life is in danger. So in this time of need David turns to a place of safety and refuge. It is not a cave or a hiding place amongst the rocks. David turns not to a place but a person. David turns to God. How many times in our lives that when we need a stronghold we turn to what is temporal and not to what is eternal? How many times do we try to find a sanctuary that is not made of human hands but one made by God Himself. . . ?

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will not be shaken. . .

In this Psalm, David gives three good reasons why he feels that God is that resting place. . . that place of refuge. God is strong, God is loving and God rewards those who are faithful to Him. . .

1.     God is strong. . . David. . . and we. . . calls Gs a matter of fat, God is the rock upon which salvation is found. It doesn’t depend on us or our circumstances. . . it is fact.  He will always deliver us from our enemies, you see. . . our salvation is God Himself. . . His earthly king has betrayed him. . . his friends have deserted him and turned against him but God has remained the same. He is the “Rock of Ages”. . . our firm foundation that will stand through any storm of life. David calls God his fortress in verses two and six. We can have faith that God will surround us and keep us safe from anything that is not His will. God has purpose in all that we go through. . .  When we walk through those challenging times on our journey of faith we can stand firm on the rock of our Salvation and know that if He brought us to it He will bring us through it. . .

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will never be shaken. . .

2.     God is loving...In Psalm 86:6, David exclaims that God’s love is merciful and that God answers those who cry out for mercy. God showed David. . . and He shows us. . . time and time again how loving and merciful God is. He didn’t have to wonder because God showed His love and mercy to him many times. . . we too have that same hope and trust that David did. How many times have we cried out for mercy from “dark of Daniels Den” and our God has delivered us and set us high upon a rock? How many times have we endured the pain of life and God provided a place to rest and be healed by His love and grace? David and we can know that because of love and purpose we can find rest and refuge in Him and Him alone. . .

Truly He is our Rock and our Salvation; He is our Fortress, we will never be shaken. . .

3.           God rewards His people. . . Ok. . . rewards are pretty nice but it is not something we should focus on. The Rewards that David is talking about aren’t the rewards of this world. . . things like riches, power and position. Our God’s rewards are so much more than that. The rewards of the world will pass but the rewards of our God are eternal. . .  So what are the rewards of obedience to God?
a.     For the people of Israel the rewards were freedom from slavery, protection from their enemies, and rest and hope for their nation. How many times have we been surrounded by our “enemies and have been delivered by God? How many times have we too called out from captivity and have been saved through God’s mercy and grace and power?
b.     For us. . . for you and me. . . the rewards are heavenly rewards. The reward for us is eternal life. . . a life that ensures us a place in Heaven. . . a life that ensures us a place in the Kingdom of God, both now as we walk this world and for eternity. That hope. . . that Kingdom alone is the reward. . . the prize. . . we receive. This Kingdom is a place where God is our refuge, God is our strength, God is our help in time of need. It is in God that we truly find rest for our weary souls. We too can experience the God of David and have the same joy as we are obedient to the God of history.

Truly He is our Rock and our Salvation; He is our Fortress, we will never be shaken. . .

Life throws us curve balls from time to time. We aren’t promised a life without pain and suffering. We are not promised a life that will be “smooth sailing” until we reach the shores of our heavenly home.  We are not promised that we will not fall or stumble as we live out our faith.

But perhaps as we are traveling on this journey we can look back on the things that have been and have hope for the things to come as we look through the eyes of grace and love. Perhaps we can give courage and hope to those who may need a light for the journey. Maybe. . . just maybe. . . as we trust in the One who “knit us together in our mother’s womb”. . . the One who knows everything about us. . . we too can find that resting place. . . we too can find that Rock on which to stand . . . we too can say as David did. . .

Truly He is my Rock and my Salvation; He is my Fortress, I will never be shaken. . .
Just sayin. . . .

Amen!

Psalm 62:1-2
Psalm 62:5-12
Psalm 86:6
Psalm 36:5-6 (Offertory hymn – “Your Love O Lord”)
Psalm 121
Isaiah 40
by Pastor Ruth Foss
sermon blog
meditation blog
“God’s Whisper” blog
Children’s Message
Mystery box
-          2 Pez dispensers and tube of lip gloss
-           
by Ted Pettengill
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
January 25, 2015
&
Psalm 139:1-6, 13-18
Psalm 34:8
sermon “Dream As David Did . . . ”
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Children’s Message
Mystery box
-           a dream catcher (Erica)
by Pastor Ruth Foss
Prayer of Thanksgiving
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
January 18, 2015

All of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage. See all 35,430+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com Poetry Where You Live.

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