Welcome to each one of you as we worship together. Its good to see you here. I pray that God will drawer close to each one of us as we join together in Worship
With all what's happening in our world, its important that we spend time in prayer and worship. We need to claim the promise that God is our refuge, a very present help in times of trouble. I pray that this service will uplift and encourage all of us.
Let us sing: Before The Throne Of God Above
Let Us Pray
Lord God we come to You in the assurance that You said where twos or threes are gathered you are there in the midst and so to bless. As we come together in Jesus’ name He is present with us, and He is at the right hand of God making intercession for us.
It is written,
‘He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High, Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.” Surely He shall deliver you from the snare of the fowler And from the perilous pestilence…(and)..Because you have made the Lord, who is my refuge, even the Most High, your dwelling place, no evil shall befall you, nor shall any plague come near your dwelling;’
When we hear of war and see the horrors of war we recall your words in Psalm 91, remembering its truths for us now. In the name of Jesus, we thank You Lord that you bind the spirit of fear and silence those voices that hastens it march. We thank you that by the Holy Spirit You would release peace over these troubled waters across the world and work out Your good purposes. Give us eyes to know the bigger picture. We pray for every nation, all the inhabitants of this world. For those who are suffering from the effects of war in the Ukraine. For those who have lost loved ones because of it, put your loving arms around them. In this time, we pray for Peace. We ask this in the name of Jesus. Lord and Saviour. Amen
Please Share With Me In The Lords Prayer
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name; thy kingdom come; thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Let us relax as we listen to the band play; Repton, Dear Lord And Father Of Mankind
Let us read Scripture Psalm 46
Psalm 46
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. 5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. 6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts.
7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields[d] with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.
Let us listen to the Songster: Bow The Knee
God Our Refuge
When we travel through uncertain times as we are doing now there’s one thing we need to discover afresh, and that is, the refuge of the Lord.
Imagine for one moment walking down a deserted street. Suddenly a group of rowdy men come down the street wielding knives. You take a quick look around and there’s no one else about. Just then you see a house to your left, you look in the window and you see a family sitting down to dinner. What do you do? I know what I’d be doing, I’d knock on their door as quickly as I could and I’d ask them if I could just step inside until those men disappear, wouldn’t you?
Now, there’s a name for that, it’s called, “seeking refuge”. It’s not a sign of weakness, it doesn’t mean that somehow, we’re a loser, it just means that in that dark and dangerous moment we need somewhere that’s safe; we need a refuge.
Refuge is a word that appears over and over and over again right through scripture. In fact, just in the Psalms it’s used 48 times and of those, 46 times “refuge” is talking about God himself.
Have a listen to just a few, Psalm 36, verse 7:
How priceless God is your unfailing love. Both high and low among men find refuge in the shadow of your wings.
Psalm 62, verses 7 and 8:
My salvation and my honour depend on God. He is my mighty rock and my refuge. Trust in Him all times O people, pour out your hearts to Him for God is our refuge.
And in Psalm 119, verse 114:
You are my refuge and my shield O God; I have put my hope in your word.
I think, with all the uncertainty of the world.
Its easy to be full of fear, anxiety, worry and at times in despair with everything that's happening today. Therefore, when we are going through tough times of uncertainty a refuge is exactly what we need. Psalm 34 is written by King David in the wisdom of hindsight. Having been through lots and lots of dark and dangerous places. Here in this Psalm David praises God because what he discovered is this, through all his dark times, God showed up and delivered him. God came through. No matter how grim or how dark or how dangerous it appeared. God delivered. I really do encourage you to get aside for a few moments and have a really good read of this psalm, Psalm 34.
When we send out an S.O.S. to God it may well be that God will come through straight away but what about the mean time? What about when we are waiting and waiting. Well, have a listen to the end of this psalm of David, Psalm 34. In the last few verses, verses 19 to 22 God answers that question for us.
9 The righteous person may have many troubles, but the Lord delivers him from them all; 20 he protects all his bones, not one of them will be broken.
21 Evil will slay the wicked; the foes of the righteous will be condemned. 22 The Lord will rescue his servants; no one who takes refuge in him will be condemned.
There it is, that word “refuge”. It means to flee to Him for protection; literally to resort to Him. Now, I understand, that the story we began with, fleeing from a horde of men with knives is different from the many things we face today. So, what does it mean to take refuge in God. Well, here’s what happens when we take refuge in Him; in whatever circumstances that we face. We feel safe. Fear diminishes. And that’s the point as we journey through uncertain times, we know we are safe because God is with us.
The way that God best explains this refuge is best described by the apostle Paul. Paul wrote this about 1,000 years after King David wrote Psalm 34. Paul is locked in a Roman dungeon on death row and he writes these words in Philippians chapter 4, beginning at verse 6-7
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Don’t be anxious about anything, take it to God and put your trust in Him and pour your heart out to Him and say, “thank you God that you’re here. Thank you God that you are in control. You see, that’s refuge language, that’s protection language. We experience fear in our hearts and in our minds, do we not? And this is the other meaning of the word “refuge”; to put your trust in someone or something. Out there in the world with all its uncertainty, say with me, I will put my trust in you God. And do you know what happens, God does something, He fills us with His peace. Have another listen:
And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.
God’s peace defies human reckoning and logic and the only way I can describe it, is like this, it’s a light. You see, uncertainty is scary, but God comes and shines His light in your dark places. He protects our hearts and our minds from fear and His light shines inside, a light that says, “Lord I just know that you are here”, and the darkness, fear and uncertainty, somehow isn’t scary anymore.
God is in the refuge business; God is in the light business. When it’s dark, when it’s scary we can come to Him and pour our hearts out and He will put His protection around us and give us refuge. We just end up knowing that He will deliver us.
I pray that we all experience this peace as we all work, journey together through uncharted waters. I pray God's peace upon you all. I pray that we lift each other up in prayer and reach out to each other in ways we have never done before. Amen
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Let us finish by uniting together and sing: What A Faithful God
Thank you for taking the time to worship. I look forward to sharing with you again beginning, on the 3rd April.
The Lord bless thee and keep thee.
The Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee
The Lord lift his countenance upon thee and give thee peace.
May God bless you all
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