Why should I trust God?

“In God We Trust – Part 1”

(Psalm 46:1-3, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, December 4, 2011)

1 God is our refuge and strength,

I want you to add the phrase “In God We Trust” to your advent vocabulary. These words are printed on our dollar bills, and so have come to be associated with money, so that we may get somewhat confused about what we trust in, and what is our God. But even if our money should fail, God is the refuge and our strength of all who trust in Him.

The God that we worship is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel. The God of Israel has become the refuge of even millions of Gentiles in the gift of His Son. Through the coming of the Jewish Messiah we have found a very present salvation, and an abiding hope that will take us beyond this life.

Jews and Gentiles needed a strong city of refuge, a place of shelter from a devastating storm. The ancient Jews had cities of refuge for people who were guilty of manslaughter, but not of cold-blooded murder. Provided that a man could run faster than the person chasing him, and as long as the Levites in the city of refuge he reached saw things his way, and if he stayed in that city of refuge, the man who had accidentally killed another person could live in safety.

Our situation is more desperate than the Israelite of old who was running for his life from a grieving relative after accidentally killing his neighbor. We have sinned against Almighty God, not only in matters that could be called accidental. Let's leave murder aside for a moment and talk about stealing. Have you every stolen anything? Have you stolen from God? Remember that you owe Him your whole life. You are commanded to give Him all your heart, soul, mind, and strength in the fullness of sacrificial devotion, worship, and service. The Scriptures remind us that the person in Old Testament Israel who did not give his whole tithe to God had stolen from the Lord? But the Lord demands much more than a tenth of your income. You have been bought by the blood of Christ. He demands your continual worship. How often have you stolen from God by ignoring Him? What do we call someone who steals? Are you able to admit that you are a thief? How will you defend yourself before God? How will stand before the One who says not only, “You shall not steal,” but also, “You shall not covet?” Do you expect that God's concern for justice will be less than a human judge? Would a human judge pardon a repeat multiple offender just because that person claimed that he was nice, or because he had many other pleasant qualities? No. And God is not less of a judge than someone who causes everyone to rise when he enters the courtroom in Brentwood, Concord, Boston, or Washington.

a very present help in trouble.

But thanks to the gift of Jesus, God, your Judge, has become your very present help in trouble. Through the cross, the Son of God, who was born to a virgin has covered your guilt forever. Won't you come to Him eagerly, confess your guilt, and receive forgiveness today?

His help is not only in the future. God will freely give you all things. You who have title to the eternal heavens and earth as co-heirs with Christ are being kept by Him even now. He will surely give you all things and bring you through the present distress that you face.

2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

This relief and help from Almighty God is solid and sure, even if the earth is shaking under your feet and the Presidential Range in northern New Hampshire is tossed into the Atlantic; even if the pillars of society and culture seem to give way all around us; even if some event or condition, some fear or loss, comes over you like a tsunami above your head. The Lord has come. He has become, literally, our very present help, bringing joy to all who receive Him. He is not only relief and rescue. He is joy, not only to Jews who have found Him, but to the whole world!

Selah

What can we say to this? We could say “Hallelujah!” That means, “Praise the Lord!” How about, “Selah!” No one knows exactly what the word means. It is either a musical instruction that indicates some pause or instrumental interlude, or it is a liturgical instruction to the worshiping congregation indicating that there is something here to meditate upon and to consider.

There IS something here that I urge you to stop and consider this and every remaining Christmas season. I want you to add trusting the God of the first advent of Christ to your holiday tradition as you wait for the second advent of Christ. As those who worship the God of Israel after the first coming of Christ, you have all the Christmas reasons in the world to trust God. He has shown Himself to be very trustworthy in the gift of His Son.

You should “Selah” for a moment around the details of the coming of Christ. In Luke 1 Mary learned that the gift of Jesus through a virginal conception would be the fulfillment of Isaiah 7:14, “ The virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” She also learned that the name of her baby would be “Jesus,” “the Lord is salvation.” She was told that the baby would be rightly called “the Son of the Most High,” and “the Son of God,” and that He would be the long-expected Son of David, the King who would reign forever.

His coming was a fulfillment of ancient promises given to Israel not only by Isaiah, but also through passages in the Psalms and the history of God's speech to David. They were first spoken by God about 1000 years before Christ was born. Isaiah 7:14, the most recent of the passages that I have mentioned, was written centuries before the coming of Jesus. After it was written, the people of God were sent into exile. Eventually God brought them back into the promised land, but they had no king at all for well over 500 years before Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

From the standpoint of what people count as likely, the first coming of Christ was extremely unlikely. But our God is a mighty fortress. You can trust in Him. We now know that about the gift of Messiah. Add “trust God” to your Christmas list. When Jesus says that He is coming again, don't take out a dollar bill to find the words “In God we trust.” Take a look at a Christmas Card, and think about it. Then consider the promise of God to bring forth the culmination of all His blessed plans in the second advent of Christ and say with a full heart, “In God we trust.”

This is of great practical importance to us, particularly now as we celebrate the Christmas season in the years in between these two advents. These are not easy days. It can be particularly difficult during a time of year that bears the name of Christ that may contain some painful memories and present disappointments. At Christmas, you and I need to remember the outstanding faithfulness of God in bringing His Son into the world as our salvation. We need to know, believe, sing, and rejoice in the fact that the baby that was named salvation is coming again with the fulness of our salvation. In God we trust.

1. Who is the God of Psalm 46?

2. How has He revealed Himself to be a very present help in trouble?

3. What do the Scriptures tell us about the period in between the advents of Jesus Christ?

4. How is the first advent of Jesus an aid to us as we wait for the second advent?

New Testament Passage: Luke 1:26-38