Psalm 46, Be Still and Know - Bianca Olthoff

so if it is your first time here or you are visiting or you haven't been here in a minute you came on a great week not only is it Cinco DeMayo and we get to have free tacos for everyone Matt is very excited about that we are kicking off a new series and it is called pursuit why because the pursuit of God will change your life I'm going to say that because I think sometimes we feel like if we just come to church we just show up didn't somehow magically my life's gonna be perfect and polished and pretty and in the same way you can't go to the gym and just stand in the gym and expect a six-pack in this say I wish right Justin I wish man I necessarily you can't go and stand in a kitchen and be like okay I'm just gonna will myself to be a chef in the same way that you can't just stand in a courtroom and will yourself to be elite a lawyer you actually have to put some discipline some energy and some effort so in the same way if you want your life to be transformed by the power of God it's gonna require something and that is the pursuit of Jesus okay great so this half clearly is the real holy side cuz y'all are talking back you guys have permission in the house of God if the Spirit of God is moving in you you could say Amen yes and if you are holy today you could be like that word was totally for me if you came with your spouse and they are just messed up from the floor up that's what you tell that you turn them and say that word was definitely for you okay you have permission in here and here's the thing when we talk back in the house of God what were hats happening is that there is a dialogue except you're not dialoguing with me your dialogue in with God when God moves and you got speaks you we would say Amen that was for me come on you are confirming externally with the Spirit of God is doing in turn aliy okay and the fact that you are here at 10:30 on a Sunday morning well you could be anywhere else you showered I hope so you put on your makeup you put on clothes you dressed up and you got in your car I believe it's not just so that you could tick off a box or feel better about yourself I believe it's because you are hungry for God to do something in your life so as we begin to this six-week series we are going through of the Book of Psalms now Psalms has over a hundred Psalms and Psalms are songs so each chapter is a song written by music directors back in the day and the pursuit of God will reveal things in your heart the pursuit of God will reveal things in your heart so you might be thinking oh I don't care about that oh you do because the issue that you have of that family member the issue that you have with a co-worker the issue that you have with your spouse or your kids or your cousin guess what in worship it reveals the matters of the heart not only does it will worship reveal the matters of your heart worship will strengthen our face worship will strengthen our faith and where in your life is your faith weak I just don't feel like God's come through I don't know if anyone will help me I feel completely abandoned when we worship it strengthens our faith and lastly worship will transform you from a warrior to a warrior okay and not just because that rhymes but it does my dream their life is being a hip-hop rapper you know I'll be like the Eminem of Scripture okay oh wait we're Christian I'll be the Lecrae of Scripture okay no shade I love Lecrae so listen when we have our these moments of anxiety and oppression and depression we could feel oppressed oppressed and depressed but when we worship God something changes and lastly for me in this series I'm very excited to actually go through a book because I am passionate about the people of God to be knowledgeable on how to teach yourself see here's the thing I love that you're here on Sunday but showing up for 60 minutes on a Sunday is not gonna make you someone who really can absorb and understand the Word of God my hope is that you spent five ten fifty five hundred minutes in the Word of God so that you can begin to feed your own soul so here we go but for us to have a new work for God to do a new work in our life in the pursuit of Jesus I want to start this entire series off with this understanding forgot to do a new work forgot to do a powerful work in your life you need to be still now how many of us in here have heard the expression which is actually a verse how many expression be still we raise your hand yeah you guys are real holy okay now how many of you have actually read that verse in the entire chapter of psalm 46 raise your hand hands significantly went down I would say maybe 1/4 of the pose rate originally raising their hands went up see context is so important especially for me context is everything it is everything because I've always been annoyed with this phrase I feel like God has given me this verse you know I don't know about you but some people have like oh I have a life verse my life verses this and it's like totally awesome my life verse is be still and know that I'm God like that's the worst I don't want to be still I was always the one that was like going going going ever since I was a child and my mom used to always speak this verse up for me Huckabee still and know that he's God cuz she knows I always wanted to go I was unmoved let's go let's move and that was always a white kid like y'all could clean your room why Bianca don't eat that why y'all could take a shower why I want someone to tell me why because context matters so we can read psalm 46 but if we don't understand the context around it is this gonna be like a cool song like oh that's awesome okay be still well Matt and I were talking about this because this is a reoccurring theme in my life this concept of be still in fact my mom bought this pillow and it was embroidered ahead be still and I left it when I moved out for college I left it in my bedroom at my parents house and somehow this dang pillow showed up in my dorm room again I was like it's haunting me and I was talking to Matt not too long ago about this concept of being still and how hard it is for me and he said well you know that that's based in response to a huge battle that the Assyrians had with the people of God and I was like wait are you for real he said yeah if you research it it's king hezekiah and as he's talking I'm like maybe take my breath away because when this man breaks down theology I don't want to be an appropriate but I want to make out with your pastor okay Jason Derulo has that song talk dirty to me uh-uh talk holy to me baby thought only to me this is good and so this song came out of whatever we could have fun in church this song song 46 psalm 46 comes out of a battle out of these two chapters that we see in second kings now if you brought your Bible I hope you did if you don't have a Bible we have a free one for you but pull out your Bible and turn with me to Psalm 46 we are not going to start there orcses we are gonna start there and then we're gonna jump into 2nd Kings but I'll read it you don't have to turn there psalm 46 begins with this God is our refuge and our strength and ever present help in time of trouble therefore we will not fear though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea though the waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging sail ah you know that means pause catch your breath think on it verse 4 there's a river whose streams make glad the City of God the holy place where the most high dwells God is within her she will not fall God will help her at the break of day nations are in up war kingdoms fall he lifts his voice the earth melts the Lord God the Lord Almighty is with us the God of Jacob is our fortress come and see what the Lord has done the desolations he has brought to the earth he makes war cease to the ends of the earth he breaks the bow and shatters the spear he burns the shield with fire he says be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the nations oh the exalts in the earth the Lord Almighty is with us the God of Jacob is our fortress God as we open up your word I asked if there is anything that is not of you that you remove it that there's a holy spirit editing and that your presence just fall in this place so that your word is active and alive sharper than a two-edged sword to pierce bone and marrow in Jesus name Amen so in verse 1 we're gonna go through these verses as quickly as possible but as Bible scholars this is actually how you read your Bible you go through the verse and you pause and think Sayla what is God speaking to me and in verse 1 it says this God is our refuge and Our Strength our very present help in time of trouble the thing is that don't use these words like refuge it was the last time you used the word refuge I'm getting into my car it is a refuge for me if we don't use that word but the word refuge is a safe protected place from something that is harmful or threatening I grew up at eight-thirty Meeker and our house was in the middle of the block and we have this beautiful oak tree out in front when we'd play hide-and-go-seek if your hand was on the base of that tree you were completely safe that was our refuge so in hide-and-go-seek when when these mean brother mario tried chasing us or fat david tried to catch us you know we did we just put our hands right on the oak tree and that protected us because that was our refuge and strength what it shrinks the ability to withstand force or pressure so God is our ever-present help in time of trouble context is everything don't turn there but in second Kings 18 we read about a king by the name of Hezekiah Hezekiah was the King of Jerusalem at this time and during this time the Assyrian army which is the most powerful force on the known earth during this time was taking all the fortified cities of Jerusalem there's 12 tribes of Jerusalem in addition to that the Assyrians ransacked the entire area slowly but surely they started conquering all the tribes of Israel and the Assyrian King had come to finally attack Jerusalem now when I say Assyrian when I say a Syrian army I need you to get scared so I'm an art history major and there was art that came out of the Assyrian Babylonian amido Persian Empire and the visuals that I saw it had to study would scare you see we could see things like Brave Hearts or the last Kingdom or Game of Thrones and be like oh that's crazy the Assyrians make them look like chumps these people were insane these people were savage in fact our understanding of impalement when you take a human body and you drop it over a 12-foot metal point that will go through the bottom of a human and come out the top of a human was actually invented by the Assyrians they were the ones that began infant infant suicides offering them up to their false gods now most people think that the Romans vented crucifixion the Romans perfected it but it was invented by the Assyrians they were a super force that no one could mess with if you heard that the Assyrians were coming you would lose your day mine and the Assyrians with over a hundred and fifty thousand men ready for battle with swords and spears and shields and bows and arrows are coming up and what we see in verse 31 and 32 of 2nd Kings is this let me read it over to you so the King King Sennacherib sent his people to the entryway the Gateway of this walled city of Jerusalem Jerusalem is not that big in fact we could drive around it in a day but it had fortified walls well the Assyrian army knew hey we don't want anyone to get slaughtered let's strike a deal let's just have them be our slaves and we don't have to kill anybody so this is what the Assyrian King sends his troops to go tell the people at the gate in verse 31 it says this do not listen to cat Hezekiah who's Hezekiah the King do not listen to King Hezekiah this is what the king of Assyria says make peace with me and come out to me then each of you will eat fruit from your own vine and fig tree and drink water from your own cistern until I come and take you to a land like your own the land of grain and new wine a land of bread and of vineyards a land of olive trees and honey choose life not death do not listen to Hezekiah for he is misleading you when he says the Lord will deliver us isn't that the lies that the enemy will tell us in the assumption that we will be free come to me I have wine I have bread I have olive trees hey the lie is that you will make yourself slave to something for the illusion of freedom and that's alive in the pit of hell right so when we see here he's like hey don't listen to your king and I love this last line when they say he's misleading you in verse 32 when he says the Lord will deliver us these Assyrians did not believe in God now the king they sin acronym the king of Assyria he wanted to put doubts and fear and confusion and anxiety in the hearts of the Israelites now let's make this real to us today we don't live in Jerusalem most y'all are not Jews like me I just 1% I'm jus ish okay don't be jealous you Gentiles but my people see we would read this and we would understand but here we don't have the Assyrian army chasing us anymore we're not in a fortified city this is Orange County but I will dare to say that there are oppressors like the Assyrians that are bringing anxiety stress doubt fear and skepticism in fact 25% of all Americans are experiencing some sort of debilitating anxiety do you know that Americans are the largest consumer for antidepressants in fact we consume more antidepressants than 3 times of the global purchasing of antidepressants do you that 40% of all medical visits are dealing with the issue of anxiety and depression there are stressors in your life that make you feel that you will not have joy you will not have freedom you must make yourself slave to something else come here and I will give you the freedom you want come here I'll give you the sleep that you want come here I'll get the body that you want come here I'll give you the bank account that you want know the warfare that we are raging is not with the Assyrians you are waging a battle for your marriage you are waging a battle for your freedom you're waging a battle sometimes with the business partner you're waging a battle for a wayward child that's walked away from God you are waging a battle not to lose your home you are waging a battle against loneliness and depression and anxiety you are waging a battle against a medical diagnosis that has taken your hope of full health there are modern-day Assyrians that are trying to take our life and look at the response in 2nd Kings 19 14th or 19 and read this as quickly as possible Hezekiah received the letter this is the note that was given recorded from what the king of Assyria an acronym told him Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers and read it then he went to the temple of the Lord and spreaded out before the Lord and Hezekiah prayed to the Lord Lord the God of Israel and throne between cherubim you alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth you have made heaven and earth give ear Lord and hear open your eyes Lord and see it is true Lord that the Assyrian Kings have laid waste these nations of their lands they have thrown their gods into the fire and destroyed them for they not God but only made of wood and stone fashioned by human hands now now Lord our God deliver us from his hand so that the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone Lord our God that you alone Lord our God that you alone Lord our God and in these five verses Hezekiah teaches us Hezekiah teaches us how to prepare for battle now when the army of doubt is standing at your door when the army of anxiety has stolen your joy when the army of fear torments you and plagues you at night when the army of resentment and bitterness hangs its ugly claws on your heart when you wake up and there's that heaviness on your chest and you find yourself it's hailing because you know what awaits you outside of your door this is what has the kind of prepares us for this is the three ways that has a kind of thought if you're taking note number one he waits to charge friends good thing you are here you are battle ready look at verse 14 he went to the temple of the Lord well we're simple the Lord search good answer I love it you guys are on it theologians number two in verse 15 he said that that he prayed to the Lord he prayed to the Lord has a kaya pray to God so one go to church to pray and three he asked for his people to be delivered in verse 19 now if you caught that he said deliver us O God and then worshipped as their warfare see Jerusalem was a small walled city the entire Assyrian army would have surrounded it this is the the city of Jerusalem they would have surrounded the entire city of Jerusalem over 150 thousand warriors and to keep the Israelites bonded by fear they circled it and cut off their food supply water supply you couldn't go in you couldn't go out and King Hezekiah began to worship the Lord where do we see that Bianca we read it he began to pray he said God you are merciful God you are the only God deliver us so that other nations may see that you alone are God did you catch that he's worshiping as his warfare so let's go back to psalm 46 so remember verse 1 God is our refuge in our shrank we're gonna pick it back up in verse 2 therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way though the mountains be moved into the heart of the seed of the waters roar and foam though the mountains tremble at its swelling say la to me that sounds like a hip-hop song I don't know about you but I grew up like in the 90s when hip-hop was still good and rap was bad you know like therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way though the mouths we moved to the heart of the sea though the waters are wrong for the man through my swelling sail ah let me catch my breath ha ha tell me tell me that doesn't sound like a hip-hop song see that Eminem coming out except is Christian ok now in these two verses the author gives four cosmological events if you brought your notebook take this out come on Papa scholars here we go number one the earth gives way as California natives will be very familiar with this this is an earthquake have you ever tried walking in earthquake with the earth underneath your feet feels like you can't stand up your felt like at in life look at mountains fall and what our mountains mouth came mountains can be the things that we have accomplished the places that we have climbed the corporate ladder that we've achieved and we standing on and now it's in the heart of the sea the waters roar and foam have you ever felt like you breathe like you're drowning in debt drowning and heartbreak drowning in fear drowning in anxiety and look at the fourth thing mountains quake we feel like we can't even stand on our own two feet and I don't want to get too mystical or anything but I can't help but parallel this to our own lives we will experience these things I remember when Matt and I were praying about you in here and those online they'll be part of TF hoc we were praying for you and we were so nervous about starting this church I said this before um I never wanted to start a church like ever in fact I was 23 years old and in grad school and I said you know what god I love you but I never marry a pastor I will never be in ministry and I will never start a church you guys I'm doing all three of them all right so now I'm hip to his game now I say things like I will never have a six-pack I will never own a mansion on Pacific Coast Highway and I will never ever ever have a thigh gap do you hear me God because I'm hip to your game now for three months leading up to the announcement of us starting a church I Matt and I were praying we said hey we should meet with this particular pastor someone who's been like a father figure in us to us in our life and so we had a meeting and we scheduled it with him and I was so nervous and Matt and I are kind of giving the vision God gave us this vision of 10 churches in 10 years reaching 10,000 people and we're gonna see this take place and then there was questions volleyed our way like the logistics and then I piped and I was like well we have no venue who we have no team we have no money and we have no location and the pastor sit across the table from us and said well you can't fail and in that moment I kind of pause like is that like a you can't fail because God's awesome or is that like you can't fail or else everyone will know you suck well in the conversation I realized that it was the ladder and he looked at Matt and he looked at me and he said you can't fail because it'll be a reflection of everyone that's poured into you you can't fail because it'll be a letdown with the pastors that have led you then he turned specifically to me and said and you can't fail or else it will prove what everyone has thought that women shouldn't be doing this so I was like a god-fearing Christian else I thank you wonderful and I got into my car and I closed the door and I was like why God why are you forsaken me I cannot do this and I turn on the car and there was a song by elevation that came on that song by elevation is a song that we actually sing here it's called do it again and this is what the lyrics say I've seen you move you've moved the mountains and I believe I'll see you do it again you made a way where there was no way and I believe I'll see you do it again and after a few minutes of hearing this man's words echo and ricochet in my mind you can't fail you can't fail you can't fail I began to take that phrase and appropriate it from my life oh you're right back I can't fail I cannot fail because my god doesn't fail I cannot fail because his church is not gonna fail I cannot fail because though the enemy come at me one way he will flee in seven I'm a warrior I'm pulling my sword come at me bro I will cut your neck I'm gonna take a stand for Jesus imma take a stand in this community and guess what people following in this church or warriors you might worriers you are worshipers you are worshiping lawyers the reason this series is gonna change our culture and change our church is because we will discover the power we possess in worship look at verse 4 there is a river whose streams mad gold make glad the City of God the holy place where the most high dwells where the hezekiah go to church I went to church you're here in church look at verse 5 God is within her she will not fall God will help her at break of day now the writers of this song are referring to the city of Israel they personified her as a woman but what if we take that for our own lives and for sonna Fayette for a word for ourselves God is within me God is in with you you will not fail and let me ratify that with New Testament theology Paul says that we're temples of the Most High God if that's the truth the Spirit of God is within me therefore I will not fail look at Zephaniah 7 ayah 35 the Lord is righteous within her he will do no injustice every morning he brings his justice to light he will not fail who is our God look at verse 7 nations are in uproar kingdoms fall he lifts his voice the earth melts the Lord Almighty is with us the God of Jacob is our fortress let me catch a breath look at verse 8 come and see the works of our Lord I'm gonna pause there because we are only 7 months old but let me tell you come and see the works of our Lord there's been story after story after story after story of God doing miraculous things in this house and we don't want to be braggadocious you know me online like oh another person received a miracle praise God but we could and let me tell you this real quick story because we believe in the power of community groups and people are aching and isolated and alone and we believe it is worship the Word of God and community that change people's lives in a community group not too long ago a couple weeks into our community group by the way community group is where people come together and there's honest dialogue about life Jesus there's always some food and maybe even some games because we like a good turn up and there was a girl that after a couple weeks that build a relationship with the people in her community group and she very vulnerable II expressed I've been without a job I have no money I don't know what to do and I have eighty five dollars in my bank account that didn't push anyone away no one judged her in fact they came around her and began to pray for a miracle of her life they got so daring they got so much chutzpah they got cojones and they were like God instead of $85 in a bank account give her a job for $85,000 and you know what God didn't laugh the next week she texted the people in her community group and said I got a job and I was offered $85,000 come and see the works of the Lord Buga verse 9 he makes war cease to the ends of the earth he breaks the bow he shatters the sphere he burns the shields with fire friends there is a there's a war raging still in the Middle East there's a war raging in Russia there's a war raging in Chile there's a war raging today I mean there's their students waging out war with each other on campuses marriages are raging war you are waging war at work but guess what God's Word says that he makes Wars cease to the ends of the earth he breaks the bow and shatters the sphere of his enemies I don't know if many of you guys know thank you maybe you guys know that's what happens you preach the word a guy gets a lot hide here I don't have seen the movie matrix I know I'm dating myself a little bit but I love this scene where their character the main character by the name of neo realizes the power that he possesses all of a sudden the his arch-nemesis the guys with the black trench coat and the black license begin shooting guns his way and neo realizes that the bullets are flying his way and he begins to dodge these bullets war and then when he realizes that he comes back up he could actually see the bullets he puts his hands up in the bullet-stopping on the floor you know what this is Isaiah 54 7 no weapon formed against us will prosper this is the power that we possess verse 10 there for be still and know that I am God I will be exalted among the nation's I will be exalted among the earth this is why God is God before cosmological events that they were listed in beginning of the chapter guess what God is over all of them this verse this verse verse 10 of chapter 46 is the climax it is the apex be still this idea of be still isn't like a meditation where we sit in a lotus position and we just move our self and self affirmation and I'm just gonna love myself and just gonna live my best life and attend all the seminars doing these lots better that's not what this phrase is referring to this concept of B still comes from the Hebrew word Rafa this word means to let go to weaken to surrender other translations could say to cause yourself to let go the Biv the Bianca International Version is throw in the tail and so when it says be still and know this word know in Hebrew comes from the Hebrew word ya da that's not no because of reading or no because of hearing it's no because of seeing you have seen God move therefore be still because he is gonna do it again and you know what this is the power that we possess the only other time that we see this phrase Rafa be still is in Exodus Exodus 14 verses 13 through 14 I alluded to this last week and I love that God is just threading all these messages together but Moses had led two million people out of slavery the Egyptian army is chasing them behind them and the Red Sea is smack in front of them and he turns to the children is really says do not be afraid stand firm and you will see deliverance the Lord will bring you in Oh church is on the screen see the deliverance that you will have today the Egyptians you see today you will never see again the Lord will fight for you you only need to be still you only need to be still this battle in front of you it's not your battle this is not your battle this is not your battle the thing that is plaguing you it's not your battle the battle belongs to the Lord you only need to be still let go of the control let go of all of that trash and begin to stand still because look what happens to go back to 2nd Kings we're going to see how the battle ends 2nd kings 1935 that night after Hezekiah had prayed and wailed and worshipped as warfare without picking up a stone a spear a chariot that night an angel the Lord went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand in the Assyrian camp when the people got up the next morning there were all the dead bodies so Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew he never he returned to Nineveh and stayed there the battle is not horse what would it look like as we step into this pursuit of God in these next six weeks I have a daring ask I have a daring ask that you would step into what God has called you to I want to dare you to be here for the next six weeks you're gonna be tired you can have a late Saturday night you're gonna think about traveling I'm gonna ask you for six weeks and what I believe is we will see lives change in microwaves or in macro ways we were gonna see life change because we will understand the power of our worship Taylor where you begin to worship over us because I believe that what God has done for the children of God we old estimate what God did in the New Testament what God did in early American history but God gin and Asuza revival but God didn't cheer and what God did in China and God in Korea he's gonna bring a revival here to us not just into so I will be a church unless you God we are ready we have a worshiped as our warfare do it again Lord do it again Lord do it again Lord this battle is no mine this battle is yours you take my business take my finances take my career take my marriage take my kids take my singleness take my emptiness take my depression take my anxieties my little battle is not mine this bottle is yours

Channel: Bianca Juarez Olthoff

Views: 24,405

Rating: 4.950345 out of 5

Keywords: Bianca Olthoff, Bianca, Be Still and Know, Be Still, Psalm 46, Psalm 46:10, What does it mean to be still?, Pursuit, Worship, Praise, How to worship?, Christine Caine, mike todd, the father's house, TFH, TFHOC, The father's house oc, church in orange county, female bible teacher, psalms study, steven furtick, elevation church, transformation church, action church

Id: irSrzOsdnX0

Length: 31min 4sec (1864 seconds)

Published: Fri Jul 12 2019