Christian Faith and Hope in the Rainbow Promise Psalm 46

Learn how to have faith in God during difficult times

Discover the power of God as a refuge and strength

Understand that God is always present and will not leave us

Find out how to put your trust in God and ride out life's storms

No matter what storm you're going through, there's always a rainbow at the end of the storm. But sometimes we're going through the storm and we think, I just want to see the rainbow. I just want to see the rainbow I'm tired of the storm Have you ever gotten to the point where you're just tired of the storm And you want to see the rainbow We've got so many storms And so many things And you know You just want to see a rainbow I just want to see a rainbow I want to be done with storms I want to see a rainbow Sometimes that storm just rage in our lives. And it feels like the water is rising on us and we're going to drown. Or maybe the winds are blowing so, so fiercely that it just feels like it's going to knock us over and we don't know what we're going to do. All we want to do is see the rainbow. But how can we? How can we? We've got to have faith. That's what it comes down to. We've got to have faith. Psalm 46, starting in verse 1, says, God is our refuge and our strength. I love that. The cities of refuge were protected places for fugitive Israel when they were going through so many different attacks from the enemy. God is our refuge our place of safety when the enemy is raging against us there's going to be more storms than there is times of peace for the Christian that's just true that's just true, why? why does it have to be that way? because Satan wants to get you to quit That's why. That's why. So there's going to be a lot more probably storms than there are peaceful times for the Christian. It's just going to be. But God is our refuge. He's our safe harbor. He's our place of safety. When the forces are raging. And I love what it says here. A very present held in the times of troubles. Though the world was raging, God never moves. Hallelujah. God never moves. We feel like God moves. Because we see a world that has completely turned its back on God, and then we feel like God has removed himself from the world because God's not showing up. Is it that God has moved, or are we not listening anymore? I think we're not listening anymore. I think that's exactly what happens. Because God does not move. I love the story of Gideon. Gideon was told by God, there is an army coming against you and the people of Israel. Gets you an army. So Gideon got a big, huge army together and he said, all right. I think you got it, Lord. And the Lord looked at Gideon, and he looked at his army, and he looked at Gideon, and he looked at the army, and God said to Gideon, Gideon, you got too many men. And Gideon was probably talking to God, wait a minute, Lord, now. We're still a number, but we're at least closer. He said, no, you need to weed them out. And he began to weed out all the ones he didn't want. Okay, you don't need these ones, don't need these ones, don't need these ones. And he weeded it down to 300 men. And when he got down to 300 men, he looked at Gideon and he told Gideon, that's the perfect number. Now Gideon's looking at the army coming, multiplied thousands of men, and he got 300. Now you know that in Gideon's own mind, he has to be thinking, boy, we in trouble. We in trouble. I mean, you know, multiply thousands, we got 300, we gonna die. There is no way we can be 300 into me thousands. There's no way it's not gonna happen. But where was Gideon's faith? His faith was in God. He figured, God, if you said this is enough, then I'll trust you. and I love the story because what happened is Gideon and his 300 men went into battle against these multiplied thousands of men of an amazing army and they didn't even have to lift a sword they didn't have to do a thing they just walked out on the battlefield and God goes okay I got this he snaps his finger and the whole army begins to turn on themselves the people of God never had to open up their mouth. They never had to really do anything. They never had to raise a sword. They never had to go into battle. They never had to fight. They never had to do nothing. All they had to do was open the mouth and say, give the sword of the Lord of Gideon, smash the trumpets, smash the light rainbows, and just say, that's it. And boom, everybody turned on themselves. That's the power of God. That's what happens. Now, what would happen And if Jinnia and the 300 men were willing to battle and God wasn't in the midst of them, every single one would have died. That's what would have happened. That's what would have happened. But I am thankful that God is a very present help in a time of trouble. He's there in the midst. He's walking right beside you. He never leaves us nor forsakes us. He is never going to leave you. The only way you will find yourself away from God and God not near you is if you turn away from Him. God won't turn away from you. You'll turn away from God, but He won't turn away from you. I love that. He's a very present help in a time of trouble. Verse 2 says, Therefore, we will not fear that the earth be removed and that the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea. It isn't going to matter, no matter how bad your circumstances get. No matter how bad those circumstances may seem, we must put our trust in God. We can't let our faith fail. Because if we let our faith fail what going to happen We going to fail We not going to seize a blessing We got to realize that God will come through when we have faith to believe it no matter how bad the circumstances may seem no matter how bad it seems it was amazing because yesterday I checked trending topics that's how I do on my radio show so I checked trending topics on Twitter and I saw Jonah trending yesterday and I was like, Jonah's trending? what is Jonah trending for? so I began to look and I found why Jonah was trending Anytime you get people to talk about the Bible You've got something But it was interesting because The reason it was trending Is because something very interesting happened There was a lobster fisherman He was diving He was diving And trying to get lobsters And doing all this And you know what happened? A whale came up And grabbed him and began to try to swallow this man. He said he got away, thankfully. But he said, I felt I was in the whale's mouth. I was sloshing around in his mouth, and I was trying to stay away from the throat to where he was trying to dig me down his throat, and I kept pushing and kept pulling and trying to get up. I finally opened his mouth, and I got away. He said all I had was bruises and stuff like that. But it was the scariest, and they showed an interview of him, and he was breaking up his, you could tell that he was about to cry. Because, let's face it, he almost became a modern day Jonah. He only, he was literally, he said, the whale was pushing me to the back of his throat and was going to swallow me. And I kept fighting, trying to get up, and I finally got away. and so when the people started seeing this they started saying oh Jonah the story of Jonah and the whale and then people started talking about Jonah anytime you get people talking about Bible stories that's a good thing but this man went through a storm a horrible storm he got put in a whale's mouth and was going to be swallowed up yet he found his way out The storm may be like something you've never seen before. But if you put your trust in God, if you put your faith in God, and you keep fighting against the forces of Satan, you are going to ride out that storm, and you're going to come through on the other end. That's what's going to happen. But if we don't put our trust in God, if we put our trust in our own life and our own abilities, we're going to fail. We're going to fail. Though the world, though this world may rage, though the mountains may be carried into this midst of the sea, no matter what we go through, we've got to put our trust in God. He said in verse 3, though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, no matter how bad you're tossed. It reminds me of the story of the disciples. the disciples when Jesus got on a boat they started out just to get away because so much was going on and they just needed a little time of rest so Jesus goes down into the boat and he takes a nap the storm starts to rage what happens to the disciples? we're going to die! they start running around like chickens with their heads cut off We're going to die, we're going to die What are we going to do? Somebody's going to get Jesus That's usually what happens, right? When somebody's going through something And it seems hopeless, what do they do? Let's call the church to pray for us People know where to go when they're trying to trouble You know, they know where to go But what about the other days? You know You know They went to Jesus They said, Jesus, wake up The storm is raging. What are we going to do? So Jesus comes up and he goes, He comes up and he sees the storm raging. He looks at the disciples. And he goes over to the edge of the boat. He goes, peace be still. Boom. Storm stops. Now I want to share something with you today. And that is simply this. The disciples didn't have faith. Because if the disciples had the right kind of faith, they could have said, peace be still, and the storm would have stopped. But they didn't have that kind of faith. That's why they had to call Jesus. With the power of God, we can see anything. Anything is possible with the power of God. Now, it's not in us. We can't do anything. Go and try and say, peace be still, through a storm by yourself and see what happens. That's not work. But in the power of God, you can see amazing things. It can happen, but they just didn't have that. Though the waters roar and be troubled. And then he said, though the mountains shake with a swelling thereof. No matter if it's an earthquake or if it's a volcanic eruption. God is still the same. Amen. He never changes. He never changes. The same God that rose Lazarus from the dead is the same God that lives in 2021. There's no difference. There is no difference. God didn't lose some of his power. No. God didn't lose. Let me say it again. God didn't lose some of his power. God is the same God that rose masters from the dead. He's the same God in 2021. God can do anything but fail. And that's the point. Oh, I love it. I love this word that he says at the end of this verse here. He says what? Sila. Love that word, sila. Sila means to stop and think about it. And this is not just what we need to do. We need to stop and think about it. Think about the fact that God is the same God And if God is the same God Then nothing is impossible with God Because God Go through your Bible Go through your Bible and just look at it Go look at the stories Israel being delivered out of Egyptian bondage And bondage from so many different countries And so many different enemies how God helped the prophets see amazing things how he helped a little widow have a supply for basically the rest of her life just go through it and look I mean you can just go time after time after time after time and see the amazing miracles that God performed in his word and if his word was true then and He doesn change then it still can happen in 2021 This doesn change A little widow that is going through troubles can just trust in God, and God will supply her needs. That can happen. Oh, hallelujah! Hallelujah! I mean, God can do anything but fail. Hallelujah. I love it. I love verse 4. It says this. There is a river. That's beautiful. There is a river that streams whereof shall make glad the city of God. Now I want you to understand this river that is talking about here is not a physical river. This river that is talked about here is a river of grace. Hallelujah. A river of grace that flows from God. The Revelation chapter 22 and verse 1 tells us about that river. It says, And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. There's a river of grace. we go through things in life sometimes and it just seems so hopeless we don't know if we can make it have you ever heard that term at the end of your rope the rope's in if you will you're at the end of the rope have you ever felt that way have you ever felt that way like you're at the end of your rope and you don't know what you're going to do it seems so hopeless when you're at the end of the rope. Take one hand off the rope and hold it out. God will hold on to your hand. That's tough. Because what are you doing when you're at the end of your rope? You're holding on with everything you have with both hands. You're holding on to everything. And when you're holding on to the end of that rope, what can't you hold on to? You can't hold on to God if you're holding on to the end of the road. So what do we got to do? We got to let go of the road and hold on to God. That's faith. That's faith. I remember it. It was so difficult because that was one thing we had in Bible camp. One of the things that they did was teach us as children how you trust in God. And to have faith in God. And you know how we did that? We had everybody pair up in teams. Two. And what we would do is they would sit there and say, one standing back and one standing in front. And on the count of three, fall back. just fall out and trust your heart that's going to grab you and hold on to you that's faith have faith and believe that that's going to happen I didn't have a whole lot of faith in what I was going on I didn't have a whole lot of faith in what I was going on I didn't I didn't have a whole lot of faith in that but it taught me something I'll always remember that forever As long as I live, I remember that. That's what faith is. Faith is giving up what's your control, what you think you have control of, basically. We don't have control of anything. But we give up what we think we have control of, and we say, God, you take control. And when we do that, we fall back into the arms of Jesus, and we just let Him have His way. And when we do that, we see the blessing of God. That's what happens. That's the river of grace. That's the river of grace. That's what we just want to float in the river of grace. Hallelujah. The stream thereof of this river of grace shall make glad the city of God. God's grace will get us through anything. It will help us gain heaven and home. I love what it says in Revelation 3 and verse 12. It says this. Him that overcometh, that put their trust in God, that have faith in God, will have made him a pillar in the temple of my God. And he shall go no more out. Once you're walking, you don't have to leave. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And I will write upon him the name of my God and the name of my city of God, which is the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God. And I will write upon him my new name. Hallelujah. the holy places of the tabernacle the most high these are the things we will inherit there's an old song that says there's a new name written down in glory and it's mine oh yes it's mine see that's the thing if we put our trust in God We're going to see the blessing of God. Verse 5, the final verse for today says this. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God shall help her. And that right early. I love that. I love that. This is where I wanted to get to. This verse here. Because that is so cool. God is in the midst of her. and peace and she shall not be moved. As long as we have our feet planted in God's word and in him, we shall not be moved. Hallelujah. And God will help her. And then I love what he says. And that right away. Now, if you get nothing else today, it's this. I want you to get this. God may not be on my time but he ain't never late and that's true see I have a time frame of what I want to see happen so God may not be on my time but he ain't never late he ain't never late I want to share with you one final thing and that is this today don't let your storm dictate your outcome. Because that's what happens so often. We let the storm control the way we live and the way we are Sometimes the storm rages and then we live in fear Sometimes we look at the storms we've had in our past and we go, well, I just can't. We don't let the storm dictate what our outcome is. Look at Peter. Peter denied Jesus no once, not twice, three times. They came to him and they said, do you know this man? No, I don't know him. Are you sure you don't know that man? No, I don't know. Are you pretty positive you don't know who that is? I said I don't know the man. Deny it three times. It says in the Word, upon this rock, Peter, I will build my church. Peter would become a pinnacle part of the church. and what would become the church. See, God doesn't look at our weakness. He looks at our potential. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And then look at Paul. Paul had a horrible past. But he didn't let his past determine his future. Because, see, God doesn't look at our past mistakes. he looks at our worth to his kingdom. Hallelujah. Because I can look at my past mistakes and all the stuff that I did in my past that I am so unhappy about. And I can look at those and I can say well God would never want me because look at what I've done. Look at this and this. And I can point out things to God and there again why would I point things out to God because he already knows it. But I'm just saying I can point all these things out and say, well, God, you know this and this and this and this and this. Remember this? You know, you remember that one? Oh, yeah, I remember that one. Yeah. And every time I think about the fact of saying that to God, you know what? Look at my past mistakes. The thing that always comes to my mind is it's almost like God is saying to me, I forgot it so you do the same see when God forgives he forgets about it so why can't I? why can't you? if God forgives you he forgives you and he forgives it he's never going to bring it up to you again so don't bring it up to him the storms rage things happen in our life and sometimes we don't know if we're going to make it through the storm. We just want to see the rainbow. That is basically the end of the storm. Someone once said these words. If you want to see the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain. Think about it. It's true. You want to see the rainbow, you've got to put up with the rain. The rainbow is a sign that God is with us. He won't destroy us. And the storms will rage. The storms will be tough sometimes. And sometimes those storms will feel like they're more than we can bear. But I want to share one more thing with you and that is this. God said he would never put more on us than we're able to bear. so as bad as it may seem as bad as your storm may seem sometimes God said I will never put on more than you can bear so ride out that storm put up with the rain and get ready to see the rainbow because it's coming it's coming if you just keep faith keep that faith don't let it wane let's bow our heads before the Lord Father God this morning this message was for someone whether it was someone here in this house whether it was someone watching the video today I don't know who it was for but it was for somebody they just needed a little pick me up they just needed a little something to just help them to realize that you know what I'm going through a storm but the storm is going to cease one of these days and I'm going to see the rainbow Maybe you've thought about this message today And maybe you're going through a storm Maybe your storm seems Maybe minuscule to some people But to you it's raging And you don't want to do And you say I need strength today I need strength to hold on I feel like I'm at the end of my rope But I want to hold on I want to let go of the rope And I want to hold on to Jesus Help me to have strength To let go of the rope and hold on to Jesus. Will you raise up the hand today and say, God, help me today. Hand going up, hand going up, hand going up everywhere. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. That's beautiful. That's beautiful. Hallelujah. I appreciate that today. Maybe you're watching this video today and you're saying, I need to have strength to let go of the rope and hold on to Jesus. Just raise up your hand wherever you're at right now. Father God, you saw hands going up all over, all over this house. Father God, maybe people watching this video Put my hands up saying, I need to learn to let go of the rope and hold on to Jesus. Father God, I pray right now that you will touch these lives. You will give them the strength of God. You will help them, Father God, to let go of the rope and hold on to Jesus. Let go of the rope, hold on to Jesus. And ride out that storm, ride out the rain until we see the rainbow. And Father God, we will see the rainbow because your promise is true. Your promise is true. I pray for the strength for these people today Father God I pray that you will give them the strength of God That you will open the windows of heaven right now And you will pour that strength down upon them That the storm even though it rages They will not worry about the storm They will look for the rainbow At the end of the storm They will trust in you Father God I pray for them right now I pray for everyone that raised their hand I pray for them right now And I thank you for right now Father That you will touch them and heal them and help them through their storms. And now, Father God, we thank you and we love you and we praise you for it all. We love you, Jesus. We thank you, Jesus. And we bless your holy name. And we all say amen and amen. Thank you.

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