City Church Garland

This is a podcast from primarily sermons preached at City Church Garland.

This is a podcast from primarily sermons preached at City Church Garland.

This is a podcast from primarily sermons preached at City Church Garland.

This is a podcast from primarily sermons preached at City Church Garland.

In this mesage from Joanh 2 we see how the Lord works through painful circumstances to bring His people to a humble dependence on Him in prayer, through which they experience God’s rescue and restoration.

Running from God is wearisome, costly, and vain, and it results in His loving discipline. Jonah the Prophet found that out the hard way after he disobeyed God, tried to flee from God's presence, and brought distress upon himself and others. In chapter one, we see the Lord sovereignly use circumstances, direct the weather, and appoint a large fish to swallow Jonah as part of God's loving discipline in Jonah's life. In this story, God's will prevailed even as he worked with the unwilling, prodigal prophet. Jonah was confronted with the reality that he could not escape God's presence. The Prophet Jeremiah wrote,

“Can a man hide himself in secret places so that I cannot see him? declares the LORD. Do I not fill heaven and earth? declares the LORD." Jeremiah 23:24 ESV

In this powerful short book, there are some significant key themes that are repeated in Scripture:

- God’s missional agenda

- God’s sovereignty of creation

- Man’s rebellion against God

- Man’s need for repentance

- God’s mercy and grace granted to undeserving sinners.

The Lord faithfully protects, preserves, and delivers those who are committed to him from their troubles.

Psalm 46 points us to Christ as our mighty fortress. The truth in this powerful Psalm has comforted and strengthened God's people with confidence for centuries. It has been considered the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther's battle hymn. He wrote about it, saying, “We sing this Psalm to the praise of God, because God is with us, and powerfully and miraculously preserves and defends his church and his word, against all fanatical spirits, against the gates of hell, against the implacable hatred of the devil, and against all the assaults of the world, the flesh, and sin.”

This beloved psalm has been called the “pearl of Psalms” by Charles Spurgeon. In it we see that the Lord is a good Shepherd who cares for His sheep well by providing, leading, protecting, and accompanying them through the darkest valleys.

“Depth and strength underlie the simplicity of this psalm. Its peace is not escape; its contentment is not complacency: there is readiness to face deep darkness and imminent attack, and the climax reveals a love which homes towards no material goal but to the Lord Himself.” Derek Kinder, Psalms, p.127

Honesty with God about our pain is an expression of faith and a path to praise, joy, assurance, and intimacy.