Watch Night Service 07

On last night we celebrated the Church of Jesus Christ's annual Watch Night Service with a joint worship celebration between the First Mount Zion Baptist Church and the New Hope Baptist Church, where I was honored to be asked to preach the final message of the year for both congregations. My Pastor, Joe A. Carter is presently on sabbatical from the New Hope Church while he is dealing with a bout of stress and anxiety that has actually caused him to miss the last few months of preaching at his church. Words cannot express how honored I felt for him to ask me to be the preacher for the evening when in past years during Watch Night at New Hope, he has brought some of this country's greatest pulpiteers such as: Dr. Joel Gregory, Dr. Eddie McCree and the one and only Dr. C. Eugene Overstreet just to name a few. So for him to ask me to stand on that level of platform when far more experienced and established personalities have been there and are more qualified to "pinch hit" for him, lets me know that the favor of God is great and unfair, but it will work in its own sovereign way.

The Lord led me to deal with an issue that has been plaguing both Pastors and pew all throughout 2007, and that is how do we deal with bad situations. All this year, the church has been dealt one blow after another trying to kill our effectiveness and stifle the growth and development of God's church. But I am grateful that the bible, the complete Word of God, gives us every answer to every question that we face in this life. So the Lord took me to Psalms 46:1-4 and allowed us to take a glimpse of how we are able to handle bad times when they show up in our lives.

This Psalm, though written by an unknown author, deals with a celebration in the Temple because the Lord had just defeated their enemy the Assyrians who attacked Israel following their wicked leader named Sennacherib. This Psalm was sung in the Temple as a celebratory song praising and thanking God for his deliverence in the worst of times. Here is the sermon outline:

Title: Help in Bad Situations

Thesis: our ability to rise above our bad situations rest totally in our complete confidence in a God who can

Transitional Statement: what proof do we have that we serve a God who can

I. God is Our Personal Rescue
-verse 1...God is our refuge and strength
a. We will find our safety with God
-God is our refuge
b. We will find our survival with God
-God is our refuge and strength

II. God is our Powerful Resource
-verse 1...a very present help in trouble
a. he is sufficient
a. he is immediate

III. God is our Permanent Resistance
-verses 2-3...therefore we will not fear, though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea...though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, Selah

a. Though our fears sticken us
-therefore we will not fear
b. Though our foundations shake us
-though the earth be removed and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea...though waters roar and be troubled...though mountains shake with swelling