Taste and See
Psalm 34:8
Sunday, January 8th, 2017- MRWC
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Well, good morning everyone! It’s super awesome to be up here this morning. This hasn't happened in well over 6 months, so I ask for your patience, as I could be somewhat rusty…. So bear with me if you please.
I do want to say thank you for the Love and Prayers that you have sent our way; please keep them coming; we’re not out of the wilderness as of yet.
Normally at the start of a New Year I like to pick one verse, or even issue a challenge that we can all be a part of as the year rolls on.
Pastor Mike preached an excellent message last week called; “This one thing” and if you missed it, I want to encourage you to head on over to our website and check it out. It will challenge you to do one thing for God this year.
While I don’t know what 2017 holds for me or for anyone of you, I do know the One who does.
I know and believe that God is completely sovereign and that He controls all things, and He knows and sees all things.
Nothing that happens in 2017 will scare God, nor will there be anything happen in 2017 that God will not be able to handle.
Because God is all knowing, all-powerful and everywhere present, He is more than able to handle whatever comes our way this year.
What we must do this year, is turn to Him and seek His face.
So before moving on, lets pause and thank God for His unmistakable Presence in our church and her people because we have seen Him do Great things!
PRAY
If there would be one Scripture passage that I could leave with you for the entire year, a passage that you and I could reflect on again and again, it would be the one found in Psalm 34:8.
In Psalm 34:8 David says: “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him. (Psalm 34:8, NIV)
No matter what happens to us in 2017—When Trump occupies the Oval Office, when the economy sinks even more that it already has, if your house blows up, if you were to lose everything that you own in an instant, God would still want us to take refuge in Him.
WHY?
Because the Bible reminds us that God would still be in control. “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging.” (Psalm 46:1-3, NIV)
Even if all hell were to break loose on the earth, God would still be with us, to help us make sense of it all.
And what we’re to do in these hard times is not run away from God, but to run to God and let Him be our refuge.
Let God protect us. Let God be our stronghold. Let God be our fortress.
ILLUSTRATION- Think about it for just a second.
Who, but God, is truly able to offer us peace in an un-peaceful world?
Who, but God, is able to bring us rest in a restless world?
Who, but God, is able to fight all our battles?
Who, but God, is able to fend off the attacks of the Enemy when his sole purpose is to destroy us?
NO ONE.
There is no one like God. Our God is not one of many gods, our God; the God of the Bible, is the One True God.
There is no one who can protect us like God can protect us. There is no one who can offer us the kind of security that God offers us. There is no one who can be our refuge, no one but God.
This, I think, is why David wrote what he did in Psalm 62: “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. 2 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken….”
5 Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.6 He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.
7 My victory and honour come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me.
8 O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge.” (Psalm 62: 1-2, 5-8, NLT2)
There is no one who is able to protect us from the storms of life the way that God is able to protect us.
Psalm 91:1-2 says: “Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.” (NIV)
Are you placing your trust in God?
If you do, if you make God your only source of refuge, your only source of protection, your only source of hope, then:
“The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me. I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble. I will rescue and honour them.
16 I will reward them with a long life and give them my salvation.” (Psalm 91:14-16, NLT2)
God wants to be our only source of protection. If we make Him our source of protection, He will fill us with all that He is.
And that my friends, is what each of us so desperately need.
David, in Psalm 34:8 would have us “taste”: meaning “to see, to discover by experience” that God is good, and we will be blessed if we take refuge in Him.
ILLUSTRATION- It’s like enjoying a good steak. We won’t know the steak is good if we just look at it.
We won’t know the steak is good if we only take it out of the wrapper.
The only way that we will know that the steak is good is if we crack open the BBQ, smother that steak with BBQ sauce, cook up some mushrooms, green peppers and onions…. the only way we’re going to know if the steak is any good, is by consuming it.
It’s the same idea here. The only way that we will ever know if God is really good, is if we taste of His goodness.
If we come to Him and allow Him to be our refuge and strength.
If we allow Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit, if we take refuge in Him, we will lack no good thing.
"If anyone is thirsty,” Jesus said, “let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." (John 7:37b-38, NIV)
Do you trust in God for strength, for protection, for living water or do you trust in yourself?
Are you hoping that you can fix all your problems, or are you hoping and trusting in God to fix your problems?
You see friend, God is more than able to help you, to rescue you and to save you; all you have to do is “taste and see that the lord is good.” (Psalm 34:8, NIV)
Some of us are only nibbling at God. We are coming to Him when it is convenient for us.
When we’re in a mess, we cry out to God and make all kinds of promises that we don’t really intend to keep; we just want help.
What God wants all of us to do, regardless of who we are—or who we think we are—is to taste Him—to take Him at His Word and make Him our life.
It’s not time to fool around; it’s time to get serious about God and the things of God.
Are you snacking on God or are you feasting on Him? “Taste and see that the LORD is good…” (Psalm 34:8a)
And, because God is good, we will never lack anything good.
This does not mean that we will have a big car and a nice house and a rich bank account, those things are nice, but they are not necessarily good.
What this promise of never lacking anything good means is that we will never lack anything good.
God will not supply all our greed’s, but He will supply all our needs. (And he has done that very thing!)
Look at verses 9-10 of Psalm 34: “Fear the Lord, you his godly people, for those who fear him will have all they need.
10 Even strong young lions sometimes go hungry, but those who trust in the Lord will lack no good thing.” (NLT2)
Look also at Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.” (NLT2)
Now look at Matthew 6:33: “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” (NLT2)
If we taste and see that the Lord is good, if we make God our refuge, if we seek Him with all that we are, He will give us all that we need.
ILLUSTRATION- Every time we go to Halifax, Beth and I see the Lord at work.
Believe it or not, its very expensive to travel to and from the hospital in Halifax.
There have been times when our bank account has been quite low, and each and every time it has, God shows up in a miraculous way with money at just the right
time. Each and every time.
God has been looking after us, not only with me receiving good physical care, but also with monetary provisions.
Friends, the God who provides for my family wants to be the God who provides for you.
One of the Names of God in the Old Testament is Jehovah-Jireh. It literally means “God will provide”.
God wants to provide for you all that you need, both this year and in the years to come, if we live that long.
In fact, we are to be praying for God to provide: Jesus said these words in Matthew 6: "This, then, is how you should pray: "'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread….”
(Matthew 6:9-11, NIV)
Because God is good, He will provide all that you and I will ever need. We may have to wait for a while, but ultimately He will provide as He sees fit.
But you know friends; if we want to experience all the good things that God has for us, we must, as Psalm 34:14 says: “Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.” (NIV)
The only way that we can ever experience the true blessing from the Lord is if we stop and surrender our lives over to Him.
Surrender is the only way that we will be able to walk in complete peace.
Have you surrendered to the Lord? Are you seeking the Prince of Peace? Are you making Him your refuge—your hiding place, your stronghold?
There is great victory that comes from trusting in the Lord, from making God our all.
David said it best when he wrote: “The LORD is my light and my salvation-- whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life-- of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalm 27:1, NIV)
If you have not placed your trust in the Lord, or if you are only taking bits and pieces of God, then you are missing out on God’s best.
You are missing out on the provision of God, on having God walk with you each moment of the day.
So what do I want you to do with what you’ve just heard? This one thing:
1. Stop snacking and start feasting!
God doesn't want for us to come to Him when we feel like it. God wants us to come to Him all the time.
To tell Him what’s bugging us, to tell Him what makes us happy, to tell Him what we need, to tell Him what we desire…
Paul wrote in Philippians 4: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.
7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Ph. 4:6-7, NLT2)
Don’t just snack on God. Climb right up to the table and start feasting on Him and on His goodness…
If there is one verse that I can leave with you, one verse that you memorize and one verse that stays with you all year, make it be this one verse, found in Psalm 34;8
For this one truth is what we will need to get us through all of the things 2017 will send our way: “Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.” (NIV)
As the team comes back to lead us in song, if you'd like to spend some more time feasting on the Goodness of God, I want to encourage you to find a friend where you are and have them pray with and for you…
Or you might want to come up to the alter and have a few people gather around and pray for you here…
Whatever you want to do, I want to encourage you right now to make a commitment to God that you will begin to feast on Him and His goodness.
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