Rooted in the Rock of God
The sermon emphasizes the importance of trusting in God's abiding facts and presence in our lives to experience true happiness and fulfillment.
Mary Wilder Tileston preaches about the everlasting presence of the Lord surrounding His people, drawing a parallel to the mountains around Jerusalem. She emphasizes the importance of recognizing the abundance of blessings and hope available to us if we have the wisdom to see things as they truly are. Tileston highlights the central mistake in many lives as the failure to believe in the forgiveness of the past, the power of the present, and the brightness of the future that God provides, leading to unnecessary sorrow and unbelief. She encourages a firm belief in the unchanging promises of God, which stand tall and unwavering, offering eternal hope and security.
Text
As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people from henceforth even forever.
PSALMS 125:2
HOPE it may be the happiest year of your life, as I think each succeeding year of everybody's life should be, if only everybody were wise enough to see things as they are; for it is certain that there really exists, laid up and ready to hand, for those who will just lay hands upon it, enough for every one and enough forever. I am quite sure that the central mistake of all lives that are mistaken is the not taking this simple unchangeable fact for granted, not seeing that it is so, and cannot but be so, and will remain so "though we believe not." I think I can trace every scrap of sorrow in my own life to this simple unbelief. How could I be anything but quite happy if I believed always that all the past is forgiven, and all the present furnished with power, and all the future bright with hope, because of the same abiding facts, which don't change with my mood, do not crumble, because I totter and stagger at the promise through unbelief, but stand firm and clear with their peaks of pearl cleaving the air of Eternity, and the bases of their hills rooted unfathomably in the Rock of God?
JAMES SMETHAM
Sermon Outline
- I. The Lord's Presence in Our Lives
- A. God's presence is constant and unwavering
- B. We must learn to see God's presence in our lives
- II. The Central Mistake of Unbelief
- A. Unbelief leads to sorrow and dissatisfaction
- B. We must take God's promises for granted
- III. The Abiding Facts of God's Presence
- A. God's forgiveness, power, and hope are always available
- B. We must trust in these abiding facts
Key Quotes
“How could I be anything but quite happy if I believed always that all the past is forgiven, and all the present furnished with power, and all the future bright with hope, because of the same abiding facts, which don't change with my mood, do not crumble, because I totter and stagger at the promise through unbelief, but stand firm and clear with their peaks of pearl cleaving the air of Eternity, and the bases of their hills rooted unfathomably in the Rock of God?” — Mary Wilder Tileston
“It is certain that there really exists, laid up and ready to hand, for those who will just lay hands upon it, enough for every one and enough forever.” — Mary Wilder Tileston
Application Points
- We must learn to trust in God's abiding facts and presence in our lives to experience true happiness and fulfillment.
- Unbelief leads to sorrow and dissatisfaction, while faith in God's promises brings joy and peace.
- We can be happy if we believe that all the past is forgiven, all the present is furnished with power, and all the future is bright with hope because of God's abiding facts.