BE STILL AND KNOW . . .

Psalm 46:1; 7 – 11

 

 

A.                 Psalm 46:1 – God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

 

B.                 God

1.                  Creator and sustainer of the universe  Gen. 1:1

2.                  Song – Our God is an awesome God

a.                   He reigns from heaven above

b.                  With wisdom power and love

c.                   Our God is an awesome God

 

C.                 God spoke into existence the heavens and the earth

1.                  It took no more power to heal a cripple than to part the Red Sea

2.                  It took no more power to feed the multitudes than to raise Jesus from the dead

 

D.                 This is our God

1.                  He is the source of our strength to see things through

2.                  He is our refuge from this world and all its chaos

3.                  That is MY PERSONAL GOD / YOUR PERSONAL GOD

 

E.                  THAT IS THE GOD THAT I WANT TO KNOW

 

            F.         That is the God that Moses wanted to know

                        1.         Exodus 33:12-14 – Moses said to the LORD, “You have been telling me, ‘Lead these people,’ but you have not let me know whom you will send with me.  You have said, ‘I know you by name and you have found favor with me.’  If you are pleased with me, teach me your ways so I may know you and continue to find favor with you.  Remember that this nation is your people.”  The LORD replied, “My Presence will go with you and I will give you rest.”

 

 

INTRODUCTION:

A.                 Paul wanted to know Christ  

1.      Philippians 3:7-11 -   7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. 10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.

 

2.      We all should desire to come to KNOW God

 

C.        But if you are like me or most families

                                   

1.                  We have no social life – Our lives revolve around our children’s activities

2.                  This past weekend

a.                   Friday – Kevin – Football / Logan – VB tourney

b.                  Saturday – Logan – VB tourney / Bailey – Choir performance / Lyn – Funeral in Crowley

 

3.                  Seem to go is 5 different directions at once – Our lives seem so chaotic

 

 

D.        Then I heard of a recent survey for safe driving

            1.         What do you do while driving?

            2.         This survey showed many people

                        a.         Ate / drank something while driving

                        b.         Smoked / Talked on the cell phone / Even read while driving

                        c.         Some did several of these at the same time while driving

 

3.        And the age group for this was 25-45

 

E.         We are so busy in our lives we feel we need to do several things at once

 

B.                 Thankfully our world is filled with things designed to make our life easier, better, more complete

1.                  We have

a.                   Stereos / Tape decks

b.                  Answering machines

c.                   Cell phones / Cable TV / Computers

 

2.                  All are built and bought to improve our lives

 

 

C.                 But in the noise and busy – ness of our lives

1.                  It is very easy to lose track of God

2.                  God is not found in the noise and busy – ness of human effort

3.                  In fact much of our background noise

a.                   TV

b.                  Radio

c.                   Cell phones

d.                  Etc.  All of this distracts us from God

4.                  God gets lost in the noise of human living

 

 

D.                This is why God – through the Psalmist – says to us

1.                  Psalm 46:10 – Be still and know that I am God.  I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth.

 

2.                  God asks us to

a.                   Stop our efforts

b.                  To cease the distractions

c.                   To come and know God as God

 

3.                  Saw a marquee sign many years ago that turned into one of my favorites once I understood it

 

a.                   If You Can’t See The Light --- Turn Off The Sound

b.                  If you can’t see God – Turn off the distractions of the world

 

4.                  People today are not used to being still

a.                   We are bombarded with Information / Technology / Noise

b.                  We have been conditioned

i.                     To constant activity

ii.                   To feel we must always have something going on

 

E.                 But to know God

1.                  We must stop the busy – ness

2.                  We need to come see HIM

 

F.                  What does stillness do?

 

BODY:

I.          IN STILLNESS WE FACE LIFE

A.                 Many people do not want to slow down and be still

1.                  If they do they begin to think about their lives

2.                  They realize that with

a.                   All their gadgets / toys

b.                  Their careers / Their family

c.                   They are not satisfied nor happy

 

3.                  In the stillness of life – we have to face ourselves

4.                  And in that stillness – that silence

a.                   We realize how much we need someone bigger

b.                  We need someone to guide us – to lead us – to direct our lives

 

5.                  In that stillness we see the need for God

B.                 This probably one reason God commanded the Israelites to keep the Sabbath

 

1.                   Ex. 35:2-3 – Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh day shall be a holy day for you, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD.  Whoever does any work on is shall be put to death.  You shall kindle no fire throughout your dwellings on the Sabbath day.

 

2.                  God wanted

a.                   The Jews to stop once each week – to not work and think about God

b.                  The Jews to realize

i.                     Their lives were not about making a living

ii.                   But their lives were about God

 

3.                  God wanted them to rest and meditate on

a.                   God

b.                  And His will for their lives

 

C.                 Colossians 2:14 – 17 – tells us we are no longer under that law

1.                  We are under the law of Christ

2.                  .: We are not to keep the Sabbath

 

3.                  But the principle is there

a.                   To be still

b.                  To think about our lives

c.                   To think about God’s will for our lives

 

 

 

 

 

 

D.                The pattern of Jesus shows us the value of quiet time

1.                   Mark 1:35 – Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.

 

a.                   Jesus knew the value of Being Still – of being silent in solitude

b.                  And instead of being afraid of the stillness

i.                     He embraced it

ii.                   He used it strengthen his relationship with God

 

c.                   This was not a Sabbath rest – but a pattern of rest throughout His life

 

2.                  Luke 6:12 – Now it came to pass in those days that He went out to the mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God.

 

a.                   Jesus often left His disciples to be alone and pray

b.                  He knew the value of being still and going to God

 

II.                Another reason we do not want to be still – IN STILLNESS WE FACE OUR INADEQUACY

A.                 Psalm 46:11 – The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge

 

1.                  When we are surrounded by silence – we realize

a.                   Just how fragile we are

b.                  Our shortcomings and weaknesses

 

2.                  Many people stay busy and over – stimulated with noise

a.                   To avoid the emptiness in their lives

b.                  To avoid facing themselves

3.                  But no matter

a.                   How much you have

b.                  How busy you are ----- In that Stillness

c.                   You realize life is not all you want

 

4.                  That is where God comes in

 

B.                 Stillness reminds us that

1.                  Despite our accomplishments

2.                  We are still inadequate / incomplete

 

C.                 God calls us to be still – To STOP and consider our situation – To look at our lives

1.                  To accept our weaknesses

2.                  To know we do not have

a.                   The answers

b.                  The resources

c.                   The means

d.                  To make ourselves happy OR to save ourselves

 

D.                Stillness forces us to face God and our need for Him

1.                   Luke 17:10 – So likewise you, when you have done all those things which you are commanded, say, ‘We are unprofitable servants.  We have done what was our duty to do.’

 

 

 

2.                  In our quiet moments

a.                   We realize we cannot do enough to please God

b.                  We cannot be good enough to keep God pleased

c.                   We cannot satisfy God with our performance

 

3.                  And that is if we have done it all perfectly

 

4.                  With sin in our lives

a.                   We must face the need for God

b.                  And the need for His salvation

 

5.                   Ephesians 2:8 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.

 

E.                  When we step back and examine our lives

1.                  We come to understand how much we truly depend upon God

2.                  Our lives – Our salvation – Is not of ourselves, but a gift from God

3.                  All that we have, enjoy, the good we experience – Comes from God

 

F.                  In the busy – ness of our lives

1.                  We can fool ourselves into thinking

a.                   WE made ourselves successful

b.                  WE have earned what we have

2.                  But in the stillness – We face the fact

a.                   What we have

i.                     Is not based upon how good we are

ii.                   How important / valuable we are

 

b.                  What we have is based upon God’s grace and His gifts to us

G.                Stillness takes us even deeper into our weaknesses

1.                  Even after we become Christians

a.                   We realize we are not perfect

b.                  We try – We strive – But sometimes we fail

 

2.                  In those quiet times we know what keeps us saved

3.                   Ephesians 1:13-14 – In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.

 

4.                  God has sealed us to Him

a.                   God did this

b.                  Not us

 

5.                  He saved us – And guarantees our salvation

 

6.                  In those quiet moments we realize

a.                   God is our refuge – Only God is our refuge

b.                  God is the source of our salvation – God is the only source of our salvation

 

 

III.             IN STILLNESS WE COME TO KNOW GOD

A.                 Psalm 46:10-11 – Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!  The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge

 

B.                 In our quiet times we face that as human beings

1.                  We are fragile

2.                  We are insufficient

3.                  We depend upon God for our salvation

 

4.         Finally in those quiet times

a.                   We come to know God better

b.                  We come to know His power better

 

C.                 As the Psalmist wrote – He is our REFUGE

1.                  He is the God of Jacob – NOT some fly by night god

2.                  He is the GREAT I AM – The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob

3.                  This God

a.                   Opened the Red Sea

b.                  Filled Solomon’s temple

c.                   Saved Daniel from the lion’s den

 

4.                  This is the God of Jesus

a.                   Who gave Him all authority

b.                  Who raised Him from the dead

 

5.                  In our quiet times with God we realize

a.                   His Greatness

b.                  His Power

c.                   His Love for us

d.                  1 John 3:1 – Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God.

 

IV.              FINALLY, IN STILLNESS WITH GOD WE REALIZE THE STILLNESS CHANGES US

 

A.                 When Paul was confronted by Jesus on the road to Damascus

1.                  He was blinded for three days – without food our drink – Acts 9:9

2.                  In that quiet time without distractions

a.                   He faced God and changed

b.                  HE rejected his former way of life

 

3.                  When Ananias arrived Paul was immersed into Christ to have his sins washed away

a.                   Acts 9:18

b.                  Acts 22:16

 

B.                 When Peter denied Christ – the Lord looked directly at Peter – Luke 22:61

 

1.                  Peter remembered Christ’s prediction

a.                   Luke 22:62 – Peter went outside and wept bitterly

b.                  In those quiet moments of despair

c.                   Peter realized his failure

d.                  He faced his sin and repented

 

2.                  When Jesus restored him following the resurrection

a.                   It was Peter who boldly preached Jesus on the day of Pentecost

b.                  It was Peter who became a champion for the cause of Christ

 

3.                  In the quiet times when they faced God – they changed

 

C.                 Satan likes us to stay busy

1.                  If he can keep us distracted with the noise of the world

2.                  He can keep us from knowing God

 

D.                In our stillness

1.                  We see ourselves as we are

2.                  We see our need for God

3.                  We come to know God

4.                  And the quiet times with God changes us – And Satan will fight that with all he has

 

V.                 DO YOU TAKE TIME TO BE STILL AND KNOW GOD?

 

A.                 Do you turn off the world just to meditate

1.                  On our lives

2.                  On our need for God

 

B.                 Do you turn off the TV, radio, computer – to spend time with God?

 

C.        If you want to know God better

1.                  If you want to know yourself better as you stand before God

2.                  Listen to God through the Psalmist – Be still and know that I am God