"Be Still & Know That I Am God." Sermon from 6/25/17

and so this morning I was trying to figure this week s trying to figure out what to talk about and what was what would be kind of timely in this transition of between pastors and all this changes stuff happening and I thought about this verse that's on the screen be still and know that I am God this verse calls me and the reason I picked it for this week is because I don't like change those that know me really well no I hate change and so having a new pastor come in kind of you know it's exciting I'm so excited for Pastor Mike to come in don't get me wrong but with any change it's always a little daunting so anybody else out there not like change I am NOT alone that is good to know okay so I found not well I found this verse and it just it calms me in the midst of all the transition and all the change and all that it reminds me to slow down and to be quiet and to be still before God and it's in those moments where I can hear God's voice and feel his presence so be still and know that I am God so today we're talking about prayer and more more importantly the active listening and being still enough to hear God's voice and prayer so pray with me one more time so dear God speak through me today let your words come through encourage us and help us hear something fresh from you in Jesus name we pray amen so prayer the first thing that comes to mind when I was growing up about prayer somebody kneeling at an ulcer and saying the most boring and empty words ever prayer made no sense to me and I have since learns that that's really not prayer and one of the things we teach our students is that prayer is simply having a conversation with God nothing more nothing less it's like having a conversation with your best friend or with your spouse or wherever you're close with you talk about your day you talk about what you need help with you talk about what struggles you're going through you talk about anything and everything that comes to mind another way to put it I found this video that kind of gives an overview of prayer pray to the Lord pray to him while he can be found for he is near us whenever he's praying eyes open his ears attentive listening to what is said in hearts and whispers when tears fall down sheep in silence when no words can be said but thank you according to his compassion according to his kindness and his great love he is our dwelling place so cry aloud call on him bowed on bended knees confess sins offer petitions watch and pray find your own mountainside your own garden of gethsemane pray in lonely places when things are good and not-so-good pray for those who are unable to pray for themselves sand guard mind your posts stand on the wall in the gap as words lifted to God build bridges to nation's prayers our seeds planted even if you never get to see them grow God is a gardener paying close attention to the soil of prayers listed for generations yet to be born in the place of Prayer is where peace can be found and we may not know how or why but we know who and when you are expensive words to pray he prays for you taking all the things you can't give voice to surrendering them at the feet of one who is all-powerful whose words extend past times whose love is so wide and deep that it is immeasurable pray and don't give up pray earnestly raise your voice and quiet your soul that God may dwell in your hearts pray when you're anxious pray when you're afraid be watchful and thankful pray continually praise to the Father to a God who is faithful to a God who hears cry out for the Living God so prayer is a lot of different things there's many different ways you can pray and there's really no right or wrong way but the simplest way that I found to describe prayer is prayer as a conversation and that like in any conversation there are two sides there's talking and then there's listening and the same is true with prayer you see when you're talking with a friend sometimes they have this great advice but there's only but they only have a chance to share it when you stop top when you stop talking and you listen so when we pray when we have this conversation with God there are things that he wants to share with us there things he wants to tell us things he wants us to watch out for things to make us laugh and things to make us feel better or feel loved you know God wants to be a part of that conversation with us with us which is one of the most awesome things about prayer we have a God who wants to listen to us and who wants to interact and talk with us see I remember one of the first time into my youth leaders taught me about prayer we are praying for someone who was sick and we would just pray for it every week and I didn't really think much about it at all but one week there was a difference the person who was sick was getting better and it was so cool to hear my youth leaders excitement that her friend was getting better and I got me thinking maybe God is actually listening to our prayers and maybe he's actually doing something about them - well now I pray about everything from help me find my keys which are usually in the bottom of my purse to keep it safe on my drive or to heal those who are sick and hurting and what's so cool by my use later introducing prayer in my life I began to think about it in a different way and the answer connect with God on a different than a deeper level in a way I had not connected with God before so this morning I want to look at three questions about prayer the first one is do we want to connect with God the second one do we want to hear from God and then the third question what are some distractions or noise that keeps us from hearing and connecting with God so question number one do you want to connect with God so who is here at church this morning yes we are here we are present we are paying attention oh cool Oh anyways so because you raised your hands you're here at church and I think that's a pretty good indicator that you're at least a little bit interested in connecting with God or learning about what that means so question number one I'll put you guys all down for yes so question number two do you want to hear from God this one's a little a little trickier a little tougher to answer because sometimes we aren't ready to hear what God is saying sometimes we find ourselves running because something happened or maybe it's because you've never heard from God before so you don't know what to expect or even how to hear God like I said earlier simply put the easiest way to hear God and to find him it's Psalm 46:10 as you can see on the screen be still and know that I am God when we can still everything around us everything within us that is where we can find God and where we can hear his voice so I have a couple stories from the Old Testament that we're going to look at today the first one is about a guy named Elijah so Elijah finds himself in this predicament of not being able to hear God anymore and he's trying to figure out it even wants to hear for God anymore you see the thing is he was running away and he was unable to hear what God's trying to tell him but he has a little background about Elijah so Elijah was a prophet in the Old Testament and the stories from first Kings chapter 18 so being a prophet Elijah was pretty tight with God and the story is in the midst of a drought God tells Elijah go and challenge the prophets of Baal see Baal was a false god of the day back then and it was what a lot of people believed in and so there's all these people that followed the prophets and this God Baal and so the challenge that Elijah presents to these prophets is to call on your God and to give a burnt offering without setting fire to it so pretty much it's a battle of the gods to see which one would send the fire to burn up the offering so the next day Elijah and these prophets go out and they start preparing for the sacrifice myth offering and the prophets of Baal go ahead they make their altar they put the wood up there they put the sacrifice on top and then they start praying and crying out to their God to send the fire to burn up their sacrifice well half a day goes by nothing happens well I just starts mocking and taunting them and egging them on like where's your God where is he sitting in the bathroom is he not paying attention to what's going on out here and he keeps mocking them and they keep crying out louder and louder and trying to make this big ruckus so that their God Baal would come and burn up their sacrifice well nothing happened and it finally it comes to Elijah's turn so he builds his altar and he starts building this trench around it now why would he be building a trench around the sacrifice that they're in the midst of this drought so why would they be building a trench the only thought would be for water but why would they be using water if they're in a drought does it make a lot of sense but what a line to does he builds the altar and then what he does is he brings out not just one bucket of water but four large jars of water and he pours them out three times over this wood and over this this altar and the sacrifice so there was no way that this wood was going to light on fire so the time comes when alleged assists don't normal prayers and he prays to God and immediately fire flashes from the sky burns up the altar of the sacrifice and all the water in that trench that they had just dumped in there and this was proving to all those who were who were watching all those around that Elijah's God yes he is the Lord the God so after that how do you think Elijah must have felt I think he would have been on top of the world you know but he wasn't in chapter 19 we find a different a different Elijah after this magnificent show of God's power Elijah tells a hab to run home and prepare for rain and this is what happens it says in chapter 19 when Ahab at home he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal oh yeah so after the whole thing there was a little massacre there anyways that's just a little thing in the Old Testament moving on so Jezebel sent this message to Elijah may the God strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them Elijah was afraid and fled for his life he went to Beersheba a town in Judah and he left his servant there then he went on alone into the wilderness traveling all day he sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die I have had enough Lord he said take my life for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died so Elijah God's prophet and man of miracles he ran away and he wanted to die so how did we get from showing off God's power too depressed and running away well sometimes that's just how life goes and it makes no sense of how we get there so how did how did Elijah get back to this place of wanting to hear from God again and not being in that that place of being so down so the story continues in chapter 19 verse 10 so as he travels to Mount Sinai the mountain of God and he finds the cave and the Lord comes for him but the Lord said to him what are you doing here Elijah and Elijah replied I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty but the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you torn down your altars and killed every one of your prophets I'm the only one left and now they're going to kill me to go out and stand before me on the mountain the Lord told him and as Elijah stood there the Lord passed by and a mighty wind storm hit the mountain and it was such a terrible terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose but the Lord was not in the wind after the wind there was an earthquake but the Lord was not in the earthquake and after the earthquake there were the fire but the Lord was not in the fire and after the fire they were the sound of a gentle whisper when Elijah heard it he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave and the voice said what are you doing here Elijah you see God told Elijah go calm down outside I said the cave and wait for what I have to say sometimes we get so caught up in our lives and the busyness of life that like Elijah we get lost and so down on ourselves that I take finding God in the quiet to reorient us it's that gentle whisper that was always there if we're willing to slow down and listen for it and that message that God gave Elijah at that time was anointing Elijah who would be taking over Elijah's role is the Prophet at that time so if Elijah had not taken that time to quiet himself and listen for God's voice he wouldn't have had Elijah to come after him and learn for a minute he that mantle of overseeing and watching God's people so it's important that we take those moments to be still and know that God is there so the second story I wanted to share with you this morning is a story of a guy named Samuel so it's the first Daniel chapter 3 and at this time Samuel is just a boy and he hadn't yet heard God speak and the first time he had no idea who is even talking to him you see Samuel was serving at the temple assisting Eli the priest at the time and it's late at night everybody's asleep and the Lord calls out farival yes Samuel replies what is it so he got up and he runs to Eli and he says Here I am did you call me Eli's sleeping he's not really knowing what's going on he says I didn't call you go back to bed so Samuel goes back to bed and then he hears it again the Lord calls out to Samuel and again Samuel got up and he goes Elaine he says Here I am did you call me I didn't call you my son Eli said go back to bed Samuel did not yet know the Lord because he had never had a message from the Lord before so the Lord calls out a third time and once more Samuel gets up and he runs say Eli and says Here I am did you call me then Eli realized it was the Lord who was calling the boy so he said to Samuel go and lie down and if someone calls again say speak Lord your servant is listening so Samuel goes back to bed and the Lord came and called again Samuel Samuel and Samuel replied speak your servant is listening so if you've never heard God before like Samuel how do you know it's God talking to you that's a great question so a couple things about prayer I should always line up with what it says in the Bible so if you think you're hearing God speak to you open open up the Bible and kind of see what's written in there to see if what you're hearing from God is lining up with what's written in the Bible another thing that can kind of help us engage if it's God is sharing and talking with our mentors and our trusted friends and the other thing is sometimes it's just a gut feeling of just knowing this is what God saying and talking to me about right now and sometimes God doesn't speak in that audible voice sometimes God speaks to us through the Bible or through people around us or you know through signs and different things like that God speaks in many many different ways because we have a mysterious and awesome God who's going to connect with us in any way that he can so our second question is do you want to hear from God and that's a question you have to answer for yourself unlike the first one I can't answer it for you so that leads me to our third question today what are some of the distraction and noise that keeps us from hearing and connecting with God well how do you listen in any conversation well it's zoning in and shutting it down and shutting off all those distractions around us so it's turning off the phone it's turning off the TV the music it's trying to turn off the other conversations that are going on in our head and trying to focus in and Zone in on that one person you're having that conversation with the same is true with prayer so we had to find a way to clear everything else away so it's just us and God that we can have those moments of silence will to hear his voice so I know I know it's easier said than done because I know my mind's always running in a million different directions trying to keep up with everything going on and it's hard to sit and to turn everything off and sometimes honestly it's a little scary because there's times where I'm afraid of the silence and afraid of you know where my mind is going to run and it's okay and it's in those moments that we really need to remember this verse be still and know that I am God one thing that can help us when we are sitting in that silence is repeating God's promises over and over again to kind of focus us and help us Zone in on okay I'm focusing on God right now so and so in in that stillness we can find God and that's what he promises us so wherever you find yourself this morning if it's in that drought running from God like Elijah or wondering what God sounds like like Samuel remember God's promise be still and know that I am God and it's in that silence that we can find find God and experience him so this morning we're going to do that for a little bit one thing we do is the students from time to time as we do prayer stations and one of the favorites that we have done throughout the years it's called be still and know that I am God so I'll read it to you and we'll do a shortened version of it and then head back in that worship after that so it says have a seat or lie down and make yourself comfortable so at this station you will not be praying for anything or about anything or thinking any specific facts you are to simply be still and silent and listen to God ask God's calm your minds and to remove distracting thoughts if it helps say this phrase over and over again until you are called be still and know that I am God if that's come think about them only briefly and then let it pass on let your stillness be your prayer to God listen to what the Aussie brings forward in your mind so we're going to spend some time doing that now so it is going to be quiet so don't freak out it'll be cool so pray with me thank you for thank you for the silence again we thank you but you tell us the Beast element you know that you are with us God we thank you for the things that you have shared with us and spoken with us and every just thank you for that name we pray so as we head into our last song this morning I invite the praise team to come on up we're gonna sing oceans and it's really a prayerful song so I invite you to continue in an attitude of prayer and continue listening to God and what are you speaking to you this morning so feel free to stand with us or if you'd like to stay seated and pray that's fine too [Music] you call me out upon the waters the great unknown we'll see me fail and there I find you in the mystery in oceans deep my blade will sting and so I will call upon your name and keep my eyes above the way with oceans rise my soul will rest in your ears for I am yours and you are mine [Music] [Music] your grace abounds in deepest water stop right here we'll be by God [Music] with these McDavid you've never been and you won't die back inside you will call upon your name [Music] [Music] we lost and rise my soul will rest in your embrace for I am yours and you are I know Oh [Music] Oh [Music] you spirit lead me where my trust is Without Borders let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of me where my trust is Without Borders let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me take me deeper than my feet and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my where my trust is Without Borders let me walk upon the waters wherever you would call me wash my face on the great talker in a frenzy [Music] [Laughter] [Music] you [Music] I [Music] and cable by the way my soul will rest in your embrace for I am yours and you are mine I and you are dad we just thank you for how much you love less and we thank you that in that quiet and that stillness that we can find you there and God we ask that as we go out this week that you would just continue to remind us of that and help us to find time to come and find you in that stillness and in that quiet interesting we pray amen have a great week

Channel: Dwight UMC

Views: 980

Rating: 5 out of 5

Keywords: Dwight IL, DUMC, Dwight UMC

Id: A7DhzGWhj2s

Length: 29min 18sec (1758 seconds)

Published: Tue Jun 27 2017