Be Still and Know That I Am God 1983

One verse from Psalm 46, verse 10. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen.

I will be exalted in the earth. Many of us are frustrated by a feeling that we just aren't accomplishing anything significant with our lives. We have a sense that something important has to be done by us.

That God has something really worthwhile for us to accomplish. But what is it? The days keep slipping by. And life remains as trivial as ever.

We're busy. But with what? Our minds are racing all the time, even when we're trying to sleep. We can't seem to quiet them down.

But to what end? What's the result of it all? Lord, I'm getting older. I know you've got something for me bigger than I've done up to now. But when's it going to start? Where's this real harvest field you have for me? Where's this significant job you have for me to do? Our frustration is aggravated by the message of the gospel of modern evangelicalism in this country.

Which holds up before us as examples of the people who take their five pounds and turn them into ten. Big churches. Big missionary movements.

Big names. We look at them and then we look at what we've done and we feel even worse. But to bring some clarity into this frustration and confusion that many of us experience, the one to whom we turn has to be Jesus.

And when we look at Jesus, what do we see? We see thirty years spent in obscurity, then three and a half years of a basically low-key ministry. And even at Jesus' peak of popularity, and remember, that didn't last, even when the crowds were with him and they left him, even then there was no pressure, there was no haste, there was no frenzy, and there was no rush. There were long periods of solitude that was a deep inner quietness before the Father.

And it was out of this inner quietness before the Father that life flowed from heaven into the world. Jesus accomplished more in five minutes than the most famous evangelist this world has ever seen, whoever it is. Because Jesus knew how to hold still before his Father.

He knew how to be silent. He was poised, settled, centered at rest in that inner sabbath before the Father, and from that inner poise and inner silence before the Father came life. It rushed in from another world and moved out of him, often so matter-of-factly that nobody even realized what was happening.

He feeds 5,000 with five loaves and two fish, and it looks so natural nobody realizes what's going on. He puts his fingers on the eyes of a blind man, and when those eyes open they can see. But the source of all this is something which is beyond the visible.

The Apostle Paul. We probably all agree that Paul was the most fruitful of all the apostles. And Paul was busy, he was moving around, he was working hard, he suffered much.

But to keep in mind that from the moment Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus, the frenzy in his life was gone, that rush and haste was taken away. Notice how he began his life with God. Three days of total darkness, he was blind.

No food, no drink. His heart was becoming centered in God. Centered in God, the Spirit came into him.

His life with God began. Somebody says, well, that's all very well and good, but you know very well that Paul was an organizer, he got things done. He was an expediter, he made things happen.

Lots of people have been organizers and expediters and have made things happen, but not with the results of Paul. What we have to look for is the source of this, and what is the source of Paul's fantastic results and fruit? We see it in Philippians 3. Verse 7. But whatever gain I had, I count it as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For his sake, I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as refuse that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own based on law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith, that I may know him in the power of his resurrection, in the fellowship of his sufferings, and become like him in his death. That if possible, I may attain the resurrection out of the dead. So with Paul, it was not, how much fruit am I bearing? How many churches have I started? Let me see, we got Corinth, Ephesus, Philippi, none of that.

How many members do we have? With Paul, the question is, do I know Jesus? I've been following him for 50 years or whatever it is, the question is still, today, do I know him? Not yesterday, not last week, do I know him now in the power of his resurrection and in the fellowship of his sufferings and become like him in his death? If I know him this way, I will bear fruit. There's no way I cannot bear fruit if I'm abiding in the vine. Yes, we need action.

Lots of it. We need to get out there and pull down the strongholds of Satan. We have to walk the streets of this city and set the captives free.

We have to bear fruit. But before any of this can really happen, we first have to learn to shut down the engines of our flesh and become still. We have to learn to be silent in the presence of the living God.

Revelation 8.1 When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Picture it. The final seal on this scroll that contains what's now to happen as the world reaches the end of its era.

The Lamb breaks the seal and suddenly all the hallelujahs and all the praise gods and all the holy, holy, holy, all of this ends. No more singing. No more praises.

No more noise. And every angel and every saint, everyone is on their face before that blazing light that comes from the throne. Matthew 17.

And Peter said to Jesus, Lord, it is well that we are here. If you wish, I will make here three booths. One for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.

While he was still speaking, lo, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, This is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. Listen to him. When the disciples heard this, they fell on their faces and were filled with awe.

Suddenly nobody's talking anymore, not even Peter. These men are on their faces before the one whose face shines like the sun, whose raiment is white as the light. They are still.

Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen by this man. I will be exalted in the earth by this, your Christ.

Habakkuk 2.20 But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth keep silence before him. So stop trying to do something big for God.

There will be fruit. Mountains will move. Chains will break.

A harvest will come rolling in. When we learn to stop our mouths and our frenzied hearts and worship in silence the one whose face shines like the sun and whose raiment is white as the light. This is my beloved son.

Listen to him. Forget about Moses. Forget about Elijah.

Forget about everybody else. Look at him. Be still and know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in the earth. I will be exalted in Detroit through him.

Specifically this comes down to some things that we know already but we have to remind ourselves of again. We need first of all to become still before God in daily discipline. Reading from Luke 4.40 Now when the sun was setting all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to him and he laid his hands on every one of them and healed them.

And demons also came out of many saying you are the son of God but he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak because they knew that he was the Christ. When it was day he departed and went into a lonely place. When it was day he departed and went into a lonely place he got alone with the Father.

Why did he do that? Because he knew for himself that this was absolutely essential. Notice how Jesus God the Son in human flesh starts his day. He doesn't jog five miles.

He doesn't do a hundred push-ups. He doesn't get into his snap, crackle, pop. He gets quiet before the Father.

Now if Jesus, God the Son found this necessary how in the world are we going to maintain any vision of God any sense of God's kingdom any knowledge of his reality without it? You ask what's happened to your faith? Where did your vision go? It was driven out by all that busyness. All distractions. Of course our minds are going to be confused and our hearts are going to be all full of conflict until we see that this is absolutely essential for us.

And so someone says Oh yeah, but I tried that. I mean I must have 15, 20 times in my lifetime I've tried to get a discipline of daily prayer, time alone with God. I go for about two weeks once I made it almost six months and then it peters out again.

I don't care if you've tried a thousand times. There is absolutely no way we can survive with any sense of the kingdom without this. It's not a matter of a luxury this is an essential for everybody, not just St. Francis of Assisi, for every one of us.

And when we acknowledge that it's essential maybe one time in your life you thought you could go without sleep. So you made it for seven days with no sleep and then you collapsed. Then you learned.

Physically you couldn't survive. The problem with us in this area is that we can still survive physically, but we can't. In terms of relationship with God we fall on our face too.

And so start again. Time alone with God. Window or room.

Shut the door. Some simple scripture. A few verses of Luke or a psalm.

And then listen. Before you do any praying quiet before God. We need to learn to become still before God with instant repentance.

Reading again from Luke, this time chapter 22 verse 59. And after an interval of about an hour, still another insisted saying certainly this man also was with him, for he is a Galilean. Peter said, man I don't know what you're saying.

And immediately while he was still speaking the cock crowed and the Lord turned and looked at Peter and Peter remembered the word of the Lord how he had said to him before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times. And he went out and wept bitterly. Now Peter could have shrugged the whole thing off and said why shouldn't I deny it? He let me down.

He told me he was the Messiah. He built up my expectations. I threw my whole life into this thing.

And what happens when they start coming for him, he turns himself over to them like a little lamb. But the beautiful thing is the instant Peter comes to his senses with the crowing of the cock and that look from Jesus, he repents. He goes out and weeps before God and in that weeping finds his center again becomes still and in that stillness comes his peace.

Once the Lord has in any way touched our hearts, our lives and showed us something that needs to change, the longer we try to defend ourselves and justify what we're doing or our attitude, the more turmoil we have. The instant we repent and become still, we have peace. We have to learn to become still before God in the face of our biggest problems, problems that face us, that cause us to be scared to death, fill us with anxiety, depress us, make us angry.

Our temptation is either to turn around and run away or to take things into our own hands and really try to solve the problem ourselves. But what we need to do once again is become still before God. Reading this time from Matthew 26-36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane and he said to his disciples, Sit here while I go yonder and pray.

And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, My soul is very sorrowful, even to death. Remain here and watch with me.

And going a little farther, he fell on his face and prayed, My father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not as I will, but as thou will. We can't really begin to imagine the pressure, the weight that was bearing down on the heart of the Son of God at that point. The weight of all human sin coming down on his heart.

And he doesn't try to carry it himself. He asks Peter, James, and John to help out. They're not very able to do it.

Then he brings it to the Father. Father, if there's some way, some way, take this thing away from me. Nevertheless, not what I will.

And the Father answers him, Be still. Know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen through you.

I will be exalted in the earth through your obedience. And he comes to rest in that. Gets up from his knees and walks to the cross and wins the victory.

And we need to do the same. Finally, we need to learn to become still before God in the wake of our greatest victories and successes. Jesus fed 5,000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish.

And when he had finished, we read in Matthew 14, 22. He made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side while he dismissed the crowds. And after he had dismissed the crowds, he went up into the hills by himself to pray.

It was a great victory. People were impressed. He had fed this multitude with just this handful of food.

They want to make him a king. And the logical response we all have is to keep the momentum going. Get it moving.

Build up a mailing list. Get their names. Put them on the books.

Jesus sends them away. And he goes up into the hills to pray. Because for Jesus and for us, the most critical moments of our lives are those moments of victory and success.

And the most dangerous moments for our spiritual life is that period immediately after the success. Because this is the time when we're inclined to be deluded by our own pride. To be caught up in our own vanity.

And so it's essential after the success to do exactly what Jesus did. Get in there and become still before the Father. And wait there until we get our balance again.

We'll eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil just like Adam and Eve. But we don't do that. All of us want to bear more fruit.

We want to be more effective. But effectiveness does not lie where we so often think it does. It does not lie in front of the public eye.

But it lies behind the veil. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen.

I will be exalted in the earth. I will vindicate my name and I will fulfill my purpose through you when you learn to be still before me.