Be Still

Learning How to Trust God More Than is Natural

Psalm 46:10

AUDIO MP3

 

Pastor Craig Ledbetter                                           

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

23 March, 2014  AM

www.biblebc.com

 

I.      Introduction (Psalm 46:10)

 

A.     We need to learn how to “be still”!

B.     I think one of the hardest things we as Christians do, is sit and wait!

 

1.       Sitting. Waiting. Not moving. Not griping. Not fretting. Not worrying. Not being anxious. But just sitting still, and saying nothing, trusting God – that’s hard!

2.      It is hard, often very hard, to just sit still and trust God isn’t it?

 

a.      I’m not talking about sitting still in front of the TV, or just being still when you are asleep

b.      I’m talking about sitting still; sitting back and trusting God to do what you can’t

 

C.     But, we are commanded to BE STILL for a reason!

D.    Because until we learn how to be still, we will always struggle to trust God; we will always find it hard to walk by faith; and will instead just live by what we see and feel, instead of live in God’s care, and in His will!

E.     It is only when we shut down and quiet down, and SIT DOWN for extended periods of time, that we are able to see God at work!

 

1.       You see, We expect Him to be in the earthquakes, and the hurricanes, and the big noises of life (1Kings 19:11,12)

2.      But He is not mainly in those things – but in the stillness of our rest!

3.      In other words, God is always at rest – not panicking – and that is where we will always find Him!

 

F.     The point is, that for us to actually walk by faith and not by sight (2Cor 5:7), we will HAVE to learn to rest, even though our sight tells us to panic – to get angry, to fight, to run away!

G.    This morning, I want to teach you how to do what does not come naturally!

 

II.   The Command “Be Still” (Psalm 46:10)

 

A.    It is a Command - “Be Still

 

1.       It means:

 

a.      To stop moving! To be quiet; To be at rest; Calm down; to have greater peace than the circumstances around you

b.      To stop being in control!

c.       Breaking from what you normally would do, and stopping everything for just a bit, so that you can rest IN GOD’S CARE! (1Peter 5:7)

d.      Not sleep, but really, truly rest – deep inside, so that you CAN sleep!

 

2.      The opposite of rest, is when we are restless, and upset, and frantic, and worried, and depressed, and frustrated, and angry, and bitter, and … you get the picture

3.      It is a command – just as important as:

 

a.       “Love thy neighbour” (Matthew 22:39)

b.      “Honour thy father and thy mother” (Exodus 20:12)

c.       “Do good to them that hate you…” (Matthew 5:44)

 

4.      It is something we all must do!

 

a.      Isn’t it funny how life seems to be a conspiracy of busyness? Like life won’t let us be still!

b.      Whether life and work and family won’t let us or not, we must be still at times!

c.       God knows what we need, and we all need, to be still at times!

 

5.      It does not mean we don’t care, but that we don’t worry!

6.      It doesn’t mean ignore the world we live in, and the problems we are facing, but that we are ignoring the demands of the world, and putting Christ back in charge!

 

B.    An Opportunity - “and know…”

 

1.       To know God – the greatest challenge of life! (Jer 9:23,24)

 

a.      To learn who God is and what He does!

b.      The greatest minds have not fathomed Him

c.       Because He is so immense, people give up on knowing Him

d.      They decide a big accident is easier to believe than a big God!

e.      But He is THERE! And He invites us to know Him, and learn of Him, and enjoy Him forever!

f.        Think about what we are being invited to KNOW

 

1)      The mind of God – His thoughts, His plans

2)     The abilities of God – Jer 32:17 “Ah Lord GOD! behold, thou hast made the heaven and the earth by thy great power and stretched out arm, and there is nothing too hard for thee

3)     The will of God

4)     The fear of God

5)     The love of God  - Eph 3:19  And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge

6)     The Son of God – my favourite part!

 

2.      To Rest in Him. There is more than one kind of Rest. There are actually THREE kinds of rest (2Cor 4:16) – not just one

 

a.      Physical rest – sleep, leisure, relaxation

b.      Emotional rest – no worries, no pressures, no troubles

c.       God says there is a SPIRITUAL rest – a rest in your spirit!

 

3.      Quietness (in the heart) is priceless (Prov 17:1; Eccl 4:6)

 

a.      The big TV’s, the expensive cars, the fancy holidays can’t match the value of quietness, and love, and joy, and REST in a person’s home!

b.      Too many people give up trying to find that rest, and so they settle for all the other “stuff” in the place of a quiet time with their Creator!

c.       God does not guarantee us THINGS daily, but He offers us REST, for every minute!

 

4.      This “rest” is not a drug, or a hypnotic state – it is a confidence that every human heart desperately needs to get them through the storms of life

5.      Without this ability to rest, the devil is able to defeat every home and absolutely every heart, every day! That is why it is important to get it!

6.      Because with that rest, with that stillness, you can KNOW the God who is the FAITHFUL God (Deut 7:9) – who will always do BEST!

 

C.    A Surrender – “that I am God

 

1.       This is a Fight. Over WHO is in charge

 

a.      Either your flesh, your fears, your feelings, your friends…

b.      Or God almighty!

c.       It is a battle, a wrestling match with your flesh, which will automatically, and naturally want to be in charge, and panic, and force its way

 

2.      HE IS GOD, not you!

 

a.      Listen to God speak…

 

1)      Deut 4:35  “...that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.”

2)     Deut 4:39  Know therefore this day, and consider it in thine heart, that the LORD he is God in heaven above, and upon the earth beneath: there is none else.”

3)     1King 8:60  That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else.”

4)     Isa 45:5  I am the LORD, and there is none else, there is no God beside me.”

5)     Isa 45:22  Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else.”

6)     Isa 46:9  Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me!

 

b.      You are going to have to start believing that truth!

c.       That the Lord Jehovah of the Bible, the Creator God, is God alone

d.      And Not the devil - Not your past - Not your enemies

e.      HE is God – He the I AM, HE is the Almighty!

 

3.      No matter what, everyone experiences troubles, storms, disasters, defeats! Listen to Job’s words (Job 3:26; 7:4) “Yet Trouble Came”

 

a.      There will always be reasons to worry, to fret, to sorrow, to give up

b.      There will never be a time when there are no pressures, or dangers, or unexpected problems that come crushing into your life

c.       Troubles always come – hospitals, court cases, solicitors, car problems, leaky roofs, troublesome spouses and children

d.      Usually because of sin in our lives (Isa 57:20,21)

e.      Even when you are trying to do right and serve God (2Cor 7:5; 2Cor 4:8-12)

 

4.      It is in those times that we must choose to run to God and rest in His care (Prov 18:10; Psalm 56:3,4; Matthew 11:28)

 

D.   Isn’t that all good? Well, let’s see it in action, at the Red Sea

 

III.           Message – How God Gets Us to Rest in Him – Trust Him…

 

A.    An Example of Learning to Be Still (Exodus 14:1-22)

 

1.       Background (Ex 14:1,2)

 

a.      The nation of Israel was free – God had broken the bonds of their slavery to Egypt

b.      They were now headed to a place they had never seen before – only heard of – called the Promised Land

c.       Everything was “honky-dorrey” when everything begins to go very wrong

d.      The path they were walking was getting rougher, and mountains were to the left and to the right

e.      And ahead of them was a large body of water called the Red Sea

 

2.      God begins to describe what is about to happen (Ex 14:3,4)

 

a.      God doesn’t keep us from troubles, and pressures!

b.      He uses them to show HIS strength is made perfect in our weakness

c.       And he invites us to run to Him and rest in His very presence!

 

3.      And Pharaoh began to pursue just like God had said he would (Ex 14:5-9)

4.      And just as you would expect, EVERYONE started to panic (Ex 14:10-12) –wanted to run away, everyone just wanted to quit, everyone just wanted to DIE

5.      But Moses Believed God (Ex 14:13) – at least HE did!

 

a.      That doesn’t mean that Moses knew WHAT was going to happen – he was crying out to God (Ex 14:15) with worry, and concern

b.      He just knew God was going to take care of them, and do something awesome

 

B.     So, Let’s Learn HOW to Be Still So that We Can Know God is God.

 

1.       A Choice - to hold back the Reigns of your Heart and mouth (Ex 14:13,14) Restraint

 

a.      People used to say before you get angry, count to ten. God says, get away and conquer YOUR fears and frustrations with HIS help first before you try and deal with someone else!

b.      Stop your mouth from saying things that you will regret

c.       Stop your family from blaming God

d.      Bite your tongue and stop being the mouthpiece of the devil!

e.      And most of all, STOP giving up!

 

2.     A Break - stop all activity for a bit – JUST STOP so that you CAN rest!

 

a.      Get somewhere and just sit, just pray, just rest in God’s care!

b.      Don’t let your mind dwell on failures, frustrations

c.       Quiet it down, and listen for God’s Holy Spirit – His still, small voice. He is ALWAYS speaking, always comforting, always guiding, if we take the time and effort to LISTEN!

 

3.      An AWE of God - Reverence (Ex 14:13) – get awed by God

 

a.      Just STOP panicking and stand in awe of God (Psalm 4:4)

b.      The devil gives us way too much to do so that we don’t have time to just sit and talk heart to heart with God, and be amazed

c.       Humble yourself before God – daily, every morning, and sometimes throughout the day as you find yourself hardening and fretting and worrying and complaining, and griping, and even cursing!

d.      The concept here is that we need to start communicating with God using our heart – MEDITATION

e.      Most people do not take the time to have a quiet time

 

1)      Hearken, listen to God (Prov 1:33)

2)     God is Only Heard and Fellowshipped in Stillness and Rest (1Kings 19:11,12)

3)     Take walks – just to get everything out of your heart

 

a)     Talk with God

b)     Debate with God

c)      He hears you, and loves you, and will answer you

d)     Pour absolutely everything OUT of your heart…

e)     So that he can finally be allowed to put Himself in!

 

f.        If you will learn how to become amazed at God, it is THEN that you will begin to SEE the Salvation of God!

g.      Just ponder God’s goodness, and thank Him for everything

h.     Take a deep breath, and praise God with it!

i.        The world has their ‘yoga’ and their expensive holidays and their big easy chairs and their lazy weekends

j.        WE have a secret place under the shadow of the almighty (Psalm 90) that we need to flee to, and just sit for a while – no interruptions

k.      A quiet time, with our Lord

 

4.      A Trust in Him – reliance upon Him - Only God Gives Stillness and Rest (Ex 14:14). You can’t be constantly turning to a drug to give you rest

 

a.      Leave Some Things to God – let go of 90% of the things that are crushing you

 

1)      There are plenty of things you have to do

2)     But there are MORE things that only GOD can do

 

b.      Why is everyone all going to the Chemist, and the Psychiatrist, and the Counsellors, and the Talk Shows, and Self-Help Book Seminars, when there is a meek and lowly Saviour, who is called, The Prince of PEACE?

c.       Matthew 11:28,29 - John 14:27 –  John 16:33

d.      This is where your faith and confidence has to be used

e.      That leads to my next point

 

5.      Submission – a resolve, commitment, to do whatever God tells you to do (Ex 14:15-21)

 

a.      This is a hard thing to do (Isa 30:15)

b.      It takes a lot of effort to just STOP worrying, and STOP panicking (Heb 4:11,10)

c.       Resolve to always go forward

 

1)      Even if it is just one step at a time

2)     Just QUIT quitting!

 

d.      Resolve to keep trusting – not a once off event, not a Sunday only thing, but a moment by moment confidence in God

e.      Resolve to wait

 

1)      It took all night for the Lord to dry up that ground

2)     He could have done it in the blink of an eye

3)     But He chose to teach the people to WAIT on Him, and let Him take as long as He wants in order to make everything just perfect

4)     Many of times, our lives are not great because we rush ahead, and the ground is still mucky

5)     We have not let the Lord finish with us!

6)     Psalm 27:14; 130:5; Isa 40:31

7)     Wait on that wife, on that husband

8)    Wait on the answers to your prayers – they are coming

9)     Wait on that dream God gave you – young Joseph

10) Wait on God – He is worth the wait!

 

f.        That does not mean that you do absolutely nothing while you are waiting

 

1)      Find a job, work your job

2)     Raise your children

3)     Love your wife, your husband

4)     Pay your bills

 

g.      But, it means to wait on God to change your circumstances as you serve Him, AS you do right, no matter the current feelings and circumstances!

 

1)      Every morning, take time to just sit still in the presence of Almighty God

2)     Sit and SHUT your mouth

3)     Listen to the soft, sweet voice of God coming from the pages of this Book

4)     Listen to the peace of God roll into your heart as you roll out every fear and every memory, and every heartache, and every frustration!

 

6.      Rejoicing (Ex 14:22; 30,31; 15:1,2) – Praise God anyway! Even before things start getting better! Praise is proof of belief!

 

a.      Usually happens after the calming of a storm, amen! (Psalm 107:30)

b.      Oh that we learned to rejoice even IN the storm – that is faith!

c.       I believe it is time we started believing God and rejoicing by faith BEFORE all the battles are won, because when we just start praising God, He always shows up (Psalm 22:3)!!!

d.      THAT is when you will see and know that GOD is truly GOD!

 

IV.Conclusion

 

A.     I think one of the hardest things we as Christians do, is wait! Amen?

B.     Sitting. Waiting. Not moving. Not fretting. Not worrying.

C.     It is hard, often, very hard to just sit still isn’t it? I’m talking about sitting still; sitting back and trusting God to do what you can’t

D.    So God commands us to “Be Still!”

 

1.       To be quiet; To be at rest; Calm; to have greater peace than the circumstances around you

2.      Breaking from what you normally would do, and stopping everything for just a bit, so that you can rest

3.      Not just sleep, but really, truly rest – deep inside

4.      Jesus says there is a rest – a special, spiritual rest everyone needs

5.      And it is priceless!

6.      Do you have it? Ever experienced it?

7.      You are commanded to experience it every day, and learn to have it in the storm just as if you have finished a storm!

 

E.     What it takes to actually REST…

 

1.       A CHOICE – to NOT do what you have always done before, but to hold back and restrain yourself

2.      A BREAK - stop all activity for a bit

3.      An AWE of God

4.      A TRUST - rely – Trust – that God WILL take good care of you and the situation

5.      SUBMISSION - resolve – to do whatever God tells you to do (14:15-21)

6.      REJOICING (14:22, 30,31; 15:1,2)

 

F.     Pray and talk with Jesus Christ this morning! He LIVES and wants to live IN your heart! But He only comes in by invitation! He only brings REST when we ask for it!

G.    Ask, and keep asking, from now on!