Be still and know...
Be still and know…
1 Kings 19:11-12 CSB
11 Then he said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the Lord’s presence.”
At that moment, the Lord passed by. A great and mighty wind was tearing at the mountains and was shattering cliffs before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there was a voice, a soft whisper.
Psalm 46: 10 a NKJV
Be still, and know that I am God;…
Today I want to talk with you about ‘Be still and know…’. In fact, I believe that God would have me to do it different today than I like to do normally. I usually have all the scriptures on the screen and next week we most likely get back to that. However, I do not want us to get to the place where we rely upon the screens for the WORD. We need to rely upon our actual Bibles or Bible apps.
BE STILL
The Hebrew phrase there is rāp̄â “to let drop, abandon, relax, refrain, to let go, let alone, to be quiet.”
In order to ‘be still’ we must see what steals…
“What has stolen your heart? “ In order to be still we cannot be distracted…
David said in
Psalm 139:23-24 NIV
23 Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. 24 See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
It doesn’t have to a “bad or sinful” thing that takes precedent from God.
What do you have in your life that if you are not careful will steal your heart?
What do we do? Again we go to David who was a man after God’s own heart….he said
Psalm 51:10-11 Christian Standard Bible
10 God, create a clean heart for me
and renew a steadfast spirit within me.
11 Do not banish me from your presence
or take your Holy Spirit from me.
12 Restore the joy of your salvation to me,
and sustain me by giving me a willing spirit.
I have found that this is the place that God has called me…
I Thessalonians 4:11 NLT
11 Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you before.
Make it your goal, make it your ambition, Aspiration, what do you hope to achieve? To accomplish?
Look at how Jesus lived his life…
Mark 1:35 New King James Version
35 Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He (this is JESUS!!) went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed. 36 Simon and his companions searched for him, 37 and when they found him they said, “Everyone is looking for you.”
How many times have you went to that quiet place? I mean away from your phones…away from the tv, computer and spent time with your heavenly Father?
How do you start your day?
So we should Make it our goal to “BE STILL”…
The next point is
THAT YOU MAY KNOW…
Psalm 46: 10a NKJV
Be still, and know that I am God;…
Yada, the Hebrew word meaning, “to know,” is used multiple times throughout scripture for a variety of different topics. However, when the term is used to define the yada, as the relationship between man and God, it’s speaking to have a deep intimacy.
Our western mindset “to know” carries a mental perspective to the meaning. In Hebraic perspective implies a mental, physical and emotional interaction.
We see this in Genesis
Genesis 4:1 New King James Version
4 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, “I have acquired a man from the Lord.”
So, we see here that there is an intimacy, a deep love, not a one night stand. There is a trust that leads to life…
1 John 2:5-6 CSB
5 But whoever keeps his word, truly in him the love of God is made complete. This is how we know we are in him: 6 The one who says he remains in him should walk just as he walked.
and that intimacy brings forth fruit.
Colossians 1:9-11 CSB
9 For this reason also, since the day we heard this, we haven’t stopped praying for you. We are asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, 10 so that you may walk worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and growing in the knowledge of God,
This echoes Jesus when He said in
John 15:5 Christian Standard Bible
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. The one who remains in me and I in him produces much fruit, because you can do nothing without me.
the good fruit in the life of a believer is Spirit born, not manufactured by our flesh. The more that we increase in the knowledge of who Jesus is, who God is the more we will desire to please Him.
Galatians 5:22-23 Christian Standard Bible
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. The law is not against such things.
So, we have the list of fruit of the Spirit. They are the overflow of fellowship with Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit.
This only comes from if we Be still, and know that I am God;…
Let’s face it though, we live in a loud world.
Everyone is fighting to have a voice. And I don’t know if you have noticed but everyone feels entitled to voice their opinions and they should be affirmed.
Jesus warned us against this:
In Matthew 6:1-4 CSB it says,
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. Otherwise, you have no reward with your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 5 “Whenever you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites, because they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your private room, shut your door, and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Let me ask you another question:
Does anyone do anything in secret anymore?
We're so into posting things that even your quiet time is your Bible with a coffee and a little muffin. Time with Jesus.
Does anyone in the church do anything in secret?
Sadly, I my answer is, yes, sinful stuff.
Don’t get it twisted, I’m not judging, and I understand forgiveness.
I'm just saying...
Could God be calling us rise up with nothing to hide?
See what happens in the church is that we hide our sins and post our good works.
We need less voices and more examples.
The Bible tells us in
James 5:13-16 CSB
13 Is anyone among you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises. 14 Is anyone among you sick? He should call for the elders of the church, and they are to pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15 The prayer of faith will save the sick person, and the Lord will raise him up; if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven.16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is very powerful in its effect.
So, the Bible tells us to confess our sins to one another and hide our righteous deeds.
We tend to hide our sins and confess our good works. That’s why Facebook works.
We do the exact opposite of what scripture tells us to do.
In closing,
Be still, and know that I am God; …
Let me tell you what God has been doing in my life…He started with this verse:
Matthew 6:33 Christian Standard Bible
33 But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.
Actually, God wanted me to hone in on the first part….BUT SEEK FIRST the KINGDOM OF GOD….
He didn’t want me even distracted by the all of these things.
…tell about my morning with GOD…
Romans 8:37-39 New Living Translation
37 No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
38 And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. 39 No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.