Be still and know...

Be still and know…

STILL WALKING

 

A few of weeks ago we started a new series called Be still and know… today I want to continue that series….of course our main scripture is found in

 

Psalm 46: 10 a NKJV

Be still, and know that I am God;…

BE STILL

This Sunday of course is Memorial Day weekend and on top of that we are celebrating our Seniors. So, in preparing for today I wanted God to speak to all of us but especially our graduates and young people. But I earnestly sought the LORD to find out exactly what HE wanted to say to you on today…

Be still…when we think of this word we often think of a quiet place, an alone time and yes that is very true because without that quiet place, that prayer closet, that intimate relationship with the Master.

And last week we learned that if we choose to have those quiet, still moments with our Heavenly Father that when trials and tribulations comes that we will be found STILL STANDING….

Be still and know that I am God…

Be still….

But how does being STILL help with WALKING through life?

Having a STILL, quiet time with God orders our steps…gives us…

STEADY STEPS

So many times, we have questions in life, especially when we were younger. But can I tell you a secret? Those questions are still there even when you grow older. You are always challenged with “what to do”. How do I make it through this task? What’s my next step?

There is nothing more frustrating than walking around aimlessly.

The Bible says a lot about this actually:

Psalm 1 CSB

¹ How happy is the one who does not
walk in the advice of the wicked
or stand in the pathway with sinners
or sit in the company of mockers!
² Instead, his delight is in the Lord’s instruction,
and he meditates on it day and night.
³ He is like a tree planted beside flowing streams
that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither.
Whatever he does prospers.

A tree planted is a perfect picture of having STEADY STEPS.

⁴ The wicked are not like this; instead, they are like chaff that the wind blows away.
⁵ Therefore the wicked will not stand up in the judgment,
nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.

⁶ For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous,
but the way of the wicked leads to ruin.

Psalm 37: 22-24 CSB

²² Those who are blessed by the Lord will inherit the land,
but those cursed by him will be destroyed.

²³ A person’s steps are established by the Lord, and he takes pleasure in his way.
²⁴ Though he falls, he will not be overwhelmed,
because the Lord supports him with his hand.

 

Proverbs 3:1-6 CSB

My son, don’t forget my teaching,
but let your heart keep my commands;
² for they will bring you
many days, a full life, and well-being.
³ Never let loyalty and faithfulness leave you.
Tie them around your neck;
write them on the tablet of your heart.
⁴ Then you will find favor and high regard
with God and people.

⁵ Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
and do not rely on your own understanding;
⁶ in all your ways know him,
and he will make your paths straight.

We see that if we spend time getting to know God that He will in turn establish our STEPS…

So not only does Being STILL establish our steps but being STILL gives us the strength to overcome…to

POWER WALK

We see that Jesus throughout His time on Earth he withdrew to be with the Father. Those scriptures are far too numerous to even list….

We pick up a familiar story in Matthew 17 NKJV

¹ Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves;

They had a prayer service like no other…you should go and read it…

¹⁴ And when they had come to the multitude, a man came to Him, kneeling down to Him and saying, ¹⁵ “Lord, have mercy on my son, for he is an epileptic and suffers severely; for he often falls into the fire and often into the water. ¹⁶ So I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not cure him.”

¹⁷ Then Jesus answered and said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I bear with you? Bring him here to Me.” ¹⁸ And Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of him; and the child was cured from that very hour.

¹⁹ Then the disciples came to Jesus privately and said, “Why could we not cast it out?”

Notice these are His disciples, His congregation, church folk and yet they were found powerless.

Dare I say it was because they were not STILL…up on the mountain?

²⁰ So Jesus said to them, “Because of your unbelief; for assuredly, I say to you, if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you. ²¹ However, this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.”

Jesus says there is a way to POWER WALK through life. It’s not by might but by My Spirit says the LORD…

It is not by your knowledge, it’s not by coming and sitting in a pew on Wednesday and Sundays…it’s not by becoming a member of the church.

This POWER comes from being STILL AND KNOWING THAT HE IS GOD…

Like David when He met Goliath…

1 Samuel 17:33-37 CSB

³³ But Saul replied, “You can’t go fight this Philistine. You’re just a youth, and he’s been a warrior since he was young.”

³⁴ David answered Saul, “Your servant has been tending his father’s sheep. Whenever a lion or a bear came and carried off a lamb from the flock, ³⁵ I went after it, struck it down, and rescued the lamb from its mouth. If it reared up against me, I would grab it by its fur, strike it down, and kill it. ³⁶ Your servant has killed lions and bears; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.” ³⁷ Then David said, “The Lord who rescued me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will rescue me from the hand of this Philistine.”

Saul said to David, “Go, and may the Lord be with you.”

His family tried to discourage him…the government tried to dissuade him but David had seen God work while he was tending sheep…

BEING STILL AND KNOWING THAT HE IS GOD…

You too can walk through life not afraid to face GIANTS because you have first-hand knowledge of who GOD is because. You have been STILL…

IN CLOSING…

Did you know that God longs to walk with us…even from the beginning of time we the early steps of mankind…the

BABY STEPS

Genesis 3: 8 CSB

⁸ Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze, 

We see God walking in the garden in the beginning. God wanting to commune with mankind. Let’s read on…because it’s important to see…

and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. ⁹ So the Lord God called out to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

 

Look at how God walks into the room. Don’t you know He knew what they did? Don’t you know He could have yelled at them. He could have so many things and yet I believe we see the Father’s heart…

Where are you?

God was missing them. He felt the disconnect. He felt the absence of his creation. They had fallen and yet He still longed for them.

Look at what God said in giving us the 10 COMMANDMENTS:

Deuteronomy 10:12 CSB

¹² “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all his ways, to love him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul? 

This morning God would ask you, WHERE ARE YOU?

I miss you. I long for you to BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD..

I know what you have done…I’m not worried about that right now. I want to reconnect.

I have made a way for you to come home. To be know and be known by ME.

John 3:16-17 CSB

¹⁶ For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁷ For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

SIDE NOTE: I wonder what would happen if the church spent less time condemning what the world is doing and start offering the good news that Jesus is their Savior!

God loves you. He wants to walk with you. Jesus says it like this:

Matthew 11:28-30 Christian Standard Bible

²⁸ “Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Are you tired from all the trying…tired of trying to live up to what others think? Trying to keep up with the Jones? Trying to stay relevant to an ever-changing culture? Tired of not knowing but having to pretend that you do?

Be still and know….

Jesus said it like this:

Revelation 3:20 CSB

 ²⁰ See! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.

Jesus is calling…

BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD…

SONG: Can’t Even Walk Without You Holding My Hands

 

I want to end this by pointing this out…

The Bible says

LEAD TO RUNNING

Isaiah 40:31 CSB

³¹ but those who trust in the Lord
will renew their strength;
they will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not become weary,
they will walk and not faint.

 

 

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