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Jul, 2020

Someone to Calm

  • Salvation
  • hope
  • freedom
  • trust
  • knowing God
  • BJ and the Bear
  • inner peace


Someone to Calm

Psalm 46:10 | July 5, 2020

Have you ever been disturbed?

Not disturbed in a mental sense like raking the yard 3 times a day or dusting the hood of your sports car 3 times a day or binge-watching all 3 seasons of BJ and the Bear.

No, I’m talking about when something or someone disturbs or interrupts your peace.

With a growing number of people having to work from home there has been an increase in “Do Not Disturb” and “Do Not Enter” signs on the doors of make-shift home offices.

Here are a few examples…

Sign

Do not disturb from 8 am to 5:30 pm (unless it is an emergency). Emergency: the house is on fire, your arm fell off…Not an emergency: my brother hit me, my sister hit me.

Then there is the sign from a lawyer in London that begins this way…

Sign

Important Notice Directed to All Inhabitants – Your Mother Is Not Here. The thing you think you see in this room is not your mother.

Sign

It can perform no parental functions at the time being unless such parental functions are required by reason of medical emergency. Medical emergency defined as extreme pain or any episode of bleeding for more than 3 minutes.

Sign

For the avoidance of doubt, hunger is not a medical emergency.

And then there’s this helpful multiple-choice sign…

Sign

Mom is in a meeting. Do not enter! The answer to your question might be:

  • Piece of fruit
  • Upstairs
  • In the wash
  • In your room
  • I don’t know what’s for dinner
  • No

You don’t have to be a mom to have your peace disturbed. 

In fact, having our peace disturbed has become a constant way of life for most of us.

So, what do we do?

What can we do when our peace is disturbed?

Or what can we do when we can’t seem to find any peace?

Well, there is an answer.

Let’s find out what it is.

Listen to Psalm 46, verse 10:

10 “Cease striving

God has been guiding the pen of the psalmist up to this moment, but now he speaks for himself.

And what does he say?

Cease striving – be still. 

Someone might say…

  • “I’m tired of being still.”
  • “I’m ready to get out and get back to life.”

Well, that’s not the kind of being still that God is talking about.

The language here is kind of like “lay down your weapon”.

What does that mean?

Well, there’s a couple of ways to look at it and both of them involve the whole story here. 

In Psalm 46 the psalmist is writing from the perspective of someone who had been involved in actual wars where nations were fighting against other nations to keep freedom or gain freedom. 

He’s writing from the perspective of someone who had seen violence and injustice and government corruption and wide-spread disease.

And he’s writing from the perspective of someone who had seen all those things but continued to say in the middle of all of that, “You know what, self? One thing is still true – God is your refuge and strength and a very present help in this trouble, and he can speak and the whole earth will melt, so, you can trust him.”

So, that kind of confidence would remind him and should remind us that no matter who or what our enemy is, there is coming a day – and it may be today – when our enemies will be forced to lay down their weapons.

But not just our enemies. 

There are times that we need to lay down our own weapons – what kind of weapons?

See if you can hear any of your weapons in this list…

  • Fear
  • Worry
  • Anxiety
  • Aggravation
  • Anger
  • Apathy
  • Pride
  • Arrogance
  • Stubbornness
  • Laziness
  • Procrastination
  • Insecurity
  • Self-centeredness
  • Exhaustion

All of those things are weapons against being still.

They are all weapons that keep you from ceasing to strive. 

In one sense, we can take all of those things and put them under the weapon of self-sufficiency. 

The weapon of self-sufficiency is where you basically do your own thing plus believe in God. 

Philosopher Thomas Earl Petty sang it this way…

Tom Petty

She's a good girl, loves her mamma

Loves Jesus and America, too

She's a good girl, crazy bout Elvis

Loves horses and her boyfriend too

Lyrically, the picture is that she loves a lot of things and Jesus is one of them – but if you aren’t loving Jesus first and most then self-sufficiency will become your primary weapon in life.

Sure, you might say things like, “This country was founded on Christian principles.”

Or you might post things like “God’s got this!”

However, when it comes to being engaged in an actual relationship with God in and through Jesus your religion will be more like you kind of doing life based on your opinions with some occasional feelings and catch phrases about God.

Now, if a traumatic hardship hits your life, you might increase the feelings and the catch phrases and the posts, but you won’t truly be still. 

And God is intervening in this psalm to graciously and firmly say:

  • “Stop.”
  • “Stop doing that.”
  • “Put your weapon down.”
  • “Cease striving.”
  • “Be still.”

So, how do you do that?

  • How do you cease striving?
  • How are you supposed to be still?

Well, we will look at the how in just a moment, but first let’s look at why we should do that. 

  • Why should we cease striving?
  • Why should we be still?

10 “Cease striving and know that I am God;

We should be still and cease striving because God is not hiding.

God desires for you to know him.

Not just know about him but know him.

J.I. Packer

Once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord.

Do you have any problems in your life right now?

Do you want to try and figure out how they fall into place in the big picture of your life?

Then make it your main business to know God. 

Now, that doesn’t mean that repenting of your sin and turning to believe in and trust in and rely on and cling to Jesus as your greatest treasure means the health issues will suddenly disappear or your family issues will magically clear up or that the medical and social unrest in your country will fade away by midnight.

It means that the main business of your heart and mind and soul will be answered. 

I was watching something recently that was set during World War II and one of the characters was overwhelmed with the war and overwhelmed with things in their personal life and they felt like everything about God and the church and religion were more of a problem in the world than a help. 

But not long after that they somewhat begrudgingly ended up in a church service.

During the sermon as they listened to the idea that God knows us and that he has provided the grace and mercy through Jesus to know him, the expression on their face changed – you could see it in their eyes that they knew the gospel was not a fairy tale and that this message had something of real value…hope.

If you are not a Christian, then please know this, you can put down your weapons, you can cease striving to do everything and fix everything and be everything or experience everything because that is a never-ending invitation that cannot and will not ever satisfy you. 

You can turn to Jesus and be still and know God – you have been created with an internal desire to never truly be satisfied until you do – it is the main business of your life.

We should be still because God is God and there is no other. 

One song says it this way…

Phil McHugh

God and God alone

is fit to take the universe's throne

Let everything that lives

reserve it's truest praise

for God and God alone

And God and God alone is fit to take the throne of your heart. 

He’s a good King and a good Shepherd and delights to pursue you with kindness and love and mercy all the days of your life. 

Be still and know him.

Someone might be thinking, “Be still?”

  • “I don’t have time for that.”
  • “I can’t just sit around the house being quiet with God.”
  • “I’ve got things to do.”
  • “I’ve got a life to live.”
  • “I can’t just sit around being still.”
  • “I can’t sit around waiting for God to speak or something.”

Well, that’s good because that’s not what God means. 

The invitation to be still is not an invitation to go hide in a cabin in the mountains and ignore what is happening in the world or be unconcerned or silent or inactive about a health crisis or social injustice or economic danger.

No, to be still means to lean into those things with a steady confidence that God is God and he is holy, holy, holy and his plans are unchangeable, and his grace is sufficient. 

How do you do that?

How can you be still and lean in at the same time?

Well, it all boils down to trust. 

Being still and knowing God means being still and trusting God.

Proverbs 3:5

Trust in the LORD with all your heart…

That is the wise counsel of the king, Solomon. 

He does not say trust primarily in…

  • Your family
  • Your friends
  • Your church
  • Your education
  • Your career
  • Your retirement account
  • Your favorite team
  • The President
  • The government
  • Or even your country

Why?

Why didn’t Solomon say to his sons:

“I’m your dad and I’m the king and I want you guys to trust in me. I have experience and I know what I’m doing.”

He didn’t say that.

Why?

Because he knew that on his very best day, he could still mess things up.

On their best day, the most loved President and the most respected King and the most revered Queen and the most appreciated church leader can fail. 

On our very best day, every single one of us can fail and mess up and make a really bad decision.

Does that mean we should avoid all humans?

No. 

In many ways and at many times we should be able to trust our family and our church and our friends and our government.

And in many ways and at many times people should be able to trust us.

We will all fail, but we don’t need reputations like…

  • “I wouldn’t say anything to her – it will be all over town.”
  • “Watch your words around him – he tends to twist the story.”
  • “You never know which version of them you’re talking to.”

George MacDonald

To be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved.

But even as trustworthy as we may strive to be, none of us are perfect.

So, our ultimate trust cannot be in humans or in the philosophies and possessions and places that humans have created and built and provided.

I know my mom and dad and I trust my mom and dad. 

But my mom and dad are not perfect in wisdom, power, and love. 

But God is perfect.

  • Perfect in wisdom
  • Perfect in power
  • Perfect in love

And that’s why Solomon tells his boys…

“Trust in the Lord.”

In the middle of your chaos, have a heart and mind and attitude that is steady and quiet and confident in the One who is fit to take the universe’s throne.

  • Be still and know the Lord
  • Be still and trust in the Lord

How?

Well, more often than not we are tempted to try harder or organize more or simplify more or protest more, but God calls us to do the opposite – he calls us to be still and trust. 

Or if we don’t try harder, we demand harder.

We pray for God to fix everything and take away the bad things.

Bonnie McKernan (wife and mom in northern Virginia)

But that’s not who God is. He is not a genie who merely takes away bad things and gives me good things. He is my good thing.

Bonnie McKernan

…resting in the power of Christ is infinitely more peaceful and invigorating and impactful than a thousand chaos-free days. He is our rest. He is our peace within the chaos. He is the means and the end.

Again, how do live like that?

What does being still look like in real life?

Bonnie helps us – she gives 9 practical things she tries to do to be still but I’m just going to note 3 of them…

Bonnie McKernan

Before I gaze into a mirror or look at a screen or to a single thing of this world, pray that he will show me his glory and goodness today. That I will see it. And that I will reflect it.

Bonnie McKernan

As the world and the day get louder and louder, remember to stop and listen for the Spirit over the noise. Learn to recognize him.

Bonnie McKernan

Don’t let a single hour go by without asking God to sustain me. Not tomorrow, not next week, but right now. Set an alarm if I have to until it starts to come more naturally. Like breathing.

Being still with God is not something you do at a summer camp or a women’s retreat or a men’s breakfast.

  • Being still with God is like breathing
  • Trusting God is like breathing

How is it like breathing?

I heard a super helpful picture of this from author Richard Foster this week.

If we can learn what it means to be still and know that God is God, Foster says we will always be carrying with us a portable sanctuary of the heart.

That is so good!

Being still means that if you can’t physically meet in the sanctuary or worship center of your church you are always carrying with you a portable sanctuary of the heart. 

  • Own that
  • Imagine that
  • Picture that
  • Decorate your portable sanctuary
  • Put in some stained-glass windows
  • Or some beveled diamond windows
  • Or some skylight windows
  • Or no windows

Learn to take your portable sanctuary into:

  • The kitchen
  • The office at work
  • The doctor’s office
  • The grocery store
  • And anywhere else you go

And here is the cool thing about you taking your portable sanctuary with you – rather than disturbing the peace of other people your peace will actually be disturbing other people. 

Marshall Segal

God wants our inner peace to disturb the world, leaving others wondering how we could possibly enjoy emotional stability and rest in the midst of what we’re suffering or enduring.

If you ever wanted to disturb someone, here’s your chance – let’s be still and cease striving and disturb the world with our peace!

And how is it that being still and knowing God is God can have that kind of impact on your life and on the lives of people around you?

Listen to the last part of what God says in verse 10:

10 I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”

The full and final voice over every plague and every pandemic and every protest and every politician and every government and every nation and every person will the Most High God who says, “I AM WHO I AM!”

One day, everyone will lay their weapons down at his feet!

One day, everyone will be forced to cease striving with God!

One day, everyone will be forced to be still and know that only Yahweh is God!

And if you have surrendered your life to Christ, if you have found the peace of Christ that passes all understanding, then you have every reason to be still now and cease striving now and enjoy your portable sanctuary now because he is our God and we are his people!

In September 1944, the German military launched what was known as Operation Haudegen (how-dee-ghun).

It was designed to establish a station on a group of islands about 400 miles north of Norway known as Svalbard (sval-bird).

The mission was so top-secret that when the Nazi government collapsed that crew was accidentally abandoned on the island.

The crew received a message in May 1945 that the war was over, but they lost all contact after that.

They were abandoned in subzero temperatures and the constant threat of polar bear attacks for 4 months.

They were finally discovered in September 1945, when the Norwegians heard one of their radio distress calls.

In laying down their weapons, that crew became the last armed German soldiers to surrender during World War II.

It was reported that the Germans were so happy to be rescued that they celebrated by throwing their captors a feast.

They were happy to cease striving. 

This weekend we celebrate our freedom as a nation, but as Christians we celebrate everyday the reality that at any given moment we can be still and lay down our weapons and enjoy the freedom we have in Christ. 

Why?

Because our God is the only one fit to take the universe’s throne. 

And if we know him, we are free, truly, deeply, eternally free.

Message by Dow Welsh |

July 5, 2020 © Holland Avenue Baptist Church

 

more |

Above are pre-sermon manuscript notes, not sermon transcript

Sermon scriptures NASB unless otherwise noted

Lots of help from many pastors and theologians

Weekly help from Bruce Hurt at www.preceptaustin.org

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/busyness-is-not-the-problem

https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/the-war-for-inner-peace



Have you ever been disturbed? Stirred. Now I'm not talking about disturbed in a mental way. You know, like you rake the yard three times a day or you kind of dust off and and wipe off the dirt from the hood of your sports car three times an hour or that you watch all three seasons of B J and the bear three times a week. All right, we're not talking about being disturbed like that, which, technically, BJ and the bear was a fantastic show. Now we're talking about a different kind of disturbed we're talking about when someone or something disturbs your peace When your when your piece is disturbed when your piece is interrupted. The last four months there have been a lot more people who are having to work from home. And in that time there has been an increase in Do not disturb and do not inter signs on the doors of makeshift home offices. Here are just a few that I came across. One son says this Do not disturb from 8 a.m. to 5 30 pm unless it is an emergency emergency. The house is on fire. Your arm fell off not an emergency. My brother hit me or my sister. It may. Yeah. Good disturbs on. Or maybe you saw this one from the lawyer in London. Very official. Very thorough. Sun begins this way. Important notice directed toe all inhabitants. Your mother is not here. The thing you think you see in this room is not your mother. It can perform no parental functions at the time being. Unless such personal functions are required by reason of medical emergency medical emergency defined as extreme pain. Are any episode of bleeding form or than three minutes? Good note. And then she noted this for the avoidance of doubt. Hunger is not a medical emergency. Good word. And then there's one that provide a little multiple choice option reads like this. Mom is in a meeting. Do not enter. The answer to your question. Might be a piece of fruit upstairs in the wash in your room. I don't know what's for dinner or no, some of your mom's air smiling and laughing. You've been there. You feel their pain, but you know you don't have to be a mom toe. Have your piece disturbed. You don't have to be a mom to have your piece interrupted. In fact, for most all of us, life has become a constant disruption of peace. Our peace is being interrupted and disturbed on a constant basis. So what we did, What do we do? What do we do in our piece is disturbed. What do we do when we can't seem to find any peace when having any notion of inner peace is just ridiculous? We we can't even find it. What do you do? Well, there is something you could do. There is an answer. We're going to do our best to find out what that answer is. Listen to some 46 beginning with verse 10. Cease striving. God has been inspiring the psalmist upto this point guiding his pin. But But now God is intervening in the quotation marks there at the beginning of C show us that this is God speaking directly. God has decided to say something strategically to us. And what does he say? He says, see striving or, as some Bibles translated, be still be still somebody might say he still forget it. Man, I'm I'm tired of being still. I'm ready to get back out there and get on with my life. I don't wanna be still anymore. Well, being still like that is not what God's talking about. He's talking about something different here. That the language here for see striving the language here for Be still. It's kind of like this. Lay down your weapons, lay down your weapons. That's the picture of what it's saying. So what does that mean to lay down your weapons? Well, there's a couple of different ways that we could see that in both of those ways involved the whole story here. So some 46 is written from the perspective of the Psalmist, and the Psalmist is someone that knows war. They have experienced firsthand war war, where a nation was fighting against the nation, to gain freedom or to keep freedom. So Psalmist understands war. The Psalmist is also writing from a perspective because they have seen social injustice. They've seen violence, They've seen government corruption. They've seen pandemics, They've seen play aches. They've seen hardship of so many ways. And he's riding from a perspective of someone who has seen all of those things. And yet still, in the middle of all of those things, he still says to himself, You know itself. One thing remains, there's there's one thing that we can keep telling ourselves and that's this. That God is still our refuge, that God is still our help in this very moment of trouble and that God at any given second can speak and the whole earth can melt. And if all of that is true himself, we can trust God. We can trust God. That kind of confidence would remind him and should remind us that no matter what enemy we face, no matter what enemy is against us various coming a day when all enemies will have to lay down their weapons, they'll be forced to lay down their weapons, all enemies and not just our enemies. But we We need to lay down our weapons. What kind of weapons? Listen to this list. Tell me if you hear any of your weapons in this list. Fear, worry, anxiety, aggravation, anger, apathy, pride, arrogance, stubbornness, laziness, procrastination, insecurity, self centeredness or exhaustion. And those weapons in there any that you you found in there because those weapons are weapons that keep us from being still. They keep us from ceasing to strive those weapons keep us from God's. We could take all of those weapons and kind of put him under one weapon. And that's the wealth weapon of of self sufficiency. Self sufficiency is kind of like this. It's when we do our own thing. Plus, we believe in God. Musical philosopher Thomas Earl Petty saying it this way. She's a good girl, loves her. Mama loves Jesus and America, too. She's a good girl, Crazy about Elvis loves horses and her boyfriend, too. The picture here, lyrically, is that we've got this girl. She loves a lot of things, and Jesus is one of the things that she loves. But the gospel calls us to love Jesus first and most. And so if we're not loving Jesus first and most almost by default, almost in a way that we can't help, we will have the weapon off self sufficiency in our hands. It's the weapon that will use the most in life. Now you can have the weapon of self sufficiency and still say things like, we know what this country was founded on Christian principles, and we need to get back to that. Okay, you can say that you can hold the weapon of self sufficiency and you can post things on social media and close it out with. But you know what? God's got this. You can do that. See, here's the danger of self sufficiency if we're not loving Jesus first and most it means we're not engaged in a relationship with God. And so therefore, we are basically doing life self sufficiently on our own opinions of everything with some occasional feelings about God and some occasional catchphrases about God. We we do our own thing. Plus, we kind of believe in God. And if a traumatic thing happens in our life, will we increase the occasional feelings? We increase the catchphrases, but with that weapon of self sufficiency in our hands, we still refuse to be still. We still don't cease striving. And so God interrupts this song. He interrupts and says, Stop, just stop doing that. Just just stop. Just just lay your weapon down. Cease striving. Be still. It's OK. You can do it. So how do you do that? How do you be Still, how do you cease striving? Well, we're going to answer how in just a moment But first Let's answer Why? Why should you be still? Why should you cease striving? Quit the psalmist says next. See striving and know that I am God. So God communicating directly through the psalmist now says, Look, here's my quote. Give this to the people they need to be. Still they need to see striving because I am God. They need to know that I and God. That's why we see striving. We see striving because God is not hiding God is is not hiding. God desires for you to know him God, the one true living God desires that you know him that not just know about him but actually know him. Jack Packers At this, once you become aware that the main business that you are here for is to know God, most of life's problems fall into place of their own accord. So do you have any problems right now in your life? Any problems? Would you like for those problems to somehow start making a little bit of sense? Would you like to know how how those problems fit into the big picture of your life? If so, that be still and no God, it's It's the main business of your life to know God. It's what you've been created for. No, if you repent, if you turn to Jesus, if you begin to believe in him and trust in him and rely on him and clean to Jesus as your ultimate hope, that doesn't mean that suddenly all of those health issues in your life we're just going to disappear. Turning to Jesus and knowing God doesn't mean that all of your family issues are suddenly going to clear up. It doesn't mean that that all of the medical and social and political unrest in your country will suddenly just fade out by midnight that night. What it means is your heart and your mind and your soul will have the answer that they need the most. But that's that's what it means to make the main business of your life Knowing God. It means the main answer that you need is there. I was watching a TV show recently, and it's set during World War two. There's a character that I was really struggling with the war, really struggling with everything in their personal life, and they end up in a conversation where they basically said that God and church and religion that they were a problem, not a help in the world. They didn't believe in those things at all, and then not longer along after that. In the episode, they were begrudgingly in a church service. And as they sat in and listen to the sermon this sermon about how the grace of God has made a way for us to know him, you could just see on that character's face something change. Their facial expression changed, their eyes changed. It was as if they heard this message of God's desire to pursue you with love and goodness and mercy. And they thought, Man, this doesn't sound like a fairy tale. This'll sounds like it has value. This message has hope. If you're not a Christian, then we want you to know that God desires for you to know him. He has made a way for you to know him. It's not just some some flippant thing God desires for you to lay your weapons down. He desires for you to see, striving, to see striving from trying to be everything and fix everything and do everything and believe everything and experience everything because those air invitations that never end and they will never satisfy to turn to Jesus to be still and know God. It means that that you are beginning to function in a way that you were created to function. You were created to know God and you were created toe on Lee. Be satisfied in knowing him. It is your main business and a tool that is your main business. Your heart will be restless. You're mine, will be restless. You're so will be restless. We should be still because God has got and there is no other God. One song put it this way. God and God alone is fit to take The universe is thrown. Let everything that lives reserve its truest prays for God and God alone. God and God alone is fit to take the throne of the universe. And he's the only one. And God and God alone is fit to take the universe of your throne. The throne of your heart. He's a good king. He's a good shepherd and he desires to pursue you with goodness and loving kindness and peace and mercy. All the days of your life all of and then forever be still and know him. Cease striving and no, you. Someone might be thinking tired being still. Uh, I can't Can't be still because I have things to do. I can't just sit at home and be still try to be quiet in front of God. I gotta go places I gotta I gotta do things. I can't just sit around waiting. That may be and not stillness. God's going to say something to me that God's going to speak well, that's good, because that's not what God's calling you to do that. That's not what being still means. That's not what it means to cease striving. The invitation to be still, the invitation to see striving does not mean that you should go to a cabin up in the mountains and just hang out and hide out and just avoid everything that's happening in the world to ignore everything that's happening in the world to not be active in everything that's happening in the world. That is the opposite of what the Gospel says when we're called to be still, it doesn't mean hey have nothing to do with the health crisis, have nothing to do social injustice have nothing to do with economic danger. That's not what it means at all. It simply means this that to be still means that you lean in tow all of those things with this steady confidence that God is God, you lean into all of those things. You are active in all of those things. You are prayerful and all of those things with this steady confidence that God is God and there is no other. And he is holy, Holy, holy! And his will is unchain Jubal And he is for you and maybe even more than that that His Grace is sufficient. We're we're convinced we've got a list of about five things and we're like, I'm not going to be happy. I'm not going to be content. I'm not going to feel better until these five things happen. I tell you once on my five, my five list right now it's it's shoulder feels were preaching in this thing, man. I'd love for that to be away. But see, what we do is we take those five things and we begin to say no. I will not be happy until these things are answered. See, when we say God, Your Grace is sufficient. What we're saying is, got your sufficient got your your sufficient for any moment so that that sounds religious and lofty. So how do we do that? Well, being still bulls down too trusting. Be still and know that he is God be still and trust that he is God trust in the Lord Farmers Chapter three, Verse five says trust in the Lord with all of your heart. That's the wise counsel of the king Name Solemn. So notice what he doesn't say. He doesn't say trust primarily in your family or in your friends are in your church. Trust primarily in your education in your career and your retirement account. Trust primarily in your favorite team or trust primarily in the president, or trust primarily in the government or trust primarily in your country. He doesn't say that. Wow. I mean, he's king, right? I mean, he's known as the wisest king ever one of the richest men that ever lived. I mean, why wouldn't Solomon is right into his son's here. Why wouldn't Solomon just said Hey, boys, You know what? Your dad's king, you know I'm king. So because I'm the king and because I've had some experience. Look, you just do what I tell you to do. You just do what I say. You just trust in me and follow me. He didn't say that. Why? Because Solomon knew on his best day that he could still fail. It's true. We can look throughout history. And on their best day, the most loved president, the most revered king, the most respected queen, the most appreciated church leader can fail and mess up. And guess what every single one of us on our best day can fail and make a bad decision. In case you haven't heard that in a while, let me repeat it. Every single one of us own our best day can make a bad decision. So what do we do? Should we just avoid all humans? I can't do anything right. I'm going to mess up today. Or maybe I'm going to mess up today, So I'm just going to hide in the corner. No, that's the opposite of what we should do. And generally speaking, we should be able to trust our family and our friends and our church and our government and our political leaders and everybody else. we should be able to trust them. Generally speaking, they're not perfect, but we should be able to trust them. And you know what? We should be trustworthy people to People should be able to trust us. We're not perfect, but our reputations really don't need to be man. Don't tell her because man will be all over town or I don't know, man. Don't share that with him because he has a way of twisting the story. Or, you know, when you're talking to them, you never really know which person you're talking to. Which version of them is in the conversation? We don't need to be like that. George MacDonald said this to be trusted is a greater compliment than being loved. But even as trustworthy is, we may be we're not perfect. That's why we cannot put our ultimate trust in human beings or inhuman philosophies or in human potential, or in things that humans have built or in places that humans have established because humans are not perfect. Listen, I know my mom and dad and I can trust my mom and dad. I can trust them to show up in my house with toilet paper or paper towels or barbecue from Carolina barbecue in New Ellington, you know, I mean, I can trust my parents, but my parents aren't perfect and wisdom and perfect love and perfect and power. But God is he's perfect in wisdom. He's perfect in love. He's perfect in power. He's perfect in energy. He's perfect in peace, He's perfect and grace. He's perfect in every way. And that's why Salman, as a king as a leader, writes to his boys, Trust in the Lord Trust in him. Because he is perfect, he cannot fail in the middle of your chaos. You can have a heart and mind that it's steady and sure and confident, because you are believing in and trusting in the one who was fit to take the universe is thrown. That's how we could be. Still be still and know the Lord be still and trust the Lord. But what does it look like in real life? Thes things sound good, but what is a little like in real life? Well, when it comes to being still in knowing that God is God, really, when it becomes too anything religious, our tendency is again to try to pull out that self sufficiency weapon to try to do it ourselves. You know, to try harder toe organize mawr to simplify I'm or to protest mortar to doom or or if we're not doing Mawr, sometimes were demanding more. You know, we're like, Hey, these are the things that are wrong in life. God, I need you to fix all of these things in order for me to be happy Body McKernan is a wife and a mom lives in northern Virginia. She says this, but that's not who got is. He is not a genie who merely takes away bad things and gives me good things. He is my good thing. That's the challenge. It's not what God does for us, what he accomplishes for us. It's him. He is our good thing. God is, are good. Bonnie Guzzone resting in the power of Christ is infinitely more peaceful and invigorating and impactful than 1000 chaos free days. So that's what we won't. We won't chaos free days, but she's saying resting in Christ is better than 1000 chaos. Three days she goes on, he is our rest. He is our peace within the chaos. He's the means and he's the end. What are you frustrated about right now? What's ticking you off that's happening in our country? What's ticking you off? That's happening in your family? What has got you down and discouraged and in despair with any area of your life. Please know this by the character and nature of who he is. The means and the end to whatever that is is Jesus. There's not another means and another end the means and the end is Jesus. He is the piece. He is the rest for whatever is. He's the answer for whatever is happening and whatever you're struggling with, he's the means. And he's the end. So again, how do we do that? What does that look like? On Monday morning? Nobody gives us nine things. I'm just going to use three. You can look online at the sermon notes. I'll put a link on to the rest of article. You could see the other nine, but here's here's just three of Okay. 1st 1 goes like this before I gaze into a mirror or look at a screen or to a single thing of this world, I pray that he will show me his glory and goodness today, that I will see it and that I will reflect money. Morning. There you go. Monday morning. Quarterback. That's what you do. You get up and you go. You know what? Before I look in the mirror before I look at my smartphone before I look at my iPad before I look at the computer before I look at the TV that's on the counter in the kitchen and watch the Today show no matter what, Before I look at any of those things, I'm going to what? I am going to pray, that God will show me his glory and his goodness and that I will see it and that I'll reflect. That's That's how you be. Still, that's how you cease striving. Here's another one. As the world in the day get louder and louder. Remember to stop and listen for the spirit over the noise learned to recognize him. Guess what? Things will get louder and louder. None of the loudness will disappear any time. Sing Pandemic are no pandemic. Protests are no protest. It doesn't matter what's happening in the world. There's nothing new. It will always be loud, but when it is loud, we are to do what? Remember to stop and listen to the spirit of God and that God would help us see and know that he is still the one, the only one who can take the throne of the universe. One more. Don't let a single hour go by without asking God to sustain me. Not tomorrow, not next week, but right now set alarm if I have to until it starts to come. Mawr naturally, like breathing like breathing, being still and knowing that God is God is not something you can just do it summer camp. It's not something that you just do it. A women's retreat or a men's breakfast being steel and knowing that God has got ceasing to strive and trusting in the Lord, it's like breathing. It's like part of who you are. I saw a fantastic picture of this. Heard a fantastic picture of this this week from Richard Foster. Basically, he says that if we can learn how to be still and see striving and know that God really has got, what will happen is that we will end up with a portable sanctuary of the heart that is so good. Portable sanctuary of the heart. I mean, that's that's a picture, Right? Being still means that if you can't physically be here in this sanctuary or at your church or at your worship center, wherever it is you normally attend, if you can't physically be there being still and knowing that God is God means that you have a portable sanctuary of your heart, that's fantastic. I mean, own that love that decorate your portable sanctuary. Put some stained glass windows in there. Put some bevel diamond windows in there. Put some skylight when it don't put any windows in there, but decorate your sanctuary and take your portable sanctuary. Everywhere you go. Take it with you. When you go into the kitchen, take it with you. When you go into the office at work, take it with you. When you go to the doctor's office, take it into the grocery store, take it anywhere and everywhere that you go, and when you do something really cool happens rather than you going to disturb the peace of other people. Your piece actually disturbs other people. This is out, Marshall Segal put it. I love it. God wants our inner peace to disturb the world, leaving others wondering how we could possibly enjoy emotional stability and rest in the midst of what we're suffering or enduring. Match examine. You want to disturb somebody? You look for that chance, and I want to disturb somebody. I wanna I wanna interrupt somebody. There's a chance. Be still and know that God is God and let your piece in God disrupt the world. That's a fantastic picture. Take take your portable sanctuary and let the piece of being still in God disrupt your family. Disrupt your friendships, disrupt this community in all the right ways. And how is it that being still in God has that kind of impact? How can being still in knowing God have the kind of impact that can disrupt the world? Miss. That's what we say about the disciples, right? Here's a few guys for the Middle East who followed Jesus and turned the world upside down. So how can our peace in God disrupt the world? How could it be that powerful? Listen to how God closes out his thought. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth That's something right? Like nobody at your cookout yesterday gets to say that it's like it's it's only God Onley God gets to say I will be exalted among all the nations. I will be exalted among the whole earth, the full and final voice over every pandemic, over every protest, over every plague, over every political system, over every politician, over every sickness, over every government, over every nation, over every person, the full and final voice is the most high god. The one who says I am, that I am. I am who I am. I am No. But your cookout gets to say that just got see. The reason our peace and God has so much power is because God has so much power. One day everyone will lay their weapons at the feet of God. One day everyone will cease striving with God. One day everyone will be still and everyone will know that God is God and there is no other Onley. He it's fit to take the universe's throw. That's why we need to be still and know that he is God. If you've surrendered your life to Jesus. If you found the the peace that passes all understanding. That means that right now, today, in the middle of everything that's happening in the world, you could be steady and confident in God. You could be still you can see striving because, you know he is the only one fit to take the throne. In September 1944 the German military launched a operation known as Operation. How'd again? It was an expedition that was supposed to establish a station on a group of islands that said about 400 miles north of Norway. The expedition was was there they were working, but it was top secret. So much so that when the Nazi government fell, they were kind of forgotten about. They were accidentally abandoned up there on those islands. Their last communication was in May of 1945. They found out that the war had ended, that there was no contact. After that, they were left alone for four months. They face sub zero temperatures and constant attacks from polar bears, and the only way they were found. The only way they were rescued was because some Norwegians heard one of their radio distress calls. They were found and they were rescued. The way it is communicated is that when those German soldiers laid down their weapons after they have been rescued, they were the last German soldiers to surrender in World War Two. And they were so happy to be rescued. They didn't even fight. They surrendered happily. In fact, it's reported they surrendered so happily that they made a feast for their captors. They were celebrating that they had been rescued. They laid their weapons down because they were happy to cease striving. This weekend we celebrate our freedom as a nation, our freedom to be the people we are. But it's Christians. We can celebrate every day, the reality that at any given moment we can be still, we can know that our God is God. We can lay down our weapons of self sufficiency or any other weapons we can see strive, and we can rest in the Lord. How and maybe more importantly, why? Because he's the only one fit to take the universe is thrown. And if that's true, and if we know him and we've surrendered to Jesus, that means that right now you are deeply, deeply, undeniably, eternally free free. So take your freedom in Christ today and be still Ces striving be still and uh, that he iss God


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