Be Still

Scripture Text  

Psalms 46:10 (NKJV) Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! 

Intro: We live in a time of chaos today. Everything seems to be totally out of control. Sin is rampant. There is deception and lies everywhere. Divisiveness rules our land right now. There is little stability in our world today as we look around us but God speaks to us from His word. Let us be encouraged by God’s word. He is our only stability no matter what!

I. God says in His word to “Be still.” – That means to be tranquil, silent, quiet, and at rest.

  a. This is a challenge for all of us. We must work at it. There is no substitute for time alone with God. We read His word, meditate on it and we pray about everything. Stillness before the Lord in quiet time allows Him to prepare us for the unexpected challenges and opportunities in life by focusing on Him rather than trying to figure out every problem we face and wondering what will come next or grieving over past  things, God says we are simply to “be still.” We acknowledge God’s Lordship over our lives. Surrender to His will.

II. Then God says to “know” something. Know means to recognize and discern. (v:10)

  a. We are to know, recognize and understand that He is God and has everything under control. He has everything covered, nothing takes Him by surprise.

      He’s already in our future working things out on our behalf and for our good.

      Let there be no doubt whatsoever that He has a perfect plan for all of us.

      We can put our complete trust in Him in every situation and circumstance we face. We just need to wait quietly and simply let Him work in us so He can work through us. He will keep in perfect peace all those who trust in Him, whose thoughts turn to Him often.

III. God says “I will be exalted.” He will be raised in rank, honor, power, character, glory.

   a. Among the nations of the world. God’s lofty position of rank, honor, power, character and glory will be made known to all nations who live on the face of the earth. 

     Habakkuk 2:13 (NLT) Has not the Lord of Heaven’s Armies promised that the wealth of nations will turn to ashes? They work so hard, but all in vain!

     All the idols of the world will be burned up by God’s wrath when Jesus comes to rule and reign. All the other religions of the world that have sent many to hell by their false teachings will be destroyed by the fire of God’s wrath and He will be exalted.
¹⁴ For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea. God in all His glory will rule supreme on the earth through His Son Jesus Christ, the Anointed One. Psalms 2:7-9 (NKJV) ⁷ "I will declare the decree: The Lord has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. 

⁸ Ask of Me, and I will give You The nations for Your inheritance, And the ends of the earth for Your possession. ⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron; You shall dash them to pieces like a potter's vessel.' "

    b. In the earth. God says He will have His salvation proclaimed in every nation, among every people, and in every tongue. The nations abroad that do not worship Him, but worship idols, shall see in His deeds full proof that He is the true God, and that He is worthy of universal adoration. God says all the peoples on earth will worship His Son as He has proclaimed in His word.

      Philippians 2:9-11 (NKJV) ⁹ God also has highly exalted Jesus and given Him the name which is above every name, ¹⁰ that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, ¹¹ and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

 Conclusion: If you have not developed the habit of quiet time, daily prayer and bible study, why not begin now so you will draw closer to God and realize He is sovereign over all the earth.

Invitation: Do you have a relationship with this all powerful God? Have you stilled yourself before God and confessed your sins and asked Jesus to forgive them and save you for Heaven?

The Joys of Trusting God

Scripture Text Psalm 40:1-5

INTRO: We see so many Christian people that seem so sad and they feel beat down by the pressures and the problems of this life, facing trials and temptations on every hand. God wants us to trust Him with all these things. King David gives us a firsthand personal witness of the benefits and joys of trusting God with all the problems and trials of life. No matter what he faced, David had the privilege of taking everything to God and then fully trusting Him with everything he faced in his life. David gives his joyful report to the congregation about his deliverance and an encouragement to them to trust the Lord.

 I. The first benefit is patience!  Psalms 40:1 (NKJV) I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, And heard my cry. David says he had learned to pray and wait on God to move and help him. David could even have patience while waiting for God to help him. Then David says God turned to face him and inclined His ear (bent down to hear) his request. God promises that He will hear us when we continue to ask, seek and knock, with continuous praying. (Mt.7:7)

II. The second benefit of having trust in God is His answer. Psalms 40:2 (NKJV) He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, Out of the miry clay, And set my feet upon a rock, And established my steps.

 David says he was going through (mud and mire) a time of despair and hopelessness. He felt the pressure of his many problems and He felt helpless in his situations in life. But when he prayed to God out of his pitiful state, God answered him and changed his situation. God changed his helplessness into victory, and turned his despair to joy. God had now set David’s feet on solid ground by giving him power over his problems and circumstances to where he could walk steadily in the paths of God’s leading.

III. Third benefit of trusting in God. He gives a new song of praise for His goodness.   Psalms 40:3 (NKJV) He has put a new song in my mouth-- Praise to our God; Many will see it and fear, And will trust in the Lord.

God will bring a new song to your heart when He delivers you. We are to tell others about God’s mercy and grace in delivering us from our hopeless problems and troubles. When we do we will see another benefit of our trusting in God and that is people will see what He has done and they will put their trust in God as well.

IV. Fourth benefit of trusting God is joy. Psalms 40:4 (NKJV) Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, And does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

David gives us encouragement to commit our troubles and our lives to God. We will have no confidence in arrogant people (those who are full of self and think they know it all) and those that lie and brag about what they can do; God says the arm of flesh will always fail you. Jeremiah 17:5 (NLT) This is what the Lord says: “Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord.

Neither will we trust in idols. Idols are anything that takes up more of our time then God does! People look to everything the world has to offer (idols) trying to escape from their despair and hopelessness. We Christians will look only to God and trust Him! 

V. Fifth benefit is confidence in God. Psalms 40:5 (NKJV) Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered.

 God has no equal. When we remember the wonders God has performed for us. Count your many blessings, name then one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord has done. Look at the wonders of creation, the vastness and order of the universe and beyond. Look at the beauties and wonders here on earth. God gives us food, clothing, houses, cars, TVs, luxury items!  Nature itself is a wonder of God. God’s wonders happen every day. I have seen many miracles and wonders that God has performed in my life and other people’s lives. They are too numerous to mention, we would forget some.  The joy and blessings of trusting God is confidence and assurance. There is no one equal to Him. Many people give glory to the devil by fearing him instead of God. The devil is not omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent. He cannot create. He came to deceive, steal, kill, and destroy. Let’s take David’s personal witness and take everything to the highest authority there is. God has no equal and He invites us come to Him day or night.

He has given us a High Priest who understands our need and presents our case before Him.

Hebrews 4:14-16 (NKJV) ¹⁴ Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. ¹⁵ For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin .¹⁶ Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Invitation: Have you experienced the joys of trusting God lately? Take your worries, fears and doubts to God right now as He gives you this invitation to come to Him.  Cast all your cares on the Lord if you have not already. You can never have joy till you fully trust Jesus as your personal Savior and Lord? Come to Him while He is near and experience the joys of trusting God!

Mountain Moving Faith

Scripture Text Mark 11:22-24

Intro: Jesus teaches us in these verses what we should do with the problems and circumstances we face in this life. He outlines the steps necessary to have all our problems resolved.

I.  Faith - The first condition to prayer is faith in God. We’ll look at four important facts.

  a. The object of faith is God Himself. Mark 11:22 (NKJV)  So Jesus answered and said to them, "Have faith in God. The critical words are "in God." There are three significant things that need to be noted about the object of faith.

     1. Jesus did not say, "Have faith," but "Have faith in God." Faith has to have an object. "In God" is where one is to have faith, where one is to place his faith.

    Faith has no value by itself; only the object of faith (God) has value.    The Bible never says to have faith in faith, yet this is the experience of many. Too often, a great difficulty or problem arises, and the believer feels he has to arouse his faith. He feels that if he can just stir up enough faith, he will whip the problem. But in reality he has faith in faith. His mind, his attention, and his heart have been focused upon his faith—not upon God.

   2. Faith has no power; it is the object of our faith that has power. A man's faith is not going to remove the mountain. God is going to remove the mountain. The strength of faith is not faith, but God. In the Bible practically everyone who came to God had weak faith. Only a few had strong faith, yet God saved them and granted their requests.

   3. Faith requires knowing the object. The more one knows the object of faith, the more one believes in the object of his faith( Hebrews 11:6). You must know in your heart that what God says is true and there is no question about it. God rewards diligent- persistent faith in Him.

II. A second fact is the purpose of faith. Mark 11:23 (NKJV) For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. The purpose of faith is to remove mountains.  Jesus' teaching says, "Have faith in God... [and then] say unto this mountain, Be removed." Mountains represent the immovable, the impossible. It is something almost too steep to climb, almost too high to cross, almost too awesome to see beyond. This is the reason Jesus discussed prayer and communion along with faith. One learns to have faith in God as He prays and communes with God. And the more he prays and communes with God the more he will know God; and the more he knows God, the more he can experience faith in God and experience the removal of mountains that slow his progress through life.

III.  A third fact is the way to possess faith. The way to build faith is prayer. Jesus explicitly says, Mark 11:24 (NKJV) Therefore I say to you, whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them.

 a. Not doubting at all. This means never having a thought whether a thing can be done or not. It means not hesitating, not wondering, not questioning, not considering, not being concerned at all. What Christ is teaching us is to grow in belief and trust. He wants us to believe that all things are possible through Him who strengthens us. (Phil. 4:19)

IV.  A fourth fact is the result of expectant faith. Mark 11:23 (NKJV)  For assuredly, I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be removed and be cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that those things he says will be done, he will have whatever he says. A man who prays having faith, truly "having faith in God...has whatsoever he says." The mountains which confront him will be removed if he continues to say he believes that God will remove that mountain.

Invitation: Be sure you have a relationship with God through saving faith in Jesus before you bring your requests to the Lord. Are you 100% sure you know Jesus as your Savior and Lord.

      If not, confess your sins to Jesus and ask Him to forgive your sins against God and save you. Invite Him into your life to take charge of you.

Peace in the Midst of the Storm

Scripture Text Mark 4: 35-41

Intro: There is so much we can learn from this story that Mark gives us in these verses for today. This story should inspire and encourage each of us to put our trust in Jesus no matter what we are facing in life. He is truly worthy of our complete trust in Him.

1 Peace and rest are sought after a tiring day. Mark 4:35-36 (NLT) ³⁵ As evening came, Jesus said to his disciples, “Let’s cross to the other side of the lake.” ³⁶ So they took Jesus in the boat and started out, leaving the crowds behind (although other boats followed).

 We All get fatigued in life!

  a. Jesus was fatigued! It was evening of the same day when Jesus sought rest and peace. He had been teaching all day to a multitude of people. The crowd had been so massive and pressing that they had forced Him of shore into a boat and from there He taught them.  

      When evening had come Jesus took the initiative and gives the command to His 12 disciples to cross over to the other side of the Sea of Galilee.

  b. Because Jesus was so fatigued, He went as He was—tired and give out from ministering.

  c. Other ships went also. The people wanted to be with Jesus wherever He went. They got to see the miracle of Jesus stilling the storm also!

II. Peace can be experienced despite a great storm.  Mark 4:37-38 (NLT)
³⁷ But soon a fierce storm came up. High waves were breaking into the boat, and it began to fill with water. ³⁸ Jesus was sleeping at the back of the boat with his head on a cushion. The disciples woke him up, shouting, “Teacher, don’t you care that we’re going to drown?”

  a. The storm was so great that the Ship began to be filled with water. We have all probably experienced some storms in our lives or we are going thru one now. We may feel like we are going under from the immensity of our storm.

  b. While this great storm was going on Jesus slept in the midst of it. The disciples feared lest they perish. Have you ever felt that Jesus has turned a blind eye to your situation? That the door to Heaven is closed! We pray and nothing seems to happen! If Jesus is in your boat it will not sink. Hebrews 13:5 (NKJV) ⁵ Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." (Ps.23:4) Valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil!

III. Our peace is a concern to Jesus.  Mark 4:39 (NKJV)  Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, "Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

  a. Jesus cares for us more than we could ever know. 1 Peter 5:6-7 (NKJV) ⁶ Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, ⁷ casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you. Jesus has the power to control every situation. Whatever we are facing or will face in the future Jesus is well able to help us through it as He brings rest and peace to our souls. He invites us to ask, seek, and knock.

IV. Peace comes through two sources.  Mark 4:40-41 (NKJV) ⁴⁰ But He said to them, "Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?" ⁴¹ And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"

  a. Through faith! Jesus asked them “where is your faith”? Faith comes hearing and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17

  b. Through Jesus’ Word. When we speak God’s word over our situation it is sure to bring the rest and peace we need in every situation we have to face. By acting on God's Word and not merely reacting to the situation, you'll be able to manage your emotions instead of allowing them to manage you. I strongly recommend confessing the Word of God out loud. Even though what you confess may be the opposite of how you feel, keep doing it. God's Word has inherent power to change our feelings, bring comfort to us, and quiet our distraught emotions. The word is living and powerful; (Heb. 4:12) through the word you are born again. The word works faith in you; through the word faith is activated. Read and receive the word simply with the thought that it will work in you. Keep yourselves occupied with the word, and give it time. The word has a divine life in itself; carry it in your inmost parts, and it will work life in you. It will work in you a faith strong and able for anything.

Invitation: Is Jesus in your boat (life)? Has He saved you from the penalty of sin and Hell? If not confess your sins against God and ask Jesus to forgive you and invite Him into your life to take charge of you give you a home in Heaven with Him and the Father. He will help you through life’s great storms that we all have to face.