Dying to Chaos

Introduction

Jesus said John 16:33

John 16:33 MSG

I’ve told you all this so that trusting me, you will be unshakable and assured, deeply at peace. In this godless world you will continue to experience difficulties. But take heart! I’ve conquered the world.”

In this godless world...we will continue to experience difficulties...troubles...trials...tribulation… This is the message of the Son of God...the Lord Jesus...to his disciples...in the first century...and today.

In this world...we will have wildfires...landslides (in China the last few days)...earthquakes...illnesses...tragedies of all types...

Psalm 46...describes it this way...

Psalm 46:1–3 NLT

God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble. So we will not fear when earthquakes come and the mountains crumble into the sea. Let the oceans roar and foam. Let the mountains tremble as the waters surge!

Why does the psalmist say “we will not fear”?

Becasue God...the ever faithful and sure foundation of all of creation...including our lives...is real. God is real...and is our place of safety...our refuge in times of trouble.

Jesus said...we will always have trouble in this world...but we are to take heart...because he has overcome...or conquered...this world.

Appomatox

In 1953, historian Bruce Catton published a Pulitzer Prize-winning history of the Civil War entitled A Stillness at Appomattox. It's an interesting title because Appomattox wasn't famous for a great battle. Quite the opposite. It was famous because the battle had ended.

Imagine soldiers who had lived for four years with the constant thunder of cannons, the crack of rifles, and the chaos of war. Then, almost suddenly, there was silence. The guns stopped. The smoke began to clear. The fighting was over.

Catton called that moment "a stillness" ...it was more than the absence of noise. It marked the end of one chapter... and the uncertain beginning of another. The old order had died. A new future had begun.

I wonder if that's what God has in mind when He says in Psalm 46, "Be still, and know that I am God." We often hear those words as an invitation to relax. But they are much stronger than that. God is saying, "Lay down your weapons. Stop striving. Release your grip. I am God."

Sometimes the greatest victory in the Christian life isn't winning another battle. Sometimes it's finally surrendering the battle we've been trying to fight ourselves.

Psalm 46

Our passage this morning reads: Psalm 46:8-11

Psalm 46:8–11 ESV

Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah

Powerful words.

They attest to God’s sovereignty over all things! And because God is sovereign...he is our only refuge in this world.

It is only when you and I let go...of trying to control outcomes that are out of our control...

When we let go...of trying to change the world...

When we let go of...manage our own crisis in in our lives...

That we truly surrender in silence...in stillness...before the one... true...and only living God...that we can truly find peace in ourlives and in this world.

We spend much of life fighting. fighting circumstances fighting uncertainty fighting loss fighting change fighting time fighting one another even fighting God

However....the Christian life begins where our striving ends.

We must die to the chaos of trying to be our own God...we are not God...we are not gods...we are God’s creation...created for relationship with Him!

Only when we stop striving to be good and do good...and accept God’s grace and allow it to change us from the inside out...will we find a measure of peace and joy in the arms of our fotress God.

The chaos of our world does not reveal God's absence; it provides the very stage upon which His sovereign reign is displayed.

We are not called to control history but to trust the Lord who already holds it. Dying to the chaos of our lives and this world...is how we discover the life-giving peace that comes from resting in God's unshakable presence in the midst of our uncertainty.

Application:

So how do we do that exactly? I’m glad you asked.

(SLIDES...)

Closing

The stillness at Appomattox wasn't the end of history. It was the beginning of a different future.

Likewise, the stillness God calls us to isn't retreat from life. It isn't giving up responsibility. It is laying down the illusion that we are the ones holding the world together.

Before resurrection comes surrender.

Before peace comes stillness.

Before new life comes dying.

In God's kingdom, the silence that follows surrender is never empty. It is the place where God begins something new.

Thanks be to God...AMEN!