Sitting Still For Strength

Sitting Still For Strength (1:15-19)

Sometime soon (the time is uncertain) after his conversion, Paul went off into Arabia, and it was there, obviously, that Christ revealed to him the Gospel message (cp. Galatians 1:12).

Sometimes we need to sit still and stop our activity that God might prepare us for a future work!

Psalm 46:10 “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.”

Still - to become motionless or silent.

One of the best ways to know who God is is to simply sit still! You can learn who God is when we let him speak!

Saul’s/Paul’s conversion story and how he preached in Damascus (Acts 9:15-22)

Scripture is our strength!

Psalm 119:28 “My soul melteth (weary/tired) for heaviness: Strengthen thou me according unto thy word.”

Matthew 4:4 “But he answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” (Jesus being tempted by the devil)

God’s word sustains us!

Hebrews 4:12 “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.”

Acts 20:32 “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.”

The Bible helps us to construct a Christian life!

To Help With Understanding The Scriptures

"The Bible was not given for our information but for our transformation." - D.L. Moody (Psalm 119:11 “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, That I might not sin against thee.” )

1 Samuel 9:27,

Requires Isolation (bid the servant pass on before us)

Get alone with God, turn off all the noise and distractions, pray, ask God to help you understand the Scriptures.

2 Timothy 2:15 “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

The best thing one can do is get in a room with your Bible alone with just you and the Holy Ghost! He’s the best teacher!

Requires Being Intentional (stand thou still)

Remember, Paul didn’t confer with flesh and blood. (Asking counsel of your flesh whether to study or not will render fleshly counsel!)

Acts 17:11 “These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.”

"Knowledge of the Bible never comes by intuition. It can only be obtained by diligent, regular, daily, attentive waking, listening, reading, and studying." - J.C. Ryle (Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had prepared his heart to seek the law of the Lord, and to do it, and to teach in Israel statutes and judgments.” )

You’ll never get in God’s word when you’re in a rush. If you don’t make time for study, you won’t study.

The Bible talks about meditating on the word of God.

Psalm 119:97 “MEM. O how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.”

You think about what you love!

Joshua 1:8 “This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success.”

Psalm 1:1–2 “Blessed is the man That walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor standeth in the way of sinners, Nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; And in his law doth he meditate day and night.”

Biblical meditation is the deliberate, prayerful practice of filling your mind with God's Word, thinking deeply about it, and seeking to understand, believe, and obey it. Unlike some modern ideas of meditation that emphasize emptying the mind, biblical meditation emphasizes filling the mind with God's truth.

Think of a person enjoying a piece of hard candy. They don't swallow it immediately. They keep it in their mouth, savoring its sweetness.

You turn it over in your mouth again and again, trying to get all the taste! The word of God is sweeter than honey out of the comb!

This is biblical meditation. It’s not reading a verse and that’s it. Dwell on it! Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom!

"Reading brings the truth into our heads; meditation brings it into our hearts."

Luke 10:39 “And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his word.” When you’re amazed by Christ, you’ll pay attention to Christ!

Requires Being Immobile (stand thou still)

Being still precedes any illumination to God’s word.

Requires Being Invested (a while)

Paul knew the Scriptures, but took three years to be taught of Jesus Christ to understand the gospel!

2 Peter 3:15-18

The word "wrest" means to twist, distort, or pervert from its proper meaning. Peter warns that Scripture can be mishandled by people who approach it without proper understanding and stability.

Isaiah 28:10–13 “For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; Line upon line, line upon line; Here a little, and there a little: For with stammering lips and another tongue Will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; And this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. But the word of the Lord was unto them Precept upon precept, precept upon precept; Line upon line, line upon line; Here a little, and there a little; That they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, And snared, and taken.”

God often teaches His people progressively. We grow by learning and obeying one truth at a time. Scripture interprets Scripture, and as we compare passage with passage, our understanding deepens.

God's Word has not become less powerful, but our lives have become less prepared. Only when we prepared ourselves to be still to hear the voice of the Lord will we have power in our lives!