When you Feel God is Silent
Notes
Transcript
Sometimes God is silent because we have moved away from him.
Honey who moved
Today we are not talking about times when we move away from the Lord directly and God is silent but the moments when we feel that we are pursuing Jesus and he appears to be silent before us.
It’s those times in life when we feel like we are seeking Jesus but there is no response from God. God the more I seek you the more I feel you run from me.
This leads to doubt
It is in times of doubt you might seek the Lord more and in seeking him felt as though as you seek him he is withdrawing himself further from you.
I am praying but I’m getting no response.
John the Baptist
Background info:
He was a man’s man
1 In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the Wilderness of Judea
2 and saying, “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven has come near!”
3 For he is the one spoken of through the prophet Isaiah, who said: A voice of one crying out in the wilderness: Prepare the way for the Lord; make His paths straight!
4 John himself had a camel-hair garment with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey.
This guy ate crickets and wild Honey. He was a man’s man. He was one that we preachers would look up to. He spoke the truth as well.
Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the World.
29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Here is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
He must Increase I must Decrease!
27 John responded, “No one can receive a single thing unless it’s given to him from heaven.
28 You yourselves can testify that I said, ‘I am not the Messiah, but I’ve been sent ahead of Him.’
29 He who has the bride is the groom. But the groom’s friend, who stands by and listens for him, rejoices greatly at the groom’s voice. So this joy of mine is complete.
30 He must increase, but I must decrease.”
Jesus said there is no one greater born among women than John the Baptist!
Reason he was in prison:
King Herod had taken his brother Philip’s wife from him. John the Baptizer goes around preaching a message of repentance and he says it is not right for King Herod to have his brother Philip’s wife as his own wife. He is using the kings situation as an example of what not to do.
He confronts the king on the issue and is arrested as a result of his stance on the truth.
3 For Herod had arrested John, chained him, and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
4 since John had been telling him, “It’s not lawful for you to have her!”
Jesus
After Jesus has been tempted in the dessert he returns to find out that John the Baptist has been put into prison
Jesus begins his ministry after John the Baptist has been put in to prison.
12 When He heard that John had been arrested, He withdrew into Galilee.
13 He left Nazareth behind and went to live in Capernaum by the sea, in the region of Zebulun and Naphtali.
John the Baptizer was imprisoned at Machaerus which is located fifteen miles southeast of the mouth of the Jordan river on the eastern side of the Dead Sea. According to Flavius Josephus this was the location of the imprisonment and execution of John the Baptist
(Picture)
Think about that for just a moment. The one you were sent to testify about begins his ministry and you are stuck in prison.
Not only are you stuck in prison but the one you came to testify about is getting further away from where you are in prisoned.
We can liken this situation to times in our lives when we are seeking the Lord but it feels as though he has withdrawn himself from us and our situation.
God we are seeking you yet the more we seek the more silent you seem to be. God I am trying to get closer but you are getting further away
We find ourselves asking God where are you at in this?
And often asking God are you real and do you exists?
1 When Jesus had finished giving orders to His 12 disciples, He moved on from there to teach and preach in their towns.
2 When John heard in prison what the Messiah was doing, he sent a message by his disciples
(Picture)
While Amy and I were in Israel we had the opportunity to see both the area close to Machaerus and Capernaum. Picture this:
Machaerus was in the dessert near the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea was an interesting place. There is 1 city at the dead sea and all that is there is resorts for the Dead Sea that’s it. They have a hard time keeping employees in this area because that is all that is there.
Capernaum was a beautiful place. The Sea of Galilee was just amazing. So John is stuck in prison for speaking the truth and Jesus is on the beach of the Sea of Galilee.
3 and asked Him, “Are You the One who is to come, or should we expect someone else?”
Social Media does not help as we are in the middle of God’s silence. We are scrolling and scrolling and seeing other people who appear close to God and God is doing everything for them but nothing for me.
Social media is really good about making us believe that the story of God is centered around us.
Have you ever watched a group of teens take a pic? They run to the screen after the shot and see how it looks and if they don’t like it they will reshoot it until everyone is pleased.
Jesus is on shore of the Sea of Galilee and John the Baptist is in prison.
3 It’s no wonder John’s disciples sent him to ask are you the One or should we expect someone else?
This is John asking if Christ was the Messiah or should he be expecting someone else to come.
This is John the Baptizer whom Jesus said there is no one on earth greater than him born among women asking if Christ was the Messiah.
We find him in the middle of God’s plan wondering if Christ is even real. Is He the real Messiah?
4 Jesus replied to them, “Go and report to John what you hear and see:
5 the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news.
Jesus’s response is interesting because he does not answer the question directly but Jesus tells John’s disciples to go tell John what I’m doing for everyone else. You tell him the blind see, the lame walk, those with skin diseases are healed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are told the good news.
Jesus is doing everything that the coming Messiah was prophesied that he would do.
Here at Bridge of Faith we may not be seeing overnight results but we know that God is at work.
· A few years before Bridge of Faith was planted kids would sleep in the park at night
· Before the bus ministry started students would show up in cars with people sometimes 10-15 people to a car load. (It was not safe)
· Wednesday nights were so difficult as the students wanted to revolt every week and not just one student but all the students (one night I had to call the cops as they were cussing out our staff walking out the doors)
· We took them to a disastrous super bowl party in Kimberling City were all I did was get on to our students that night.
· The days I dreamed of doing something for students for the summer have now been fulfilled. (Summers at the Beach)
Students going to Light the way
6 And if anyone is not offended because of Me, he is blessed.”
The one who does not stumble on account of the Lord’s silence in our lives will be blessed. Think for a moment how many people you see fall away because God is silence and does not answer the prayer in the way that they want it answered.
The real question of is he real and this doubt comes back to who we believe Jesus is and His word.
Jesus’s Response to John When John believes Jesus is silent
Jesus’s Response to John When John believes Jesus is silent
7 As these men went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?
8 What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothes? Look, those who wear soft clothes are in kings’ palaces.
9 But what did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and far more than a prophet.
10 This is the one it is written about: Look, I am sending My messenger ahead of You; he will prepare Your way before You.
11 “I assure you: Among those born of women no one greater than John the Baptist has appeared, but the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.
12 From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been suffering violence, and the violent have been seizing it by force.
13 For all the prophets and the Law prophesied until John;
14 if you’re willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who is to come.
15 Anyone who has ears should listen!
Jesus affirms his purpose for John’s life when John is doubting. Jesus doesn’t send this message back to John but this is why Jesus is using John
v11
Keep your eyes on the end. The least in the Kingdom of Heaven is greater than John the Baptist. That’s something to look forward to.
v.12
Forcefully advancing (biazetai) could be rendered in the passive, “is violently treated.” (The verb lay hold of [harpazousin] means “to grasp” in the sense of resisting or laying claim to it on their own). Those leaders wanted a kingdom, but not the kind Jesus was offering. So they were resisting the message and attempting to establish their own rule.
Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 44). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
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