First Wednesday January 2022
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Introduction:
Introduction:
I want to welcome you again to First Wednesday.
To be honest, I can’t think of a better way to not only start the month but start this New Year as well as we gather together to pray and seek the Lord.
As I prayed about what I would share with you tonight and where our prayer focus would take us, my mind went to one of my favorite movies. Which I know seems kind of odd. But I do think that God speaks to us through things we can relate with.
The movie I thought of was “Man of Steel”, which is a movie about the origins of Superman.
Yes, I’m a little bit of a Superman nerd.
But as I prayed there was a scene from the movie that came to mind that really described how I’ve been feeling lately.
The scene takes place when Clark, AKA Superman, is about 8 years old at school and he’s beginning to discover his powers, one of them being his ability to hear everything happening in the world all at once. A power that is overwhelming him and creating great anxiety. So much so that in the middle of his class he runs out and locks himself in a janitors closet.
This results in his teacher calling Clark’s mom in order to coax him out of the closet.
When mom arrives, Clark still won’t open the door. So his mom kneels down outside the closet and says, “Clark how can I help you if you won’t let me in.”
Clark replies, “The world is too big mom”.
And then in a very thoughtful and comforting voice his mom replies, “Then make it small.”
She then pauses and says, “Focus on my voice. Pretend it’s an island, out in the ocean. Can you see it?”
Clark replies, “I see it.”
To which mom says, “Then swim towards it honey.”
It’s at that point the voices in Clarks head subside, and he opens the door to embrace his mother.
As I said, I know it’s odd, but as I prayed and my mind recalled that scene, I felt like the Lord said, “Brad, that’s what you need to do.”
Here’s what I mean by that.
I don’t know about you, but the chaos and noise of the world seems louder than ever. Almost deafening. From facebook posts, to cable news, too Covid, to the unrest of our culture, it’s like it never stops.
As a result, I’ve found myself feeling overwhelmed by the noise. To the point that for the first time in my life I’ve experienced some moments of anxiety.
On top of that it almost feels like the voice of the enemy has become a constant ringing in my ears as he works to discourage, challenge, upset, detour, and derail God’s plan and purpose in my life.
You might be thinking, “Wow Pastor, it sounds like you’re a mess.”
No, I’m just being transparent with you. And I’m being transparent because I have a feeling I’m not alone on this.
I think we all hear the noise. I think we are all overwhelmed. I think the voice of the enemy is trying to discourage all of us.
And as a result, I think many are discouraged. I think may are tired. I think some are battling depression. I think some are battling anxiety. Some are even battling thoughts of suicide.
I think if we’re all honest, the noise is affecting all of us, and we’re beginning to wonder if the noise is ever going to stop.
And I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but the noise isn’t going to stop. In fact, it’s only going to intensify. And it’s going to intensify for a couple of reasons:
Fist, the world isn’t getting better, it’s getting worse. And that’s not going to change as the affects of sin continue to spin this world out of control.
Second, the facts is, when a person is committed to growing closer to Jesus, the world, the devil, and our flesh is going to push back against that. Paul puts it like this:
17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
Paul says for the person wanting to grow in faith, there is always going to be pushback. In other words, there’s going to be noise.
Which means, we have to find a way to deal with the noise.
The question then is, “How do we do that? How do we deal with the noise of our culture? How do we deal with the lies of the enemy? How do we battle the flesh?”
That’s what I believe the Lord was trying to show me as I prayed that morning. That the answer to dealing with the noise is to squelch it.
So, how do you squelch it. It’s really easy. You Squelch it by focusing on Jesus’s voice, and His voice alone, and then you pray towards it. Because when you focus on Jesus’s voice, it has the ability to drowned all the other noise out.
And Jesus understood the necessity and importance of this more than anybody. Because when He came down from Heaven to live among us, He left the peace of Heaven. He left the perfect union He had with the Father and the Spirit. And in leaving it He entered a sinful and chaotic world.
A world full of pain. A world full of immorality. A world full of sickness. A world full discouragement. A world full of noise. A world that Jesus could have easily got overwhelmed in as He woke up every morning and entered the chaos of His day.
Because his day was Chaotic. The gospel writer Luke puts it like this:
15 But now even more the report about him went abroad, and great crowds gathered to hear him and to be healed of their infirmities.
But Jesus didn’t get overwhelmed. He didn’t get discouraged. He didn’t buy into the lies of the enemy. He didn’t let the noise send Him into a tail spin.
How did he overcome it? He focused in on a voice. And for Him it was the voice of His Father.
After describing Jesus’s daily grind, Luke goes on to write:
16 But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray.
In this passage Luke says the way Jesus dealt with the noise was by finding a place where there was no noise. A place where He could focus on one voice.
In fact, Luke’s implication here is that Jesus would do this often. That this was a frequent occurence.
The NIV translates it like this:
“But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” Luke 5:16 NIV
You see Jesus understood the necessity and importance of finding a place where He could focus in on one voice. A place where he could be strengthened. A place where He could be encouraged. A place where He could refocus. A place where He could allow His Father to minister to Him.
Because how else can the Lord minister to us unless we are willing to let Him in.
The quesiton then is, “How do we do that?”
Before we spend some time in prayer, I’d like to offer three suggestions for how to put yourself in a place where you can quiet the noise and hear God’s voice.
Suggestion #1 - Remove yourself from the noise.
We see an example of this in the story of the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 19 as Elijah reached a low point in his life. A point where he was tired, worn out, overwhelmed, and honestly he just wanted to give up and die. The writer describes it like this:
1 Kings 19:4–5 (ESV)
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” 5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree.
The writer says Elijah is at the end of his rope. And so he removes himself from the noise. He walks out into the wilderness and finds a place of solitude. A place where he can rest. A place where he can sleep. A place where there’s no noise.
And it’s in this place that he begins to cry out to God. It’s in this place that he gets honest with God about where he’s at. He says, “God, I’m not in a good place. I’m so tired. I’m so worn out. I don’t even know if I can keep going.”
I’m not saying anybody in the room or online tonight wants to die. But I think what happens is we get to a point where it’s easy to give up. It’s easy to say, “You know what, I’m done. This is enough. I can’t do this anymore. I can’t stay in this marriage. I can’t keep working that job. I can’t keep pretending like everything is ok, because it’s not.”
We get to a point where we want to give up. So, what’s the answer?
The answer is to remove ourselves from the noise and find a place where we can talk to God and get some rest.
And what I mean by rest is to shut off the television. To stop watching cable news. To put down your smartphone. To stop browsing Facebook. To stop browsing through tik tok videos.
In other words, put yourself in a place where your body and mind can rest. Where life can slow down or come to a standstill long enough for you to hear the quiet in order to begin a conversation with God.
Which then leads to my next suggestion:
Suggestion #2 - Rest for as long as it takes to get replenished.
I think one of the challenges of spending time with God is that we always feel rushed or pressured to get onto the next task. But I’m going to tell you right now, if you truly want to hear God’s voice, be replenished, and get strengthened, then you have to be willing to wait.
We see this with Elijah, because the writer goes on to tell us:
1 Kings 19:5–9 (ESV)
5 And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” 6 And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.
The writer says as Elijah rested, an Angel of the Lord appeared and brought food and drink to Elijah. Food and drink that replenished his body.
But apparently it wasn’t enough because after eating Elijah went and laid down again as he continues to rest.
What that tells us is a few minutes unplugged from Facebook isn’t enough. Sometimes you have to shut it off for awhile. Sometimes you need some extended time to get replenished so you can hear from God.
To be honest, that’s what 21 days of prayer and fasting is all about. It’s about you getting unplugged long enough to get some spiritual rest. To put yourself in a place where God can begin to speak to you.
Because the truth is, until you can turn off the noise completely. Until you can get your Spirit into a a place of rest, it’s going to be difficult to hear God’s voice.
This is what Elijah is doing. He’s continuing to stay removed. He’s continuing to allow His Spirit to rest in the quiet. Which then leads to a second time of refreshment. Because the writer says:
7 And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.
9 There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
The writer says after an extended time of rest and removal from the noise, Elijah is now in a place where He can hear God’s voice. In fact, He’s now at Mt. Horeb, the mountain of God. Also also known as Mt. Sinai, the place where God met with Moses and the people of Israel.
This now leads us to a final suggestion:
Suggestion #3 - When listening for God’s voice, listen for it in the quiet.
I think one of the mistakes we make is to think that when God speaks to us, it’s going to be in this loud echoing voice where God says, “Thus sayeth the Lord.”
But rarely does God speak to us in that way. And we see this with Elijah. Because as Elijah waits at the mountain of God, the Angel of the Lord once again gives him some direction.
1 Kings 19:11–12 (ESV)
11 And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
The writer says as Elijah waited to hear from the Lord, first came a strong wind, but the Lords was not in the wind. And then came an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And then came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.
So, where was God?
The writer tells us:
12 And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.
The writer says the voice of the Lord was a low whisper.
Which means in order for Elijah to hear God’s voice, first he had to ignore the chaos around him, the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, and he had to listen for the whisper.
Second, it means Elijah had to be quiet as well as he waited to hear God’s voice.
And that’s the challenge. To not only wait, but wait long enough to hear the whisper. To hear the Holy Spirit softly speak to us in the quiet.
Elijah waited for that moment. And it’s at this point he heard God’s voice.
So, what did God say? Well, we aren’t going to take the time to read all of it. But in a nutshell, God gave him direction on what do to next. On how to handle the challenges he was facing. On how to go back into the world of chaos and keep moving forward.
And that’s exactly what is going to happen when we remove ourselves from the chaos long enough to hear the whisper of God’s voice. In that moment God is not only going to replenish us, He’s going to give us encouragement, direction, and the strength to keep moving forward.
As we go into our prayer time, that’s my hope for you as well. And so tonight we are going to do something a little different.
In a moment the worship team is going to lead us into some worship, and then following that we are going to go into a time of prayer.
For the first part of the prayer time, we’re going to have some worship music playing as you begin to push the chaos out of your mind and Spirit and focus more in on Jesus.
But then after that song is over, for the last part of our prayer time, there will be no music and only silence. And at that point I’m going to ask that nobody be moving around. And that for a few moments we just wait in the silence. That we listen for the whisper. Because I believe God is going to speak to you. I believe He has something to say to you. But you need the quite to hear it.
And then after a time of silence, I’m going to come up and pray as we finish out with some worship.