"Be Still & Know That I Am God."
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I. Introduction.
I. Introduction.
When we hear the words “Be still and know that I am God.”
There is a sense of peace that comes with that wonderful song.
But I invite you to hear my title tonight with fresh ears!
Sometimes the very best thing you can do is: “Be Still.”
( Ask a leader to pray over the Bible Study.)
Motivation for a tower.
Motivation for a tower.
God had judged the world of men.
So many had died as the the globe was covered by water.
It would seem likely that tectonic plates moved and shifted during the flood, so I don’t know if Mt. Everest was the highest point in that time as it is today.
But we do know that as the windows of heaven gushed out, and as the fountains of the deep were opened,
Whatever the highest landmark was, it was soon covered by more than 20 cubits of raging, roiling water!
What a horrible thought:
Even if you had somehow managed to escape to the mountains,
Even if you had somehow outclimbed the rising tide and survived the cold thin air and howling winds,
If you had managed to escape the chaos tearing at earth’s crust and you somehow made it to the top of the highest mountain, still, there was no hope for you!
Because soon that mountain was covered by a global ocean swallowing you by more than 30 feet!
Now we know that God spared eight humans from the flood who were counted righteous!
And with that, I am so grateful that He set a global precedent for future judgments!
And that precedent was a way of escape!
See in every age, God has provided those with whom he would covenant, a specific plan to escape judgement!
A specific plan! For example, He told Noah to use acacia wood to build his ark.
The God who created every tree and knows the properties of each and where each would grow, He told Noah to use a certain type of lumber!
Had Noah tried to use Oak or Pine or some other wood, I’m just gonna tell you: It wouldn’t have worked!
God gave him specific plans on how to caulk the seams and joints so that the ark would float!
Had Noah devised another method, humanity would have never survived the global flood that covered the face of the earth!
That’s why for example, that we cannot baptize you in any other formula or in any other method than that given us by God!
With all due respect to other faith traditions, we have to stick to the BIble record!
We don’t baptize babies, we don’t sprinkle people and we don’t change the formula!
Specific instructions are easy to obey and when we do, we should obey them specifically!
Thank God Noah had that figured out!
Now the scriptures tell us that after the flood, the generations that followed disobeyed God’s command to spread out across the earth.
They stayed clumped together!
They rebelled against God!
And this rebellion was expressed in the building of a tower.
Archeologists call them ziggurat, and smaller ones exist still today in that part of the world.
The one that they had planned for the plain of Shinar, was to be so high, that if God judged their violence and mayhem once more, they would be able to retreat into their tower that reached into the heavens and escape the rising flood!
This was the plan!
It’s as though they shook their fist to the heavens and said: We choose self rule! We will sin! We will confirm our iniquity!
Now humanity has a plan B in case God wants to send a flood once more!
And here’s the amazing thing: God said they could have done it!
Without hydraulic or pneumatic power or any modern equipment, God said they had enough unity of purpose that they would have been able to build that tower to the heavens!
And so he employed the most powerful tool in the world of men: Language.
Just imagine: You ask for a shovel and they bring you a hammer!
You call for a block and tackle and they bring you an axe!
No wonder that project fell apart!
I work on jobsites where all the different trades speak the same language and it’s still chaos!
In that time period, God used language to tear men and tribes apart!
But now, in our time, under a new covenant, He again employs the power of speech!
Only now, he uses speech to bring men back together!
Folks, this is a book of Acts church!
We invite you to speak in tongues!
Go ahead!!!
This is God’s way!
Once long ago, he used tongues to drive men apart!
And now, he uses tongues to bring us back together!
And all of us here tonight are living proof! We are a diverse group of different cultures and nationalities!
Yet we are the body of Christ! A family!
God has used tongues to bring the people of the earth back together!
Thank God for tongues!
But now here’s the thing:
The story does not end there!
Pentecostal churches are always happy to tell you that God wants to anoint your tounge to speak in a language you do not understand.
This is good! It is the initial sign that the speaker has recieved the Holy Spirit!
But I want to highlight the other side of that coin tonight:
If we are willing to allow him to move our tongue to speech.
So too, we should allow him to move our tongue to silence.
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
In chapter 3:2-12, James explains:
For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body. Indeed, we put bits in horses’ mouths that they may obey us, and we turn their whole body. Look also at ships: although they are so large and are driven by fierce winds, they are turned by a very small rudder wherever the pilot desires. Even so the tongue is a little member and boasts great things.
See how great a forest a little fire kindles! And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is so set among our members that it defiles the whole body, and sets on fire the course of nature; and it is set on fire by hell. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind. But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our God and Father, and with it we curse men, who have been made in the similitude of God. Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so. Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh.
My Christian brothers and sisters: There comes a time when each of us must decide if our speech will be fresh and clean, or stagnant and salty.
I think this is a great time to talk about gossip and talebearing!
Now, we have no problems in this area at present!
At least not that I know of...
So, what better time to deal with the kind of topic that we should stay on top of and nobody feels like pastor is gunning for them!
I repeat: To my knowledge, we have no gossip problems right now and I’d sure like it to stay that way!
I will say this: When a topic like this comes up, it’s a good practice to ask yourself: Does that shoe fit me?
If so, fix the problem!
If not, thank God that you have the victory and make plans to keep it!
This is a simple study tonight, so let me share some specific Scripture with you as well as perhaps a little anecdotal wisdom.
You may want to write this down for more study
Psalm 39:1 (NKJV)
I said, “I will guard my ways, Lest I sin with my tongue;
I will restrain my mouth with a muzzle,
While the wicked are before me.”
This passage clearly states that it is possible for you to sin simply by the words you speak!
Here’s how Jesus put it:
Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.”
David said: “If I have to put a muzzle on, I will do it, so that I do not sin with my mouth!”
Psalm 140:3 (NKJV)
They sharpen their tongues like a serpent;
The poison of asps is under their lips.
Selah
From this passage we learn that it is possible to develop an internal bitterness that stores up inside of you until finally the pressure is too much and you let it come out!
And when it does, that bitterness, that hurt that was festering inside of you? Now it’s a poison!
That’s why you have to pray and let God clean you out every day!
Talk to Him about your hurts!
Be real with God! Complain if you must, holler and yell if you have to!
Just get it off you chest!
Then open your Word and let him counsel you!
When people get in trouble for saying things they shouldn’t to other people, it’s usually because they aren’t taking it to God!!!!
But if you do need to talk to another person, heres’ a good rule of thumb:
Whatever organization you are a part of, even professionally and especially spiritually, Whenever you complain, always complain up the chain of command!
Don’t ever complain downward or lateral!
And when you bring a problem to the attention of your direct report, bring some potential solutions!
Put some thought and effort into fixing the issue rather than just moaning and groaning!
If youre’ just murmuring, that is not good.
Bad things happen to people in the Bible who murmured. Just ask Korah!
The wonderful thing is, you can always talk to Jesus and He’ll never misunderstand!
He’ll never hurt you or betray a confidence!
There is one who speaks like the piercings of a sword,
But the tongue of the wise promotes health.
They used to say “Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”
I do not believe that for one minute!
In fact, I’ve seen broken bones fully healed in a matter of months!
I’ve also seen the effects of verbal abuse.
I’ve seen mean and hurtful words spoken years prior, shape the trajectory of a man’s life!
Be careful!
Especially with our natural children and the Spiritually newborn!
Your words are important!
Build people up!
Encourage their confidence!
Edify one another!
He who covers a transgression seeks love,
But he who repeats a matter separates friends.
Listen, if you can’t say anything good, don’t say anything at all!
Gossip is sin! Gossip is wrong!
You will rue the day that you repeat a matter and betray another’s sacred trust!
And don’t entertain gossip if it’s coming from someone else!
They may start like this: “Please help me pray for so and so....”
Listen, if that person is not in a position of Spiritual authority relative to the person in question, you don’t need to listen to one more word!
Stop it right out of the gate!
“I’m sorry brother, I am not comfortable with this conversation, let’s talk about something else!”
Chances are they’ll respect you for it!
And you’ll have protected your good reputation!
If you don’t you’ll be sorry!
Perhaps you don’t want to offend, so you listen with a few grunts of aknowledgements or a few hmms.
Not good!
You’ve become accessory to the crime!
Because that same person will talk to the next one who will listen and suddenly, your name comes up!
“Well, Bro so and so said....”
All you did was listen, but the talebearer will use your name to increase the credibility of their narrative!
Here’s something I’ve learned:
Whoever gossips to you, will gossip about you.”
Now y’all know I love dogs!
And specifically, little Mr. Otis.
But did you know: One reason a dog has so many friends is that it spends more time wagging it’s tail than wagging it’s tongue.”
Listen, we’re OK, it’s all good!
This is what we call preventative maintenance!
Gotta keep that tongue in check!
I take my pocket knife in for sharpening once in a while and I’m careful how I use it.
I’ve even got bald spots on my arms from testing the keen edge .
Even the best blade and tool steel gets dull!
Universally, in every age and place.
Bu the tongue is the only tool that becomes sharper with use...
And a wise elder once said: “Keep your words soft and sweet. You never know when you may have to eat them.”
Okay! Next Scripture:
Proverbs 12:19 (NKJV)
The truthful lip shall be established forever,
But a lying tongue is but for a moment.
No scandal is ever small.
And there is nothing the media likes more than a big juicy scandal!
They splash it everywhere!
But you ever notice that one week later, it’s old news!
Lies give birth to new and more fantastic lies!
But these things fade away.
Only the truth lasts forever!
My Dad told me as a child, and I’ll never forget it:
“Son, the truth will stand when the world is on fire.”
A wholesome tongue is a tree of life,
But perverseness in it breaks the spirit.
A perverse tongue breaks spirits, but friend, when you are saying the right thing at the right time, to the right person, you are a channel through which fesh, clean life can fill the hearts of pther people!
Which is why we are told to edify the saints!
Edify others! Lift them up!
Try never to diminish anyone in the eyes of others!
Oh help me Lord!
I need to do better with this one, personally!
And here’s a good little prayer that we all can pray:
“Lord, fill my mouth with worthwhile stuff, and nudge me when I’ve said enough.”
Proverbs 18:21 (NKJV)
Death and life are in the power of the tongue,
And those who love it will eat its fruit.
If you love to speak life, you will reap the fruit of that!
Your tongue gives life to things that are felt in the spirit world!
Love life and speak it and enjoy it!
Or if you are one who really loves the drama of a good story...
If you like to carry stories...
If you are a talebearer,
That is the fruit that will come back to you!
You may think you are merely gossipping when all the while, you are speaking death into your own life!
Do you really think Potipher didn’t know what was going on?
He knew his wife was like that! She lied!
I gaurantee you Joseph wasn’t the first time she cheated!
POtipher was a powerful man!
One commentary says that the language used to describe his position is closest in our context, to “Head of the secret service.”
If Potihper had any doubt, He’d have killed Joseph himself!
The whole dungeon thing was demanded by his pride, but notice that he did not torture and kill Joseph!
He knew!
How do you think that whole episode affected the Potipher marriage?
When she lied on Joseph, the talebearer brought death into her own life!
Dead relationship, dead trust, dead marriage.
Proverbs 18:8 (NKJV)
The words of a talebearer are like tasty trifles,
And they go down into the inmost body.
Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;
And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.
Honestly! nobody likes a gossip!
Becasue somewhere along the road, we’ve all been lied on!
“Even my name hisses: I am gossip!”
Oh, help us Lord!
Help me!
You wanna know something funny?
“We are born with our mouths open and our eyes shut, and then we spend the rest of our lives learning to reverse that.”
"Be still and know that I am God!
“A wise old owl lived in an oak,
The more he saw, the less he spoke;
The less he spoke the more he heard,
Why can’t we be more like that old bird?”
I know I’ve got a little carried away tonight, but you can humor me right?
I only talk about this stuff once in a great while!
And I’m doing it for your sake after all!
I want you to be safe and protected!
I want you to feel valued and respected here in the family of God!
Where there is no wood, the fire goes out;
And where there is no talebearer, strife ceases.
When you prevent a gossip session, you are God’s servant!
You are a firefighter, putting out flames before something burns...
Good for you!
Proverbs 31, the virtuous woman is such an awesome passage!
Verse 26 says:
Proverbs 31:26 (NKJV)
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
Surely, this is one of her best qualities!
When my wife answers the phone, it automatically puts a smile on my face!
With just a few words, even the tone of her voice brings kindness to my day!
Wisdom and kindness are something I don’t have enough of myself!
I can be a little sharp at times.
Thank God I am married to Prov 31!
So folks, Be careful what you say: Sticks and stones are nothing compared to harsh words that cut and injure and bring death.
Choose life!
Be still and know that I am God!
We are about to grow numerically.
That means new believers.
And I am going to warn all of us tonight:
Don’t you dare hurt them!
I don’t need any snarky comments about outward appearance or hair or any other thing that might hurt a new believer!
If somebody needs talked to, either I will do it or delegate one of these leaders to do it!
Here’s something that Jesus said in Mark 9:42
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea.
I’m gonna say it again: For your sake and theirs, Don’t hurt a new believer or returning backslider.
Your job is simply to love them!
And really I have to give this church credit: You are good at loving people!
I like being around you!
Our speech is so important!
I like the word edict. It is an official order or proclamation issued by a person in authority.
When a king makes a statement, that becomes an edict.
Now remember, we are chosen generation and a royal priesthood!
Because of who you are, your words carry weight!
Make sure that your pronouncements over others are good and right!
“Be still and know that I am God.”