It's Balanced With a Disciplined Obedience - Silence/Solitude

Tonight, we want to cover the discipline of silence and the discipline of solitude, helping you to understand The importance of being alone with God in quietness. And Max Luc, in his book, A Gentle Thunder, records these words, I find to be very interest. He says, Once there was a man who dared God to speak: Burn the bush like you did for Moses, God, and I will follow. Collapse the walls like you did for Joshua, God, and I will fight. Still the waves like you did on Galilee, God, and I will listen.

And so the man sat by a bush near a wall close to the sea and waited for God to speak. And God heard the man, so God answered. He sent fire not for a bush, but for a church. He brought down a wall, not of brick, but of sin. He stilled a storm, not of the sea, but of a soul. And God waited for the man to respond. And he waited. And he waited, and he waited. But because the man was looking at bushes and not hearts. Bricks and not lives, seas and not souls. He decided that God had done nothing. Finally, he looked to God and asked, Have you lost your power?

And God looked at him and said, Have you lost your hearing? And my friends, most of us have lost our hearing, not because of age. But because we are expecting God to do one thing that is our way in our time. And yet, God has a totally different agenda. And that's why we've said it a million times: that prayer is not asking God to meet my needs. Prayer is aligning my will with God's will. The man who wishes to know God is going to have to spend time with Him and give Him time, or He won't know Him.

And the discipline of silence and the discipline of solitude are very, very difficult. The reason being is because we like to talk. And we like to interrupt, and we don't like to listen.

Tonight, we want to cover three points. The first is that we want to define these two disciplines. And then we want to identify their importance, and then we want to conclude with a course of action. Point number one: defining these disciplines: the discipline of silence and the discipline of solitude.

Number one, the discipline of silence. You can define it this way: the discipline of silence is what we'll call a Sabbath of our lips. The discipline of solitude is a Sabbath rest for our lives. And in the discipline of silence, We Sabbath our lips in order that we might listen and look at God.

In the discipline of solitude, we Sabbath our lives in order that we may learn and love our God. That's the difference between the discipline of silence and the discipline of solitude. So, with that in mind. Let's identify the importance of these two disciplines. I've kind of summed them up together, and I want to look at some verses with you to help you understand how important these disciplines are in cultivating.

That intimate walk with the Lord Jesus Christ. If you're going to be what God wants you to be, you're going to have to get alone and be silent. Why? Because it's in those times, number one, that we express reverence to God.

Turn with me to the book of Habakkuk. The book of Habakkuk, the second chapter. Habakkuk's an interesting character. He spends the first chapter in a lot of worry.

Because God is going to use the Chaldeans, the bad guys, to wipe out the good guys. And you know as well as I do that that never really Is what we want to see happen. So Habakkuk is a lot worried as to what's going to happen here. He begins to question God. In chapter 2. Instead of worrying, which he is doing, he begins to watch and to wait upon God. And then when you get to chapter 3, you see him worship God based on what God had told him in chapter 2. But it's very interesting as to what God says to him in chapter 2, verse number 20.

But the Lord is in his holy temple. Let all the earth be what? Silence before him. Habakkuk, listen, God is on the throne. He's still on the throne. He lets no one else occupy the throne. That means he's in control because he's the king, he's the majestic God of the universe. And because he's in his holy temple, because he's the king who reigns supreme, the response from his people. Is to shut up and listen and to watch. You have nothing to fear. Oh, you can ask the question: why me, God? You can ask the question, why have you done this, God?

And the answer is always going to come back. I am on my throne. I am the king of the universe, and I am in control of all things that have happened. Therefore, shh. Just be qu and listen.

I think it's interesting, just the next book over in the book of Zephaniah. God has showed Zephaniah that judgment is coming and the judgment Was upon Judah in the form of the Babylonian captivity. But if he thought that was bad, he needed to make sure that he relayed to the people there was another day coming called the day of the Lord, which would be far worse than the Babylonian captivity. It would be the great and terrible day of the Lord, as Zephaniah would go on to prophesy, and of course, the book of Revelation spells out for us in detail.

But God says, I'm throwing a feast and I'm going to offer some sacrifices. And Judah is the sacrifice, and the Babylonians are the guests at that feast. And the Lord says. These words in verse number seven: Be silent before the Lord God, for the day of the Lord is ne. Be silent. Number two, not only do we express reverence, but we exper Deliverance.

We exper deliverance. Turn with me to Lamentations chapter three. Lamentations chapter 3. We all know about verses 22 and 23: how the Lord's loving kind never ceases and his compassions never fail. They are new every morning. Great is thy faithfulness. But Jeremiah would go on to say these words in verse number 25: The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the person who seeks him. It is good that he waits how? Silently. It's good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord. It is good for a man that he should bear the yoke in his youth.

Let him sit alone and be silent, since he has laid it on him. You see, God wants to provide deliverance for man. And that deliverance comes when we wait silently before Him. Remember Exodus chapter 14? We read about, talked about this past Sunday when the nation of Israel was at the Red Sea and Pharaoh and The Egyptian army was breathing down their necks. They began to grumble. And they said in verses 11 and 12: It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.

It would be better for us to be in bondage like we were the previous 400 years than to be out here and to per in obedience to God. And so Moses would say these words as he tried to move them to have faith in God. Do not fear. Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. The Lord will fight for you while you keep Silence. That good? Just keep silent. And God will fight the battle. Keep silent, and God will fight the battle of the unbelieving spouse. Isn't that what Peter talks about?

As that woman in the relationship who's a believer and her husband's an unbeliever, that through the quietness and the gentleness and the meekness of her spirit, she will be able to win her husband without a word. Keep silent. Stand back and watch God perform the deliverance. God wants to do a miraculous deliverance in a lot of our lives, but we're not willing to be silent before Him. To let him do what only he can do. And what he did for the nation of Israel was a miracle by no stretch of the imagination.

And God wants to do things for us too, if we would be silent before Him. So we practice the discipline of silence. We practice the discipline of solitude. Because we want to express reverence toward our God and we want to experience a deliverance. With our God. And thirdly, we want to exercise dependence.

Upon our God. Turn with me to Psalm 6. Psalm sixty-two David displays his dependence upon God and how he got to that point. Verse number one: My soul waits in silence for God only.

From him is my salvation. He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold. I shall not be greatly shaken. Verse number five: My soul waits in silence for God only. For my hope is from him, he only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold. I shall not be shaken. David says, Look, God is my hope. God is my salvation. And so I trust in Him only. I don't trust in God plus something else. I don't trust in God plus someone else. I trust in God only. And if we were honest with ourselves, we would have to say, you know, we are trusting in God on one hand and trusting on our ingenuity on the other hand.

We're trusting God to do this, but we're trying to keep our hands out here just in case God doesn't come through in the right time. I still got an escape route. That's not what trust is about. And David emphasizes the fact that only in God does he trust. Now he's in the process of fleeing from Absalom, and he's in great danger. And so he wants to emphasize his dependence upon God. And to do that, you need to be still. You need to be quiet. And it's in that stillness that you develop assure of God's control.

And that sure gives you strength. When was the last time you've been shaken? When's the last time you have feared fail? When 's the last time you've been easily moved? David says, I'm not shaken. I can't be shaken. Why? Because he trusts in God alone. You'll find that those who are easily shaken Those who are easily fearful, those who are easily depressed, have what we call a missed place dependency. They are depending on something else to come through for them instead of God alone to come through for them.

And to do that, you're going to have to spend time in silence, in solitude. But you ever notice that whenever there's a crisis, oh man, you know, we're not making budget.

So, so, so, have the pastor preach on giving. Have the pastor preach on surrender. Have the pastor preach because the money's not coming in. That's not the way to do it. I can't recall the last time I preached on money. And we don't have a financial problem at this church. Because we pray that God will do a work in the lives of people. I came across a verse this past week. I read it, I thought to myself, man, that's got to be my verse. Isaiah 30, verse number 15. For thus the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel has said.

In repentance and rest, you shall be saved. In quietness and tr is your strength. And then that last little phrase really got me. But you were not will. The knife being jabbed and turn to the right and then turned back to the left. In quietness and in trust is your strength. That's where the power comes from. That's where the energy comes from. But you were not willing. Why are we weak? Why do we fail? Because we don't spend time in silence before our God to exercise dependence upon Him. That's what he wants.

That's what he needs. So that's what we need. Isaiah connects silence before God with dependence upon God. In silence, we communicate trust in his sovereign control. Fourthly, and we must hurry. The import of the discipline of silence and solitude is number one, we learn to express reverence.

Number two, we Experience deliverance. Number three, we exercise dependence. And number four, we extract guidance. This is where God guides us. This is where we get our information. This is what we know what God wants us to do. God will show us. Turn with me back to 1 Kings chapter 19.

You know the story. Elijah was at a place in his life. In which he was depressed. And as you read through the story, you want to ask yourself the question: why? Here was a man who was able to defeat 450 prophets of Baal. Here was a man who prayed for rain on a cloudless day and it just poured down rain. And here was a man who raced Ahab. Ahab was in his chariot and they raced to Jezreel and Elijah was on foot. And he beat him. I mean, you think this man would believe that he was invincible before God.

And then he faces Jezebel, that evil woman, and he can't handle it. He runs, he becomes depressed. And so for 40 days he travels to Mount Horeb, a place of uniqueness for God's people. Moses spent a lot of time there. I believe that's where. Where Paul spent his time when he spent three years in the Arabian desert. That's where Mount Horeb is located. So he speaks of it in Galatians chapter 1, I believe, that that's where he too went alone to spend time with God. But Elijah was discouraged, and Elijah was depressed.

It says in verse number 9: Then he came there to a cave and lodged there. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, What are you doing here, Elijah? And one day I'm going to preach on that question. What are you doing here? It's a good question. God asked you that same question many times. What are you doing there? What are you doing here? But he says to Elijah, What are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the sons of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, torn down thine altars, and killed thy prophets with the sword.

And I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away. Come on, Elijah. I mean, if I did what he did, man, I'd feel invincible, man. I'd feel the mighty power of God. Not Elijah. So he said, go forth and stand in the mountain before the Lord. Behold, the Lord was passing by. The great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking 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. And after the earthquake, a fire.

But the Lord was not in the fire. After the fire, a sound of a gentle blowing. And it came about when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, What are you doing here, Elijah? God spoke in the hushness of the wind. And it would be from this standpoint out that God would begin to tell Elijah, This is what you need to do, this is where you need to go, this is what's going to happen. But he had to get guidance.

And it came on that place of solitude in Mount Horeb, in that gentle hush of wind, which God spoke in the silence. In Bal chapter 6, the Lord escaped into the mountain all night to be alone so that he would receive guidance as to which twelve men to choose. Interesting. When's the last time you've received guidance from God? I don't really feel it's that difficult to find God's will for your life. I've been saved 25 years. I've never had a difficulty finding God's will. Never had a difficulty finding out which woman to marry.

God showed me which woman to marry. God brought it to me. I didn't have a problem trying to figure out which job I should have or take or where I should go. God has very plainly showed me what I should do and where I should go. And people come to me and say, Man, I just can't find God's will. And why not? How come? Is it that difficult? I don't believe it is. Unless you don't want to spend time in solitude. Listening to him speak, receiving from his word. And then I guess you're going to have a hard time hearing him because you're too busy talking, too busy trying to formulate your own direction.

So let me encourage you. God wants to speak. He wants to show you what to do. Escape into solitude. Listen intently. He will speak to you through his word. He'll show you what to do, what to say, where to go. Because God delights. And letting his servants know what's next. And lastly. When you practice the discipline of silence and solitude, you exhibit a resurgence, a sense in which we begin to move with aggressiveness. Toward the direction that God has called us to go. We've looked at it before, but even upon the most busiest day in the life of our Lord, when he was pressed in Mark chapter 1.

It says that very early in the morning, the very next day, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place to pray. He needed to regroup, refocus. He wanted to make sure that he wasn't fragmented, that he wasn't scattered, that he was able to have his thoughts together as he approached the new day. In Mark chapter 6, turn there with me if you would for a moment, please. In Mark chapter 6, I believe that Jesus teaches his men one of the most important lessons he ever teaches them.

Mark chapter 6. The disciples had been out and ministering for the Lord and casting out demons and preaching the gospel and great things had happened. But upon the heels of the death of John the Baptist, and upon the heels of these men actively involved in a tremendous ministry, always Preaching and always talking to people and casting out demons and being involved in the work of the Lord because they followed Him with all of their hearts. Jesus says in Mark chapter 6, verse number 30.

And the apostles gathered together with Jesus, and they reported to him all that they had done and taught. He said to them, Great job, guys. Go out and do it again. No, he said, come away by yourselves to a l place and rest awhile. You got to rest. You got to relax. You got to regroup. You're going to have to re. The great purpose of engaging in these disciplines is that somehow we might become more like the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's conclude with the Course. Two things. One, you need to initiate periods of silence.

In your life. So we need to begin to initiate periods of silence in our lives, periods in which we don't speak, because the discipline of silence is the doorway to depth. Is the doorway to discovery, is the doorway to desire for God. The discipline of silence is so important. Second, we need to locate places for solitude in our lives.

You got a place you can go? You got a place you can be alone? As sleep and rest is needed for the body, so silence and solitude are needed for the soul. How is your soul, by the way? Is it at ease? Is it easily shaken? Is it fearful? Is it downtrodden and depressed? Or does it delight in the law of the Lord? My prayer is for all of us that we will learn to experience the discipline of silence and solitude.