The Still Small Voice

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This sermon emphasizes one of the ways that God speaks to us and how we can prepare to hear it.

Written Excerpts:

Psalm 46:10 ^(KJV) Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
1 Kings 19:11-12 ^(NKJV) Then He said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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; and after the fire a still small voice.

Introduction:  As we have repeatedly stated, the season of Lent is a time when Christians are encouraged to focus on spiritual renewal and improving our connection to Christ.

Sometimes we look at characteristics of Christ’s own life and try to incorporate those qualities into our own lives better than before. When we study the life of Christ in the Scriptures we discover His frequent use of solitude.

We read multiple times of Jesus getting alone to pray; going up on a mountain to pray; etc. There is one place (Mk. 6:31) where Jesus urges His disciples to “come apart and rest awhile.” If Jesus felt the need to get away and get alone, then how much more do we need it?

Being alone and being quiet isn’t very easy to do sometimes.

(Some of you may have heard a joke that goes something like this…)

Brother Andrew decided to enter a monastery to become a monk.

The Abbot who was head of the monastery welcomed the new brother and said, "Brother Andrew, we’ve taken a vow of silence at this monastery. You are welcome here as long as you like, but you may not speak until I direct you to do so."

Brother Andrew lived in the monastery for 5 years before the Abbot called for him and said, "You have been here for 5 years. You can now speak just two words."

Brother Andrew thought for a moment and then replied, "Hard bed."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the Abbot said, "We will get you a better bed."

After another 5 years, Brother Andrew was summoned again by the Abbot. "You may say another two words."

"Cold food," said Brother Andrew, and the Abbot assured him that the food would be better in the future.

On his 15th anniversary at the monastery, the Abbot again called Brother Andrew into his office. "You may say two words today."

Brother Andrew blurted out, "I quit."

"Well, it's probably best", said the Abbot, "You've done nothing but complain ever since you got here."

I suppose there may be some instances of solitude and silence that do not end up well, but there is a great benefit from one of the spiritual disciplines known as solitude and silence.

In the passage of Scripture that was read earlier, the prophet Elijah had just been vigorously standing up for God in a nation that had drifted far away under the evil leadership of King Ahab and his wicked wife, Jezebel. One of the most notable conflicts with the king and queen resulted from the contest on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal (chapter 18).

If you recall, that miraculous display of God’s power and authority prompted Elijah to call for the prophets of Baal to be rounded up and executed for their role in leading the nation away from God. This infuriated Jezebel, who promised to find Elijah and execute him. So, Elijah flees to the wilderness and is in hiding. He is depressed, discouraged and badly in need of some direct word from the Lord.

Read 1 Kings 19:11-12, Then He [God] said, "Go out, and stand on the mountain before the LORD." And behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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; and after the fire a still small voice.

The Word of God clearly states, “…the Lord was not in the wind… the Lord was not in the earthquake… the Lord was not in the fire.” After the fire there was a “still small voice.” The phrase that had been repeated three times earlier (the Lord was not in…) is not stated this fourth time, so the inference we draw is that God’s presence was revealed in the still small voice.

Now I would like to link this passage with one from the Psalms:

Psalm 46:10 ^(KJV) Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

I propose to you this morning that if we are ever going to be able to hear the still small voice amidst all of the winds, earthquakes and fires going on around us, then it is going to require us at times to “be still and know that God is really God.”

There are really only two questions I want to address today in an attempt to stress the importance of getting closer to God in this season of Lenten renewal and revival.

How do we get to the place we can hear the Voice?

What happens when we do hear the Voice? 

I.    How do we get in the place to hear God’s voice?

A. Get “shoved” out in the wilderness by God.

As the Scripture was read earlier from 1 Kings 19, we learned that Elijah was being threatened by the queen because he had just won a marvelous victory over the prophets of Baal and had executed all 400 of them.

According to verse 2, the messenger brought a very simple message from the queen, “I’m going to kill you!”  So Elijah takes off for the wilderness. Once he arrives there we read that he’s alone, hungry, exhausted, depressed, and maybe a few more things wrong with his life right now. He’s ready to die, but God provides shade from the sun, food and water even when he isn’t able to do it for himself. Then God calls him out on the side of the mountain to speak to him.

It’s hard to imagine what all might have been going through Elijah’s mind as he witnesses all of these different phenomena, but at last he hears a “still small voice.”

I want to come back to this story again, but I want to emphasize the truth revealed to us here that sometimes the only way God can get us alone enough and quiet enough to hear His voice is to force us out into the wilderness through some threat, some kind of disaster or some other tragedy in our lives. I believe that God has a unique way of orchestrating circumstances in our lives in order to bring us to the place where we are shut away, alone and quiet before Him. Then He can begin to speak to us in a quiet voice, “This is the way. Walk in it.”

When we’re exhausted from doing so much for God, then He can quiet us down and speak to us more clearly in our moments of uncertainty, perplexity and quietness.

B. We can also get in the place to hear God’s quiet voice by deliberately choosing to go there.

I want to draw your attention back to Psalm 46:10 ^(KJV) Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

The verse starts off with a directive: Be still!

I was able to obtain some interesting mental pictures when I looked up the Hebrew word that is translated “be still.” The word has a variety of meanings and usages including some of these: sink down, drop the hand, leave alone, let go, relax, withdraw… All of these various meanings come from this word as it is used in various contexts.

So, it seems to me that the application of this verse to us would be to for us to do whatever is necessary to let go of the busy-ness of life, relax and withdraw for a while from the “rat race” in order to get alone with God and hear His still small voice.

Some of the speakers at the men’s conference in Saxonburg last Saturday were admonishing us to get rid of the distractions in our lives so we can hear from the Lord. (iPhones, iPads, email, headphones, radio, TV, crowds, etc.) We’re bombarded so much with “noise” that we don’t even realize that we haven’t heard the Lord’s gentle voice in quite a long time!

Stop! Get quiet! Get alone! Listen!

This would be a good place to ask this question: So, do you know why God created the Sabbath? To give you ample opportunity to “Be Still.” The Sabbath wasn’t designed for “leisure time.” It was created for rest time. God built into the created order a day of rest every seven so we could get quiet and rest enough to hear Him and improve our relationship and our connection to Him.

II.  What happens when we do hear God’s voice?

I’m quite sure that there are many, many things we could say here. In fact, only God knows what all can happen if we truly get still and listen to His voice.

But if we look at the two passages of Scripture we’ve been talking about this is what we find.

A. Hearing the voice of God renews our passion and strength.

In the passage from 1 Kings 19, we read,

1 Kings 19:15-16 ^(NKJV) Then the LORD said to him: "Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.

When Elijah heard the voice of God, he not only was given a renewed ministry (when he thought he was done for, and “all washed up”), but it is implied that he was completely renewed in strength to get up and get going again!

B. Being still and hearing God’s voice enhances our knowledge of Him.

Let’s look again at Ps. 46.

“Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen (or nations).”

Getting alone and getting quiet gives us the distinct opportunity to know God better and in deeper ways than ever before.   (Turn to Ps. 46.) As we look back through the verses of Ps. 46 we are reminded of God’s infinite power and protection.

When I get quiet and alone with God it gives me a unique opportunity to get to know God better and therefore be able to trust Him more.

Conclusion:

Several years ago I had the opportunity to attend a conference in Ashland Ohio where Dr. Tan was the speaker and he was speaking on the topic of spiritual disciplines, especially prayer. He has written several books and I’d like to share just a few quotes from one of them regarding the matter of solitude and silence.

“Solitude is being alone in purposeful withdrawal from human interaction. It is a deliberate choice to be alone in order to draw closer to God by the power of the Holy Spirit, thereby freeing ourselves from bondage to people and things. Silence, the absence of speech, is a crucial component of solitude…. Silence prepares us to hear God’s voice and receive revelation and guidance….

“We must seek out times and places of solitude if we are to grow into the heart of God and become more like Jesus.”

During this season of Lent, when we are so accustomed to thinking about self-denial and sacrifice in terms of fasting from food, let us seriously consider the great benefit to our spiritual lives when we “fast” from the noise and bustling activity of daily life and get alone with God for extended periods.

If we do, we can expect to see greater truths from God than we’ve seen for a long time, maybe ever.

Let’s close our service by singing the hymn, Open My Eyes that I May See.