OPEN: Several years ago, Carl Reiner and Mel Brooks did a comedy skit called the “2013 Year Old Man”. In the skit, Reiner was interviewing Brooks (who was the old gentleman). And at one point, Reiner asks the old man, “Did you always believe in the Lord?” Brooks replied: “No. We had a guy in our village named Phil, and for a time we worshiped him.” Reiner: You worshiped a guy named Phil? Why? Brooks: “Because he was big, and mean, and he could break you in two with his bare hands!” Reiner: “Did you have prayers?” Brooks: “Yes, would you like to hear one? O Phil, please don’t be mean, and hurt us, or break us in two with your bare hands.” Reiner: “So when did you start worshiping the Lord?” Brooks: “Well, one day a big thunderstorm came up, and a lightning bolt hit Phil. We gathered around and saw that he was dead. Then we said to one another, ‘There’s somthin’ bigger than Phil!’”
There’s something bigger than Phil.
Now, I realize this was just a comedy skit, but why did the people worship Phil? Well, because he was bigger than they were... and he could hurt them. They only stopped worshipping him because there was something bigger than Phil who could hurt them.
A few weeks ago, we (and a couple of churches we work on sermons together with) asked our churches for some of their favorite Bible verses. And as we looked these verses over we found that there seemed to be a pattern. All the verses seemed to have one thing in common: They were all about God. God having a plan for us; God saving us; God caring for us; and strengthening, interceding, and providing for us. AND the first thing that caught our attention (as preachers) was THIS verse: “Be still and know that I am God.”
A lot of people like this verse. There’s something deeply comforting about the idea that God is God. He’s bigger than you. He’s bigger than me. He’s bigger than Phil. But unlike "Phil"... we don't worship God because He can hurt us. We worship Him because He cares for us... and He's big enough to take care of our needs.
Psalm 100:3 says “Know that the LORD, he is God! It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
Deuteronomy 7:9 declares: “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations.”
God is bigger than we are and He cares for us. Why should that kind of God be a God who comforts us?
1st – because we tend to worry… a lot. There’s so much that we can’t control in this life that we can end up being afraid because we don’t have control.
Psalm 46 starts by saying “Don’t Do That!” Don’t be afraid! “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way” Psalm 46:1-2a
We will not fear!!! That’s good Theology. In fact, it’s great theology! But there’s times when this “No Fear” thing is hard to do.
Back in the days of Psalm 46, there were a lot of things to fear. Injury, disease, death, storms and earthquakes, droughts and famines, and – of course – the occasionally army that would invade nation (destroying homes and cities in their wake).
But, in many ways, we have it wayyyy better than they did. We have doctors and nurses and hospitals – Insurance companies, Medicare, Medicaid, Retirement benefits, Food stamps, Housing for the poor, Policemen, Firemen, a strong military. And we could go on and on about the advantages we have that they didn’t.
And yet fear is still a powerful thing, even for us.
ILLUS: There are studies that point out that, even today, Americans are amongst the most stressed and fear-ridden people in the world. Why? Why would people in one of the most powerful and well-endowed nations on earth FEAR?
Well, because fear is a natural response to the unknown. There are things we can’t control… and it makes us afraid. And then, when life get hard – when there’s danger, and when there’s a threat to our livelihood, or when we face disease or injury, or even death – even the most spiritual amongst us can be afraid.
Fear is a reality of life --- and all of us have experienced it. And when fear grabs hold of us, we can become anxious and desperate and powerless. When fear controls us - our lives can get really miserable.
But God tells us: DON’T let that happen!! “Do Not Be Afraid.” In fact, God tells us that over and over and over in the Bible. It’s one of the most repeated commands in Scripture. Don’t be afraid.
Why shouldn’t we be afraid? Well because God is YOUR refuge and He’s YOUR strength, He’s a very present help in trouble. (Psalm 46:1) HE IS… GOD!!!
There’s a song I’ve always liked that goes this way (written by Betty Jean Robinson (and modified by me in the chorus) “He is Jehovah, God of creation. He is Jehovah. Lord God almighty. The Balm of Gilead, the Rock of Ages. He is Jehovah, the God who healeth thee. (Chorus) Sing Hallelujah, Sing hallelujah. Sing Hallelujah, sing hallelujah. He is the great I AM, the God of Abraham. He is Jehovah, the God who healeth thee.”
He is Jehovah. He is the great I am. He the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Creator of all that exists. AND HE IS YOUR GOD!!!! And that gives me great comfort.
Now, there’s a couple times in Scripture where there were KINGS who unwisely questioned whether God was God. When Moses stood before Pharaoh and declared: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘Let my people go, that they may hold a feast to me in the wilderness.’” And Pharaoh responded, "Who is the LORD, that I should obey his voice and let Israel go? I do not know the LORD, and moreover, I will not let Israel go."
(Pause) Pharaoh asked: WHO IS THE LORD? Pharaoh said he didn’t know, and therefore wouldn’t obey God. So, over the next few weeks God introduced Himself to Pharaoh. God brought 10 plagues down on Egypt and God basically told Pharaoh: THIS IS WHO I AM and you WILL obey my voice.
Centuries later, when King Nebuchadnezzar erected a huge stature of himself covered with gold and it glistened in the sun. And he commanded that all the people bow down to his idol. And everybody bowed down except Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego. The king was furious and he warned them that he was giving them one last chance: “If you do not worship, you shall immediately be cast into a burning fiery furnace. And who is the god who will deliver you out of my hands?"
And Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego loved God more than they feared the king and so they told Nebuchadnezzar: “Our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of your hand, O king.” Daniel 3:17
But even if He doesn’t – we’re still not going to bow down. And we all know how that turned out!
Be still and know … that HE IS GOD!!! And when you do that you will be comforted. And there won’t be much you’ll worry about or be afraid of.
ILLUS: A man told about his 84-year-old grandmother who lived alone. Her 4 children lived in the same town, but she rarely called except for emergencies. So when one of her sons got a call from her one morning he quickly drove to her house. When he got there, she explained that she’d heard noises that night and she suspected that there was a burglar in her bedroom closet. He asked "WHAT??? Why didn't you call me last night?". "Well, it was late and I hated to bother you, so I just nailed the closet shut and went to bed." (Reader’s Digest 8/78)
You see, that’s the kind of confidence that you and I can have when we believe that God is OUR God. We can just nail the door shut… and let HIM take care of stuff. He is the Great I AM. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The Creator of all the exists - and HE IS YOUR GOD
But now - be STILL and know that He is God? What’s that all about? Why should I… BE STILL?
ILLUS: Have you ever known a small child who got a sliver in their finger? They come to you because it hurts and they trust you to take the sliver out. So you take out a needle and some tweezers and you take the child’s finger in your hands. But the moment you touch the splinter with the needle, what does the child do? They usually cry out and pulls their hand back. IT HURTS! And they begin to fuss and cry and finally you’ve got say “You’ve got to sit still. Don’t move. I can’t help you if you just keep moving around all the time.”
When life gets difficult, when things aren’t going the way we want them too, that’s what we do when life hurts us. We fidget and fuss and we refuse to sit still. In fact, sometimes we panic! And the reason we do that is because we’ve forgotten the 2nd part of the command – “Know that I am God.”
What’s He saying - KNOW THAT I AM GOD? He’s saying “Trust me. Trust me. I am God! I can take care of this.”
ILLUS: Back when my nephew Joshua about 8 years old, he & I were real close. We enjoyed being around each other and often we’d play together outside. One day we out playing tag in the back yard and he was running away from me. He was laughing and looking back over his shoulder repeatedly as he ran. Then I realized there was a problem. He didn’t seem to see a tree in his path. I shouted at him to stop and he turned around just in time to say “hello” to the tree. He dropped like a sack of potatoes and began to cry inconsolably. His mouth was bleeding and he was hurt. So I picked him up and carried him into the bedroom and laid him on the bed.
My wife and sister were there and tried to console him, but he was having none of it. I had been standing back feeling kind of useless and watching all this when a thought occurred to me. I sat down on the bed beside Josh and said “Look at me!” Still whimpering, he looked up into my face. Then I asked “Do you trust me?” A puzzled look came over his face, I repeated the question “Do you trust me?” and he nodded. “Joshua, you’re going to be OK. Yes, your mouth’s bleeding right now, but that will stop, and everything is going to be OK. Do you believe me?” Again he nodded. And about 15 minutes later, he was out in the yard running and playing again.
That’s what happens when we get overwhelmed by the difficulties of life. We weep and we worry and … nothing seems to be working. That’s when God asks us: “DO YOU TRUST ME? I am God… and I can fix this but you’ve got to be still and know that I am God. TRUST ME!
LASTLY, how do I get to the point where I can trust God that way? Well… it’s all a matter of proximity. How close are you to God? The closer you walk to God, the more you’re going to trust Him.
ILLUS: A child once asked his father how big God was. The father thought about that a moment, looked up in the sky and asked his son: “How big is that plane up there?” The boy replied “Well, it looks pretty small. I can hardly see it.” His father nodded and then drove to the nearby airport and pointed out a jetliner sitting on the tarmac. “How big is that plane?” he asked. “It’s HUGE,” the boy replied. The father smiled and said “It’s the same with God. How big God is depends on how close you are to Him. The closer you are to Him, the greater and greater He will be in your life.”
So, how close are you to God? The more time we spend in church, and Bible study and prayer etc. the bigger God will get for us - because we have sought to get closer to Him. To be STILL and know that He is God is all about getting close and being trusting Him. Because our God reigns.
But first, you’ve got to belong to Him. You need to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the living God. You’ve got to recognize that you’ve sinned and that you need to change your thinking and your lifestyle… you need to repent. And you’ve got to confess that Jesus will now be the Lord and master of your life. And you need to allow yourself to be buried in the waters of baptism and rise up a new creation in God.
INVITATION
