Why?
Because this verse of scripture tells us to BE STILL and then it tells us why we should be still…to KNOW GOD.
Some people live their entire life KNOWING THERE IS A GOD BUT NOT KNOWING GOD.
I want to ask you a question, DO YOU KNOW GOD?
You might say preacher that is the most RIDICULOUS question that I have ever been asked!!! Everyone KNOWS GOD!!!
Have you forgotten the atheist tells us they do not believe in the existence of God?
Illus: Reminds me of an atheist he was hiking in the woods when he stumbles across a huge hungry grizzly bear.
The bear rears up to full height eight feet tall and gives a roar as it leans in toward the man.
• The atheist screams in terror "Oh God, help me!!!"
• God says to him, "So all your life, you deny My existence, yet now you call for My aid now that death is upon you?
• I am sorry, my son, but it is too late I cannot save you."
• The atheist thinks quickly. "Well, God, if it is too late for me to become a Christian, how about you just convert the bear?"
• Time begins moving again, and the bear immediately stops its roaring, kneels quietly and respectfully, and begins speaking. "O Lord, bless this meal in which I am about to partake..."
There is no such thing as a true atheist.
Illus: To be a true atheist you would have to say, I know everything and there is not anything I do not know and no one can say that! NO ONE!!!
SO THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A TRUE ATHEIST.
Reminds me of another atheist story.
Illus: A lady gave the Lord praise for everything. One day she was out on the front porch and it started to rain, and she said, “Praise the Lord, we are finally getting some rain.”
The man an atheist next door heard her and said, “There is no God, why are you praising Him?”
Another day she was on the front porch when this same atheist and the mailman brought her a piece of mail, and it had a check inside for $25.00, and she said, “Praise the Lord.”
The atheist again said, “There is no God, why are you praising Him!”
This atheist decided he was going to going to fix this lady that believed in God.
He placed a whole bushel of potatoes on her front porch. The Christian lady stepped outside the next morning and saw them, and said, “Praise the Lord!”
The atheist stepped out from behind some bushes, and said, “I told you there is no God, I brought those potatoes.”
The Christian lady said, “Praise the Lord, He sent me a bushel of potatoes and used the devil to bring them to me!”
But listen you might not be a professing atheist but that does not mean you know God intimately.
Almost everyone will acknowledge THERE IS A GOD but they really do not KNOW GOD INTIMATELY.
Illus: It is like this, everyone will acknowledge there is a man that once was president of the United States called Abraham Lincoln. They can acknowledge they know him intellectually but personally they do not know him.
But the reason I said to start with these eight words in the scripture are some of the most important words in the scripture because it is essential that we get to KNOW GOD intellectually but also personally know Him INTIMATELY!
HOW DO WE GET TO KNOW GOD?
In two ways:
(1) THROUGH PRAYER
How do you get to know someone?
• You have to spend time with them.
The more time we spend with them the better we get to know them.
• The more time we spend with God in prayer the more we get to know God personally.
Illus: I personally believe that the reason that many are having problems in their marriage this day is because they do not spend quality time with each other.
Before they got married they spent time with each other but after years of marriage they have allowed all kinds of things consume their time and now they do not have any quality time with each other.
Illus: For example, I know a man that seem to love his old hound dog “Jake”” more than he loves his wife.
• Every time he gets a chance he is out in the woods with old “Jake”
• He comes home from work and he heads to the dog pen to be with old “Jake”
• He spends more time with is hound dog than he does with his wife.
Before marriage it was sweetheart, darling, sugar pie but after years of marriage it has become THE OLD MAN and the OLD WOMAN!
Illus: A man said, I call my wife SWEET THING when she is good to me. When she is bad I just call her THING!
• I challenge you couples make time to go to some restaurant and sit at a table where you can look each other in the eye the way you use to spend time with each other, (and put those stupid telephones away) and talk to each other.
• And I challenge you to get in a room alone with God and turn the television off and tell God that you love Him and how you want to serve Him and I guaranteed you will soon get to know God loves you and cares for you.
God said BE STILL!
Illus: Any good teacher knows before she can teach her class she has got to set them down and get them to BE STILL BEFORE SHE CAN TEACH THEM!
One way we get to know God is THROUGH PRAYER!!!
Another way we get to know Him is…
(2)THROUGH THE SCRIPTURES
2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Something that scares the fire out of me is these false teachers on television talking about they got a WORD from the Lord.
That is the scripture is not enough for them, so they get things from God that is above the scriptures.
Don’t you fall for that junk!
The Bible is the word of God and God tells us no man is to add to His Word or take away from it!
The bible is the inspired, infallible, plenary Word of God.
WHAT DO I MEAN IT IS THE PLEANARY WORD OF GOD?
The word Plenary means the Word of God is COMPLETE!
It does not need any more words ADDED TO IT and anytime a person is adding to it you better beware of him or her.
Illus: The words they got came from their own imagination or from Satan.
It is true in the Old Testament God spoke to people through dreams and vision but they did not have the plenary Word of God we have today.
Any time a so called teacher or preacher state something that is not in the scriptures do not pay any attention to them whatsoever!!!
And if it in the Word of God they do not need to act spiritual, they just need to state what God’s Word tells us.
Illus: Before the presidential election between Donald Trump and Joe Biden four of these men were on so called Christian television.
And each one of them before the election claim God gave them a WORD that Donald Trump was going to win that election but each one of them was wrong.
These same four men have been on television since then and they never apologize for claiming God gave them a word.
The Bible tells us STUDY the scriptures. Notice, it does not say READ it says study.
To study means to EXAMINE OR INVESTIGATE.
We live in a fast pace world today and people are too busy to take time to EXAMINE OR INVESTIGATE THE SCRIPTURES.
Because of that we have people who profess to be a Christians that are totally IGNORANT OF THE WORD OF GOD.
Because of that we have a church full of illiterates that cannot name the four gospels in the New Testament.
Illus: A Barna poll indicated:
• That at least 12 percent of adults believe that Joan of Arc was Noah’s wife.
• Another survey of graduating high school seniors revealed that over 50 percent thought that Sodom and Gomorrah were husband and wife.
• A considerable number of respondents to one poll indicated that the Sermon on the Mount was preached by Billy Graham.
Illus: Today many are concern that we have high school students that cannot read.
Listen, reading is one of the most important subject that a child can be taught. IF THEY CAN NOT READ THEY CAN NOT LEARN!!!
Spiritually we have Christians that can read but when it comes to the Word of God they do not read.
It is impossible to get to KNOW GOD if we do not STUDY THE WORD OF GOD!!!
• Every day we need to QUIT EVERYTHING we are doing and make time to be still and study God’s Word to get to KNOW GOD.
• Every Sunday we need to QUIT EVERYTHING WE ARE DOING and come to a Bible teaching, preaching church and learn things about God so that we can get to KNOW GOD OUR CREATOR.
Preacher, you do not understand, I am so busy I do not have time for PRAYER AND STUDY GOD’S WORD.
You do not understand if you do not make time for these two things you will never get to know this wonderful God that created us.
That is why the devil IS placing these things in your life because once you discover Him you will quit serving the devil.
We live in a fast pace world today!
(1)Have you noticed how fast DRIVERS drive down the highways these days?
If you were to stop and ask them why they are driving so fast, putting their life and family at risk, they could not give you one good sensible reason.
Illus: Someone said one man went speeding down the highway so fast, that he hit a heavy set man walking across the highway.
• The policeman said, “Why were you driving so fast? You ran over that heavy set man, why didn’t you drive around him?”
• He said, “I didn’t think I had enough gas!”
This is the age in which we live. Wherever we go, we want to get there as fast as we can.
There was a time when people enjoyed their trips by looking at the scenery as they traveled to their destination and back.
But today, their eyes are focused on that car ahead of them, and they are trying to figure out how they can get around him.
Many people can’t stand to have a car in front of them; they just have to pass them to get to the next red light before them.
This is a fast paced society.
Also, have you noticed-?
(2)How fast many folks eat
Many folks in our society do not EAT FOOD, they INHALE FOOD.
Illus: A man went into a fast food restaurant and ordered a hot dog and a drink. He did not eat the hot dog, he practically swallowed the hot dog whole.
He got that hot dog:
1) Aimed in the right direction,
2) And when his elbows were raised to a certain level,
3) His mouth flew open,
4) And he slid it in his mouth in almost one bite.
Illus: I guarantee you that he went home and told his wife he was having a problem with indigestion. Of course he was!
Those teeth God gave him to chew that hot dog with, never had a chance to be used.
The point I am trying to make is this: WE LIVE IN A FAST PACED SOCIETY. Practically everything we do is done at breakneck speed.
Ps 46:10: "Be still, and know that I am God.”
Illus: A lady because of her late arrival at a railroad station, she had but five minutes to make connection with an outgoing train.
As she ran toward the train, a Pullman car porter waved her to slow down and said, “Lady, you better take it easy or you are going to come down with Americanitis.”
“What’s that?” gasped the lady.
The pullman said “I can’t tell you what it is, but I can tell you how it acts; Americanitis is running up an escalator!”
Have you ever seen anyone running up an escalator?
Sure you have. Perhaps you have been guilty of it yourself–trying to catch that plane or get to that interview.
Illus: So many of us are getting nowhere fast!
Like ants disturbed on an anthill, we scurry hither, thither.
Taut nerves are snapping, and over-wrought minds are cracking, with the result that there are more mental patients in hospitals than any other kind.
“Be still and know that I am God!”
Illus: You can really see our fast paced society when you contrast it with somewhere like the mountain of North Carolina where people live 3 to 5 miles apart and life is slower.
When you drive by their homes, they stop what they are doing in the yard and wave at you. And if you have the time, they will come to your car and talk with you as long as you want to talk.
When you live in a fast paced society like ours, you miss out on so many things.
If you want to KNOW GOD MAKE TIME FOR PRAYER AND THE WORD OF GOD AND YOU CAN GET TO KNOW GOD.
WHAT DOES GOD’S WORD TELL US ABOUT KNOWING GOD?
It tells us God is a powerful God and that He is over…
I. NATURE
Look at Mark 4:37-40, “And there arose a great storm of wind, and the waves beat into the ship, so that it was now full. And he was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow: and they awake him, and say unto him, Master, carest thou not that we perish? And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, BE STILL. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said unto them, why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?”
The Bible tells us about a storm that was about to sink a ship and send his disciples to a watery grave.
The disciples found themselves with a big problem: they were well aware from all the things they were experiencing, that they probably were going to perish in the sea!
Again, in this passage of scripture, we see the disciples facing this difficult time in their lives, not because of anything they did, but because the Lord commanded them to get into the ship and go over to the other side.
But as they were carrying out the command of the Lord, a severe storm came up that looked like certain death.
They also were running all over the place not knowing what to do, but the Lord said to the wind… “BE STILL!”
Now I find it interesting this storm was raging and notice what the Lord said to the raging wind that was BLOWING!
He said, “BE STILL!”
We all face these storms in life, and we do not know what to do. But the best thing to do in the midst of the storm is BE STILL, and soon the Lord will cause the storm around us also to BE STILL.
But some do not know this wonderful God we serve that has power over NATURE.
But we can never learn that valuable lesson until we learn to BE STILL, and KNOW HIM IN HIS GREATNESS!
For example, I do not even know why God goes through the trouble each day to:
• Make the beautiful cloud formations
• Make the beautiful sunrise and sunset
• The beautiful flowers that we walk by and pay no attention to them.
• The millions of the small flowers we walk on each day.
Because we live in such a fast paced society we do not even have time to look at these things anymore.
Nature tells us a great deal about God.
For example, I believe God’s favorite colors are BLUE AND GREEN.
WHY DO I SAY THAT?
• Because look at all of the blue in the sky above us each day!
• Because look at all the green grass and green leaves He put on the trees each day.
These colors are relaxing for us mortals to look at.
Illus: I have never heard anyone say:
• I am tired of looking at the BLUE SKY!!!
• I am tired of looking at the green grass and the green trees!!!
But not only in the PHYSICAL REALM do we miss out. Our biggest lost is in the SPIRITUAL REALM.
Notice, this is a command from almighty God, saying to us, “Be Still”.
Illus: That is, get off of this fast paced merry-go-round and be still for a moment.
Why?
Because NATURE TEACHES US A GREAT DEAL ABOUT GOD.
The Bible tells us God is not only over NATURE, but He is also a God over all…
II. DISEASE
Look at Mark 5:25-29 And a certain woman, which had an issue of blood twelve years, And had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered, but rather grew worse, When she had heard of Jesus, came in the press behind, and touched his garment. For she said, if I may touch but his clothes, I shall be whole. And straightway the fountain of her blood was dried up; and she felt in her body that she was healed of that plague.
The Bible tells us that this woman went to many phycians trying to get help for her physical condition.
But each one of them eventually told her…SORRY, I CAN NOT HELP YOU!!!
But did you know there is not a disease that God cannot heal. NOT A ONE!
Aren’t you glad we serve a God that has POWER OVER ALL DISEASES!!!
Not some, BUT ALL!!!
Do you know this God that has:
I. Power over Nature
II. Power over all Diseases
But also did you know God has power over…
III. DEMONS
Look at Matthew 5: 1-17 we read, And they came over unto the other side of the sea, into the country of the Gadarenes. And when he was come out of the ship, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit, Who had his dwelling among the tombs; and no man could bind him, no, not with chains: Because that he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been plucked asunder by him, and the fetters broken in pieces: neither could any man tame him. And always, night and day, he was in the mountains, and in the tombs, crying, and cutting himself with stones. But when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him, And cried with a loud voice, and said, what have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not. For he said unto him, Come out of the man, thou unclean spirit. And he asked him, What is thy name? And he answered, saying, My name is Legion: for we are many. And he besought him much that he would not send them away out of the country. Now there was there nigh unto the mountains a great herd of swine feeding. And all the devils besought him, saying, Send us into the swine, that we may enter into them. And forthwith Jesus gave them leave. And the unclean spirits went out, and entered into the swine: and the herd ran violently down a steep place into the sea, (they were about two thousand;) and were choked in the sea. And they that fed the swine fled, and told it in the city, and in the country. And they went out to see what it was that was done. And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid. And they that saw it told them how it befell to him that was possessed with the devil, and also concerning the swine. And they began to pray him to depart out of their coasts.
Notice, the scripture is telling us about a wild man.
He was controlled by the devil day and night and had to be chained like an animal.
But when the Lord told these demons inside of this man to flee, they had to flee.
Why?
Because He has power over:
• Nature
• Diseases
• And over all the Demons in hell.
Notice, the demons were under his control and they had to ask him if they could leave this demon possess man and enter the hogs.
And the Lord gave them permission and all of these hogs ran into the sea and committed HOGACIDE!!!
The Bible tells us God is over
I. Nature
II. Diseases
III. Demons
But also the Bible tells us He is over…
IV.DEATH
Look at Mark 5:35-43, we read, And he said unto her, Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace, and be whole of thy plague. While he yet spake, there came from the ruler of the synagogue's house certain which said, Thy daughter is dead: why troublest thou the Master any further? As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, he saith unto the ruler of the synagogue, Be not afraid, only believe. And he suffered no man to follow him, save Peter, and James, and John the brother of James. And he cometh to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and seeth the tumult, and them that wept and wailed greatly. And when he was come in, he saith unto them, why make ye this ado, and weep? the damsel is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him to scorn. But when he had put them all out, he taketh the father and the mother of the damsel, and them that were with him, and entereth in where the damsel was lying. And he took the damsel by the hand, and said unto her, Talitha cumi; which is, being interpreted, Damsel, I say unto thee, arise. And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment. And he charged them straitly that no man should know it; and commanded that something should be given her to eat.
One day we all are going to die!!!
Illus: One of the sad things about a pet dog or cat when they die they will be buried and rot in their grave…LIFE FOR THEM HAS ENDED!
But did you know we serve a God when we die He has power over DEATH and he will raise us up the same as this twelve year old girl.
Now that is great for us Christian, but not for the sinner.
He/She will also be raised and cast into hell because they chose to go there when they rejected the Savior to save them.
They will go to this terrible place not because it is God’s will for them but because as a free moral agent they made the choice to go there.
In order for this to take place the God who is over death will raise them up for the choice they have made.
Lost person it would be wise for you today to BE STILL and think about this before it happens.
Conclusion:
God Word tells us to BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.
God is saying to such people as ourselves, “Be still, (cease what you are doing) I want to teach you that I AM GOD, and there are some things that I alone can do. You cannot do them, nor can anyone you know do them. I want to teach you that I alone can do them, and that I am God, not you!”
Illus: Remember when God delivered Israel from the bondage of Pharoah and God’s people were scared to death.
They accuse Moses of bringing them out into the desert to die.
Look at Exodus 14:11-12 we read, “And they said unto Moses, because there were no graves in Egypt, hast thou taken us away to die in the wilderness? Wherefore hast thou dealt thus with us, to carry us forth out of Egypt? Is not this the word that we did tell thee in Egypt, saying, let us alone, that we may serve the Egyptians? For it had been better for us to serve the Egyptians, than that we should die in the wilderness.”
They were running all over the place like chickens with their heads cut off.
But look at the instructions Moses gave them, in verses 13-14. “And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, STAND STILL, and see the salvation of the LORD, which he will show to you to day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to day, ye shall see them again no more forever. The LORD shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace.”
Listen when we find ourselves in this kind of trouble, God wants us to BE STILL, AND COME TO KNOW HIM IN HIS GREATNESS!!!
Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
The cure for Americanitis is learning to BE STILL!!!
When it comes to knowing this great God our Creator we see in the scriptures that He is over…
I. NATURE
II. DEMONS
III. DISEASE
IV.DEATH
