WHEN GOD IS SILENT

Aug. 29, 1999

LIKE DAVID IN PSA.28, WE HAVE ALL EXPERIENCED TIMES WHEN IT WOULD APPEAR THAT GOD ISN’T SPEAKING TO US, THAT IN FACT, HE IS SILENT. I THINK WE CAN ALL IDENTIFY WITH PERIODS IN OUR LIFE WHERE IT WOULD APPEAR THAT OUR PRAYERS ARE BOUNCING OFF THE CEILING AND THAT GOD ISN’T HEARING US AND HERE IN PSA.28 DAVID IS GOING THROUGH THAT KIND OF AN EXPERIENCE. I THINK THERE ARE A LOT OF MISCONCEPTIONS WE HAVE WHEN WE GO THROUGH A PERIOD WHEN GOD IS BEING SILENT TOWARDS US THAT I WANT TO CLARIFY THIS MORNING TO ENCOURAGE YOU. WHAT WE NEED TO UNDERSTAND IS HOW TO RESPOND TO GOD IN THE TIMES IN OUR LIVES WHEN GOD IS SILENT. NOW BY SILENCE I MEAN SEVERAL THINGS: 1. GOD’S NOT TALKING TO YOU 2. WHEN GOD SEEMS TO BE INACCESSIBLE 3. TIMES WHEN GOD WOULD SEEM TO BE INDIFFERENT 4. TIMES WHEN IT WOULD APPEAR THAT GOD IS REJECTING US AND FINALLY 5. TIMES WHEN WE CANNOT FEEL HIS PRESENCE. THIS IS WHAT I MEAN BY GOD APPEARING TO BE SILENT. THE KEYNOTE WORD HIS IS APPEARS CAUSE NONE OF THOSE THING ARE EVER TRUE IT ALL APPEARS AS IF THEY ARE. NOW WE MUST LEARN HOW TO RESPOND TO GOD IN TIMES OF SILENCE BY FOLLOWING THE EXAMPLE OF DAVID IN PSA.28 AND IN PSA.13. LET’S READ PSALM 13 TOGETHER THIS MORNING:

NOW HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU FIRST BECOME A CHRISTIAN EVERYTHING IN YOUR LIFE IS ROSEY. YOU ARE LIVING IN A BUBBLE OF GOD’S MANIFEST GLORY. THIS IS TRULY A WONDERFUL LIFE. EVERY PRAYER IS ANSWERED IMMEDIATELY AND YOU WALK AROUND WITH YOUR EYES WIDE OPENED TO THE MANIFESTED PRESENCE OF GOD IN EVERY AREA OF YOUR LIFE. GOD IS, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN YOUR LIFE, REVELING HIMSELF TO YOU. WE ALL GO THROUGH THIS WONDERFUL PERIOD OF SPIRITUAL BLISS IN OUR LIFE AND THERE’S A REASON FOR THAT. GOD WANTS US TO KNOW, BEYOND A SHADOW OF ANY DOUBT, THAT HE EXISTS AND THAT HE IS A REWARDER OF THEM THAT DILIGENTLY SEEK HIM ACCORDING TO:

NOW HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU FIRST BECOME A CHRISTIAN YOU DON’T NEED A LOT OF FAITH TO BELIEVE GOD FOR ANYTHING? RIGHT. BUT HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW THIS PERIOD OF YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE DOESN’T LAST AS LONG AS WE’D LIKE IT TO? BECAUSE GOD WANTS US TO LEARN TO WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT. IT WONDERFUL WHEN WE CAN EXPERIENCE THOSE WARM GOOY FEELINGS OF GOD’S PRESENCE. IT’S EQUALLY GREAT WHEN WE CAN IMMEDIATELY HEAR GOD IN A TIME OF DIFFICULTY OR CRISIS. YOU SEE, HEARING GOD IS LIKE SEEING AND UNDERSTANDING AND WE CAN’T LIVE OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE BY SEEING OR HEARING BUT BY FAITH.

NOW THERE WILL COME A TIME IN YOUR CHRISTIAN LIFE AND MINE WHEN IT WOULD APPEAR THAT GOD POPS THIS BUBBLE OF INSTANT SPIRITUAL GRATIFICATION AND STIMULATION. THE FACT IS, THAT GOD DOES POP THE BUBBLE BECAUSE HE WANTS US TO LEARN TO WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY SIGHT, NOT BY SOUND AND NOT BY OUR FEELINGS. THE TROUBLE WE HAVE IS HOW WE INTERPRET TIMES WHEN GOD IS SILENT. DOES GOD LOVE US ANY MORE? HAS GOD LEFT US OR ARE YOU BEING JUDGED. JUST HOW DO WE INTERPRET THOSE PERIODS IN OUR CHRISTIAN LIFE WHERE IT WOULD APPEAR THAT GOD IS SILENT. SO I WANT TO GIVE YOU SOME HOPE AND ENCOURAGEMENT THIS MORNING SO THAT YOU’LL BEGIN TO SEE GOD’S APPARENT SILENCE IT IN A NEW LIGHT.

IN BOTH PSA.13 AND 28 DAVID IS PASSING THROUGH A PERIOD IN HIS LIFE WHEN GOD IS SLIENT. HOW MANY OF YOU WOULD AGREE THAT DAVID IS A MATURE BELIEVER BECAUSE THE SCRIPTURE CALLS HIM A MAN AFTER GOD’S OWN HEART. HERE IS A MAN ON EARTH THAT GOD CAN TRULY IDENTIFY WITH AND RELATE TO ON A SPIRITUAL BASIS AND YET DAVID’S GOING THROUGH A PERIOD WHEN GOD IS NOT SAYING ANYTHING TO HIM. NOW HERE IS DAVID, A TOP DRAW BELIEVER AND ON A SCALE OF 1-10 HE IS A 10 IN GOD’S EYES AND YET HE’S EXPERIENCING A PERIOD OF SILENCE IN HIS LIFE. YOU SEE THIS SHOULD ENCOURAGE US THIS MORNING BECAUSE THIS TOUCHES PEOPLE WHO KNOW GOD VERY, VERY WELL AS WELL AS THE REST OF US. SO THERE ARE NO FAVORITES AND THE PEOPLE WHO RANK RIGHT UP IN THE TOP DRAWER FACE THIS SAME PROBLEM. CAN EVERYBODY SEE THAT. THIS IS NOT JUST SOMETHING THAT HAPPENS TO YOU, IT HAPPENS TO ALL GOD’S CHILDREN, THE OBEDIENT AND THE DISOBEDIENT. YOU SEE ITS ENCOURAGING TO KNOW THAT OTHER CHRISTIANS ARE GOING THROUGH THE SAME THINGS YOU ARE AND THAT THEY MAKE IT THROUGH THE DRY, SILENT SEASONS OF THEIR LIVES. NOW NOTICE IN PSA.28:1 DAVID SAYS:

DAVID IS MAKING THIS PRAYER TO GOD OUT OF A SENSE OF THE FEAR OF ABANDONMENT BY GOD. IT WOULD SEEM THAT NO MATTER HOW MUCH YOU READ OR HEAR ABOUT THE UNCONDITIONAL LOVE OF GOD WE ALL HAVE THAT SAME FEAR OF ABANDONMENT. THE REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE THE ENEMY PERPETRATES THAT THOUGHT TO US IN THE FORM OF GUILT WHEN WE KNOWINGLY SIN AND TRANSGRESS THE WILL OF GOD FOR OUR LIVES. SO WHAT THE ENEMY IS PERPETRATING IS THE SUGGESTION THAT THERE IS SOMETHING I COULD DO THAT WOULD CAUSE GOD TO TURN AWAY FROM ME AND ABANDON ME. RIGHT? I MEAN, CAN’T YOU ALL IDENTIFY WITH THIS? SURE YOU CAN, WE ALL GO THROUGH THIS CAUSE THE ENEMY DOESN’T HAVE ANY NEW TRICKS IN HIS BAG. NOW WHEN DAVID BEGINS TO FEEL THIS WAY, PLEASE NOTICE IN PSA.13:5-6 WHAT HE SAYS:

PLEASE NOTICE HERE THAT DAVID HAS THE RIGHT ATTITUDE HERE: HE SAYS, I WILL TRUST IN YOUR UNFAILING LOVE. I MAY NOT BE FEELING YOUR UNFAILING LOVE AT THE MOMENT BUT I WILL TRUST IN YOUR UNFAILING LOVE. YOU SEE TRUST IS LIKE FAITH, I’M GOING TO BELIEVE THAT GOD LOVES ME EVEN WHEN I DON’T FEEL HIS LOVE. NOW HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT FAITH COME BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD. FAITH ISN’T A JUMP IN THE DARK IT’S A CALCULATED RISK BASED ON THE WRITTEN WORD OF GOD. THE BIBLE IS FULL OF PROMISES THAT ADDRESS THE FEAR OF ABANDONMENT.

HERE IN HEB. 13: 5 WE HAVE A NEW TESTAMENT PROMISE TO CONFRONT THIS FEAR OF ABANDONMENT. NOW YOU ALL KNOW THAT ITS WRONG TO USE A DOUBLE NEGATIVE IN A SENTENCE AND YET THE AUTHOR TO THE BOOK OF HEBREWS DISOBEYS THIS RULE OF PROPER GRAMMAR TO OVER EMPHASIS THIS POINT BY USING A QUADRUPLE NEGATIVE IN ONE SENTENCE. HERE’S HOW THIS VERSE APPEARS IN THE ORIGINAL LANGUAGE BECAUSE THE WORD "NEVER" IS A TRIPLE NEGATIVE: I WILL NEVER, NEVER, NEVER LEAVE YOU AND I WILL NEVER FORSAKE YOU. NOW HERE’S A VERSE WE CAN TO TO THE BANK AND STAND ON WHEN THE ENEMY ATTACKS US WITH THE THOUGHTS THAT GOD HAS ABANDONED YOU BECAUSE OF YOUR MISCONDUCT, SIN OR FAILURE. LISTEN, DAVID SAYS, I WILL TRUST IN HIS UNFAILING LOVE:

KJV-- agree, assure, believe, have confidence, be (wax) conflent, make friend, obey, persuade, trust, yield.

PAUL HAS REACHED A LEVEL OF MATURE FAITH AND TRUST, LIKE DAVID IN PSA.13:5 BEING PERSUADED THAT NOTHING COULD SEPARATE HIM FROM THE LOVE OF GOD. NOW HOW DID THAT HAPPEN? IT WAS THE RESULT OF YEARS OF WALKING WITH GOD AND A THOROUGH UNDERSTANDING OF THE WORD OF GOD. FAITH IN GOD’S UNFAILING LOVE IS FIRST OF ALL SCRIPTURAL AND SECOND OF ALL AN EXPERIENCE WE MUST ENCOUNTER IN ALL THE SEASONS OF LIFE BUT ESPECIALLY IN THE DRY AND QUIET SEASONS.

NOW HERE’S ANOTHER THING DAVID DID IN PSA.13 AND PSA 28 WHEN HE PASSED THROUGH A SILENT SEASON IN HIS LIFE:

HERE WE SEE THE NEXT THING THAT DAVID DID. HE SAID I WILL TRUST IN YOUR UNFAILING LOVE AND I WILL SING UNTO THE LORD. HERE DAVID IS OFFERING BY FAITH A SACRIFICE OF PRAISE AND THANKSGIVING TO GOD FOR HIS FAITHFULNESS REGARDLESS OF THE CIRCUMSTANCES IN HIS LIFE. IN OTHER WORDS, YOU HAVE TO LEARN TO OFFER THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE TO GOD WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL GOOD AND WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE IT. HERE DAVID IS IN THE ANGUISH OF HIS SOUL AND HE SINGS ABOUT HOW GOOD GOD HAS BEEN TO HIM THROUGH HIS LIFE.

HERE WE SEE GOD’S ATTITUDE DURING A DIFFICULT TIME IN HIS LIFE. HE’S GOING TO PRAISE GOD WHETHER HE FEELS LIKE IT OR NOT. HE WAS ABLE TO SING TO THE LORD BECAUSE GOD WAS SO GOOD TO HIM, HE SAYS, "BECAUSE YOU HAVE DEALT SO BOUNTIFULLY WITH ME." WHAT THIS IS SAYING IS THAT IN ORDER TO HONESTLY AND SINCERELY PRAISE GOD YOU HAVE TO TRACE YOUR HISTORY WITH GOD. WE HAVE TO BE ABLE TO LOOK BACK AND TRACE OUT OF OUR HISTORY WITH GOD A CONCLUSION THAT IN LIGHT OF WHAT I KNOW ABOUT GOD AND THE EXPERIENCES THAT I HAVE HAD WITH HIM THAT I CAN TRUST HIM FOR FUTURE HELP AND DELIVERANCE. YOU SEE, ONCE YOU’VE BEEN DOWN THE ROAD FOR A WHILE AND GOD’S RESCUED YOU FROM A FEW SCRAPS YOU DEVELOP A HISTORY WITH GOD THAT YOU CAN REFLECT ON THAT WILL HELP YOU TO PRAISE GOD DURING A DIFFICULT SEASON IN YOUR LIFE. WE ONLY NEED LOOK AT THE HISTORY OF ISRAEL IN PSA. 107 TO SEE THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD AND HIS UNFAILING LOVE TOWARDS HIS COVENANT PEOPLE.

NOW HOW MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT WHEN YOU DON’T FEEL LIKE SINGING AND PRAISING THE LORD THAT IT’S A SACRIFICE. YOU SEE, DAVID KNEW THAT HE COULD CHANGE HIS CIRCUMSTANCES IF HE RESPONDED TO GOD’S SILENCE IN A RIGHT WAY. HE KNEW THAT GOD DWELLS IN THE MIDST OF THE PRAISES OF HIS PEOPLE AND THAT BY PRAISING THE LORD HE COULD CHANGE HIS ENVIRONMENT AND BEGIN TO SENSE THE MANIFESTED PRESENCE OF GOD. YOU SEE, DAVID KNEW THAT PRAISE WAS A WEAPON THAT WOULD CANCEL THE DARKNESS AND OPPRESSION THAT HE WAS FEELING. NOW, PLEASE NOTICE THAT HIS MOTIVE WAS NOT TO DO THIS BUT TO HONESTLY AND SINCERELY OFFER TO GOD THE SACRIFICE OF PRAISE.

NOW THERE IS ANOTHER N.T OCCURRENCE WHEN PAUL AND SILAS HAD TO OFFER TO GOD A SACRIFICE OF PRAISE TO ENCOURAGE THEMSELVES IN THE LORD. NOW THEY WEREN’T LOOKING FOR A MIRACLE TO HAPPEN THEY WERE LEARNING TO RESPOND TO A BAD SITUATION IN A RIGHT WAY. WE READ ABOUT IT IN:

HERE IS A WONDERFUL ACCOUNT ABOUT THE POWER OF PRAISE AND WORSHIP AS THE RIGHT RESPONSE TO A BAD SITUATION IN THEIR LIVES. YOU SEE, BAD THINGS HAPPEN TO GOOD PEOPLE. JUST LOOK AT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CAIN AND ABLE. ABLE WAS A GOOD MAN AND HE DID NOTHING TO PROVOKE HIS BROTHER’S JEALOUSY AND RAGE THAT RESULTED IN HIS DEATH. LISTEN, WE HAVE TO COME OUT OF THIS VICTIM’S MENTALITY THAT IS ALWAYS BLAMING OTHERS FOR THE BAD THINGS THAT HAPPEN TO US. HERE PAUL AND SILAS ARE PREACHING THE GOSPEL AND THEY’RE BEING PERSECUTED FOR DOING A GOOD THING. THEY WERE LITERALLY BEATEN AND WHIPPED AND THE FLESH AND MUSCLES ON THEIR BACKS WERE LITERALLY BLEEDING AND BRUISED. NOW EVERYTHING IN THEM, IN THE NATURAL, WANTED TO RESPOND TO A BAD THING IN A WRONG WAY BUT THEY DIDN’T. AT MIDNIGHT THEY BEGAN TO SING PRAISES UNTO THE LORD SO EMPHATICALLY THAT EVERYBODY IN THE JAIL HEARD THEM. NOW NOTICE, THEY DIDN’T SING THAT LOUD SO THE OTHER PRISIONERS COULD HEAR THEM SO THAT A MIRACLE COULD TAKE PLACE CAUSE THEY DIDN’T KNOW ONE WAS GOING TO HAPPEN. YOU SEE, WE READ AN ACCOUNT LIKE THIS AND OUR MOTIVES BECOME IMPURE. SO DURING A DRY, SILENT, OR HARD SEASON IN OUR LIFE WE BEGIN TO PRAISE GOD BECAUSE WE WANT AN IMMDEIATE MIRACLE OF DELIVERANCE FROM A BAD SITUATION AND WHEN IT DOESN’T HAPPEN WE BECOME DISCOURAGED AND DISCARD THIS POWERFUL WEAPON OF PRAISE.

NOW, I WANT YOU TO NOTICE SOMETHING ELSE HERE IN ACTS 16: THE MIRACLE THAT TOOK PLACE HERE DIDN’T HAPPEN SO THAT PAUL AND SILAS COULD GET OUT OF JAIL, IT HAPPENED SO THAT MANY OF THE PRISONERS AND THE JAILOR AND HIS FAMILY COULD GET SAVED. YOU WILL SOON LEARN THAT MIRACLES RARELY HAPPEN IN A BELIEVERS LIFE TO MEET A PERSONAL NEED, THOUGH HEALING IS THE CHILDREN’S BREAD, THEY OCCUR FOR AN ADVANCEMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. NOW, I DON’T WANT YOU TO THINK THAT GOD WON’T HEAL YOU OR DELIVER YOU OUT OF A BAD SITUATION I JUST WANT YOU TO KNOW THAT THE CHRISTIAN LIFE ISN’T ABOUT GIVING YOU A COMFORTABLE LIFE, ITS NOT CENTERED AROUND YOU AND YOUR NEEDS BUT RATHER AN INCREASE IN THE NUMBER OF SOULS THAT ARE SAVED AND AN ENLARGEMENT OF THE KINGDOM OF GOD. THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PRINCIPLE THAT WE MUST EMBRACE IN OUR CHRISTIAN LIVES OR WE WILL NOT SURVIVE. PAUL TELLS US THAT IF WE HAVE HOPE ONLY IN THIS LIFE WE ARE OF ALL MEN MOST MISERABLE. YOU SEE THE SUFFERINGS YOU GO THROUGH AS A CHRISTIAN ARE NEVER WASTED TIMES AND EXPERIENCES BUT ACTUALLY BECOME THE BASIS FOR YOUR MINISTRY FOR OTHERS. NOW THE KEY WORD HER IS TO GO THROUGH A DIFFICULT PERIOD AND ARRIVE ON THE OTHER SIDE, NOT ONLY A SURVIVOR BUT A VICTOR. YOU’VE BEEN THERE, DONE THAT AND GOT A T-SHIRT AND NOW YOU ARE EQUIPPED TO HELP OTHERS WHO ARE GOING THROUGH THE SAME DIFFICULTY. PAUL WRITES ABOUT THIS HERE IN:

DO YOU REMEMBER WHEN I DISCUSSED THIS VERSE DURING THE SERIES I DID ON THE ANOINTING? THE WORD ANOINTING HERE IS DIFFERENT FROM THE ANOINTING OIL USED BY THE PRIESTS IN THE O.T. THIS ANOINTING WAS DERIVED FROM THE FAT OF AN ANIMAL THAT WAS SACRIFICE ON AN ALTAR WITH FIRE. YOU ALL KNOW THAT WHEN YOU COOK MEAT THAT THE FAT IS BURNED AND PRODUCES GREASE, RIGHT? WELL THAT’S THE KIND OF ANOINTING THAT ISAIAH IS REFERRING TO. YOU SEE, WHEN YOU AND I GO THROUGH THE FIRE OF A DIVORCE, OR A FINANCIAL SETBACK OR SOME OTHER LOSS WE HAVE A RESIDENT ANOINTING THAT CAN HELP OTHERS WHO ARE GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING WE ARE NOW RESTORED IN. THE MOMENT YOU MEET SOMEBODY AND SAY SOMETHING LIKE, "I KNOW HOW YOU FEEL BECAUSE I’VE BEEN THROUGH THAT…." A RESIDENT ANOINTING KICKS IN AND YOUR WORDS BECOME AND ENCOURAGEMENT TO OTHERS WHO ARE PASSING THROUGH A DIFFICULT TIME IN THEIR LIVES. SOMETIMES GOD ALLOWS A DRY SEASON IN OUR LIFE IN PREPARATION FOR MINISTRY TO OTHER HURTING PEOPLE.

I BELIEVE THAT GOD WANTS TO ENCOURAGE US THIS MORNING AND TO GIVE US HOPE WHEN GOD APPEARS TO BE SILENT AND NOT SAYING ANYTHING TO US AS WE PASS THROUGH A DIFFICULT SEASON IN OUR LIVES. I BELIEVE THAT GOD WANTS US TO LEARN HOW TO WALK BY FAITH AND NOT BY FEELING, SEEING, HEARING, TOUCHING OR TASTING. SO NEXT WEEK I WILL CONTINUE WITH THIS MINI SERIES ON HOW TO MAKE A RIGHT RESPONSE WHEN GOD IS SILENT. I WILL SHOW YOU 4 THINGS JOB DID THAT RESULTED IN HIS DELIVERANCE AND TWO-FOLD RESTORATION OUT OF A DIFFICULT TIME IN HIS LIFE WHEN GOD WAS APPARENTLY SILENT SO THAT WE CAN LEARN HOW TO RESPOND TO GOD AND TRIUMPH IN FAITH.