Be Still and Grow

Good morning to you, dear friends! 

Please turn to Psalm 46 and let us gratefully and humbly read it together:

Psalm 46

For the director of music. Of the Sons of Korah. 

According to alamoth. A song.

1 

God is our refuge and strength,

    an ever-present help in trouble.

2 

Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

    and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

3 

though its waters roar and foam

    and the mountains quake with their surging.[c]

4 

There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

    the holy place where the Most High dwells.

5 

God is within her, she will not fall;

    God will help her at break of day.

6 

Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall;

    he lifts his voice, the earth melts.

7 

The Lord Almighty is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

8 

Come and see what the Lord has done,

    the desolations he has brought on the earth.

9 

He makes wars cease

    to the ends of the earth.

He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

    he burns the shields[d] with fire.

10 

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God;

    I will be exalted among the nations,

    I will be exalted in the earth.”

11 

The Lord Almighty is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

Here we come to the last full day of our time together in Music Camp 2015. You and I have been studying aspects of God’s invitation to us to enter spiritual stillness:

On Sunday, July 19, we discovered our theme for this year’s camp—Be Still. Is spiritual stillness a gift you and I have received or an invitation to which we have responded positively this morning?

On Monday, July 20, we reflected upon the theme “Be Still and Pray”—that the Father has invited us to enter spiritual stillness through praying continually. Have you and I embraced the stillness inherent in prayer? Do we see Christ as the Sunshine of righteousness and the Light of the world in the midst of dark times? Is our prayer life leading us to know the hope to which Christ has called us, the riches of His glorious inheritance in us, and His incomparably great power for us who believe?

On Tuesday, July 21, we focused on the theme “Be Still and Read”—that Christ has invited us to enter spiritual stillness through reading His precious Word. Have we embraced the truth that Bible reading is indeed a conversation between God and humanity initiated and achieved by God Himself? Do we patiently remain in continuous fellowship with Him as we spend more and more time in the Word? Do we seek to expand this connection through reading the Word with others?

On Wednesday, July 22, we focused on the theme “Be Still and Hear”—that Christ has invited us to enter spiritual stillness through hearing His voice. Are we aware that it is in God’s nature to speak, to communicate with His creation through natural, special, and personal revelation? Are we committing ourselves to take the time and smell the roses, to spend time imbibing the truths of God’s Word, and to pause long enough to sense the personal probing of the Holy Spirit?

On Thursday, July 23, we focused on the theme “Be Still and Heed”—that Christ has invited us to enter spiritual stillness through heeding the Father’s commands at all times. Is it clear to us that heeding God’s voice opens our eyes to witness the work of Christ amidst the harshest of storms? Have we embraced the fact that spiritual stillness causes to grow in prudence, wisdom, and gratitude?

On Friday, July 24, we focused on the theme “Be Still and Learn”—that Christ has invited us to enter spiritual stillness through learning from Him. Have we embraced the lessons He teaches about Himself in the midst of our weaknesses and trials? Do we grow to see Him as Jehovah Jireh (the God who provides), Jehovah Nissi (The Lord our banner), Jehovah Rapha (The Lord who heals), Jehovah M’kaddesh (The Lord who sanctifies), El Shaddai (The all-sufficient God), Jehovah Tsikednu (The Lord our righteousness)?

On Saturday, July 25, we focused on the theme “Be Still and Praise”—that Christ has invited us to enter spiritual stillness through praising Him every day. Have we brought to the Lord our weaknesses and worries, our broken and contrite hearts, as an act of humble and grateful worship? Have we allowed His creativity to be unleashed in us in the process of our praising Him from sunrise to sunset and through the watches of the night?

On Sunday, July 26, we beheld the glory of God in our completely surrendering our hearts and souls and minds into His hands. And, yesterday, Monday July 27, we focused on the theme “Be Still and Love”—that Christ has invited us to enter spiritual stillness through loving God and neighbor. Is sacrificial love our response to God and His children though ridiculed, afflicted, and tempest-tossed?

Today, we will end our time together with the theme “Be Still and Grow.”

If you will indulge me, I'd like to approach today’s theme from a gardener's perspective. Each heart is a garden that needs to get started from scratch. The initial step comes from the Father who places the desire in the heart to want to know Him a little better. Then, the gardener follows this initial desire and decides to go to the yard. In spiritual terms, ‘going to the yard’ is the concept of going to meet God. So, each time you and I feel the urge to find solace, comfort, or pleasure somewhere else, spiritual stillness invites us to go to God's word first (Mt 4:4; Ps 119:11). We cannot till the soil of our garden from our bedroom or living room; we have to go to the right location. That is the same thing with spiritual growth; we have to go to God's Word so He can tend to our hearts.

Second, the gardener has to examine the soil to determine its condition before deciding what to plant. In spiritual terms, examining one's heart requires prayer. We are called to pray asking God to help us understand the passage(s) we are about to read or the one(s) we've just read because without His help we are all lost. God will always reveal to us what His good and perfect will is.

Third, the gardener picks his tools to start digging, weeding, or whatever else he might need to do after examining the soil. Spiritually speaking, our tools are prayer, the Bible, and worship. Spiritual stillness invites us to take the time to read and study prayers from the Bible:

The Lord's Prayer (Mt 6:9-13)
The Prayer of Jesus (Jn 17)
Solomon's Prayer (1 Kings 8:22-53)
Paul's prayers (Eph. 1:15-19; Eph. 3:14-21; Col. 1:9-14; Col. 4:2-6)
David's prayer (Ps. 51)

And many others . . .

We study these prayers so we can imitate God's Word until we learn to speak God's language when we pray. Spiritual stillness encourages us to commit to praying biblically until we become fluent heeders of God’s presence and power. And we try not to simply go through the motions but to mean every word we utter.

Fourth, the gardener fertilizes and plants small plants/flowers/shrubs. As we enter spiritual stillness, the Holy Spirit fertilizes our faith according to Gal. 5:22-23 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control). Then, slowly and gradually, He will add other qualities as those tiny plants take root.

Fifth, the gardener recognizes the need to water regularly to prevent the tiny plants from dying. Hence the spiritual basis for regular quiet time (both personal and with others) with God. It is our food. When we skip meals our bodies tell us that something is wrong. When we skip our quiet times, our moods go haywire and we are a mess to have around. We can get irritable or whiny. So, we go to God who Himself waters our hearts with encouragement from His Word and Spirit.

Sixth, the good gardener weeds and prunes diligently. We weed spiritually by heeding the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Weeds are things, activities that invade our lives to such an extent that they supersede God in our lives. Addictions, tedious tasks, temptations are all weeds threatening to invade garden of our hearts. Only God can take care of the weeds in our lives. However, we are called to surrender ourselves to Him completely. Pruning means that sometimes we have to let go of things that are good for something even better. Growing in God means listening to God's voice as He leads.

Lastly, the gardener enjoys his work, is grateful, and invites others to come see the garden. Likewise, spiritual stillness invites us to give thanks to God for His work in our lives and allow others in to see what He is doing in our lives.

Friends, you and I have been summoned by God to cease striving, to stop worrying, to quit fretting, and to be still and know that He is God. Spiritual stillness and knowing God involve growing in Him. Peter recognizes that truth when He wrote, “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen.” (2 Peter 3:18) 

But why did Peter write that? It is because the Holy Spirit wanted to stimulate believers to wholesome thinking. (2 Peter 3:1) And what is wholesome thinking? Wholesome thinking is the spiritual stillness revealing to us that Christ is God. That Christ is the One to whom we pray. That Christ’s very Word is that which we are to read, hear, heed, and learn. That Christ is the One whom we praise. That Christ’s love is that which we are invited to embrace and emulate. That Christ is all we need to grow in the Father's matchless grace and perfect knowledge. Indeed, my friends, let us be still and know that the Lord of hosts is God!

Holy Father, we thank You for the challenges, weaknesses, thorns, and trials that come our way. Open our eyes to see that, no matter how insurmountable our problems appear to us, they are but opportunities to teach us and others that You are indeed God, that You initiate a lifelong conversation with each of us, that Your voice is speaking to us, that the sufficiency and completion of Your work on the cross is an unspeakable blessing, that Your power is made perfect in our weakness, that You long for our unceasing worship, that You will not give Your glory to another, that there is great joy for us in surrendering our weaknesses and worries to You, and that each and every day we will grow in the grace and knowledge of Christ. Please, Lord, use our troubles and tempests to reveal to us that You are our shield, our deliverer, the lifter of our heads, our garment of glory, and the blessedness that surrounds us. With a God like You, what can ANYONE do to us, indeed? Thank You for teaching us, O Holy Spirit! I pray all of this in the name of the I AM, the Alpha and the Omega, the Bright Morning Star, Jesus. Amen!

Be Still and Love

Good morning, everyone! David says, in Psalm 5:3, “In the morning, O Lord, You hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests to You and wait in expectation.” Let us, likewise, lift up our voices and hearts to God. Would you pray in your heart right now?

We have been walking on this road of spiritual stillness for over a week now and have considered six daily themes:

Be Still and Pray

Be Still and Read

Be Still and Hear

Be Still and Heed

Be Still and Learn

Be Still and Praise

For this whole camp, our theme is Be Still, based on Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Holy Spirit has convicted and challenged us to be still and pray first when troubles come our way, to be still and read His Word first when we are afraid, to be still and hear His voice first when the hiss of Satan’s white noise is overwhelming our ears, to be still and heed His commands and voice first when the Spirit of God speaks to the bride of Christ, to be still and learn God’s wisdom first when crises tempt us to entertain idle notions of self-focus and self-sufficiency, to be still and praise the Lord of hosts first when the folly of our fuzzy brains and hyperactive lips seeks to convince us to whine and grumble in difficult circumstances.

Be still.

And know.

Know what?

Know that the Lord is God. Know that the Lord will be exalted among the nations, in the earth.

Know that how?

Know that the Lord is God in prayer, in reading the Word, in hearing the Word of Christ, in heeding the discipline and wisdom of God’s revelation, in learning Christ’s obedience and High priesthood through suffering, in praising Christ specifically who is God.   

Do you and I know that the Lord is God? Do we see the Lord as a shield around us, lifting up our heads (Ps. 3:3) when we are tempted to cower under the enemy’s darts? Do we picture Him as the One who surrounds the righteous with His favor as with a shield (Ps. 5:12)? Do you and I believe that He is our rock, fortress, deliverer, refuge, stronghold, and the horn of our salvation (Ps, 18:2)?

Be Still invites us to rely on our Lord to be the lamp for our feet and the light for our path (Ps. 119:105) when spiritual darkness and frost seek to overwhelm our wavering hearts. Be Still invites us to accept His offer to be our buckler, absorber, buffer, shelter, and bumper when life gets rocky—as is often the case.

Today, we are moving forward in our pondering Be Still as we focus on “Be Still and Love.” Spiritual stillness, the Holy Spirit reveals, is the heart place that conditions our hearts to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

As I think of “Be Still and Love,” I think of the relationship between God and His chosen people Israel. The Lord told Israel to be still and know Him as God. However, Israel’s pattern was this: When in trouble, they would cry out to God for help; when help came, they would quickly revert to their old ways. Did such a pattern describe Israel’s love to God and onlookers? Through the prophet Hosea, God told them what He thought, “What can I do with you, Ephraim? What can I do with you, Judah? Your love is like the morning mist, like the early dew that disappears.” (Hosea 6:4)

If the morning mist is the definition of our love, then it is short-lived.

If the early dew is the foundation of our love, then it crumbles fast.

Could THAT definition, THAT foundation be said of you and of me on the other side of our troubles? Be Still invites us to pray to the Lord, asking Him to spare us from displaying such flimsy, half-hearted love toward Him and His children.

For us, 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a paints a vivid and practical portrait of biblical love in spiritual stillness, explaining that love . . .

. . . is patient. How patient are we with God? We often say that God is slow, too slow in responding to our cries. Bob Rice says, “God doesn’t act quickly, He acts suddenly.” When we least expect it, He answers our prayers and blows us away completely.

How patient are we with the people around us? Do we suffer long and wait patiently? Do we realize that it may take others longer than it does us to perform certain tasks? Do we understand the beauty, joy, and gratitude of patient stillness in the Lord?

. . . is kind. How kind are we toward God? The Word describes Christ as gentle, humble, meek, and tender. In our responses to Him, could we be described as gentle, humble, meek, and tender?

How do we express kindness to those around us? Do we offer the other cheek when slapped? Is tenderness part of our vocabulary?

. . . does not envy. Do you and I covet God’s sovereignty and rule? Do you and I resent the fact that NO MATTER WHAT the Lord will be exalted among the nations and in the earth whereas all our striving and fretting will come to naught?

How much jealousy inspires the nature of our relationships with those placed in our lives? Do we yearn for everything our neighbors possess?

. . . does not boast. Do you and I boast of what we will do today and tomorrow without even acknowledging God’s will for our lives? Do you and I realize that the One who is qualified to boast chooses to gently promise instead?

Do we seek to only boast in Christ or do we aim to elevate ourselves? Does our boasting serve to build up or tear down others?

. . . is not proud. When we cry out to God in moments of distress and concern, are we selfishly seeking to order God around according to our tastes and preferences? Or, when we realize the true nature of our rebellion against God, are we quick to humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord?

Are we imitating Christ’s humility or do we take pride in our flesh? Is it more important for us to be right or for the other person to feel loved by us?

. . . is not rude. Do our deeds, thoughts, and words grieve the Holy Spirit? Does our behavior reflect worship and sweet surrender?

Do our words inflict pain on others or do they bring healing? Are we sensitive to the needs of others or are we contentious and overbearing?

. . . is not self-seeking. Do we seek first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness?

Do we place the concerns of others above our very own?

. . . is not easily angered. Do we readily become angry when troubles lumber through the door of our hearts?

Do we exercise self-control and give people the benefit of the doubt? Is our tendency to maintain a sour face and/or get into fits of rage, quarreling or bickering?

. . . keeps no record of wrongs. Do we thoughtlessly ruminate on all the ways in which the Lord is ‘unfair’ to us, whining and grumbling about what He allows in our lives, and pining over the garlic and onions of our own version of Egypt?

Do we keep a catalog of wrongs committed against us or do we let go? Do we remember the biblical statement, “love covers all wrongs”?

. . . does not delight in evil. Do we dare to call harmless what God calls sin? Do we withhold hospitality to the outcast and the stranger out of convenience?

Do we spend time indulging in and inviting others to partake in activities that God has declared evil or worldly? Do we omit to live sacrificially in all matters?

. . . rejoices with the truth. Does the truth—God’s Word—cause us to rejoice? Do we delight in the law of the Lord and meditate on it day and night?

Do we speak truth to all people even when it is unpopular? Do we handle God’s truth with reverence and grace?

. . . always protects. Do we embrace the grace and righteousness of Christ in such a way that the Word of God is maligned?

Do we bank on God’s Word and the prompting of the Holy Spirit to protect those entrusted to our care or do we let them fall prey to the schemes of Satan?

. . . always trusts. Do we trust God with the situations and individuals placed before us?

Do we undercut authority figures? Do we damage the names of others based on suspicions and doubts?

. . . always hopes. Do we steadfastly hold onto the hope that Christ has His best in mind for us?

Do we believe in Christ, the hope of glory, for the future betterment of our broken relationships?

. . . always perseveres. Do we hold onto to the revelation we’ve received from Christ, being mindful of the Lord’s impending return?

Do we ask God to strengthen our grip of faith in Christ while continuing to invest in others even when we are given the cold shoulder treatment?

. . . never fails. Do we accept that the arm of the Lord is never too short to save, His ear never too dull to hear?

Do we truly believe that love lifts up, offers a helping hand to those who falter, and always changes things for the better?

Such exemplary love points both others and us to the gentle and generous Healer who responded to the Father’s invitation to be still in the Garden of Gethsemane on that Great Thursday night some 2000 years ago. His stillness has yielded so much—the strengthening of His resolve to face Death and conquer it, the sharpening of His focus to meditate on the Holy Scriptures throughout the torture that Friday would bring, and the saving grace needed for the ransom of all sinners who accept and receive His offer or life. What wondrous love is this! May we pray that we, too, would embrace the spiritual stillness of crucifying the flesh in deference to God and laying down our lives for our neighbors!

Be Still and Praise

Friends,

On this sixth morning of our camp, I greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom we have redemption and forgiveness of sins. Our God is good all the time, and all the time our God is good. He is worthy to be praised!

Some may hear us and think we’re nuts because in their hearts they say, “There is no God. These people are simply wasting their time.” If we’re nuts, we’ve come to the right place this morning because God is in the business of turning fools into wise. He imparts wisdom to those who recognize their need of it, to those who believe in His name, and to those who praise the One sent by the Father.

O, praise the One who paid my debt

And raised this life up from the dead!

The wisdom of the Father tells us Christ took our foolishness upon Himself, paid our debt, died our death, and raised our dead selves up from the grave that you and I might live. Wisdom tells us to rest in that knowledge and accept the perfect work of Christ is done. Foolishness tells us to keep working and wearying ourselves to death. I want to be wise, don’t you? Please repeat after me:

Jesus lives!

Jesus reigns!

Praise be to my Rock!

Glory to the Redeemer!

God is good and faithful all the time!

He is worthy of power, honor, wisdom, strength, glory, and blessing!

God’s goodness doesn’t always make sense to us. For example, when bad things happen to people we like and esteem (naturally, we like and esteem ourselves first), we tend to ask ourselves, “How can a good God let that happen?” Or when the wicked (famously seen as those we dislike and scorn) seem to be thriving, we complain, “Ah Lord, that’s not fair!”

We all face frustrations, obstacles, and temptations; we embark upon a spiritual journey that is not often even-paced. Yet, God is here, there, and everywhere. He is always present and at work. His grace helps us acknowledge our pitfalls and perils, and invites us to be still and know He is God amidst the harshest physical or spiritual storms facing our hearts. His grace invites us to pray, read, hear, and heed His Word so that we might learn to rely on the righteousness of Christ alone. In His time, He will turn the price tag of earthly trials into the ultimate prize of heavenly triumphs.

In the meantime, He says, “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” We can embrace spiritual stillness because Psalm 107:29 assures us, “He stilled the storm to a whisper; the waves of the sea were hushed.” We can embrace spiritual stillness because “the Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress” (Psalm 46:11). And spiritual stillness leads us to praise God.

Does that knowledge not entice you to thank and praise Immanuel, the Lord Almighty who is with us, the God of Jacob who is our fortress? It does me. Even without that knowledge, some thinkers actually advance the desire to worship (period) is a natural part of humanity. A. W. Tozer, a well-known theologian of the 20^th century, explained how the impulse to praise lodged deep within every human is “the most natural thing about us.” (The Purpose of Man, 61) Harold Best, musician and writer, calls it “an intrinsic part of our nature . . . [that] is ceaselessly at work, even as we choose death in pouring out toward false gods. As mysterious as this fact is, we can well consider it a grace, because it is a ready highway for the coming of the Redeemer.” (Unceasing Worship, 26)

Deep down we know we always worship someone or something. Maybe it’s the piano; maybe it’s the guitar. Maybe it’s a girlfriend; maybe it’s an iPod. Maybe it’s an award from a great institution; maybe it’s a celebrity. Maybe it’s our appearance; maybe it’s the food that goes into our stomachs. Maybe it’s pornography; maybe it’s drugs or alcohol. I tell you, you and I worship every day because we tend to be obsessed by an idea or an object or a person. What Tozer and Best are helping us see is this: Even though those objects, ideas, or individuals we worship are completely misguided and inappropriate, they are all images pointing to the original, the true target of our God-given impulse to worship -- namely, Christ Himself.

Divine wisdom maintains you and I were designed not only to praise (period), but to worship Christ specifically, who is God. We were created by a Supreme Being who delights in the praise of His creation—mountains, rivers, animals, and people. Even the cries of infants and toddlers are considered by God to be expressions of praise to Him. He ordains our praise because our worship wields enough power to silence the foe and the avenger. (Psalm 8:2)

Why would the psalmist say so? Our foe or avenger or enemy, the devil, loves nothing more than to hiss his white noise -- twisting God’s truth and concocting an enticing lie that prevents us from seeing the wisdom of God’s perfect plans and purposes. Relying on our impatient wants and preferences, the enemy grows ever more cunning and influential as he succeeds in convincing our fuzzy brains and hyperactive lips to whine and grumble. He knows better than we do our words and songs of praise to God are the very weapons that can lead to his silence and demise. He is fully aware of the fact that our most important contribution to the work of the gospel is our personal relationship with Christ defined by the patient stillness and humble gratitude we express as we offer our praise to God. (Romans 1:21)

So, regardless of the attacks that come our way and the delays that try our patience, our number one priority is to worship and praise our Father in heaven. Every time we are tempted to say or do something rash, we will be wise to slow down and take stock; wait and recognize that God is God; and, finally, thank and praise the Father instead.

The opening line of the old spiritual Ain’t Got Time to Die accurately conveys the wisdom of praise: 

“Lord, I keep so busy praisin’ my Jesus, 

Ain’t got time to die.” 

Dying, in this case, refers to the insolent and frantic attitude of not pausing and entering the spiritual stillness of acknowledging God before anything or anyone else. That is the epitome of foolishness—pure and simple. On the other hand, wise and prudent living takes place when you and I wear the garment of Christ-centered praise and gratefully put on the full armor of God.

The full armor of God, discussed in Ephesians 6, inspires and encourages us to accept the Father’s invitation to be still and praise. In verse 13, Paul says, “ . . . put on the full armor of God so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground and after you have done everything, to stand.” What is the ‘everything’ you and I are called to do as we seek to stand our ground in evil and troubling times?

We are to:

-       wear the belt of truth around our waist

-       wear the breastplate of righteousness

-       wear shoes of the gospel of peace

-       take up the shield of faith

-       take the helmet of salvation

-       take the sword of the Spirit

-       pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests

Through the above seven-piece armor, our gracious Father deposits stillness in our hearts through the all-sufficiency of Christ, the Sun of righteousness:

1)    When the hiss of Satan’s deceptive white noise tempts us to despair, we can rest in the truth of Christ’s victory

2)    When we are consumed with the guilt of sin and shame, we can rest in the righteousness of Christ

3)    When political conflicts and family feuds are forcing us to run, we can rest in the gospel of peace that keeps our feet fitted for Christ-honoring conversations

4)    When the evil one throws flaming arrows of unbelief at us, we can gratefully accept the precious faith Christ freely deposits in our hearts

5)    When the accusations of Satan and other people incite us to worry about our salvation, we can rest in the fact that the Father sees us not in my sin but in His Son

6)    When tempests, trials, persecutions attack us, we can rest in the fact that Christ has not left His bride defenseless; He gave us a powerful sword—His Word

7)    When questions baffle us and answers befuddle us, we can rest in the constant access we have to the Father through praying in the Sprit, in the name of the Son, on all occasions, asking anything we need

Why would we not praise God when He has done all of that for us? 

Why would we not turn gratefully to Him when He says, “Come to Me with thanksgiving and praise, with music and joyful songs. Rejoice in My name all day long. Tell others of My righteousness. Come to Me, My beloved, for in My presence is fullness of joy, and eternal pleasures are in My right hand? 

What else could we do? 

We can keep in mind ultimate freedom in life is the ability to choose the perspective God grants us through His Word and accept the gentle, humble attitude of Christ-like submission to the Father’s sovereignty. And because attitude is centered in the will, we can choose to “be still and know that [He is] God.” 

Lord, we praise You because You daily bear our burdens. We praise You because You are the Lord of heaven and earth. We praise You because You are our Father, Creator, and King. We bow down and worship You because You gave Your everything that we may be still and know You are God, the One who is exalted among the nations. Thank You, Lord, for all You do! In Jesus' name, we pray. Amen!