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June 2021 (Sermon 2)

[Cover Slide]THE NEARNESS OF GOD IN SILENCE AND SOLITUDE

INTRODUCTION

In Pastor Kong’s recent sermons on the kingdom of God, he talked about

the “_________ ________” and “_________ ________””.

[Slide]
Mt 11 (NIV)
28
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you
rest.
29
Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble
in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Unfortunately, for most of us, this is not our experience!

- Our “yoke” is definitely not “easy”, and our “burden” is beyond heavy
– it is beyond what we can handle!

Just look at our daily routines – most of us are very busy people.
- Every day, we have an endless “Things To Do List” – we have many
clients to meet, meetings to attend, and deadlines to meet.
- For those of us who serve in church, we have many members to
counsel and many needs to meet.
- Our calendars are filled with appointments, and our days are filled
with engagements, plans and projects.

We are being pulled and pushed along by the busyness of life.

- We don’t even have the time to reflect if any of the things we think,
say or do, are worth thinking, saying and doing.
- We simply get pulled and pushed along by what is expected of us (or
handed to us).
- And when there are no deadlines to meet, we set deadlines for
ourselves, or pack our days with appointments …
- Because we are so addicted to being busy.
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- We have “FOMO” – the “fear of missing out”!

DISCUSSION: What is one thing that you constantly struggle with, which is
‘pulling’ and ‘pushing’ you along into busyness? (E.g. Constantly working
overtime? Fear of not having enough finances? Fear of losing out?)

When we are always so busy, eventually, our ________ tanks become

empty – we become spiritually dry, worn out and burned out.
- And when that happens, we end up having no energy or desire to
meet with God.

Remember Elijah? He was so worn out and burned out, to the point he
was depressed and suicidal … what brought about his breakthrough?
- He went into a season of silence and solitude.

1 Kin 19
11
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;
12
and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and
after the fire a still small voice.

Yes, God can move in the dramatic, but when He visited Elijah, He was not
in the wind, earthquake or fire – He was in the “________ ________
________”.
- [Slide] The NRSV translation says it so beautifully that God revealed
Himself to Elijah in “a sound of sheer silence”.
- God speaks to us in the “sheer silence”!

Busyness and distractions can often be a curse, because

spirituality can only be developed in the silence and solitude of God’s
presence.
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SILENCE AND SOLITUDE

From the outset, let’s “demystify” the practice of silence and solitude.
- It is not a sleepy or drowsy state of endless meditation.

And some of you might be asking:

- “So, what do I do? No iPad? No Netflix? No music? No social media?”

While part of silence and solitude involves weaning ourselves from the
noises and distractions of our lives …
- Yet, it is not so much about the “no (this)” or “no (that)”.

It is really about the “have” – it is about having a ‘conscious listening’ (to

God’s voice).
- As we tune our hearts to God’s voice, we become so alert and
awakened to His heart, thoughts and desires.

In fact, this was exactly what David experienced when he was in the
wilderness of Judah:

Ps 63 (MSG)
1
God—you’re my God! I can’t get enough of you! I’ve worked up such
hunger and thirst for God, traveling across dry and weary deserts.
2-4
 So here I am in the place of worship, eyes open, drinking in your
strength and glory. In your generous love I am really living at last!

Silence and solitude is a continuous, silent, heart-to-heart conversation

with God – it is having an ________ hunger for more of Him!

It is a time of alertness and great awakening – a time where we enter into

His presence with that readiness to stay …
- We stay until we hear His “still small voice”, and until something
“clicks” within our spirits.
- At that moment, there is illumination, clarity and overwhelming love.

1. Silence and solitude is a time of giving God our ________ ________.

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It is a deliberate act of the surrendered will & to give enough time and
focus to God in those moments that we choose to sit with Him.
- In that time and space with the Lord, we are intentionally giving God
much thought, asking God without ceasing:
- “Father, what do You want to say to me?
- Are there areas in my life that You wish to talk to me about?
- What do You desire for me to do in this very minute?”

Silence and solitude is a time of continuous inner conversation with God,

and complete ______________ to His will.
- During this time, we wait for the ‘leadership’ of the Holy Spirit, and
seek to do every little detail, the way God wishes it to be done.

2. Silence and solitude is a time where we find the ________ and

________ of God.

It is a time where we learn to sensitise our hearts to His presence, and

just be lost in His love.
- In that place, the ‘dark clouds’ of worries will fade away, and our
souls will rest in the ‘sunshine’ of His perpetual peace.

After time spent in close fellowship with God, our souls will feel clean,
like new fallen snow – pure, light and beautiful.

Saint Augustine says, “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our
hearts are restless until they rest in You.”
- In the silence and solitude of God’s presence, we find rest for our
hearts.

Sometimes, we think that finding rest in God is about us passively waiting

for God to fill this God-shaped void.
But it is actually us actively wanting to ‘hold God by the hand’ and rest.
- What great gain it would be for us, if we can learn to rest in the
waiting arms of the Father, and listen until He whispers!
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THE “NEARNESS OF GOD”

Ps 73:28 (NASB)
But as for me, the nearness of God is good for me; I have made the
Lord God my refuge, so that I may tell of all Your works.

The privilege of ________ with God is infinitely more than anything that
God could give.
- When He gives Himself to us, He is giving more than anything else in
the universe!
- In fact, like the psalmist says, His nearness is so good for us – for our
souls, minds, and entire well-being!

While we enjoy the corporate gatherings of worshipping God, so many of

us struggle to know what to say or do, when we are alone with God.
- We must learn to enjoy being with Jesus.

Lk 10
38
 Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a
certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. 
39
 And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard
His word. 
40
 But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him
and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone?
Therefore tell her to help me.”
41
 And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried
and troubled about many things. 
42
 But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will
not be taken away from her.”

We all know this story so well – most likely, we have heard this story a
thousand times!
- Yet, many of us remain a “Martha”, because we constantly feel that
we need to attend to all the demands that are in our lives.

But Jesus is inviting us into a _____________ with Him …

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- To experience the “easy yoke” and “light burden”, which will come as
we, like Mary, learn to sit in silence and solitude, at Jesus’ feet.
- To Jesus, this is the “one thing” that is needed – nearness to Jesus.

CONCLUSION

Knowing God is like two people falling in love – you want to know
everything about the other person.
- There is such a strong desire to spend time in the person’s presence.
- No words are wasted, and nothing about that person is considered too
trivial – we just want to be with that person!

Often, we find that we lose ourselves in the deepening discovery of the

other person.
- We no longer think about ourselves – we are just ‘overcome’ by being
with that person.

In silence and solitude, we are invited into this journey of knowing God
and being known by Him …
- It is a place of deep intimacy with God, where we not only want to
know everything about God, but we also want to be known by Him.
- And to be fully known is to allow ourselves to be fully given – to be
completely open and transparent to God.

Today, I believe God is saying to us:

- “Can you sit with Me in the quiet for a while?
- Can you bring Me into the parts of your story that you don’t dare to let
anyone know about? Can you bring me into your shame?
- Can you bring Me into your secret longings, desires and dreams?
- Can you just take time to find out what is in the centre of My heart for
you?
- Is being with Me enough a destiny for you?”

- CHALLENGE: Take one day this week to be in silence and solitude, in

the presence of God:
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Ps 119:114 (TPT)
You’re my place of quiet retreat, and your wraparound presence
becomes my shield as I wrap myself in your Word!