Sermon | Shawn Miller

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Transcript

Opening Prayer And Hymn

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God, we come before you in Jesus' name. We're grateful for the work that you've done in our hearts and our lives. We just ask that the Holy Spirit right now would anoint Sean and would fill him with your power, with your with your anointing, that he could preach from your word with truth and clarity and boldness. I pray, Father, that you could open up our hearts and that your spirit could work in our lives and do the work that only you can do. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Thank you.

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Turn your hymn books to number 521. Like to sing this song before we get into the sermon. 521, be still and know that I am God. Like for all of us together to sing verse one, ladies, verse two, men in verse three, and all together on verse four.

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Amen. What a powerful statement.

Sermon Theme And Setup

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Turning the Bibles to Exodus chapter fourteen. Exodus chapter fourteen. So the sermon title this morning is When God is in control. This message was inspired by a recent comment by one of my co-workers.

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At work, we have our managers and pay volunteers each week for about three or four of our managerial group to take a time of solitude the next week. And then they come back and share a report on their solitude. And recently, one of them came back and said he really had a time of uh just reflection, and his mind was drawn to the verse that we just sang Be still and know that I am God. And he had some very unique thoughts to share on that verse, which inspired me to do a deeper dive into that verse. Thus, the title this morning, When God is in control. This is also a bit of a follow-up sermon to a sermon I preached a few weeks ago entitled Reaching or Relying. That sermon was more to more geared toward how do we confront temptation. How are we doing in our spiritual lives? Are we reaching for the fruit or are we relying on God to sustain us? This morning, the thread of the sermon is going to be geared more towards the practical part of life this morning. The situations, the real life situations that any one of us might be going through more on the negative situations than on the positive. And I'm not apologetic about preaching in that tone this morning. I want this to be a sermon of encouragement to anyone that might be going through a difficult time. I'd like to begin the sermon this morning by reading three stories, two out of the Old Testament, and there will be a lot of reading this morning. One 30-verse story and one 31-verse story. And then we're going to go into the New Testament and read a short story. In all of these stories, there will be some common threads that I'd like for us to pick up as we read these stories. Look for even some almost identical verbiage, but some common themes based on the song that we just sang. Be still and know that I am God. And then we'll come back and do a recap and then try to get some practical pointers on how do we face situations as we go through life and maybe currently that we're facing.

Exodus 14 And The Red Sea

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So the first story is in Exodus 14. All of these will be fairly familiar stories, but I'd like to take the time to read them word for word. The context of this story here in Exodus 14. So Pharaoh just released the children of Egypt, children of Israel out of Egypt. Moses is leading them out of Egypt, and Pharaoh decides that this was not a good idea to release them. He grabs his army, goes after them, and in the meanwhile, Moses is leading the children of Israel right up against the Red Sea. And that's where we'll jump in. Please follow along, either in your Bibles or your devices or in your mind, to catch the themes of these three stories. Exodus 14, verse 1. Then the Lord said to Moses, Tell the people of Israel to turn back and encamp in front of Pihiro, between Migdal and the sea, in front of Baal Zephon, you shall encamp facing it by the sea. For Pharaoh will say of the people of Israel, They are wandering in the land, the wilderness has shut them in, and I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and he will pursue them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord. And they did so. When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, the mind of Pharaoh and his servants was changed toward the people, and they said, What is this we have done that we have let Israel go from serving us? So he made ready his chariot and took his army with him, and took six hundred chosen chariots and all the other chariots of Egypt, with officers over all of them. And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued the people of Israel, while the people of Israel were going out defiantly. The Egyptians pursued them, all Pharaoh's horses and chariots, and his horsemen and his army, and overtook them and camped at the sea by Peherath in front of Beelzephon. When Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians were marching after them, and they feared greatly. And the people of Israel cried out to the Lord. They said to Moses, Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us in bringing us out of Egypt? Is not this what we have said to you in Egypt? Leave us alone that we may serve the Egyptians, for it would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness. And Moses said to the people, Fear not, stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will which He will work for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent. The Lord said to Moses, Why do you cry to me? Tell the people of Israel to go forward, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. And I will harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they shall go in after them, and I will get glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts, his chariots and his horsemen, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh and all his hosts, his chariots and his and his horsemen, and the Egyptians shall know that I am the Lord, when I have gotten glory over Pharaoh, his chariots and his horsemen. Then the angel of God, who was going before the hosts of Israel, moved and went behind them, and the pillar of cloud moved from before them and stood behind them, coming between the hosts of Egypt and the hosts of Israel, and there was a cloud and the darkness, and it lit up the night, without one coming near the other all night. Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the Lord drove the sea back by a strong east wind all night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. And the people of Israel went into the midst of the sea on dry ground, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. The Egyptians pursued and went in after them into the midst of the sea, all Pharaoh's horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And in the morning watched the Lord in the pillar of fire and of cloud looked down on the Egyptian Egyptian forces and threw the Egyptian forces into a panic. Now who's panicking? The children of Israel had been panicking. They were told to stand silent. And now the Egyptians are the ones panicking. Verse 25, clogging their chariot wheels so that they drove heavily, and the Egyptians said, Let us flee from before Israel, for the Lord fights for them against the Egyptians. Then the Lord said to Moses, Stretch out your hand over the sea, that the water may come back upon the Egyptians, all their chariots and upon all their horsemen. So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and the sea returned to its normal course when the morning appeared. And as the Egyptians fled into it, the Lord threw the Egyptians into the midst of the sea. The waters returned and covered the chariots and the horsemen, and all the hosts of Pharaoh that had followed them into the sea, not one of them remained. But the people of Israel walked on dry ground through the sea, the waters being a wall to them on their right hand and on their left. Thus the Lord saved Israel from that day, from the hand of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians. So the people feared the Lord, and they believed in the Lord and his servant Moses. If you would read on into chapter 15, we see that this incident brought them to worship. They made up a song that they sang. Then Moses and the people of Israel sang this song to the Lord, saying, and we won't go into that, but the acts of God, without them doing anything other than Moses obeying and doing what God commanded him, brought them to worship.

Jehoshaphat And Worship Before Battle

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Turn your Bibles to 2 Chronicles chapter 20. 2 Chronicles chapter 20. A little bit of context for the setting of this passage. During this time, here in 2 Chronicles, King Jehoshaphat. He was king, and his mission at this time was to lead the southern kingdom, which would have been Judah, the southern kingdom of Israel, Judah, back to worshiping the true God. Jehoshaphat was bringing a lot of reform to the nation of Israel, specifically Judah. Part of the process was abolishing idol worship. And another part of this process was appointing judges throughout all the land of Judah. And here we're going to jump into verse 1 of 20. And the first words of chapter 20 are after this. And that is referring to after this is right after he charged the judges to follow the Lord and not people. Do what God says and not what the people say. And this was right after he charged the judges that he appointed. He was about to face a pretty strong test of following God and not people. Second Chronicles 20, verse 1. After this, the Moabites and the Ammonites, and with them some of the Mennonites, sorry, check that Mionites, just checking to see if you're still with me here. And with them some of the Mionites came against Jehoshaphat for battle. Some men came and told Jehoshaphat, A great multitude is coming against you from Edom, from beyond the sea. And behold, they are in Hazazan, Tamar, that is, and Geti. Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah assembled to seek help from the Lord, from all the cities of Judah, they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly of Judah in Jerusalem, in the house of the Lord, before the new court, and said, O Lord, O Lord God of our fathers, you are, are you not the God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations, in your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham, your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying, If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house and before you, for your name is in this house, and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save. Verse 10. And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir, whom you whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy, behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you. Verse 13. Meanwhile, all Judah stood before the Lord, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. And the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jehaziel, the son of Zechariah, son of Beniah, son of Jael, son of Mataniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, in the midst of the assembly. And he said, Listen, all Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem and King Jehoshaphat, thus says the Lord to you, do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours, but God's. Tomorrow go down against them. Behold, they will come up by the ascent of Ziz. You will find them at the end of the valley, east of the wilderness of Jeruel. You will not need to fight in this battle. Stand firm, hold your position, and see the salvation on your behalf, O Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid, and do not be dismayed. Tomorrow go out against them, and the Lord will be with you. Then Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground, and all Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell down before the Lord, worshiping the Lord. I'd like to make a point here. They had just received word from this prophet that they're supposed to again not fight, stand firm, and wait on the Lord. I would under I would I would I would venture to guess that the people here, although they were obeying God, they had no clue what was going to happen. But what did they do? Even without understanding, they worshipped. They worshipped. Verse 19. And the Levites and the Kohathites and the Korathites stood up to praise the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice. And they rose early in the morning and went out into the wilderness of Tekoah. And when they went out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem, believe in the Lord your God, and you will be established. Believe his prophets, and you will succeed. And when he had taken counsel with the people, he appointed those who were to sing to the Lord and praise him in the holy attire as they went before the army. So they appointed singers to go before the army. How do you think those singers felt? Do you think they felt pretty exposed? They probably did. To praise in the holy attire, and they as they went before the army and say, Give thanks to the Lord for his steadfast love, it does forever. And they and when they had begun to sing and praise the Lord, sorry, and when they had begun to sing and praise, the Lord set an ambush against the men of Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, who had come against Judah, so that they were routed. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir. What just happened? The three allies, all of a sudden there was two against one, one of their own allies. 23. For the men of Ammon and Moab rose against the inhabitants of Mount Seir, devoting them to destruction. And when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, they all helped to destroy one another. You talk about chaos. The armies that were coming against Judah self-destroyed. Verse 24 When Judah came to the watchtower of the wilderness, they looked toward the horde, and behold, there were dead bodies lying on the ground. None had escaped. When Jehoshaphat and his people came to take their spoil, they found among them in great numbers goods, clothing, and precious things, which they took for themselves until they could carry no more. They were three days in taking the spoil, it was so much. On the fourth day they assembled in the valley of Barakah, for there they blessed the Lord. Therefore the name of that place has been called the Valley of Barakah to this day. Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat at their head, returning to Jerusalem with joy, for the Lord had made them rejoice over their enemies. They came to Jerusalem with harps and lyres and trumpets to the house of the Lord. And the fear of God came on all the kingdoms of the countries when they heard that the Lord had fought against the enemies of Israel. So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet, for his God gave him rest all around.

Jesus Calms The Storm

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Turn your Bibles to Mark chapter four. The Gospel of Mark chapter four. To give a little bit of context to this passage here. This is where the disciples and Jesus were in a boat and they were heading to the other side. So, what is the other side? The side that they started off on was the west side of the Sea of Galilee. And it was a side in which they were familiar. It was a side where Jesus did a lot of his teaching. They knew a lot of the people there. Most of the people were Jews. And going to the other side, and if we read, if we go into chapter 5, we see that they came to the other side of the sea to the country of the Garrisons. And the country of the Garoshines was basically a foreign country, although it was just on the other side of the body of water. It was a country where there were a lot of Gentiles. It was a country where there was a lot of pagan worship. It was a country where it was looked at as unclean. So there was a lot of swine. Already, I assume, uneasy of where they're heading to. And here there's a storm that comes up. So this is the setting of this story. Mark chapter 4, starting in verse 35. On that day when evening had come, he, Jesus, said to them, the disciples, let us go across to the other side. And leaving the crowd, they took with the they took him with them in the boat, just as he was, and other boats were with him. And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion, and they woke him and said, Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing? And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. And he said to them, Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith? And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, and said to one another, Who then is this that even the wind and the sea obey him? In the three stories that I that we just read, I'd like to open it up just briefly. What are some of the threads, the familiar or similar threads that you see? Anyone? Fear worship. The command to be still. Yep, to have peace. Thank you. You hit you hit a lot of the threads that followed through these stories.

Psalm 46 And Letting Go

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Now I'd like to take us to Psalm forty-six. Turn your Bibles to Psalm forty-six. A very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble at its swelling. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God and the holy habitation of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She shall not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. The nations they rage, the kingdoms totter, he utters his voice, the earth melts. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear. He burns the chariots with fire. Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our fortress. And then it says, Selah. And take just a few seconds to just recall what we just read. Be still and know that I am God. In this context, as a psalmist penned these words, the word still in the Hebrew in this context does not mean just being quiet. But the meaning of the word in this context means stop striving, cease fighting. Let go of control. God is essentially saying, stop trying to do it on your own. I am in control. And at the end, I will be exalted. In Exodus chapter 14, God specifically says that I will be glorified. The Egyptians being abolished will bring me glory. I'm going to let happen what I'm going to let happen in order to bring me glory. After describing chaos and conflict in the first nine verses, God all of a sudden speaks directly to us. I'm going to rephrase Psalm 46, verse 10, and I'm going to paraphrase it like this: In the middle of chaos, fear, and conflict, stop striving and recognize that I am ultimately, I God, and all am ultimately in control, and I will be exalted. God is saying, I will fight for you. You need only let go. Folks, how hard is it to let go? There is vulnerability in letting go. I know I've done this exercise before, maybe not here, but I'd like for all of us to, with an empty hand, clench your fist. Do it together here. Clench your fist for ten seconds. Quite knuckle it. Now slowly open it up. Which feels better? Hanging on. Or opening up and letting go. Over the years, I have literally had to do that exercise as I'm driving my truck. Or if there's something that I'm struggling with, just I just want to do it on my own power. To just do that exercise and open up. Let go. This morning, stillness isn't weakness. Stillness is not passivity. Stillness is not being passive. It's trusting God's power and not our own. God can calm the storm in our hearts, even if everything out around us is still raging. Do you believe that this morning? I'd like to just do a brief recap of the stories that I read, and then I like to finish up in Philippians 4 in internalizing

Recap And Personal Reflection

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this. Recap of Exodus 14: Israel is trapped between Pharaoh's army and the Red Sea. There's panic, there's fear, and there's no visible escape. God gives instructions to Moses. Tell the people don't fight, don't run, don't panic, stand still and watch me work. How hard is that? Wow. Psalm 46:10, be still, let go, give up control, stop fighting and know that I am God. The Lord told Moses in these words, you need only be silent. Second Chronicles 20, a massive enemy coalition coming against Judah. The nation is outnumbered and overwhelmed. Fear spreads, very similar to the Red Sea situation. Through the prophet, God tells them, Don't fight, stand firm. Watch what I will do. The same pattern as Exodus 14. Overwhelming situation. Stand still, and God delivers a victory. It is interesting that in Jehoshaphat's situation, God sends worshipers beforehand. And I want to believe they actually worship afterward as well. Victory comes without Judah lifting a sword. God had the armies self-destruct. Then in Mark 4, the disciples are terrified. The boat is being swamped by waves. They're already on edge because of where they're heading to. Jesus says, peace, be still. Directly speaking to the storm, although indirectly, possibly to them. Immediately the storm obeys him. Not only does God, not only can God call us to be still, he has the authority over the storms around us as well. I'd like to take 30 seconds for all of us to just reflect. Where is your storm today? What would it take? What would it look like for you for me to pause and let God act rather than trying to fix it all myself? Take 30 seconds to just reflect. Where is that in my life right now?

Philippians 4 And Inner Peace

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I invite you to turn your Bibles to Philippians four. Philippians four. And I'm gonna zoom in on verses six and seven. Verses six and seven. Philippians four, verse six. This is Paul speaking. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. The three other passages that we looked at this morning, these were all external situations. These were all external happenings to where there was supernatural happenings that took care of the situation. The Red Sea in Exodus, the nations raging in Psalm 46, the armies attacking in 2 Chronicles, and the storm on the Sea of Galilee in Mark 4. Here in Philippians, Paul brings it inwardly, internally. Folks, this morning, when we're in the situations in any given situation, the battlefield for us is in our heart and in our mind. And Paul says, if we can bring it by prayer, if we can release it by letting go, then we will have a peace that surpasses all understanding. We don't need to understand in order to experience the peace that he says will guard your heart and mind. What does stillness look like in everyday life? Be still is no longer abstract. It becomes, don't be anxious. Pray instead of panic. Thank God even before the outcomes change. According to Philippians 4, verses 6 and 7, there's three things that I like to look at very quickly that can help us to be still in the midst of our storms. The first one is simply pray. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, earnest prayer. Keep asking, keep begging God, keep bringing it. Folks, this morning, when we pray, then we more naturally release control by handing it over to God. And by releasing control of the situation, God allows us to experience that peace even if we don't understand. Paul says the peace of God will guard your hearts and minds. The word guard is a military term. God's peace stands watch over our mind if we allow that, if we allow and accept his peace. Too often I don't accept his peace because I think I have to figure it out. If it doesn't make sense in my mind, or if I don't see the outcome,

Practicing Stillness In Daily Life

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even if I try to give it to God, if I don't see the outcome, and if I don't understand, I don't partake of that peace. What we're talking about this morning is easily said, but it is really difficult to do because of our human nature. We are doers, and I am a lot better at doing than I am at being. But this morning, my encouragement to you is if you find yourself in the midst of the storm, and if you're not in that storm right now, praise God. Unfortunately, I have bad news for you. Those storms will probably come. But when you find yourself in that storm, be still. And be still by letting go. Again, pray and ask God to take control. And by asking God to take control, I'm relinquishing my control. And by releasing my control, I can experience the peace even when I don't understand. In conclusion, to be still is to stop striving in our own strength. Whether that means standing in place or maybe pausing in fear, or it means surrendering control or trusting God to calm that storm so we can watch him move and experience his peace. If you find yourself in one of those situations this morning, open up that hand and let God take the weight of it. And bask and accept the peace that comes through that, even if you don't

Closing Encouragement And Prayer

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understand, even if you don't know the outcome. Let's pray. Our Father God, this morning, thank you for your word. Thank you for the examples and the encouragement that we can get out of your word of things that happened long ago and things that are still happening today. Lord, this morning we want to open our hands and let you be in control of any situation, whatever that might be, and to really allow us to see what it means to be still before you, to give you total control of any situation, but then allow ourselves to bask into that through that in that peace, even if we don't understand. So, Lord, we commit this into your hand. I pray that you might grant the increase. I pray this on your name. Amen.