09/09/2024
The Importance of A Noise Cancelling Lifestyle
While hiding in a cave on the mountain the word of God asks Elijah, ‘What are you doing here?’ Elijah proceeds to launch into a rather whiney rant along the lines of “No one likes me, Everybody hates me, and all my hard work and sacrifice on your behalf, Lord, has fallen on deaf ears.”
So God tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain because he is going to give Elijah the greatest and most empowering gift of all—God is going to be present with his servant.
Then there are a series of spectacular, nearly apocalyptic events: there is a stone-shattering wind, there is a mountain-trembling earthquake, and there is a all-consuming wild fire. But the scripture says, God was not present in any of these attention-grabbing displays of power. Then there is, depending on your translation, “the sound of sheer silence,” a still small voice, or a gentle whisper. God makes himself known to Elijah—not in the engaging, fast paced, awe-inspiring ways that he is used to—God comes to his prophet in utter silence, wrapped around a whisper.
And here’s what most people miss about this story: Elijah can’t hear it. Elijah misses it. Elijah fails to recognize it for what it truly is. God offers the rarest and most transformative gift God can—his literal presence with one of his creatures—but Elijah is so wired into the impressive displays of power that he is unable to receive the gift God has given him.
In Shaina’s children’s sermon Sunday, she pointed out how many loud and demanding noises, voices, and sounds we are subjected to all the time. When the radio’s playing, the podcast is casting, the TV is blaring, the neighbor’s car alarm is squawking—it is hard to hear our own children, spouse, or friends. Perceiving a whisper is practically impossible. Yet that is exactly how God chooses to make himself known to us—at least some of the time. Woe to us if we consistently fail to turn down and tune out the distractions and really listen. Woe to us if we too fail to hear God’s word or appreciate God’s presence.
Archived Posts
What’s Saved Is Often Lost
Here’s the benediction we didn’t have time for yesterday (Sunday, November 3). It’s one of my favorite quotations (portions of a newspaper column). I hope you find it as inspiring as I have
Leftovers Continued…
It’s not just the fact that God is un-impressed by our leftovers, it actually goes deeper than that. In a sense, Jesus is passionately and purposely opposed to anything leftover. To be a follower of Jesus Christ is to work diligently to make sure that in the end nothing at all is left over.
Less Stuff and Fewer Wants
Here’s a point I left off Sunday’s sermon due to time and length. In dealing with an Entitled mindset it is very helpful if you can Reduce Materialism and Consumerism.
Entitlement Can Hit You in Ways You Might Never Suspect
The people of God (Israel) were chosen by God to fulfill a unique calling—to be a light to all the other nations of the nations of the world. God chose them because of their willingness to be used by Him for His purposes. But after a while the Israelites began to think that they were chosen--not because with God they could fulfill a special purpose--but because they were a special people, uniquely favored and loved for who they were.
What Kind of Love Do You Have For God?
In Sunday’s message about Job, I talked about how important relationship is when it comes to getting answers to our questions about God. The question that Job is really being tested on is this: can he love God for who God is—or does he only love God for what God can do for him?
The Importance of A Noise Cancelling Lifestyle
While hiding in a cave on the mountain the word of God asks Elijah, ‘What are you doing here?’ Elijah proceeds to launch into a rather whiney rant along the lines of “No one likes me, Everybody hates me, and all my hard work and sacrifice on your behalf, Lord, has fallen on deaf ears.”
And here’s what most people miss about this story:
So Is People Pleasing Such a Bad Thing?
This is a fair question, based on Sunday’s sermon. Wanting to make others happy isn’t a bad thing in itself. It’s what it does to the one who is compelled to please—someone with a compulsion to win the approval of others.