Sunday's Sermon

This may or may not be the best idea, but I hope to post sermons from each week. Maybe Nate and Maria will find them helpful alongside CWC tapes. It's nice to only preach once a week. I'd rather start with once a week and move to twice or more than to jump right in at multiple sermons/week. This week's sermon was from Psalm 62. We talked about how solitude gives God control of our lives, and how it brings clarity to the tough situations we face (such as the BIG changes to come at Parkway). Feel free to let me know if posting the whole sermon is a good idea or not. I can always just give a brief overview. Anyway, here it is.

Introduction

As you know, tomorrow is the 5-year anniversary of the bombing of the twin towers. And as you know, our lives are very different because of what happened that day. Gas prices are much higher, our military is overseas fighting a war, and we worry daily about the threat of another attack. Our Department of Homeland Security warns us about “being prepared.” Do we have enough equipment and resources to warn people or protect them? Are there terrorists here now? And we worry and worry and do all we can to stop it from happening again. It may be overdone, but it’s called “preventative care.”

It’s the same thing as going to the dentist or eye doctor regularly for a check-up. Not only are they looking for what could be wrong with your teeth or eyes, they are there to take care of you so nothing bad happens down the road.

And it’s the same thing as spending regular time with God—both in church and out of church. And I believe that many of us do take regular time to be with God. We read our Bibles, we pray, we come to church. And if we all do that, you may wonder why you need to hear this sermon. You need to hear this sermon because, while you are great at reading Scripture and coming to the Bible study, I can almost guarantee you are not that great at solitude.

Solitude is getting away from the hectic or not-so-hectic lives we lead. It’s running away from everything, whether for a few minutes or a few hours. And in that time, we seek the presence of God. Solitude is a state of mind and heart. It is seeking to hear God. Solitude is part of this preventative care too. And yet we miss it.

I’m not saying that a few hours alone and quiet will prevent all the bad things from happening. That’s impossible. The preventative care I’m talking about is being prepared for the next day, and the next day, no matter what happens. You see, spending time alone with God is essential now because the future is not predictable. You and I have no clue as to what this afternoon holds. We could be taken to the hospital, or get in a car accident, or numerous other things. And we also don’t know what God has in store for the future. He could want to use us to reach out to a friend in need, or to share Him with a stranger, or to encourage a guest to Parkway. My question is: How will we be ready for the future, whether good or bad, unless we have spent time with God first? Look at Psalm 62 with me.

"My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. How long will you assault a man? Would all of you throw him down—this leaning wall, this tottering fence? They fully intend to topple him from his lofty place; they take delight in lies. With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse.

Find rest, O my soul, in God alone; my hope comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.

Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Do not trust in extortion or take pride in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them.

One thing God has spoken, two things have I heard: that you, O God, are strong, and that you, O Lord, are loving. Surely you will reward each person according to what he has done."

Overview of the Psalm

The psalmist who wrote Psalm 62 began by saying, “My soul finds rest in God alone; my salvation comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken.” My soul finds rest literally means my soul is silent. He has come before God, surrendering control of the situation to Him. He is so confident that God is strong. There is no way he will be shaken. He is making God his foundation, thus, when the assailants come, he already knows God. Preventative care. His foundation is secure because he has been with God.

And now they come. It sounds like he is talking about another man, but from the rest of the chapter, we see knows the situation all too well for him to be speaking of someone else being attacked. He is speaking of himself as a weak man. The man is weak, like a leaning wall, and these men want to hit him when he’s down.

The words translated “throw him down” mean “murder, especially an enemy.” These men aren’t just lying and cursing, they are out for blood. And if you think about it, we have an enemy who does the same thing to us. He hits us when we’re down, piling one problem onto the next. He is a liar, but that is only a means to an end. His ultimate goal, like these assailants, is murder. And this is where time with God becomes so important. It is impossible to stand up to an enemy when you are weak, as in verse 3. But, your enemy stands no chance against you when your God is so strong.

The psalmist shows that one time with God will not suffice. To him, God is strength. And if God is strength, all the more reason to be with Him. Solitude with God will not make you a stronger person. It allows God to show His strength through you.

And this time he urges himself, “Find rest.” It is not as easy this time as it was the first, there is a real enemy. God is still strong to the psalmist. In fact, there is such a trust in God that he can tell the people, “Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.” We’ll look at the rest of the passage later. But you see how this solitude thing works. Even before these assailants came, the psalmist was silent before God. And then after they came, he did the same thing. He almost makes it look easy. If only it came that naturally to us.

Reasons Why We Won’t Spend Time In Solitude

But it doesn’t. so let me give you some reasons why it doesn’t come naturally. First, because silence is awkward. (SILENCE FOR 30 SECONDS). You didn’t like that did you. We’re so used to noise. I like to have music on when I prepare for sermons, just for some background noise. It’s our culture influencing the way we live.

Second, because we’ve tried and failed. Solitude is not about listening to God or about telling God your feelings. It’s about feeling God. And we’ve tried so many other ways to feel God, whether through worship or reading our Bible. And each avenue is a dead end. We don’t feel God. There’s no vitality in our relationship. And so we give up and assume solitude is a hoax too.

And third, because we like control. Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “One reason we can hardly bear to remain silent is that it makes us feel so helpless. We are so accustomed to relying upon words to manage and control others. If we are silent who will take control? God will take control: but we will never let Him take control until we trust Him.” When we can tell God how we feel, or explain something, we have a sense of control over it. But when we close our mouths, we feel helpless. And we’re afraid of being helpless.

Reasons Why We Must Spend Time in Solitude

First, because it brings clarity to our lives. The psalmist was a weak man. And after being quiet before God, he was able to see how weak his attackers were too. Verse 9 says, “Lowborn men are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie; if weighed on a balance they are nothing.” In reality, these assailants were nothing. The word “breath” is the same word translated “meaningless, meaningless” in Ecclesiastes. They were nothing, but it took time with God for him to realize that.

Second, because it brings clarity of who God is. All throughout the passage the psalmist declares God to be his rock, his salvation, his fortress, his hope. And at the end, he declares what he has heard from God: You O God are strong, and you O Lord are loving. When did God say this to him? In his times of solitude.

And third, because it gives control to God. If you look at it, we can’t control the future anyway. We can only control our time with God. For the psalmist, verses 3-4 were coming no matter what. I would say that if he had not been with God first, verses 5-12 would be different. Would he have hope for the future? Would he be able to tell others to trust in God? And would he realize how these men compare with Almighty God? No. He would not have been able to face this future event the way he did. And neither could we. And so, will we relinquish control? Will we give God the right to our lives and the right to our future? Will we give God control of our church and its future?

Conclusion: Practical Ways to Find Solitude

In closing, I realize it’s tough to be quiet. We hate it, and our culture screams anything but silence in our ears. We don’t practice it at church, and so many of us don’t know how to do it. So here are some practical ways for us to be quiet.

Take advantage of the little solitudes that fill our day. In the morning getting ready, or driving in our car, or walking in a state park. All these little times can be spent focusing on God.
You can also designate a place in your yard or house that is your quiet place. Discipline yourself so that your words are few. Know when to speak and when not to. Try going a day without speaking.

And finally, you could withdraw on a regular basis for three to four hours. Remember, solitude is meant to feel God. And so to get us started on this part of preventative care, let’s take five minutes to be quiet before God. After that I will pray.