00:00Hello everyone, my name is William Chambers. It is always, always, always good to be here with you all.
00:06It is always, always, always a pleasure to look in the Word with everyone.
00:11That being said, let us look in the text. Today, if I had a title for today's message, I would
00:16call it
00:17Be Still. God is Already in Control.
00:23Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the heathen. I will be exalted in
00:31the earth.
00:32So this text is giving us a command to stop striving. Be still. Stop striving. Know that I am God.
00:43When life becomes unpredictable for us, when life becomes uncertain for us, we want to control it.
00:50When trouble comes, we try to rush in to fix things. We panic. We try to force solutions.
00:57We obsess over how things are going to turn out.
01:01But the Bible is telling us there comes a time when uncertain and unpredictable things we can do nothing about.
01:08Quit trying to make unpredictable and uncertain things predictable and certain.
01:13Our flesh wants movement. Our flesh wants control.
01:18And often we make things worse because we refuse to be still.
01:23We try to fix things that we cannot fix.
01:27We have a striving heart.
01:30A striving heart says, everything depends on me.
01:35This text is telling us to have a still heart that says, God is able.
01:42It's not dependent on me. God is able.
01:46We oftentimes wear ourselves out trying to fix what only God can do.
01:51Only God can change hearts.
01:53Only God can control outcomes.
01:55Only God can guarantee what happens in tomorrow.
01:59So the text tells us to be still.
02:03Stillness means recognizing our human limitations and recognizing God's divine sovereignty.
02:11He is sovereign.
02:12Our peace begins when we get off the throne of our lives and put God in his proper place.
02:21Help us, God, because some battles in life cause us to take action.
02:24Some battles in life cause us to fight, labor, endure.
02:29But then there's other battles that cause for us to trust and surrender.
02:33Lord, help us to know the difference.
02:36The things that we cannot fix.
02:38We got to give those things unto God and place them in his hands.
02:44So this text is calling us to stop striving.
02:46But it's also calling us to remember who God is.
02:52One of our greatest struggles in life is spiritual forgetfulness.
02:58We oftentimes, when trouble comes into our life, we forget how faithful God has been to us.
03:04We forget how God has delivered us from so many things.
03:08We forget how his hand helped us out of so much.
03:11And this text is calling us to remember.
03:14It says, know that I am God.
03:17I want you to know that because fear oftentimes magnifies the problems that we face.
03:24It magnifies the problem so much in our life that we make it bigger than God.
03:28We're thinking about it more than God.
03:30It's on our heart more than God.
03:32And God said, I don't want problems on the throne of your life.
03:35I want to be on the throne of your life.
03:37Quit making that problem huger than me.
03:40Oh, I am so guilty of this.
03:42I need to repent right now, Lord.
03:44Help me.
03:45This is why scripture repeatedly tells us to remember.
03:50It tells us to remember God's words.
03:53Remember God's promises.
03:55Remember God's power.
03:56And remember his character.
03:58Remember God in times of trouble.
04:02Be still and know that I am God.
04:06In the middle of your instability.
04:08In the middle of your problem.
04:10In the middle of your uncertainty.
04:12God says, know that I am God.
04:15Knowing God deeply changes.
04:17How you respond to trouble.
04:19God said, I want your response to trouble to deeply change.
04:23I want you to be in stillness because you know who I am.
04:28The believer can rest.
04:30Not because life is easy.
04:32You can rest.
04:33Not because it's easy.
04:34Not because things are manageable.
04:36But because God is sovereign.
04:40Be still and know that I am God.
04:43Sovereign just means reigns over all.
04:47He's sovereign.
04:49So the Bible tells us to be still and know that he is God.
04:51And know that God's victory is certain.
04:55It says, I will be exalted among the heathen.
05:01I will be exalted in the earth.
05:03I will be exalted.
05:05The world may appear chaotic.
05:08But God said, my victory is final.
05:11My victory is already settled.
05:14Though nations may rage.
05:16Though you see sin running rampant.
05:18Though people rebel against me.
05:20Though evil seems powerful.
05:22I still will be exalted.
05:26God has given us a reason why we should be still.
05:28Because God said, because I'm going to win in the end.
05:30No matter what it looks like.
05:31I'm going to get glory out of the situation.
05:34No matter what we're in.
05:35God is going to get some glory out of that.
05:37All things work together for the good of those who love the Lord.
05:40God said, I'm going to get the final word.
05:44Believers, believers can rest because God's glory does not depend on human cooperation.
05:50Whether they cooperate with me or not.
05:53Whether things look like they're going well or not.
05:55My victory, I will be exalted.
05:58My victory does not depend on people.
06:01This is the language of a divine sovereign.
06:04I am sovereign.
06:06I'm speaking and telling you I shall.
06:08I will be exalted.
06:11One reason we can stop striving is because God is able to glorify himself in any situation we face.
06:21God said, I don't need things to look victorious for me to be victorious.
06:24God said, I can be glorified in weakness.
06:28I can be glorified while you're waiting.
06:30I can be glorified while you're suffering.
06:33I can be glorified while you're in pain.
06:36Oh, I can be glorified in impossible situations that look impossible to you.
06:40I can be glorified when the door seems closed to you.
06:44Oh, I can be glorified in impossible, seemingly impossible situations.
06:49It don't look, have to look like it's successful.
06:52Oh, help us to know that nothing stops God's victory.
06:57The believer's peace is in knowing that God shall win.
07:04Be still and know that God was spoken unto the Israelites as they had come to the Red Sea.
07:12And it looked like Pharaoh was coming.
07:14And they did not know how they were going to get across.
07:16God was still in control.
07:18And if you know the story, God made a way.
07:20If you know the story, God got the victory.
07:22The enemies of God's people were destroyed.
07:24Boy, if you know the story, God said, any situation, I can get victory in.
07:30Much of our fear comes from believing that everything depends on us.
07:35This text is speaking against that.
07:37God saying much of the victory does not depend on human effort.
07:41The final outcome is in my hands.
07:47This means that evil in our lives don't have the final say.
07:51This means that chaos in our lives does not have the final say.
07:54This means that fear in our lives does not have the final say.
07:57God has the final say.
07:59I shall be exalted amongst the heathen.
08:02When we're talking about God being exalted, we're talking about that God will be honored.
08:05God will be lifted high.
08:07God will be magnified.
08:09God will be recognized by all.
08:11And the fullness of God's exaltation is ultimately revealed in the Christ.
08:18The cross appeared like it was the feast unto men.
08:21But it was the greatest display of God's victory in the midst of defeat.
08:27You may look like you're defeated, but God shall get some victory no matter what the situation looks like.
08:34That's why the text says be still and know that I am God, that I am in control,
08:39that I am sovereign over everything in your life.
08:42Know who I am.
08:44Know that I will get the victory.
08:45Help us, God, to do this.
08:47In Jesus' name we pray and say, amen.
09:09Amen.
09:10Amen.
09:12Amen.
09:13Amen.
09:16Amen.
