The LORD's Day, February 25, 2007

When God Is Silent

Psalm 74

We pray for people to come to the LORD. It doesn’t seem that anything is happening. They remain indifferent to the things of God and reject our testimony.

We pray for a person to be healed and they get worse or they go to be with the LORD. There is a silence in our souls.

We hope for circumstances to change in our nation or world and they don’t.

We are facing a decision and we ask God to guide us but there is seemingly no response. What do we do?

There are times when it appears that the LORD is doing to us what Asaph described in verse 11: Why do you hold back Your hand, your right hand? Take it from the folds of Your garment and destroy them. As we journey along the road to heaven there are times when we enjoy great fellowship with the LORD There are times of glory and bliss and thanksgiving. There are mountain peaks that we experience and it seems as if we could stay there forever like Peter on Mount Hermon. But the work of God is not done on mountains only, the greatest work is done in the valleys. It is in the valleys of life that the LORD changes us inwardly.

One such Valley is the Valley of the Shadow of Death. It can be very silent The silence of God in the death of a loved one can be almost deafening.

Fellowship can be pleasant and it can be difficult. If you pray what Paul prayed in Philippians 3.10-11 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead, that fellowship can be painful and sorrowful and sometimes laced with God’s silence. Remember part of Jesus’ sufferings was the cry, “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?” I want to come back to that a little later. Let us just acknowledge now that to pray that prayer is to ask the LORD to allow you to go through some of that sense that Jesus had of abandonment by God, the Father Himself.

There is ample scriptural evidence beyond this Psalm that we may encounter times when as Aspah laments in verse 9: We are given no miraculous signs; no prophets are left, and none of us knows how long this will be. No evidence of God’s work present work, no Word from God, no idea how long it will last.

What do you do when God is silent?

1. Go back in History and see the His Hand. vs. 12-15

O God our Help in Ages Past Our Hope in Years to Come

There have been times when the LORD moved and moved mightily on our behalf. Go back over these and give Him the glory

All of us have experienced times when we received answers to prayer. We have gotten glimpses of God’s Hand working providentially. Go back to those That is what the Psalmist is doing here.

Remember times when heaven seemed so close, when prayer was immediately answered, when God stepped in and intervened. Remember times when He sent messengers to you in a note or a word of encouragement or in a song. Get those notes out and reread them!

Remember the people He has brought into your life and that are now with Him. The memory of the righteous will be a blessing.

Remember times when God was silent before and then He spoke. He will answer you all in His good time He will come again at the time He has appointed.

Trace His Hand in your life.

When God is silent...
2. Go Out and Look at Creation

*Look up
at the heavens

Isaiah 40.26 Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength, not one of them is missing.
Sun moon and stars in their courses above

He has named all the stars The are monuments and memorials

*Look around
at the seasons
Great is Thy Faithfulness Summer and winter and springtime and harvest

Ask yourself: Who made all this? The LORD God Almighty He is the Maker of heaven and earth

*Look at the birds and the blooms. Luke 12.24-31
God takes care of them. God will take care of you He is taking care of you You have food and clothing and shelter. This, as we have often spoke about, is a great part of the spiritual battle we are in today.
The hymn writer picked up on it in the song, “Count Your Blessings”. When you look at others with their land and gold think that Christ has promised you His wealth untold We need to look back at what God has promised us. Once again the influence of the health and wealth false teachers have made us think we need a lot more than we do Most of us have more possessions than we can handle now.

The prayer of the sage in Proverbs needs to be prayed by us today Proverbs 30.7-9: Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die: Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD ?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

Food and clothing is what we need to live. Paul writes to Timothy, I Timothy 6.6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.


When God is silent...
3. Go To His Word and Hear Him Speak

We have the Word of God. He has spoken. We can go to it for encouragement and help in times when He is silent.

Read the Psalms See yourself in the Psalms Live in the Psalms

Take the Word you have memorized and repeat it. Sing the scriptures. Sing with faith and hope in the LORD

Take notes on messages you hear and write down the things that impress you and when you are going through tough times get them out and read them

Read your favorite verses and let what God has spoken speak to you

When God is silent...
4. Don’t complain. Wait for Him Isaiah 40.27-31

As we said before He is the Creator He is in control. He is in charge.

He never grows weary. We do not have this concept. About the closest we can get to that is the energy of a child when we are worn out from watching them. I see it more- much more with my granddaughter than I did with my own girls when they were growing up. Last week when her cousins came and they ran around and around and she kept going while I finally sat down on the sofa, Someone said that classic line, “Where does she get all that energy? ” But on the way home she fell asleep- even youths grow tired and weary But the LORD never does He who watches over Israel neither slumbers nor sleeps
His understanding is way beyond us.
When God is silent don’t try and understand why They will be enough people coming up with the wrong reasons all around you Remember Job None of those around him got it right

Trusting Him is not synonymous with understanding Him. It is a trait of a child to ask why to everything. When we do it, it is childish

He gives strength to those whose hope is in Him This is an action and a state of being. If you hope in the LORD you will receive strength. If your hope is anything else you will be let down.

There will be times in our lives when God is silent. Perhaps this morning you are going through one of those times in your life. Maybe like Asaph you are crying out and you have no idea how long this silence will last.

It easy to become discouraged and downcast during times like this. It is easy to see other believers as having very little problems. It easy to feel my situation is different, so very different that I am all alone.

These are all feelings and I would not place anything on them. They are deceiving. They come and go. Keep your faith in the LORD and in His Word today

We often keep this situation to ourselves. Others have gone through this and it is a good thing to share this with people you have confidence in. They may not be able to fully understand but they can pray for you and you can share the things your situations had in common.

Finally, come with me to the cross this morning. Jesus lived a perfect sinless life. He is on the cross dying for you and me. One of the haunting sentences He makes is, “My God, My God, Why have You forsaken Me?” Scholars have sought to dig into that verse. Much of it is beyond my understanding. Nevertheless it what Jesus was experiencing. There was no answer recorded- just silence from heaven. We are called on by Jesus to take up our crosses daily. This can mean that from time to time we go through the fellowship of sharing in His Sufferings and experience, like He did to some very small degree, the silence of God. When we do:

Go back in history and see His Hand.
Go out and look at His Creation.
Go to His Word and hear Him speak.
Don’t complain! Wait for Him!

The LORD’s Day
February 25, 2007

We Worship In Singing
We Worship In Prayer
We Worship In Hearing the Word of God
When God Is Silent Psalm 74

*Tithes and Offerings can be placed in the box at the rear of the sanctuary*
The cardboard church in the foyer is for Alabaster Offerings. All money given goes directly to build
hospitals, churches, parsonages and Christian schools in world areas.
Please join us for coffee and bagels downstairs if you are visiting today.
V

This Week
Bible Reading Psalm 75-77
Monday- Men’s Prayer Meeting- 6:30am
Wednesday- Bible Study- 7:30pm at the parsonage Psalm 75-77
Thursday- Bible Study- 10:30am at the church Psalm 75-77
Next Lord’s Day-
Morning Prayer- 10am in the church basement
Morning Worship- 10:30am(Sunday School for Children) The LORD’s Supper Served
Spanish Service- 4pm

In Your Prayers For All of God’s People
Remember the men serving in the armed forces: Bradley, Julia Bujold’s grandson with Special Forces in Afghanistan, home on leave right now, Ken Brown, Pastor’s friend’s son on his third tour of Iraq recently sustained injuries. Pray for his safety. Matthew Klaus, brother of Good Shepherd parent in Iraq as a firefighter for Haliburton... Pray for them and the others away from their families. Praise God for keeping David Louis, Jake Morgan and Tom Hindelang safe during their times in Iraq. Christine Frankland, Katharina’s as she continues the radiation and Pastor’s friend Rudy undergoing radiation as well. Sonya, Albert and Anka’s niece in Canada waiting for biopsy results. Please pray for the whole family. Kathy, Ziggy and Margot’s daughter-in-law, under the doctor’s care for a lifelong condition. Please pray for healing for all of these. Praise God for a good report on Judy Mucci. Please continue to pray for her.
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*A number of nursery school families are going through difficult times. If you would like to sponsor a child presently at Good Shepherd, see Alice or call the school at 666-7503
*If you would like to help with the Sunday Morning Bagel ministry see Alice Gordon.

Notes on Our Time in the Word of God This Morning:

When God is Silent
Psalm 74

Pastor’s messages are now available on the Internet
http://thesundaymorningmessage.blogspot.com/
Church e-mail: bayshorenaz@rock.com
Church Phone: 631-969-1730


*1314 Pine Acres Boulevard, Bay Shore, Long Island, NY 11706-5436*
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