Absolute Silence please!

Unit 2: Brass Tacks of

the Christian Walk

Unit Aim: To show students the importance of basic

Christian fundamentals.

Lesson 4

Key Verse: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).

Picture of the interior of the Centre Friend Meetinghouse, in Centreville, New Castle County, Delaware.

Genesis 2:2

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he

had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

And on the seventh day God ended his work which he

had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.

“But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all

the earth keep silence before him”

(Habakkuk 2:20).

1

“The more you talk, the more likely you are to sin. If you are wise, you will keep

quiet” (Proverbs 10:19, Good News Bible).

2

“Be silent, O all flesh, before the LORD: for

he is raised up out of his holy habitation”

(Zechariah 2:13).

3

“Make it your goal to live a quiet life, minding your

own business and working with your hands, just as we instructed you

before”

(I Thessalonians 4:11, New Living Translation).

4

“A fool uttereth all his mind: but a wise

man keepeth it in till afterwards”

(Proverbs 29:11).

5

“Then a spirit passed before my face; the hair of my flesh stood up: It stood still, but I could not discern the form

thereof: an image was before mine eyes, there was silence,

and I heard a voice . . .”

(Job 4:15-16).

6

“Let me not be ashamed, O LORD; for I have called

upon thee: let the wicked be ashamed, and let them

be silent in the grave”

(Psalm 31:17).

7

“A time to rend, and a time to sew; a

time to keep silence, and a time

to speak”

(Ecclesiastes 3:7).

8

“Why do we sit still? assemble yourselves, and let us enter into the defenced cities, and let us be

silent there: for the LORD our God hath put us to silence, and given us water of gall to drink,

because we have sinned against the LORD”

(Jeremiah 8:14).

9

“The elders of the daughter of Zion sit upon the ground, and

keep silence: they have cast up dust upon their heads; they have

girded themselves with sackcloth: the virgins of

Jerusalem hang down their heads to the ground”

(Lamentations 2:10).

10

“Therefore the prudent shall keep

silence in that time; for it is an evil time”

(Amos 5:13).

11

“But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself,

and to God”

(I Corinthians 14:28).

12

“Even fools are thought to be wise when they keep silent; when they keep their mouths shut, they

seem intelligent”

(Proverbs 17:28, NLT).

13

“And when he had opened the seventh seal,

there was silence in heaven about the space

of half an hour”

(Revelation 8:1).

14

“Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak”

(I Corinthians 14:34).

15

“Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child

that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as

a weaned child”

(Psalm 131:2).

16

“The whole earth is at rest, and is quiet: they break forth into

singing”

(Isaiah 14:7).

17

Some would argue that finding silent moments was simply easier in Bible times, when the pace of life was slower. Prophets, shepherds, and even kings could spend hours a day communing with God because there was nothing else to do.

Yet Christians today are often afraid to live at a Bible-time pace, fearing opportunities will pass them by.

Staying connected and living at a breakneck pace are considered survival skills in our high-tech society.

To respect the Sabbath would mean to miss a whole day’s worth of connections and productivity!

Many lifestyles today reveal people are

addicted to purpose.

If we are not doing, we feel meaningless.

By doing nothing, nothing is

accomplished; accomplishment means

everything.

This need to achieve has made ministerial overtime and steadfast fatigue the spiritual indicators of twenty-first-

century faithfulness.

If your ministry is not approaching burnout, you must not be living for God.

Most Christians today have no respect for inactivity because we think silence paralyzes purpose.

In silence, we discover God does not love, judge, or value us based on our activity.

By insisting on times of Sabbath, God asks us to shove away our self-developed purpose and spend a little time with Him.

Only in this communion can we find our divine worth.

Perhaps, instead of being an Apostolic’s enemy,

silence should become its closest friend. After all, what does speaking in

tongues signify?

That the Spirit of the Lord is present and that God wants to

communicate.

Communication has two parts: speaking and listening.

(1) Each student should read the information on your card.

(2) While you read, you should also be listening to your teammate read. Done correctly, you will be speaking and listening simultaneously.

How much did you comprehend of the other person’s material?

Is it hard for a person who is talking to listen?

Yes.

If a person who is talking wants to listen, what should they do?

Stop talking.

If we believe God wants to communicate with us, what does this say about speaking while we pray?

It is good that we speak to God—and that we speak to God in tongues—

but the other half of prayer requires us to listen.

Once we become listeners, what does the voice of God sound like?

Is God’s voice a deafening boom bellowed from the heights of Heaven?

Elijah’s story (I Kings 19) paints a different picture. The nation of Israel, ruled by King Ahab and Queen Jezebel, became completely corrupted by idolatry.

God sent Elijah to help His children return to Him.

In I Kings 18, Elijah successfully called heavenly fires down to destroy all the worshippers of the false god Ba’al.

Then he summoned rain to break a three-year drought.

When Ahab told wicked Jezebel about Elijah’s spiritual superpowers, she was ticked off and put a death warrant out for him.

Eventually, an angel appeared, informing Elijah that God wanted to speak to him in a certain cave on Mount Sinai.

Elijah traveled several days to get there.

Scared, Elijah ran for his life.

Upon entering the cave, God asked,

“Elijah, what are you doing here?”

Elijah ranted, “Everybody is wicked, Lord. Nobody follows you anymore. Nobody is faithful to you. I am the only one. Me and me alone! And now

they are trying to kill me, too—the last

remaining prophet of God in Israel!”

God said, “Stand here for a minute.”

As Elijah stood, the Bible says a great and strong wind came, breaking apart the rocks and tearing up the mountain,

but God was not in the wind.

After the wind, there was a mighty earthquake, and the ground shook,

but God was not in the quake.

And after the earthquake, there was a tremendous fire with flames all around,

but God was not in the flames.

So where was God?

After the mighty wind, after the thunderous earthquake, and after the engulfing flames, Elijah heard a still, small voice.

Some translators call it a gentle breeze, or a soft whisper.

Again God whispered, “Elijah, what are you doing here?”

Humbled, Elijah repeated, “I’m the only one left who loves you, Lord.”

At this point, God whispered instructions to Elijah.

1. “Go home.”

2. “Anoint Hazael to be king of Aram.”

3. “Then anoint Jehu to be king of Israel.”

4. “Anoint Elisha to be your successor as my prophet.”

5. “By the way, there are still seven thousand Israelites that have stayed faithful to me.”

The Elijah story demonstrates a potential pitfall among us. Pentecostals pray humungous prayers for mighty, sensational, spectacular miracles so that everyone will know that God is on our side and not theirs. We want to see soul-scorching fire, land-leveling earthquakes, and rock-rending whirlwinds! God could have used any of these methods to answer Elijah’s prayers; Ahab and Jezebel would have been devastated.

Yet how did God respond to Elijah?

God’s still, small voice filled the silence with the divine answer to Elijah’s prayer.

Within the stillness, Elijah receives his call to anoint two future kings and another prophet named Elisha.

If Elijah had failed to hear the still, small voice, he would have missed God’s answer to his prayer. Failure to comply

would hinder God’s plan to destroy Ba’alism.

Yet how did God respond to Elijah?

What are some common situations when people might use a “still, small voice” to communicate with one another?

romance, gentleness, respect, tenderness, secrecy, intimacy, mercy, love, understanding, how to speak to a child

Mark 6:30-32And the apostles gathered themselves together

unto Jesus, and told him all things, both what they had done, and what they had taught.

And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.

And they departed into a desert place by ship privately.

At the peak of their successes, fresh off of a sensational healing crusade, while the harvest was ripe for picking with people everywhere, Jesus invited His disciples to get away from it all and rest in a place of silence.

Instinct wants to do just the opposite. When things are going successfully, work harder; once they break down, it is time to rest.

“Wrong,” Jesus said.

“Toss away your purpose, and commune with God in the desert.”

“Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the LORD; and in his law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper” (Psalm 1:1-4).

1. “If any man speak in an unknown _________,

TONGUE

2. let it be by _________, or at the most by _________.

TWO, THREE

3. and that by course; and let one _________.

INTERPRET

4. But if there be no _________,

INTERPRETER

5. let him keep _________ in the church;

SILENCE

6. and let him speak to _________, and to _________.”

HIMSELF, GOD

I Corinthians 14:27-28If any man speak in an unknown tongue, let it be by two, or at

the most by three, and that by course; and let one interpret. But if there be no interpreter, let him keep silence in the church; and let him speak to himself, and to God.

Often, when tongues occur in a service without an interpretation, people assume that the tongues were not of God, but this passage of Scripture states otherwise. The gift of tongues acknowledges that God wants to speak. While He can choose to speak corporately through an interpreter, the gift of tongues also may clear out a space of silence where God can speak on an individual level. The silence helps direct the congregation’s focus wholeheartedly on Him.

Key Verse: “Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).

Be Still and Know!

Lesson Aim: To learn the power of

listening to God in prayer and meditating

on His Word during Bible reading.

Lesson 4