Embracing Stillness: Cultivating Intimacy with God

Summary

In today's gathering, we explored the profound importance of pressing the "pause" button in our lives to cultivate a deeper relationship with God. We began by acknowledging the overwhelming busyness that often consumes our daily routines, leaving us feeling exhausted and spiritually depleted. This constant state of "anxious striving," as Solomon describes in Ecclesiastes, can lead to a life that feels meaningless if we don't intentionally make time to connect with God.

Reflecting on the life of Jesus, we see a perfect model of intentionality. Despite having the most significant mission in history, Jesus consistently withdrew from the crowds to spend time with His Heavenly Father. This intentional pause was crucial for Him to fulfill His purpose and maintain His spiritual strength. Jesus demonstrated that intimacy with God requires intentionality, a lesson that applies to our relationships with others as well.

We discussed how our value is not determined by our performance or accomplishments but by who we are in God's eyes. Just as God declared His love for Jesus before He performed any miracles, He loves us for who we are, not for what we do. This truth should liberate us from the pressure to constantly perform and remind us to be still and know that He is God.

To cultivate this intimacy, we must intentionally create space in our lives for solitude and silence, allowing us to hear God's voice. This involves setting aside time to pray, read Scripture, and simply listen. It's about shifting our focus from ourselves to God, allowing His grace to fill our lives. By doing so, we can pour out to others from a place of spiritual fullness rather than emptiness.

In conclusion, the call is to cease striving and embrace the stillness that allows us to know God more deeply. This intentional pause is not just a suggestion but a necessity for a life of spiritual abundance and peace.

Key Takeaways:

1. Intentional Pausing for Spiritual Growth: Just as Jesus withdrew to spend time with God, we must intentionally pause our busy lives to cultivate intimacy with our Heavenly Father. This intentionality is crucial for spiritual growth and maintaining a full cup from which we can pour out to others. [31:29]

2. Value Beyond Performance: Our worth is not based on our accomplishments or how well we perform. God loves us for who we are, not for what we do. This truth frees us from the pressure to constantly strive and reminds us to be still and know that He is God. [50:34]

3. Creating Space for God: To hear God's voice, we must create space in our lives for solitude and silence. This involves setting aside time to pray, read Scripture, and listen, allowing our focus to shift from ourselves to God and His grace. [54:53]

4. The Necessity of Spiritual Rest: We cannot continue to pour out to others if we do not first fill up with God's Word and Spirit. Spiritual rest and renewal are essential for living a life of abundance and peace, as Jesus modeled for us. [45:26]

5. The Power of Honest Prayer: When we are honest with God about our fears, struggles, and sins, we come face to face with the things Jesus has already died for. This honesty allows us to experience God's assurance and presence in our lives. [01:01:50]

Youtube Chapters:

- [0:00] - Welcome
- [24:22] - Introduction and Prayer for Hurricane Victims
- [26:50] - The Challenge of Slowing Down
- [28:16] - The Concept of Anxious Striving
- [30:00] - Jesus' Example of Intentional Pausing
- [32:03] - Intimacy Requires Intentionality
- [34:16] - Spending Time with God
- [36:05] - Jesus' Solitude and Prayer
- [39:17] - The Exhaustion of Daily Life
- [41:10] - The Empty Cup Syndrome
- [45:26] - The Importance of Filling Up
- [48:13] - Our Value in God's Eyes
- [50:34] - God's Love Beyond Performance
- [54:53] - Creating Space for God
- [01:01:50] - Honest Prayer and God's Assurance

Study Guide

Bible Study Discussion Guide

Bible Reading:
1. Ecclesiastes 2:22-23
2. Mark 1:35
3. Psalm 46:10

---

Observation Questions:

1. What does Solomon describe as "anxious striving" in Ecclesiastes 2:22-23, and how does it relate to our daily lives? [28:50]

2. How did Jesus model the practice of intentional pausing according to Mark 1:35? What was His purpose in doing so? [35:11]

3. In Psalm 46:10, what does it mean to "be still and know that I am God"? How does this verse challenge our modern lifestyle? [48:13]

4. What examples from the sermon illustrate the concept of "empty cup syndrome," and how does it affect our spiritual life? [39:54]

---

Interpretation Questions:

1. How does the concept of "anxious striving" in Ecclesiastes relate to the pressures of modern life, and what might Solomon be suggesting as a solution? [28:50]

2. Why is intentionality crucial for intimacy with God, as demonstrated by Jesus' actions in Mark 1:35? How does this apply to our personal relationships? [32:03]

3. What does the sermon suggest about the relationship between our value and our performance? How does this align with the message in Psalm 46:10? [50:34]

4. How does the practice of solitude and silence, as modeled by Jesus, contribute to spiritual renewal and rest? [36:05]

---

Application Questions:

1. Reflect on your daily routine. What specific steps can you take to press the "pause" button and create space for God in your life? [28:16]

2. Consider a time when you felt the pressure to perform. How can the truth that God values you for who you are, not what you do, change your perspective? [50:34]

3. Identify a specific distraction that prevents you from spending intentional time with God. What practical changes can you make to minimize this distraction? [54:53]

4. Think about a relationship in your life that could benefit from more intentionality. What is one action you can take this week to cultivate intimacy in that relationship? [32:03]

5. When was the last time you experienced spiritual rest? What practices can you incorporate into your life to ensure you are spiritually renewed and not pouring from an empty cup? [45:26]

6. How can you incorporate the practice of honest prayer into your daily routine? What fears or struggles do you need to bring before God? [01:01:50]

7. Reflect on the idea of being still and knowing God. How can you intentionally practice stillness this week, and what do you hope to gain from it? [48:13]

Devotional

Day 1: Intentional Pausing for Spiritual Renewal
In the midst of our hectic lives, it is crucial to intentionally pause and seek spiritual renewal. This involves setting aside time to connect with God, just as Jesus did. Despite His demanding mission, Jesus consistently withdrew to spend time with His Heavenly Father, demonstrating the importance of intentionality in cultivating intimacy with God. By following His example, we can maintain spiritual strength and pour out to others from a place of fullness. This intentional pause is not merely a suggestion but a necessity for spiritual growth and a life of abundance. [31:29]

"And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed." (Mark 1:35, ESV)

Reflection: What specific time and place can you set aside this week to intentionally pause and seek God’s presence?

Day 2: Embracing Our True Value
Our worth is not determined by our achievements or how well we perform. God loves us for who we are, not for what we do. This truth liberates us from the pressure to constantly strive and reminds us to be still and know that He is God. Just as God declared His love for Jesus before He performed any miracles, He loves us unconditionally. Embracing this truth allows us to live freely, knowing our value is secure in God's eyes. [50:34]

"But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8, ESV)

Reflection: In what areas of your life do you feel pressured to perform for acceptance? How can you rest in the truth of God’s unconditional love today?

Day 3: Creating Space for Divine Connection
To hear God's voice, we must create space in our lives for solitude and silence. This involves setting aside time to pray, read Scripture, and listen, allowing our focus to shift from ourselves to God and His grace. By doing so, we open ourselves to divine connection and guidance. This practice of creating space is essential for spiritual growth and aligning our lives with God's will. [54:53]

"But I have calmed and quieted my soul, like a weaned child with its mother; like a weaned child is my soul within me." (Psalm 131:2, ESV)

Reflection: What distractions can you eliminate this week to create more space for solitude and silence with God?

Day 4: The Necessity of Spiritual Rest
We cannot continue to pour out to others if we do not first fill up with God's Word and Spirit. Spiritual rest and renewal are essential for living a life of abundance and peace. Jesus modeled this by withdrawing to spend time with God, ensuring His spiritual cup was full. By prioritizing spiritual rest, we can serve others from a place of strength and overflow, rather than exhaustion and emptiness. [45:26]

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28, ESV)

Reflection: How can you incorporate moments of spiritual rest into your daily routine to ensure you are serving from a place of fullness?

Day 5: The Power of Honest Prayer
When we are honest with God about our fears, struggles, and sins, we come face to face with the things Jesus has already died for. This honesty allows us to experience God's assurance and presence in our lives. By bringing our true selves before God, we open the door to healing and transformation. Honest prayer is a powerful tool for deepening our relationship with God and experiencing His grace. [01:01:50]

"Search me, O God, and know my heart! Try me and know my thoughts!" (Psalm 139:23, ESV)

Reflection: What fears or struggles have you been hesitant to bring before God? How can you practice honest prayer today to invite His healing presence into those areas?

Quotes

1) "When you think about Jesus, would you say that Jesus had a lot to do? Would you say that Jesus must have had a lot on his mind during those three years? I think so. I think so. I mean, start with the fact that he knew from the very start, you know, what the end of his life was going to entail. You know, think about all he had to do in three years until the end of his life. I mean, he had to recruit 12 disciples. He had to teach them the kingdom values. He had to get them ready to carry his message once he went back to heaven. And he had to do all that while healing the sick and raising the dead, cleansing the temple, showing God's love to everyone, even the ones who hated him. That wasn't easy for him. Just like it's not easy for us. Otherwise, he had to endure persecution and obey every single letter of the law. And finally, his last task was to give up his life on the cross. And he did that for the sins of the world. And three days later, he came back to life as victorious over death, hell, and the grave." [30:00] (71 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

2) "He consistently and intentionally disconnected from the crowd. And he pulled away from all the distractions. And he drowned out all the noise of life. Why did he do that? If you're taking notes, write this down. Why did he do that? Because there's no such thing as intimacy without intentionality. There's no such thing. It just doesn't work. Intimacy just doesn't happen. And if you're married, you know that, don't you? It doesn't just happen. You've got to pursue it. You've got to go after it. You won't see any intimacy in your marriage unless you go after it. Unless you're intentional about it. If you and I just let things happen in our schedule, we'll never, ever get close and intimate with our spouse." [32:03] (56 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

3) "You can never busy your way into your child's heart. Did you know that? You can never busy your way into your spouse's heart. And more important, you can never busy your way into God's heart. You just can't do it. Write this down. You can never be close to God unless you spend time with God. You can't be close to God unless you spend time with God. I promise you that I've never met anyone who was close to God, anyone who exudes the fruit of the Spirit, the love, the joy, the peace, the patience, the kindness, the next three, okay? I've never met anyone who's intimate with God, who didn't spend time with God. And it's more than just a quick five-minute devotional, isn't it? And nothing wrong with a five-minute devotional, for sure. But I'm talking about spending time with God, pressing pause on your life, and sitting down and listening to God." [34:16] (70 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

4) "You can't give out what you don't have, can you? You just can't do it. That's why there's a high percentage of pastors that leave the ministry after 10 years, 15 years, because they have not figured out how to rest. They give, they give, they give. And that's no different than you, at your job. But I don't want to burn out after, well, it's already been more than 15 years, but I don't want to burn out. How about you? I don't want to burn out. That's why Jesus Christ, the Son of God, came to earth. And He came to earth with the most important assignment in history. He modeled what you and I need to do in order to keep our cup full. He was a perfect example of what we need to do to stay spiritually full. Because He intentionally paused. Say paused. Paused. Say it again, let's just be quiet." [42:45] (72 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

5) "Your value as a person does not depend on your performance. You can't busy your way into value. Why? Because your value has already been determined by God. In fact you are so valuable that God sent His only Son ordered on earth just for you. Just for you. Psalm 46 doesn't say be busy and know that I am God. Quite the contrary. What does it say? It says be still. Be still and know that I am God. Why don't we say that together. One, two, three. Be still and know I am God. Not be responsible and hope that I am God. Be disciplined and pray that I am God. No. It says to be still. Cease striving. You know what be still in the Hebrew means? It means be still. No. It actually means to let go. Let go. Stop holding on so tight. Let go. Cease striving. And know that I am God." [48:13] (93 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

6) "See God didn't love Jesus for what He'd done. He loved His Son because of who He was. And that's exactly how God loves you. He doesn't love you for your performance. He doesn't love you because of how pretty you are or how handsome you are. He doesn't love you because you're such a great husband. He doesn't love you because you're valuable to Him. Jeremiah 1.5 says before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart. That's just hard to wrap your mind around isn't it? Before God knew us before we were even born God set us apart." [50:34] (53 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

7) "You and I our only responsibility is to be there as quiet and as simply and honestly as we can and when you do here's what's going to happen the Bible says the focus is going to shift from you to God from you to God how many of you focus on yourself more than anything else yeah my guess would be that everybody could raise their hand we do I mean it's natural we think about ourselves right but when you get alone and you want to hear God and you're praying the focus will because he knows your heart he's going to make it happen the focus will go away from you and it will go on him it will shift from you to him and you'll start sensing his grace and then this is priceless verse 7-13 in the message look it up the world is full of so called prayer warriors who are prayer ignorant they're full of formulas and programs that you want from God don't fall for that nonsense this is your father you are dealing with and he knows better than you what you need with a God like this loving you you can pray very simply isn't that awesome I mean sometimes the message just nails it when I get alone and when I'm intentional about hearing God's voice he begins to assure me again that whatever I'm going through that's making me strive in my life he reminds me that he's got it I got this Carl I got this and he reminds me that he'll always be there for me and he'll never ever leave and I need that kind of assurance every day I don't know about you now if you're here today and you need that kind of assurance maybe you're striving right now well God says cease striving be still but if that sounds like what you need it's not going to happen unless you make it happen unless you're intentional about it you're never going to accidentally have a free hour where you say oh gosh I have a whole hour I'm going to go get alone with God for an hour it'll never happen will it no way you got to put it on your calendar well Carl that sounds stupid well how else do you get things done you've got to intentionally do it get alone with God turn your phone off yes I said turn your phone off no no really turn your phone off put it away shut down your computer and let God's word feed you let that still small voice you know what that is right that still small voice that's only him let it comfort you let it give you compassion let it speak to you let it challenge you and let it show you the way to go you could be kneeling by your bed you could be on your front porch back porch it doesn't matter you could be at the kitchen table it could be in the morning it could be in the evening end of the day just pick a time and be consistent amen maybe you could take a whole day and get away go drive and sit by the river wouldn't that be nice but pick a time and fight for it fight for it don't let anything take its place read the word talk to him but you know what sometimes more importantly than talking to Jesus is listening to Jesus just listening it's important to him that's why he gave us two ears and only one mouth because he wants us to listen more let your soul talk to God your soul if you can get your arms around that because your soul is desperate to say what it wants to say to God let your soul cry out to him shout if you need to shout at God he can handle it he'd rather he'd rather have you run towards him mad than run away from him do you believe that he would you know maybe your soul is saying hey God I'm afraid I'm afraid for my marriage I'm afraid for my teenagers in this world I'm afraid for my grandkids growing up in this world I'm hurting I feel alone I feel like no one cares your soul might say this I'm sorry God I've neglected our relationship I'm sorry that I'm caught up in this sin that I've always been caught up in and I'm sorry Lord that I have so many secret sins that I'm keeping from everybody except for you that's what your soul wants to say to God your soul is dying to say that to God and when you do this when you're completely honest with God you're going to come face to face with the things in your life that Jesus has already died for 2000 years ago and the things you're going to come face to face with are the things that you have left at one time in your life Jesus died for them but yet the enemy wants to keep shoveling them back in your life amen but you got to keep crying out to God all those things the enemy wants to bring back to you dysfunctions you know selfishness anger unforgiveness pathetic excuses secret skins I don't know how skins secret sins I don't know how long your list is but I could probably keep going it doesn't matter and you can start your conversation with God like this God I can't do it anymore I cannot do it any more I can't God's going to hear that do you know that you and I have to pause and intentionally choose God we have to get into the habit of slowing and get into the habit of solitude pour ourselves out to God well Carl I don't have time oh baloney we all know that what do we do we make time for the things we want to make time for so don't say that you have time and I have time but we have to be intentional about it and there's no such thing excuse me there's no such thing as intimacy without intentionality and you can't busy your way to God you'll never be close to God if you don't spend time with God and we can't continue to pour out unless we fill up so bottom line bottom line today cease striving and know that he is God amen" [55:59] (60 seconds) (Download raw clip | Download cropped clip)

Chatbot

Transcript

What was the most surprising thing in this sermon?

Were there any personal stories shared?