We're living in a time where it can feel really risky to stand for truth. We're living in a time where it can feel really risky to try to live out your faith publicly for other people to see. We're living in a time where it can feel risky to even gather for church. The enemy would love nothing more than to use our fear and to use violence to silence the church, to silence Christians, to silence us in our churches, to silence us in our workplaces, to silence us in our homes and in the public square. But we have to remember at the end of the day, we as Christians, we are people of faith and we are not people of fear. We have no reason to fear.
[00:27:02]
We are not called to shrink back as Christians. We are not called to go on the defensive because of the stuff that's happened this week. We are called to continue to advance the lordship of Christ with truth and with love in every sphere of life. And so I just want to remind us of that this morning and keep our hearts and minds focused on that and that's what we as a church are committed to continue doing.
[00:27:42]
Because it turns out that we as Christians were not made and we as people were not made for silence. We all know this, right? Like you were not made for silence, for permanent silence, for deep silence. And as Christians I think when it comes to the questions that we have, many times we feel silence. We need direction and sometimes we're looking for direction and we experience silence. We need hope and many times when we need hope we feel silence. We need community, we need to grow in our relationship with God, and there are many times even in the Christian life where we want to grow in our relationship with God but we feel like we're being met with silence.
[00:30:25]
The silence of God can be one of the most terrifying experiences in the life of a Christian. And I would argue that for the non-Christian the silence of God is an absolutely hopeless place to be. Maybe you've been there and you can relate to what I'm talking about. You know what that's like. People call this a dark night of the soul where you just feel distant from God. You want to hear from God, you pray, and you feel like your prayers are just bouncing off the ceiling and you're met with silence and it scared you.
[00:32:00]
Maybe you've been in a position where you have heard God's voice, you've heard the conviction of the Holy Spirit, and you've silenced it over and over and over again. And when you feel God telling you you shouldn't do that, you just continue to tune it out, you continue to live in sin, and now you're like, man, God feels so far away from me. Silence is scary.
[00:33:04]
Persistent refusal to listen to God eventually leads him to deafening quiet—silence. It's like going into the anechoic chamber—disoriented, silent. And God doesn't do this to Saul because he's cruel. It's because he's tuned God out over and over and over again. And now he's treating God like a genie in a bottle. I need answers now. I need you to come through for me now. I've not cared for most of my life or most of my time as king what you have to say. Ever since David became a threat I stopped listening to you. And now he needs God on his side in a time of need.
[00:38:38]
So here's the first principle I have for you this morning, okay? If you stop listening, you stop hearing. Okay? If you stop listening to God, you stop hearing from God.
[00:39:19]
And I just wonder, when you have heard the voice of God, the Holy Spirit's conviction in your life, where maybe you've been tempted to ignore it, to cast it aside, tune out conviction, rationalize sin, excuse sin, and ignore the voice of God. And I'll just say, this week, it's especially easy to let the feelings that we feel—things like anger, fear, confusion—those can easily and quickly, if we're not careful, drown out the voice of God in our life.
[00:40:57]
This is why the book of Hebrews tells us, today if you hear his voice, harden not your hearts. Because if you're not careful and you continue to harden your heart, you might eventually be met with silence. And this is what happened to Saul. God's silence is not something that's meant to be taken lightly. But I want to remind you, it's never too late to start listening to God again.
[00:41:47]
God's people have no business appealing to false gods. God's people have no business appealing to demons or Satan for wisdom. And here's why. We have communion with the creator of the universe. And the creator of the universe intercedes and acts on our behalf when we pray to him. And so, we don't have business as Christians trying to manipulate spiritual powers. As a matter of fact, it's dangerous to do that. And I would ultimately call it idolatrous. It's idolatry. It's going to other gods when we do that.
[00:44:00]
Silence should never lead us to sin. What desperation can do in many people's lives is it can lead us to looking for answers in all of the wrong places. It can lead to silencing God and taking spiritual shortcuts. And it would be really easy to respond to evil in the world, especially right now when it feels so tangible by turning to sinful things. But the answer is to seek God more. The answer is to live out God's truth more.
[00:46:54]
And I just want to ask, what if God's silence is actually an invitation? What if it's an invitation to examine your heart, to repent, to confess sin, and to return to Him? In Jeremiah 29, 13, God says, you will seek me and find me when you seek me with all of your heart. God calls us to seek Him even in the silence. And this is the calling of our lives. When we want to know God's presence in our lives, we seek God. We don't give up.
[00:48:12]
There is hope for those who seek Him. Let's read the rest of this chapter and then we'll break it down. He said to her, What is his appearance? And she said, An old man is coming up, and he is wrapped in a robe. And Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed his face to the ground and paid homage. Then Samuel said to Saul, Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up? Saul answered, I am in great distress, for the Philistines are warring against me, and God has turned away from me and answers me no more, either by prophets or by dreams. Therefore I have summoned you to tell me what I shall do.
[00:48:45]
Because here's the promise we have in the New Testament, all right? Through Jesus, God will never abandon those who seek him. God will never abandon those who seek him. Saul never repented. He never turned back to God. He just used God to justify his actions. He used God to bless his... He expected God to bless his sin, and he ignored God's voice over and over and over again. And even when he comes to God in his last moments, he's coming to God as like a genie in a bottle. Instead of saying, now I submit to you. Now I want to do things your way. He's like, no. Just how do I win this war? How do I win this battle? That's all he's concerned with.
[00:51:40]
No matter how far they went from God, God welcomed them back when they repented and they turned to him. They were never hopeless. This is a very hopeless moment for Saul because it's too late. But for us, God's silence is not a locked door. It doesn't mean we're locked out of a relationship with him. What it means is that he's knocking. He's knocking on the door. Revelation 3.20, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him, and I will eat with him and he with me. It's an invitation to let Christ come in and dine with us. Because through Christ, there is always hope.
[00:52:42]
If you're in a season this morning where you feel distant from God, I want you to remember this promise from Hebrews, I will never leave you nor forsake you. God's silence is not the same as God's absence. And even when you can't hear God, he is near to you.
[00:53:33]
David was in a season of silence as well. You can read this in the Psalms. As a matter of fact, David is the one who, before Jesus said, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He entered into seasons of silence. And he's about to eventually have to fight against Israel or give away his allegiance to Israel. But he, in that moment, was never abandoned by God in his silence. When he felt forsaken, he was never actually forsaken. And the silence he felt was actually accompanied by faith. That's the difference. When God was silent, David remained faithful.
[00:53:50]
If you've trusted in God, you can have faith this morning that you have not been abandoned by God. My encouragement to you, if you're feeling, like, distant, is to continue to seek God in the silence in your life. If you're going through a dark night of the soul, you will one day be able to, I promise you, you will one day be able to look back and know that God was there all along, orchestrating every moment in the silence.
[00:54:29]
If you're here this morning and you've been ignoring the voice of God, pushing back conviction when you feel it, justifying sin, tuning out God, can I just say that the scariest place you will ever find yourself is no longer feeling conviction for your sin? It's a terrifying place to be. And so if you're ignoring God actively this morning, this is not a very comforting passage to you. This is a warning sign. But I just want to say, it's not too late to turn back. Trust in Christ by repenting of your sin and letting Him restore you.
[00:54:54]
Maybe you're here this morning and you've been looking for meaning in all the wrong places. You're looking to self-help. You're looking to crystals. You're looking to false gods, sinful practices, or even spiritually dangerous practices and pagan practices. I just want to tell you this morning, you don't have to go home empty. You don't have to go home without meaning this morning. Here's why. Because God will not abandon those who seek Him.
[00:55:46]
God's silence in your life right now may feel deafening, but don't let it drive you to despair. Don't let it drive you to shortcuts. Don't let it drive you to sin. Let it drive you to seek God more. Because God's heart is not to leave you abandoned. If you've wandered from God, like the prodigal son, let the Spirit work repentance in you and come home. Because what you're going to find is not a God who is waiting there to shame you, to how dare you. You're going to meet a God that is ready to run to you. To meet you with open arms. To put a signet ring that you're a part of the family on your fingers. To put shoes on your feet. To put a coat on you and throw a feast in your honor. That is the God that you will meet when you turn to Him. That's the heart of God. He meets us with grace.
[00:56:11]
Because there is one who was abandoned. There is one who cried out in his last moment on the cross, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Jesus Christ faced the ultimate silence on the cross so that you never have to be cut off from God. Jesus is the voice in the silence calling you. He is the hope in the darkness in your life. This is why the Bible calls Him the Word made flesh. Seek God this morning because He is not far from anyone in this room.
[00:56:59]
If you're here this morning, it's not too late. You are hearing the Word of God in your life right now. And if you came here this morning looking for hope and all of the craziness in the world, here it is. Jesus is the voice in the silence and He is the hope in the darkness. And He wants you to go to Him for the first time or for the millionth time.
[00:57:32]
