Quiet Games - Welcome

Quiet Games
Pt. 1 – The Silent Treatment
by Steve Ely

Introduction
It is a scam. A ploy. I am convinced it is nothing more than a well disguised trick to get a momentary respite and break from the barrage of sound that emanates from a classroom full of rowdy 2nd graders. I am talking about my least favorite kid’s game. It can’t hold a candle to the beauty and intricacies of games like freeze tag, duck duck goose, or Simon Says. It is empty of the adrenaline rush of red rover, red rover or dodge ball. It is the quiet game. A contest to see who can go the longest without saying a word or making a sound. No action. No movement. I didn’t like it then and lo and behold the disdain for the game has carried over into my adult life. My dislike of the silent treatment probably directly ties to my lack of appreciation for the quiet game.

Here is the problem . . . One of the facts of life as a believer is that there seem to be long seasons of silence when we deal with God. God seems to love the quiet game and seems to be the world’s most skilled player. I much prefer the moments when I hear God clearly. I much prefer the seasons when at every turn God’s voice is easily discernible and recognizable. The issue is that more times than not I find myself in Deuteronomy 5:22 – “He spoke in a tremendous voice from the fire and cloud and dark mist. And that was it. No more words.”

Times when you hear Him, every service, every sermon, every moment in the altar is anticipated and exciting because it like you have a direct hotline to heaven and then NOTHING! You make no changes. You listen just as intently and silence suffocates. A ceiling of brass. Unreachable. Untouchable. Seasons of prolonged silence. Whether it is a 400-year silence like the Israelites experienced or a 4 month silence the truth is I hate it when it seems like God is playing the quiet game!

Over the course of the next few weeks, I want to walk us through how to hear God! We know that hearing Him is essential for life because we have been told that we don’t live on bread but on the Word of God. If it is His Word that sustains us, then it absolutely imperative that we learn how to hear.

Text

1 Samuel 3:1-10
The boy Samuel was serving God under Eli’s direction. This was at a time when the revelation of God was rarely heard or seen. (1 Samuel 3:1 – And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.) One night Eli was sound asleep his eyesight was very bad—he could hardly see. It was well before dawn; the sanctuary lamp was still burning. Samuel was still in bed in the Temple of God, where the Chest of God rested. Then God called out, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Yes? I’m here.” Then he ran to Eli saying, “I heard you call. Here I am.” Eli said, “I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” And so he did. God called again, “Samuel, Samuel!” Samuel got up and went to Eli, “I heard you call. Here I am.” Again Eli said, “Son, I didn’t call you. Go back to bed.” This all happened before Samuel knew God for himself. It was before the revelation of God had been given to him personally. God called again, “Samuel!”—the third time! Yet again Samuel got up and went to Eli, “Yes? I heard you call me. Here I am.” That’s when it dawned on Eli that God was calling the boy. So Eli directed Samuel, “Go back and lie down. If the voice calls again, say, ‘Speak, God. I’m your servant, ready to listen.’” Samuel returned to his bed. Then God came and stood before him exactly as before, calling out, “Samuel! Samuel!” Samuel answered, “Speak. I’m your servant, ready to listen.”

His voice must become precious again.
We focus on God speaking to Samuel and miss the context that surrounds what we are reading. What we are reading when God calls Samuel’s name is the breaking of a long silence. Eli, the high priest, and his sinful sons had quieted God. This quiet game teaches us a powerful lesson . . . God grows quiet when we don’t obey obvious Word. God grows quiet when His Word becomes ordinary. When we hear God’s voice, we must obey so that the channels of communication remain open! However, whether you hear daily or are in a prolonged period of silence we must position ourselves in an attitude of honor and esteem towards His Word. Is His Word precious to you? Do you value His voice above other voices? I realize that in this passage the use of the word precious is another way to say scarce. However, if we would learn to treat His Word as if it is scarce, then we would learn to hear Him when He speaks softly. It is because we treat His Word as if it is common or normal that causes us to miss it.
We need sound advice.
For all of Eli’s flaws and shortcomings he does give Samuel sound advice. Somehow, despite his own spiritual blindness and inability to hear God himself, he realizes that the voice Samuel is hearing is God and so he instructs Samuel to posture himself to hear.

God is speaking. In fact, we are told that (Slide 22b) God is consistently speaking. In Matthew 4:4, Jesus tells us, “Man shall live not by bread alone, but by every word coming out of the mouth of God.” In the King James it says every word that proceedeth out. It carries the idea of a continued action. In other words, God has spoken, is speaking, and will continue to speak. So God is consistent in His speaking. Would to God that we were as consistent in our hearing.

He is also speaking persistently.
Whether it is the example of the prophets of old, the canopy of Scripture that we have at constant availability, or the deluge of preachers we have access to we can very easily conclude that God is persistent in speaking. Samuel experiences this. He misses God’s voice not once, not twice, but three different times. He has strike 3 he should be out, right? God can find someone else to talk to but once again, a fourth time, the persistent voice of God comes back and addresses Samuel again. How many times have you missed His voice? Your schedule, your pain, your distractedness, your hardheartedness, your stubbornness and opinions, the crescendo of other voices have caused you to miss His voice. The good news is that even though those things can cause us to experience a quiet season God will persistently speak.

So, silence is a result not of God not speaking but our refusal or failure to correctly position ourselves to hear. We can rest in His consistency and persistency and reposition ourselves correctly and hear.

Elijah learned this lesson in the cave in 1 Kings 19. A fire passes by but no voice of God. A whirlwind but no voice. He soon discovers that there are seasons in your life when you must slow down, lean in, focus, and you will hear the consistent and persistent still small voice of the Father. Let me give you some sound advice today. Listen again. Listen intently. Shut off all other noise. Don’t make the mistake of equating not hearing to not speaking. He speaks! We must learn to listen better!

God throws His voice.
We often think we are experiencing the silent treatment when the truth is God is simply throwing His voice.

Three times God calls Samuel and he is absolutely convinced that it is Eli calling his name. So, he jumps up and interrupts Eli’s sleep to report for duty only to discover that it wasn’t Eli who called him. Samuel thought he heard Eli but was hearing God. My question is could that be because at times when he heard Eli he was in fact hearing God?

Samuel’s experience teaches us that God is the world’s most accomplished ventriloquist! He talks but His lips don’t move. He talks and other people’s lips are moving. Samuel shows us that God’s voice often sounds familiar so if we aren’t careful, we miss it.

Here is a truth we need to learn God actually speaks through people whose voice we do recognize.

Too many of us miss God’s voice because we refuse to hear it when it is disguised in someone else’s voice. That is especially true if the voice He uses isn’t one we prefer! That is especially true if the voice He uses isn’t one we esteem!

Think about the situation Samuel is in. Eli isn’t a righteous priest. He is a carnal, sinful, lazy, used up priest and yet Samuel mistakenly thinks God sounds a lot like Eli!

What does that mean? It means that when your wife is talking God may be throwing His voice and what you hear may sound like her but it is Him. That means when your parents . . . When your filthy mouthed, obnoxious boss, your annoying professor, your least favorite dorm mate or teammate, that preacher, that grandparent… God is speaking He just tends to throw His voice and we miss Him!

Whose voice is He using in your life? Some of us think we are ignoring mom and we are actually ignoring our Father. Some of us are turning a deaf ear to a recognizable voice and in the process, we are silencing God.

Listen carefully. Learn to respond like Samuel . . . “Speak, God. I’m your servant, ready to listen.” No qualifications like I will listen if you use my favorite preacher, my best friend, the one teacher I like. No simply speak and I am ready to listen. The tone of voice doesn’t matter as much as the source of the voice!

So today I want us to practice what we are learning. Let’s take some time and listen. Let’s quiet down and say “Speak, God. I’m your servant, ready to listen.” During this time, you may need to ask a recognizable voice for forgiveness because you took their God words for granted.

Quiet Games
Pt. 2 – Hearing Aids Pt. 1
by Steve Ely

Introduction
Are you ready? OK, on the count of three. 1, 2, 3. Go! . . .

See it does my heart good to know that some of you aren’t any better at playing the quiet game than I am!

I love childhood games like Freeze Tag, smear the guy with the ball, Crack the Whip but my least favorite game was the Quiet Game. No sound. No action. No movement. I didn’t like it then and lo and behold the disdain for the game has carried over into my adult life.

But we have already learned that as a believer there seem to be long seasons of silence when we deal with God. If you haven’t experienced that, then just hold on that day will come. I much prefer the moments when I hear God clearly. I much prefer the seasons when at every turn God’s voice is easily discernible and recognizable. The issue is that more times than not I find myself in Deuteronomy 5:22 – “He spoke in a tremendous voice from the fire and cloud and dark mist. And that was it. No more words.”

So, what do you do when God is hard to hear? When your prayers bounce back? When silence isn’t golden but annoying? Having no ability to hear is terrible. The fact that as I age, I find myself saying “what” or “huh” more is bothersome. We know in the natural that when someone starts to lose their hearing there are two options one is we ask the people talking to shout louder or we invest in hearing aids. In dealing with God, we learned last week that He is consistently and persistently speaking. We also learned that He has a still small voice and He throws His voice so we may experience prolonged periods of silence if we wait for Him to raise His voice. So, I want to suggest to you that we must learn to embrace and employ hearing aids.

Text

John 10:27
Jesus said this, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

Jesus says that those of us who are His sheep hear his voice. He doesn’t address quiet seasons so if He is expecting us to hear we should use every tool possible to better hear Him.

So what hearing aids are available to help me tune in to His voice so that I can follow?

Scripture
This has been and will always be the foundation for hearing. All the other aids in hearing must be bounced off this because it is the standard against which all other voices are judged.

I am convinced too many of us discount God’s written Word because we have developed a preference for the convenience/easiness of His spoken Word. It is easier just to wait for it to be read to me on Sunday. However, we have forgotten that this Word was spoken and this Word overrules and is the foundation of all true spoken Word. In fact, some of us get in trouble because we don’t use the hearing aid of Scripture and since we are not versed in verses any voice that sounds like God can trick/mislead/misguide us. We must have an adequate scriptural underpinning to help us discern.

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17

We tend to not like this hearing aid because we have grown lazy. Not hearing His audible voice? Need direction? Need help? Need advice? Here it is in black and white, but you will have to dig. Quit chasing prophets and prophecies, especially if you haven’t spent any time listening to this! I submit to you that often times our seasons of silence are self-inflicted simply because we won’t open His written Word. If God never spoke again, then He has already spoken enough. Volumes of direction, guidance and principles that apply to every step of our life. How to live, who to marry, how to work, how to navigate relationships, how to mourn, how to rejoice, how to give, how to parent. It is all here. A wordless believer is a hearing-impaired believer. Consistent hearing requires consistent reading.

2 Peter 1:3 – For His divine power has bestowed on us absolutely everything necessary for a dynamic spiritual life and godliness through true and personal knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence! This Word contains everything you need for life and godliness.

So, you will struggle to hear God’s voice if you don’t know God’s Word! Know His Word and hear His voice. If you are in a season of silence, turn to His Word first! Not after you have tried every other voice.

The Holy Spirit

John 14:26 – But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my Name, will teach you all things and will remind you everything I have said to you.

He brings everything Jesus said to our remembrance. Think about that statement. The Holy Spirit helps us recognize and remember the sound of Jesus’ voice!

The Holy Spirit is an essential aid in hearing the voice of God. That is why it is so essential for you to be filled with the Holy Spirit. As Pentecostals we have so often sold the Holy Spirit short as something that is just for good services or public gift displays. However, one of His key and forgotten roles is to help us hear more clearly. We focus on the speaking that the Holy Spirit does and fail to rely on the hearing that the Holy Spirit does.

Hebrews 10:15-16 – “But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us for after He had said before, this is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts and in their minds I will write them.”

I Corinthians 2:12 – Now we have received the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.”

The Holy Spirit is a major hearing aid that we have turned into a major side show. We need to recalibrate and rely on the Holy Spirit to help us hear! I want you to experience the Holy Spirit not just so that you speak (in tongues) but so that you can also listen more efficiently.

The Prophetic
I want you to esteem and understand that we wholeheartedly believe in words of knowledge, words of wisdom, and personal prophecies. We know these are gifts of the Spirit. So, we can’t dismiss or discount God’s ability to speak to us through someone else. We have been told, “Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances. But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good” (I Thessalonians 5:19-21).

There is nothing to fear. We simply know that the One who knows everything about us can use anyone He chooses to use to speak to us! Have these gifts been misused and abused? Yes! Have these same gifts been underused and as a result silent seasons drag out that should have been short lived? Yes! Does the prophetic take the place of Scripture? No! Does it supplement and assert the Word? Yes!

My question is who is suffering in silence simply because you won’t prophetically speak? What prompting, what leading, what simple truth are you being directed to give? As small or insignificant as it may seem that word may crash through the silence in someone’s life. Remember last week I told you God throws His voice. I think one of the most difficult truths to learn is that God’s voice can sound like me!

I think because of how the gift has been used it has scared us into silence. We must learn to allow the Holy Spirit to prompt and interrupt our daily conversations. You don’t have to stand up on your desk and declare thus sayeth the Lord! You can interact with people in a normal fashion and at the same time listen to the Holy Spirit and by saying what you hear Him say you can be used by God to end silent seasons in people’s lives. Again, it is absolutely necessary to have a foundation of Word before we try to speak for the Word.

So, do we chase prophetic words? No, but we don’t run away from it either. We embrace that God does use people including us to speak! The prophetic word can direct and correct! The prophetic word can confirm and affirm. We hear the voice of God through the prophetic when we balance it against the written Word and according to 1 Thessalonians 5:21, we sift through and cast aside weakness, wackiness, and what doesn’t matter without throwing out The Voice behind the voice. We cannot afford to be a non-prophet organization! May God begin to use each of us to speak accurately, correctly and regularly!

Speak Lord I am listening. I renew my commitment to hear you through the aid of your written Word, with assistance of the Holy Spirit and I will speak when you say speak and I will be careful to listen when I am spoken to.

Quiet Games
Pt. 3 – Hearing Aids Pt. 2
by Steve Ely

Introduction
They would be enshrined in the childhood games hall of fame . . . 7-Up, Kick the Can, Musical Chairs but then there is the Quiet Game a perineal nominee for induction that would never get my vote. I hate the Quiet Game. No sound. No action. No movement. I didn’t like it then and lo and behold the disdain for the game has carried over into my adult life.

We are following the world’s most accomplished Quiet Game player. Ironically as big, loud, and overwhelming as God is it seems that He has an extreme affinity for the Quiet Game. So, once again my life seems to be captured in Deuteronomy 5:22 – “He spoke in a tremendous voice from the fire and cloud and dark mist. And that was it. No more words.”

A desire to hear Him clearly but it is a struggle at times.

We said in the natural when we struggle to hear there are only 2 options, we ask the people talking to shout louder or we invest in hearing aids. I told you that since God most likely won’t raise His voice that we should employ the use of hearing aids. Last week I read this statement to you that Jesus made . . .

Text

John 10:27

Jesus said this, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

So, Jesus tells us that our ability to follow is directly connect to and controlled by our ability to hear. If we can’t hear then we will struggle to follow and it is also logical to realize that if we aren’t hearing we may think we are following but discover that we have gone astray. Therefore, we should employ hearing aids to help us hear clearly.

The Bible gives us 7 hearing aids that are designed to help us filter or judge the leadings, promptings, counsel, and guidance of others. In the midst of a quiet season or stretch these hearing aids help us know how to proceed. We have looked at Scripture as the foundation and standard for all other aids in hearing. The Holy Spirit helps us remember or recall what Jesus’ voice sounds like. The prophetic used in natural, normal conversation helps us help others and receive help in hearing God clearly. So, let’s continue.

Godly Counsel
Two things to notice here. First, notice the order. We tend to try to run to people counsel prior to running to the counsel of God’s Word. We are opinion hungry and opinion controlled. We must get the order right because if God’s Word says something then all the opposing opinions are null and void. Second, notice I said Godly counsel! Some of us have counsel but it isn’t Godly it is confusing and, in some cases, carnal. Some of the counsel we get, and follow is nothing more than miserable people seeking company in their misery. Listen you can’t seek counsel about money from someone who is bankrupt. Relationship counsel from someone who has a proven track record of failure in that area. Life coaching from someone who has no life. We must seek the people that God positions in our life to bring Godly counsel. You should have counsel in your life. Go to folks who you can get biblically sound advice. If you only trust your own thoughts, choices, decision making ability, then you have a pride issue. If your voice is the only voice that matters in every discussion, then you are headed for seasons of silence and pain. How many of you know that stupidity can lead to silence too?

The wisest man who has ever walked the planet knew that being a one-man show was a recipe for failure. Listen to what he says in Proverbs 11:14 . . . “Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counselors there is safety.”

Confirmation
The idea of Godly counsel and the 5th hearing aid which is confirmation drive home the absolute importance of being in relationship in the body of Christ. This reminds us that we will struggle to hear God clearly in isolation.

Remember we are told in Matthew 18 that there is power in agreement. If every solid, Bible centered person you consult is against what you are talking about it should cause you to pause and go back and reconsider Hearing Aids 1-4. When you are struggling to hear God you should seek confirmation before making any major decisions. This hearing aid is a safety net for you. Is there any pause from those you submit to? Is there any concern? This hearing aid has been abused too in an attempt to control. I am not talking about that . . . Again, the order is essential. But like the prophetic just because it has been misused doesn’t give us permission to dismiss the value of this hearing aid. Who do you have in your life that their “no” overrules every yes except Scripture’s or the Holy Spirit? Who do you have in your life whose “yes” overthrows every no except Scripture or the Holy Spirit? You need those type of folks!

The peace of God

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful” (Colossians 3:15).

There is a key phrase here . . . The peace of Christ. Many of us have become experts at making our own decisions and then claiming the peace of Christ. We are comfortable with the choice and then we want to claim Christ’s approval simply because we have made up our mind. Too many of us are peaceful in choices that should be causing us to panic.

The peace of Christ cannot be found in choices that stand in stark contradiction to the Word. The peace of Christ cannot be found in choices that lower our standards of righteousness. The peace of Christ cannot be found in choices made from selfish motives.

The peace of Christ also addresses feelings. We know we can’t trust our feelings. Our feelings change/fluctuate/vacillate and are fickle. We feel like being married today but tomorrow when they forget to raise/lower the seat we don’t feel like being married anymore. The peace of Christ is a feeling, but it isn’t dictated or determined by our feelings. In fact, the power of the peace of Christ is that it will remain even when everything about a situation should make us feel like quitting, running, or bailing. Philippians 4:6-9 – “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” So peace is there when we guard our hearts but is also present based on what we are thinking on, what we have learned, and what we have been taught.

Circumstances/Timing
This one is last but if we are not careful, we tend to push this aid to the front and center and in fact elevate it over the Word and the Holy Spirit. We cannot nor should we deny that God does in fact work behind the scene on our behalf. He is pulling strings and making arrangements for us. Paul says God is actively working things together for our good. We see this in action in Paul’s life in Acts.

“After these things he (Paul) left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working; for by trade they were tent-makers” Acts 18:1-3

This relationship between Paul, Aquila and Priscilla — which happened as a result of circumstances — became one of the most important strategic partnerships in the book of Acts.

I believe strongly in the ordering of our steps. The One who knows us directs our steps! When we hide His Word in our heart it becomes a light for our path. We know and embrace the hearing aid of opened and closed doors. Our challenge is we can’t try to close or refuse to walk through doors He has opened. Likewise, we can’t force our way into doors He has closed! This one really needs to be used in conjunctions with the others and never as a standalone determination. Alone it isn’t fail proof, but in conjunction with the others as supplements you can walk into great opportunities and avoid serious pitfalls by hearing God through circumstances and timing.