Church of the Nazarene -East Rock
When God Seems Silent
When God Seems Silent: Part 2 “Is there sin?”
Genesis 3:7-10
Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.”
From the beginning of our story, sin has served to separate us from God and the reality is, it still does today.
There were times in history when God was literally silent, we believe on this side of the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ he is never actually silent today.
He longs to speak to us, and he does that through many different ways.
We began last week with perhaps the most basic question to ask ourselves, if indeed it seems that God is silent, and that is “Are you listening?”
Listening is never a passive activity; it takes engagement and intentionality on our part. So, if we would say that God seems silent, it may be because we have stopped acting to hear him.
Maybe you would say today, I am trying!
I am praying, I’m showing up to church more than I ever have, I’m trying to serve others, I’m giving generously to the church, I even joined a life group!
It is a humbling and sobering reality that despite all those things, GOOD THINGS, that sin can still be separating you from God, making him appear as if he isn’t speaking.
As we continue in our teaching series today, if we would say that God seems silent, we might ask ourselves the searching and hard question:
Is there sin?
Have I separated or hidden from his voice?Isaiah 59:1-2Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.
One of our biggest problems can be growing comfortable with sin, accepting it as a part of our lives, and thinking we can have relationship with God and sin. But the reality is, if you accept sin as a part of your life, you must also accept God’s apparent silence as a part of your life.
When we talk about sin that separates us from God, we are not talking about an accident or mistake in our journey as followers of Jesus. While those sins matter and need to be repented of, they do not serve to silence God’s voice.
What does separate us from the voice of the Lord are intentional choices, sins we are hanging onto, and refusing to let go of.
The things that we know the Lord would have us change, but we just aren’t willing too.
Are you ready to step out of the Silence? Perhaps the first step, is letting go of sin.
Isaiah 58:2-4
For day after day, they seek me out; they seem eager to know my ways, as if they were a nation that does what is right and has not forsaken the commands of its God. They ask me for just decisions and seem eager for God to come near them. ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and you have not seen it? Why have we humbled ourselves, and you have not noticed?’ “Yet on the day of your fasting, you do as you please and exploit all your workers. Your fasting ends in quarreling and strife, and in striking each other with wicked fists. You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high.
If you would say that God seems silent today, maybe even stagnant, I would ask you- Are you holding onto something? Are you resisting God’s call to intimacy?
You may ask “How do i know?” or “How can i identify that area in my life?”
There are a few things we can pay close attention to:- Things that you get defensive over.- Certain topics that come up in scripture or at church and you want to tune out, or you feel a knot in your stomach.- Maybe it is something you are making excuses for- Perhaps you are in denial about a certain part of your life being “a big deal”- Or maybe you know there is sin…and you hate it. But you’re trying to fix it yourself…Not confessing. Not being open and honest. Just burying it.
Friends whatever those things are, whatever those warning lights are, God is longing, desiring, that you would let go of those things and embrace him.
Will you take the step out of the silence and into intimacy with God through confession and repentance?
1 John 1:9
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.