1
00:00:02,010 --> 00:00:04,554
Thanks for tuning in to the Sandals church podcast.

2
00:00:04,682 --> 00:00:08,542
Our vision as a church is to be real with ourselves, God, and others.

3
00:00:08,676 --> 00:00:11,360
We're glad you're here, and we hope you enjoy this message.

4
00:00:13,410 --> 00:00:14,334
Are you going to count, man?

5
00:00:14,372 --> 00:00:15,182
Sorry I took your job.

6
00:00:15,236 --> 00:00:16,618
I took your job, Mike.

7
00:00:16,794 --> 00:00:17,870
Be faster.

8
00:00:21,410 --> 00:00:23,006
We are all becoming someone.

9
00:00:23,108 --> 00:00:27,106
In fact, one of the best questions that we can ask ourselves is, who am I becoming?

10
00:00:27,218 --> 00:00:30,566
Because the things we do the most and what we give our attention to the most very much

11
00:00:30,588 --> 00:00:32,662
shapes the kind of person we become.

12
00:00:32,796 --> 00:00:37,586
And for those of us who follow Jesus, we refer to this as spiritual formation, the practice

13
00:00:37,618 --> 00:00:39,266
of becoming more like Jesus.

14
00:00:39,378 --> 00:00:43,274
And if we want to become more like him, then we need to consider doing the things that

15
00:00:43,312 --> 00:00:44,666
Jesus himself did.

16
00:00:44,768 --> 00:00:48,534
And so I want to talk to you guys about the practice of silence.

17
00:00:48,662 --> 00:00:54,858
Now, I would define silence as the practice of being quiet in God's loving presence.

18
00:00:55,034 --> 00:01:00,970
John of the cross, the great spanish priest, said that God's first language is silence.

19
00:01:01,130 --> 00:01:05,818
Mother Teresa said herself that God is a friend of silence.

20
00:01:05,994 --> 00:01:08,114
Jesus self modeled this for us.

21
00:01:08,152 --> 00:01:13,154
In Luke, chapter five, we have this picture of Jesus, like many of us, going through a very

22
00:01:13,192 --> 00:01:16,578
busy day, yet he withdrew to a deserted place.

23
00:01:16,664 --> 00:01:17,138
Imagine that.

24
00:01:17,144 --> 00:01:21,398
In the midst of a lot of things going on, he withdrew to a deserted place, which can be

25
00:01:21,404 --> 00:01:23,800
better translated to a quiet place.

26
00:01:24,410 --> 00:01:29,634
Luke does this intentionally for us to bring out the rhythm and practice Jesus gave himself

27
00:01:29,682 --> 00:01:33,526
to, which is to withdraw and be quiet in God's loving presence.

28
00:01:33,638 --> 00:01:34,554
Psalm 131.

29
00:01:34,592 --> 00:01:39,222
David says there that he has calmed and quieted his own soul.

30
00:01:39,366 --> 00:01:43,434
Now, I don't know about you, but it's hard for me to say that I have a quiet soul.

31
00:01:43,562 --> 00:01:48,970
And the reason why that is, is because I think all of us live in a very loud and noisy

32
00:01:49,050 --> 00:01:49,774
world.

33
00:01:49,972 --> 00:01:51,514
Our calendars are loud.

34
00:01:51,562 --> 00:01:52,602
Our days are loud.

35
00:01:52,666 --> 00:01:56,930
They constantly remind us of the things we need to do, what we haven't done yet.

36
00:01:57,080 --> 00:02:02,206
We often give ourselves to distractions that are very noisy, which keep us from receiving

37
00:02:02,238 --> 00:02:04,718
the gift of being quiet.

38
00:02:04,814 --> 00:02:06,174
And here's why I think it's a gift.

39
00:02:06,222 --> 00:02:12,470
Because first, the practice of silence allows us to face the reality of who we actually are

40
00:02:12,540 --> 00:02:13,830
and what's going on.

41
00:02:13,980 --> 00:02:18,370
It said that the average person can't be in silence for longer than 13 seconds.

42
00:02:18,450 --> 00:02:20,374
Imagine if we tested that out right now.

43
00:02:20,492 --> 00:02:24,842
But one of the reasons why I think that is, is because we struggle to face what's actually

44
00:02:24,896 --> 00:02:26,906
inside of us, what's inside of me.

45
00:02:27,008 --> 00:02:32,314
But when you do practice being quiet long enough, those thoughts, those feelings, those

46
00:02:32,432 --> 00:02:36,606
visions, those dreams you have they begin to surface, and it kind of freaks us out a little

47
00:02:36,628 --> 00:02:36,910
bit.

48
00:02:36,980 --> 00:02:38,602
But I would say that it's a gift.

49
00:02:38,666 --> 00:02:38,894
Why?

50
00:02:38,932 --> 00:02:42,894
Because you get to safely do it in the loving presence of God.

51
00:02:43,012 --> 00:02:48,194
It's safe to allow those things to surface because if they don't, they will leak out of us.

52
00:02:48,232 --> 00:02:49,934
They often leak out in our relationships.

53
00:02:49,982 --> 00:02:54,946
And so unless you learn to face what's inside of you, it will leak out of you with the

54
00:02:54,968 --> 00:02:56,162
people that you most love.

55
00:02:56,216 --> 00:03:00,338
And so consider how this gift, this practice, allows you to face the reality.

56
00:03:00,514 --> 00:03:04,966
Secondly, it allows us to face the reality of who God is and his love for us.

57
00:03:05,068 --> 00:03:10,806
Paul in Ephesians three says that he is praying that we would know God's love in a way that

58
00:03:10,828 --> 00:03:12,214
surpasses knowledge.

59
00:03:12,262 --> 00:03:14,266
Now, how do you know something that goes beyond knowing it?

60
00:03:14,288 --> 00:03:16,074
I think he's getting at experience.

61
00:03:16,272 --> 00:03:21,562
And so the practice of being silent and being quiet in God's loving presence allows us to

62
00:03:21,616 --> 00:03:23,094
experience his love.

63
00:03:23,232 --> 00:03:28,222
And my hunch as a pastor is that many Christians today don't experience the love of God

64
00:03:28,276 --> 00:03:33,630
simply because of the fact that they're just too distracted and their lives are just too

65
00:03:33,780 --> 00:03:34,586
noisy.

66
00:03:34,698 --> 00:03:35,942
We need silence.

67
00:03:36,026 --> 00:03:41,234
And then lastly, ThIS practice allows us to face the illusion that we are in control of our

68
00:03:41,272 --> 00:03:41,860
lives.

69
00:03:42,230 --> 00:03:45,294
This PrActiCe, when you give yourself to it, it feels inactive.

70
00:03:45,342 --> 00:03:46,034
You don't do a lot.

71
00:03:46,072 --> 00:03:46,866
You just kind of sit there.

72
00:03:46,888 --> 00:03:48,498
You're not sure if it even worked right.

73
00:03:48,584 --> 00:03:53,494
And I think that's a gift because it's a reminder to you that you are in control of a lot

74
00:03:53,532 --> 00:03:56,406
less things in life than you think you originally are.

75
00:03:56,508 --> 00:04:00,274
And so this practice allows you to face the illusion that you're actually at the control

76
00:04:00,332 --> 00:04:01,738
center, because you're not.

77
00:04:01,824 --> 00:04:05,898
But you are in the loving presence of a God who is in control.

78
00:04:06,064 --> 00:04:11,050
And so you can free yourself from being a controlling person, because controlling people

79
00:04:11,120 --> 00:04:12,746
are simply not loving people.

80
00:04:12,848 --> 00:04:17,022
And so we want to experience the love of God in a way that transforms us to love people.

81
00:04:17,076 --> 00:04:20,734
Well, and here's how I think you can begin to practice this, because if your thought is,

82
00:04:20,772 --> 00:04:22,106
wow, how do I get quiet?

83
00:04:22,218 --> 00:04:23,102
Maybe you're like me.

84
00:04:23,156 --> 00:04:27,506
When you try it, you immediately think of the next episode of the Mandalorian or what's on

85
00:04:27,528 --> 00:04:32,370
Disney plus, or what you can't wait to get Home and binge Watch or your chores or your kids

86
00:04:32,440 --> 00:04:34,354
or what your spouse needs from you.

87
00:04:34,392 --> 00:04:34,786
Right?

88
00:04:34,888 --> 00:04:38,594
We constantly try to get quiet, and then we're filled with a ton of things.

89
00:04:38,632 --> 00:04:39,474
And listen, that's okay.

90
00:04:39,512 --> 00:04:40,630
That means you're human.

91
00:04:40,780 --> 00:04:44,886
And so allow those things to pass, allow those things to come up to surface, to offer them

92
00:04:44,908 --> 00:04:45,494
to God.

93
00:04:45,612 --> 00:04:51,014
And then below that, I think you begin to experience and hear God's voice and his love for

94
00:04:51,052 --> 00:04:52,090
you in Christ.

95
00:04:52,240 --> 00:04:56,554
And so imagine a quiet time in which you're not just trying to say a bunch of things in

96
00:04:56,592 --> 00:05:01,350
prayer, but you're just being quiet in the morning, in the middle of your day, and in the

97
00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:01,722
evening.

98
00:05:01,786 --> 00:05:07,934
Consider injecting 60 seconds, two minutes, five minutes, maybe into the morning, the

99
00:05:07,972 --> 00:05:12,766
midday, and the nighttime, so that you would allow both God's voice to be the first thing

100
00:05:12,788 --> 00:05:16,398
you hear in the morning and the last thing you hear before you go to sleep.

101
00:05:16,494 --> 00:05:21,474
Because, again, this practice allows you to be reminded of God's loving presence for you in

102
00:05:21,512 --> 00:05:22,098
Christ.

103
00:05:22,264 --> 00:05:23,694
And remember, this is a practice.

104
00:05:23,742 --> 00:05:27,846
The people I learn the most from often say how they're still learning to be quiet, and

105
00:05:27,868 --> 00:05:28,902
they've been doing it for years.

106
00:05:28,956 --> 00:05:35,222
And so give yourself grace to this practice and consider how you might be transformed in

107
00:05:35,276 --> 00:05:41,126
doing nothing and being quiet and saying nothing and just receiving from God who he is as

108
00:05:41,148 --> 00:05:43,158
you get to be yourself, too.

109
00:05:43,244 --> 00:05:47,078
So if you guys are up for it, I would love for us to actually practice this together.

110
00:05:47,244 --> 00:05:48,550
Let's be quiet.

111
00:05:51,370 --> 00:05:51,758
You.

112
00:05:51,804 --> 00:06:15,230
It's.

113
00:06:48,750 --> 00:06:49,770
Amen.

114
00:06:53,710 --> 00:06:54,460
Cut.

115
00:06:55,870 --> 00:06:57,594
That was kind of cool, man.

116
00:06:57,792 --> 00:06:58,154
Good.

117
00:06:58,192 --> 00:06:58,810
How you feel?

118
00:06:58,880 --> 00:06:59,546
Yeah.

119
00:06:59,728 --> 00:06:59,960
All.