The Power of Silence
The sermon emphasizes the importance of stillness and quietness in our relationship with God, allowing us to know Him intimately and experience His peace and strength.
Charles E. Cowman preaches on the power of stillness and silence in knowing God, emphasizing the importance of quieting our hearts and minds to hear His voice. He describes the peace, strength, and deep rest that come from entering into a place of stillness with God, where His presence dwells in the midst of life's busyness. Through the imagery of a hushed tempest before a storm and the quiet center of a spinning wheel, he encourages listeners to seek God in the silence and experience His transformative love and renewal.
Text
"Be still, and know that I am God" (Ps. 46:10).
Is there any note of music in all the chorus as mighty as the emphatic pause? Is there any word in all the Psalter more eloquent than that one word, Selah (Pause)? Is there anything more thrilling and awful than the hush that comes before the bursting of the tempest and the strange quiet that seems to fall upon all nature before some preternatural phenomenon or convulsion? Is there anything that can touch our hearts as the power of stillness?
There is for the heart that will cease from itself, "the peace of God that passeth all understanding," a "quietness and confidence" which is the source of all strength, a sweet peace "which nothing can offend," a deep rest which the world can neither give nor take away. There is in the deepest center of the soul a chamber of peace where God dwells, and where, if we will only enter in and hush every other sound, we can hear His still, small voice.
There is in the swiftest wheel that revolves upon its axis a place in the very center, where there is no movement at all; and so in the busiest life there may be a place where we dwell alone with God, in eternal stillness, There is only one way to know God. "Be still, and know." "God is in his holy temple; let all the earth keep silence before him." --Selected
"All-loving Father, sometimes we have walked under starless skies that dripped darkness like drenching rain. We despaired of starshine or moonlight or sunrise. The sullen blackness gloomed above us as if it would last forever. And out of the dark there spoke no soothing voice to mend our broken hearts. We would gladly have welcomed some wild thunder peal to break the torturing stillness of that over-brooding night.
"But Thy winsome whisper of eternal love spoke more sweetly to our bruised and bleeding souls than any winds that breathe across Aeolian harps. It was Thy 'still small voice' that spoke to us. We were listening and we heard. We looked and saw Thy face radiant with the light of love. And when we heard Thy voice and saw Thy face, new life came back to us as life comes back to withered blooms that drink the summer rain."
Sermon Outline
- I. The Power of Silence
- A. The importance of stillness in our relationship with God
- B. The source of strength and peace in stillness
- C. The need to quiet our hearts and listen to God's voice
- II. The Benefits of Stillness
- A. A place of peace and confidence in the midst of chaos
- B. A deep rest that the world cannot give or take away
- C. A way to know God intimately
- III. The Challenge of Stillness
- A. The need to cease from ourselves and our own efforts
- B. The importance of silence in a busy and noisy world
- C. The risk of missing God's voice in the midst of distractions
Key Quotes
“There is for the heart that will cease from itself, 'the peace of God that passeth all understanding,' a 'quietness and confidence' which is the source of all strength, a sweet peace 'which nothing can offend,' a deep rest which the world can neither give nor take away.” — Charles E. Cowman
“There is in the deepest center of the soul a chamber of peace where God dwells, and where, if we will only enter in and hush every other sound, we can hear His still, small voice.” — Charles E. Cowman
“It was Thy 'still small voice' that spoke to us. We were listening and we heard. We looked and saw Thy face radiant with the light of love.” — Charles E. Cowman
Application Points
- We can find stillness in the midst of chaos by ceasing from ourselves and our own efforts and quieting our hearts.
- The 'peace of God that passeth all understanding' is available to us when we dwell in His presence and listen to His voice.
- We can know God intimately by being still and quiet, listening to His voice, and dwelling in His presence.