Full transcript of “Be Still and Listen to God (He Will Lead You) | A Blessed Morning Prayer”. Click a timestamp to open the video at that moment. Need another video? Use the YouTube transcript generator.
0:00 Today's message addresses the faithful. Faithful people have to be [music] careful because there's a particular danger that faithful people face. Not rebellious [music] people, not lazy people, not careless people. Faithful people. The ones who show up. The ones who care. The ones who answer when people call. The ones who volunteer. The people [music] who carried the weight. The ones who stay late, arrive early, and make sure everyone else is okay. The danger is not [music] that faithful people will stop serving God. The danger is that they will become so busy serving God
0:46 that they stop [music] listening to him. Many of us were taught the value of responsibility [music] sacrifice, commitment, hard work. Yes, those things matter. Scripture honors [music] diligence. It honors faithfulness. It honors perseverance. [music] But there's a subtle shift that can happen when obedience >> [music] >> is replaced by obligation. When what began as a response to God's voice slowly becomes a response to people's expectations. When what began as calling becomes duty. When what began as worship becomes performance. And the frightening thing
1:32 is that from the outside nothing looks wrong. You're still serving, still giving, [music] still helping, still attending. You're still carrying responsibilities at [music] work, church, home, and in the community. Yet somewhere deep within frustration begins to grow. Fatigue begins to settle [music] in. Joy starts to diminish. You feel pulled in a hundred directions and [music] yet somehow you feel guilty whenever you say no. That's often the [music] first sign that obligation has taken the place of obedience. God never intended for his [music] children to be led primarily by demands. He intended for us to be led by his
2:19 spirit. Jesus modeled it perfectly. If there's ever been a person who's had unlimited needs surrounding him, it was Jesus. [music] Sick people needed healing. Broken people needed deliverance. Crowds needed teaching. [music] Disciples needed mentoring. Religious leaders demanded answers. His family wanted attention. Yet Jesus was never controlled by the demands around him. In Mark 1 after ministering [music] extensively and healing lots of people, Jesus withdrew to pray. The disciples found him and said, "Everyone is looking for you." Most of us would hear those words and immediately feel obligated. "Everyone is looking for you. Everyone
3:06 needs you. Everyone expects you. Everyone is waiting for you." Yet Jesus answered in Mark 1:38, "Let us go into the next [music] towns that I may preach there also because for this purpose I have come [music] forth." Notice what Jesus did not say. He didn't say, "Well, if everyone wants me here, I should stay." He did not [music] say, "I don't want to disappoint the people." He did not say, "I know God told me something else, but these people [music] have needs." Jesus was governed by purpose, not [music] pressure. He listened to his father more than he listened to public demand. But how many of us can say the same?
3:53 How many times have we stayed [music] in places because people expected us to stay? How many assignments have we continued carrying because we were afraid to disappoint someone? How many ministries, [music] committees, boards projects relationships responsibilities [music] how many have we continued merely out of habit or routine or obligation [music] long after God stopped speaking about them? Sometimes we call it faithfulness. God calls it disobedience. Because obedience is not merely doing good things. Obedience is doing God's thing. Martha provides one of the clearest examples of this tension. Luke 10 tells us that
4:40 Martha welcomed Jesus into her home. She was serving. She was working, [music] taking care of the details. Everything she was doing appeared honorable. Yet, while Martha worked, Mary sat at Jesus' [music] feet listening to his words. Eventually, Martha became frustrated. Luke 10:40 says, "But Martha was distracted [music] with much serving." Not distracted by sin, distracted [music] by serving. She wasn't distracted by rebellion. Martha was [music] distracted by responsibility. The distraction wasn't with wickedness. It was by good things. Martha eventually confronted Jesus because she felt overwhelmed. "Lord, do you not care that my sister
5:26 has left me to serve alone?" Many people today are asking the same question. [music] "Lord, don't you see everything I'm carrying? Lord, don't you see how much I'm doing? Lord, I know that you have to see how exhausted [music] I am." Jesus' answer is both compassionate and corrective. [music] "Martha Martha you are worried and troubled about many things, but one thing is needed." Jesus wasn't criticizing her service. He was correcting her priorities. Listening came before labor. Relationship came before responsibility. Presence before performance.
6:12 Martha was doing for Jesus [music] while Mary was being with Jesus. One was operating from obligation, the other operating from connection. And I believe Martha had a calling for service, but somewhere along the way her heart >> [music] >> and her focus shifted. When the joy leaves in serving, it's time to reconnect to the joy giver. And far too many believers are finding themselves exhausted because they're trying to sustain responsibilities without maintaining intimacy. The truth [music] is, family can pull us away from purpose.
6:57 Work can pull us away from purpose. Church can pull us away from purpose. Even ministry, if we're not careful, can pull us away from purpose. The civic organizations, community commitments, volunteer opportunities, leadership positions, all of those are good causes, but every one of them >> [music] >> can pull us away from purpose if we are not continually listening for the voice of God. We have to realize that not every opportunity is an assignment. Not every need is your responsibility. Not every open door is God's door. Every request doesn't deserve a yes.
7:43 Jesus healed many people, but he did not heal every sick person in Israel. Jesus taught many crowds, but he didn't stay with every crowd. Jesus loved everyone, but he did not give everyone equal access to his time. He was constantly [music] yielding himself to the direction of his father. And that's what obedience looks like. Obedience requires attentiveness. It requires flexibility. It requires >> [music] >> surrender. And Abraham Abraham demonstrates this [music] beautifully. God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. Abraham obeyed. But imagine
8:30 if Abraham had become attached to the instruction [music] more than the voice giving the instruction. At the critical moment, God redirected [music] him. Genesis 22:11-12 says, "But the angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, 'Abraham, Abraham.'" So, he said, "Here I am." And he said, "Do not lay your hand on the land." Abraham's greatness was not merely that he obeyed the first instruction. His greatness was that he heard the second one. Some people hear God once, and then spend the rest of their lives repeating yesterday's instruction. But God is a
9:16 living God who continues to speak. We have to realize the same God who says go may later say stay. The same God who says build may later say release. Maybe God told you to begin, but you have to listen to see if he says finish. The same God who says carry it may later say, "Put that down." We [music] must never become more committed to a previous word than to God's [music] present voice. And this is why we desperately need rhema. Not just what God said, but what he is saying.
10:02 Not just [music] yesterday's instruction, today's direction. Not just a memory [music] of his voice, but a current relationship with his voice. Because many believers are operating under expired [music] instructions. They're trying to produce fruit in seasons that God has already ended. They're fighting to keep alive what God is trying to transition. [music] They're now carrying burdens God never assigned to this season. We have to be careful that we don't remain in roles because we once heard God, and now the people love what we do. And so we continue,
10:47 but we [music] haven't paused long enough to ask whether God is still [music] speaking the same thing. And I want you to know, there is a profound difference between loyalty to God and loyalty to a season. The Holy Spirit is constantly leading, guiding correcting redirecting revealing. But if we refuse to slow down long enough to listen, we can become [music] incredibly productive while simultaneously becoming spiritually [music] disconnected. God didn't call us to be driven. He called us to be led. Romans 8:14 [music] says, "For as many as are led by the spirit of God, these
11:33 are the sons of God. Led. Not pushed, not pressured, not manipulated, >> [music] >> not guilted, but led. Perhaps the greatest invitation God is extending to some of his people right now is simply this, slow down. Pause. Listen. Sit at my feet again. Turn down the volume of expectations. Silence the fear of disappointing [music] people. Lay down the need to prove your worth through productivity. And stop measuring your value by how much you accomplish.
12:18 We must remember that our identity is [music] found in being his child before being his servant. The kingdom doesn't need more exhausted [music] workers running on obligation. It needs surrendered sons and daughters moving in obedience. God's not looking for people who will merely do more. He's looking [music] for people who will listen. And sometimes the holiest thing [music] you can do is stop moving long enough to hear what [music] God is saying comes next. Now, as we move forward into a time of prayer, let's speak our [music] hearts to the Father. But this time, when we're
13:03 done speaking, before we head off to do the next [music] thing, let's pause for just a moment. Pause to hear [music] him. Pause to sense him. Pause to see if there's a proceeding word. Pause for an unction, a a holy nudge, confirmation, or maybe correction. And from this moment forward, let's truly treat [music] prayer as a conversation. Let's approach it as shared communication, knowing that God listens [music] when we speak, and being determined to give God that same space where he can speak, and we will listen. And then [music] we'll take it a step further.
13:49 We'll obey. Father, we come before you with honest hearts. We acknowledge that there have been seasons when we have confused obligation [music] with obedience. We've carried responsibilities you never assigned. We've allowed expectations, demands, guilt, and pressure to become louder than your voice. We've been faithful [music] workers, but sometimes we've been inattentive listeners. Father, please forgive us. Your word says in John 10:27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." Teach us to hear your voice clearly
14:35 again. Quiet the noise within us. Quiet the opinions around us. Quiet the fear of disappointing people, and help us recognize when you are speaking. Help us to hear when you are redirecting [music] and help us to sense when you are telling [music] us to release the things we've been carrying. Father, create [music] in us the heart of Mary that chooses the better part. Deliver us from the anxiety [music] of Martha when serving becomes disconnected from sitting at your feet. God, teach us how [music] to labor from intimacy
15:20 rather than striving. Teach us how to serve from overflow rather than exhaustion. Lord, we ask that our spirits would be more connected [music] to you than our hearts are connected to people. Let our love for others never exceed our surrender to you. Let our desire to help people never become greater than our desire to obey you. Help us love family without worshipping them. Help us serve the church without [music] being enslaved by its expectations. Help us work diligently [music] without making work our master. Help us >> [music] >> participate in good causes
16:06 without losing sight of our God-given calling. Help us not to stay in [music] a thing when your anointing has lifted. Your word says in Proverbs 3 verses 5 [music] through 6, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge [music] him and he shall direct your paths." Direct our paths, Lord. Not according to tradition. Not according [music] to pressure. Not according to habit or responsibility or obligation. But according [music] to your spirit. Give us the courage of Abraham to hear both the the first instruction
16:51 and the proceeding word. Give us the sensitivity to recognize when a season has changed. Protect us from becoming bound [music] to yesterday's word when you're speaking something new today. Holy Spirit, keep our hearts [music] soft, our ears attentive, and our hands surrendered. Teach us to yield quickly when you redirect us. Teach us to move when you say move and to stop when you say stop. Let us never become so busy doing things >> [music] >> for you that we stop walking with you. Above all, may our greatest desire be to please you God. When we stand before [music] you,
17:38 let it be said that we followed your voice faithfully. We want to hear you say, "Well done, good and faithful servant." But that [music] faithfulness, we understand that it has to be to you. Not faithful [music] to the people, not faithful to what we've become accustomed [music] to, but faithful to you, Lord. Not to every demand, not to every [music] expectation, not to every opportunity, but faithful to your voice. Lord, we're listening. Please, speak again. And if your voice is saying stay and continue,
18:26 we will stay and continue. If your voice is saying stop or leave or turn, whatever you say, God, where you lead us, we will follow. In Jesus' name. Amen. The Bible reads, "I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak [music] his praises. I will boast only in the Lord. Let all who are helpless take heart. Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness. Let us exalt [music] his name together."
19:14 >> Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be steadfast, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, always doing your best, and doing more than is needed, being continually aware that your labor, even to the point of exhaustion, in the Lord is not futile, nor wasted. It is never without purpose. For everything [music] comes from him and exists by his power, and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever. Amen.
20:00 For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God. Teach me your ways, O Lord, that I may live according to your truth. Grant me purity of heart so that I may honor you. With all my heart I will praise you, O Lord my God. I will give glory to your name forever. For your love for me is very great. You have [music] rescued me from the depths of death. And may your hearts be fully committed to the Lord our God, to live by his decrees and obey his commands as at this time. [music]
20:50 Commit your way to the Lord. Trust also in him, and he shall bring it to pass.
