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The River ChurchSermons

Trusting in Silence

Josh Yates · Sunday, 7 June 2026 · 36:23 · 5,854 words

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Patience and trust in God are the focus of this message, which reads Psalm 62 and explores how David waited silently on the Lord while facing enemies, doubt, and distractions. The speaker warns against relying on “plus ones” – things like wealth, relationships, or personal plans – and encourages listeners to examine their hearts and return to God alone. He asks the audience to practice stillness before the Lord, confess any double‑mindedness, and trust that God alone is their rock, salvation, and fortress.

What this sermon is about

Ranked by keyness against every other sermon in the corpus. Each one is a word this sermon actually said — nothing here was written by a model.

silence 20 trust 34 fortress 13 shaken 13 rock 17 alone 22 plus 11 foundation 12 wait 19 refuge 12 david 21 communion 8

Topics

Salvation 3 Faith 2 Atonement & Sacrifice 1 Hope 1 Israel 1

Scripture referenced 22

Verified against the transcript. A reference the recording does not support is never listed here.

Psalms 62 3:05 Psalms 62 3:09 Psalms 62 3:14 Psalms 62 3:19 Psalms 62 3:19 Psalms 63 3:28 Psalms 62 6:25 Psalms 62:5 19:44 Isaiah 40:22-23 24:37 Colossians 1:16-17 24:56 Psalms 90:2 25:14 Isaiah 55:8-9 25:24 Psalms 103:19 25:38 Psalms 46:1-2 25:49 1 Kings 19:11-13 27:10 James 1:5-8 28:58 James 4:8 31:36 Jeremiah 29:13 31:45 Zechariah 1:3 31:54 Psalms 145:18 32:04 Isaiah 53:7 32:30 1 Corinthians 11 34:26

Transcript

Every word, as spoken, with the second it was said. Each word links to its own entry in the index.

Pre-service announcement — 13 lines, 0:41. Excluded from every count and search on this site, kept here so nothing is hidden.

Hey everyone, my name is Pastor Phil.

Thanks for checking out one of our sermons today.

And we are so glad that you're here

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You can also visit our website at theriverchurch.cc

to learn more about us and what we have going on as a church.

Thanks again for joining us.

We hope that you're blessed by today's message.

A man took his grandchildren fishing on a dock.

His three-year-old grandson was restless,

so he had to tell him multiple times,

now you have to sit still and be patient.

It's a really hard lesson for a three-year-old.

Let's be honest, that's a really hard lesson for a 47-year-old,

but we'll talk about that later.

Every few minutes, a little boy would turn to his grandpa and say,

I'm being punished.

I'm being patient, huh, grandpa?

Every time someone would walk by, the little boy would announce,

I'm being patient.

Finally, the little boy's uncle walked by, and he had had enough.

He handed his uncle the fishing pole and said,

here, uncle, you be patient.

Don't we want to hand off the fishing pole sometimes in life?

That we just want, I mean, being patient.

I jokingly say this, don't ever pray for patience,

because if you do, you'll be given plenty of opportunities to learn it.

All right?

So that's just patience.

It can be tough.

It can be tough.

It's hard to wait.

It's extremely hard to wait.

Hudson Taylor, who is a well-known missionary from,

I'm going to say that, I may get the date wrong,

but it's 1800s, I believe.

He would tell those who wanted to be missionaries in China

that there were three indispensable requirements for a missionary.

Patience, patience, and patience.

And it's true in life.

There's so many things we have to wait for in life, right?

We wait as our children grow.

Who are they going to be?

And gosh, I remember when both of my girls were,

when Cindy was born and Kylie was five,

and then they were five years apart,

and all through those younger years,

I'm like, what is their personality going to be like?

What are they going to do with their lives?

What is God going to do with them?

And now here we are at just graduated senior from college,

and then a senior going into senior high school and going,

well, now we figured it out, but we still wonder what's next.

We still wonder what's next.

As people grow in their walks with the Lord, it takes time.

It's taken time for our church to grow and mature,

and we still have...

It's a long way to go.

It'd be great if we were all cool, calm, and collected

when these things were happening, right?

I know all of you are probably always cool, calm, and collected

when you require patience, right?

We're all super...

I'm not.

I struggle with that.

You may be.

I'm not.

But today we find ourselves in Psalm 62.

So if you have your Bibles, which I hope you do,

turn to Psalm 62.

It can be a device.

It can be a paper Bible.

It'll be on the screen as I read it here in a minute.

But this Psalm, Psalm 62, we're not really sure when David wrote.

Psalm 62, we're not really sure when David wrote.

Psalm 62, we're not really sure when David wrote.

Psalm is we're not really told anything specific,

and there isn't anything that connects it to any parts of David's life specifically.

And the Psalms really aren't chronological at all.

But the next Psalm, Psalm 63, has a somewhat similar theme,

and it was written by David during a time when David was fleeing Saul in the wilderness,

when he had been anointed king, and he was fleeing for his life.

But I do want us to try something this morning before we dig into the Word.

All right?

I'm going to ask you to do this, and we're going to do this again at the end of the message.

So be ready.

It's going to be something very different.

I want you to get comfortable for a minute.

Close your eyes.

You can leave them open.

And I just want to be still for a minute.

Let's just be still and be silent before the Lord.

Silence can be loud, can't it?

That was literally one minute, just one minute.

I don't know about you.

About 30 seconds in, I'm like,

especially as a guy who's doing the talking, and all of a sudden it's quiet, right?

You're not supposed to have any dead air when you're on a stage or whatever.

Be uncomfortable in the silence.

Maybe some of you are like, man, I almost took a nap.

That was awesome.

That's for this afternoon, okay?

That's this afternoon.

So if you're asleep, good morning.

Wake up.

All right.

But why are we so uncomfortable in the silence?

Honestly, it can feel like you're wasting time because we're not doing anything.

We're just sitting there in the silence.

Silence can also open up pockets of loneliness, sadness, anger, impatience,

the things that we often stay busy enough to not have to think about.

Our agendas can come to mind rather than,

than actually sitting in silence.

And so I did that first minute because I wanted you to pay attention.

Where did your mind go to?

What did your mind go to in that minute?

Hang on to that for a little bit.

We're gonna come back to it at the end of the message this morning.

Let's go to Psalm 62.

And let's, I'm gonna read it and you listen and follow along.

For God alone, my soul waits in silence.

From him comes my salvation.

He alone is my rock and my salvation.

My fortress, I shall not be greatly shaken.

How long will all of you attack a man to batter him?

How long will all of you attack a man to batter him?

Like a leaning wall, a tottering fence.

They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.

They take pleasure in falsehood.

They bless with their mouths, but inwardly they curse.

For God alone, oh my soul, wait in silence.

For my hope is from him.

He only is my rock and my salvation.

My fortress, I shall not be shaken.

On God rests my salvation and my glory.

My mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Trust in him at all times, oh people.

Pour out your heart before him.

God is a refuge for us.

Those of lowest state are but a breath.

Those of highest state are a delusion.

In the balances they go up.

They are together lighter than a breath.

Put no trust in extortion.

Set no vain hopes on robbery.

If riches increase, set not your heart on them.

Once God has spoken.

Twice I have heard this.

That power belongs to God.

And that to you, oh Lord, belongs steadfast love.

For you will render to a man according to his work.

So in this psalm, David writes to four different people in this passage.

First, in verse 3, he is speaking to his enemies.

He's telling them what they need to hear.

He's talking to his own soul in verse 5.

He's talking to the people of God in verse 8.

And then he's talking to God himself in verse 12.

Four different audiences.

And the word alone appears six times in the first nine verses.

The word alone appears six times.

With four of them referring to God.

There's one big message here in this psalm.

It's God alone.

And he talks about a couple of ways you can have confidence in things that are other than God.

The first thing he talks about in the first nine verses is really confidence in other people.

See, David goes back and forth all through this psalm with two refuges.

Between false refuges and a true refuge.

And the first place that he found refuge was in people.

But if you think about David's life, why wouldn't he?

The guy was a shepherd in the house of Genesis.

He was the youngest, so he had the worst job.

Right?

He's out in the field keeping watch over the sheep.

Then here comes the prophet to anoint him as the next king of Israel after Saul.

Are you kidding me?

I'm out in the field.

Next thing I know, I'm going to be king?

How does this work?

Then, a few years later, he goes and becomes the champion of Israel by killing Goliath in front of everyone.

And then people would sing about him.

Saul has killed his thousands.

And David is tenacious.

He has killed tens of thousands.

I'm sure he was like an Israeli boy band walking around amongst all of the girls in Israel.

He had all of it.

He had it all.

He had it made.

Then, King Saul was still king.

And he knew what was going on.

And now he wanted David dead.

So David has to flee into the wilderness.

And that would be the theme of David's life.

People loving him, and then people wanting him dead.

He would have everybody love him.

And then his son would want him dead later in life.

So he starts with this false refuge.

He knows what he's doing.

He's talking about this false refuge of people with confidence in them.

And so he starts with God.

He's like, who is this God?

Who is this God that I'm supposed to go to alone?

He is a rock.

He's a rock, David says.

He's a foundation.

What is a foundation?

Well, for most of us in Michigan, it's a basement.

I moved here from California.

I'm like, what are these things?

They're holes in the ground.

We don't have basements in California.

I've been here 22 years now, so I can say that I'm a Michigander.

But, I mean, we don't really have basements in California, but you have them here.

But you have to have a foundation in order that the house will stand.

God is our foundation.

He's our salvation.

I thought about it for a while.

I'm like, he's my rescuer.

He rescues me.

He rescues me from my sin, but he also rescues me from my junk.

He rescues me when I get in trouble.

He is my rescuer.

Finally, David says, he is my fortress.

He is the one true refuge.

When you have a fortress, you have a place you can run to, and you're safe.

God is that.

And when all of these things are true,

and this is true of your God, and this is what you actually believe of him,

because that's true of him, what happens to you?

You will not be shaken.

So my question came to me.

I had to ask this to myself, and so I ask it of all of us today.

How often are we shaken?

What does that mean where our focus is?

Who is our rock?

What is our rock?

Who or what is our salvation?

Who or what is our fortress that we've been running to

that has all of a sudden caused us to become shaken?

Because I can guarantee you, whatever situation you face,

your God is not moved.

He's not shaking.

It didn't catch him by surprise.

It catches me by surprise all the time.

I wish a little less so, but all the time I'm like,

there's a life.

How much do we really trust God?

What happens when life happens?

This is another one of those passages that hit me right where I'm living.

God's been doing that a lot lately.

He's been talking.

Commentator put it like this.

As Christians, our problem is not that we don't trust God.

We have to trust God, at least for our salvation, right?

I mean, when we talk about the gospel, in order to come to Christ,

we have to believe that he exists.

We have to believe that he's the son of God.

We have to confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord

and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead

so that we could be saved.

That's the gospel in a nutshell.

Jesus is who he says he is.

He did what he said he did.

And if you don't know him today, you can come to him.

If there's anybody here that has questions about who Jesus is,

first of all, let me say, I'm glad you're here.

Second of all, we would love to speak with you.

Ask your questions.

We're not afraid of your questions.

God sure isn't.

Get your questions answered.

We want you to know this Jesus because he is the son of God

and he died and he rose from the grave.

We have to have faith.

We trust God in some way, this commentator says.

The problem is that we don't trust him alone.

We always want to add in something else to trust.

Here, David gives us the big idea right out of the gate.

I am at rest in God alone.

My salvation comes from him.

I thought about it.

I'm like, I mean, I do trust God.

My problem is I trust in other things too.

And when those things start shaking, I'm shaken.

I'm calling them my plus ones.

I trust in God, but I have a lot of plus ones.

What are some of your plus ones?

What are some of your plus ones when it comes to trust?

How about your bank account or your retirement?

How about the people around you, your friends, your family, your coworkers?

How about the hobbies you love to partake in?

How about expectations in life?

Expectations for a career, for sports, for education, for honors, for the future?

How about a position at work?

How about possessions and the joy that they temporarily bring?

That and more can easily be our plus one.

Listen again to verse two.

He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress.

I'll not be greatly shaken.

We are not shaken when God is our only rock, our only salvation, and our only fortress.

We've got to recognize where our plus ones are and say, while it's okay that I'm looking at this,

this can't be what I place my trust in.

My trust alone is in God.

And I'm going to pose it to you this morning.

There's a reason why David says silence, because over here is a lot of noise.

Over here is God in silence.

And when we're always in noise, this is what we're talking about over here.

And then he goes to verse two.

Verse four, talking about specifically verses three and four.

Have you ever felt like verses three and four?

How long will you attack a man to batter him like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?

They only want to break you down.

I mean, life can feel that way, right?

Those attacks seem to come when you're just barely standing, when you're leaning on things to hold you up,

or the proverbial feet under you are wobbling like a leaning wall or a tottering fence, David says.

People can often be kind to your face and then be ready to stab you right in the back as soon as you turn around.

We've all experienced this.

So what happens in you when this happens to you?

Are you shaken?

I mean, we all are, especially if it's somebody that we've trusted, friend, co-worker, boss.

It can be shaken.

But do we stay there?

Because he goes back to God again.

It's time to wait for God alone in silence.

Why does he say that?

Because David's hope is in him.

He reminds himself that God is his only rock and salvation and fortress.

He's reminding himself of this here.

In fact,

his salvation only rests in God and his glory.

His refuge is God.

What is David doing right after this?

He's preaching to himself.

He's reminding himself who God is.

Have you ever done that?

Because some of us here today, you need to be preaching to yourself the truth of how much God loves you.

Some of you need to be preaching to yourself that God is your rock and your fortress.

You need to get back in the word so that you know who this God really is,

not just what some guy on a stage says or some dude on the internet you listen to.

You've got to know who he is.

Because it doesn't matter what I think.

It matters what you're thinking about God.

Because as Tozer said, the most important thing about any person is what they believe about God.

That's the foundation.

Our foundation is found in so many other places, including mine.

You can't take what I say just because I say it.

You've got to know this God.

And here's the thing.

He wants to know you.

The reality is he already does know you.

But here's an even better thing.

He already knows all your bad stuff too.

He still wants to hang out with you.

So that's an awesome thing.

He already knows us through and through.

We can't hide anything from him.

But he's preaching to himself.

But why is it that in the most hardest, darkest, toughest moments in life,

we often go to our plus one first?

We go to our plus one first.

A commentator quoted Elizabeth Elliot here and just talked about it a minute,

but I want to read this for us today.

It says,

You might need to tell yourself to trust God if you're single and want to get married.

Elizabeth Elliot, who is a missionary, talked about what it means to trust God in that chapter of life.

She said,

Pray to that cruel and vexatious spirit, wondering how to find marriage, who, when, where.

It's on God that we should wait.

As a waiter waits, not for, but on the customer.

Alert, watchful, attentive, with no agenda of his own, ready to do whatever is wanted.

My soul waits only upon God for my expectation is from him.

Psalm 62, 5.

In him alone lies our security, our confidence, our trust.

A spirit of restlessness and resistance can never wait.

But one who believes he is loved with an everlasting love

and knows that underneath are the everlasting arms of God will find strength and peace.

So we need to be talking to ourselves today.

It might not be about marriage.

You might need to tell yourself to trust God with your child.

Someone may have lied about you and there's nothing you can do about it.

You need to tell yourself again that God will clear your name.

You may have lost a loved one and you need to remind yourself to hope in the resurrection.

You may need to say with David,

Wait in silence for my hope is in him, not in my plus one.

And then David finishes up with reminding himself that every single person is a breath.

And when he mentions both the lowest state and the highest state,

he's talking about everybody on the face of the earth.

People are going to come in and out of our lives.

They're important.

They're not our foundation.

Our foundation, our salvation, our rock, our fortress is God alone.

And then in verse 10, he briefly mentions,

Don't put your confidence in money or possessions or finances.

He talks about money and how it's obtained.

For some people, they obtain money illegally and it rules your life.

It's in vain and it will ruin you.

You can obtain money through increase and in wisdom.

But don't set your heart on those either because it can all fade quickly.

The reality is and the truth is that both Jesus and Paul referenced

and talked about money that no matter how it comes,

it can be dangerous when your trust is placed in it.

No matter how money comes, if our trust is in our money,

you're in a dangerous place, in a dangerous place.

And then he finishes in verse 11 and 12 and says,

God alone is my refuge.

In the end, nothing compares to God.

Not people, not money, not power.

It says,

David's saying, look, I heard God speak once and that should have been it.

But he spoke to me again.

Not because he had to, but because he loved David and he wanted to remind him who he is.

And I want to tell you this morning, God loves you.

Loves you.

Don't walk out of here not knowing that.

And he will continue to speak and remind you that he is above it all.

He spoke then, he speaks.

Now, why do I know that?

Because the cross continues to speak his love for every single one of us.

I hope we never get tired of hearing that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead.

My friends, this isn't religion.

It's a reality of a savior who came and died for you.

We need to be reminded of it.

That's what we got to preach ourselves often because that's what,

that's our foundation.

And that can't be shaken.

Do you really believe that Jesus died for you?

Do you really believe that you're loved by God?

Because when you actually believe,

believe it, man, I've talked about how much God loves me for years.

I've talked about it and talked about it and talked about it and talked about it.

But I'm going to tell you something.

I've never really believed it.

And I think it's probably true of so many of us as Christians,

because when we don't get what we want and life is hard,

we think God doesn't love us.

We might not say it out loud, but we begin to think that way.

And I am at 47 years old,

only beginning to understand and actually believe that God not only loves me,

but he might like me a little.

A little bit too.

Because I don't like me oftentimes.

He loves us.

And that's life-changing.

It's life-changing.

Because when people stab us in the back,

it doesn't, I'm not saying that that doesn't hurt,

that there isn't going to be a rumbling in our life,

but it doesn't have to shake us to the core when we truly trust that God loves us.

That there's more than just what we see in front of us.

And this is what David is talking about here.

Listen to these descriptions of this God that has set his love on you

and has given us ability to have a relationship with him through Jesus Christ.

I'm just going to say this.

I'm just going to read it.

It's not going to be on the screen.

I just want you to hear these words describing God from his word.

Isaiah 40, 22 to 23.

It is he who sits above the circle of the earth,

and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers,

who stretches out the heavens like a curtain and spreads them like a tent to dwell in,

who brings princes to nothing and makes the rulers of the earth as emptiness.

Colossians 1, 16 to 17.

For by him all things were created in heaven and on earth,

visible and invisible,

whether thrones or dominions or rulers,

or authorities,

all things were created through him and for him.

And he is above and before all things,

and in all things hold together in him.

Psalm 90, verse 2.

Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever you had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting,

you are God.

Isaiah 55, 8 to 9.

For my thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.

For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so are my ways higher than your ways,

and my thoughts than your thoughts.

Psalm 103, 19.

The Lord has established his throne in the heavens,

and his kingdom rules over all.

And we've heard this one already a few weeks ago,

but we need to preach this to ourselves.

Psalm 46, 1 to 2.

God is our refuge and strength,

a very present help in trouble.

Therefore we will not fear,

though the earth give way,

though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea.

He is with us and he loves us.

We cannot forget that.

And when we do,

we need to preach,

we need to preach it to ourselves.

Or find someone that will remind us to preach it to us.

The bottom line here though in all of this,

we have to learn to trust God in silence.

Have to learn to trust God in silence.

Too often we want to seek God

in the middle of the hustle and the bustle.

We don't want to slow down and listen.

We certainly don't want to be still.

Being still in our culture is absolutely,

you know, time is money, right?

We can't be still.

Problem is that if we just keep moving and going

and hustling and worrying and complaining and striving,

and, and, and,

you're going to miss God's voice.

You won't be able to hear him

because of all the noise in your life.

Learn this in 1 Kings 19, 11 to 13.

God said,

Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.

Behold, the Lord passed by in a great and strong wind,

tore the mountains and broke the pieces,

in pieces the rocks before the Lord,

but the Lord was not in the wind.

And after the wind, an earthquake,

but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

And after the earthquake, a fire,

but the Lord was not in the fire.

After the fire, sound of a low whisper.

And Elijah heard it.

He wrapped his face in,

his cloak and went out

and stood at the entrance of the cave.

And behold, there came a voice to him and said,

What are you doing here, Elijah?

See, God will shout to us at times,

but he is most often found in the still, small voice.

And it can be frustrating at times

because we feel like we should be able to hear him

at any time, right?

But here's the thing.

If we're going about our day

and doing everything we usually do,

we have the strong temptation

to continue to look at our plus ones

because that's part of our life.

And then we're extremely double-minded.

We want God, but we want our lives the way they are.

We want to meet God,

on our terms.

So many of us in this room

want to meet God on your terms.

That's not how God works.

God is not the genie in the sky

to give you everything you want.

He's a good father.

And a good father doesn't give us

the candy or the ice cream all the time.

Even though we might cry for it all the time.

James 1, 5-8.

If any of you lacks wisdom,

let him ask God,

who gives generously to all without reproach,

and it will be given him.

But let him ask in faith,

with no doubting.

For the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea,

that is driven and tossed by the wind.

For that person must not suppose

that he will receive anything from the Lord.

He is a double-minded man,

unstable in all of his ways.

I've seen the illustration,

and I don't dare do it

because I will break myself.

I've seen a pastor stand on two ladders before,

right next to each other.

And you're up on one,

and you can do it,

and you go up another rung,

and by a while,

the dude's like,

God, his legs really spread.

He's got to choose which ladder he's going to be on.

Guys, we can have one foot in the world

and one foot in God for a period of time,

but after a while,

you're going to have to choose

who you're going to serve.

You're going to have to choose.

Who is your rock?

Who is your salvation?

Because if you're going to choose the world,

then you're going to be shaken all the time.

Only in God alone can we trust.

Commentator smacked me pretty good,

smacks us pretty good this morning too.

If you don't trust God alone,

you don't trust him at all.

Some people say they trust God,

but they hedge their bets.

They're like a football coach

with a really good second string quarterback.

If God's way doesn't work out,

they're ready to pull him in the third quarter.

In reality, they don't trust God at all.

They trust themselves and their own judgment.

Don't be double-minded.

You can't trust God

and something else.

If God is your rock,

you need both feet standing on him.

If God is your fortress,

you're either inside or outside

his walls of protection.

There is no in-between.

People who try to trust God

and something else

are like a man with one foot on the dock

and another on a canoe.

They are not steady.

They will fall.

Here's another reason, though,

why God wants to speak to us

He wants to draw us close.

He wants to draw us close.

I love the moments as a dad

that I get with my girls.

I love to have that time.

He loves that time with you.

He wants to draw you close.

God alone is my rock.

My firm foundation.

And we only know that

when we draw close to him.

James 4.8,

draw near to God

and he will draw near to you.

Cleanse your hands, you sinners,

and purify your hearts,

you double-minded.

Jeremiah 29.13,

you will seek me and find me

when you seek me with all.

therefore say to them,

thus declares the Lord of hosts,

return to me,

says the Lord of hosts,

and I will return to you,

says the Lord of hosts.

Psalm 145.18,

the Lord is near

to all who call on him,

to all who call on him in truth.

There is a relationship

of trusting God

in the silence.

It's hard work.

to trust God in silence

because you're going to have

to keep your eyes

and your heart on God alone.

You're going to be tempted

to look at your plus ones

when it's quiet.

We're stuck with all the things

that are going on in our heads

and we're stuck

with all of our worries

and our concerns

and our frustrations.

And even Jesus went through this

in Isaiah 53.7,

it speaks of him.

He was oppressed

and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth.

Like a lamb

that is led to the slaughter,

like a sheep

that is before its shears,

so he opened not his mouth.

But when God,

is your foundation,

you cannot be shaken.

See, we wait on God

as the storm blows

all around us.

David wasn't living

in a quiet monastery.

What we're talking about today

is for the boardroom,

the family room,

the locker room,

and the classroom.

We wait on God

in the office,

at the gym,

and in our neighborhood.

We wait on his timing

as the kids bicker

in the back seat.

We hold onto God

in the real world.

It's not just for this room.

waiting on God in silence

is the most rational thing

we can do in life

because God is who

he says he is.

Wait in silence.

Wait in confidence

for he alone is your rock,

your salvation,

and your fortress.

And the cross

is our firm foundation.

And we remember that today.

Today we have the opportunity

to take communion together.

And at the River Church,

we celebrate communion.

We celebrate it

as open communion.

Anybody can take communion.

There's really only one

if you want to say qualification.

And that is if you claim

and you know Jesus Christ

as your Savior.

If you know him as Lord,

if you've given your life to him,

you can take communion with us.

We'd love for you to join us.

At the same point,

if you haven't accepted Christ

and you hear him calling your name,

you can call on his name right now

and accept him as Savior.

Declare with your mouth

that he's Lord.

Believe in your heart

that God raised him from the dead

and you can be saved

right where you are.

But we also go to Corinthians 11.

1 Corinthians 11.

I want to read a little bit of that

as we prepare for communion this morning.

We have to know

how we take the Lord's Supper together.

And Paul gives a warning

after he talks about

how to do communion,

how to take it.

How to take it together

and what it means.

It says,

Whoever therefore eats the bread

or drinks the cup of the Lord

in an unworthy manner

concerning the body

and blood of the Lord.

So let a person examine himself then

and so eat of the bread

and drink of the cup.

And so we always take

a couple of minutes

for you to just pray before the Lord

and prepare your heart.

And I always go back

to the verse in Psalm

that says,

Search me, O God,

and know my heart.

Test me and know my anxious thoughts.

See if there's any way in me

that makes you sad

and lead me in the way

of everlasting life.

So let God search us

and know us

because I guarantee you,

in the last month

since we've had communion,

probably in the last hour,

we've had a bad attitude

we've got to confess to the Lord.

And so we just take a few minutes

we're right with the Lord.

So we want to be doing that.

And so I'm going to invite the guys

to come forward

and start passing out the elements.

And then these elements,

you're going to receive two cups.

has the piece of bread in it

and the top cup is the juice.

I'm going to ask you

to hang on to that

because we'll take it together.

But as the bread

and these cups are passed out,

I want you to take some

time with the Lord,

just you and God,

and let Him search you

and know you.

And we're going to do it

in silence this morning

rather than have the piano

so we can begin

to continue to learn

what it means

to be in silence

before the Lord.

come on forward

and let's spend

this amount of time

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