Unity Church of Castro Valley
Sunday Message for April 6, 2008
The Silence
This week we are going to talk about The Silence. In The Revealing Word Charles Fillmore defines The Silence as a state of consciousness entered into for the purpose of putting man in touch with Divine Mind so that the soul may listen to the "still small voice" (I Kings 19:12).
When one goes into the silence he enters the "secret place of the Most High," the closet of prayer within. He closes the door and in the stillness of that meeting place he prays to God, he communes with God, and he meditates on Truth. Then he listens to what God has to say to him.
This is the piece that a lot of people forget to do. They get so busy talking to God and telling God what they want that they don't stop and listen to what God has to say. A lot of us ask questions of God and wonder why we never get the answers. But the truth is, we never shut up long enough for God to get a word in edgewise.
ELIJAH
There is a wonderful story in the Bible about the prophet Elijah. He was the first great prophet of the northern kingdom of Israel. Elijah had a reputation as one who appeared and disappeared like the wind - as though the spirit of God both deposited and snatched him away. Elijah shows up in the Bible without a word about his background.
The biblical account of Elijah's mission encompasses some 15 years from about 865 to 850 B.C. He and his student Elisha are the greatest miracle workers in scripture between Moses and Jesus.
Elijah appears when Jezebel, as queen, was killing all the prophets of God and encouraging the people to worship Baal and Asherah. Elijah came to King Ahab and told him that there would be years of drought, then he vanished. Probably a wise move, since Jezebel would have had him executed.
Ahab believed him and held him responsible for the famine that followed. So Ahab initiated an international manhunt for Elijah. Elijah hid out for quite a while, but eventually went back, showed up in court and challenged the prophets of Baal to a contest.
Elijah won the contest with the prophets of Baal and the people executed them. Elijah announced to the King that the drought would now end and that there would be rain. Unfortunately, Jezebel was not real happy about the slaughter of her favored prophets and swore to have Elijah executed immediately.
So again, Elijah disappeared. But out in the Sinai desert an angel came to him, fed him, and instructed him to make the 40 day journey to (1 Kings 19:8) "Horeb the mount of God." It was as if Elijah had retraced Israel's 40 years in the desert and had returned to the place of God's original revelation on the sacred mountain of the covenant. On the mountain Elijah rested in a cave similar to where Moses hid while God passed by and revealed his glory to him.
Elijah felt like a failure, because he had not been able to get the children of Israel to go back to their worship of Yahweh. He was depressed and holding one big pity party for himself.
But amazing events began to occur outside his cave. Just as God had first appeared to Israel on Mount Sinai in fire, smoke, thunder, and earthquake, so now the physical world marked a divine epiphany.
But, somehow, Elijah sensed a difference. A mighty wind, strong enough to break the rocks, tore at the mountain. But Elijah knew that God was not in the wind. Next, a great earthquake happened, but Elijah knew that God was not in the earthquake. Next there was a blazing fire, but Elijah recognized that the Lord was not in the fire, either.
As the fire died away, however, Elijah heard a whisper in the silence, (1 Kings 19:12) "a still small voice." Something within the prophet told him that in the sound of gentle stillness was the true voice of God. He could no longer sit, consumed by his own sadness, but wrapped his mantle around his face to shield his eyes and went out of the cave to meet God.
Then the voice confronted Elijah forcefully, (1 Kings 19:13) "What are you doing here, Elijah?" The prophet immediately began to defend himself, speaking of his own zealousness for God and of the apostasy of others. (1 Kings 19:14) "I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are seeking my life, to take it away." Elijah had been engaged so long in the battle for his faith, that he had come to think of it as linked to his personal victories and defeats.
But the unique epiphany of God on the mountain had pointed in a different direction. The fact that God was not in the mighty demonstrations of nature's power like those that were claimed for Baal, but was present only in a whisper breaking the silence, showed that Yahweh was on an entirely separate plane from Baal.
There could be no true competition between Baal, who was hardly more than a personification of those natural forces, and the true and mysterious God of Israel, who encompassed and surpassed all natural power. In spite of what Elijah imagined, God's survival did not depend solely on him, and there was no cause for despair.
So God gave Elijah a new commission, one allowing him to see that the divine purpose was much broader than the defeat of Baal.
ELIZABETH SAND TURNER
So when Jezebel was queen, it was evident that something had to be done to save the worship of Jehovah. The man for the job was the prophet Elijah.
Elijah represents "the spiritual I AM of our consciousness." Were it not for the Elijah self within us, our consciousness would be completely infiltrated with sense desires (Jezebel). And there are times when Jezebel rises with great power.
Then Elijah, the spiritual self, comes forth to combat these destructive phases of mind. In each person there is conflict between Elijah and Jezebel, and this conflict is dramatically shown in the Bible narrative.
Elijah championed the cause of God with such enthusiasm that he became violent and destructive. This was the Jezebel side of his character. But he was willing to be instructed. He slowly learned the lesson that one must receive the kingdom of God as a little child. He started out with the roar of the whirlwind, and ended with the whisper of the "still small voice."
The positive or dominant element of the I AM (Elijah) must be taken by the Lord into a state of peace and harmony; the fiery or destructive tendency of Elijah must be blotted out by mildness and sweet-tempered obedience. This results in the permanent establishment of higher states of consciousness--as we demonstrate more of our inherent powers.
THE SECRET PLACE OF THE MOST HIGH
Emilie Cady writes in Lessons in Truth, "There is nothing the human heart so longs for, so cries out after, as to know God, "whom to know aright is life eternal""
We have such a restlessness that prompts us to shift from one thing to another. We are always hoping to find satisfaction and rest in some accomplishment or possession. We think that we want a house, land, car, or power. We go after these things, we get them, and we find ourselves still restless and unsatisfied.
At the heart of humanity there is a deep homesickness that can never be satisfied with anything less than a consciousness of the indwelling presence of God. People throughout the ages have recognized this inner hunger and have tried to enter this consciousness through worship. But so few have reached that point of pure joy.
Perhaps we are putting to much effort into something that should be easy and natural for us. It says in (Ephesians 2:8-9) "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God--not the result of works."
We need to learn how to go into the silence daily and commune with God. This has been referred to in the Bible as the secret place of the Most High, or the shelter of the Most High. It says in (Psalms 91:1-6)
"You who live in the shelter of the Most High,
who abide in the shadow of the Almighty,
will say to the Lord, "My refuge and my fortress;
my God, in whom I trust."
For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler
and from the deadly pestilence;
he will cover you with his pinions,
and under his wings you will find refuge;
his faithfulness is a shield and buckler.
You will not fear the terror of the night,
or the arrow that flies by day,
or the pestilence that stalks in darkness,
or the destruction that wastes at noonday."
So why does the Bible refer to it as a 'secret' place? Because it is a place of meeting between the Christ at the center of your being, and your consciousness. It is a hidden place into which no outside person can enter. This place of realization is not anything which can be given to you by another.
In fact hundreds of people seek this inner revealing. They run from teacher to teacher spending masses of money and tons time trying to find someone that can take them there.
But you are not going to get it from human teachers or man-made books. You can understand intellectually all the statements of Truth and be able to spout them on cue but until there is an inner revealing of the Christ, you have not yet found it. (Psalms 25:14) "The friendship of the Lord is for those who honor him, and he makes his covenant known to them."
Paul recognized this when he said in (Philippians 3:8) "More than that, I regard everything as loss because of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things, and I regard them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ."
That which we so long for will never be found through our intellect alone. We need to (Matthew 18:3) "become like children." We need to learn how to be still and listen to that which the Father will say to us through the intuitional part of our being. The light that we crave will come out of the deep silence and will become manifest within ourselves, if we will but keep still.
Paul wrote about this conscious knowledge of an indwelling God which we so crave. He said it is (Colossians 1:26-27) "the mystery that has been hidden throughout the ages and generations but has now been manifested… Christ in you, the hope of glory."
FINDING THE SECRET PLACE
So, how do we find this consciousness? Well, whoever you are, wherever you stand in the world seeking Truth, know once and for all that you are not seeking God, but God is seeking you. You don't need to worry. You don't need to be anxious. You don't need to strive. Only let it. Learn how to let it.
We need to go directly to God for our heart's desire. God is the fulfillment of every desire. He waits to manifest more of Himself to us and through us.
If you wanted my love you wouldn't go to Bethanne or to Bob to get it. Either of these people might tell you that I could and would give it to you, but you would have to come directly to me to receive it.
In some way, after all our seeking for the light and Truth, we must learn to wait, each one for himself, on God for this inner revelation of Truth and our oneness with Him.
The light that we want is not some thing that God has to give; it is God Himself. God does not give us life or love as a thing. God is life and light and love. More of Himself in our consciousness then, is what we will want, no matter what other name we may give it.
We have been talking about 'sitting in the silence.' To some it doesn't mean very much, for they have not yet learned how to follow what it says in (Psalms 62:5) "For God alone my soul waits in silence." We haven't learned to hear any voice except external ones. Noise belongs to the outside world, not to God. God works in the stillness, and we can wait on the Lord of our being so as to be conscious of the still, inner working.
Let's try it now. We want to first withdraw ourselves bodily and mentally from the outside world. Relax your physical body, your intellectual body, and your emotional body. Then enter into the inner chambers and shut the door. Turn your thoughts within and know that God abides within you, that God is with you now. Know that God is the answer that you desire.
Then be still, absolutely still. Relax every part of your being and believe that it is being done. Go into the silence. Throw aside your limitations and your desires. Allow God to fulfill His highest thought in you now. Make yourself as clay in the potter's hands, willing to be molded anew, to be created as the mind of the indwelling Christ.
While you wait, and let God in, He will work marvelous changes in you. You will have a strange new consciousness of serenity and quiet; a feeling that some new power to overcome has come to you. You will be able to say, (John 10:30) "The Father and I are one" with a new meaning, a new sense of reality and awe that will make you feel very still.
Now as you come back from the silence, back to this room, let me leave you with this thought from (Psalms 62:5) "For God alone my soul waits in silence, for my hope is from him."
SCRIPTURE: I Kings 19:1-14; Ephesians 2:8-9; Psalms 91:1-6; Psalms 25:14; Philippians 3:8; Matthew 18:3; Colossians 1:26-27; Psalms 62:5; John 10:30
REFERENCE: The Revealing Word Charles Fillmore; Let There Be Light Elizabeth Sand Turner; Metaphysical Bible Dictionary Charles Fillmore; Lessons In Truth H. Emilie Cady
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Last updated
April 7, 2008
