Still | Robert Madu | Social Dallas

Summary

Podcast Summary: Social Dallas Podcast

Episode: Still | Robert Madu | Social Dallas
Date: March 1, 2026
Host: Pastor Robert Madu (with Assistant Pastor interjections)

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Episode Overview

This episode marks the beginning of a four-week series titled "Still", focused on the spiritual disciplines of silence and solitude. Pastor Robert Madu challenges listeners to reconsider their relationship with noise, busyness, and the discomfort of quiet, introducing these practices as essential—not optional—rhythms for Christian spiritual formation. The episode weaves biblical texts, cultural commentary, and personal reflections to create both a compelling case and a practical invitation for embracing intentional moments of stillness in a distracted, noisy world.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. The Year’s Theme: Trust

• Pastor Robert opens by establishing "trust" as the church’s word for the year, anchored in Hebrews 10:35-37.
• The word trust becomes a springboard for introducing stillness as a path to deeper trust in God, especially amid chaos.

"Do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the great reward it brings you... just a little while, the coming one will come and not delay." – Pastor Robert (00:29)

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2. The Awkwardness and Power of Silence (01:19 - 03:53)

• Pastor Robert humorously describes the discomfort many feel during prolonged silences in church.
• He reminisces on his Pentecostal upbringing, where any gap of quiet was quickly filled with noise and shouts, revealing our collective unease with silence.
• He transitions into the challenge of solitude—being truly alone without distraction—citing Blaise Pascal:

  “All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” (03:53)

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3. Introducing Silence and Solitude

• The episode launches a four-week journey exploring these two ancient practices:
  • Silence: Releasing the compulsion to fill every moment with sound or activity.
  • Solitude: Embracing time alone with God.

"We're about to learn as a church what it means to be still in the presence of the Lord." – Pastor Robert (05:50)

• Pastor Robert clarifies the goal isn’t to abandon the church’s energy but to add depth by learning when to be still.

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4. The Biblical Call to Stillness (11:35 - 16:12)

• Focus on Psalm 46:10:

  "Be still and know that I am God."

• He unpacks the Hebrew word "rapha," meaning “let go,” “release,” or “cease striving”—not merely “calm down.”

  “Stop trying to fix it. Stop striving. That is the connotation of rapha.” (13:57)

• He draws a connection to "Jehovah Rapha" (“The Lord who heals”)—suggesting that healing follows surrender and stillness.
• Vivid analogy: The need to be still, like a patient under anesthesia, so the Master Physician (God) can do the necessary deep work.

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5. The Context of Stillness: Peace Amid Chaos (12:44 - 13:57)

• The call to be still is not issued in tranquility; Psalm 46 speaks of chaos (“the nations rage... the mountains shake…”).
• True peace is found “in the midst of the turmoil… I still have an inner peace and quiet because I got a place that nobody can get to.” (13:57)

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6. Silence and Solitude: Not Personality, but Formation (31:55 - 33:19)

• Stillness is for everyone—introverts and extroverts alike—because it shapes us into the likeness of Christ.
• Jesus is the ultimate model, frequently seeking out lonely places for prayer and renewal (Luke 4, Luke 5:16).

“He often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. You're not what you do occasionally; you're what you do often.” – Pastor Robert (35:04)

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7. Why Is It So Hard? (17:07 - 27:41)

• The world has only become louder—social media, smartphones (referencing the iPhone’s introduction in 2007), endless screens, constant notifications.
• Cultural shift: Boredom, once normal and even healthy, has been replaced by chronic stimulation.
• Modern life engineers silence out: "We are constantly, perpetually inundated with noise. There is no margin. There is no space." (25:01)
• Warning: "If the enemy can keep you noisy, he can keep you numb. Noise is not neutral... Whatever fills your attention will shape your affection." (25:31)

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8. Working Definitions and Practical Exploration (27:44 - 29:54)

• Silence (external & internal): Not just the absence of noise around, but also quieting mental noise (loops of worry, rehearsed conversations).
• Solitude: Not loneliness (which is emptiness) but inner fullness—“chosen separation for the refining of your soul.”
• The spiritual discipline of listening as part of prayer—“so much of my prayer time is listening, just getting quiet enough to hear.” (27:52)

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9. Solitude and Major Life Moments (36:54 - 39:00)

• Jesus withdrew before:
  • Major decisions (selecting disciples)
  • After major miracles (feeding the multitudes)
  • When crowds and pressure increased
  • Before the cross
• Challenge: Do we retreat to God’s presence before making big choices, or allow busyness to dictate our rhythms?

"Most of us, the busier we get, the first thing to go is our quiet time." – Pastor Robert (38:13)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the discomfort of silence:
  “Did you feel that? The tension, the awkwardness, the urge to fill the space with noise? We have forgotten how to be still.” (01:19)

• On healing and stillness:
  “I am convinced God can’t heal some things in our life because we hadn't got still enough for Him to heal it.” (15:34)

• On the lure of distraction:
  "The enemy doesn’t have to destroy you if he can distract you. If he can keep you scrolling, he can keep you shallow." (25:31)

• On the necessity of silence and solitude:
  “Silence and solitude are not optional. They are essential. This isn’t something you say, ‘If I’ve got time.’ No, this is critical and integral to walking with God.” (16:07)

• On technology's impact:
  “What if the greatest threat to our walk with the Lord isn’t just the devil, it's distraction?” (25:01)

• On postures for prayer:
  "...so much of silence and solitude has everything to do with your posture before the Father. And I love this posture because it just says, God, I’m open. I'm not closed off." (46:23)

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Powerful Illustrations

Learning to Hear Through the Noise (41:32 - 45:54)

• Pastor Robert plays a noisy audio clip, then isolates a single voice—his father’s loving affirmation—to illustrate that God’s voice is present, but often obscured by the clutter of our lives.

"The voice of my father was inside the noise. The problem wasn’t distance. It was noise. I wonder what your heavenly Father is speaking over you right now that you can’t hear because your life is too noisy." (44:23)

• He encourages a practical step:

  “…when you wake up in the morning, don't let this [your phone] be the first thing. If you got to, put your phone in another room. Can you wake up and start with silence and solitude? For some of you, it would change the game.” (45:15)

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Practical Application & Final Charge

• The message closes by inviting listeners to respond—beginning with a communal prayer and a personal commitment to create space for God’s voice.
• Pastor Robert urges discipline:

  "I am in no way, shape or form saying that this is easy. This is spiritual discipline. Discipline takes time and intentionality. This will not happen by accident." (46:00)

• Listeners are called to see “home” as God’s presence, not just a church building.

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Important Timestamps

• Word of the Year: Trust: 00:01 – 01:19
• Silence and the discomfort church culture: 01:19 – 03:53
• Invitation to silence/solitude: 04:00 – 07:35
• Biblical context of stillness: 11:35 – 16:12
• Noise in modern life & technology: 17:07 – 27:41
• Definitions: Silence & Solitude: 27:44 – 29:54
• Personality and solitude: 31:55 – 33:19
• Jesus and the rhythm of withdrawal: 33:20 – 39:00
• Illustration: Hearing the Father through noise: 41:32 – 45:54
• Practices and commitment prayer: 45:59 – end

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Summary Statement

Pastor Robert Madu challenges Social Dallas not to run from the discomfort of silence and solitude but to embrace it as the birthplace of true intimacy with God. In a culture addicted to noise and distracted by busyness, reclaiming stillness is both a radical and necessary act of spiritual resistance—one that promises profound healing, clarity, and transformation.

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For those looking to integrate the message: Begin carving intentional moments of quiet, especially in the morning, to listen for God’s voice. Trust that He speaks—often, quietly—beneath the noise.

Transcript

[Pastor Robert]

Does anybody in the room have some confident trust in the Lord this morning? Every single year, we come around a word of the year. And this year, our word is trust. Our word is trust. And that word comes from a verse of the year found In Hebrews, chapter 10, verses 35 through 37. And we are going to declare that together. But as Pastor Robert always says, you don't go until I say so. So here we go.

[Lead Pastor]

You ready?

[Pastor Robert]

All right, let's go. So do not throw away this confident trust in the Lord. Remember the Great War.

[Lead Pastor]

Come on.

[Pastor Robert]

So that you will continue to do the. Just a little while. The coming one will come and not delay.

[Assistant Pastor]

Come on.

[Pastor Robert]

Can we praise God for he is trustworthy? Thank you, Jesus. Well, social, at this time, you may take your seat and turn your attention toward the screen.

[Lead Pastor]

Did you feel that? The tension, the awkwardness, the urge to fill the space with noise, the subtle pain that came from silence that lasted just a little bit too long? Social fam. Let's start this series off with some honesty. We have forgotten how to be still. We don't know what to do with the quiet. You know, your boy was raised in church. I was raised in church, actually. Let me rephrase that. I was raised in a Pentecostal church, talking about hand clapping, foot stomping, tongue talking, modesty, claws on deck. Because somebody was going to fall out in the spirit. Love that. I was raised in that environment. But I noticed something over the years that in those services, whenever there was the rare occasion where silence would fill the room, almost always something would happen. Somebody would fill the space. Somebody would shout, come on, Jesus. Or somebody would start clapping like some of y' all did earlier. And the people weren't crazy. Not all of them. It's just the reality that silence can be uncomfortable. We don't know how to just be still and sit in it. Some of y', all, like, is PR Gonna ever get on stage and preach, or is he just gonna preach from the seat the whole time? Let me live. Please let me live. Cause I'm telling you, sometimes it feels good to just be surrounded by people. Y' all don't understand. Do you realize every single Sunday after the worship team just abandons me up there and goes to the back for their smoke break. I'm kidding. I'm kidding. They don't smoke on Sunday. When the worship team just leaves me

[Assistant Pastor]

up there, do you realize that I

[Lead Pastor]

am on that stage alone? No voices to say, you got this one? No help. I am by myself. And perhaps the only thing scarier than silence is solitude. When you are truly alone by yourself, it is a scary thing. Maybe you've never experienced it because you always got your phone in your hand. But if you ever have a moment to truly be alone with you and nobody else, it can be scary, it can be haunting, because you don't have anything to distract you from you. Maybe that's why the mathematician and French philosopher Blaise Pascal said that all of humanity's problems stems from man's inability to sit quiet in a room alone with the silence, with the solitude. Social fam Today is more than the beginning of a new series. I believe that today is an invitation from your heavenly father. It is an invitation into spiritual formation. Hear me? That, I believe, has the opportunity to change your life forever. Because over the next four weeks, this is a four week series. We are going to lean into two ancient practices that have. And those two practices are silence and solitude. Silence and solitude. We are about to learn as a church what it means to be still in the presence of the Lord. Now, please don't get it twisted. This is not a series against high energy or community. Oh, don't get it twisted. I don't want us to lose who we are. One of the things I love about Social Dallas is we know how to get laughed. We know how to make some noise. Oh, I'm telling you, this is not a church of the frozen chosen. Up in here, Social knows how to

[Assistant Pastor]

turn all the way up.

[Lead Pastor]

We serve God with passion and with zeal. I'm talking about from the parking lot to the stage. You can't even get into a social service without somebody with a sign getting

[Assistant Pastor]

in your face, say, hey, we glad you're here. I love that about our church. I don't ever want to lose that about our church. As a matter of fact, it is biblical to open up your mouth and

[Lead Pastor]

lift up your voice. Voice.

[Assistant Pastor]

That's why the Bible gives you commands, not suggestions. Commands. Clap your hands, all ye people. Not black people, not white people, not just Puerto Ricans, not just all people. If you are a person, there ought to be some moments where you put your hands together and say, God, I thank you for what you've done in my life. The Bible says, let everything that has breath praise the Lord. That's a command to shout unto God

[Lead Pastor]

with a voice of triumph. I don't ever want to lose that. However, if you're ever gonna grow and be mature. Maturity knows when to shout loud in a crowd and when to be still. Maturity knows when it's time to Come together. And when it's time to retreat and get in solitude and silence so that God can do different deep work on the inside of us. So today we just beginning this journey. It's gonna be a four week series.

[Assistant Pastor]

I'm gonna challenge you not to miss a week.

[Lead Pastor]

It's gonna take us straight into Easter. Okay. Four week series. You should do it. You can do it. Come all the way to Easter. So when the other people show up who just come on Easter, you can tell them we've been here for four weeks. Okay, so we're gonna begin this series today. And I'm believing that God is gonna show us. Here it is. How to be comfortable in the uncomfortable feeling of silence and solitude. Yeah. If you've been coming to social for a while, you know that even doing this series is breaking our rhythm. Matter of fact, let me just do a little survey. How many of you, you've just been coming to social this year. Can I see your hand? You've just been coming to social this year.

[Assistant Pastor]

Come on. Welcome, welcome.

[Lead Pastor]

How many have been rocking with us for a while? At least two years or more. How many have been coming for 10 years? You lying. We about to turn five. If you've been coming for a while, you know that this is actually even breaking our rhythm. Cause typically during this season in our church, I always do a on relationships. We always talk about relationships. And ooh, I love when I preach on relationships. And apparently y' all do too. Cause I check the numbers and our numbers always go up when we talk about relationships. I mean, they go up incredibly. In fact, you wanna grow a church, either have food at every service or just preach about relationships and people will show up. I think the single people love the series on relationships. Cause they're like, oh.

[Assistant Pastor]

Cause I just gotta find the one. And if I get the right relationship, it'll fix everything.

[Lead Pastor]

So the single people love relationships and

[Assistant Pastor]

then the married people love relationship series

[Lead Pastor]

because they realized that the relationship didn't fix everything. So they're not trying to find the one. They're trying to survive the one that they got. And so stick with us.

[Assistant Pastor]

I promise you I'm gonna give you

[Lead Pastor]

a relationship series this year.

[Assistant Pastor]

But I felt it was incumbent upon

[Lead Pastor]

me as your pastor to skip the relationship series and talk about silence and solitude.

[Assistant Pastor]

Because how many know before we can

[Lead Pastor]

talk about a relationship with someone else, we have to talk about solitude. We have to talk about you being alone with God.

[Assistant Pastor]

Because before there was a relationship with

[Lead Pastor]

another person, there was always intimacy with God. You realize that Before Eve was ever created, there was solitude with God. Adam's first relationship was not horizontal. It was vertical. He walked with God. He heard from God. He was formed by God. Solitude with God preceded relationship with any other person. Why? Because there are some things that God can only do in your life when you get still. There are some things that God can only reveal to you when you finally get still. There are some things God can only heal when you get still. There are some doors that God will not open until you get still. You ever tried to run into a revolving door? I bet you bust your lip wide open. You can run to an automatic door. You cannot run into a revolving door. I don't care how busy you are. I don't care how much of a hurry you're in. Revolving doors require you to pause and get into the rhythm of that door. It will not adjust to your rhythm. You have to adjust to the rhythm of the revolving door. Oh, let me preach if I can. Some of you think you're stuck. You're not stuck.

[Assistant Pastor]

God just knows there's some doors that will not open until you get still

[Lead Pastor]

enough for him to open it. And when you get still, then he'll open the door. There are some things he can only do when your soul gets in silence and your soul gets in solitude. He is not an automatic door. And so I want to look at our anchor verse for this series. Still. It comes from Psalm 46, verse number 10. I know some of y' all are super saved. You gotta memorize. But look at what he says.

[Assistant Pastor]

Be

[Lead Pastor]

still and know that I am God. Not be busy and know. Not be productive and know not be loud and know. Be still and know that I am God. As a matter of fact, he's saying, knowing God is connected to stillness, learning how to quiet your soul. And I know what some of y' all are thinking. Pr. You don't know what I got going on in my life. Do you know how many kids I have? Do you know the people that are on my job? Do you know what's facing me right now? This is not the season. I don't even have time to be still and know that he is God. There is chaos going around me. I promise you. When I get calm enough and when I use that gift card that I got for Christmas to go to that spa, then I will finally chill out and give me some great instrumental music and some eucalyptus tea, and then I'll be still and know that he is God. And to you, I would say, you

[Assistant Pastor]

know that verse, but you don't know

[Lead Pastor]

the context of that verse, because the

[Assistant Pastor]

Context of Psalm 46 is not some

[Lead Pastor]

beautiful palatial environment where there is peace and tranquility.

[Assistant Pastor]

The context of the verse actually speaks

[Lead Pastor]

to chaos being everywhere.

[Assistant Pastor]

It speaks to the nations raging.

[Lead Pastor]

You ain't got to take my word for it. Let's look at it.

[Assistant Pastor]

It starts off by saying, God.

[Lead Pastor]

God is our refuge and strength, a

[Assistant Pastor]

very present help in. In what? Not tranquility. In trouble. Therefore, we will not fear. Even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea, though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling, the nations rage, the kingdoms were moved. He uttered his voice. The earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our refug. Do you hear what the psalmist is saying? He's saying, everything around me is going crazy, but I still got to be still and know that he is God. Because true peace doesn't mean you have chaos. Don't have chaos around you. True peace and being still is in the midst of the turmoil, in the midst of the pain, in the midst of the political climate we're in, I

[Lead Pastor]

still have an inner peace and quiet because I got a place that nobody can get to. I've learned silence and solitude. What does it mean to be still? We're gonna unpack that in very practical ways over this series, but I want us to look at it in the original Hebrew. That phrase, be still, is the Hebrew word rapha. Let the church say rapha. Rapha, it means to let go, to release, to cease striving. It's not be still and just like, kind of be calm. The connotation is to drop your weapon, to take your hand off the wheel, to get your hand out of it. Be still and know that I am God. Stop trying to fix it. Stop trying to get in the middle of it. Be still. Stop striving. That is the connotation of Rapha, but

[Assistant Pastor]

put it back on the screen.

[Lead Pastor]

Rapha.

[Assistant Pastor]

Yeah, because if you're a Hebrew scholar, your spidey senses should be going crazy right now. Because isn't there a name of God? And he's Jehovah.

[Lead Pastor]

Rapha.

[Assistant Pastor]

That's not that Rapha. That's Rapha without the h. And that

[Lead Pastor]

means that God is a healer.

[Assistant Pastor]

So you got Rapha.

[Lead Pastor]

That means take your hand off of it. Stop striving, stop trying to do it.

[Assistant Pastor]

And then you got Rapha.

[Lead Pastor]

That means God heals.

[Assistant Pastor]

I wonder if the two raphas are connected, because I am convinced God can't heal some things in our life because

[Lead Pastor]

we hadn't got still enough for him to heal it.

[Assistant Pastor]

Have you ever seen somebody in surgery trying to tell the doctor, no. This is where the tumor is. Take it out right here. No, no, no. That's why they have to put you to sleep. Sleep and sedate you, so the master physician can cut you in the place that needs to be cut and sew you up. So now your scar will be a testimony that I had something in me that could have killed me. But look at this scar. It's proof positive that I'm still here and I'm still standing.

[Lead Pastor]

But what do you do to sedate a soul that refuses to be still, that refuses to be quiet? I wonder if the healing that he would give you can't happen because you keep putting your hand on it. Be still and know that he is God. Why? Because you can't hurry intimacy. God has always met his people and done his deepest work in stillness. It was in solace and silence and solitude that Moses encountered God on the backside of a mountain. And all of a sudden, there he is. And he takes time to notice a bush that is burning but isn't consumed. And he takes off his sandals on holy ground. And God did his deep work in silence and solitude. It is the same with Elijah, who learned on a mountain that God was not in the wind and he wasn't in the earthquake and he wasn't in the fire. But God was. Was in a small voice. No, a still small voice. Not volume, not spectacle. Stillness. It is that psalmist David, whose songs are still topping the charts today, as he writes in Psalm 23, that he has a shepherd that leads him beside still waters. Not rushing waters, not chaotic waters. Still waters. God does not shepherd us through frenzy. He leads us through stillness. I love what that profound thinker who writes so much on spiritual formation and solitude, Herman Nouwen, says. He says without solitude, it is virtually impossible to live a spiritual life. We do not take the spiritual life seriously if we do not set aside some time to be with God and listen to Him. In other words, he's saying, silence and solitude are not optional. They are essential. This isn't something that you say, well, I guess if I got time, I'll get to it. No, this is critical and integral to walking with God. That is a spiritual reality. And if that is true, then why is it so hard? Why does stillness feel foreign? And why does quiet feel awkward sometimes? I'll tell you why. Cause we live in a Noisy world. Come on, y'. All. Have you noticed how loud it is, y'? All? It's getting way too loud. And I don't just mean noisy bidecible. Although that's true, because they've done studies and studies ranked cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, and even Dallas among the loudest urban environments in America. Traffic, sirens, construction, airplanes, crowds. The soundtrack of modern life is a consistent, constant, perpetual noise. And the noise is not just outside of us. How many of you know it gets inside of us? We live in a world noisy with distraction, noisy with opinions, noisy with notifications, noisy with podcasts. I'll say that again. Noisy with podcasts, noisy with reels, noisy. Noisy with headlines, noisy with political turmoil, noisy with outrage, noisy with comparison, noisy with church gossip, noisy with constant access to everyone's thoughts at all times. We don't just hear noise. We ingest it. We breathe it in. From the moment we wake up, the world is talking. Our phones talk. Our feeds talk.

[Assistant Pastor]

Our emails talk.

[Lead Pastor]

Our group chats talk.

[Assistant Pastor]

Our calendars talk.

[Lead Pastor]

There is no margin. There is no space. There is no gap. There is no quiet space between the moments. And when there is a gap, we fill it. Microsoft did a study and found out that 77% of people admit that the moment they have nothing to do, they immediately reach for their phone. Don't tell on yourself. Not because it buzzed, not because something happened, but because there was a moment of nothing. Silence has become intolerable. We hate empty space. We have trained ourselves to fear it. And so we live loud, constantly stimulated, constantly scrolling, constantly consuming. And then we wonder why stillness feels unnatural. Because stillness is rebellion. In a culture of noise, silence feels unfamiliar because noise feels normal. You remember that little trend they had going a while back where everybody was posting pics from 2016. Y' all remember that trend? Hello. Y' all remember that? I didn't participate. I didn't participate. I was being still and quiet before the Lord. But I found this pic. 2016. I'll participate today. I found this pic from 2016 of me and my son. Come on, y'. All. That's my man child. 2016, Robert Madew III us outside having a Ralph Lauren moment,

[Assistant Pastor]

and I was thinking about that trend.

[Lead Pastor]

It didn't last long, but I think that trend was more than just nostalgia. I think it was an inner longing. A longing for a time when the world was not as loud as it is right now. A longing for a time when things just felt more simple, when things were not so complex. It's an inner longing for man, did it used to be this crazy? But I think if we really wanted to do a throwback, we gotta go further than 2016, y'. All. We gotta go to, like, 2006. If you really want the last frontier of peace, you gotta go to 2006. Now, I don't got a 2006 picture, but I think we gotta go to 2006 because of what happened precisely on January 9, 2007. You know what happened on January 9, 2007? Steve Jobs presented the iPhone. And y'. All. In one year, everything shifted. Everything changed in a moment. All of a sudden, your phone is with you all the time. People get access to you every single minute in this climate. Have you noticed people got the nerve and the audacity to get mad when you don't text them back.

[Assistant Pastor]

Never mind they text you at one o' clock in the morning. Do you think that I owe you a response?

[Lead Pastor]

Every minute of my life.

[Assistant Pastor]

But that is the climate in which we live. You never shut off work. You got it everywhere you go, right in your pocket.

[Lead Pastor]

It changed the game in one year,

[Assistant Pastor]

the world shifted from occasional noise to constant noise, from waiting to just scrolling any chance you get. Is anybody here actually old enough to

[Lead Pastor]

remember when you got bored? See, the grown people are raising their hands. You younger people don't.

[Assistant Pastor]

There actually used to be a time where you got bored. We don't even remember what it's like to be bored, to actually wait in line and have nothing to scroll on. There used to be a time we got bored and it was good for your soul. Boredom is the gateway to silence, solitude, and letting God do a deep work in your life. Kids today know nothing about what I went through. Back in the day, we had kids church. But Sunday night was not kids church. Kids church was with big church. And you had to sit in that service with no screen. And you had to color the front of the little bulletin, and once you finished, you had to color the back of it. And then you just had to sit there and pray your mouth. Mama would stop talking so you could go home and get something to eat. And there was something about that that changed our souls. Now kids need a screen for absolutely everything. I remember a time where we would go on road trips. We didn't have a screen in the car. All we had was my dad in the front seat talking about, I'm thinking

[Lead Pastor]

of a number between one and 20,

[Assistant Pastor]

and we'd be in the back hype. Like, is it 15?

[Lead Pastor]

No.

[Assistant Pastor]

Having the time of our life. What has our world come to. We got screens everywhere we go. I wish y' all knew what we pay to have this screen put up every single Sunday. It's insane. I wish we could go back in the day. There were no screens. There were no motion graphics. Where my church people at? There used to be something called an overhead projector, and you have to wait for the person to put the next lyrics on the screen so you can sing the words and hope they didn't fall asleep. If you were a church kid, you pray that one day you be holy enough and they let you do it, too. What has our world come to? I remember when you went to the dentist and you had to sit there and wait for him to come in. Have you been to. You tell them you ain't brushed your teeth or got them cleaned yet. Have you got your teeth cleaned lately?

[Lead Pastor]

Now it's a scream, waiting, helping you. You go to pump gas, there's a screen everywhere we go. We are constantly, perpetually inundated with noise. There is no margin. There is no space. There's no quiet gaps anymore because we've engineered silence out of our lives and we call it progress. What if the greatest threat to our walk with the Lord isn't just the devil, it's distraction. The enemy doesn't have to destroy you if he can distract you. If he can keep you scrolling, he can keep you shallow. If he can keep you noisy, he can keep you numb. We're not just surrounded by noise, we're being formed by it. Noise is not neutral. Hear me today. Whatever fills your attention will shape your affection. If noise is forming us, silence must reform us. So what do I mean when I say silence and solitude? Let's get a working definition for this series. Silence and solitude is intentional time in the quiet to be alone with ourselves and God. One more time for the people in the back. Silence and solitude is intentional time in the quiet to be alone with ourselves and God. Do you have that? Do you have consistent intentional time in the quiet to be alone with yourself and God? Silence has two dimensions on one aspect. There's the external silence, and that's when you actually cut off the music, cut off the podcast, cut off the tv. What does it say about some of us who have noise literally every moment of our life? Some of you, even in the shower, you got the speaker. Outside the shower, always got something planned, afraid to just have quiet. That is actually a spiritual discipline, to have moments of quiet, no external noise. That's one aspect of silence. No conversation. My prayer warriors. So you get in your Prayer closet. And you're like, father, I thank you for today. And today's the day that you have made, and I thank you as I sit in your auspicious presence that you

[Assistant Pastor]

are gonna show yourself strong and it's powerful.

[Lead Pastor]

But you just. You don't ever stop. Your prayer life is a monologue and you feel good about it. Like, yep, got that in today. I'm telling you, the more I grow with the Lord, so much of my prayer time is listening, just getting quiet enough to hear, hey, that was your flesh right there. Hey, you think the motivation for you doing that was for me? It wasn't. It was your pride. And I sit there and have to hear that stuff. That's why some of us don't want quiet, because you have to face you. James Baldwin, that great activist and thinker, said, not everything we face can be changed, but nothing can be changed until it is faced. And many of us don't want to get in the quiet so we can hear. So you got external silence. But then how many know there's internal silence? You can have the music off, but it can be loud on the inside. The internal silence is when you finally calm those thoughts that are on repeat. The worry, the mental noise, the rehearsed conversations. Anybody crazy like me, and before I'm about to have a conversation, I. I will replay and rehearse that conversation on loop over and over again. I got different scenarios. I'm like, I wish they would say this. Because if they say this, I got that for that, and I got that for that. And if they go this way with it, I got that. Then you have the conversation. You forget all of it because they said something that you aren't ready for. You're mad at ChatGPT. You didn't tell me that one.

[Assistant Pastor]

Then I'm thinking about what I should have said when I had the conversation.

[Lead Pastor]

And that will be on loop in my. That's the inner noise. And the challenge is to have external silence and internal silence. Have you ever done that? Solitude is what happens when silence creates space. Now, let's be clear. Solitude is not loneliness. There's a difference. Loneliness is inner emptiness. That's why you can be in a crowd full of people and still be lonely. Loneliness is inner emptiness. Solitude is inner fullness. Solitude is chosen separation for the refining of your soul. Isolation is what happens when you crave and neglect the first. When you neglect solitude, you generally move towards isolation. And here today, this is not about personality. I think that's important to note as we go into this series, this has nothing to do with personality. Everything to do with spiritual formation. Where my introverts at? See how slow they were? I'm with you. I'm one. So all the introverts are looking at this series. They're like, yes, Pastor, come on. I wish I had more solitude right now. Matter of fact, can I leave early? Let me just get me some time with me. Okay. Where are my extroverts at? See, I'm shocked y' all are still here. Cause y' all are like, what, Solitude?

[Assistant Pastor]

What, by myself? With nobody?

[Lead Pastor]

Y' all like, I love solitude.

[Assistant Pastor]

Can I bring some people with me?

[Lead Pastor]

Y', all, the people that when you just have nobody to talk to, you just. You just start sending out just texts to people.

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Hey, hey, hey, hey. Think about you. What you doing, what you doing, what you doing?

[Lead Pastor]

Just wait for somebody to respond.

[Assistant Pastor]

So this has nothing to do with personality.

[Lead Pastor]

I don't care if you're an introvert or an extrovert. All of us need solitude, silence for God to do a deep work in us. It's not about your personality. This is about becoming more like Jesus, who is our model. Well, can you give us some scriptures to substantiate that? Yeah. Luke, chapter four. Let's go quickly. Luke, chapter four, verse number one. It says, then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the. Into the. Into the where? Ooh, don't miss the power in that. Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, was led by the Spirit after coming from the Jordan. What happened in the Jordan? His Heavenly Father opened up the sky and spoke over him and said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. It happened before he did a single miracle. It happened before he went to the cross. It happened before he raised Lazarus from the dead. It happened before he did any sign or wonder. His Heavenly Father wanted him to know that my love and my approval of you is not predicated on how you perform. It is predicated upon your relationship and the identity that I'm speaking over you.

[Assistant Pastor]

So he gets that verbal affirmation.

[Lead Pastor]

He's full of the Spirit and he's

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led by the Spirit.

[Lead Pastor]

Where?

[Assistant Pastor]

Into the wilderness. Do you know how many times I

[Lead Pastor]

have preached that text as the wilderness being the place of weakness?

[Assistant Pastor]

I have preached that text so many times.

[Lead Pastor]

Talking about the wilderness. That's when the devil comes after you in the wilderness. Oh, it's in the wilderness that the enemy's always going to talk loud. After you fasted, of course, the devil comes and says, turn the stones into cornbread. Oh, because the wilderness is the place of weakness. Be careful in the wilderness. Watch out for wilderness seasons.

[Assistant Pastor]

And then I started thinking, I wonder if the wilderness wasn't the place of weakness. Because after he got the verbal affirmation of his father, he had 40 days in isolation. 40 days with silence and solitude. 40 days to allow his spirit to be built up out of wonder. If the wilderness wasn't his place of weakness, but it was actually his place of strength that made him able to take on the devil himself. Because if there's anything the enemy is afraid of, he's afraid of somebody that knows who they are and whose they are in Christ and is comfortable being in solitude with a Savior. I came to tell you. What if your wilderness season isn't your place of weakness? What if it's your place of strength for God to allow the things to be stripped from you so you can realize that if I have you, I got every single thing that I need. I don't live by bread alone. I live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. What if he was at his greatest

[Lead Pastor]

place of strength in the wilderness because it was in silence and solitude that formation was happening?

[Assistant Pastor]

Oh, it shows it even in verse 14 because it says, after this season, what happened?

[Lead Pastor]

Jesus returned.

[Assistant Pastor]

In what?

[Lead Pastor]

In the power of the Spirit to Galilee. And news of him went out through all the surrounding region. Jesus had something happen before ministry. The verbal affirmation of his Father and a season of silence solitude so that a deep work could be done. Any other scriptures? Yeah. Luke, chapter 5, verse 16 tells us that he often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. When did he do it? Often. Often. How many know you're not what you do occasionally, you're what you do often. That. That's a rhythm in his life. That's a discipline in his life. He often withdrew to lonely places and prayed. I did my due diligence and I started studying this thread of often when Jesus would just peace out, sometimes would even tell his disciples, just be gone. I guess he needs a moment. He's doing his thing again. He would just withdraw. What were the moments? Well, one, he was getting ready to pick his disciples, and he withdrew and prayed the entire night before he picked the 12 that were going to walk with him. He loved everybody. But just because I love you don't mean you can roll with me. So since I'm about to make a major decision about who I choose to allow to see aspects of me that nobody else will see, I gotta get Away. And I gotta find a place of silence and solitude. So before major decisions, he withdrew.

[Assistant Pastor]

Do you do that?

[Lead Pastor]

Do you withdraw before major decisions? Like before you go on the date, Do you withdraw? Or is your compass he Fine, she bad.

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Is that your only compass? Do you withdraw?

[Lead Pastor]

If you don't, it's showing. Because there's something about withdrawing before a major decision.

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Does that mean everything will go perfect? No, because Judas still made it to the table. But irrespective of Judas, who was a human and could make his own decisions,

[Lead Pastor]

Jesus still deemed it necessary. Before this major decision about who's gonna roll with me, I've gotta withdraw. After major miracles, he withdrew. Remember when he fed everybody with the fish and the bread? Multiplied it. Biggest miracle yet. When you hear somebody's blind eye, the guy who can see is jumping up, but everybody else is clapping. But they're like, I been conceived. But the day he put fish and bread in everybody's belly, it changed the game. Cause the miracle was inside of their stomach. They realized, oh, this dude has different power. And his fame began to spread. So he withdrew. After major miracles, when the crowds increased, he withdrew. When the pressure in his life intensified, he withdrew before the cross. The thing he came to the earth to do, he withdrew. True, the busier he became, the more he withdrew. Most of us do the opposite. Most of us, the busier we get. The first thing to go is our quiet. Time is a place of silence and solitude. Where do you run to when the pressure of life is on? What do you withdraw to when you

[Assistant Pastor]

say, I, I can't take it anymore? What do you run to?

[Lead Pastor]

Is it to his presence? Or is it to Netflix? Is it to happy hour with your friends? Is it to porn? Is it to a relationship? Where do you go when the pressure of life is too much? What I'm asking the Holy Spirit to form in us is a rhythm of withdrawing to the silence and the solitude, so that our place in him would be the place of fulfillment. Because if the Son of God needed silence and solitude, what makes us think that we don't? And so for the next several weeks, we're going to recover it. I'm going to give you practical tools how you can do it. Because silence and solitude is not weakness, it's strength. Silence and solitude is not retreat. Silence is formation. In a world addicted to noise, choosing the silence and the quiet might be the most brave thing you do. It's so tempting to let Barrett start playing, but we're being formed. So I want to sit in the quiet. I'll be honest with you. This has been quite an interesting season for me personally. If I was to define it, I would just say it's been noisy the last few weeks. The noise of pressure and demands of being a father, being a husband of a leading church. It's been noisy. The noise of people letting you down. The noise of pressure. It's been noisy. As a matter of fact, if I was to put a soundtrack to the last few weeks, it will sound like this. Can anybody relate? Have you ever had things hitting you every single day? Just the noise. The noise of, am I enough? The noise of, can I handle this? The noise. Am I going to be able to pay the bill? The noise. Am I going to be who they need me to be? The noise of raising kids, the noise of the job. The noise of watching what's going on in our world. The noise of the news. The noise of your algorithm that makes you angry the moment you wake up. The noise and the pressure, it is loud. It sounds like it's too much. But in that noise I just played, there was a sound within that noise that I need to hear. I'm going to have them extract just one sound out of all of that noise that was played and have them play that one sound. That's clearer. It didn't help me. I guess God ain't speaking. Let me try. Let me. Let me try again. This stuff don't work. God don't speak. He may as well be Darth Vader. Get this man. It doesn't work. I tried. Since you can't hurry intimacy, I'm going to try to rest quiet my soul one more time so I can hear. Wait. Hey, son. This is your dad. I just wanted to let you know that I love you and I'm so proud of you. Always remember that. The voice of my father was inside the noise. The problem wasn't distance. It was noise. I wonder what your heavenly Father is speaking over you right now that you can't hear. Cause your life is too noisy. Over the next four weeks, we're gonna learn how to quiet the noise. And hear me. You don't gotta wait till next Sunday. You can start tomorrow morning. Can I show you a move? When you wake up in the morning, don't let this be the first thing. If you got to put your phone in another room. Can you wake up and start with silence and solitude? For some of you, it would be as simple as starting tomorrow like this. You wake up. Why, your breath stinks. Father, no matter what happens, I give this day to you. For some of you, that would change the game. Just that right there, when that co worker comes at you and says, I already gave this day to him. I said, whatever.

[Assistant Pastor]

Come.

[Lead Pastor]

We're going to learn how to quiet the noise. Would you bow your heads with me today? Father, I thank you. For the privilege. Of knowing you. Thank you, God, that we're not just able to know you, but, Lord, you know us and you love us. Father, I'm praying over your children today that something on the inside of us would be awakened. Father, that there would be a hunger for intimacy with you, Father, that you would help us to intentionally carve out time so we don't keep running to things that never satisfy. Father, I commit these next four weeks to you. Let this be more than just another sermon series. Let it be the spark that ignites a flame on the inside of us, that desires secret places with you. Father, teach us how to be still and know that you are God. Lord, I'm so glad that you show up in the loud and you show up in the fire and. And you can show up in the earthquake. But, Lord, teach us how you show up in the whisper and help us quiet the noise of our life to hear it. Lord, I thank you that your ear is not deaf. You hear us when we cry out to you. God, I thank you that you're not mute. You can speak. But, Lord, I'm asking that you would open up our ears to hear you in this moment with heads bowed and eyes closed today, if you'd be so honest to say, hey, pr, this is. This is for me. I hope you don't miss the message today. I am in no way, shape or form saying that this is easy. This is spiritual discipline. Discipline takes time and intentionality. This will not happen by accident. But if you're here today and you hear just the whisper of your father calling you into silence and solitude, and you know that the noise of your life has been so loud and you're saying as a sign today that you receive the word that, Lord, I'm gonna. I'm gonna be intentional about this, of creating space to hear you dash you. Would you just lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I could see it to say, lord, I'm gonna do that. My life has been so noisy. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. You can put it right back down. Heads are still bowed, eyes are still closed. What I love about this moment is it's happening now. I believe that the Father is speaking to hearts that know you are distant from God. And I can think of no better decision for you to make today than to say, lord, I'm going to give you my life. I'm going to surrender. We say something all the time here at Social Dallas. You can always come home. That's deeper than a church. Home is in his presence. Home is with him. That's what you were created for. And somebody today, I don't care if it's just one person, needs to respond to the voice of this Father who loves you so much and say, lord, today I'm giving you my life. I'm not asking you, have you been to church? I'm asking you, have you surrendered your life to Jesus? If that's you, would you just lift up your hand high enough and long enough to where I can see it to say, today's the day. Pr. I'm giving him my life. Even feel him speaking to you right now. Thank you, Lord. I see that hand. Anybody else? Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. Anybody else? I see those hands. Yeah. Thank you, God. Thank you, Lord. I'm going to ask us to do something. And if you could honor this moment, I'm just going to ask everybody they can, would you just stand to your feet? Just stand. And those of you who responded, I just want to lead you in this prayer. I'm going to give you the words, but I want you to say it from your heart. In fact, we're all going to say it, but especially those of you who responded. In fact, can we just posture our hands like this? So much of silence and solitude has everything to do with your posture before the Father. And I love this posture because it just says, God, I'm open. I'm not closed off. Lord, whatever you want to do in me and through me, I'm going to be still. Can we say this prayer as a family? Especially those of you who responded, would you say this? Say, jesus, I need you, Lord. I know I cannot do life without you. So today I'm going to be still and know that you are God. In the midst of the chaos, in the midst of my brokenness, I believe that you are the Son of God, that you lived the life that I was supposed to live and you died the death that I was supposed to die. You took my place. I have to respond to that kind of love. Forgive me of my sin. Make me brand new from this moment forward. I'm walking with you wherever you lead. Lord, I thank you that you're a good shepherd and you will lead me to still waters so that I never thirst again in Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Come on. If you meant what you prayed, would you give God praise today? Come on, you can do better than that. Would you give Jesus some praise?