The Nothings of Silence (Part 3) by Dr. Rod Mattoon

About this sermon

* Exodus 14:14—The Lord shall fight for you, and ye shall hold your peace. Sitting back and watching the Lord fight your battles and solve your problems will hush your lips with a feeling of soberness and awe as well as joy, encouragement, and excitement. There are times we need to be quiet, wait on the Lord, watch, and let Him fight our battles. Your battle may be with another person, with your health, or with your finances, but whatever it is, God can overcome any obstacle you face. G. Campbell Morgan said, "Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means first of all, 'activity under command.' Secondly, it is readiness for any new command that may come. Thirdly, it is the ability to do NOTHING until the command is given." Have you learned to wait? Do you realize that God can fight your battles and protect you? The following story first appeared in the July, 1995 issue of The Commission magazine, published by the Southern Baptist Foreign Mission Board. The story reminds us again of God's miraculous power and presence in the lives of believers. He can do anything He wishes in caring for His own. The story stated that Christians fled when they heard the chanting: "There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is his Prophet!" A mob of 200 young people marched toward Oore-ofe Baptist Church in Kaduna, Nigeria where a Sunday morning worship service was in progress despite threats from Muslim leaders to burn Christian churches that day. Clutching torches and cans of gasoline, the Muslim marchers stood at the gate of the church compound, crying: "Kill them! Burn down their church! Confiscate their property!" Pastor Fola Lateju, now alone in the building, decided to face them. Walking to the gate, he told the crowd, "What you are about to do is against the will of God. You will incur His wrath. Go back and tell those who sent you that this is against God's will." Taken aback, mob leaders paused to talk among themselves. Suddenly they seized the young pastor, drenched him in gasoline and torched his clothing, but nothing happened. Turning to a clump of grass, they poured out some of the gasoline and touched the torch to it. The grass exploded in flames. Wheeling back on Pastor Lateju, they drenched him again with gasoline, but for the second time the torch would not set him ablaze. A third try also failed. The fire would not ignite. Confusion spread among the Muslims, and Pastor Lateju retreated into the churchyard. The crowd followed, pelting him with stones. One attacker struck him with a weapon, and he fell, bleeding profusely from the forehead. The Muslims, however, left without burning the church. Several deacons emerged from hiding and took their injured pastor to a nearby clinic where he was treated. Pastor Lateju stated that God had intervened on several occasions to protect His people in the face of Muslim persecution. He now teaches world religions at the Nigerian Baptist seminary in Ogbomosho. Thank God for His care! Nothing will happen to you unless the Lord allows it. He has the ability to fight our battles for us when we don’t have the ability. In this message, we continue to list the causes of silence and how each cause affects our Christian life. This 32-minute message was preached on Sunday morning, March 13, 2022 at Lincoln Land Baptist Church.