Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: Amos 5: 11-15; Eccl. 3:7 October 1, 2023

Message: “A Time to be Silent!” by Pastor George Gnade

Intro: 1. In Eccl. 3:7, it says: “There is a time to speak, and a time to be silent.” Did you ever find yourself in a situa-tion where you felt it was better to be silent than to speak?

How can you know the difference?

2. Today I would like us to consider what the Bible teaches us about that.

A. Let us begin with Solomon.

1. He wrote Ecclesiastes. In his wisdom, he said: “There is a time to be silent, and a time to speak.” Many people have told me that when a person is going through grief, just being there for the person is more important than what you say.

a. When Job was suffering terribly, three of his friends came to “sympathize and comfort him” (Job 2:11). When they saw him they could hardly recognize him, they couldn’t help but weep and mourn with him.

b. In vs. 15, it says: “They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him because they saw how great his sufferings were.”

2. That did more good than everything else that they said! We would say everything went downhill from there. They kept putting their feet in their own mouths. In trying to help and advise him, they just ended up arguing with him and making him feel worse!

3. So this is a good example of when the less you say may be the most help.

B. In contrast, there are also times when we should speak out.

1. Jesus commanded His disciples to go and preach the good news and tell people about Him. When they did, the leaders in Jerusalem who put Jesus to death became angry with them and threatened them, even put some of them in jail!

a. Then they warned them to stop speaking about Jesus or it would only get worse for them.

b. In Acts 4: 19, Peter replied: “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s eyes to obey you rather than God. But we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

2. This is a very common problem in our day. Christians want to share Jesus with others, but the culture often tries to stop them. Peter and John were given the responsibility to spread the gospel and nothing was going to stop them!

3. Many Christians around the world willingly risk their safety and sometimes their lives so others might know how much Jesus loves them and how He even died for them.

C. In our passage, in Amos 5: 13, it says: “Therefore, the prudent man keeps quiet in such times, for the days are evil.”

1. Evil times demand different responses. The Jews in Israel in the days of Amos the prophet were doing terrible things.

a. In vs. 10, Amos wrote: “You despise him who tells the truth.” Many people in America feel that way in our day. We are told that the media cannot always be trusted. In fact, many times they hide the truth because they don’t want people to know the facts.

b. It reminds me of Jesus when He was on trial before King Pilate. When Jesus spoke of the truth, Pilate scoffed at him and said: “What is truth?” Sometimes it is really hard to know what is true.

2. In Amos 5:11, it says: “You trample on the poor and force him to give you grain.” Then they used the money they made off the poor to build their mansions.

a.. In vs. 12, it says: “You oppress the righteous and take bribes and you deprive the poor of justice in the courts.”

b. Even in our country, where we have a good justice system, money and power can buy and influence cases. Many times people feel like they have been deprived of justice.

3. Amos was living in that kind of an environment. “Therefore”, he wrote, when “times are evil, it is prudent for a person to keep quiet.”

D. Consider what Paul said on this subject.

1. In I Timothy 2: 1-2, Paul writes: “I urge … that requests and prayers… be made for everyone, including kings and those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good and pleases God our Savior. “

a. The Bible encourages us to pray for kings, which I assume includes presidents, so that we can live peaceful and quiet lives. That does not say we can’t say anything, but it implies that we should be careful what we say.

b. In many places in the Bible, Christians are encouraged to not be argumentative, because quarrels rarely accomplish God’s purposes.

2. In Prov. 15:1, it says: “A soft answer turns away wrath.”

In II Tim. 2:24 -25, the Bible says: “The Lord’s servant must not quarrel… Those who oppose him, he must gently instruct in the hope that that God will grant them repentance, leading them to a knowledge of the truth.”

3. Being quiet and talking quietly are not exactly the same, but “using your quiet voice,” like we often tell children, and being careful of what and how you say something really is important. Sometimes it might be better to not say anything at all.

E. Finally, consider the example of Jesus.

1. He certainly was not afraid to say what had to be said, but He was also very careful of what and when He said things.

a. When the Pharisees brought the woman caught in adultery to Him and wanted Jesus to condemn her, in-stead he told them to let anyone who was without sin to cast the first stone at her and then quietly wrote on the ground.

b. This way He was not looking into the eyes of anyone. I think He was deliberately not being confron-tational. He simply allowed the Holy Spirit to convict them.

2. The best example from the Lord Jesus was during His trial before going to the cross. In Is. 53:7, it says: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.” Jesus said as little as possible, dumbfounding those attacking Him.

3. He knew when to speak, and He knew when to be silent.

In conclusion:

1. I don’t think there is any way to know what is best except to evaluate each situation and pray before you speak, asking the Holy Spirit to tell you what or what not to say.

2. But I felt Amos 5:13 was worth hiding in our hearts, reminding us that we live in evil times and it is prudent to be careful what we say. Sometimes that means to be silent.