Hearing God’s Voice from His Word
James 4:8 says, “Come near to God and he will come near to you.”
Take a moment and turn your attention to God. Tell God that you desire to trust and obey Him. Ask God to speak to you from His word.
Psalm of the Day
Psalm 119:1-5 Blessed are those whose ways are blameless, who walk according to the law of the Lord. Blessed are those who keep his statutes and seek him with all their heart— they do no wrong but follow his ways. You have laid down precepts that are to be fully obeyed. Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees!
Blessing and Obedience. Psalm 119 is the longest chapter in the Bible. Its primary focus is on the benefit and splendor of God’s word. In these five verses notice that blessing generally comes to those who obey. Also notices at the end that the author acknowledges that he does not always obey. Blessing is found on the path of obedience but sometimes we wonder off the path. Ask God to help you be steadfast in obeying His word.
SCRIPTURE READING:
2 Corinthians 2:12-3:6 – Christian Standard Bible
12 When I came to Troas to preach the gospel of Christ, even though the Lord opened a door for me, 13 I had no rest in my spirit because I did not find my brother Titus. Instead, I said good-bye to them and left for Macedonia.
14 But thanks be to God, who always leads us in Christ’s triumphal procession and through us spreads the aroma of the knowledge of him in every place. 15 For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. 16 To some we are an aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life. Who is adequate for these things? 17 For we do not market the word of God for profit like so many. On the contrary, we speak with sincerity in Christ, as from God and before God.
3 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3 You show that you are Christ’s letter, delivered by us, not written with ink but with the Spirit of the living God—not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such is the confidence we have through Christ before God. 5 It is not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God. 6 He has made us competent to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Express thanksgiving to God.
- Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal sin to you.
- Confess your sin to Him and receive forgiveness.
(1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sin He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins.”) - Bring your personal requests to God.
(Psalm 62:8 “Pour out your heart before God”) - Pray for someone in your small group.
- Join with others from River and pray for those in our church who are sick. Ask God to heal their physical bodies. Pray for God’s glory to be revealed in their suffering.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
The Great Commission is our great opportunity. Truly we don’t just have to do this, we get to join God in what he is doing. As a child there were many things, we thought we had to do but as adults we often learn that we in fact get to do them. For example, as our tastes mature, we learn to love vegetables and so eating them becomes more of a privilege than duty. As we grow in our faith as followers of Christ we should be maturing in our “tastes” related to our relationship with God. Obedience to his commands should be more and more about privilege not just responsibility. Getting to join him on his mission in the world should be causing our hearts to feel excitement rather than dread or guilt. The first step in change is in our thinking. We have to take our thoughts captive to Christ. Begin to shape your thinking to see gospel investment in others as the opportunity and privilege that it is.
Application: You can choose what thoughts remain in your brain. Do the work to let this thought nest in your mind. “Gospel investment in others is my great opportunity, I get to join God in what he is doing in the world.”