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 56:1-4 Be gracious to me, God, for a man is trampling me; he fights and oppresses me all day long.
2 My adversaries trample me all day, for many arrogantly fight against me.
3 When I am afraid, I will trust in you.
4 In God, whose word I praise, in God I trust; I will not be afraid.
What can mere mortals do to me?
Read the Entire Psalm
What do you do when you are afraid? The Psalmist here says he trusts God and his trust is not passive His trust is engaged by praising God for his word. His word not just being a book, but God’s word being the revelation of himself and his character. This person trusts God by activating God’s word in his own life by recalling God’s character of faithfulness, compassion, justice, etc. When you think of who God is the last question “What can mere mortals do to me?” loses the fear it once had. God is trustworthy. Ask Him to help you trust Him.
Scripture Reading
1 John 2 – English Standard Version
2 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
12 I am writing to you, little children,
because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
13 I am writing to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I am writing to you, young men,
because you have overcome the evil one.
I write to you, children,
because you know the Father.
14 I write to you, fathers,
because you know him who is from the beginning.
I write to you, young men,
because you are strong,
and the word of God abides in you,
and you have overcome the evil one.
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.
18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. 20 But you have been anointed by the Holy One, and you all have knowledge. 21 I write to you, not because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and because no lie is of the truth. 22 Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son. 23 No one who denies the Son has the Father. Whoever confesses the Son has the Father also. 24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he made to us—eternal life.
26 I write these things to you about those who are trying to deceive you. 27 But the anointing that you received from him abides in you, and you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing teaches you about everything, and is true, and is no lie—just as it has taught you, abide in him.
28 And now, little children, abide in him, so that when he appears we may have confidence and not shrink from him in shame at his coming. 29 If you know that he is righteous, you may be sure that everyone who practices righteousness has been born of him.
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Give thanks to God for His gifts and His goodness.
- 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 Embrace. Ask God to use their work to rescue unborn children and to faithfully share the gospel with mothers in crisis.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
John gives us three tests for genuine faith. These “tests” are not for us to try and decide if others are actually Christian or not. They are also not to make us question our own faith. They are helpful for us to make sense out of people who claim to be Christian but have beliefs and behaviors that are not in line with the truth of Scripture. They are also helpful for us to consider how we can lean in on these “tests” to increase our own sense of confidence in the gospel. The first is the moral test, found in 1 John 2:3-6. John writes that if we claim to know him but don’t do what he says, we are lying. This seems to be common sense. If I claim to know Jesus, the Lord of heaven and earth, then surely I should be expected to obey him. However, if we are honest, all of us fail to fully obey Jesus at all times… so do we all lie? What John is addressing is the idea that I can do whatever I want and say that God is okay with it. He is writing about people who claim Christ but don’t seem to care what Christ actually wants from them in terms of moral life choices. If someone claims Christ and lives an immoral life, we don’t need to be confused about this. That person, not the gospel, is failing. If we want to increase our “faith,” we need to pay attention to our actions. We don’t obey in order to be saved, but when we obey we are drawing near to God. If we walk in the light as he is in the light, then we have fellowship with God. The light is the truth of his character; it is to live inside his will for us. To obey is to position ourselves to enjoy and experience God.