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 37:3-4 Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Read the entire Psalm
Praise God because He is Trustworthy. He sees the good that you are doing. The good you do is not a waste of time. Take time now and delight in God. Remember His gifts and remember His forgiveness.
Scripture Reading
1 John 4:1-6 – English Standard Version
4 Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. 4 Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. 5 They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. 6 We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
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 Youth Horizons. Ask God to use their ministry to help children at-risk come to Christ. Ask God to encourage mentors to be faithful in their commitment to children at Youth Horizons.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
John describes the problem facing his friends as being a multitude of false teachers. The solution he prescribes is that they must test the spirits. The test that these teachers are to be put to is simple. “Who do they say Jesus is?” Some would say he is fully God, but not fully man. They would be false teachers. Some would say he is fully man, but not fully God. They would be false teachers. Embedded in this phrase, “Jesus Christ has come in the flesh” is the full humanity and deity of Christ. There are many today who accept Jesus as a good man, even a really good man, but not God. There are some today who believe he was a kind of divine spirit, or manifestation of God, but not a human. The stumbling block for many was then and is now that Jesus is fully God and fully man. This remains the test for what is true and what is false in regard to who Christ is. Spend some time now reflecting on Christ. It will help you to expand your mind by considering his full humanity and full divinity. Use this passage from Colossians chapter one to guide your reflection time.
“He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.