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 116:1-11
I love the Lord because he has heard
my appeal for mercy.
2 Because he has turned his ear to me,
I will call out to him as long as I live.
3 The ropes of death were wrapped around me,
and the torments of Sheol overcame me;
I encountered trouble and sorrow.
4 Then I called on the name of the Lord:
“Lord, save me!”
5 The Lord is gracious and righteous;
our God is compassionate.
6 The Lord guards the inexperienced;
I was helpless, and he saved me.
7 Return to your rest, my soul,
for the Lord has been good to you.
8 For you, Lord, rescued me from death,
my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.
9 I will walk before the Lord
in the land of the living.
10 I believed, even when I said,
“I am severely oppressed.”
11 In my alarm I said,
“Everyone is a liar.”
Read the Entire Psalm
Look at verse 10 – I believed, even when I said, “I am severely oppressed.” The Psalmist’s belief did not rest on his feelings of peace and comfort. He felt oppressed but still believed. He remembered as verse 5 says that, the “Lord is gracious and righteous, our God is compassionate.” Look how the Psalmist talks to himself in verse 7 – “The Lord has been good to you” Yes, we are oppressed, but God is good. He is compassionate. He is gracious. He is righteous. Call on him to save you. He will answer.
Scripture Reading
Exodus 34:5-8 – New International Version
5 Then the Lord came down in the cloud and stood there with him and proclaimed his name, the Lord. 6 And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, 7 maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.”
8 Moses bowed to the ground at once and worshiped.
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Express thanks 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 Austin and Jenni. They will be returning home to Central Asia soon to say goodbye to friends and their team overseas. Ask God to guide them and comfort them through this time of transition. Pray for the many seeds they have planted for the gosepl to bear fruit.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
To rightly worship God, we must have a right understanding of who he is. The Bible is foundational to our knowledge of God. God’s Word is how we know God and enjoy relationship with him. Apart from his Word, our understanding of him is easily distorted. Our passage this week helpfully corrects popular misunderstandings about God. The Bible does not present us with this ridiculous idea that the God of the Old Testament is angry and mean while the God of the New Testament is nice and gracious. There is one true and living God and he is the same throughout the unified narrative of Scripture, from the Old Testament to the New. Our passage this week helps correct that popular misconception about God as angry or mean. No, the one true and living God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in faithful love and truth. We need to regularly go to Scripture to correct our stinking thinking. How foundational is the Bible to your life? Perhaps in your “head” you know it is foundational, but in your “heart,” day-to-day it is less important. How can you grow in giving the Bible greater importance in your life?