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 142:3-7 When my spirit faints within me, you know my way!
In the path where I walk they have hidden a trap for me.
4 Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me;
no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.
5 I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”
6 Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low! Deliver me from my persecutors,
for they are too strong for me!
7 Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to your name!
The righteous will surround me, for you will deal bountifully with me.
Read the Entire Psalm
I cry to you, O Lord; I say, “You are my refuge” The writer of this Psalm feels alone and attacked. He looks around and sees no one. What does He do? He looks up. He cries out to the Lord. You are my refuge, he says. He cries out and then asks for three things. Attend to me, deliver me, bring me out and then at the end of verse 7 he remembers that he is not alone. Yes he cries to God but also the righteous are there to surround him. Praise God that He is present everywhere. You are never alone. Praise Him that He has given you His family.
Scripture Reading
John 3:1-21 – New International Version
Jesus Teaches Nicodemus
3 Now there was a Pharisee, a man named Nicodemus who was a member of the Jewish ruling council. 2 He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
3 Jesus replied, “Very truly I tell you, no one can see the kingdom of God unless they are born again.”
4 “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!”
5 Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. 6 Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7 You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8 The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
9 “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10 “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things? 11 Very truly I tell you, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony. 12 I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things? 13 No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven—the Son of Man. 14 Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15 that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.”
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. 19 This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. 20 Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed. 21 But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what they have done has been done in the sight of God.
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 Sarah. Ask God to encourage her, guide her, and strengthen her as she serves overseas.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
Do you believe the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes? People have said that if we really believed that, then nothing else would matter. We would do nothing except share the gospel night and day. If we really believed that people are lost without Christ, then only the gospel would consume our every thought and action. Sounds reasonable, but it’s not biblical. What is biblical is that the gospel is real and true and that we are responsible to be found faithful. If faithfulness means playing with our kids, shopping for groceries, taking a nap, or sharing the gospel, then we are to do what faithfulness requires. This doesn’t mean we can turn faithfulness into an excuse for not sharing the gospel. That, of course, would not be faithful. We do believe the gospel is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. We also can become easily sidetracked or diverted from what matters the most. We do believe in the gospel, and we also have to attend to houses, and jobs, and physical bodies. We need to continually turn to God to help us get back on track. We want to be faithful because we do believe the gospel.