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 78:1-4
My people, hear my instruction; listen to the words from my mouth.
2 I will declare wise sayings; I will speak mysteries from the past—
3 things we have heard and known and that our ancestors have passed down to us.
4 We will not hide them from their children, but will tell a future generation
the praiseworthy acts of the Lord, his might, and the wondrous works he has performed.
Read the Entire Psalm
This is a Psalm of Asaph not David. Asaph was a temple musician. He speaks in this Psalm about receiving wisdom and instruction from his parents and he declares that he and others with him will tell a future generation of the praiseworthy acts of the Lord. Praise God for the generation that came before you and those who told you of God. Thank Him for the opportunity to declare His acts to a future generation. Pray that you would be faithful to declare the wonders He has performed.
Scripture Reading
John 7:1-24 – English Standard Version
Jesus at the Feast of Booths
7 After this Jesus went about in Galilee. He would not go about in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill him. 2 Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4 For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him. 6 Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. 7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. 8 You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” 9 After saying this, he remained in Galilee.
10 But after his brothers had gone up to the feast, then he also went up, not publicly but in private. 11 The Jews were looking for him at the feast, and saying, “Where is he?” 12 And there was much muttering about him among the people. While some said, “He is a good man,” others said, “No, he is leading the people astray.” 13 Yet for fear of the Jews no one spoke openly of him.
14 About the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and began teaching. 15 The Jews therefore marveled, saying, “How is it that this man has learning, when he has never studied?” 16 So Jesus answered them, “My teaching is not mine, but his who sent me. 17 If anyone’s will is to do God’s will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own authority. 18 The one who speaks on his own authority seeks his own glory; but the one who seeks the glory of him who sent him is true, and in him there is no falsehood. 19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law. Why do you seek to kill me?” 20 The crowd answered, “You have a demon! Who is seeking to kill you?” 21 Jesus answered them, “I did one work, and you all marvel at it. 22 Moses gave you circumcision (not that it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and you circumcise a man on the Sabbath. 23 If on the Sabbath a man receives circumcision, so that the law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with me because on the Sabbath I made a man’s whole body well? 24 Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
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 Hope’s Gate. Pray they would be effective as they show kindness and share the gospel with women in need.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
The Lord’s brothers did not yet believe in him as Lord and Savior. They saw some of what he was doing and knew that he was unique, but they were still operating from the point of view of human “flesh,” not of Spirit. They wanted him to go, on his own timing, to Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths, which had become the largest and most popular of the celebrations. Jesus rebuked them by saying “my time has not come; your time is always at hand.” What this means is that they did whatever they wanted, whenever they wanted. Jesus, on the other hand, did what his Father wanted, when his Father wanted it done. The Lord was showing us the way that we are to live our lives. He was showing us a life with lasting purpose. As his brothers operated on their own time lines, their lives would prove to be ultimately without meaning. Jesus lived his days with eternal meaning. Everything he did, he did in line with the will of God. This doesn’t mean that we need to pray for God’s will about every single thing we do. We don’t have to sit and wait to hear from God to decide where to go for lunch, although God may direct you in that regard if he so chooses. It does mean that we are to live in a posture of surrendered prayer. We should be learning to move through life with a ready “yes” to God. We must realize that our time, which is what our life is made of, does not belong to us. When we do know what God wants us to do, we quickly and joyfully do it. Recently a young friend said that he was waiting for God to tell him what to do next. This young man was not in church on a regular basis. I told him, “You don’t need to ask God what to do, he has written it down for you. Go to church and faithfully keep going to church.” There is much that God has written down for us in regards to how we are to spend our lives. We need not pray about these things, we need only to obey them.