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 19:1, 14
Verse 1 The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the expanse proclaims the work of his hands.
Verse 14 May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you,
Lord, my rock and my Redeemer.
Read the Entire Psalm
The above verses are the first and last verse of Psalm 19. It is a Psalm that proclaims the majesty of God and perfection of his word. It ends with a prayer to the Lord, the rock and Redeemer. It is an amazing thought that a majestic God who imagined the universe and then brought it into being solely through his will would be mindful of us. What an amazing contrast, the grand and glorious God listening to the humble prayer of his lowly creation. What is greater, the reality that God is glorious creator or that the glorious creator would be mindful of our prayers? Both are wonderful realities of the glorious God. Praise him for his glorious works and for his mindfulness of your humble prayers.
SCRIPTURE READING:
John 7:1-24 – New Living Translation
Jesus and His Brothers
7 After this, Jesus traveled around Galilee. He wanted to stay out of Judea, where the Jewish leaders were plotting his death. 2 But soon it was time for the Jewish Festival of Shelters, 3 and Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, where your followers can see your miracles! 4 You can’t become famous if you hide like this! If you can do such wonderful things, show yourself to the world!” 5 For even his brothers didn’t believe in him.
6 Jesus replied, “Now is not the right time for me to go, but you can go anytime. 7 The world can’t hate you, but it does hate me because I accuse it of doing evil. 8 You go on. I’m not going to this festival, because my time has not yet come.” 9 After saying these things, Jesus remained in Galilee.
Jesus Teaches Openly at the Temple
10 But after his brothers left for the festival, Jesus also went, though secretly, staying out of public view. 11 The Jewish leaders tried to find him at the festival and kept asking if anyone had seen him. 12 There was a lot of grumbling about him among the crowds. Some argued, “He’s a good man,” but others said, “He’s nothing but a fraud who deceives the people.” 13 But no one had the courage to speak favorably about him in public, for they were afraid of getting in trouble with the Jewish leaders.
14 Then, midway through the festival, Jesus went up to the Temple and began to teach. 15 The people were surprised when they heard him. “How does he know so much when he hasn’t been trained?” they asked.
16 So Jesus told them, “My message is not my own; it comes from God who sent me. 17 Anyone who wants to do the will of God will know whether my teaching is from God or is merely my own. 18 Those who speak for themselves want glory only for themselves, but a person who seeks to honor the one who sent him speaks truth, not lies. 19 Moses gave you the law, but none of you obeys it! In fact, you are trying to kill me.”
20 The crowd replied, “You’re demon possessed! Who’s trying to kill you?”
21 Jesus replied, “I did one miracle on the Sabbath, and you were amazed. 22 But you work on the Sabbath, too, when you obey Moses’ law of circumcision. (Actually, this tradition of circumcision began with the patriarchs, long before the law of Moses.) 23 For if the correct time for circumcising your son falls on the Sabbath, you go ahead and do it so as not to break the law of Moses. So why should you be angry with me for healing a man on the Sabbath? 24 Look beneath the surface so you can judge correctly.”
Having God’s Ear through Prayer
- Express thanksgiving 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 those who do not know God. Ask God to help you see the lost people around you and have compassion for them. Ask God for opportunities to build trust. Ask God to give you opportunities to have gospel conversations.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
John gives us the basic ingredients of what has been called the Liar, Lunatic, Lord argument made famous by C.S. Lewis. Some were saying that Jesus was a good man, others that he was a liar, and still others that he was demon possessed. John’s purpose in writing is that we would see that Jesus is Lord. Jesus was not a liar; he was the most consistently truthful person to ever live. He was, in fact, truth itself. He was not crazy or demon possessed. In this very passage they were astounded by the “sanity” and soundness of his teaching. Finally, he could not merely be a good man because a good man would not deceive people into thinking he was more than he actually was. All that is left is that he is the Lord. This leaves people with the option to receive him or to reject him as Lord. Think for a few minutes about the fact that in all of human history there have been about 110 billion people. Out of those billions of people there has been just one person who was exceptionally wise and good who claimed to be God. His name is Jesus. Worship him today; he alone is worthy, he alone is Lord.