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 140:6-8 I say to the Lord, “You are my God.” Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.
Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer, you shield my head in the day of battle.
Do not grant the wicked their desires, Lord; do not let their plans succeed.
Read the Entire Psalm
You are my God. God is God whether you acknowledge him as God or not. His place and position is secure. Take a moment now and acknowledge him as God over all space and time. Tell him again that you want him to be your God. Praise him for his sovereignty, his mercy, and his strength.
SCRIPTURE READING:
John 7:1-24 – The Message
7 1-2 Later Jesus was going about his business in Galilee. He didn’t want to travel in Judea because the Jews there were looking for a chance to kill him. It was near the time of Tabernacles, a feast observed annually by the Jews.
3-5 His brothers said, “Why don’t you leave here and go up to the Feast so your disciples can get a good look at the works you do? No one who intends to be publicly known does everything behind the scenes. If you’re serious about what you are doing, come out in the open and show the world.” His brothers were pushing him like this because they didn’t believe in him either.
6-8 Jesus came back at them, “Don’t pressure me. This isn’t my time. It’s your time—it’s always your time; you have nothing to lose. The world has nothing against you, but it’s up in arms against me. It’s against me because I expose the evil behind its pretensions. You go ahead, go up to the Feast. Don’t wait for me. I’m not ready. It’s not the right time for me.”
9-11 He said this and stayed on in Galilee. But later, after his family had gone up to the Feast, he also went. But he kept out of the way, careful not to draw attention to himself. The Jews were already out looking for him, asking around, “Where is that man?”
12-13 There was a lot of contentious talk about him circulating through the crowds. Some were saying, “He’s a good man.” But others said, “Not so. He’s selling snake oil.” This kind of talk went on in guarded whispers because of the intimidating Jewish leaders.
Could It Be the Messiah?
14-15 With the Feast already half over, Jesus showed up in the Temple, teaching. The Jews were impressed, but puzzled: “How does he know so much without being schooled?”
16-19 Jesus said, “I didn’t make this up. What I teach comes from the One who sent me. Anyone who wants to do his will can test this teaching and know whether it’s from God or whether I’m making it up. A person making things up tries to make himself look good. But someone trying to honor the one who sent him sticks to the facts and doesn’t tamper with reality. It was Moses, wasn’t it, who gave you God’s Law? But none of you are living it. So why are you trying to kill me?”
20 The crowd said, “You’re crazy! Who’s trying to kill you? You’re demon-possessed.”
21-24 Jesus said, “I did one miraculous thing a few months ago, and you’re still standing around getting all upset, wondering what I’m up to. Moses prescribed circumcision—originally it came not from Moses but from his ancestors—and so you circumcise a man, dealing with one part of his body, even if it’s the Sabbath. You do this in order to preserve one item in the Law of Moses. So why are you upset with me because I made a man’s whole body well on the Sabbath? Don’t be hypercritical; use your head—and heart!—to discern what is right, to test what is authentically right.”
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 the women from River who are participating in the Women’s conference this week.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
A common logical fallacy is called “Appeal to Authority.” This is where people quote some expert to try and aid weight to a faulty argument. Last year, ten thousand published “research” papers had to be retracted because of fraudulent claims and studies. This is said to be the tip of the iceberg. What this means is that people can find an expert to back up virtually anything they want to claim. This makes it very difficult for people to have confidence in what is true and what is not. It makes it very difficult for people to know who to trust, but we can trust Jesus. Of course, he hasn’t told us everything we might want to know about the different choices of our lives. For instance, we have to make decisions about who to trust in regards to medical decisions we might need to make. But in regards to ultimate things, the things that matter the most, we can trust Jesus without hesitation. Jesus answered them, “My teaching isn’t mine but is from the one who sent me. If anyone wants to do his will, he will know whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking on my own. Jesus was not using faulty reasoning when he gave this ultimate case of an appeal to authority. His teaching did come from his Father, and if any one of us will come to God ready to obey him, we will see with clarity that what Jesus said truly is the Word of the Lord.