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 69:1-4 Save me, God, for the water has risen to my neck.
2 I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing; I have come into deep water,
and a flood sweeps over me.
3 I am weary from my crying; my throat is parched. My eyes fail, looking for my God.
4 Those who hate me without cause are more numerous than the hairs of my head;
my deceitful enemies, who would destroy me, are powerful.
Though I did not steal, I must repay.
Read the Entire Psalm
Save me. There are so many two word prayers throughout the Psalms. Save me. Help me. Guide me. Teach me. Imagine yourself in David’s position. He describes it as like being in water that had risen to his neck. He is reaching out his hand and saying to God, save me. When you consider the vast universe, it is easy to think of God as powerful enough to save David. God is eternally satisfied. He is complete, powerful, and wise. David also know Him as a God who cares. That is why David can cry out – “Save me!” God is love. Praise Him for His compassionate caring hand.
Scripture Reading
Haggai 1 – English Standard Version
The Command to Rebuild the Temple
1 In the second year of Darius the king, in the sixth month, on the first day of the month, the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet to Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and to Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest: 2 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: These people say the time has not yet come to rebuild the house of the Lord.” 3 Then the word of the Lord came by the hand of Haggai the prophet, 4 “Is it a time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, while this house lies in ruins? 5 Now, therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 6 You have sown much, and harvested little. You eat, but you never have enough; you drink, but you never have your fill. You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm. And he who earns wages does so to put them into a bag with holes.
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the hills and bring wood and build the house, that I may take pleasure in it and that I may be glorified, says the Lord. 9 You looked for much, and behold, it came to little. And when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why? declares the Lord of hosts. Because of my house that lies in ruins, while each of you busies himself with his own house. 10 Therefore the heavens above you have withheld the dew, and the earth has withheld its produce. 11 And I have called for a drought on the land and the hills, on the grain, the new wine, the oil, on what the ground brings forth, on man and beast, and on all their labors.”
The People Obey the Lord
12 Then Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, and Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, with all the remnant of the people, obeyed the voice of the Lord their God, and the words of Haggai the prophet, as the Lord their God had sent him. And the people feared the Lord. 13 Then Haggai, the messenger of the Lord, spoke to the people with the Lord’s message, “I am with you, declares the Lord.” 14 And the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people. And they came and worked on the house of the Lord of hosts, their God, 15 on the twenty-fourth day of the month, in the sixth month, in the second year of Darius the king.
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 FCA. Ask God to use Keith Townsend to reach out to athletes and coaches and point them to Christ.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
Israel’s sin, plain and simple, was that they had busied themselves with their own houses while leaving the Lord’s house in ruins. For this reason, the Lord actively worked against them; He blew away the fruit of their vain earthly pursuits. In so doing, the Lord was keeping the promises He had made to Israel under the Mosaic Covenant (see Deuteronomy 28). God’s justice was retributive (punishment) and restorative (redemption). God was trying to use material barrenness to reveal spiritual barrenness, so that Israel might turn back to Him.
As Christians, we are not bound by the Mosaic Covenant, so the blessings and curses of Deuteronomy 28 do not govern our lives. Thus, we cannot assume that material prosperity proves obedience or that material lack proves disobedience. Obedient Christians often suffer lack and harm. Foolish and rebellious people may (at least for a time) experience wealth and prosperity.
Nevertheless, it is true for us today that God may, in an act of merciful judgment, blow away the vain pursuits of this life to show us our spiritual barrenness, so that we might turn to Him.
Have you experienced a time in your life when God “blew away” your vain pursuits in order to lead you to something better? How did you grow through that experience? What did you learn about God and about yourself? How might that experience shape the way you think about present and/or future trials, temptations, and suffering?
Praise God for His merciful judgment of the sin in your life.