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 3:1-4 Lord, how my foes increase. There are many who attack me.
2 Many say about me, “There is no help for him in God.”Selah
3 But you, Lord, are a shield around me, my glory, and the one who lifts up my head.
4 I cry aloud to the Lord, and he answers me from his holy mountain.
Read the Entire Psalm
The Psalm opens with a difficult situation. The Psalmist has many foes. He is under attack. People are saying that God cannot help Him. But the Psalmist clings to his hope in God. The Psalmist cries out and God hears. Difficult circumstances do not indicate that God is not near. He is near. He is a shield. He cares. Thank Him and Praise Him for hearing and being near.
Scripture Reading
John 10:22-42 – English Standard Version
I and the Father Are One
22 At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. 24 So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. 27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”
31 The Jews picked up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father; for which of them are you going to stone me?” 33 The Jews answered him, “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone you but for blasphemy, because you, being a man, make yourself God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I said, you are gods’? 35 If he called them gods to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be broken— 36 do you say of him whom the Father consecrated and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’? 37 If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; 38 but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father.” 39 Again they sought to arrest him, but he escaped from their hands.
40 He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing at first, and there he remained. 41 And many came to him. And they said, “John did no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” 42 And many believed in him there.
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 CORE 520. Ask God to use their ministry to bring the truth of the gospel to refugees and those far from God living in Wichita.
Living as God’s People by applying the Bible
Scripture Reflection from the Sermon
Jesus said that no one can snatch those who are his from out of his hand. The only way you could become “unborn” again would be if someone greater than Jesus were to pull you away from him. We know that being doesn’t exist, but what about us? Can we willingly choose to take ourselves out of his hand? It would make the Lord’s promise hollow if we could do this. Think about it. We all know how weak and sinful we are apart from the grace of God. If our ability to remain in the faith depended completely on our ability to stay faithful, we should all be very insecure. Thanks be to God, the Lord’s words offer real comfort because he is promising to keep us safe. This doesn’t mean that the person who believes they can live a life of sinful rebellion against God with no regard for the honor of Christ should have security of their salvation. The true believer will fail, but she doesn’t want to live in sin. The Lord has given her a new heart. The evidence of her new life is not that she can now sin all that she wants, but rather that she now sins more than she wants. Christ is changing what she wants.