Draw Near
Notes
Transcript
Stir up the gift of God
Stir up the gift of God
Our theme verse today is 2 Timothy 1:6-7
6 Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands. 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
What Paul said to Timothy is an action we can all still take as we encourage each other in the Lord.
But I want you to notice where the action is: “you stir up the gift of God”
there are many songs and messages I have heard
asking God to come down
or waiting on God to move
or asking if it is God’s will
Paul answers all of these by reminding Timothy that
God already gave the gift
God already moved when He gave the gift
God has already declared His will by giving the gift
God has revealed His will and told us how to access the wisdom we need for this life
Call on Him
Call on Him
In Jeremiah 33:2 it says
2 Thus saith the Lord the maker thereof, the Lord that formed it, to establish it; the Lord is his name; 3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.
God said for us to call to Him, this action is on us to take.
Then, He promised He would answer.
But why doesn’t God initiate every action? He created us with free will, will to choose. He also spoke to us through “Holy men of old” in 2 Peter 1:21
21 For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
and He showed us His power in creation in Romans 1:19-20
19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
God has initiated, God has spoken and further God has spoken through His son in Hebrews 1:1-2
1 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;
So, God has spoken, God has revealed Himself to us and is looking for a response.
Will we call on Him or will we be caught up with the things of this world?
But lets go back to Jeremiah.
Where was Jeremiah when the Lord came to him and said “call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not”.
Jeremiah 33:1 (KJV 1900)
Moreover the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the prison, saying,
This wasn’t the first time the Lord came to Him.
Jeremiah wasn’t in the temple or on a retreat with a group of believers surrounding him.
Jeremiah was in prison. Jeremiah needed encouragement and God said
“call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not”.
What was it that God showed Jeremiah?
8 And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me. 9 And it shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honour before all the nations of the earth, which shall hear all the good that I do unto them: and they shall fear and tremble for all the goodness and for all the prosperity that I procure unto it.
God said:
I will cleanse
I will pardon
and doing this “shall be to me a name of joy, a praise and an honor”
and He will do this “before all the nations of the earth”
and it will be so good that those that hear will “fear and tremble”
How amazing is God’s goodness that it causes people to “fear and tremble”?
David wrote in Psalms 17:6-7, I have Called Upon You
Psalm 17:6–7 (KJV 1900)
6 I have called upon thee, for thou wilt hear me, O God: Incline thine ear unto me, and hear my speech. 7 Shew thy marvellous lovingkindness, O thou that savest by thy right hand them which put their trust in thee From those that rise up against them.
David had a relationship with God and knew that God would answer when David called Him.
David was a man of war so knew the power of the armies of their day, yet wrote in Psalm 20:7
Psalm 20:7 (KJV 1900)
7 Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: But we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
David knew that God was not only for him, but that God would deliver him when he needed help.
We might think that God is waiting for some future time to answer, but in Isaiah 65:24 He says
Isaiah 65:24 (KJV 1900)
24 And it shall come to pass, that before they call, I will answer; And while they are yet speaking, I will hear.
We know that there are times when our answer is delayed or when our answer depends on “the fullness of time” because it affects others.
But in Isaiah 66:1-2 God says
Isaiah 66:1–2 (KJV 1900)
1 Thus saith the Lord, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: Where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest? 2 For all those things hath mine hand made, And all those things have been, saith the Lord: But to this man will I look, Even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, And trembleth at my word.
God has the power to do anything we ask. And God is listening to what we are asking. We must Receive Him
Receive Him
Receive Him
So why don’t we see an answer? Do we reverence God and His word?
Jesus was in the world, but many did not receive him. We must believe as it says in John 10:10-12
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. 11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12 But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
This is how we become sons of God.
But we don’t just become sons to live out our time on the earth.
God wants a relationship and says draw near
Draw Near
Draw Near
To Draw Near represents Strengthening the Relationship
David said this in Psalm 73:28
Psalm 73:28 (KJV 1900)
28 But it is good for me to draw near to God: I have put my trust in the Lord God, That I may declare all thy works.
As David trusted in God and drew near Him, God never failed him.
Who is it that Jesus said he would be near? In John 14:23-24 Jesus says he and the Father would abide with those that “Keep his word”
23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. 24 He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me.
Those that love Jesus and do what he said, “Keep his words” through actions are his friends.
In Galations 4:6 these people are described
6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.
These people have a heart cry for the father.
That heart cry causes them to draw near to God and as they do it says in James 4:8-10
8 Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. 9 Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. 10 Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
This drawing near requires action on our part. The action is that to “Cleanse your hands” and “purify your hearts”.
This means living a righteous life and following wholly after the word of God, not “double minded”, sometimes for God and sometimes not.
In Zechariah 1:3 he says “turn to the Lord”
Zechariah 1:3 (KJV 1900)
3 Therefore say thou unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Turn ye unto me, saith the Lord of hosts, And I will turn unto you, saith the Lord of hosts.
But it isn’t enough to just know God for ourselves. He wants us to glorify Him in our actions in the world.
He wants us to be blessed and be a blessing.
Cry Aloud
Cry Aloud
The prophet Isaiah said in 58:1-2
Isaiah 58:1–2 (KJV 1900)
1 Cry aloud, spare not, Lift up thy voice like a trumpet, And shew my people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins. 2 Yet they seek me daily, And delight to know my ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And forsook not the ordinance of their God: They ask of me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching to God.
Cry aloud, speak out. Tell people what God desires from us.
There are many religious act that preople say will bring you closer to God.
For example, many say fasting makes you closer to God but in Isaiah 58:4-5 it says fasting to make your voice heard is a false act
Isaiah 58:4–5 (KJV 1900)
4 Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, And to smite with the fist of wickedness: Ye shall not fast as ye do this day, To make your voice to be heard on high. 5 Is it such a fast that I have chosen? A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a bulrush, And to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? Wilt thou call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the Lord?
Afflicting ourselves by fasting does not make our voice heard.
What matters to God, is that we do what He would do, feed the hungry, clothe the naked as Isaiah 58:6 goes on to say
Isaiah 58:6–11 (KJV 1900)
6 Is not this the fast that I have chosen? To loose the bands of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, And to let the oppressed go free, And that ye break every yoke? 7 Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, And that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? When thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; And that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? 8 Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, And thine health shall spring forth speedily: And thy righteousness shall go before thee; The glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.
9 Then shalt thou call, and the Lord shall answer; Thou shalt cry, and he shall say, Here I am. If thou take away from the midst of thee the yoke, The putting forth of the finger, and speaking vanity; 10 And if thou draw out thy soul to the hungry, And satisfy the afflicted soul; Then shall thy light rise in obscurity, And thy darkness be as the noonday: 11 And the Lord shall guide thee continually, And satisfy thy soul in drought, And make fat thy bones: And thou shalt be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
When was the time that you went without a meal so someone else could eat?
When was the time you brought someone into your home so they had a roof over their head?
When was the time you gave someone clothes they needed?
I am not talking about donating to the Salvation Army and sending someone to the Salvation Army store to buy what they needed.
Evil in the Sight of the Lord
Evil in the Sight of the Lord
There is an account of Israels King Josiah in 2 Kings 22
Several of the Kings of Israel before him had done “that which was evil in the sight of the Lord”.
Then in 2 Kings 22:1
1 Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty and one years in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Jedidah, the daughter of Adaiah of Boscath.
at eighteen, a scribe came to him saying he should call for an accounting of the silver in the house of the Lord and use it to “repair the breaches of the house” of God in 2 Kings 22:5
5 And let them deliver it into the hand of the doers of the work, that have the oversight of the house of the Lord: and let them give it to the doers of the work which is in the house of the Lord, to repair the breaches of the house,
As this work began, the high priest found the book of the law in 2 Kings 22:8
8 And Hilkiah the high priest said unto Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the Lord. And Hilkiah gave the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
Then, they read it to the young King in 2 Kings 22:11
11 And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.
They had been living contrary to the covenant they had with God.
But when this King heard the words of the covenant, he immediately responded.
God begins to deal with them in saying “I will bring evil on this place” in 2 Kings 22:16-19
16 Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the words of the book which the king of Judah hath read: 17 Because they have forsaken me, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled against this place, and shall not be quenched. 18 But to the king of Judah which sent you to inquire of the Lord, thus shall ye say to him, Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, As touching the words which thou hast heard; 19 Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord.
Josiah’s response was heard by God
Set a Mark
Set a Mark
God then says “set a mark” in Ezekiel 9:4
4 And the Lord said unto him, Go through the midst of the city, through the midst of Jerusalem, and set a mark upon the foreheads of the men that sigh and that cry for all the abominations that be done in the midst thereof.
God was listening to every person in the land.
The angels marked every person that “sigh and that cry” for all the “abominations”.
These people were spared when judgement came on all the land.
The Sword of the Lord
The Sword of the Lord
Judgement came in Ezekiel 22:1-31
1 Moreover the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, 2 Now, thou son of man, wilt thou judge, wilt thou judge the bloody city? yea, thou shalt shew her all her abominations.
thou hast shed; and hast defiled thyself in thine idols which thou hast made
a reproach unto the heathen, and a mocking to all countries
they set light by father and mother
have they dealt by oppression with the stranger
they vexed the fatherless and the widow
despised mine holy things, and hast profaned my sabbaths
in the midst of thee they commit lewdness
one hath committed abomination with his neighbour’s wife
another hath lewdly defiled his daughter in law
another in thee hath humbled his sister, his father’s daughter
have they taken gifts to shed blood
thou hast taken usury and increase, and thou hast greedily gained of thy neighbours by extortion
and hast forgotten me, saith the Lord GOD
Son of man, say unto her, Thou art the land that is not cleansed, nor rained upon in the day of indignation.
There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my sabbaths, and I am profaned among them
Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain
The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
30 And I sought for a man among them, that should make up the hedge, and stand in the gap before me for the land, that I should not destroy it: but I found none.
Consider Your Vow
Consider Your Vow
Now, Solomon says in Ecclesiastes 5:1-7, think carefully about what you say.
1 Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. 2 Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few. 3 For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool’s voice is known by multitude of words. 4 When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. 5 Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay. 6 Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands? 7 For in the multitude of dreams and many words there are also divers vanities: but fear thou God.
It is one thing to talk about what you might do. It is another thing entirely to give your word to God.
Did you commit your life to Jesus Christ?
Have you been saved by His blood?
Are you born again into His family?
Are you living the God kind of life?
Take this moment to ask God to forgive you for those things you committed to him and then held back. Whether time, or money, or relationships, or habits.
12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. 13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. 14 Do all things without murmurings and disputings: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; 16 Holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain.
Pray with me.
Pray with me.
Father, I know the work Jesus Christ did for me on the cross. I did, and do accept Jesus Christ as the Lord of my life.
Forgive me for falling short and getting entangled in these things that have separated me from you.
I am calling on you now. I am drawing near to you now.
I thank you that you forgive me.
Holy Spirit, have your way in my life. Teach me lead me. And I will follow.
I thank you Father in Jesus Name.