Week 8 - A Famine of Hearing God

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

*CHURCH UPDATES: Digital and paper connect Card

sangamonvalley.net/ConnectCard and paper connect Card

Text keyword “prayer” to 217-583-1112 for prayer

Giving: box, web, app, mail

DECLARATION:

Ephesians 2:20–22 (ESV)

20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.

SVCC is built by God, upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, and with Christ Jesus as the cornerstone.

We are joined together by union with Christ, we are growing, and we are a dwelling place of God by his Spirit.

Prayer for...

INTRODUCTION:

Review:

WHY?…

TODAY:

Opening Scripture:

Overripe Fruit

Amos 8:1–6 “1 This is what the Lord God showed me: behold, a basket of summer fruit. 2 And he said, “Amos, what do you see?” And I said, “A basket of summer fruit.” Then the Lord said to me, “The end has come upon my people Israel; I will never again pass by them. 3 The songs of the temple shall become wailings in that day,” declares the Lord God. “So many dead bodies!” “They are thrown everywhere!” “Silence!” 4 Hear this, you who trample on the needy and bring the poor of the land to an end, 5 saying, “When will the new moon be over, that we may sell grain? And the Sabbath, that we may offer wheat for sale, that we may make the ephah small and the shekel great and deal deceitfully with false balances, 6 that we may buy the poor for silver and the needy for a pair of sandals and sell the chaff of the wheat?””

Amos 8:7–10 “7 The Lord has sworn by the pride of Jacob: “Surely I will never forget any of their deeds. 8 Shall not the land tremble on this account, and everyone mourn who dwells in it, and all of it rise like the Nile, and be tossed about and sink again, like the Nile of Egypt?” 9 “And on that day,” declares the Lord God, “I will make the sun go down at noon and darken the earth in broad daylight. 10 I will turn your feasts into mourning and all your songs into lamentation; I will bring sackcloth on every waist and baldness on every head; I will make it like the mourning for an only son and the end of it like a bitter day.”

Famine of Hearing God

Amos 8:11–14 “11 “Behold, the days are coming,” declares the Lord God, “when I will send a famine on the land— not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord. 12 They shall wander from sea to sea, and from north to east; they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the Lord, but they shall not find it. 13 “In that day the lovely virgins and the young men shall faint for thirst. 14 Those who swear by the Guilt of Samaria, and say, ‘As your god lives, O Dan,’ and, ‘As the Way of Beersheba lives,’ they shall fall, and never rise again.””

Seek God and Live…live by Hearing Him

Amos 5:4 “4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live;”

Amos 5:4 ESV

4 For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: “Seek me and live;

John 10:27 “27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.”

John 10:27 ESV

27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Three unchanging values of SVCC assist us in seeking God

1) SCRIPTURE

The Bible is God breathed Words…for the aim of making the people of God reflect the true expressed image of God revealed in Jesus

2 Timothy 3:16–17 (ESV)

16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness,

17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

Hebrews 4:12 (ESV)

12 For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

2) PRAYER

Prayer is Talking to God

Daniel 10:12–13 (ESV)

12 Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words.

13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,

Daniel 10:12–13 (ESV)

12 Then he said to me, “Fear not, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart to understand and humbled yourself before your God, your words have been heard, and I have come because of your words. 13 The prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me twenty-one days, but Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I was left there with the kings of Persia,

Daniel had been praying for 21 DAYS!!! (v. 13)

God had sent the messenger to Daniel right away (v. 12)

Daniel 10:5 indicates that these are supernatural beings with the one addressing Daniel referred to as “the man in linen” (cf. Ez. 1, 9-10)

The prince of Persia is clearly a satanic agent but of what kind we cannot be certain (i.e. could be satan acting behind a human)

There is some battle that is finally won when Michael, a higher angel/prince, helps.

The answer to the prayer was sent immediately by God but it was delayed by the enemy. However, the spiritual battle was won and the answer to Daniel’s prayer came to him.

The principal is to pray with persistence

Luke 18:1 (ESV) 1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.

3) WORSHIP

What is worship?

Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.

2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

“by the mercies of God” – live your life in response to what God has done

Mercy means compassion or forgiveness from God towards us, although we were due death

This mercy meets us where we are at in our sinfulness!

Our response to God’s mercies:

1) our mind is renewed by the Word and Spirit of God;

§ Ephesians 6:17 (ESV) 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,

§ Titus 3:5 (ESV) 5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

§ 1 Thessalonians 2:13 (ESV) 13 And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers.

2) we learn to discern and desire God’s will (*one way we’re to pray)

§ 1 John 5:14–15 (ESV) 14 And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requeststhat we have asked of him.

3) we are transformed and respond accordingly…ultimately this RESPONSE is worship

§ Our bodies are used for spiritual worship

§ Our minds are transformed for God’s will

§ Both our outside and inside respond to God in worship

Allow our time in Scripture and Prayer to bring you to a response of worship through music

***RESPOND***

Matthew 26:26–30 “26 Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, 28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. 29 I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” 30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

SCRIPTURE - Celebrating Passover

PRAYER - Blessed It

WORSHIP thru music - Sung a hymn

Conclusion/Reflection:

COMMUNION:

The Lord’s Table as it is often called is a liturgy that regularly reminds us of the nature of our world and it's brokenness, corruption, and sin.

It's also a powerful message of the restorative and redemptive work of the cross.

Even though I have been "saved" from the ultimate penalty of sin, I'm in constant need of being "saved" from the dirt and grime and filth of a fallen world.

· My attitude needs constant realignment.

· My view needs a regular adjustment of perspective.

· My choices need constant assessment.

· You can't put the Christian life on auto-pilot.

When I eat the bread and drink the juice of Communion, I am reminded of the sacrifice of Jesus during his trial and crucifixion.

TALK IT OVER

Read Isaiah 47:5; Jeremiah 51:55 and Revelation 8:1. What is the significance of silence in these passages?

How can we best warn our friends about the danger they are in without Christ as their Savior? (See Ezek. 3:20–21; 33:1–6; Luke 13:1–5; Acts 3:19.)

How can we explain to them what it would be like to live in a world without the influence of the Bible? (See 1 Sam. 3:1; 28:6 and 2 Chr. 15:3.)