A0376_Peril of Not Calling
Date: 30th March 2008 (Sunday PM) Ref: A0376
Place: Kambah P.S.
Title: Peril of Not Calling
Text: & Isaiah 43:22
Illust: After 13-year-old runaway Brenda Nguyen drank a fifth of vodka in less than half an hour, she spent four hours throwing up and slipping in and out of consciousness; At the time she was in an apartment with 4 adults & her best friend.One of the adults revived Brenda after she stopped breathing, and when she started breathing again, someone put something in her mouth to keep it open, "They thought she was OK," & one of them prayed over Brenda before they went to sleep. When they woke up, Brenda was dead. – Totally preventable tragedy - Police said the adults at the apartment didn't call for help because they were afraid they would get in trouble with authorities. – Peril of not calling
I. A God Who Hears
A. A God Near at Hand
i. This evening, we serve the Living God, & we simply must understand that He is alive, He is intensely interested / concerned about you. Your life, your struggles / challenges issues & He wants to be involved in your life.
Jeremiah 23:23-24 23 “Am I a God near at hand,” says the Lord, “And not a God afar off? 24 Can anyone hide himself in secret places, So I shall not see him?” says the Lord; “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” says the Lord (NKJV)
ii. He is not out there a billion light years away hardly interested in what is happening on this pale blue dot circling the sun amongst innumerable stars. No He is actively involved in life here on earth, He is near at hand.
Psalm 145:18 The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, To all who call upon Him in truth. (NKJV)
iii. You can call out to Him with full confidence that is right nearby
B. Great Hearing
i. Not only is God near, He also has perfect hearing & He ears your every prayer, your every cry for help.
Isaiah 59:1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, That it cannot save; Nor His ear heavy, That it cannot hear. (NKJV)
ii. This is an important thing to grasp. When you pray, God does hear you. Sometimes we can be tempted, to doubt, to question, God do you hear, do you care, I am just me with my problems / fears / doubts / struggles surely God can’t / won’t pay much attention to me.
iii. No, the minute you speak, the minute you cry out to God, you have His full attention. He is focussed on you. – Be comforted in this knowledge.
II. Peril of Self Reliance
A. I Do it Myself
i. This leads us to look at the problem of many of us as laid out in our text & vs.22 – The indictment from God is not that they have pestered Him too much but no the exact opposite, we have not called upon Him.
ii. Peril of self reliance. As soon as you or I start thinking that we can live life independently of God, without needing His strength, His provision. – Living in rebellion – focussed on self reliance – Pride
James 4:6 ...: “God resists the proud, ...” (NKJV)
iii. This is the history of His people throughout history, your history, my history times when we have slipped into a mode of living whereby we no longer call out to Him to be our provider our deliverer, our sustainer.
It becomes my plans, my schemes, my strategies, my skills & abilities that will get us through. – Wrong!
What is the outflow of living like this eventually it catches up on you
Hosea 7:7 They are all hot, like an oven, And have devoured their judges; All their kings have fallen. None among them calls upon Me. (NKJV)
Torment / confusion / no leading / no direction / no wisdom – turmoil.
B. Disciples Prayer
i. How did Jesus teach His disciples to pray? – Called the Lords Prayer, more correctly should be called the disciples prayer, teaching you & I how to pray
ii. First note that he taught them to pray. – They were expected to pray to bring their requests to God, to spend time in communion, relationship with God.
Matthew 6:5 “And when you pray, (NKJV)
iii. Secondly they were taught to pray to God to meet the needs of their lives, the daily needs.
Matthew 6:9-13 9 In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. 13 And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen. (NKJV)
III. Dependant Living
A. Humility
i. The call tonight is that you would humbly come to God for all your needs. – A life of daily dependence upon Him. – Need to humble ourselves, realise that you can’t make it on your own. That you & I daily need God, His provision, His wisdom, His power.
ii. This ultimately is what prayer is all about. – Seeking God’s strength & help for the situations & circumstances of the day
Psalm 73:28 .. it is good for me to draw near to God; I have put my trust in the Lord God, ... (NKJV)
iii. The humble draw near to God, they trust in Him.
B. Seek Him
i. We need to seek Him. To place our reliance upon Him, the psalmist cried out:
Psalm 71:12 O God, do not be far from me; O my God, make haste to help me! (NKJV)
ii. God is not far, He is near, let it not be said of us & vs.22 that we grew weary of calling upon Him, that in our pride we thought we could cope without daily going to the throne of Grace to find that very present help in the time of trouble.
iii. One of the most tragic type of story you ever hear is of the very preventable tragedy that could have / would have been averted if only someone had called out for help. – How much do we struggle in life and go through things seemingly alone when all we need to do is call out to Him.