Western Hills Christian Church: “You are family here!”

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son" (Hebrews 1:1-2).

Since the beginning of time, man has deceived himself by thinking he can discover God through various religions. But in reality, man lives in a box enclosed within the walls of time and space. God is outside the box, and man senses He’s there but can’t get to Him. Each new religion is but another futile attempt to penetrate the walls of the box and catch a glimpse of God.

Man’s only hope is for God to enter the box, which Hebrews 1:1-2 declares He did: first by letter (the Old Testament), then in person (in Jesus Christ). Regarding God’s Word David said, "The Spirit of the Lord spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue" (2nd Samuel 23:2). Jeremiah added, "The Lord stretched out His hand and touched my mouth, and the Lord said to me, ‘Behold, I have put My words in your mouth’" (Jeremiah 1:9). Of Christ, the apostle John said, "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. . . . No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him" (John 1:14, 18).

The irony of people thinking they can discover God on their own is that apart from the Holy Spirit’s leading, no one really wants to find Him. They merely want to add a cosmic good luck charm to their lives or satiate their guilty consciences. Paul said, "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God" (Romans 3:10-11, emphasis added).

God could have left us in our sin and ignorance, but He penetrated the box and revealed everything we need to know for redemption and fellowship with Him. What a privilege we have to study His Word and live by its principles! Be diligent to do so each day.

Suggestion for Prayer:
Praise God for granting you the ability to appreciate His Word.

For Further Study:
Read 1st Corinthians 2:6-16, noting how natural (unregenerate) people respond to divine revelation.

From Drawing Near by John MacArthur Copyright © 1993. Used by permission of Crossway Books, a division of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.com.

And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Luke 22:44

Prayer is not difficult to understand. It is difficult to do. When was the last time your heart so grieved for those you were interceding for that your entire body agonized along with your mind and heart? (Hebrews 5:7).

We are a generation that avoids pain at all costs. This is why there are so few intercessors. Most Christians operate on the shallowest levels of prayer, but God wants to take us into the deep levels of intercessory prayer that only a few ever experience. Deep, prolonged intercession is painful. It involves staying before God when everyone else has gone away or sleeps (Luke 22:45). It involves experiencing brokenness with the Father over those who continually rebel against Him. How many of us will experience this kind of fervent intercession?

We long for Pentecost in our lives and in our churches, but there is no Pentecost without Gethsemane and a cross. How do we become mature in our prayer life? By praying. When we do not feel like praying is precisely the time we ought to pray. There are no shortcuts to prayer. There are no books to read, seminars to attend, or inspirational mottoes to memorize that will transform us into intercessors. This comes only by committing ourselves to pray and then doing so.

Why not accept God’s invitation to become an intercessor? Don’t allow yourself to become satisfied with shallow, self-centered praying. Stay with God in prayer until He leads you to pray at the level He wants.

Henry and Richard Blackaby
Experiencing God Day-by-Day

“Faithful servants have a way of knowing answered prayer when they see it, and a way of not giving up when they don’t.”

~Max Lucado

Sermon can be downloaded to your PC from here by RIGHT clicking with mouse and selecting “Save Target As” for the Internet Explorer browser or “Save Link As” for Firefox browsers.

Text: Nehemiah 4:1-9

I.  Signs of opposition (Nehemiah 4:1-3)

1. Ridicule
2. Powerful
3. A cover for those against you

II.  How to overcome opposition (Nehemiah 4:4-9)

1. Through prayer (See: 1st Peter 2:23)
2. Praise (See: Acts 16:22-33)
3. Work & prayer (Nehemiah 4:9)

Conclusion
What holds us back when confronted with opposition?

Do we see God as being big enough to overcomes the opposition?

Do you have a mind to work and a heart of prayer?