Text: Genesis 21:14-20
Synopsis: When Hagar and her son Ishmael were dying of thirst in the desert, Ishmael cried out and God heard him, coming to their assistance. The story is notable in that Hagar, the mother, was weeping, but the passage does not tell us that her voice was heard. There was something about the cry of a child that touched the heart of God.
Text: Exodus 10:27-11:8
Synopsis: The first nine plagues sent against Pharaoh and Egypt were the river turning to blood, frogs, lice, flies, murrain of beasts, boils, hail, locusts, and darkness. It was an almost comical situation up to this point - though annoying, none of the plagues was life-threatening. However, after Pharaoh grew tired of the game everything turned deadly serious. Pharaoh chose to discontinue the contact with Moses, resulting in the devastating plague of the deaths of the firstborn children.
Some “play church” today, much like Pharaoh did with Moses, for a time. It is dangerous, however, to reach a place where you no longer want to see or hear the preached Word from the man of God.
Text: Job 23:1-10, Psalm 1:1-6
Synopsis: The Bible declares that there are some things God does not know: another god, for example (Isaiah 44:8), or sin (II Corinthians 5:21). However, God knows the way of the righteous, so no matter what road a child of God finds himself on he can rest confident in the knowledge that God knows where he is.
Text: John 4:35-38
Synopsis: For some, it is all too easy to make excuses for a lack of evangelism. Jesus declared that the fields are white unto harvest, so a weak harvest is never a valid excuse. He also stated in Luke 11:23-26 that whoever is not with Him in gathering (evangelism) is against Him and a “scatterer.” In the same context, He describes the demonic spirit that returns to a cleansed person with seven worse than himself. This negative “spirit of scattering” is a hindrance to the work of God and reaching the lost through evangelism.
Text: Matthew 26:20-28
Synopsis: Over and over again the Bible speaks of the need to examine ourselves. One thing that separates great men and women of God from those who never reach their potential is the ability to engage in self introspection. All too many people blame problems in their lives on their circumstances or others around them, and this attitude is often found in the church as well. Few people are honest enough to admit that they are the problem when they fail God or when it comes to problems within the church. Are we praying, or are we complaining about the lack of revival in the church? Are we a daily witness, or do we complain about the lack of new converts?