Depending On Him -- 12/28/08

Sunday, December 28, 2008

DEPENDING ON HIM

It was seven or eight years ago that some of us heard a man say something like this: “If we don’t pray, then we are depending on ourselves.” I didn’t much care for that attitude. I don’t depend on myself; I depend on the Lord. He is my rock and my salvation. He is my strength. He is the One I trust and depend upon. I dare him say that if I don’t pray, then I am depending upon myself. But the more I thought about what he said, the more I knew he was right, absolutely right. We might put it like this: “To the degree that I don’t pray, to that same degree I am trusting myself.”

With that in mind, I want to ask you a simple question: Upon whom are you depending? If you say you are depending upon the Lord, how are you demonstrating your dependence upon Him? We must acknowledge that this is one of those areas where we can easily be deceived. We can think we are depending upon God, when in reality we are depending upon self. This is a theme that I desperately need. I can never be told often enough that I need to depend upon Him. And I suspect the same is true for you.

This morning we are going to mainly read from the Word. It is the Word of God that
must show us our need to depend upon Him and must convict us when we don’t. So without apology, we are going to read large portions of scripture this morning.

I. For What Do We Depend upon the Lord?

When we speak of dependence, there is no better illustration than the child depending upon his parents, especially a young child. That young child depends upon his parents for protection, for food and shelter, for guidance day by day, and dozens of other critical needs. Should we depend upon the Lord in that way? We tend to think not. After all, when we grow up, we achieve our independence. Independence is a curse. Talk about independence all you want, but if in any area I am independent of the Lord, it is a curse.

Consider one of the best know passages in the Bible. “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want” (Ps. 23:1). How can I say that I shall not want, that I lack nothing, that I am in need of nothing? I can only say that, when the Lord is truly my Shepherd. And what does it mean for a sheep to have a shepherd? It means absolute dependence. A sheep cannot make it on its own. The sheep looks to the shepherd for food and drink (He maketh me to lie down in green pastures; He leadeth me beside the still waters). It looks to the shepherd for protection and guidance. If the sheep doesn’t depend upon the shepherd, it will perish from starvation or be eaten by the wolves. Its welfare depends upon its dependence upon the shepherd.

So it is with us. Our spiritual welfare is determined by our dependence upon our Shepherd. As a physical sheep is helpless, so we are helpless. As Jesus put it, “Without me you can do nothing” (Jn. 15:5). So what is it we are depending upon Him for? Certainly, we could say that it is the same for us as for the sheep. We need Him to give us spiritual food, to protect us, to guide us. I don’t want to minimize those things, but I want to explore some critical needs that are related.

1. For an attitude of humility and repentance

If we depend upon ourselves, we will not be able to maintain such an attitude. It is impossible. We may keep up the outward appearance of that attitude, but not the reality. An attitude of true humility and repentance comes only from the Lord.

Ps. 51:1-17… A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 2. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. 3. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. 4. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. 5. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. 6. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. 7. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. 8. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. 9. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. 10. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. 11. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. 12. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. 13. Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee. 14. Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness. 15. O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall show forth thy praise. 16. For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering. 17. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.

Ps. 34:11-22… Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the LORD. 12. What man is he that desireth life, and loveth many days, that he may see good? 13. Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile. 14. Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace, and pursue it. 15. The eyes of the LORD are upon the righteous, and his ears are open unto their cry. 16. The face of the LORD is against them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them from the earth. 17. The righteous cry, and the LORD heareth, and delivereth them out of all their troubles. 18. The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit. 19. Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all. 20. He keepeth all his bones: not one of them is broken. 21. Evil shall slay the wicked: and they that hate the righteous shall be desolate. 22. The LORD redeemeth the soul of his servants: and none of them that trust in him shall be desolate.

Ps. 131… LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor mine eyes lofty: neither do I exercise myself in great matters, or in things too high for me. 2. Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child. 3. Let Israel hope in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.

Ps. 138:6… Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.

1 Pet 5:5-6… Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble. 6. Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:

Matt. 5:3-5… Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 4. Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted. 5. Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

Peter tells us, “Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God.” It is only when we look at the mighty God that we will be able to humble ourselves. It will never happen by determination. Only when we continually look to the High and Lofty One who inhabits eternity will we be truly humble and repentant.

2. For fellowship

1 John 1:1-4… That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; 2. (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) 3. That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Because of what Jesus did at the cross, we have fellowship with God the Father and His Son Jesus Christ. Praise God! How amazing it is that we could have fellowship with the living God. Ps. 65:4, "Blessed is the man whom thou choosest, and causest to approach unto thee, that he may dwell in thy courts: we shall be satisfied with the goodness of thy house, even of thy holy temple." Those of us who have been enabled to approach unto Him are blessed indeed. There is no greater blessing.

Nevertheless, we need Him to maintain this fellowship. That is not to say that the Lord does not hold up His end of fellowship. It is to say that we are weak, and we must depend upon Him to make us willing and eager to have fellowship with Him. Of course, that doesn’t seem to make sense. How could anyone ever lack a passionate zeal to be near the One who created him and redeemed him? We find what the songwriter found, when he wrote, “Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it, prone to leave the God I love.” It makes no sense, but we find that tendency.

Ps. 27 The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? the LORD is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? 2. When the wicked, even mine enemies and my foes, came upon me to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. 3. Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear: though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident. 4. One thing have I desired of the LORD, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the LORD all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the LORD, and to inquire in his temple. 5. For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock. 6. And now shall mine head be lifted up above mine enemies round about me: therefore will I offer in his tabernacle sacrifices of joy; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises unto the LORD. 7. Hear, O LORD, when I cry with my voice: have mercy also upon me, and answer me. 8. When thou saidst, Seek ye my face; my heart said unto thee, Thy face, LORD, will I seek. 9. Hide not thy face far from me; put not thy servant away in anger: thou hast been my help; leave me not, neither forsake me, O God of my salvation. 10. When my father and my mother forsake me, then the LORD will take me up. 11. Teach me thy way, O LORD, and lead me in a plain path, because of mine enemies. 12. Deliver me not over unto the will of mine enemies: for false witnesses are risen up against me, and such as breathe out cruelty. 13. I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. 14. Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.

Ps. 73:25-28… Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 26. My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever. 27. For, lo, they that are far from thee shall perish: thou hast destroyed all them that go a whoring from thee. 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.

Matt. 12:46-50… While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 48. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49. And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50. For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Luke 24:32… And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?

John 6:51-58… I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. 52. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? 53. Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you. 54. Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. 55. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. 56. He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. 57. As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father: so he that eateth me, even he shall live by me. 58. This is that bread which came down from heaven: not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead: he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

John 15:1-5… I am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. 2. Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit. 3. Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. 4. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. 5. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.

Col. 3:1-3… If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. 2. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. 3. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.

1 John 1:5-10… This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6. If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth: 7. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. 8. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. 2:1-6… My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: 2. And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. 3. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6. He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

3. For an effective testimony

May God deliver us from the professionalism which teaches us that only the leaders of the church and a few super-Christians are capable of living and sharing the gospel of Christ. If the devil wanted to handicap the church so that it would be ineffective in sharing Christ, what better way than to make a rule that only a small percentage of Christians can tell others about Jesus. That unwritten rule spread by Satan himself has greatly hindered the church of Jesus Christ. God has called every believer to live and share the Lord Jesus Christ. Of course, part of the problem is that many who profess to be a part of the church have never truly been converted to become children of God. Charles Spurgeon puts it bluntly: “Have you no wish for others to be saved? Then you are not saved yourself. Be sure of that.”

Brothers and sisters, we must depend upon Him for an effective testimony. No special method or seminar can make us an effective witness for Christ. We must depend upon our Lord. That is not to say that we cannot make good use of training and tools, but we don’t depend upon those things; we depend upon the Lord.

Let me ask you a question. We went over this not long ago. Why did Jesus choose the apostles? Let me put it another way. What was the very first thing He wanted them to do? We find the answer in Mark 3:13-15, "And he goeth up into a mountain, and calleth unto him whom he would: and they came unto him. 14. And he ordained twelve, that they should be with him, and that he might send them forth to preach, 15. And to have power to heal sicknesses, and to cast out devils:" So what is the answer? What was the first thing Jesus wanted them to do? To be with Him. That’s it. Out of that close contact they would then minister in His name.

We find the exact same thing with Peter and John. You will remember that they had healed the lame man in Jesus’ name, as recorded in Acts 3. When a crowd gathered, they explained that they had not done this by some power of their own; they had done it through the power of the risen Lord Jesus Christ. They were arrested. The next day when they stood before the council to be examined, Peter spoke these words… (Acts 4:8-12)

Then Peter, filled with the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers of the people, and elders of Israel, 9. If we this day be examined of the good deed done to the impotent man, by what means he is made whole; 10. Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this man stand here before you whole. 11. This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 12. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

What a testimony! But now read verse 13, "Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus." That doesn’t mean they were dumb, only that they weren’t officially trained. They hadn’t been to Bible school or seminary, and yet they spoke with such boldness and clarity about Jesus. Those men who examined them had to acknowledge that the secret of these men was that they had been with Jesus. No doubt, those men were referring to all the time they had spent with Jesus while He walked on the earth, but that wasn’t it. When Peter walked with Jesus on the earth, what did he do? He denied Jesus three times. While that time with Jesus was important, that isn’t the key. The key is in the fact that they had been with Jesus that very morning. They were drawing their strength from Him moment by moment.

The secret to an effective testimony is depending upon Him, being with Him continually. What did Jesus say? “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (Jn. 7:37-38). Those rivers of living water will flow when we keep on coming to Jesus, keep on drinking from Him, and keep on believing Him.

Yes, we must depend upon our Lord in order to maintain an attitude of humility and repentance, in order to have fellowship with Him, and in order to bear an effective testimony for His glory. Now let’s take just a few minutes to consider the question…

II. How Do We Depend upon the Lord?

1. Through His Word

We talk about this all the time, so I will be brief. However, it must be stated that if we think we are depending upon Him while not being in the Word, we are deceiving ourselves. And I’m not talking about biblical knowledge that we have acquired over the years; I’m talking about a steady diet of His Word day in and day out – not in the past, but now.

Luke 10:38-42… Now it came to pass, as they went, that he entered into a certain village: and a certain woman named Martha received him into her house. 39. And she had a sister called Mary, which also sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word. 40. But Martha was cumbered about much serving, and came to him, and said, Lord, dost thou not care that my sister hath left me to serve alone? bid her therefore that she help me. 41. And Jesus answered and said unto her, Martha, Martha, thou art careful and troubled about many things: 42. But one thing is needful: and Mary hath chosen that good part, which shall not be taken away from her.

This is one of the great passages about the need to depend upon the Lord, but notice also how it was that Mary depended upon Him. She sat at His feet and heard His Word. She put aside other things, even very important things, in order to simply hear what her Lord had to say. We must depend upon Him in the same way.

Let’s read one other passage…

Ps. 119:9-16… Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word. 10. With my whole heart have I sought thee: O let me not wander from thy commandments. 11. Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee. 12. Blessed art thou, O LORD: teach me thy statutes. 13. With my lips have I declared all the judgments of thy mouth. 14. I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. 15. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. 16. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word.

How can a young man (or anyone else) cleanse his way? By paying attention to how he lives in light of the Word of God. The Word is critical in our walk with the Lord.

2. Through Prayer

Now we come back to our opening statement: “If we do not pray, then we are depending upon ourselves.” To the degree that we do not pray, to that same degree we are depending upon ourselves. It is through prayer that we depend upon our Lord, acknowledging that we can do nothing apart from Him. Jesus said it very concisely, “Apart from me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Consider Hannah. She was a faithful wife to her husband Elkanah, but she had never been able to bear children, because the Lord had shut up her womb. Listen to I Sam 1:9-11,18-21…
So Hannah rose up after they had eaten in Shiloh, and after they had drunk. Now Eli the priest sat upon a seat by a post of the temple of the LORD. 10. And she was in bitterness of soul, and prayed unto the LORD, and wept sore. 11. And she vowed a vow, and said, O LORD of hosts, if thou wilt indeed look on the affliction of thine handmaid, and remember me, and not forget thine handmaid, but wilt give unto thine handmaid a man child, then I will give him unto the LORD all the days of his life, and there shall no razor come upon his head… So the woman went her way, and did eat, and her countenance was no more sad. 19. And they rose up in the morning early, and worshipped before the LORD, and returned, and came to their house to Ramah: and Elkanah knew Hannah his wife; and the LORD remembered her. 20. Wherefore it came to pass, when the time was come about after Hannah had conceived, that she bare a son, and called his name Samuel, saying, Because I have asked him of the LORD.

Out of desperation, she cried out to the Lord. Notice that it was out of bitterness of soul that she prayed to the Lord. Too often, we don’t pray because we don’t truly know how desperately we need Him. If we could only realize that what we can accomplish apart from the Lord is worth nothing. But we argue: “I don’t do things apart from the Lord; He is always with me.” If we are not asking Him, upon whom are we depending?

Listen to David’s opening words in Psalm 5 (1-3)…
Give ear to my words, O LORD, consider my meditation. 2. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God: for unto thee will I pray. 3. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.
Surely for David it was more than just a routine. Though a man after God’s own heart, he knew how much he needed the Lord and He called upon the Lord in all kinds of situations.

I remind you of the words of James: “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:2). Isn’t that simple? If a small child needs something to eat, he asks his mom or dad. If he doesn’t have anything to eat, it’s simply because he doesn’t ask. So it is with the child of God. “You have not because you ask not.” But, Lord, we do ask. James then continues, “You ask and receive not, because you ask amiss, that you may consume it upon your lusts” (James 4:3). Motive is extremely important. We must not ask so that we can receive things for our own lust, comfort, prestige, power, or entertainment. So what is our motive to be? Jesus put it like this: “And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son” (John 14:13). Yes, there are many other motives that line up under this one, but the great motive is the glory of God. That is the goal of life and that is the goal of prayer as well.

What promises we neglect when we fail to pray. "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: 8. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened" (Matt. 7:7-8). “If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it” (Jn. 14:14). “The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5:16).

Many of us are in danger of talking more about prayer than actually praying. God gives us knowledge of prayer for one reason – that we might pray! May God give us grace to pray.

3. Through the Ministry of the Spirit

We all know that God works in and through us by His Spirit. No one will deny that. However, we have a great tendency to accept that truth and then give it very little thought. Our reasoning often goes something like this: Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would glorify Him. Isn’t that right? It certainly is. “He shall glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you” (Jn. 16:14). So if we are seeking to glorify the Lord Jesus, then we don’t need to be concerned about the Holy Spirit. He simply does His work. It is not important that we understand how or why. Our entire focus is on the Lord Jesus.

While there is some truth in that thinking, there is also danger in this approach. If the Lord took that same approach, there would be no reason to tell us anything about the Spirit. But on the contrary, He has told us much about His Holy Spirit, beginning with Jesus’ own words in John 14:16-18…
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17. Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.

That same evening Jesus continued to tell His apostles about the Spirit whom He would send… (John 16:7-14)
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9. Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10. Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11. Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12. I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13. Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come. 14. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.

Then when we come to Acts, we read about the coming of the Spirit upon those who believed. It was the presence of the Spirit that transformed the boastful but weak Peter into the man who told thousands that they had crucified the Lord and their Messiah.

Don’t forget that we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit, to allow the Spirit to direct our lives (Eph. 5:18). The Spirit is not someone we can ignore and expect to be filled by Him. When Paul prayed for the Ephesians, he prayed that they might be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man (Eph. 3:16). Remember that when the life of Jesus Christ flows through us to others, it is the work of the Spirit. John 7:37-39…
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. 38. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. 39. (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)

Praise God that we have the presence of God within us through the Spirit!

Conclusion

We began this morning by noting that when we fail to pray, we are demonstrating that we depend upon ourselves. But praise God that we don’t have to depend upon ourselves! God has made Himself available to us and has given us the means by which we can seek Him and find Him.

Most everyone of us can say, “I need to depend upon Him.” The great danger is that with that knowledge we go right on depending upon ourselves. May God deliver us from doing that.

I would ask you to specifically pray for me in that area. Lord willing, we are going to be stepping up the pace, as we go through Genesis. I sense the Lord wants me to preach through the rest of Genesis, but to take it in much larger chunks. My temptation is to steer away from that because I don’t feel like I do it very well. I seem to do better just taking a few verses. Do you see the problem? I am inclined to depend upon myself. Surely if the Lord wants you or me to do something, He will enable us to do it, as we depend upon Him.

In the weeks and months ahead, we will face challenges. We will face challenges as a church. Praise God that we don’t have to depend upon ourselves. We can depend upon Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or thing, according to the power that worketh in us (Eph. 3:20).