Grace In The Gap

God listens, will you? Consider a time of silence before you speak so you can be filled with the gracious words of God and give others the grace you have received. 

“Kish had a son named Saul, as handsome a young man as could be found anywhere in Israel, and he was a head taller than anyone else. Now the donkeys belonging to Saul’s father Kish were lost…Saul said to the servant who was with him, “Come, let’s go back, or my father will stop thinking about the donkeys and start worrying about us.” But the servant replied, “Look, in this town there is a man of God; he is highly respected, and everything he says comes true. Let’s go there now. Perhaps he will tell us what way to take.” So they set out for the town where the man of God was. When Samuel caught sight of Saul, the Lord said to him, “This is the man I spoke to you about; he will govern my people.” “I am the seer,” Samuel replied…I will send you on your way and will tell you all that is in your heart. As for the donkeys you lost three days ago, do not worry about them; they have been found. And to whom is all the desire of Israel turned, if not to you and your whole family line?” Saul answered, “But am I not a Benjamite, from the smallest tribe of Israel, and is not my clan the least of all the clans of the tribe of Benjamin? Samuel called to Saul on the roof, “Get ready, and I will send you on your way.” 1 Samuel 9:2-26

What would happen if we learned to listen to God all the time?  Would He not calm our worries, give us what we need, and guide us as we go? Why is it that we do not listen to God all the time? Are you someone who hears God clearly or is the idea of God speaking a foreign concept?

There are many great points in this text. Notice that it was Saul's servant who was the one who pointed him to God. Without someone else helping guide Saul to the man of God, he might not have found his way. You never know the difference you can make in the life of another person by just giving an encouraging word or helping them get closer to God. How are you pointing people to God? How are you giving a helping hand? Before Saul even shares the worries of his heart, the worries about the donkeys, God has an answer. God spoke to Samuel to let Saul know not to be worried about his worldly concern. The donkeys had been found even though Saul didn't know it. Before we say a word, God already knows how He is going to work things out for our good. 

What did Saul hear when he listened to God? God had great plans to lift him higher and give him a kingdom purpose. Saul would never have thought he would be a king. That is just not how he saw himself, but that is often how it works. God sees in us strength we might not see in ourselves. What do we hear when we listen to God?  He has a better plan, a higher, and greater purposes than we can imagine. Saul would never have thought of himself as a king. He calls himself the least of the least. How do you see yourself? How does God see you? Our lives could be completely transformed if we learn to listen to God and followed Him by learning to walk in our true kingdom identity. 

“Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness,” Psalms 95:1-8

Singing praises softens our hearts and opens up our ears to hear from God. As we lift up God, he lifts us up.  Do you have a favorite song to sing? When do you most feel at peace in our soul? The kingdom of God is the upside down kingdom. We find victory in surrender. We are built up as we bow down. You cannot both worry and worship. You have to choose what you will do. Is praising God a priority for you? How will your praise God today?

God gives us an invitation and a warning. He says listen to my voice that I might speak to you. Worship softens our hearts, worry weighs it down and keeps us from welcoming God’s presence. God warns against hardening our hearts.  When he speaks of hardening, David is saying do not be resistant or stubborn. Are there any areas in your life where you are stubborn? Are you open to God softening your heart even if it means having to let go of doing life your way? 

“Words from the mouth of the wise are gracious, but fools are consumed by their own lips. At the beginning their words are folly; fools multiply words. Blessed is the land whose king is of noble birth and whose princes eat at a proper time— for strength and not for drunkenness. Through laziness, the rafters sag; because of idle hands, the house leaks.” Ecclesiastes 10:2, 12-18

What will you hear when you hear God’s voice?  Grace and truth. Read the gospels and you will see Jesus always spoke in grace and truth. Have you ever been around someone who would not stop talking but did not know what they were talking about? Wisdom says the words of fools are many. We live in a world with a lot of opinions, but true wisdom begins with the fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord challenges us to step back and see that we do not know what we do not know. The fear of the Lord humbles our hearts and helps our ears hear. If I do not know what God knows, perhaps I should spend more time listening than talking.  

Solomon says there is work to do.  There is likely work to be done in your heart and in your home. The best place to start as Jesus would say is by removing our own plank before we tell others where they need to take out the splinter. Our natural inclination can be to correct other people, but God challenges us to start by hearing how we need to grow in grace. Solomon says that laziness leads to leaks.  What gets into your head gets into your heart. What are you listening to or focusing on that might not be from God? 

What if we made this message today all about our hearts and our minds? King David continually called for God to examine his heart. Ask yourself if there is anywhere you have allowed foolishness to enter in and listened to the voices of others or the enemy over the voice of the Almighty? A simple test of this is the truth that perfect love casts out fear. Do you have any fear in your heart? Perhaps you need more of God’s love and less of the words of the world. 

“I will keep a watchful eye over Judah…Then the clans of Judah will say in their hearts, ‘The people of Jerusalem are strong, because the Lord Almighty is their God.’ On that day the Lord will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord going before them. And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced”Zechariah 12:4-10

It’s always amazing to see the connections with scripture and consider how everything points to Jesus. Jesus is the one who was pierced for us that we might become people of peace. God says he will pour out a spirit of grace and supplication. What does that mean to you? Would you like to be filled with a heart that is full of God’s grace and eyes to see how you can help other people? Supplication is interceding on other people's behalf. It is how you are praying for God to meet the needs of someone else. How much time do you spend each day interceding or praying for others? 

Do you realize that God is watching over you and working ahead of you?  Do you recognize that He already knows what you need and wants to calm your fears? God wants you to know that you are not alone, that He is with you, and He will never forsake you. When we learn to understand and live in the truth of God is already taking care of all of our needs then we can be free to be people who work for the good of others.  

Truth tells us that we can be people full of a spirit of grace and a spirit of supplication. We can become interceders. Do you believe that your prayers have power? Do you believe that you can make a difference in what happens in the lives of other people by standing in the gap for them? The Bible says God looks for a person to stand in the gap. God wants gap standers. Will you be one? 

“When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and seven trumpets were given to them. Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all God’s people, on the golden altar in front of the throne. The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of God’s people, went up before God from the angel’s hand. Then the seven angels who had the seven trumpets prepared to sound them. The third angel sounded his trumpet, and a great star, blazing like a torch, fell from the sky…the name of the star is Wormwood. A third of the waters turned bitter, and many people died from the waters that had become bitter.” Revelation 8:1-4, 6, 10-11 

God hears your prayers. The text says with incense the prayers of the people came before God. He listens and He hears. He sees and He knows what you need. There’s a deep connection between Psalm 95 and Revelation eight. In Psalm 95 David says do not be like the people of Meribah, the people of bitterness whose hearts were hardened. Wormwood brings bitterness to the water and people died of bitterness. Do you have any bitterness in your heart? Is there anyone you do not like? Consider how many relationships have died in lives been ruined because of bitter hearts. Why? Why would we ever choose to get offended rather than give grace? 

The message today is simple. Like the angels in heaven, be silent before God.  Practice creating space to hear His voice that you might receive his grace and know that He already has an answer to your greatest worry. He already has a plan to anoint you to a higher calling like Saul. He sees you in ways that are more beautiful than you could possibly see yourself. He is the Maker of all things and worthy of our prayer.  

So silence the noise and choose to sing God‘s praises. Jesus is worthy of our praise. Surrender any offense, bitterness, stubbornness, hardness in your heart, and sing praises to the One who was pierced for our sins.  Jesus has set us free that we might be people who out of grace received, give grace to others. He has saved us so we can help save others.  How do we start? Listen to God’s voice, then let his grace soften in our hearts so we can become people who stand up for others that they too might be set free and sing.