Crying Out To God

“Crying Out To God”

Selected Passages

It seems that it normally takes a severe crisis in our life before we truly cry out to God from the depths of our heart. Our relationship with God seems to have lost a real passion. We have lost the sense of desperation regarding our own condition as well as the desperate condition of our family and friends. It is that desperation that drives us to cry out to God for His intervention. For the most part we seem to handle things fine without Him. I think that the failure to cry out to God stems from a failure to understand the seriousness of our desperate need. As our entire world seems to unravel before our eyes literally a rising sense of desperation occupies our thinking.

The Bible records numerous examples of the practice of calling out to God. I urge you today to consider a new appreciation for a passionate cry to God regarding our own lives, the lives of our family and friends, our community and country and the whole world. I urge us to raise a cry to God for our sisters and brothers in desperate situations around the world. I urge us today to raise a cry for the lost both near and far. I urge us to raise a cry concerning our own lack of passion for God. Jesus is coming. Our country is crumbling. Our Christian walk is struggling.

The enemy seems to be winning. All while we try to avoid the pain by our favorite means of escape.

Over two-thousand years ago Paul wrote to a church surrounded by godless influences.

Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma. But immorality or any impurity or greed must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints; and there must be no filthiness and silly talk, or coarse jesting, which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. For this you know with certainty, that no immoral or impure person or covetous man, who is an idolater, has an inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them; for you were formerly darkness, but now you are Light in the Lord; walk as children of Light (for the fruit of the Light consists in all goodness and righteousness and truth), trying to learn what is pleasing to the Lord. Do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose them; for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. But all things become visible when they are exposed by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. For this reason it says, "Awake, sleeper, And arise from the dead, And Christ will shine on you." Therefore be careful how you walk, not as unwise men but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:1-17

Be careful how you live. Don’t live as unwise men who have no sense of urgency.

Live as wise men who redeem the time; who make the best use of every opportunity.

Conduct yourselves with wisdom toward outsiders, redeeming the time. Colossians 4:5

Why? Because the days are evil. Are we in evil days?

But realize this, that in the last days difficult times will come. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding to a form of godliness, although they have denied its power; Avoid such men as these. For among them are those who enter into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses, always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth. 2 Timothy 3:1-7

Does that describe the condition of our world today? A clock is ticking.

One of God’s chief instructions concerning living in evil days is to make use of time.

Time is:

A Limited resource

Only 24 hours per day per person

An Unrenewable resource

Can’t manufacture any more time

An Unsavable resource

Use ‘em or lose ‘em

An Uncontrollable resource

Can’t stop it or put life on pause.

An Unpredictable resource

Never know how much you may have left.

Would we live differently if we knew we had only three weeks to live or if Jesus would return next Sunday?