Heeding God's Call

Welcome, beloved friends and family in Christ. We gather here today, not as strangers or acquaintances, but as a community, bound by the love and grace of our Savior. A community that knows the joy of His love, the strength of His grace, and the power of His word. We are here to grow together, to lean on each other, and to experience the richness of His teachings.

Our focus today is a passage that, in its simplicity, carries a profound message. A message that speaks directly to the heart of every believer. It is found in the book of Matthew, chapter 11, verses 28 to 30. It reads as follows:

Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

How beautiful and comforting are these words? Our Lord, inviting us to lay down our burdens and find rest in Him. He is not a distant deity, but a loving Savior who invites us into a relationship of learning, growth, and rest.

Here is something that I am going to discuss today, Deterrence of Satanic Snares, and it reminds us that we live in a world that is often contrary to the ways of God. But fear not, for our Savior has overcome the world! In knowing this, we should have an understanding that heeding the call of God is in our best interest.

We will also talk about Dwelling in Divine Consistency. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. In a world that is constantly changing, we can find comfort and stability in the unchanging nature of God.

Now, with hearts open and minds ready, let us delve into the richness of God's word.

Discerning Divine Influence

Amid our busy lives, it's easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle, the noise and the chaos. We often find ourselves overwhelmed, burdened by the weight of our responsibilities, our worries, our fears. But amidst all this, there is a gentle whisper, a divine voice that calls out to us. This voice is not loud or demanding, but soft and inviting. It's the voice of our Savior, Jesus Christ, inviting us to come to Him, to lay down our burdens and find rest in His presence.

This divine influence is not something we can see with our physical eyes or touch with our hands. It's not something we can measure or quantify. But it's something we can experience, something we can feel deep within our hearts. It's a sense of peace, a sense of comfort, a sense of assurance that no matter what we're going through, we're not alone. God is with us, guiding us, leading us, comforting us.

But how do we discern this divine influence? How do we recognize the voice of God amidst the noise of the world? The answer lies in the words of Jesus Himself. He said, "My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me." To discern the divine influence, we must first become familiar with the voice of our Shepherd. We must spend time in His presence, reading His word, praying, worshiping. The more time we spend with Him, the more familiar we become with His voice.

But discerning divine influence is not just about recognizing God's voice. It's also about responding to it. It's about acting on it, about following the guidance and direction that God provides. It's about trusting in His wisdom, His timing, His plan. It's about surrendering our will to His, about letting go of our plans and embracing His. It's about stepping out in faith, even when we can't see the whole picture, even when we don't understand why things are happening the way they are. Know that God rarely gives us the whole picture of things but leads us from point to point so that we don’t misunderstand what He wants of us.

Discerning divine influence is also about recognizing the ways in which God works in our lives. Sometimes, God speaks to us through the circumstances of our lives. Sometimes, He speaks to us through other people. Sometimes, He speaks to us through the quiet whisperings of our hearts. Most times He speaks to us through the Word. But no matter how He chooses to speak, His message is always the same: "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." And He gives us rest when we stop worrying about the issues of tomorrow, and just deal with what is before us today…because God has tomorrow already mapped out, and just as He led you into today, He will lead you into tomorrow.