When God Won’t Meet with Us

When God Won’t Meet with Us

Words of Faith 6-29-18

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2018

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Luke 9

       [7] Now Herod the tetrarch heard about all that was going on. And he was perplexed, because some were saying that John had been raised from the dead, [8] others that Elijah had appeared, and still others that one of the prophets of long ago had come back to life. [9] But Herod said, "I beheaded John. Who, then, is this I hear such things about?" And he tried to see him.

        Herod, the governing ruler of the area, wanted to see Jesus.  He had already tried to put down the criticisms of the Jesus movement by beheading John the Baptizer.  But Jesus was still stirring things up.  He wanted to see Jesus, but Jesus had no time in His schedule for Herod.

        We should also see here that the problem was not Herod's high rank in government.  Jesus talked to many people who were important by the standard of society.  He was never particularly impressed by their status but He was certainly open to them and direct in calling them to repentance and new life. 

        It may be that Jesus knew the meeting with Herod would not produce anything good and might even rush a timetable that He had set forth. 

        Another problem with Herod Antipas was that he had sin in his life that he refused to confess and deal with.  We all have sin in our lives.  But the particular sin of herod had been addressed by God through John the Baptizer.  Not only had Herod failed to deal with the sin, he created another horrific sin by murdering the messenger.

       It is interesting that to the very end of His earthly ministry, Jesus would not speak to this governor who did not listen.  The problem was not the particular sin, but the failure to deal with it.

         This raises the issue of why we sometimes are unable to communicate with God. After all,  God hears everything.  But if we are not hearing from God, perhaps it is because we have not listened in the past. 

       The Prophet Isaiah is helpful--

       Surely the arm of the Lord is not too short to save, nor his ear too dull to hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear.  (Isaiah 59:1-2)

      Many times we want to talk with God about something on our agenda, but we fail to recognize that God has an agenda with us as well.  There often are things we would prefer to push aside that are, in fact, the very things that God need to deal with in our lives.

      His arm is not too short nor His attention span limited.  It is our iniquities, our bent toward certain patterns of sin, that have hidden the face of God from us.

      The question would be this: Is there something that God is waiting for us to confess and deal with?  The Scripture is clear.  "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:8-9). 

      The Prophet Jeremiah declared this truth of God: The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (17:9)  We can often deceive ourselves into thinking that “God is okay with my sin” or that grace will overlook a repeated offense.  The truth is that God want to set us free from the sin that so easily entangles us (Hebrews 12:1).  He wanted to set us free from the things of the “world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the pride of life” (1 John 2:16).

      If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).

      Father God and Lord Jesus. I would like see You.  Meet with You. Know You and hear You. Reveal in me any unconfessed sin.  Reveal any barrier to Your hearing me and me hearing You. I would like a time of meeting, regularly. In Jesus, Name.