GOD HAS CALLER ID

CHRIST THE ROCK CONGREGATION

SUNDAY JULY 30^TH 2023

SERMON BY PASTOR MARC SIMEON

GOD HAS CALLER ID

THE KINDS OF PRAYERS GOD LISTENS TO

A broken and a contrite heart-These, O God, You will not despise. PSALM 51:17b

Isaiah 58:1-11

1 ¶ “Cry aloud, spare not; Lift up your voice like a trumpet; Tell My people their transgression, And the house of Jacob their sins.

 2 Yet they seek Me daily, And delight to know My ways, As a nation that did righteousness, And did not forsake the ordinance of their God. They ask of Me the ordinances of justice; They take delight in approaching God.

Isa 58:3 ¶ ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers.

 4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high.

 5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the LORD?

 6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?

 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

8 ¶ Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

 11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

INTRODUCTION

• GOD HAS CALLER ID
• THE KINDS OF PRAYERS GOD LISTENS TO
• A broken and a contrite heart-These, O God, You will not despise. PSALM 51:17b
• Praying and fasting are some of the most beneficial things a child of God can do.
• To deprive oneself food privileges and more in order to foster a stronger intimacy with God is divine.
• The children of God are encouraged to activate God’s mercy through praying and fasting.
• The transaction is fully gratified when God takes delights in your prayers.
• When someone calls you in your cell phone, you don’t just say “Hello”.
• You first look to see who it who’s calling you is.
• The facial expression of the one receiving the call varies after identifying the caller.
• It can be: “Hah!!! So and so again!”
• It can be a pleasing or displeasing surprise.
• The first word of the respond can be: “Can you stop calling me?”
• Or, “What do you want Roger?”
• Or, a dry “YES”
• The modern phones have some prewired answers.
• “I’m in a meeting”
• “Send a text”
• “Leave a message”
• “Not available.
• Someone else may call right after, even if you may be in a meeting, you will excuse everyone and take it.
• We get one of these many reactions every time we call on God.
• God gets caller ID
• God gets call waiting
• God’s phone gets the put on hold button.
• God gets answering machine.
• God’s phone gets the mute button. He can be talking but you would not be able to hear his voice.
• God’s phone doesn’t get the busy signal.
• God’s phone gets full coverage, full signal in the whole universe.
• God has multiple lines sufficient to sustain the calls of all the inhabitants of the universe.

WHY GOD DOESN’T TAKE SOME CALLS

• In Isaiah 58 we learn why some prayers and fasting get dismissed by God.
• It’s not that the phone did not ring.
• It’s not that God was away from the phone.
• Each time we get no answer from God, we need to check our standing with God.
• Every working cell phone could place a call.
• If one is not current with his payment, instead connecting you, the computer tells you how to get your service reinstated.

ISAIAH 58:3-7

3 ¶ ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen? Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’ “In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure, And exploit all your laborers.

 4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as you do this day, To make your voice heard on high.

 5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast, And an acceptable day to the LORD?

 6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?

 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?.

• We’ve become so religious and hypocrite that, instead of dealing with the root cause of our disconnection with God, we focus rather on multiplying our calls.
• When you call someone a number of times and leave messages, you know that the person has some issues with you.
• God has issues with some of us.
• If you notice in the verses, the issues were not with God directly, but it was with the way theses prayer warriors were dealing with their counterparts, their fellow human beings.
• It was not based on how bad or good they formulated their prayers that they get rejected from God, but because of their personal conducts.
• We teach how best to pray; when teach when best to pray, we teach you where best to pray, but we fail to tell you how best you must be in all your other endeavors for God to take delights in your prayers.
• God resides in us. He observes all our actions and thoughts.
• God knows the state of our hearts at all times.
• When we are not in line with his will it will be reflected in our communication with Him.
• In Isaiah 58, God gives us hints on how to make it right with Him.

6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?

 7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

• Next time you feel that your prayers are not getting through with God, check your horizontal relationships with your fellow men.
• Are you being fair out there?
• Are you respectful to others?
• Are you compassionate toward the needs of others?
• Have you done all you can to liberate the bonds of the oppressed?
• Are you humble with others?
• Are there friends that must be let go?
• Are there habits that must be forsaken?
• Are there forgiveness that you must grant to someone who have insulted you?
• Are there forgiveness that bust be asked for by you from people you’ve offended?
• Why is not picking the phone when you call should be a big concern to you.
• Sincerely ask God to show you the areas that you have to work on.

Examine your calls

• Do you only call on God when you need something?
• Do you complaint too much when you talk to God?
• Are you manipulative when you pay to God?
• Is it because you keep talking and leave God no chance to talk to to you?
• Is it because you are ungrateful and unthankful in your prayer that God takes no pleasures in your prayers?
• Is it because you are not sincere in your heart that God despises your payers?

Fix the wrong and call again

Isaiah 58

8 ¶ Then your light shall break forth like the morning, Your healing shall spring forth speedily, And your righteousness shall go before you; The glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard.

 9 Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ “If you take away the yoke from your midst, The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,

 10 If you extend your soul to the hungry And satisfy the afflicted soul, Then your light shall dawn in the darkness, And your darkness shall be as the noonday.

 11 The LORD will guide you continually, And satisfy your soul in drought, And strengthen your bones; You shall be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.

CONCLUSION

• God delights in the payers and fasting of His dear children but it must be done right.

Jer 29:12 Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.

 13 And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.

Ps 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me.”

Ps 32:5 I acknowledged my sin to You, And my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” And You forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah

 6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You In a time when You may be found; Surely in a flood of great waters They shall not come near him.

• God desires to hear our prayers and our fasting, but our hearts must be free of guilt.
• God identifies his relationship with the caller before taking his/her call.
• Before we pray unceasingly, let’s make sure that there is no hindrance in our intimacy with God.

AMEN !