Title: God, I Have Come Now
Generally, the Bible describes the action of coming back to God as repentance for those departed from God as a treason or betrayal. In Luke 15:11-20, there comes a parable of a prodigal son. The second son took his inheritance and left his father but he wasted everything and became a beggar. However, remembering his father, he came back and was restored as a son again.
The second son represents those who encountered difficulties and those who failed. He was a total loser and a failure. However, although we failed, bankrupt or perished in financial terms, as long as our spirit is awakened, there is a chance we can return to God and be restored (Ecclesiastes 3:1-11).
Due to COVID-19, although we encountered time of going down, our mind and soul must be awakened so that we could find a way to come back to our Father and be restored. Let us learn the attitudes of a person who asks God’s help in the time of going down.
- He waited earnestly
When it comes to prayer, many people think that a prayer is either a confession or to make a request known to God. However, one of the most important aspects of any prayer is patience (Psalms 40:1).
A prayer is not a speech that pleases our ears or God’s ears. Through prayer, we should tell God our situation and condition. There is no need to choose fancy or splendid wordings to talk to God. God is not listening to your prayers because of your fancy words. As long as we are telling God what we are going through in our life, God will hear (John 14:13-14).
The founding pastor, Rev Abraham Park explained that ‘whatever’ signifies anything and everything. Whether it is an unfortunate story or a happy story or a success or a failure or a sin we committed, we should tell our God in prayer as it is. Afterwards, we should wait for the answer (Matthew 24:13-14).
Greek word for ‘save’ is ‘sozo’ which means ‘salvation, protection, deliverance.’ Those who endure and wait until the end will be protected and delivered from the time of going down. This waiting is an important step. When we pray to God, without being patient, we will not be able to receive the answer from God (Habakkuk 2:3).
- He completely depended on God
The Bible tells us that the one who trusts God is blessed. David is certainly the one who trusted God for his entire life, thus he confessed that the one who makes God his trust is blessed (Psalms 40:4).
1 Samuel 16:18 Then one of the young men said, “Behold, I have seen a son of Jesse the Bethlehemite who is a skillful musician, a mighty man of valor, a warrior, one prudent in speech, and a handsome man; and the Lord is with him.”
When we ask God’s help, we should trust Him entirely. For example, when you are drowning in water, when a paramedic or a rescuer comes to you, you have to entrust your body to them completely. The more you try to get hold of them, the lesser they come near to you because it can make both dangerous.
In the same way, when we ask God in prayer for His help, then we should entrust ourselves to Him completely. When we entrust ourselves completely to God, He comes near to us and get hold of us (Jeremiah 17:7-8).
How wonderful the blessing that will come upon the people who trust God is!
Conclusion:
We should come to God
Psalms 40:6-7 Sacrifice and meal offering You have not desired; My ears You have opened; Burnt offering and sin offering You have not required. 7 Then I said, “Behold, I come; In the scroll of the book it is written of me.
God told David that what He wants is not a sacrifice or meal offering or burnt offering or sin offering, but David himself. Thus, David confessed, “I have come now.”
Are we here in this sanctuary entrusting ourselves completely to God or are we out there in the world fearing COVID-19? God wants us to come to Him and come back to Him. God wants to see this in us through our service and worship.
In the Bible there are more occasions when God ordered to come than to go. To go is a command to spread the gospel and evangelize people, whereas, to come is a grace to meet with us face to face (Isaiah 1:18; Matthew 11:28).
We must come to God today and have intimate fellowship with Him. If God is with us, there is nothing we should fear of. God will remove COVID-19 from the world for us, God will deliver us from the financial difficulty, God will heal us from any diseases, God will comfort our broken and wounded hearts.
The Lord's Covenant Church Malaysia 