Eyes on God: Lesson 3
Overview
God Hears Our Cries
Building on previous studies—that God never changes and is faithful to His promises, and that He remains present amid the storms of life—we turn to a God who hears us when we are afraid. Fear is a universal human experience, and Scripture shows it pressing in from three directions. Fear can come from without, as when Moses learned that Pharaoh sought his life Exodus 2:11-15. It can come from within, as when Paul cries, "Wretched man that I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?" Romans 7:18-25, or when Adam and Eve, having eaten from the forbidden tree, hid from God in the garden Genesis 3:6-10. And it can simply be all around us—the storm that terrified the disciples on the sea Matthew 8:23-27 or the threat from Jezebel that drove Elijah into the wilderness 1 Kings 19:1-10. The current pandemic surfaces all three: fear of what might happen, fear of our own vulnerability, fear of circumstances we cannot control.
There are many ways to respond to fear, but only one leads to deliverance: crying out to the Lord who hears. The psalmist testifies, "I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry" Psalm 40:1. Peter exhorts believers to "cast all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you" 1 Peter 5:7. The image of casting is decisive—not holding on to anxiety, but throwing it from us onto the One strong enough to bear it. And remember the principle: when God exhorts something, He empowers it. The command to cast our cares is grounded in His care for us.
Jesus Himself gives the deepest assurance: "Whoever comes to me I will never cast out" John 6:37. Whether fear arrives from outside, from inside, or from the circumstances pressing on every side, the Lord hears. He inclines His ear. He receives those who come to Him. And again and again, His word to His people is the same: Fear not.
Transcript
Good morning. 1s
Let's pray together, please. 3s
Gracious Heavenly Father, we give you thanks for this time 5s
in your word. 8s
We thank you for who you are, the Lord. 10s
We thank you, the You are there amidst the storms of life. 14s
And we thank You, Lord, that You hear our cry. 18s
So bless we pray this time. 23s
Use it to deepen our walk with You. 26s
Equip us to articulate your truths 29s
in the strong and holy name of Jesus the Christ we pray. 34s
Amen. 39s
We continue on with our class, eyes on God, 40s
this morning and just a recap where we have been 43s
in these last two sessions that we had. 46s
The first session we took a look at the topic of God, the Lord, 50s
specifically who He is, and we examine the fact 54s
that God never changes. 57s
We studied how God is faithful to His promises 61s
and how God freely bestows His mercy. 64s
God the Lord, He never changes. 69s
He's faithful to His promises and He freely gives His mercy. 72s
Last week we took a look at the class I entitled, God Amidst the Storm. 79s
And we asked the question why? 84s
So often when difficult times come in people's lives, 88s
or the difficult experience that we're facing globally right now. 92s
The question of why can come about? 97s
Why is this happening and related to the why is the question of where? 100s
And where is God? 104s
Why and why now? 107s
We studied how we live in a sinful and a broken world, 111s
and the Bible constantly reminds us that we are sinners even after conversion. 116s
So we explored the question, is this pandemic that we're experiencing? 122s
Is it punishment of God upon our sin? 128s
Is it punishment? 135s
The answer to that from Holy Scripture is a clear no. 137s
A clear no. 142s
God is not punishing us with this pandemic. 145s
You see, to say that God is punishing us with this pandemic would be to say 149s
that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross wasn't sufficient. 154s
Remember Jesus took all of our sin upon Him 160s
and the wrath of God for sin was laid upon Jesus. 164s
Jesus was punished for our sin. 170s
The punishment that should have come to us actually came to the spotless, sinless lamb of God. 173s
And so if we would say that somehow what we're experiencing now is God's punishment for sin, 181s
then we would be saying that the sacrifice for sin is incomplete. 187s
So is this pandemic a punishment? 194s
Absolutely not. 197s
We explored Luke the 13th chapter where we saw two tragic events. 200s
There was one where Galileans tragically lost their lives, 205s
and also another where a tower fell on people. 209s
In both of those episodes, people were tragically killed, 212s
and Jesus asked the question, 216s
were the people killed worse sinners than everybody else? 219s
And Jesus answered his own question. 222s
No, no. 224s
He said, but I tell you, unless you repent, 227s
unless you repent, 230s
indeed, an eternal death will come. 232s
Jesus never answered the why question of those tragedies, 236s
but he used those tragedies to communicate the truth that God calls us all to repent of our sin. 241s
That it's only through the Lord Jesus Christ that our sins are forgiven. 251s
Last week we also examined that when God allows something bad to happen and doesn't explain it, 257s
that's what Martin Luther called the hidden God, 264s
and Luther encouraged us that whenever we experience the hidden God, 268s
we should run to the revealed God. 273s
The revealed God is, of course, what we read in Holy Scripture, 277s
as God discloses Himself, the revealed God is the Lord Jesus Christ, 283s
wearing our sin, being raised from the tomb. 289s
God's promise is claiming us in the waters of baptism. 293s
God's saying, your mind that I'm never, ever letting you go, 298s
that great victory that is ours, one by the Lord Jesus Christ, 302s
that is the revealed God. 307s
We see His heart so clearly, 309s
we see His witness to Himself in Holy Scripture. 311s
Luther said that we faced those times in which we don't understand why a bad thing happened, 316s
and God doesn't explain it when we experience the hidden God. 321s
Luther said, run to the revealed God. 326s
Lastly, last week we talked about that we don't know the why so often when bad things happen. 331s
We don't know the why of this pandemic. 340s
We don't know the why now of this pandemic. 343s
But we do know the who, the Lord Jesus Christ. 347s
We do know that the Lord Jesus Christ can bring good out of every situation to those who love Him. 353s
So we may not understand the why, but we know the who, 365s
and we know the what that God can bring about. 368s
His God uses difficult times like the times that we're going through. 373s
He uses those times to but tour us, to deepen our walk with Him, 378s
to again remind us and lead us into a greater dependency upon Him. 384s
We don't understand the why, but we know the who, 390s
and we understand the what of what God can bring out of a situation. 393s
Today, I'd like to look with you at the topic of God, 400s
the one who hears our cries, God the one who hears our cries. 406s
Fear is that which every person experiences. 417s
It can be through one degree or another. 423s
But a commonality that we all have as being human beings is that we experience fear. 426s
It might be a little child who's afraid of the dark. 436s
It might be someone who's afraid of dying. 442s
We can experience fear in a multitude of ways. 446s
But fear really comes to us in three different ways. 451s
It comes to us from three different directions. 455s
Here's the first. 460s
Fear comes to us from without. 462s
It comes to us from without. 466s
In other words, we can fear pain that others or a situation coming from without can bring upon us. 469s
That can be emotional pain or sadly, it can even be the fear of physical pain. 481s
Look, Wendy, please, in Exodus, the second chapter, Genesis and then Exodus, Exodus chapter 2, 489s
and we'll pick up in verse 11, Exodus chapter 2 verse 11. 499s
One day after Moses had grown up, he went out to his people and saw their forced labor. 507s
He saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of his kinsfolk. 515s
He looked this way and that and seeing no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand. 519s
When he went out the next day, he saw two Hebrews fighting and he said to the one who was in the wrong, 528s
why do you strike your fellow Hebrew? He answered, who made you a ruler and judge over us? 534s
Do you mean to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? 543s
Then Moses was afraid and thought, surely the thing is known. 548s
When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to kill Moses. 555s
There's a fear then that is invoked. 563s
What happened is known by Pharaoh and Pharaoh seeks to kill Moses and that invokes fear. 567s
Sometimes fear can come from without. 576s
Secondly, sometimes fear can come from within. 583s
Sometimes fear can come from within. 589s
In other words, we can look inward upon ourselves. 594s
We can look realistically at ourselves and that can invoke a fear. 599s
Turn them with me please to Romans the seventh chapter. 608s
Romans is in the New Testament, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, and then Romans. 611s
Romans chapter 7 will begin in verse 18. 618s
Romans chapter 7 picking up in verse 18. 626s
Their poll writes these words, for I know that nothing good dwells within me. 631s
That is in my flesh. 638s
I can will what is right but I cannot do it. 641s
For I do not do the good I want but the evil I do not want is what I do. 645s
Now if I do what I do not want, it's no longer I that do it but sin that dwells within me. 653s
So I find it to be a law that when I want to do what is good, evil lies close at hand. 662s
For I delight in the law of God in my inn most self but I see in my members another law at work with the law of my mind 669s
making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 678s
Wretched man that I am who will rescue me from this body of death. 684s
Then of course the glorious word thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord. 690s
You see that's a fear that can be invoked when we look inward upon ourselves. 698s
When we see our own sinfulness, when we know our own thoughts, when we see our own actions, 706s
and we see the depth of our sinfulness, we can be afraid that that old Adam and that old Eve in us can once again continue to express itself. 716s
We know that this side of heaven, that old Adam and old Eve remain. 733s
It's not until we get to heaven that that old Adam and old Eve fall away. 737s
So there can be a fear that comes from a realistic look at ourselves, at how that old Adam and old Eve, 742s
how we can express ourselves, this fear from within. 753s
Or let's go to Genesis the third chapter. 759s
We see it once again. 762s
Genesis of course the very first book in Holy Scripture. 764s
Genesis chapter three will pick up in verse six. 768s
Genesis chapter three beginning with verse six. 772s
So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was a delight to the eyes, 779s
and that the tree was to be desired to make one wise, 784s
she took of its fruit and ate, and she also gave some to her husband who was with her, and he ate. 787s
Now remember the background here. 795s
This is our first parents Adam and Eve. 797s
They've been placed in the garden. God said you can eat of every tree except one. 799s
Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 803s
God said the day you eat of that tree, in other words the day you determine for yourself what's right and wrong, God said that day you die. 805s
So what we see here is this is a succumbing here to temptation. 815s
This fall into sin, this eating from the forbidden tree. 820s
Picking up in verse seven. 827s
Then the eyes of both were opened and they knew that they were naked and they sowed fig leaves together and made loin claws for themselves. 830s
Just a little aside on that. That's a biblical way of saying that their eyes were no longer on God, but their eyes were on one another. 838s
That biblical way of saying that for the first time they noticed their nakedness, their eyes had been taken off of God. 849s
Verse eight. 858s
They heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden at the time of the evening breeze and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 859s
But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, where are you? 872s
He said, I heard the sound of you in the garden and I was afraid because I was naked and I hid myself. 877s
This is fear that comes from within. 891s
This is fear that is born with the acknowledgement that he had transgressed the ways of God. 895s
That Adam and Eve had eaten from the forbidden fruit and they were fearful, that fear rising from within as they assessed their own sin. 904s
So sometimes fear can come from without, sometimes fear can come from within and sometimes fears are just all around. 918s
They come from all around us. 931s
We can be afraid when something threatens our security, our physical well-being. 935s
We can be afraid when we ponder might something bad happen. 941s
We can be afraid when we face change or loss. 947s
It's just this fear that comes at us all around us. 952s
Turn it with me please to Matthew, the eighth chapter, for an example of this. 958s
Matthew, the first book in the New Testament, the first of the Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. 964s
So Matthew, chapter 8, picking up in verse 23. 970s
Matthew 8, verse 23. 977s
And when he got into the boat, his disciples followed him. 981s
He there, of course, is Jesus. 985s
A windstorm arose on the sea, so great that the boat was being swamped by the waves, but he was asleep. 988s
And they went and woke him up saying, Lord save us, we're perishing. 997s
And he said to them, why are you afraid? 1003s
Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a dead calm. 1010s
They were amazed, saying, what sort of man is this that even the winds and the sea obey him? 1017s
You see that fear that just comes from that which is around them. 1027s
They were afraid of their own safety. They were afraid that they were going to drown. 1031s
They were afraid here at the storm, and they look at Jesus and they can't understand, he's asleep. 1035s
But Jesus calms the storm, and that fear of that which had came from that was simply around them, the storm. 1042s
That fear subsided, and they were filled with amazement. 1051s
Or let's turn to the Old Testament into first kings, the 19th chapter. 1058s
Genesis Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers to Deuronomy, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, Samuel, Samuel, then kings. 1064s
First kings, the 19th chapter, will pick up in verse 1. 1075s
First kings, 19, verse 1. 1081s
Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 1086s
Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, 1094s
So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow. 1097s
Then he was afraid. 1108s
He got up and fled for his life and came to bear Shiba, which belongs to Judah. 1113s
He left his servant there. 1118s
But he himself went today's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. 1121s
He asked that he might die. 1128s
It is enough now, O Lord, take away my life, for I'm no better than my ancestors. 1131s
Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. 1139s
Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, 1144s
Get up and eat. 1147s
He looked and there his head was a cake, baked on hot stones in a jar of water. 1150s
He ate and drank and lay down again. 1158s
The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him and said, 1162s
Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you. 1166s
He got up and ate and drank, then he went in the strength of that food, 1170s
40 days and 40 nights to horab the mount of God. 1176s
At the place he came to a cave and spent the night there. 1182s
Then the word of the Lord came to him saying, 1188s
What are you doing here, Elijah? He answered. 1191s
I have been very zealous for the Lord. 1195s
The God of hosts for the Israelites have forsaken your covenant, 1198s
thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with the sword. 1203s
I alone am left and they're seeking my life to take it away. 1208s
Fear, right? 1215s
Fear that came from that situation. 1217s
Fear that was simply around. 1219s
He was afraid for his own life. 1222s
Consider with me the pandemic. 1229s
The pandemic can invoke fear, can't it? 1233s
Afraid something bad will happen. 1238s
What if I get it or a family member gets it? 1241s
What if I have it and I don't know it and I pass it along to my children 1245s
or my grandchildren? 1249s
Why there can be fear from without fear from within fear 1252s
that just is all around us? 1258s
Fear, fear. 1263s
We can respond to fear in many ways. 1268s
There's one way that leads to deliverance. 1274s
We can respond to fear in many ways. 1279s
There's one way that can lead to deliverance. 1281s
Turn with me please. 1286s
To Psalm 40, a good way to find the book of Psalms is just to go 1288s
into the center of Holy Scripture. 1292s
You'll land on one of the Psalms. 1295s
Psalm 40, and let's look at two verses of Psalm 40. 1297s
Psalm 40, verse 1. 1301s
I waited patiently for the Lord. 1306s
He inclined to me and heard my cry. 1310s
I waited patiently for the Lord. 1317s
He inclined to me and heard my cry. 1319s
Jump down please, to verse 13. 1323s
Be pleased, O Lord, to deliver me. 1326s
O Lord, make haste to help me. 1329s
There's one who knows that God hears the cry. 1334s
And there's one who cries out to the Lord asking for help. 1338s
Let's look together at 1 Peter, the 5th chapter. 1345s
1 Peter is in the New Testament. 1350s
A good way to find that is just go to the last book, Revelation. 1352s
And then slowly start to work your way to the left. 1355s
You're quickly going to cross over the Johns, 1360s
and then you hit the Peter's. 1362s
So first Peter, chapter 5, and we'll pick up in verse 7. 1365s
First Peter, chapter 5, verse 7. 1370s
Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you. 1377s
Cast all of your anxiety upon him. 1385s
Cast what a powerful image that is. 1390s
In other words, get rid of it. 1393s
Don't hold on to it. 1396s
Don't hold on to that anxiety. 1399s
Cast it away. 1401s
And as we cast it away, all our anxiety, 1405s
we are casting it upon him. 1408s
And then here's the glorious news that gives us confidence 1411s
because he cares for you. 1415s
Remember the principle in Holy Scripture, 1418s
that if God exhorts something, God empowers it. 1420s
Here's a perfect example of that. 1424s
Here's the exhortation. 1426s
Cast all your anxiety. 1428s
Get rid of it. 1430s
And where are you casting it? 1431s
You're casting it upon him, upon God Almighty. 1432s
And here comes the gracious word. 1436s
Because he cares for you. 1437s
Then empowers the casting. 1441s
It empowers the confidence that he cares for us. 1443s
He hears the cry. 1447s
We can cast it all upon him. 1450s
Let's go, please, to John the sixth chapter. 1457s
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and then John. 1461s
John the sixth chapter, New Testament, 1465s
the fourth gospel, John chapter six, verse 37. 1469s
Jesus says, everything that the Father gives me will come to me. 1478s
And anyone who comes to me, I will never drive away. 1483s
Anyone who comes to me, I will never drive away. 1493s
Fear comes to us, doesn't it? 1503s
Fear comes to us from without. 1506s
Fear comes to us from within. 1510s
The causes of fear are just all around us, aren't they? 1513s
And the Lord hears our cry. 1519s
And what does he say? 1526s
Fear not. 1530s
Fear not. 1533s
Fear not. 1535s
We will continue next week. 1539s