Are you listening? Have you heard? In His Word 10-18-2021
Throughout the Word we are given the instruction
to listen to the voice of God. In this world we live in it can be difficult to
hear but He is speaking every day every hour to someone. He speaks through His
Word, through those who preach or speak or evangelize to the masses or the few.
He speaks through books we read and through blogs or pod casts. There are so
many ways to hear His Word today that very few people can claim not to have
heard
Just think about this for a moment. Just because
you have heard and believed does not mean you are done!
Just because we put a cake in the oven ready to
go, if we do not turn on the oven it will never be done! We as Christ followers,
believers of the Word of God need to keep moving forward. We need to keep
listening and obeying His Word, His commands, His guidance, His direct Word
spoken to us heart to heart.
It all comes with faith!
So, faith comes from hearing, that is, hearing the
Good News about Christ.
But I ask,
have the people of Israel actually heard the message?
Yes, they have: “The message has gone throughout
the earth, and the words to all the world.”
If I turn on the oven I have faith that my cake
will be done on time. The thing is, if I do not set the timer, and watch the
cake, it could burn or be not cooked when I take it out.
Think of this timer setting as spending time in prayer
not just asking for Him to do things or to give you something but just
listening for that still small voice.
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain,” the
Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there, the Lord passed by, and a mighty
windstorm hit the mountain. It was such a terrible blast that the rocks were
torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an
earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake
there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire there
was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in
his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave.
And a voice said, “What are you doing here,
Elijah?” I Kings 19:11-13
God spoke directly to Elijah when he took the time
to listen and follow instructions. Sometimes it takes a while, sometimes it
comes in a moment when you do not expect it, but God will speak to you heart to
heart in His Word and in prayer times.
As my son Daniel sang out as a 4 year old as we
drove down the road, “Just listen to God!”
Listen! A farmer went out to plant some seeds. As
he scattered them across his field, some seeds fell on a footpath, and the
birds came and ate them. Other seeds
fell on shallow soil with underlying rock. The seeds sprouted quickly because
the soil was shallow. But the plants soon wilted under the hot sun, and since
they didn’t have deep roots, they died. Other seeds fell among thorns that grew up and
choked out the tender plants. Still other seeds fell on fertile soil, and they
produced a crop that was thirty, sixty, and even a hundred times as much as had
been planted! 9 Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.” Matthew
13:3-9
For they look, but they don’t really see. They
hear, but they don’t really listen or understand.
This fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah that says,
‘When you hear what I say, you will not understand.
When you see what I do, you will not comprehend .For
the hearts of these people are hardened, and their ears cannot hear and they
have closed their eyes so their eyes
cannot see, and their ears cannot hear,
and their hearts cannot understand, and they cannot turn to me and let
me heal them.’
“But blessed are your eyes, because they see;
and your ears, because they hear. I tell
you the truth, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see,
but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t
hear it.
“Now listen
to the explanation of the parable about the farmer planting seeds: The seed
that fell on the footpath represents those who hear the message about the
Kingdom and don’t understand it. Then the evil one comes and snatches away the
seed that was planted in their hearts. The seed on the rocky soil represents
those who hear the message and immediately receive it with joy. But since they
don’t have deep roots, they don’t last long. They fall away as soon as they
have problems or are persecuted for believing God’s word. The seed that fell
among the thorns represents those who hear God’s word, but all too quickly the
message is crowded out by the worries of this life and the lure of fortune, so
no fruit is produced. The seed that fell
on good soil represents those who truly hear and understand God’s word and
produce a harvest of thirty, sixty, or even a hundred times as much as had been
planted!”
Matthew 13:13-23
When we make the time to really listen to what He
said in His Word, and meditate on it day and night we will find the answers we
seek. You know, these things we seek the answers, they are not always what we
want to hear but we need to know what God is saying just the same and obey His
commands. God asked Elijah “What are you doing here?” in 1 Kings 19:13. Go read the rest of the
story, then write out an answer to God, what are you doing there waiting for
His voice? Get on with the thing He has told you.
In Jesus’ name.