Incline Your Ear: Hear The Voice of the LORD

As I approached the end of my pastorate at The Lighthouse, the Lord placed it on my heart to preach a series of sermons on hearing His Voice. Following my Resurrection Sequence which culminated the week after Easter, I was seeking the Lord on a new series. One night after church I mentioned to one of my elder couples..."what do you sense is the greatest need in the congregation?" Without hesitation they both said "hearing God's voice."

I launched into a sermon series which I really enjoyed. It took a while with breaks and special occasions like Mother's and Father's day, but I was able to really close out my ministry there with this series. It was a little different. My sermons were more outline in nature. I realized that they resulted from the last two years of my life, and I began to see just a glimpse of what God may have been doing with us.

So very simple, so basic-yet it doesn't get more profound than a sinful man hearing the voice of a Holy God-and communicating with the very Creator of the Universe.

I hope that these sermons will be a blessing to someone. Please leave me some comments if you care to.

I actually like the earlier ones better. If anyone actually reads these I would be most honored if you'd read the earlier ones. My favorites are The Journey, Look and Live and The Stewardship Series-Time, Talent and Treasuer. I love to preach.

While the sermons themselves are original, I owe a debt of gratitude to Dr. Henry Blackaby and his work "Experiencing God." That's where the Lord taught me the four ways of hearing His voice, and Dr. Blackaby's material has been foundational to my spiritual walk for almost ten years since I first went through an Experiencing God study. I borrow some of his concepts with gratitude and full acknowledgement.



This is the first one, I called it: Incline Your Ear


Incline Your Ear!

EOLS:
God initiates a love relationship with you to speak through His Word, prayer, the Church and circumstances.


An older couple had an ongoing semi-serious discussion about which one of them was losing their hearing. As time went on this became quite a bone of contention between them. The husband decided he would settle the issue once and for all. While his wife was enjoying a book in the living room he said in a loud voice, "Dear, would you like a cup of tea?" Upon hearing no response he progressed to the next room and said again in a firm voice, "Dear, would you like a cup of tea?" Still there was no reply from his wife. Lastly he went into the living room and stood directly behind the chair in which his wife was sitting. In an even louder voice he repeated, "Dear, would you like a cup of tea?" She turned to him with a slightly annoyed expression on her face and replied, "For the third time ... yes!

Often, we seem to think that God is hard of hearing! We tell him over and over that we’re scared, we need help, that we are desperate. How many times have people told me “I need to hear from God!” How many times have I uttered those words when He seems a million miles away?

It’s interesting to note those conditions. Why do we complain that God doesn’t hear our cry for help? It seems that we never complain that He doesn’t hear our praise and our worship, or our thanksgiving?

But is he hard of hearing? Is he ever far away? When we can’t hear God speak, who is hard of hearing?

God tells Israel in this passage to “incline your ear.” He’s saying “turn your head this way, lean into me because I am speaking to you!”

Each time I read this I get a mental picture. How many times I have I came upon one of my dogs who is otherwise occupied, sleeping, playing, eating-whatever it is that dogs do with their time. I’ll make some special call or noise from behind their back and watch their head. They will twitch and turn their ear in the direction of the sound of my voice-to tune it in clearly. Then when I make another sound, the ninety pound collie will do a one eighty in mid air and bound toward me with all his might, just simply for some love and affection! He gives up whatever he is interested in at the moment simply because I have called for him.



Forgiving the comparison with the canine family, consider with me that it is much like that in our relationship with the Lord, when it functions properly as He designed it!

Incline your ear! He’s saying “look here! Listen! I really want to talk with you!”

Isn’t it amazing that the God of the Universe, the one who literally spoke the worlds into existence, wants to have a conversation with me? It makes me want to exclaim with David in Psalm 91:

Psalm 8:4
(4) What is man that You are mindful of him, And the son of man that You visit him?


Yet, as sinful man scoffed and ridiculed and said “I will have my own way” God himself became a man, so that He could speak to mankind. God’s glory had spoken since the dawn of Creation, but Love became a person, and reached down to sinful mankind!

But you know so often we are distracted. So often other things have our hearing and senses so immersed, so bogged, we are helpless to hear the gentle call of the Lord. Pressing the canine analogy a bit further, I’ve never known anything more difficult to get along with than a dog who is convinced they are the boss as they are pursuing something they know full well is off limits!

Try having your dog incline his ear to hear your voice when he is chasing the cat or when he refuses to get off the back porch! They will appear to be stone deaf!

Aren’t we like that? When we’re in trouble we complain that God can’t hear us, that He’s a million miles away. Yet when things are great, we are doing our own thing and pursuing our plans, and we don’t even notice that He is speaking.

Some people I have met are intimidated by the very thought of an intimate relationship with God. Yet, until we realize what He has designed we will never ever hear His voice in the way that He desires for us to.

Amos 8:11
(11) "Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord God, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the Lord.

The proper Biblical context that establishes God’s intentions towards his creation in man, is:

I. A God-Initiated Invitation to a Love Relationship

They first key to being able to hear the voice of the Lord in daily life, is to understand the nature of the relationship. God hasn’t given us a mantra or a formula; He hasn’t given us a recipe book or a good luck piece to rub when we want Him to be near.

In Isaiah 55, God is speaking to sinful and rebellious Israel and calling to them. The Prophet utters a cry from the very heart of God, and it is a universal call to all men everywhere-

"Ho! Everyone who thirsts, Come to the waters;

It’s a love relationship, and it was and is His idea. He’s the one who came to us. He is the instigator and the initiator and the inviter. It had nothing to do with our seeking Him, but He sought us!

Remember in the perfect Garden, how God enjoyed communicating with Adam and Eve?

Genesis 3:8
(8) And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.

Can you imagine anything more exhilarating than looking forward to a time with the Lord in the cool of the evening, walking and talking? Can you imagine anything more horrifying and troublesome than realizing that relationship had been breached terribly when all of a sudden you dreaded facing Him in the evening, and tried to hide rather than “inclining your ear” towards his voice as He came to spend time with you?

The Lord knew exactly where Adam was and what he and Eve had done. Yet He came back anyway. “Adam, where are you?” It was not just a rhetorical question or a taunt. I hear a grief in the voice of the Lord. I hear a relationship breached that He is seeking to heal. The people were cut off from the Word of God.

As you seek to listen to the voice of the Lord, remember who initiated the relationship. Remember who is the potter and who is the clay; the inviter and the invitee. It will set you free when you realize the proper perspective.

It’s not about a mechanical response based upon fear, it is an invitation to a love relationship, straight from God and it goes out to all of mankind.

John 8:47
He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God."



II. A God-Delivered Word to Man from His Own Heart

There is a huge chasm between the mind of God and the mind of man. Isaiah recognizes that our thoughts are not God’s thoughts-and His ways are not our ways. There is no innate way for us to communicate with God, because He is so high above our thought processes.

Yet, God Himself has provided a way to bridge that chasm-and it is through His Word! Just as rain and snow refresh and replenish the earth to bring forth increase of seeds and bread, the Word of the Lord produces a harvest effect in the hearts of men!

Jesus explained the process in one of His most familiar parables:

Luke 8
(5) "A sower went out to sow his seed. And as he sowed, some fell by the wayside; and it was trampled down, and the birds of the air devoured it.
(6) Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.
(7) And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.
(8) But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." When He had said these things He cried, "He who has ears to hear, let him hear!

(11) "Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.
(12) Those by the wayside are the ones who hear; then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved.
(13) But the ones on the rock are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, who believe for a while and in time of temptation fall away.
(14) Now the ones that fell among thorns are those who, when they have heard, go out and are choked with cares, riches, and pleasures of life, and bring no fruit to maturity.
(15) But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.

And so the Word of the Lord goes forth to produce a harvest. Notice that it is never, ever neutral. The Word of the Lord commands a response in the heart of the hearer. It demands responsibility and a choice.

It will never return void. It will always accomplish the purpose God has set for it.
Notice that His Word is what bridges the gap-that vast chasm! It is a supernatural word, supernaturally delivered and springing forth a supernatural harvest in the hearts of men.

Colossians 3:16
(16) Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.


And when the Word is received in fertile hearts through receptive ears, it will produce:


III. A God-Immersed Joy, Peace and Fruitfulness in Daily Life

When the Word of God falls upon a willing and receptive heart, the inevitable result is peace and fruitfulness. Even in the midst of chaos and dire circumstances the Word of the Lord will produce His desired result. It will replace briers with beautiful flowering myrtles and thorns with rich, lush cypress.

The Holy Spirit is the agent of change, and the Word of God is the medium. The Holy Spirit illuminates the Word of the Lord and delivers it to the heart of the hearer.

But we still say… “I don’t hear nothing! God seems a million miles away!

I believe today that the reason we don’t hear is that we are not seeking. We are not doing well at bridging the gap between theory and practice. It’s all beautiful and wonderful to hear an ancient prophecy which richly illustrates God touching His people.

But what happens on Monday morning when we enter our chaotic world? Where is the peace? Where is the fruitfulness that God promised?

My purpose today is to begin a series of sermons on Hearing God’s Voice. I want to teach you Biblical principles over the next few weeks which I believe will in a very practical sense give you the keys for success in knowing and doing the will of God in your daily life.

Many from my Sunday School Class will recognize these as key concepts from the Experiencing God study that we did a few months ago. These principles have impacted my life in a powerful way, and I believe they will yours too. I’m going to take each principle, one per week, and present it to you from the Word of God in a way that you can not just hear it, but do it-incorporate it into your daily life.

The full counsel of God’s Word tells us that He speaks to His people in four basic ways, through:


The Word of God
Prayer
The Church
Circumstances

All of these elements work with each other, they are the means by which God speaks to His people. Often God will emphasize one over the other in delivering His message to us, yet we must never ignore the others. They will never contradict each other. It is good that we weigh everything we believe God is saying to us against these four criteria, and they will keep us balanced in a scriptural way, and in line with God’s purpose.


I would like to ask you to take the following passage of Scripture. Read on it, meditate on it, ask God to speak to you concerning your daily life. When we return, we'll compare some notes!

The Assignment-Practicing the Word:

1John 3:11-16
(11) This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.
(12) Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.
(13) Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.
(14) We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
(15) Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.
(16) This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

Incline Your Ear-God Speaks Through the Church

Why Church?

Ephesians 4:15-16

(15) but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head--Christ--

(16) from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.

1Corinthians 12:14-21

(14) For in fact the body is not one member but many.

(15) If the foot should say, "Because I am not a hand, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?

(16) And if the ear should say, "Because I am not an eye, I am not of the body," is it therefore not of the body?

(17) If the whole body were an eye, where would be the hearing? If the whole were hearing, where would be the smelling?

(18) But now God has set the members, each one of them, in the body just as He pleased.

(19) And if they were all one member, where would the body be?

(20) But now indeed there are many members, yet one body.

(21) And the eye cannot say to the hand, "I have no need of you"; nor again the head to the feet, "I have no need of you."

Introductory Notes: This was in effect my last "sermon" at The Lighthouse. It was different. I studied all week, but the Lord really checked me from doing a full text sermon-which I normally love, and feel led to do. I had this outline, and went to the pulpit. I stuck with it pretty much, and it began to flow. I believe the Lord used it and the people heard it. Only a preacher would understand, but it did get the sweet spot of the bat, and it was at least a triple with a couple of RBI's (smile). And only a preacher would understand that he has absolutely nothing to do with it-it's one hundred percent the Lord's doing.

(first example is from Experiencing God-Dr. Henry Blackaby)

Introduction: The Man on The Train Tracks: The Ears, The Eyes and the Feet.

The eyes see nothing, they say lets walk on the track. The ears hear a whistle. The eye says I see nothing. The ear says it’s getting closer. The eye says why can’t I see it? The feet say I feel rumbling…but it can't be there the eyes say...we can't see it!

Some Options:

• Would you ignore the conflict, hope it goes away?

• Would you take a vote and go with the majority view?
• Would you trust your eyes and keep on walking, because they’ve never let you down before?

And consider-the foot, the mouth and the eyes don’t talk to each other side by side. They communicate through miles of nerves and billions of cells, each with very specialized function.

Because a church is the body of Christ, it functions best when all members are able to share what they sense God wants the church to be and do (Blackaby)

Diversity is our friend

• Ministries are built on this-people (and gifts) follow and snowball

• The diversities of gifts are subject to each other, to spiritual leadership and to the Lord as the head.

Romans 12:10-16

(10) Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;

(11) not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;

(12) rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

(13) distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

(14) Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

(15) Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.

(16) Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion.

God created the Church as His redemptive agent in the world.

The Church is not a social club or a tradition.

We are on a mission.

We are to occupy, we are to subdue the earth and have dominion over it.

We are salt and light and God has chosen to do it corporately.

Church is not optional. Church is vital, Church is life.

God made us mutually interdependent.

Apart from the Body, you cannot know God’s will for your relationship to the Body.

To whom am I accountable as a Christian?

How am I accomplishing God’s redemptive mission through my church?

The Fallacy of the Hired Gun Pastor-talk about this

What do I lack that my church and its other members supply for me?

One individual is not the church

(so and so hurt my feelings…I think I’ll quit church)

A Word about “Words” From The Lord-watch out-weight it!

IF you don’t believe you can trust your church and depend on them to help you find God’s will…then you have said more about what you believe about God than what you believe about your church-Blackaby

A couple of options:

Find yourself another church

• If God places in your heart to stay with your church

hook up. You start by reaching out to someone-no one

will complain if you do simple acts of servanthood and

kindness. IT’S NOT ABOUT YOU!

This is a repeat of the above scripture in the NLT -it really speaks:

Romans 12:9-10

(9) Don't just pretend that you love others. Really love them. Hate what is wrong. Stand on the side of the good.

(10) Love each other with genuine affection, and take delight in honoring each other.

Two Illustrations of A Body: When it doesn’t work well:

A tumor is called benign if its effect is fairly localized and it stays within membrane boundaries. But the most traumatizing condition in the body occurs when disloyal cells defy inhibition. They multiply without any checks on growth, spreading rapidly throughout the body, choking out normal cells. White cells, armed against foreign invaders, will not attack the body's own mutinous cells. Physicians fear no other malfunction more deeply: it is called cancer.

For still mysterious reasons, these cells - and they may be cells from the brain, liver, kidney, bone, blood, skin, or other tissues - grow wild, out of control. Each is a healthy, functioning cell, but disloyal , no longer acting in regard for the rest of the body.

Even the white cells, the dependable palace guard, can destroy the body through rebellion. Sometimes they recklessly reproduce, clogging the bloodstream, overloading the lymph system, strangling the body's normal functions - such is leukemia. (Dr. Paul Brand, Fearfully and Wonderfully Made, pg. 59-60)

Beautiful Music: When it functions as intended

At a meeting of the American Psychological Association, Jack Lipton, a psychologist at Union College, and R. Scott Builione, a graduate student at Columbia University, presented their findings on how members of the various sections of 11 major symphony orchestra perceived each other.

The percussionists were viewed as insensitive, unintelligent, and hard-of-hearing, yet fun-loving.

String players were seen as arrogant, stuffy, and unathletic.

The orchestra members overwhelmingly chose “loud” as the primary adjective to describe the brass players.

Woodwind players seemed to be held in the highest esteem, described as quiet and meticulous, though a bit egotistical.

With such widely divergent personalities and perceptions, how could an orchestra ever come together to make such wonderful music? The answer is simple: regardless of how those musicians view each other, they subordinate their feelings and biases to the leadership of the conductor. Under his guidance, they play beautiful music. Today in the Word, June 22, 1992

Incline Your Ear-God Speaks Through Circumstances of Life

Through the Stuff

James 1:2-4

(2) My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,

(3) knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.

(4) But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

EOLS: The circumstances of life are not random or arbitrary; God is working in them to reveal Himself.

To live is a test, and to live is joy (Chara-joy-exceeding, elation)

1John 1:3-4

(3) that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us; and truly our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

(4) And these things we write to you that your ^[1] joy may be full.

The trials- ALL kinds! they are a coming-we are guaranteed to see trouble and tribulation

John 16:33

(33) These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

We are being refined and perfected

Perseverance is the key to God working in our lives-this race is a marathon and not a sprint-

We are headed somewhere-we’re not wandering around

We are being completed, and heading to our place of rich fulfillment.

Psalm 66:8-12

(8) Oh, bless our God, you peoples! And make the voice of His praise to be heard,

(9) Who keeps our soul among the living, And does not allow our feet to be moved.

(10) For You, O God, have tested us; You have refined us as silver is refined.

(11) You brought us into the net; You laid affliction on our backs.

(12) You have caused men to ride over our heads; We went through fire and through water; But You brought us out to rich fulfillment.

Understanding the Circumstances:

Settle in your own mind that God forever demonstrated His love for you on the Cross.

Romans 5:8

(8) But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Do not try to understand what God is like in the middle of your circumstances.

Job-though He slay me yet will I trust Him. Job pondered but Job knew His Redeemer.

Job 42:17

(17) So Job died, old and full of days.

Go to God and ask for His perspective on your situation

Where were you when He made the earth?

Wait on the Holy Spirit to help you understand.

He is the “Conductor” of this symphony.

Do not overemphasize your circumstances-God is there

Do not underemphasize your circumstances-God is there!

TRUTH is a person-not a concept or a philosophy. You cannot evaluate your circumstance apart from The Truth-Jesus Christ.

Truth can be known-personally.

Hebrews 12:1-2

(1) Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,

(2) looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

When God gets ready for you to take a new step, it will be in sequence with what He’s already doing in your life.

A pattern emerges. It may take awhile and some perspective to see it.

Walk by faith and not by sight.

In 1924, two climbers were part of an expedition that set out to conquer Mount Everest. As far as is known, they never reached the summit; and they never returned. Somewhere on that gigantic mountain they were overpowered by the elements and died. After the failure of the expedition, the rest of the party returned home. Addressing a meeting in London, one of those who returned described the ill-fated adventure. He then turned to a huge photograph of Mount Everest, mounted on the wall behind him. “Everest,” he cried, “we tried to conquer you once, but you overpowered us. We tried to conquer you a second time, but again you were too much for us. But, Everest, I want you to know that we are going to conquer you, for you can’t grow any bigger, and we can!”

Doing Your Part, Gene Getz, Regal, 1984, pp. 152-3

Incline Your Ear-God Speaks Through Prayer

Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart, saying:

"There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God nor regard man. Now there was a widow in that city; and she came to him, saying,

'Get justice for me from my adversary.' And he would not for a while; but afterward he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear God nor regard man, yet because this widow troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.' "

Then the Lord said, "Hear what the unjust judge said. And shall God not avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He bears long with them? I tell you that He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find faith on the earth?"

(Luke 18:1-8)

Here's the answer-

men always ought to pray and not lose heart

Now let's look at the questions!

A stark contrast is set up.

The Heavenly Father is contrasted to an unrighteous earthly judge. He has no regard for God nor man. God our Father loves His children and desires to bless them.

The earthly judge is evil and cares only about his own desires.

There is a Father who loves His Children and seeks the best life for them that love Him and who are called according to His purpose…

The common denominator is that both are moved by persistence. The Father is moved to love and kindness, where the judge is moved to selfish frustration. The parable is teaching the benefit of persistence-it’s a lot like when Jesus said:

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!"

(Luke 11:9-13)

A widow is a symbol of helplessness. No one is available to cover her, no one is available to plead her case. It’s a lot like us. We come to God naked and poor, wretched and blind and as we come to His feet we find the treatment of children.

The one thing, the only thing she can do is persevere. Never ever give up. Her request is righteous.

She’s not looking for revenge, but rather a righteous judgment…to be vindicated in the face of her enemy who is oppressing her.

Consider with me situations in you own life-both now and present-where you need to be vindicated, where justice seems to have been denied to you.

The contrast- persistence troubles the evil judge, yet it pleases the Loving Father.

James Byrnes, who was secretary of state under FDR, said that the difference between successful people & average people can be summed up in three words. Here are the three words, "and then some." He said, "Average people do what is expected. Successful people do what is expected, & then some."

An Attitude of Utter Dependence On Him

We must persevere in prayer until Jesus comes.

not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer;

(Romans 12:11-12)

praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints--

(Eph 6:18)

Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving;

(Colossians 4:2)

pray without ceasing,

(1Thessalonians 5:17)

He Enjoys The Time With You

The widow was a nuisance to the judge, yet the praying Christian is a joy to the Heavenly Father.

The Time Will Cause You to Grow In Your Walk of Faith

It’s time spent in His presence. In His presence there is joy and peace-even when chaos is all around you. It's not about Him making you beg or taunting you-

Persistence in Prayer is an outgrowth of faith-Will He find Faith in the Earth?

Why do we pray? Why does God call us to pray, when He can do whatever He wills? Have the outcomes been pre-determined?

Does prayer change things?

Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.

(James 5:16)

The Focus on The Eternal Will Give you His Perspective

Growing in Prayer

• If the request is wrong, God says, “No.”
• If the timing is wrong, God says, “Slow.”
• If you are wrong, God says, “Grow.”
• But if the request is right, the timing is right and you are right, God says, “Go!”

Too Busy Not To Pray, Bill Hybels, IVP, p. 74

Incline Your Ear-God Speaks Through His Word

Word of God Speak

Hebrews 4:12-16

(12) For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

(13) And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

(14) Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.

(15) For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.

(16) Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

EOLS: The Word of God is dynamic means by which God speaks to His people and it stands forever.

Several weeks ago we initiated a series of sermons with the stated goal of “inclining our ear” to the Lord. We discovered that there are four ways that God speaks to His children: Through His Word, through Prayer, through the Church and through the circumstances in our lives. We spoke of how God may emphasize any one area or a combination of areas, yet in the end all four areas will agree-He will never contradict Himself.

Today I want to speak to you for a few moments about how God speaks through His Word. In the journey I want to speak a little about His Word-what it is and what it is not, and how we can listen to God through it in our daily lives.

I speak to you in light of an interesting time. The Word of God is under intensive attack even as we speak. We’ve all heard about The DaVinci Code- the runaway best selling book that purports to tell the “real” story. The book and movie have produced an entire industry of tag-alongs-books which line up on either side of the controversy. It’s the marketing machine at work. I challenge you to walk through Barnes and Noble and spend fifteen minutes just browsing the titles on the “hot” topic tables. I think it says a lot about where we are as a society.

We live in the day of relativism. We live in a day of cafeteria style religion where most people seem to concoct their own God, in their image. They select a little of this and a scoop of that, and never mind the other-and voila, instant god, instant religion and a philosophy by which I can live my life.

At least until something better comes along. After all, a good religion shouldn’t be too hard or too demanding, should it?

Ultimately, the onslaught is pathetic. Attacks on the Word of God are nothing new. Consider these:

No other book has been so attacked throughout history as the Bible. In A.D. 300 the Roman emperor Diocletian ordered every Bible burned because he thought that by destroying the Scriptures he could destroy Christianity. Anyone caught with a Bible would be executed. But just 25 years later, the Roman emperor Constantine ordered that 50 perfect copies of the Bible be made at government expense.

Do you think that took God by surprise? Within 20 years of the Resurrection and Ascension of Christ, the Bible was translated into at least four languages. God allowed the originals to be destroyed in His plan-but rest assured-no despot or Anti-Christ figure has or will ever be able to stamp out the Living Word of God. Every time they think they have it beaten, it crops up somewhere else, intact, in another part of the world, and there’s a people who are immersing themselves in it as part of their daily life!

About seventeen hundred years later, a so-called intellectual made an utterly stupid projection:

The French philosopher Voltaire, a skeptic who destroyed the faith of many people, boasted that within 100 years of his death, the Bible would disappear from the face of the earth. Voltaire died in 1728, but the Bible lives on. The irony of history is that 50 years after his death, the Geneva Bible Society moved into his former house and used his printing presses to print thousands of Bibles. http://www.livingwaters.com/witnessingtool/Biblestandsalone.shtml

And today, 2.1 billion people on the planet are Christians. Five hundred million identify themselves as Pentecostal Christians, and somewhere between sixty and eighty million of them live in the land of China, where the greatest revival in the history of the world is in progress with an estimated ten thousand people being saved every day!

It makes me want to shout and praise God with David!

Psalm 119:89-90

Forever, O Lord, Your word is settled in heaven.

Your faithfulness endures to all generations; You established the earth, and it abides.

Ephesians 6:17

(17) And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;

1Peter 1:23-25

(23) having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, ^[5]

(24) because "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man ^[6] as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away,

(25) But the word of the Lord endures forever." ^[7] Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

The Word of God is not going anywhere! The Word of God will never be broken-millions from every age will be broken by it! Should Jesus not return for His people for another, say fifty years…

The DaVinci Code will be forgotten except in the chronicles of Hollywood-while another generation of saints will be living their lives immersed in the Word of God, feeding on it as a matter of life.

But what about the individuals who make up the whole? The story says that the teachings of Voltaire “destroyed the faith of many.” The Word of God survived intact, and thrives more each day. Attack is like a fertilizer and it defends itself-it is self-attesting. Yet what about the attack on the minds of individuals? It is rampant and it is insidious. Deception is like a cancer that attacks on mind at a time.

“Who is God and how has He revealed Himself to me?” is the question that I can’t answer for you. I can only answer for myself and so can you. In facing the questions of life, I take my stand, my refuge; I stake my hopes, my future and my family upon-

The revealed Word of God-The Bible.

A man in Kansas City was severely injured in an explosion. Evangelist Robert L. Sumner tells about him in his book The Wonders of the Word of God.

The victim’s face was badly disfigured, and he lost his eyesight as well as both hands. He was just a new Christian, and one of his greatest disappointments was that he could no longer read the Bible. Then he heard about a lady in England who read Braille with her lips. Hoping to do the same, he sent for some books of the Bible in Braille. Much to his dismay, however, he discovered that the nerve endings in his lips had been destroyed by the explosion. One day, as he brought one of the Braille pages to his lips, his tongue happened to touch a few of the raised characters and he could feel them. Like a flash he thought, I can read the Bible using my tongue. At the time Robert Sumner wrote his book, the man had “read” through the entire Bible four times.

The Uses of the Word

1. Born again by the Word

1 Peter 1:23; James 1:18

2. Cleansed by the Word

Eph. 5:26; -sanctify and cleanse through the washing of water by the word

Psalm 119:9 How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word.

(Psa 119:9)

3. Saved by the Word

and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

(2Timothy 3:15-17)

4. Growing by the Word

1 Peter 2:2; as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,

All Scripture Is Inspired

1. It is inspired: “All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16).

2. It is truth: “The sum of Thy word is truth”

Consider how I love Your precepts; Revive me, O Lord, according to Your lovingkindness. The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

(Psa 119:159-160)

It makes free: “...If you abide in My word, then you are truly disciples of mine; and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32).

3. It produces faith: “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Rom. 10:17, NASB).

4. It judges: “For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).

Where would we be without it? Are we hungry for the Word of God?

One morning in the 1620s, in a little village church, a preacher named John Rogers was preaching on the subject of the Bible in the Christian’s life. He allowed himself some pulpit dramatics. First, he acted the part of God telling the congregation:

“Well, I have trusted you so long with my Bible; you have slighted it; it lies in such and such houses all covered with dust and cobwebs; you care not to listen to it. Do you use my Bible so? Then you shall have my Bible no longer.” And he took the pulpit Bible away.

Then he knelt down and impersonated the people crying to God: “Lord, whatever thou dost to us, take not thy Bible from us; kill our children, burn our houses; destroy our goods but spare us thy Bible.”

Then he acted God again: “Say you so? Well, I will try you a while longer; and here is my Bible for you” (replacing it); “I will see how you will use it, whether you will love it more, observe it more, practice it more, live more according to it.”

At this the whole congregation dissolved in tears. What had happened? Rogers, under God, had touched a nerve, reminding them of their need to pay close attention to the Bible because reverence for God meant reverence for Scripture and serving God meant obeying Scripture. Do we need to recapture some of the same attitude today? Surely disregarding the Bible is the greatest possible insult to its divine author.

Your Father Loves You, by James Packer, (Harold Shaw Publishers, 1986), page for April 24

The Assignment

1John 3:11-16

(11) This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another.

(12) Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous.

(13) Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.

(14) We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

(15) Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

(16) This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.

I'm finding myself at a loss for words

And the funny thing is it's okay

The last thing I need is to be heard

But to hear what You would say

Word of God speak

Would You pour down like rain

Washing my eyes to see

Your majesty

To be still and know

That You're in this place

Please let me stay and rest

In Your holiness 

Word of God speak

I'm finding myself in the midst of You

Beyond the music, beyond the noise

All that I need is to be with You

And in the quiet hear Your voice

-MercyMe