Listening to God

12/10- Why is Talking and Listening to God important?  John 14:21

Read: “Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me.  He who loves me will be loved of my Father, and I too will love him and show myself to him.”  (John 14:21)
“I am the Lord’s servant.  May it be to me as you have said.”  (Luke 1:38)
“When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.”  (Matthew 1:24)

Thoughts: We talk to God in prayer.  We listen to God through God’s Word- which is the Spirit speaking through the Bible.  We believe the Bible is not just a history book or a record of how people loved God years ago.  We believe the scriptures are written for human beings to convey God’s purpose and will for us.  Therefore it is important to read the Bible- or Bible story books.  There are great Bible apps (like the Youversion Bible apps), that can be on your smartphone, ipad or computer.  When we love God we are called to listen to Him- just like when you love someone here on this earth you want to listen to them.

Activity: In the room you are in, have one person start singing, “Old McDonald had a farm” over and over, turn up two music players (phone or something else), one TV (if in the room),then try to tell each person in the room one thing you like about them.  Now turn it all off- yes the singing too- and try to say the same thing.  When there is a lot of noise we call those things distractions.  Many things can distract us from hearing God today.  Make sure you make non-distracted space to listen to God and the Bible each day. 

Prayer: Thank you God that you listen to me.  Help me to listen to you through your Word.

God Listens- We Should Listen

13“ ‘When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,’ says the Lord Almighty.  (Zechariah 7:13)

Thoughts: Is it right for us to close our ears to God but then expect God to listen to us?  This passage points out the irony of our demanding that God listen but then refusing to listen to our Maker. God cares that we do what is right- and the first thing is to be willing to listen to our Lord.  
     It is important for us to know that if we want God to answer our prayers and listen to our cry; we should also see it is important to listen to God.  

Prayer: Lord, give me a listening heart.  Lord, listen to me with mercy and kindness for the sake and name of Jesus Christ who died for me.  

Quick to Listen

My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, (James 1:19)

Thoughts: Listening establishes a relationship.  Listening to others helps establish a relationship to them  Listening to God establishes a relationship with God.  If we did these three things we would be much better off.  Being quick to listen means we are looking for opportunities to listen.  Christians should be experts at listening.  

Prayer: Lord, give me grace to listen to you and others.  

1/5/16 Moses starts to Listen

1Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.2There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”

4When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

And Moses said, “Here I am.”

5“Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6Then he said, “I am the God of your father,^a the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.

7The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. 8So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. 9And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. 10So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”

11But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?”

12And God said, “I will be with you. And this will be the sign to you that it is I who have sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you^b will worship God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3)

Thoughts: God began to get Moses' attention.  At first he used a burning bush that would not burn up, but talked up.  The Bush was saying his name.  God was speaking through the bush telling him to go and set the people free. Before Moses could "go down" and tell Pharaoh to set his people free, he had to listen.  He was in the wilderness 40 years preparing for this listening moment.
     God wants us too to listen.  Hopefully it will not take a burning bush or forty years of wilderness.  God does want us to listen to His voice and His call upon our lives.  God wants everyone, without exception, to listen to Him.   

Prayer: Help me to listen to you, O Lord, and give myself to you.  Open my ears and my heart. 

5/5/13- Basic Principles of Finding God's Will

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  Then all these other things will be added to you as well.  (Matthew 6:33)

But if any of you lacks wisdom let them ask freely of God.  He gives generously to all without finding fault. (James 1:5)

Thoughts:  The very basics of finding God's will is to put God first and then to let God communicate to you by prayer.  We must seek God first to make sure our hearts are right.  But then we should think.  Thinking with honesty and integrity- aware of the deceitfulness of our own hearts is important.  God does give us wisdom.  God does open and close doors.  God does lead us by His Spirit.

Prayer: Lord, may your will- not mine, be done.  Grant me wisdom to be able to discern your will and then strength to do what I know I should discern.

5/4/13 Doing God's Will

³⁵ Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35)

³ It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; (1 Thessalonians 4:3)

¹⁸ give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:18) 

Thoughts:  It is clear from the above passages and many others that doing God's will is very important and a blessing in life.  We are included in God's family when we are one with God- showing that by doing God's will.  It is not a matter of doing things, or just being a scholar of scripture, but having our will knit to His will- having our hearts right with God.  As Luther said, "Love God and do what you will."  He could say that because if we love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength then we will find God's will and will want to do God's will- not the will of our flesh alone.
     For those who are making a decision about their lives- the very basic question is "What has God already said on the topic?"  Or, what do the scriptures teach?  If the scriptures are clear on something, and we disobey them, then we may need to ask ourselves if our heart is right- or if we really wanted to hear what God has to say in the first place.
     If a person is asking, "Should I move in with my girlfriend before marriage?"  They may want to look back at I Thessalonians 4:8 (above), or Ephesians 5:3, or 1 Corinthians 6:9, or the myriad of other verses related to the topic.  The teachings are uniform that sexual relationships are holy to God and are to be reserved with deep commitment- not just for our protection but to please God.  To just look at secular studies and statistics may help- but studies and polls are often skewed to show what the majority want to hear.  If we cannot listen to what God has said then we need to recognize that we are rebelling against God's will- not following it.  
    If we cannot hear what God has told us plainly, how can we ask God to answer us in the less clear issues?  We must have a listening heart.  

Prayer: Above all else, help me, O God, to listen to you.  Help me O Lord to protect my soul and honor as well as your name. 

For further study.  At the end of Jeremiah is a perfect illustration of asking but not listening.  The city of Jerusalem has been destroyed and some mean people assassinated the appointed governor.  The rest of the people were trying to decide whether they should stay there or escape to Egypt.  They asked Jeremiah and he told them he wouldn't tell them because they wouldn't listen.  They promised to listen but then when he told them what they didn't want to hear (that they should stay), they told him he was crazy and they went to Egypt anyway- probably killing Jeremiah in the process.  

1/1/13- Where To Begin? Listening to God.

“Come, all you who are thirsty,come to the waters; and you who have no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost.  Why spend money on what is not bread, and your labor on what does not satisfy? Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of fare.  3  Give ear and come to me; hear me, that your soul may live.  I will make an everlasting covenant with you, my faithful love promised to David." (Isaiah 55:1,2)

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to wrath. (James 1:19)

Have this Book of the Law always on your lips.  Listen to it day and night.  so that you may be careful to do everything that is written in it.  Then you will prosper in what you are doing, then you will have success. (Joshua 1:8). 

Thoughts: So where do we begin the new year (or a new study)?  It is not by talking, or presuming, or even planning.  Christians believe our first task is listening.  In listening we say that who we listen to is more important (at the very least for the moment) than what we are saying, doing, or thinking.  It is a sign of humbling ourselves in order to pay attention to the other being.  So listening to God is a great way to start a new year.  Oswald Chambers said that "when we ignore God we are humiliating Him." Those who believe and love God will listen as those who are in true love stop and listen to the person with whom they are in love.
     The question is what theologians call "epistemology" which basically asks, "How do we know?" How do we know what is right?  How do we know what we should do?  How do we possibly know the will of God?  Whenever we talk about knowing, Christians also recognize (through our teaching in the Bible) that we need to hold the truth in humility and love.  Even with the Bible we see on this side as "through a mirror dimly" but when we get to heaven it will become clear and we will see "face to face."  We walk by faith and in a sense of humility and mystery.  Yet, that does NOT mean that we cannot know some things for sure.  While we may not know all things, we may  know some things in certainty by faith.  As Hebrews says, "Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see."  We do this with all of life.  We may not know how our car works, but most believe that when we get in it the brakes will work.  To be able to move forward at all does not mean we bring in a mechanic every time we get in the car.  But if we hear the brakes squeaking, we may change our mind.  Listening is important- and putting our faith in what we hear or do not hear is important too.
      Where do we listen?  Christians have affirmed the Bible as the Word of God.  This is a matter of faith in the end.  It is not that the Bible tells us everything.  But as the Westminster Shorter Catechism says, the Bible tells us what we are to believe about God and what duty God requires of us.  In other words, what we are to believe and what we are to do.  We do not make this up for ourselves.  The Bible is not just a history of how some people believed.  It is a means (or tool) of grace.  We believe God not only spoke in it, but that God, the Holy Spirit, still speaks in it to us as individuals as well as corporately.

Prayer; Spirit, we I enter a new year- help me to listen to you through the Word you inspire and illuminate to me.

Ryland's papyrus dated between before 100- 150 AD (c. 125).
It is a section of John 18- "Everyone on the side of truth listens to me. 'What is truth?'  Pilate asked."  Jesus was saying there is such a thing as truth.  Pilate was implying he does not know how to discover it.  This is still a huge sticking point between those who have faith and those who do not.