Hearing God
What the Lord requires is to be heard and obeyed.
When I don't believe I can hear God, then I am tempted to look for direction from what is easier to receive from...other people, my appetites, my rights, my own selfish desires...
If I will, in faith, believe I can hear God, then over time, more and more, I become familiar with His voice. He leads me to streams of living water, but generally in a way I wouldn't choose myself. His leading is contrary to my logic and my default thinking. That is the point. I need a different leader. I need a savior.
Once I start knowing I can hear God, even as difficult as it can be sometimes, I am obligated to obey Him. If I follow God in obedience, then I will hear Him more. If I am faithful with a little, then more is given. If more is given, more is required.
This is how the knowledge of God grows: by hearing and obeying. This is how I get ready for the return of Jesus: I learn to hear and commit to obey. Jesus does all of the impossible aspects of this equation. I do the asking, I do the listening, and I do the simple obedience.
This is faith. Most believers dont really believe they can hear God. This should be priority #1. There is no relationship without two-way communication. Religion is one way communication built on assumptions of "what God would want" and dead service. Don't settle for religion. Religion won't save anyone. Relationship...knowing God...is the only way.
Jeremiah 3:23Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; Truly, in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel. 24For shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— Their flocks and their herds, Their sons and their daughters. 25We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.” 4:1“If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD, “Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved. 2And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.”
John 10:26“But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Matthew 7:19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire 20“Therefore by their fruits you will know them 21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
John 15:1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
There is no such thing as a follower of Jesus that cannot hear Him. I missed this fact most of my childhood and even as an adult, even though I went to church every Sunday...not knowing any better, my faith was simply based on settling for what I knew about Jesus. There was no real man my faith was pointed to. Only stories of a man. There was no one to reach for, because there was no one actively reaching back from my perspective. I was not growing in my knowledge of Him, even though my knowledge about Him was slowly increasing.
When I don't believe I can hear God, then I am tempted to look for direction from what is easier to receive from...other people, my appetites, my rights, my own selfish desires...
If I will, in faith, believe I can hear God, then over time, more and more, I become familiar with His voice. He leads me to streams of living water, but generally in a way I wouldn't choose myself. His leading is contrary to my logic and my default thinking. That is the point. I need a different leader. I need a savior.
Once I start knowing I can hear God, even as difficult as it can be sometimes, I am obligated to obey Him. If I follow God in obedience, then I will hear Him more. If I am faithful with a little, then more is given. If more is given, more is required.
This is how the knowledge of God grows: by hearing and obeying. This is how I get ready for the return of Jesus: I learn to hear and commit to obey. Jesus does all of the impossible aspects of this equation. I do the asking, I do the listening, and I do the simple obedience.
This is faith. Most believers dont really believe they can hear God. This should be priority #1. There is no relationship without two-way communication. Religion is one way communication built on assumptions of "what God would want" and dead service. Don't settle for religion. Religion won't save anyone. Relationship...knowing God...is the only way.
Jeremiah 3:23Truly, in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains; Truly, in the LORD our God Is the salvation of Israel. 24For shame has devoured The labor of our fathers from our youth— Their flocks and their herds, Their sons and their daughters. 25We lie down in our shame, And our reproach covers us. For we have sinned against the LORD our God, We and our fathers, From our youth even to this day, And have not obeyed the voice of the LORD our God.” 4:1“If you will return, O Israel,” says the LORD, “Return to Me; And if you will put away your abominations out of My sight, Then you shall not be moved. 2And you shall swear, ‘The LORD lives,’ In truth, in judgment, and in righteousness; The nations shall bless themselves in Him, And in Him they shall glory.”
John 10:26“But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
Matthew 7:19“Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire 20“Therefore by their fruits you will know them 21“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22“Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23“And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’
John 15:1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2“Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3“You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4“Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6“If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned.
There is no such thing as a follower of Jesus that cannot hear Him. I missed this fact most of my childhood and even as an adult, even though I went to church every Sunday...not knowing any better, my faith was simply based on settling for what I knew about Jesus. There was no real man my faith was pointed to. Only stories of a man. There was no one to reach for, because there was no one actively reaching back from my perspective. I was not growing in my knowledge of Him, even though my knowledge about Him was slowly increasing.
Everything changed when I simply believed it was possible to hear Him and I started asking for that.
It is very hard to hear Him, but anyone can. Now I teach children to hear Him all the time. Hearing of Jesus' voice grows over time, but everyone can, and must, learn to do it. Hearing God in the heart is truly the only basis of relationship with Him.
1 Corinthians 14:30But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
It is very hard to hear Him, but anyone can. Now I teach children to hear Him all the time. Hearing of Jesus' voice grows over time, but everyone can, and must, learn to do it. Hearing God in the heart is truly the only basis of relationship with Him.
1 Corinthians 14:30But if anything is revealed to another who sits by, let the first keep silent. 31For you can all prophesy one by one, that all may learn and all may be encouraged. 32And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets. 33For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.
Comments
Post a Comment
I appreciate your comments.