Main Street Baptist Church

(Monday, Feb 8, 2010)              Jesus often complained that the people in His day listened without hearing (Mt 11:15; 13:9; Mk 4:9, 23; 8:18; Lk 14:35; etc.).  What parent hasn’t said, “Do you hear me?”  The problem isn’t a physical limitation in our ears, but a mental one of not paying attention to what is being said.  Listening is more than keeping quiet while another person talks.  Listening takes work and focus.

            Listening means to listen actively.  I do my best listening with a pencil and paper nearby.  I write down things to make sure I get them right and also to know what questions to ask.  Usually I start with some impressions, ideas or thoughts that I’ve learned to recognize as coming from God, no me.  I do this when working on sermons or lessons.  I also do it when counseling.  I journal some of these things that are of a more personal nature.  I like to write down prayers and what I feel God is telling me to pray for. 

            This means we must listen expectantly, in eager anticipation of hearing from God.  “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know” (Jeremiah 33:3). 

            We must also listen quietly.  “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10).  Find a time and place when you can be quiet within and without, then listen to God.

            Then, too, we must listen patiently.  God doesn’t tell us everything all at once.  As one part is understood and applied then He’ll communicate more.  We are usually in a hurry.  We often spend more time telling God what to do than listening to what He wants to tell us to do.  “Wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7).  “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope.  My soul waits for the Lord” (Psalm 130:5-6).  Patience is a fruit of the Spirit and we need to depend on God to produce it in us.

            Another way we must listen is confidently.  We need to trust we will receive from Him what He feels we need, not just what we want.  We can’t listen just for a certain preconceived idea from Him but be open to whatever He says.  This faith means we trust that God will lead us in the way that is right, even if it’s not the way we want.  “Commit your way to the Lord, trust in Him and He will do this” (Psalm 37:5-6).  “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6). 

            In addition we must listen dependently.  Listen as if your life depended on it, for it does!  Listen in reliance, as a child listens to an adult (Matthew 18:2-4).

            Listen openly.  Be open to receive whatever He says.  Have no agenda but His agenda.  Be open to words of reproof or correction.  “Show me your ways, O Lord, teach me Your paths; guide me in Your truth and teach me” (Psalm 25:4-5). 

            When we listen we must also listen attentively.  When I am preaching I can usually tell who is paying attention and who isn’t.  There is no time that is more important to pay attention than when God talks!  “Be clear minded and self-controlled so that you can pray” (1 Peter 4:7). 

            Also listen carefully.  “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves” (2 Corinthians 13:5).  Don’t miss anything God says.  Focus.  Don’t run ahead and add things, nor let your mind wander and miss what He might want to say. 

            Make sure you listen submissively.  Agree to do it before hearing it.  Listen with the full intent of obeying.  When Mary heard from the angel about God’s humanly-impossible task for her, her response was “I am the Lord’s servant. … May it be to me as you have said” (Luke 1:38).  That’s how Jesus obeyed God’s will for Him to go to the cross (Matthew 26:39). 

            Finally, make sure you listen reverently.  Stand in awe of God, never take Him for granted.  Don’t think God is here to do our bidding and pleasure.  We are here for Him, He isn’t here for us.  “All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations” (Psalm 22:27-28).  “That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). 

            Charles Stanley says we need to make these declarations in our inner spirit by faith as we listen to God.  Rate yourself on how you stand on these:

1. I’m eager to hear what You are going to say to me (expectant).

2. I’m listening, Lord (quiet).

3. I’ll wait until I hear from You (patient).

4. I’m confident that You are going to tell me what I need to hear (confident).

5. I depend upon You completely to tell me who I am to become, what I am to say, and   what I am to do (dependent).

6. I want to be open to all possibilities, Lord (open).

7. I am listening keenly to every word (attentive).

8. I am trusting You, Holy Spirit, to confirm to me that what I am hearing is, indeed, from God (careful).

9. Not my will or way, but Yours, Lord (submissive).

10. I am in awe and thanksgiving that You would speak to me, Lord (reverent).

            So we see that listening means viewing prayer as dialogue not monologue.  It means communicating as you would with a friend or mate, using frequency, intensity and time.  Asking questions is a good way to find God’s guidance.  When you listen, listen expectantly, quietly, patiently, confidently, dependently, openly, attentively, carefully, submissively and reverently.  Skillful listening takes practice.  Spend some time listening to God now. 

(Friday, Feb 4, 2010)       Communication is a two way street.  If only one person does the talking real communication isn’t taking place.  Communication implies both sides are both sharing information and listening intensively to the other person.  Therefore for prayer to be communication it must include listening as well talking.  We must view prayer as dialogue.  We must make sure listening to God is done frequently, intently and given enough time.  This includes spending time praying and meditating.

            Listening means viewing prayer as dialogue.  Communication is not just talking but listening.  Prayer is a dialogue between two people, not a one-way monologue.  Unfortunately we are much better at talking than at listening.  We need to develop better listening skills in all our relationships.  Talking to God is entirely different from listening to God.  Real communication is an endless loop of transmitting and receiving thoughts and ideas. 

            Too often our prayers are ‘prayer speeches’ to God – we do all the talking and don’t let Him communicate with us.  If we are to truly have a relationship with God we must listen as well as talk, for that is the basis of all relationships.

            The place of meditation in listening to God.  Meditation is a time to think, contemplate, reflect, ponder and consider spiritual things in God’s presence.  The Psalmist says: “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways” (Psalm 119:15).  “I meditate on your decrees” (Psalm 119:48).  God promises us: “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night” (Psalm 1:1-2). 

            Listening means communicating like with a friend/mate.  In order for me to truly communicate with my wife Nancy I need to relax, give her my full attention, and focus on her and what she is saying.  I must make sure there are no offences or hurts between us that need to be confessed and removed.  I must listen between the lines and read her moods.  I respond to what she reveals with affirmation, encouragement or requests for further clarification.  The more we really communicate, the easier it is growing in our relationship and improve our connection.   Moses spoke to God face to face, “as a man speaks with his friend” (Exodus 33:11).  Perhaps that’s one reason he was so close to God.

            Listening means asking questions.  When we talk with a mate or friend we often ask questions or request more information about a certain subject.  Jehosophat asked God what he should do about the enemies approaching Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 20:12).  God wants us to ask Him questions so He can give us His answers.  Sometimes one of the best ways to find God’s will is to ask Him a question that has a “yes” or “no” answer.  We often do that with others; ask them a question with a yes or no answer so we can find out what they want.  Do the same with God.

            When we see communication with God similar to communicating with a friend or mate we can better understand it.  Practice talking to God as a friend.  Listen to Him as you would listen to a friend.  You aren’t lecturing the God of the universe; remember that you are in a privileged, one-on-one love relationship with Him and therefore dialoguing with the One who loves you as well.

(Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010)          ADD, Attention Deficit Disorder, is mostly an organic problem which tends to run in families.  It is characterized by the inability to sustain focused attention.  Symptoms include distractibility, inattention, impulsiveness, insatiability and hyperactivity.  Many Christians suffer from a kind of spiritual ADD.  We don’t hear from God as clearly as we might because we are distracted, inattentive and hyperactive. 

            We all hear from God much easier when we are quietly spending time with Him.  But in our lives today there always seems to be some sound to distract, some interruption to interfere or some activity to get involved in.  God doesn’t shout over everything else in our lives.  A five-minute devotional in the morning while rushing to get ready for work is no solution. 

            Charles Stanley says, “As we walk in the Spirit daily, surrendered to His power, we have the right and privilege to expect anything we need to hear from God.  The Holy Spirit living within us and speaking to us ought to be the natural lifestyle of believers.  We claim His presence, direction, and guidance by faith.”

            Listening means using frequency, intensity and time.  How does your communication with God stand up to the “F-I-T” test?  Frequency, Intensity, Time – all are necessary. 

            In Revelation 3:20 Jesus says, “I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.”  Jesus calls to us, His voice is there if we will but open the door and listen.  He wants a continual dialogue, not just a Sunday-morning chat. In any relationship, the more time spent listening the better we understand the other person and the easier we can grasp what they are saying.  That’s why we can understand our friends better than strangers.  Is God a friend you are familiar with or a stranger to you?  The more you listen to God the easier it will be to recognize and understand His voice.  Children learn to recognize their parent’s voice; mates can read much meaning into simple statements by each other.  That happens as we spend frequent time listening to God.

            God says through Jeremiah (29:12-13), “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  My radio has a dial where I can choose what station I want to receive.  Those I don’t want I reject, those I want to listen to I focus in on.  The same is true of us listening to God.  We must tune out the voices that come from self, the world, the flesh or Satan and tune into God’s frequency only.  As with a radio, we can only be tuned to one station at a time!  We need intensity in our seeking to listen to God, as the Psalmist describes in Psalm 42:1-2: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God.  My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God?”

            We also need to spend time in communication with God.  Mary chose to spend time with Jesus despite all the other things that needed doing in her life (Luke 10:41-42) and God blessed her for that choice.  I read one author that said God would speak to us in one of two ways.  He will whisper in our ear or hit us on the head with a brick.  We can listen for the whisper or wait for the brick.  More often than not, the brick comes because we haven’t been listening for the whisper. 

            How do you rate yourself in seeing prayer as dialogue?  What about the frequency, intensity and time of your time spent listening to God?  Make a note of it over the next few days and see what God shows you about your listening skills.

(Monday, Feb. 1, 2010)  People today are notoriously bad listeners.    We are good talkers but poor listeners.  We think of when we want to say while another person is talking, and if they don’t finish soon enough we interrupt to have our say.  To become a good listener means making a commitment to listen. 

            You see, hearing means commitment to obey.  We must listen before we can obey, but we won’t be able to really listen until we commit to obey.

            “Listen” refers to more than hearing sound.  When a parent says to their child, “Did you hear me?” they aren’t wondering if their voice was loud enough.  They are pointing out the importance of doing what they just heard. 

            A missionary translator was endeavoring to find a word for “obedience” in the native language.  This was a virtue seldom practiced among the people into whose language he wanted to translate the New Testament.  As he returned home from the village one day, he whistled for his dog and it came running at full speed.  An old native, seeing this, said admiringly in the native tongue, “Your dog is all ear.”  Immediately the missionary knew he had his word for obedience.

            We must make a commitment to obey God before He speaks, not wait until we hear from Him and then consider what He says along with our other options.  He won’t speak His will to us just so we can mull it over.  He must know our desire to want to do what He wants even before we know what it is.  Hebrews 3:7-8 says, “so, as the Holy Spirit says: ‘Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert.” 

            Hearing means commitment to obey, and often when we do so there is a price to pay.

            Hearing means commitment to pay.  God often calls us to do things that don’t fit our agenda, our schedule or our idea of what should be done.  Hosea committed himself to obey God and God told him to marry an adulterous wife (Hosea 1:1-3).  Jeremiah was cruelly persecuted.  Isaiah was commanded to go around naked and barefoot for three years (20:3-5).  Hearing God means commitment to obey, no matter what the price we must pay. 

            Are you willing to pay the price to hear from God?  Will you commit to obey Him no matter what He says?

            So what have we learned about listening to God?  First, we must be a Christian for it is through the indwelling Spirit that He speaks to us.  In addition, we must make sure there is no unconfessed sin in our lives. 

            Then we must watch out for distractions, disappointments, disconnections, disinformation, deception and disbelief, for any of these can stop our reception of His communication.  Are any of these keeping you from hearing from God?

            Always be on the alert for anything God may be doing to get you to better listen to Him.  Is He giving you an unsettled spirit, an unsolicited word from another person, unusual circumstances (both bad and good), or unanswered prayer?  Do you notice any of these in your life right now?  Is God trying to get your attention so you’ll listen?

            Make sure you are willing to obey what He says, even before He tells you.  Some things may be pleasing and easy, but others may be hard and very difficult.  Often there is a price to pay.  Are you willing to pay the price to hear from God?  Will you commit to obey Him no matter what He says?

(Friday, Jan 29, 2010)   God is faithful.  He wants us to listen to Him.  He even goes out of His way to get our attention when we aren’t listening.  My computer gives me a warning so I know I’m disconnected and not receiving signals.  God sends warning notices to our spirit as well.

            This message may come in the form of an unsettled spirit.  When God wanted to get a message to King Ahasuerus he kept him from sleeping (Esther 6:1).  If you feel restlessness in your spirit, an unsettled feeling, like something is wrong or missing, take that as God’s warning that He wants your attention.  Listen to what He has to say.

            Another form this message can take is an unsolicited word from another person.  This could be an admonition or a correction.  God sent Nathan to David with such a message after David sinned with Bathsheba and then didn’t confess his sin (2 Samuel 12:1).  This could even take the form of complements and words of appreciation or approval which help us get our eyes off ourselves and onto God.

            The third type of warning message from God is unusual circumstances, both good and bad.  Paul alerted the Corinthians to the fact that, because of unconfessed sin, many of them were sick and some had died (1 Corinthians 12:29-30).  Illness, accidents, bankruptcies, failures, divorced, disappointments – all these and other means may be used to get someone’s attention and come back to God.  This isn’t to say that this is the only reason for negative things to happen, nor that all bad things are God’s way of getting our attention, but it is certainly something to consider. 

            God not only uses negative things to get our attention, but also positive.  Sometimes God sends blessing to get us to listen to Him again.  “Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?” (Romans 2:4)

            So we see that God gets our attention by giving us a restless spirit, an unsolicited word from another person, unusual circumstances, both good and bad, and also by unanswered prayer. 

            Sometimes, when it seems the heavens are closed and God isn’t hearing us, God simply wants us to try harder to connect with Him.  While this certainly isn’t the only reason for what we call ‘unanswered’ prayer, sometimes God does use it to make us more desperate to hear from Him so we examine our lives for sin and listen all the closer to Him. 

            Do you notice any of these in your life right now?  Could it be that God is trying to get your attention, to let you know you have lost your connection with Him and not listening to Him?  If so confess any sin He points out and take time to open your heart and listen.