Being in the great outdoors! What wonderful display! I just love the scenery of the trees, birds, wildlife and the fellowship that we have here today. And when we really think about it, scripture tells us “The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament shows his handy work.” What a majestic display of Gods love, just witnessing it here in the outdoors. And its this love I want to speak about today, in the form of what Jesus was declaring to the disciples in todays reading in the Gospel of John, Chapter 14.
Jesus answered and said to him, “ If anyone loves Me, he will follow My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our dwelling with him. The one who does not love Me does not follow My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.
Following God! Obeying God! Listening to God!
I don’t know if you thought about this, but if it wasn’t for Gods voice, Gods eternal words, nothing we see or have and even our own life would have ever been created. As it is written in Geneis “Then God Said”; then it was done. Just think how powerful the Words of God is, even in a tiny little book that we carry and cherish, called the Holy Bible, which has moved mountains for people and nations, separated friend and foes, rejoiced the lost people of the world with their creator, has made the lame well, the blind to see. Gods Holy Words!
You know, the more I think about it, it is impossible to contain all of Gods glory and spectacles just with ink and paper! We experience it, we mobilize it, we live it, we exercise with it, all by the ways of listening to His divine words!
In reading from the Gospel of John Chapter 14, we find a very genuine statement that Jesus is telling the apostles and all who Love Him.
“These things I have spoken to you while remaining with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and remind you of all that I said to you. Peace I leave you, My peace I give you; not as the world gives, do I give to you. Do not let your hearts be troubled, nor fearful. You heard that I said to you, ‘I am going away, and I am coming to you.’ If you loved Me, you would have rejoiced because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it happens, so that when it happens, you may believe."
Notice theres no if’s, and’s, or but’s. Its declared and absolute! So it is very obvious here, amongst many other parts of scripture that God tells us to abide and dwell in his words alone.
So listening to this, we find the very strong point of Listening to Jesus is vital to both learn and live Godly, but not by the strength we possess, but only by Gods strength through the Holy Spirit. But in really thinking about this, lets be honest. Do we really and genuinely listen to God? Do we trust and obey Him in every aspect of our lives?
Do we listen? Do we obey? Do we grow the way God designed it for us to be successful, complete and whole? Did you know the word perfect is used so loosely in today society that people miss the real meaning of it. Now I Know some are thinking, we are not perfect, how could we devote ourselves fully? Let me give you an answer to that question by simply defining what biblical perfection means. In biblical Greek, perfection, teleios, means to be complete or whole. What this is saying, we only find perfection and be complete when we live a life with Christ and for Christ, not that our actions are substandard. Our mission, our goals, our lives are to live as Christians, and it can only happen by way of the Holy Spirit that we find here in the Gospel of John, chapter 14.
Scripture gives us many warnings and even examples of what happens when we do not listen and obey God. Jonah didn’t heed to Gods word so a fish swallowed him up. Saul, first king of Israel failed to listen to God, and so he died in rebellion and lost everything. Moses, not adhering to Gods words to speak to the rock, costed him his journey into the promised land. And so many other examples. They were NOT PERFECT in the human sense, they was perfected in Gods everlasting Love!
SO what do we do with this? Well I wanted to leave you with some action items to reflect and work on that will help each of us learn to listen and commune with God.
First, We should be reminded, God communications through the bible. The Bible is our index or guide for all the other ways God communicates. If we are going to listen to God and discern His voice in the other avenues He uses, we must be listening to His Word, the Bible.
GOD COMMUNICATES THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT. The Holy Spirit is the resident teacher whom the Father has sent through the Son to indwell every New Testament believer as God’s special anointing to teach and make the truths of the Word understood and real to the heart or mind of believers.
GOD COMMUNICATES THROUGH THE EVENTS OF OUR LIVES. From special Times of Worship (singing, praise, prayer, teaching, ordinances), and even through trials and Irritations that become tools to get our attention and build character, but only as we hear and learn to relate and rest in the promises and principles of Scripture. And these are JUST a few descriptions.
In closing, I challenge you today, to reflect and respond on how God with just these few examples, actually portraits his voice in our lives for us to Listen. Learn to listen by opening ourselves to him, and remember God will move heaven and earth if needs be, to make a way.
Seminary professor Mark Roberts wrote this quote in his devotional.
If we want to hear the voice of God, we should pay attention to Jesus. We hear God’s voice in the teachings of Jesus as they are portrayed in the biblical gospels. We hear God’s voice through the actions of Jesus as they demonstrate and dramatize the good news of the kingdom of God. We hear God’s voice as the community of Jesus—instructed by the Scripture that bears witness to Jesus and inspired by the Spirit that empowered Jesus—discerns God’s guidance for today.
As Christians, we can easily fill our lives will all sorts of good things: studying theology, doing justice, creating beauty, leading organizations, raising children, and so forth. Yet, every now and then, in the midst of our busyness, we ought to ask ourselves, “Am I paying attention to Jesus? Am I hearing God’s voice through the Word made flesh?” You decide. Amen.