An astounding thing God gave me this morning during prayer was the glimpse into hearing as He hears. It took me a moment to get my bearings, i’m sure grace braced me, but how do i describe this? It was beyond me, more than me, which may not seem like much to you, but to say i perceive something as more than myself is a confession that i am insufficient and the Lord is more than sufficient. You can say you don’t believe it. That’s ok. Remember though, just because you don’t believe it, doesn’t make it not so, it only means you don’t believe it.
i first thought it was madness, but then, i was aware of God’s grip on me so i decided it wasn’t madness. In the time of praise and worship, my ears became super-ears. i could hear everything around me. i heard the spider across the room at the base of the wall crawling, and i thought to myself, oh Mr. Spider, and you thought you were being quiet…mind you though, the sound of the spider wasn’t loud and intrusive, but just a gentle stepping. Outside my window there was a sparrow on a branch, waiting in the morning sun….to my amazement, i could hear it breathing. The clarity of everything was overwhelming, i marveled that i could hear something as soft as birds breath. Don’t get me wrong, i don’t mean overwhelming as if i was being driven to hallucinations and insanity, but overwhelming in the sense of being aware, aware of the sound of living things like maybe God hears it all. Everything i heard was distinct and clear, separate and of it’s own. It wasn’t a jumble of chaotic noise. It was like orderly music.
i’m Social Porter and i’ll be your host with cool jazz and contemplative conversation. We’re talking about hearing and listening for a short while…they’re both a gift and a talent. Being able to hear is a gift of God, and listening is a talent, a learned thing which is also something brought to us by the goodness of God.
We hear the world around us, even people who are hearing impaired have a sense of hearing in a way, they may interpret it differently than those of us who hear, but it is a perception of sound in some capacity or another. How many of us stop to hear? Do we sit in silence and listen to what is in our spirit, in our heart? Maybe some of us practice so much of such introverted listening, we are the only voice we hear….think about that, tap your toe and dream a little, i’ll be right back.
Hearing is first mentioned in Genesis 3:8, “And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day.” i have wondered, what does God sound like when He’s walking in the cool of the day, at the time when the thermal currents of air begin to transition from their place in the heat of the day to a cooling off period at night? Either way, Adam and Eve knew very well who they were hearing. The footsteps of the Lord are so unique even the sound of His steps declare His person. Not only did they hear, but they listened and accurately identified who they were hearing. He was coming to talk to them! They heard Him before they saw Him, oh and don’t you know, i’ll say it again, they knew well the sound of His footsteps! They had experience with the sound of the Lord moving around, even the sound of His coming which was common only to Him.
To “hear” is a verb meaning to give an ear or to lend an ear, discern, to perceive. The value of hearing God above all things seems to have become devalued in the world today, it seems unimportant to most people. Even to people who want to hear God, many may have become convinced they can’t hear Him so “hearing God” has become a low priority seeing as how, in most people’s mind, the probability of hearing God seems minimal. As a result the idea and hope of hearing Divinity is at the bottom of their list of important things.
On the contrary, of all the voices in the universe, hearing God is a necessity above all necessities in life. His voice IS life, as His presence is life, as His dreams are life, there is life infused in all which comprises the person of Christ. John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.”
i hold that everything the Lord says and does is more important to understand and own over anything else in the universe. He has something to say and i’d really like to hear it. Therefore, every word from the mouth of God, teaches us the fundamentals and deep things of God and faith. “He that has ears to hear, let him hear.”
Many people lend their ears to “commerce and media” and fill their heads with unfounded doubt, leaving no room to hear that “small, still voice’. …and if they’re not pouring the foolishness of the main stream media into their heads, they’re filling their ears with political talk, words of their work-a-day world, pornography, or just the common misleading information that comes in from the cable network. It’s no great wonder people are so frightened when we tell them we “hear God”. Metaphorically speaking, many live in that “septic tank” that I compare “commerce and media” to. Think about it… IF we’re inside that tank, we can’t hear anything outside. We have no contrast. We only know when somebody “flushes” and when you hear the plumbing “rumble”, you anticipate the discharge of waste from elsewhere. But when the inside of that septic tank comprises your entire world, you don’t know there is an entirely different world just a few feet over your head … just a few feet of dirt and a concrete slab dividing you from brightness of day, stars at night, fresh air, and the presence and voice of God. But many people have chosen to live in a “tomb” and they’ve been there so long that things which should be common between them and God are now unthinkable to them.
What will it take for us, as humans, to be interested in hearing God’s voice again? For me, even if God comes to chastise me, i would rather hear the voice of the Lord who loves me and died for my sins, than to not hear Him at all. Jesus said in John 5:24 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.” Hebrews 4:12 “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.” Where it says “word” is the word “logos”, meaning “the sayings of God” as in what is “uttered by the living voice”. Personally, i really need to hear Jesus. Not just want, but need.
His voice, the sound of His moving and doing, His very name has slowly become so intrinsic and systemic in me and the life I lead, He is like the pith of a plant, water in a tree, the strength in roots, and the green in leaves in my life. This morning as I was praying I was thinking about that and I could not imagine life without His voice and name being alive in me. God wants to speak to us, and yes, you can ‘know’ that you hear His voice.
The desire of God’s heart is to fellowship and communicate with us, it’s a two way street. Why? Because no one can really have a relationship unless there is true dialogue. And how do we get to know someone? Of course by communicating, talking, and listening. You may not understand it or be interested, but the truth is we need His words. No one is smart enough to run their own lives, and no self-help guru, or political party will ever, in the history of forever, be able to give you that.
It makes sense that the Living One speaks Living Words, that are Life Giving for those who are without life that they might have Life if they would hear and listen to the Living One who speaks Living Words. Some people avoid the sound of the Lord, they look to the stars for answers. Is it smarter to look to the stars for answers, or look to the maker of the stars? The stars don’t have any answers, in fact, the stars all point to the glory of God. If we ask the stars, “Where should i go to school?”, they will reply, pointing to God, “Ask Him. He knows.” If we tell the universe, “I need wisdom, please help me.” They will say, pointing to God alone, “Ask Him. He knows.”
If we can’t hear God, just what do we hear? If we aren’t listening to God, who are we listening to?
David prayed in Psalm 51:8 that the Lord would ‘make him hear joy and gladness’. We should pray the same thing. Oh, and let us all be assured with all confidence that God hears us. Oh yes He does! Psalm 65:2 states that He is the one “who hears prayer”. Not only is Jesus a speaking King, He is also a listening King…. Not only does God hear us, but we hear Him. Some say God doesn’t speak to men anymore, and that’s just foolishness. i say if that is so then there was no point in the words of Jesus in John 10:3-5, and this is important, so please listen, “To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. Yet they will by no means follow a stranger, but will flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers.”
He has a mouth and speaks, i have ears and can hear, i say, “Why shouldn’t He speak to us?” Where the word “voice” is used it means, “uttered words, speech”. Voice means exactly what it says and not some alternate means of perception. Isaiah28:8 says to lean in towards God, listen with discernment, focus on the words of the Lord to drown out the chaotic noise around you, and comprehend with your head and heart. He meant exactly what He said. i hear God, i have friends who hear God, so i’m compelled to ask you, Do you hear God? If not, would you like to? Can you overcome your own unbelief to hear Him when He speaks? He’s saying a lot these days, can you hear Him? The question to investigate isn’t, “Why won’t God speak to me?”, but more “God is speaking, why can’t i hear Him.”
Isaiah 32:3 “The eyes of those who see will not be dim, And the ears of those who hear will listen.” There is another place in the Bible where hearing and listening are used in the same sentence, and i’m mentioning this for the sake of those who might believe “hearing” and “listening” are the same. Isaiah 42:23, like Isaiah 32:3 use both words, and there is a difference. If we give attention to God and incline our ears to Him, which is to hear, (according to Isaiah 32:3 and 42:23) we can will also perceive His words and grasp His intent, which is listening. Hearing is to give attention to and incline your ears towards. Listening is to become aware of and grasp the intent.
Jeremiah29:12-13, “Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me, when you seek me with all your heart.”
Believe me, if God wants you to hear and understand, He is entirely capable of making Himself known and getting His point across. And it’s not like He “tries” to speak to us, as if He would fail. The point is not whether God is speaking, but are we hearing and positioning ourselves to understand?
Like in 2 Chronicles 20:17 “…Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you…. Do not fear or be dismayed …for the LORD is with you.”
Put yourself in the position to hear and listen to God. He will gladly give to us the riches of His hands, but we’ve got to make an effort. We can’t just sit back in our lawn chairs in casual repose, drink our mint juleps, and expect Him to make all the effort. What a lazy, passive, indifferent posture to assume. The heart of the Lord is that we would participate with Him in our own salvation. i fully believe the Lord wants a running dialogue with His people. These are the days that if we are brave enough to ask the Lord, He will answer … the catch is it helps immensely if we are actually interested in hearing Him. Position yourselves, stand still, turn down the volume of the world in your head and the world around you. Ask the Lord, He will answer, i assure you. And when He does, listen! The word “consider” in the Bible means to “incline you’re heart and focus until you have understanding”. i’ll say that again because it’s really, really important: The word “consider” in the Bible means to “incline you’re heart and focus until you have understanding” The question posed earlier is also worth repeating: If you’re not hearing the Lord, who ARE you hearing? And if your not listening for the Lord, who or what are you listening for?
God does speak, and we can hear. The date is today, the time is now, and forward is the way we’re going. Can you hear the Lord? Now is the time, position yourselves and incline your ears to Him! He will answer. Put on your thinking cap, and think about it.
A fellow told me years ago, “Son, there are only three voices in the earth: God’s voice, my voice, and the voice of the devil. You can know the difference so don’t let anyone tell you different.” He was right and i have seen it in my own life. Paul wrote that we can train our ear to recognize the voice of God above all the noise and chaos around us. Hebrews5:14, “But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” It is by practicing, by reason of use, that we are able to discern whether what we hear is of God, our flesh, or the Devil. We can hear, and we can grasp the Lord’s intent.
Thank you for listening this evening! i pray our ears will be opened and we will hear the life giving words of the Living God.
i’m Social Porter and this is Outposts, a semi-live broadcast from the late night cascading banks of the Ockluwahhah River, where the trees gently lean over the rivers edge, and every evening is pleasant.
This production was brought to you by Living In His Name Ministries, and Area 22 Guitars where everyone can find a chord of divine reality, Anna LaMonica at Kalmia Dairy, Alex Rubenstein who resides in the thriving metropolis of Grimesdale, and all the wonderful folks at the Fireproof Coffee Shop in the middle of the Skyland Hotel. Let’s not forget Trinity Bakers, the makers of fine confectionaires where there’s always something good in the oven.
Open your ears, position yourself to hear God. As the days get darker, i believe the voice of the Lord will become more prevalent. Can you hear Him, He’s there and He is very interested in speaking to you. Be careful as you go your way, read your Bible, practice discernment. Thanks again for joining us, Amen.