Gtotr/ws060612
James
1:19 So then, my beloved brethren, let
every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath;
My
dad used to say that: “If people would take some of the
cotton that was in their ears and put it in their mouths everyone would be a
little better off.”
The
ability to hear well is a great gift from God. Think how valuable is the gift
of being able to actually hear God. Yet, it’s easier than some might first
imagine. And, if we have trouble hearing Him … God is willing to help.
Acts 2 KJV
8 And how hear we every man in our own tongue,
wherein we were born?
9 Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the
dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judaea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia,
10 Phrygia, and Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the
parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews and proselytes,
11 Cretes and Arabians, we do hear them speak in
our tongues the wonderful works of God.
12 And they were all amazed,
and were in doubt, saying one to another, What meaneth this?
13 Others mocking said, These men are full of
new wine.
14
¶ But Peter, standing up with the
eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye
that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words:
15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose,
seeing it is but the third hour of the day.
16 But this is that which was
spoken by the prophet Joel;
17 And it shall come to pass
in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and
your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see
visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
18 And on my servants and on
my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall
prophesy:
19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and
signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke:
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and
the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come:
21 And it shall come to pass,
that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.
22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words …
Herein
these scriptures we see two major miracles – Divine utterance and Divine
Hearing Ability – or in other words … the Holy Spirit’s Hearing Aid!
There
is no shortage of God’s voice in the earth, rather what is lacking are those
who hear. Hearing God is critical to following God.
Luke 5:15 … and great
multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed by Him of their infirmities.
Luke 6:17 … a great
multitude of people … came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases,
Mark 5:27 When she heard … she came … and she touched …
Jesus
said that His sheep hear His voice …
Truly
there are some who:
·
Cannot
hear
·
Do
not hear
·
Will
not hear
Some
cannot hear the voice of God because they simply do not know His voice, and
there is no one to tell them. Multitudes around the globe sit in darkness
waiting for someone to shine the light of life upon them. These are those whom
Paul spoke of when he said:
Romans 10
13 For "whoever calls on
the name of the LORD shall be saved."
14 How then shall they call
on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of
whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?
15 And how shall they preach
unless they are sent? As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of
those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good
things!"
Acts
10 – Cornelius heard the voice of God when he heard the voice of the Apostle
Peter.
Some
cannot hear and others who can hear, simply do not hear. Jesus spoke of a group
of people who had grown hard of hearing.
Matthew 13:15 For the hearts
of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes
they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their
ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should
heal them.’
What
makes people who can hear become people who don’t hear?
·
Fat
·
Distracted
These
aren’t bad people … they are just either too busy or too lazy to listen.
While
some people cannot hear and some who can hear, do not hear, there are others
who simply will not hear the voice of God. People who for one reason or another
have closed their own ears and refuse to hear another word. These often stand
on high principles of personal faith in their own reasons. Some are:
·
Purveyors
of pet doctrines
·
Protectors
of petty problems
However,
God is still speaking and many simply need help hearing Him.
Tonight
I want to give 5 Hearing Aids
1.
Clean out your ears
a. Of preconceived
ideas
b. Past problems
2.
Get close to the source
a. Positioning is
everything
b. It helps to know
what the conversation is about
3.
Pay attention
a. Keep distractions to
a minimum
b. Quiet other voices
c. Fasten both eyes and
ears on the source
d. Don’t interrupt
e. Take notes
4.
Clarify
a. Ask relevant
questions
b. Stay on point
5.
Confirm
a. With others: Did
others hear what you heard
b. Verify with the
source: Ask for a repeat
God’s voice is not
limited to only answering our prayers.
God
often speaks to us about things we have never yet considered. The Prophet
wrote:
Isaiah 50:4 ¶ "The Lord
GOD has given Me The tongue of the learned, That I should know how to speak A
word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He
awakens My ear To hear as the learned.
God speaks to us of
things before they happen.
Isaiah 42:9 Behold, the
former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring
forth I tell you of them."
God speaks not only to
us and God speaks through us.
God
speaks to you about you – He may or may not speak to you about anyone or
anything else, but God will speak to you about you … the only question is –
will you hear?
