Seeing is Believing...What About Hearing?

Introduction

Most interesting voice you’ve ever heard.

It smells awful but it tastes good.

If you’re a parent, maybe you gave instructions to your children and you swore that you told them exactly what needed to be done.

We connect behavior with listening - doing what we are told - is a direct connection. But, consider this -

In the Hebrew language, there is no word that translates as ‘obey.’

The closest word that translates to ‘obey’ is ‘listen’ or ‘hear’ and in Hebrew it’s Shema.

The intention is like this - listeningly listen, Israel and what we would see is action - a community who obeyed. I want to draw a connection between listen and obey and offer five short but powerful ideas to help us consider more carefully how important it is to trust and obey.

Listening is Prosperous

Deuteronomy 6:3–5 HCSB

Listen, Israel, and be careful to follow them, so that you may prosper and multiply greatly, because Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey. “Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is One. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.

While listening is prosperous, it’s not the listener that is the source or the activator of this gift - it’s the speaker!

Verse 3 says the prosperity of Israel didn’t happen because of their listening or obedience, but because of God’s faithfulness to act in accordance with His promises.

We can be sure that when we obey, the Lord is with us.

Listening is About Awe

The closer we get to God, the bigger He gets. And the bigger He gets, the bigger my faith gets.

When is the last time we’ve sat in a posture of awe towards God?

We don’t have to be big, we just have to be near the One who is.

Listening is Exclusive

We live in a time where we are encouraged to include God in all that we do. Pray when we’re driving to work, pray when we’re getting ready in the morning, pray when we are standing in line.

All good things - don’t hear me say you shouldn’t do those things. But these things are moments where we are inclusive - we’re including God in our schedule, in our time, in our ways, in our activities.

When God says listen - obey - He’s calling the people to exclusive time for Him.

To love the Lord means to choose an intimate relationship and to obey His commands. Our great friend in the faith John Wesley said of this commandment in his sermon titled The Important Question is understood as “love ruling the whole life, animating all our tempers and passions, directing all our thoughts, words, and actions”.

The Wesleyan Bible Commentary, Volume 1, Part 1: Genesis–Deuteronomy C. The Great Commandment (6:1–9; See Also Matt. 22:36–40)

“The love of God is presented in both the Old and New Testaments as the ruling disposition of the heart from which obedience springs, thus permitting no change in devotion.”

We learn His voice in alone time so that when he calls us out of the boat we’re confident in His call to us!

Listening is Recognition

1 John 5:2–3 HCSB

This is how we know that we love God’s children when we love God and obey His commands. For this is what love for God is: to keep His commands. Now His commands are not a burden,

Here, it says obey His commands, which is equivalent to hearing His commands.

When we create exclusive time with God, we learn more intimately the sound of His voice so that when He speaks, we obey!

Log alone time with Him - the disciples in the boat thought He was a ghost!

Peter has the where with all to say “Hey, I know Your voice and if it’s You, bid me to come walk on water.”

Love for God is keeping His commands, which are spoken to us through Scripture and through recognizing His voice in our time with Him. The more we talk with Him, the more we learn

How He talks, what he sounds like, how He rolls,

Learn His voice privately so that when He calls us out of the boat publically, we confidently go because we’re confident it’s Him talking!

Are you learning to hear God’s voice?

Commissioner Evie Diaz- Territorial Commander

Continued prayers for healthFergus Falls Salvation Army- Lts. Joshua and Darby BowyerGrand Forks Salvation Army- A/Captains Eugene and Marsha WareDevelopment Department- DHQMajors Alan and LaVonne Fones- Retired Officers