Growing Closer to God Pt 22

Hearing isn’t Listening.

As we have been journeying though the book of Romans we follow Paul as he explains Israel’s rejection of God. Sometimes in the bible we get one sided narration and we see answers long before we see the questions.

Answers come after questions, not before. Answers answer questions in specific and pointed ways, not in sweep generalizations.

Now I don’t know if Paul was writing this response in gossip he overheard or if they asked him directly in a letter, but I can almost imagine gentiles and converted Jews asking why Israel was cast away. In an effort to explain Israel’s way into heaven the people Paul’s speaking to may have asked: But Israel didn’t hear. How can you say they heard, when no one has taught them?

Paul, I believe responds to this question in his letter, answering the only way any Christian should answer tough questions: Through the word of God. His reply is found in both

Romans 10:18–20 ESV

But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.” Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

Romans 10:18–19 ESV

But I ask, have they not heard? Indeed they have, for “Their voice has gone out to all the earth, and their words to the ends of the world.” But I ask, did Israel not understand? First Moses says, “I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation; with a foolish nation I will make you angry.”

Think of Paul’s answer coming out of which is an entire Psalm about the revelation of who God is.

Ps19:1-6 states that he speaks of himself in his creation. states that he speaks of himself through the words of prophets, or the Torah.

Paul’s answer is all to often the answer we must give about many people today:

Israel heard, but did not head

Mark 4:9 ESV

And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Talking to Israel Jesus makes this very statement among a crowd of people with two ears, but find themselves deaf.

This is where we find today’s lesson:

Just because you hear, doesn’t mean you listen!

Israel had been told time and time again of coming judgement.

Romans 10:20 ESV

Then Isaiah is so bold as to say, “I have been found by those who did not seek me; I have shown myself to those who did not ask for me.”

Romans

Is a exert from

Deuteronomy 32:21 ESV

They have made me jealous with what is no god; they have provoked me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with those who are no people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation.

Deuter

Understand our salvation, in part, was to bring Israel back to God through jealousy. I used to see this in high school all the time. Two people would break up and one would immediately run out and get into another relationship. Inevitably the other person would get jealous, declare their mistake in ending the relationship and they would get back together. In high school this always left the rebound out in the cold, but in the love of God we desires to love both his natural born and his adopted children with the same love.

The question though is:

Are you listening?

Much of Israel lost their salvation because they refused to heed the warnings of the Prophets. They were told of coming destruction, but they blew it off. Growing up I heard many sermons of hell, fire and brimstone. In college many people, including myself used to mock this approach stating that you can’t win people to Jesus by lighting them on fire. We called it the turn or burn approach.

Looking back I believe that we saw an extreme teaching on the judgement of God, but it made many people leave the idea of judgement and embrace an extreme version of the love of God.

Here’s the issue. I often tune my kids out as I have said before. I hear noise, and I know that my yelling isn’t going to stop their noise making so I go to my happy place. This is often comforting to me, but I am finding that it leaves my wife in a bad spot because she still has to pay attention to hear through the noise incase something important comes up. This could take the form of someone getting hurt, a question being asked, a valuable statement made, or a declaration of love.

In my attempt to find silence I fliter out all noises and focus on just about anything else. I believe the church is in danger of doing this very thing. In an attempt to love people we filter out all of God’s warning of coming judgement. In attempt to show God’s love we remove his correction.

The question isn’t have they heard, but rather it’s are they listening. Although I tune my kids out I still hear noises. I have learned to broaden those noises so I don’t hear specific words which leaves me completely oblivious of danger and sincere seeking.

The modern Christian is at a pinnacle point in their life where we can be acting too much like Israel. We receive warning, but do not listen. We stand corrected, but refuse to learn.

Growing up I often believed for example Christian participate in light the night, but not halloween. When I came into this church it was one of the first things I put into place: Light the Night. We claimed it was an outreach. We are putting bibles in the hands of many in our town.

In the 90’s a phrase became very popular:

What would Jesus do? WWJD

WWJD

This movement, in cooperation with other things, I believe, led to the Love movement we see in the church today. So God has placed this thought in my head

What would Paul do?

Paul often points to Jesus, but Paul’s writings contain more space in the bible than Jesus’ words. I found that although it takes more time searching there is less wiggle room in Paul’s writing simply due to the quantity of his writings.

Doing this has challenged me to not look at one or two scriptures, but to take the entire bible into context with itself. Paul has a way weaving Jesus with the Old Testament. Paul takes the entire scripture.

So I asked myself would Paul participate in light the night? I’m not going to answer that here and now but I can show you how people can take two sides of the same scripture without taking it’s entirety?

One side will say-Yes because we are witnessing to the lost.

Another side will say No because we are participating in wickedness.

One side says we must love the world and light in the darkness

Another side will say we will reap judgement for participating in the celebration of Satan.

Both sides are right— so what is the answer?

I am often told in order to get the right answer you often have to ask the right question. So I ask myself this:

So how do we listen?

Take the entirety of God’s word on a subject into perspective.

When you find a verse don’t rely on one verse to speak an entire truth. This may sound like hearsay, but stay with me. We see this in the news all the time. The president makes an hr long speech and the news takes ten seconds of that speech and turns it into a hate crime.

You can take a snippet of anything, including the bible, and make it say what you want it to say.

However, when you search the entirety of something you are less likely to make mistakes.

This is what Paul stated earlier in when he quoted Psalms— Not only did Israel have the prophets to speak, but they also had all of creation to witness to the testimony of God. You can take a part of either the Word or the Creation and back up any thought, but you cannot take them both and twist them easily.

2. You must be silent more than you talk.

Christians seem to think they have the answer for everything: And they do! It’s called the word of God. The issue is God’s word is his voice to us. We must listen to God’s word more than we speak God’s word.

Here’s what I mean: If I preach more than I read than I am giving you a gospel according to Sean. Why? because my mouth will eventually over talk my knowledge. To write a good sermon takes me two hours. To study for a good sermon takes about 20 hours. I spend about 2 hours at my desk writing a sermon, but it takes about 20 hours of studying and reading before I ever press a key on my keyboard.

I have to listen more than I speak. I have to allow God’s word to talk to me before I can preach to you. This ties into point one, but in a unque way because

It isn’t searching scripture to prove your point—it’s allowing the spirit to lead you through scripture to prove His point.

3. It’s not about you!

It’s about God. If we search scripture for God’s desires instead of proving ourselves right than we are more than likely going to find the right answer and not the twisted one we make up.

When we get this perspective everything changes. Church is longer about being served, but serving. People are no longer a hinderance or an annoyance, but an avenue to display God inside you. Things become things, and the great commission takes on new life.

We no longer have a lopsided bible, but we embrace the totality of God’s love AND his judgement.

we being to understand who we are in Christ instead of who Christ is in us.

I want to open the alter. If you desire to see things God’s way I want to pray with you. Like the blind man who had scales fall of his eyes, I believe we as Christians need to continually seek God to remove the scales off of our ears. To remove the filter in which we experience God so that we can experience the true God and not our version of who God is.

He who has ears let him hear.