Mark 4:21-25 – “Also He said to them, “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand?  22 For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light.  23 If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 Then He said to them, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given.  25 For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”  NKJV

In considering the SPEAKING GOD and our ability to HEAR GOD today I want to introduce you to some familiar passages for your consideration and assurance.  In John 16:7, Jesus informed His disciples, “It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, THE HELPER shall not come to you; but if I go I will send Him to you.”  Then in Romans 8:14, the apostle Paul taught that it was the Christian norm to walk in the Spirit, “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the Sons of God.”  Also, in 1 John 2:27, the apostle John declares, “You abide in Jesus, the anointing you received from Him (Holy Spirit) abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as He has taught you, you abide in Him.”  That, to me, is powerful.

It is vital for us to HEAR GOD so that we may walk in the reality of FELLOWSHIP, enjoy the fullness of His Protection, Provision, Guidance, and Grace.  HEARING GOD is vital and never optional.  I am reminded of a story I heard that helps to illustrate the necessity of HEARING GOD.

I do not ski so I have to rely on what others tell me but I’m told that, in Colorado, from time to time one can see a skier wearing a red vest and a sign. The sign reads: “BLIND SKIER.”  It is difficult enough for a sighted person to ski but the blind skiers manage quite well.  HOW or WHY?  Because that blind skier has to TOTALLY TRUST his guide’s voice.  The guide is behind or in front of the blind skier continually giving instructions.  (Simple but specific.)  They use two forms of communication:  Tapping the ski poles to let the Blind Skier know they are there and all is well and speech or oral commands.  The ONLY RESPONSIBILITY the Blind Skier has is to exhibit COMPLETE TRUST and IMMEDIATE OBEDIENCE to the instructions.  Can you see that in our spiritual walk?  Our responsibility is to LISTEN and OBEY but before we can OBEY we have to LISTEN and to LISTEN we have to KNOW the voice of our guide.

That brings us to another often asked question, “How Can I know God’s Voice?” or “How Can I know it’s not the devil deceiving me?”  Please do not expect an exhaustive or exhausting answer, but let me suggest a few things that might be of benefit.

LISTENING IS A LEARNED QUALITY.

God is a Father and He is interested in being our Father.  Some are probably like I was, my concept of God was that he was “Boss, Judge, Etc.”  I did not really see Him as the Loving, Caring Father.  Failure to see Him as a Loving and Caring Father hinders fellowship and hinders hearing.  We learn to HEAR.  Remember Jesus said 15 times, “He that has ears to hear, LET HIM HEAR.”  That suggests two facts:  We have ears with which to hear and we can choose to use those ears for hearing or not use them.  A baby, normally, is born with the inherent physical ability to hear but does not know what he hears.  Understanding or comprehension must be learned.  LISTENING is the communication skill we practice most often but usually we do not do it right.  We LISTEN but we do not HEAR.  Do you realize that most of us spend 80% of our awake time communicating but LISTENING is the one communication skill we are not taught?  Remember, if the capacity is there the ability must be developed for it to be effective.

Hearing God must become vital to us and perceived as an absolute necessity in our life if we are going to LEARN TO LISTEN for His voice.  Until HEARING GOD is vital to us we will not likely to HEAR GOD quickly, correctly or regularly.  Jesus emphasized our need to HEAR GOD saying, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”  [Matthew 4:4].  Jeremiah 29:11-12 speaks a powerful word to our lives, “I know what I have planned for you.  I have good plans for you.  I don’t plan to hurt you. I plan to give you a good future.  Then you will call My name, you will come to me and pray to me and I will LISTEN TO YOU.”  Can you follow that the extension of that would be that not only will God LISTEN to us but He will SPEAK to us?

To develop a HEARING EAR there has to be a deliberate effort to set our minds on God.  We must make a deliberate choice to exercise our minds by focusing on God regularly and consistently.  We must carry that exercise of setting our minds on God to all aspects of our lives.  I saw a sign in a Health Club Gym that describes what I’m speaking of.

F – Frequency                                                                                                                                                                    I – Intensity                                                                                                                                                                       T – Time

             The ability to HEAR GOD is one that we must develop and it is something the Holy Spirit is very interested in helping us develop.

            God bless you as you embark on today’s journey in Christ.