Thursday, 6 October 2011

When you Listen, do you Hear?

How do you know someone has heard what was spoken? There will be an accompanying action! Lets look at a simple example. When we say to our kids, don't play in traffic it would probably be a good thing for them to listen up + act upon them, agreed. Husbands & wives both claim their spouse have selective hearing, only hearing when it's most advantageous for them. Selective hearing can be found in children, animals, husbands & wives as well as Christians! God's Word is full of warnings that we ignore day after day. Remember if you didn't act upon what you heard then it is questionable that you heard anything at all.

How do we hear from God? There are three obvious ways that come to mind. When I used to work in a paper mill just after becoming a Christian the guys would mockingly ask me "well have you heard from God today?" My answer was always the same YES He has spoken to me by His Word (the Bible!) Another way of hearing from God was by sitting under the teaching, preaching of the Word. The third way is by the unction of the Spirit. We understand Biblically that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Ghost I refer to His presence as my knower. When I have an unction prompting me, it's time to listen up, pay attention & act upon what God is speaking to me.

How do we know we are hearing from God & not a familiar spirit (demon?) In 1st John we are told to TEST THE SPIRITS, now how do we do that? What you are feeling, what you are hearing does it line up with the WORD OF GOD? If not, don't touch it, guaranteed you will get burned. Many times I have met couples living together who claim to be Christians. They tell me how they know beyond a doubt that God has called them together. I do not question God called them to be together but if you think it was the Holy Spirit who told you to live together, give your head a shake! God the Holy Spirit & God the Word (Jesus) will not ever get into an argument. The Bible simply teaches neither fornication (sex outside of marriage) nor adultery (having sex with someone other than your spouse) are not of God! They have allowed their out of control emotions to rule on this issue NOT THE WORD OF GOD!

It is by reading or hearing the Word of God that we spiritually grow "Faith comes by hearing & hearing by the Word of God!" But never forget these words "There ain't no such thing as comfortable Christianity!" To become mature in Christ means you have come to the realization that you must obey the Word of God whether your emotional self agrees with it or not! Carnal Christianity is more than an oxymoron, it is a truth we all face from within. We are carnal creatures that desire above all else to please & promote self. The back half of that saying Christianity is supposed to be someone who follows (adheres) to the teachings of Jesus Christ which in turn will please & promote God.

Fifteen times in the New Testament we read or hear the Word of God state "He who has an ear let him hear!" When speaking to the church of Laodicea He says"I stand at the door & knock; if anyone hears My voice & opens the door, I will come in to him, & will dine with him & he with I. You have to keep this in context with the entire chapter. The angel of the church of Laodicea (recognized & accepted as Jesus speaking to today's North American church) is indeed speaking to the church. The overall church is believers within the body of Christ but within this statement the warning is that NOT ALL CHURCHES today will even allow Jesus into His own buildings! Seeker sensitive churches chose not to preach on any subject that will ruffle the feathers of those in attendance. They no longer mention the blood (gory) the cross (religious) or anything addressing sin in our lives (all sin is made up by the church.) DANGER, DANGER, DANGER!
If you haven't figured it out yet those items in brackets in the last sentences are what the devil would have people think.

Dull of hearing, hardening of your heart, quenching the Spirit are all terms of spiritual deafness BY CHOICE, ouch! For a Christian to hear & not obey is rebellion which in the Bible is the same as witchcraft is a nasty thought. Lighten up, God doesn't expect you to be perfect, but He does expect you to try!

The Apostle Paul says it best in Romans 7 "why do I do the things I know I should not do & not do the things that I know I should do!" my paraphrasing. That statement certainly sums up how I feel with my daily frustrations of my walk with God.

Here is one of the multitudes of keys found within the Bible in regards to the how too's. Philippians 2:14 "Do all things without complaining & disputing." This is huge because I do believe often times "deliverance comes through obedience!" Within Joshua 6 we see God telling Joshua that if the people would walk around the walls of Jericho once a day for six days & then seven times on the seventh day the walls of Jericho would come down. The walls of Jericho were wide enough to drive chariots on, that is thick, thick, thick, not a small miracle. It wasn't faulty building materials nor an earthquake that brought those walls down, it was by God blessing His children for their obedience. One of the keys in this picture is in God telling the people to be in complete silence, why? Do you not think the same people would be doing a tad bit of grumbling & complaining at Joshua for asking them to do such a stupid thing. I can just about hear them talking to each other & Joshua actually thought he was hearing from God poor delusional soul. No God knows us better than we do & this thing in our mouths gets us into more trouble than you can shake a stick at. It part of our carnal nature to COMPLAIN especially about those things we know little about.

Before reading your Bible stop & pray "Father God please open my mind to understanding your Word." Check out Luke 24:32 & 45 + John 14:26 to back this up. Pray about it/Study it/Practice it/then you will never forget it! The Word of God will become personal/ you & the Word will become one/ You will become more Christ like which should be the desire of each & every Christian.


Be blessed, just some good old food for thought. Look forward to your comments.

Happy Thanksgiving to my Canadian friends.

Ken Gorham a servant of the Lord

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