Listen When He Speaks

Hebrews 12-Part 6
See that ye refuse not him that speaketh.    Hebrews 12:25a

LET IT GLOW
Some voices I recognize on the phone and the caller doesn't have to identify themselves. My dad's voice was one of them. Although it has been twenty-five years since I heard my dad speak, I would recognize it if he spoke today. One day my uncle recorded dad's voice on a cassette recorder, which he was trying to fix. Dad walked into his house during that process. It is a precious thing to me all these years later. How I miss his voice. So it is when I don't hear my heavenly father speaking to me. I miss His voice. (Do I listen when He speaks to me?) Our key verse gives us a warning. Shall we look further into it?

The New Living Translation says, Be careful that you do not refuse to listen to the One who is speaking. For if the people of Israel did not escape when they refused to listen to Moses, the earthly messenger, we will certainly not escape if we reject the One who speaks to us from heaven!
According to Strong's Concordance, speaketh (laleo in Greek) means to talk, speak, tell.
Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancrestors throught the prophets. and now in these fianl days, he has spoken to us through His Son. (Heb. 1:1-2a from NLT)
In the Experiencing God study by Henry and Richard Blackaby and Claude King, we learn these principles about God speaking:
1. God speaks to His people. In the Old Testament days He spoke in many different ways.
    He spoke through angels,visions, dreams, the use of the Urim and Thummim, symbolic actions, a
    gentle whisper, miraculous signs, and other ways.
2. That God spoke to people is far more important than how He spoke.
3. When God spoke, it was usually unique to that individual.
4. When God spoke, the person was sure it was God.
5. When God spoke, the person knew what God said.
6. When God spoke, that was an encounter with God.
7. If I do not have clear instructions from God in a matter, I will pray and wait. I will not try to
    bypass the love relationship.

The danger lies in refusing to hear the warning of Him who speaks from heaven; for if those at Mont sinai did not escape God's wrath, much more shall not we escape.One may escape God's warnings now, but God will not be escaped then. (Liberty Bible Commentary)

The Experiencing God has more to say to us:

• God speaks by the Holy Spirit through the Bible, prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.
• When I come to God's Word, the Author Himself is present to instruct me. Truth is never discovered, truth is revealed.
• God reveals His purposes so you will know what He plans to do. (Amos 3:7)
• God reveals His ways to us because they are the only means to accomplish His purposes. ( Prov. 19:21)
• When the Spirit directs my attention to a truth, I write it down, meditate on it, and adjust my life to it. I alert myself to watch for ways God may be that way in my life during the day.
• What God says in prayer is far more important than what you say. (John 16:13)
• god wants me to know how to accomplish things only He can do. He wants me to know what He is about to do so I can join Him. He wants me to have faith to believe He can do what He says.
• Go to God and ask Him to show you His perspective on your circumstances. Jesus watched circumstances to know where the Father wanted to involve Him in His work. 
• Apart from the body(church) you cannot fully know God's will for relating to God's people. Jesus Christ is the head of a local church. He places every member in the body as it pleases Him. He makes us interdependent, needing each other. Every member needs to listen to what the other members say.

Am I listening?

LET IT GROW

Swindoll says, "Our tendency when approaching the mountain of grace is to change certain things because of the freedom we enjoy. When laws are set aside and rules are put away, we tend to write our own laws and make our own rules. That's why these verses appear as a final warning in this book. We're not to lower God's standards to human standards. Although His covenant may be new, His character remains the same. Grace does not alter our responsibility to be obedient.
To say that we are operating under new management in no way suggests that God no longer speaks with authority. God's word is nnow more intense: first, because a heavenly revelation is more emphatic than an earthly one; and second, the Sinai demonstration was limited, but Zion's is limitless. If His Word was to be obeyed back then, how  much more should it abe obeyed now?"
Remember, we are in the grace race. How significant is God to me? Can I tell that I am on the right road of the race?
God is not an error boy to have around; nor is He a pal, chum, or bully. He speaks from His throne, since His work of salvation is finished. His works speak to us presenting His blood, righteousnesss, and sacrifice.  We should not refuse whatever He is saying to us, make light of it, nor neglect it. We should hear it and do it.
In Revelation 3:20, Jesus says, Behold I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.
Have a wonderful Easter dear friends! Let's praise and worship our Risen Savior in church this Sunday together throughout our nation and world.

He is Risen!

LET IT GO
Keep my ears open listening for God's voice; eyes open to see where He is working.
Don't refuse to listen to my heavenly Father speak to me; keep my heart open to Him.
Obey what He tells me to do.
Run the race of grace.
Share His love today.