John 8:28-29
So Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am [the one I claim to be] and that I do nothing on my own but speak just what the Father has taught me. The one who sent me is with me; he has not left me alone, for I always do what pleases him."
How could Jesus achieve that, unless He was in constant CONNECT with the Father?
• How could He speak nothing or do nothing on His own, except what the Father says or tells Him to do, UNLESS He is LISTENING to the Father.
• He knows the Father’s heart. He knows what the Father wants. He does what pleases Him, always!
Mark says, “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.” (Mark 1:35)
• Luke says, “But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” (Luke 5:16)
• Luke 6:12-13 “One of those days Jesus went out to a mountainside to pray, and spent the night praying to God. When morning came, he called His disciples to him and chose twelve of them, whom he also designated apostles.” He needs to consult God in choosing the 12.
• When He was arrested in the Garden, He tells Peter, “Do you think I cannot call on my Father, and He will at once put at my disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (Matt 26:53)
• Jesus walks on earth with the whole hosts of heaven backing Him. He has a direct line to the Governor of the Universe, straight into the throne room of God.
This explains why Jesus wasn’t too disturbed or stressed out by the demands of His ministry and the challenges from nasty oppositions.
• There was this serenity about Him. There was this sense of composure and peace. Why? He was constantly in touch with the Father.
• Frankly, if there is one thing that I think Jesus does not need during His earthly ministry, I would have thought it is prayer. Anyway, He is the Son of God.
• Yet, it was exactly the opposite. Jesus made this communication with the Father a priority. He spent much time in it; to the extent the disciples were impressed and asked Him to teach them how to do it.
Jesus LISTENS to His Father! Jesus makes time to LISTEN to His Father.
• If this is the way to know what to say and what to do, to please the Father and completes His good plan for Him, then we ought to do the same.
• Joan of Arc was wrongly accused of heresy and burnt at the stake in 15th Century, France. The religious people mocked: "She says she hears God's voice; why, I don't hear His voice!" Joan replied, "Don't you wish you did?"
• Yes, we want to. He speaks. We know it. We want to and we need to LISTEN to Him.
• Listen to His voice and know that everything is fine. Listen to His voice and be not overly perturbed by what is happening to you or around you. Listen to Him and you will have peace and confidence.
• Who can be against you, if you are in touch with the Governor of the Universe?
Many today are too busy to really listen to what God has to say.
• We need to compete with the many noises around us – the media, the internet, our friends, the desires of our own flesh… Not to mention the devil’s suggestions.
• No wonder Jesus punctuates his sentences many times with, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
• In the book of Revelation, the Spirit says the same: “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
• What an irony. Ears are made to hear but we are not hearing God. Our ears do not have lids (unlike our eyes); they are always open, but we are not listening.
Tell Him today that you want to LISTEN to Him, MORE THAN what people are saying, what my friends are saying, what the world is telling us.
• If Jesus needs to listen to the Father in order to please Him, we must do the same today. It will not be easy. It is always a challenge to spend quiet time with the Lord.
• There are many ways to work for God, but only one way to work with God – through time spent with Him.
Jesus already warns us of this difficulty in the parable of the Sower.
• The sower sows – God speaks, but only a portion of them lands on good soil (receptive heart). The rest falls on hard road, rocky places, and among the thorns.
• The seeds are the same, so the difference does not lies with the messenger or with the message, but the listener.
• If the ratio is an indicator, then generally ¾ of the time we are not really listening to God’s voice.
• It is not that we do not have ears; it is that we don’t use them. It is not because there is no seed, we are not receiving it.
Most of the time, we hear but did not really listen. It did not really get to you.
• I have this weakness – when others are being introduced to me, I hear the names but did not really listen (pay attention or take it seriously). After shaking their hands, I ‘forget’ their names.
The Scripture has always placed a premium on hearing God’s voice – look at the experiences of OT prophets, the high priests getting into the Holy of Holies, the experience of the people of Israel.
• It pays to be able to listen to what God has to say.
• We want to make an effort. We want to take it seriously. Seek God and listen to His voice. It comes through an impression, through the Word or QT material. But the important thing is, take it seriously.
And we need to seek God PERSONALLY, no proxy. We cannot get someone else doing the listening for you. Relationship cannot be built that way.
• We have this tendency because we are busy. We find it hard to have a daily quiet time with God, or have not been very successful at it.
• So we go for the easy way out. Rather than spending time with God on our own, we let others do it for us – the pastors read and hear God and tell us, the SS teachers study and give us the notes, or to have those who are retired and have lots of time in their hands to pray and we hear from them.
• What you have then is a second-hand experience of God. No wonder we are not strong; it is not first-hand; you don’t really know Him personally.
We don’t do that in other areas of your life. You have no time to go for a tour, so you ask someone to go.
• You don’t say, “Taking a tour is such a hassle. I have to pack my luggage and burn out 7 days in a row. Tell you what, I’ll send you on a trip to Australia for me. Take photos, buy some things for me, and write down what you see. When you return, just tell me all about it. I will be happy, and be spared all the inconvenience.”
• Would you do that? No! You want the experience firsthand! You want the sights firsthand. You want to taste the food firsthand.
When you love someone, when you want to get to know someone, you will make time for it. If you are very busy, do you send a replacement on a date? I hope not.
• You make time, or you change the time and meet again. You want to look her in her eyes and hear her voice, right?
• Certain things no one can do for you. Your time with God is YOUR time alone with God. You have to do the LISTENING yourself.
God doesn’t want you to send a substitute – He wants you! He wants your attention.
• It’s about your life He is concerned about. He wants to hear your voice (in prayer).
• Hang in there. It’s a challenge for me too, to keep time with God, but keep at it, don’t let go, don’t go lazy.
• After some practicing, after some time, I believe we will all grow to appreciate these moments with God.
Max Lucado shared this interesting story:
A friend of mine married an opera soprano. She loves concerts. Her college years were spent in the music departments, and her earliest memories are of keyboards and choir risers.
He on the other hand, leans more toward Monday night football and country music. He also loves his wife, so on occasion, he attends an opera. The two sit side by side in the same auditorium, listening to the same music, with two completely different responses – he sleeps and she weeps.
I believe the difference is more than taste; it’s training. She has spent hours learning to appreciate the art of music. He has spent none. Her ears are tone and tune-sensitive. He can’t differentiate between staccato and legato. But he is trying.
Last time we talked about the concerts, he told me he is managing to stay awake. He may never have the same ear as his wife, but with time he is learning to listen and appreciate the music.
I believe we can, too. We can learn to listen to God.
• You can have your ears open and not listening. You hear but you did not register.
• Jesus listens to God, meaning he speaks what God tells Him to say and do what God tells Him to do. He did everything that pleases the Father.
• To listen is serious. To listen is to take God seriously.
• Many today hears but do not listen. They pay lip service to God. It really does not matter if you have two ears if you are not listening.
Let me share with you some practical suggestions:
(1) Practice mental dialogue with God
• Talk to Him, ask questions, share thoughts. During idle time on MRT, bus-stop, etc.
(2) Practice meditation
• Psalm 1:2 says blessed is the man whose “delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night.”
• Choose depth over quantity. Read until a verse HITS you, stop and meditate on it. Reflect on it over and over again.
• Example Rom 8:28 “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
(3) Create space for extended times with the Lord
• A weekly prayer time, go for a prayer walk weekly, a weekly BS. Yearly retreat.
• ‘Keeping the Sabbath’ is a rest for body; we need a ‘Sabbath time’ for our spirit to find rest in God.
