Listen
By
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
OPENING: - As we come towards the end of 2021 and looking forward, to 2022 people are looking for things to be better in the coming year. We long to be able to have what we call normal back. We pray that the Covid pandemic will finally end, that there are no other variants, that the wearing of mask will cease. We desire to be able to socialize and gather uninhibited and don’t have to worry about how overturned our lives, society have become.
I have a word for the people of God as we head into the next year, and it is a simple word with a very serious impact upon our very lives and that word is LISTEN.
The medical professional will tell us to listen to our bodies because it will let us know if something isn’t right that’s the reason, we do self-examinations. The auto mechanic will tell you to listen to your automobile because certain sounds will indicate something is wrong, for example your tires will begin to make a humming sound or whistling sound when the tread is low.
I firmly believe that what is going on right now is God speaking trying to get the attention of all mankind causing them to turn from their wicked ways, to repent, and to call upon the name of the Lord.
The question I have for today is How many of us are willing to Listen to what God has to say?
PRAYER:
SCRIPTURES: - Psalm 85:8 says NIV “I will listen to what God the LORD says; he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—?but let them not turn to folly”. Revelation 2:7,11,17,29 & 3:6,13,22 all says “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches...”
He that hath an ear!
The Ear: is a very vital and important part of our lives. It’s the organ of hearing and balance, consisting of 3 parts the outer, middle, and inner ear, it is one of the ways that we are connected to the world around us. Our ears afford us the ability to be able to hear the birds’ sing, the children laugh, and the thunder roar. They alert us to potential danger that we are unable to see; for example, when we are in our cars traveling in one direction and we are unable to see the ambulance or police coming from the side or from behind us, but our ears distinguish the sound of the sirens from all the other sounds around us and lets us know that danger is coming.
The ear is able to distinguish efficiently, sound as low as a light whisper to a thunderous roar. Doctors and Scientist have said that the ear is a miraculous perfection of engineering that even with the most sophisticated computers and electronic digital equipment that it is impossible to duplicate the function of the ear in a machine the size of a refrigerator; however, the ear is capable of doing it in an area the size of a pea. WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE. The ear is responsible for hearing (TRUE), but it also has another function in that it provides us with what is called “Equilibrium”.
ªEquilibrium is the state of intellectual or emotional balance, it is adjustment between opposing, divergent influences, elements or actions, it produces stability as well as mental and emotional steadiness.
Spiritually the ear is responsible for hearing what the Lord is saying as well as providing us with spiritual intellect and spiritual emotional balance. So we are able when the devil is wreaking havoc in our lives, when it seems that he has just about caused us to lose our minds, we have spiritual equilibrium and don’t waiver or fall off the side, but have stability in the midst of our trails and spiritual emotional balance that we are able to declare when all hell is breaking loose in our lives that I still have joy, I’m steadfast, unmovable, because I have spiritual equilibrium I can stand and having done all stand anyhow.
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He that hath an ear let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”
The Word Hear: - means to perceive or apprehended by the ear, to gain knowledge by hearing.
The ability to hear is the auditory function by which the stimulation of receptors (the auditory nerve) in the inner ear transforms this stimulation into neural energy, then transmits this neural energy to the brain which produces the sensation of hearing.
The Word Listen: - means to give attention to sound or action. When listening, one is hearing what others are saying, and trying to understand what it means. The act of listening involves complex affective, cognitive and behavioral processes. Affective processes include the motivation to listen to others; cognitive processes include attending to, understanding, receiving and interpreting content and relational messages; and behavioral processes include responding with verbal or non-verbal feedback.
Oftentimes we can hear without truly listening. QUESTION: What is the difference between hearing and listening?
To put it in the simplest form the difference between hearing and Listening – Listening is desiring to or longing to hear.
He that hath an ear let him hear what the spirit saith unto the churches – Spiritually when we hear the words of the Lord, the stimulation of these words in our spirit man transforms this into spiritual energy and when it reaches the inner soul it produces a sensation of joy. That’s why sometimes when we are driving down the road or at work all of the sudden you just have to throw up your hands and say THANK YOU JESUS or a tear of joy may begin to run down your face, people may not understand it, they may ask is everything alright and you can’t even find the words to explain it yourself, but what has just happened was your spiritual ear had just received stimulation from the word of the Lord and transformed that stimulation into spiritual energy and when it reached the inner man (the spirit of the Holy Ghost that dwelleth in you) it produced joy. That’s why we sing the song sometimes “This joy I have the world didn’t give it to me, the world didn’t give it and the world can’t take it away.” Down on the inside we heard God speak.
The problem I believe with many people is the ability to sustained attentiveness to God’s voice. The world seems to have A.D.D. Attention Deficit Disorder. I believe we have this problem because it is a discipline that is so highly neglected in our lives and culture, and as a result we have become weak and atrophied when it comes to listening.
We live in the time when we are inundated by snippets and sound bites, social media is consuming and corrupting our minds with an endless stream of superficial content without ever stopping as the old saying goes to smell the roses. We often make decisions without taking the time to weigh the credibility or significance of what we are listening to. We are often so quick to tap like or share because we thought it was funny never stopping to realize any implications that could follow. This could be acceptable for online, however; this is not appropriate for a deep and substantial life with God!
The word “Meditate” appears four times in Psalm 77:2, 119:15, 48, & 78. Meditate means in short to think deeply or focus one's mind for a period of time, see you can’t just quickly hit like but must take time to meditate upon the things of God.
Psalm 85:8 says NIV “I will listen to what God the LORD says, he promises peace to his people, his faithful servants—?but let them not turn to folly”.
Sometimes I may be watching a football game or golf and my wife will say something, she will call my name and I will answer half-heartedly, she will say what was on her mind, but I really didn’t hear because my attention was someplace else. At the time she was talking she needed my attention not just a part of it but all of it.
Turning your attention to God and listening to what He is saying requires intentional and deliberate choices that affect both our will and our actions. We can’t simply say we want to hear from God in this desperate time and be close to him. We must develop intentional habits of listening which will lead into other intentional habits like prayer, Bible reading, witnessing and so on.
There are two main ways that God speaks throughout Scripture: through general and special revelation.
First, general revelation explains the way God speaks through natural means like stars, nature, sky, and created things; Psalm 19:1 says “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork”; Romans 1:20 says “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse”.
Charles Spurgeon once said, “God seems to talk to me in every primrose and daisy and smile at me from every star, and whisper to me in every breath of morning air and call aloud to me in every storm.” Nature profoundly speaks of God and draws our hearts to the amazing truths revealed through the gospel.
Let me park here for a minute because this is truly profound. Yes, I agree with Charles Spurgeon but let me inject here, what is God saying.
When we look at what is going on. Look at the weather that is happening tornadoes in December, snow in places that it never snowed before, no snow in places known for snow, 53 degrees in Michigan on Christmas Eve. We have had windstorms unlike ever before. The wind was blowing so hard and loud I said I bet this is what it sounded like when the Children of Israel were at the base of the mountain and God was speaking and they told
Moses we rather hear from you and not God. Volcanoes erupting that have laid dormant for hundreds if not thousands of years. Then there is Covid, NO I AM NOT SAYING GOD CAUSED COVID, but if He can use a donkey to get Balaam’s attention, He can use Covid to get ours.
When Covid first hit and shut the world down, people were praying, there were commercials on TV talking about we need to be kind to one another, pray to God, read the Bible, show Love. There was even an Interstate Battery Commercial called God’s Love that said, “We need more of God’s Love so we can love one another”. insterstatebatteries.com/godslove. Google it. People were saying how God was trying to get our attention. I believe it was Hulk Hogan that posted on Facebook the following: “Maybe we don’t need a vaccine,” “Just like he did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship” – like athletes, entertainers and money – Hulk Hogan. “In three short months, just like He did with the plagues of Egypt, God has taken away everything we worship. God said, ‘you want to worship athletes, I will shut down the stadiums. You want to worship musicians; I will shut down Civic Centers. You want to worship actors; I will shut down theaters. You want to worship money; I will shut down the economy and collapse the stock market. You don't want to go to church and worship Me, I will make it where you can't go to church’”
It was like everyone was trying to hear what God was saying. However, a year and a half later, as we celebrated another Christmas and headed into another New Year we still are strained and separated from family and there is that lack of ability to sustained attentiveness to God’s voice.
Maybe the vaccine is part of the solution but maybe we need to stop and LISTEN to what God is saying. Maybe we need to take this time of strange weather incidents and listen to the heavens declare the glory of God. I truly believe that God is speaking and each one of us need to have a personal revival where we focus on Listening to the voice of God.
THE VOICE OF GOD: Jesus said my sheep know my voice and another they will not follow John 10:3-5. This is a key statement and that is to know His voice you must be His sheep and He must be our shepherd.
The voice of God will always lead you in His Will and Word. John 16:13 says “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, [that] shall he speak and he will shew you things to come”.
We must have Discernment to hear God’s voice. Discernment is the ability to judge well; however, spiritual discernment is every decision is to be made in accordance with God’s will. John 12:28-29 “Father, glorify thy name. Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again. The people, therefore, that stood by, and heard it, said that it thundered: others said, An angel spake to him”. There was a lack of discernment. Lord give me discernment to be able to Listen to your voice.
The Second way God speaks is divine revelation. Divine revelation is a revelation from God. It is an act where God reveals or uncovers a divine truth. Divine revelation is the Bible. When God had spoken to His people to reveal divine knowledge, He also commanded them to write it down. The final product is the 66 books of the Bible. THE BIBLE IS THE ONLY SOURCE OF DIVINE REVELATION. God gave a very strict warning that no one should add or remove anything from the Bible. Revelation 22:19 says, “And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and from the
things which are written in this book”.
We must embrace the Bible. We must take His word to heart and harken to what He is saying. We need people to be like Eli and perceive that God is speaking and tell the people to answer like Samuel 1 Samuel 3:9 says, “Hear am I Lord your servant is Listening”.
How to Listen to the Voice of God.
Put yourself in a position to hear God’s voice. Habakkuk 2:1 says, “I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved”
Listen consistently. Consistency is the key if we will consistently start our days listening to God, then we will begin to recognize what He is saying to you all the time.
Isaiah 50:4 says, “The Lord GOD hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned”. Each morning we should pray in the spirit, read encouraging scriptures and expect to hear the voice of God.
Let go. 1 Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you”. Hebrews 12:1 says “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us”. In order to listen to God, we must give up or lay down something we wanted to grasp or control.
We can’t control Covid, we can’t control the weather but we can control how we listen to what God is saying.
Let me close with some Benefits of Listening to God.
Listening to God’s voice draws us closer to Him. John 6:45 says, “Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me”.
Listening to God’s voice gives us direction. Isaiah 30:21 says, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’”
Listening to God gives us peace. John14:27 says, “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid”
Listening to God’s voice brings a deep level of intimacy. Psalm 32”8-9 says, “I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you and watch over you”.
There are many other benefits that come from Listening to God’s voice and I pray that as we move forward and head into 2022 that we will take time and LISTEN.
Bishop Melvin L. Maughmer, Jr.
