Jn. 1:29-34 Theme: Listen to the Lord.
Text: Is. 49:3, 5-6; 1 Cor. 1:1-9; Jn. 1:29-34
Introduction: We live in an age that is widely acclaimed the information age because of the tremendous technological developments that have taken place in the communication field. It is common knowledge that all over the world many people, including children, either have their own cell phones and computers or have access to them. The Internet can be browsed at home or in an Internet café and has made the most extensive library in the world accessible to all. Everything we always wanted to know can now be researched from the comfort of the home, workplace or educational institution. The use of the electronic mail has made communication with others almost instantaneous no matter the distance between them and disseminating information is no longer a problem. However all the advances in information technology can in no way be compared to God’s method of communication that always ensures we receive His word at precisely the right time, in the right place, and in the right way. God uses all of Creation to communicate with us, He even used a donkey when it was necessary, and whatever He says is the truth and without error. We need to listen to the Lord and keep His words in the midst of our heart “For they are life to those who find them and health to all their flesh”.
Step One: How God speak to us today
a) Through the reading of His Word
God is constantly speaking to us and being God He uses any way He desires. God often speaks to us as we read the Bible and this is the reason it is called “The Word of God”. After reading the Bible in Church we are often reminded of its importance with the words: “This is the Word of God”. They are words spoken by the Creator to His creation.
b) Through the preaching of His Word
God also speaks to us during the delivery of the sermon as it is based on His Word. This is one of the reasons why we should pay special attention to what is being preached and allow God to speak to us. Another reason is that the preacher spends a lot of time in preparation, finding out what God wants him to say, meditating on His Word and spending time in His presence as what he says affects the eternal destiny of his hearers. God uses every opportunity to speak to us so that He can bless us and meet our needs. He wants us to have the right idea of who He really is.
c) During worship and prayer
God can use any time to speak to us. He speaks to us during our trials and difficulties and He speaks to us during our times of joy and rejoicing. God speaks to us during times of praise, worship and prayer and since we began our worship today He has not stopped speaking to us. God has spoken to one person through a song and to another person through a prayer. During worship times we are supposed to be focused on God and during such times we often become more receptive to His voice. But there is one thing we can be certain of and this is that God will never contradict His Word.
Illustration: We can never say that we love God and not love His Word. The measure of our love for God can be measured by the measure of our love for His Word. We cannot love God more than we love His Word. Yet many people claim they love God but reject the Bible’s claim to be the Word of God. They reject the Bible’s claim to complete authority by citing the fact that it was written by men. Although this is true, the Bible did not originate with men but with God. God controlled, directed and communicated with the spirits and minds of the men who wrote the Bible. This same principle is evident in the scientific world today. Man is capable of launching satellites into space and communicating with them millions of miles away, directing their course and giving them instructions, which they obey. A few days ago a probe landed on Saturn’s largest moon, titan and began transmitting pictures of the moon surface. It took the probe seventeen years to reach its destination and this was only possible because men from earth controlled it. If man can achieve such results, how can we deny the possibility that God can create human beings with mental and spiritual faculties that He can communicate with and control? God does communicate with us but the truth is that we are often hard of hearing and do not hear Him. There is a story of a man who had been married for 30 years. He began to get frustrated because he could not have any meaningful conversation with his wife. When talking to her she would often not answer him. He suspected a hearing problem but she would not admit it, so he decided to do a test. One day when she did not know he was in the room, he stood behind her chair across the room and gently said, “Can you hear me?” She did not respond, so he moved a little closer and asked again. She again did not respond, so he moved even closer. He asked the same question the fourth time when he was right behind her. She turned in her chair to face him; a little annoyed and said, “For the fourth time, Yes, I can hear you!”
Application: Sometimes we think that God does not speak to us when the truth is we do not listen to Him. God is always speaking to us. He does not want any of us to perish but that we all receive eternal life. We can receive eternal life this moment when we invite Jesus Christ into our lives as our Saviour and Lord.
Step Two: Listening to the Lord makes us wise for salvation
a) It reveals Jesus as the Messiah
Listening to the Lord makes us wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. The Bible is God revealing Himself and His plan to restore mankind to Himself through salvation. It contains God’s revelations of Jesus Christ as the Messiah. John the Baptist needed a revelation from God to be able to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. He received it at Jesus’ baptism when God revealed His Son to all present with the words “This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased”. We also need such a revelation about Christ the same way as John did because it is of the utmost importance that we know that Jesus Christ is God.
b) It reveals Jesus as the Lamb of God
It is also important that we know and believe that Christ is the Saviour of the whole world and that as the Lamb of God He shed His blood to rescue mankind from Satan’s power. The Scriptures declare “By one sacrifice He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified”.
c) It reveals Jesus as the Giver of the Holy Spirit
Listening to the Word of God also reveals Jesus Christ as the Giver of the Holy Spirit. In the words of John he was baptizing with water but Jesus Christ would baptize with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit would live in us and enable us to live the sort of life that is God’s will for us.
Illustration: If we want to understand who Jesus is, what Jesus did, what He said, and how His life affects us, we have to read and study the Bible. The teachings of Jesus as recorded in the scriptures are the revealed word of God to us, and show us how we were meant to live. They speak of our relationships with each other and with God, and of how we can fulfil our potential and live in harmony with the world about us. But it is not only what Jesus said that speaks to us from God, it also includes what Jesus did. How He accepted people, touched them, healed them, forgave them, served them, loved them, and died for them. Many people, however, do not want to hear how God wants them to live. They believe obeying God would make them give up their comfortable lifestyles. The truth however is that obeying God leads to the best life one can expect. I once heard of a minister who was posted to a new church. He preached a very good sermon the first Sunday that touched every member of the congregation. The whole congregation were very expectant the next Sunday only to hear the same sermon again. After eight weeks of preaching the same sermon, the presbyters met and decided to have a talk with him after the next service. They told him how great they found his sermon but that he had been preaching the same sermon since his arrival at their Church. They then asked him when he would be preaching a different sermon. The preacher simply replied, “When you do what God told you in that sermon we will go on to something else.”
Application: We all need to know who Christ is. When we do we will have no problem listening to Him and obeying Him. We will have no problem trusting Him completely because what He has to offer is much more than we can even dream of.
Step Three: Listening to the Lord reveals who we are in Christ
a) We are sanctified in Christ and called to be holy
God sees us differently than the way we see ourselves and we need to know how God sees us. Listening to the Lord reveals that we are sanctified in Christ and called to be holy. We need to know that Christ has removed our sins, chosen us and set us apart for His service and made us citizens of His eternal Kingdom.
b) We have been enriched in every way
As citizens of the Kingdom we have everything we need. We have been enriched in every way and possess all that we need to live the Christian life and to witness for Christ. We become Christ’s ambassadors and should no longer speak for ourselves but for Him.
c) Christ will keep us strong till the end
As His representatives Christ will keep us strong till the end. We are to be without blame because we bear in our being the very power of God and our conduct should command the respect of the world.
Illustration: The word of God reveals who we really are and directs our actions and behaviour. In spite of this there is a problem we often face in life. It is getting so preoccupied with the trivial that we have no time for the important. If for instance we focus on unresolved anger and bitterness we cannot focus on God. In the gospels Martha was so focused on working and getting angry with Mary for not working that she could not focus on Jesus even when He was in the same house with her. When our focus is on Christ, as in the case of Mary, we will listen and hear what He is saying. How can we feel lonely when Christ is telling us that nothing can separate us from His love? How can we be weary and hurting when Christ is telling us to come to Him and He will give us rest? How can we be having problems with our marriage when Christ is telling wives to submit to their husbands and husbands to love their wives even as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her?
Application: God is constantly speaking to us but are we listening to Him? If we have any need let us listen carefully to the Lord. He knows the solution and He wants us to hear it as well.
Conclusion: God desires that we fulfil His divine will for our lives but this is only possible when we listen and obey His voice. Our preconceptions, however, often prevent us from hearing and obeying the Lord. Naaman, the Syrian general, heard the voice of the Lord to go and wash in the Jordan River seven times. He became angry and was about to walk away because things had not happened the way he expected. But when he got rid of his pride and finally obeyed he was completely healed. We often find ourselves behaving in a similar manner. We have a preconceived idea of how we want God to behave and so instead of first seeking God for His opinion we tell Him want to do and how to do it. How dare we treat our Saviour and Lord is such a way?
Personal response: The Lord wants our best and listening and obeying Him is for our own benefit. It is the only way to enjoy all that the Lord has made available to us. When we refuse to listen to the Lord we miss out on God’s power to transform our hearts and lives. Let us listen to the Lord and obey Him and enjoy life the way God has designed it to be. Amen!
