Tune In - Pt. 5 - Fine Tuning Series

Tune In

Pt. 5 - Fine Tuning

I. Introduction

?We have talked about tuning in to hear God this year. We have dealt with the feeling of facing dead air or silence, the static or interference we sometimes experience, the fact that God broadcasts, and the need for an amplifier to push the signal.

There are a lot of technical aspects of radio that I don't understand. I just know when I can't hear what I want to hear. Another experience I don't really care for is when you are trying to listen to something and other stations bleed through and instead of hearing one show or song you are hearing multiple voices. Did you know there is a technical term for that? I didn't. It is called signal intrusion or co-channel interference and it is the result of an overly crowded radio spectrum. In other words . . . there are too many voices trying to get through.

Because I know that spiritually speaking one of the issues we certainly face is co-channel interference or signal intrusion I want to spend this last message in this series doing a little fine tuning just to make sure you hear clearly this year.

TEXT: Genesis 2:16-17

(Message) God commanded the Man, “You can eat from any tree in the garden, except from the Tree-of-Knowledge-of-Good-and-Evil. Don’t eat from it. The moment you eat from that tree, you’re dead.”

Genesis 3:1-6

The serpent was clever, more clever than any wild animal God had made. He spoke to the Woman: “Do I understand that God told you not to eat from any tree in the garden?” The Woman said to the serpent, “Not at all. We can eat from the trees in the garden. It’s only about the tree in the middle of the garden that God said, ‘Don’t eat from it; don’t even touch it or you’ll die.’” The serpent told the Woman, “You won’t die. God knows that the moment you eat from that tree, you’ll see what’s really going on. You’ll be just like God, knowing everything, ranging all the way from good to evil.” When the Woman saw that the tree looked like good eating and realized what she would get out of it—she’d know everything!—she took and ate the fruit and then gave some to her husband, and he ate.

I have just read to you the first and perfect example of signal intrusion. Co-channel interference. The enemy of our soul, as I have mentioned, is the prince of the power of the air and works to interrupt the signal. One of his preferred methods of bringing confusion, which then brings destruction, is signal intrusion. He bleeds over into what God has said. He speaks partial truth and mixes it with deception. He casts doubt on God and convinces Eve that what God had said was untrue or incomplete. Sound familiar?

So, one of the most important tools in being able to tune in this year is . . .

1. Know what God is saying by knowing what He won't say.

I think one of the greatest tools in being able to hear God clearly is by knowing what He won't say. The enemy tries to confuse us and convince us that God will say things that God won't say and unless we know what He won't say we can be deceived. I don't have time to go over everything that God won't say but I have a short list that I believe will help most of us this year. In other words, what I am saying is if you "hear God" say any of these this year then you are experiencing signal intrusion because He will not say these things. Sometimes the battle is won by recognizing what He isn't saying. If Eve would have stopped and realized that God wouldn't say what the enemy said He was saying, then she would have not been destroyed!

2. God will never say anything that contradicts His written Word.

You would think that for Christians this would be a no brainer but you would be shocked how many people claim God is blessing, condoning, blinking at, overlooking, OK with things that He clearly states in Scripture are unacceptable. I mean you name it . . . lying, cheating, lust, adultery, promiscuity, gluttony, bad attitudes, self promotion and the list goes on and on. Somehow we allow the enemy to intrude into the signal and even though in black and white and sometimes red we see a direct statement regarding what we want to do or are doing and we will still claim God is OK with going against what He said. It is like we think we are the exception! Listen you don't even have to pray about a lot of stuff. Because the truth is your prayers are nothing more than you trying to talk God into your way of thinking and His mind is and will always be made up! He will not say something to you that violates, contradicts, makes exceptions for His written Word . . . period!