Listen - What is the true message?

Mark 7:14


After He (Jesus) called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:


This morning I was meditating on listening to God.

In the educational industry we call engaged listening, "Active Listening." No matter what you call it listening has to be more than hearing. Hearing is the reception of the message but listening is the acceptance of the message. Hearing is the first step in communication. But as soon as we hear something our brains begin to evaluate what we have heard. Correct hearing is crucial to be able to listen. We must accurately know what is being said before we can start to listen to it.


I am always amazed to find that even though we think we have fully understood what someone has told us that often we miss it. I have learned that one of the most important things I can do to help my communication with others is to ask them to tell me back what I said to them. Several times this last week I have been sharing something with a someone and if I had not done this simple clarification they would have completely misunderstood what I was saying. I was very happy to correct their comprehension. Even if people do not agree or will not follow the things I share with them I at least want them to know what I actually said and meant in saying it.
 
So the first step in listening to God is to accurately hear what He says.
 
I often say that to hear God all we have to do is read the Bible. It contains God's Word and is applicable to everything in our lives. It may not specifically address things that were not even a part of the lives of those who wrote it, like the internet, copyright infringment or movie ratings. But the principles it contains has more than enough application to cover each one of them.
 
However, even the Bible is misinterpreted. We need to have a defining principle to interpret even the scriptures. I sahre with people that creation and history are also infallible words from God when read through the lens of scripture. But scripture must also be understood in the light of creation and history as well. Gallileo was felt to be an enemy of God's Word because he challenged a non-biblical belief that the Earth was the centre of the universe. God's record of revelation in creation proved that he was not a heretic but proved everyone who believed that the Earth was the center wrong. In that way he was actually a vessel for God to correct a false teaching that the church had accepted even though it was not God's truth.
 
This is a way to say that all three aspects of God's revelation (Scripture, Creation and History) will line us with each other when we have God's full revelation.
 
So our first task to be able to listen is to test what we hear fro authenticity. We need to know if God has spoken to us or not. If He has we move on to listening. If He has not we dismiss the message.
 
Mark 9:1-7
 And Jesus was saying to them, "Truly I say to you, there are some of those who are standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power." 2 Six days later, Jesus took with Him Peter and James and John, and brought them up on a high mountain by themselves. And He was transfigured before them; 3 and His garments became radiant and exceedingly white, as no launderer on earth can whiten them. 4 Elijah appeared to them along with Moses; and they were talking with Jesus. 5 Peter said to Jesus, "Rabbi, it is good for us to be here; let us make three tabernacles, one for You, and one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 6 For he did not know what to answer; for they became terrified. 7 Then a cloud formed, overshadowing them, and a voice came out of the cloud, "This is My beloved Son, listen to Him!"

The second priniciple I learned about hearing God is that to hear the message as God intends it we must hear Jesus say it. I used to be so confused as I would read the scriptures. In some passages I "heard" things which I  knew Jesus would not say. For instance:

Psalm 137:8-9

O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us. 9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones.

One day a person said to me, "It is God's Word but what is God trying to say?" That set me on a journey that ended with me realizing that even when the devil speaks in scripture God has a reason for letting us hear it. And when a man speaks out of the anguish of his heart God may not want us to agree with his desire for revenge but to understand his feelings. We can know that we too may feel things like this but Jesus did not. the contrast between The Psalmist and Jesus shows us that even when we would desire to cry out for the blood of those who have harmed us he does not. Even when we think we should bring fire down from heaven he does not.

Luke 9:53-55

And they did not receive him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem. 54 And when his disciples James and John saw this, they said, Lord, wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven, and consume them, even as Elias did? 55 But he turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.

So the second most important principle in listening is to listen for what Jesus wants to say in the passage.

Matthew 5:21-23

Ye have heard that it was said of them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: 22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Jesus said this in regard to the Old Testament many times. It does not mean the Old Testament was in error. It means that he is now revealing what the message he was giving in those original statements were. They were what we should "listen" to when we hear them.

Using these two principles I pray through the Bible and any outside revelation I may receive.

In a future post we will talk about how to really "Listen" once we know what God says.