ISSUE: #43

MEM

Message

When doing a word search for the words "hear" and "listen" in Scripture, there are some 1600 references in the New American Standard (NAS). Strong’s Hebrew number is the same for both "hear" and "listen". The Greek number is the same as well; in other words, "listen" or "hear" can be used interchangeably.

To hear (listen) implies obedience; therefore if one hears words and does not obey, it is said, "He did not hear or listen."

The Hebrew:
08085 ‘ shaw-mah’ hear 785, hearken 196, obey 81, publish 17… (1159) v to hear, listen to, obey

The Greek:
191 ak-oo’-o v AV-hear 418, hearken 6… (437)

So why should anyone be concerned about this? The following sample of scriptures may encourage you to "Hear" or "Listen"; may we all obey:

What prevents YHVH from hearing us?

Isaiah 59:1-2 Behold, the LORD’S hand is not so short that it cannot save; Nor is His ear so dull that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, And your sins have hidden His face from you so that He does not hear.

Our natural inclination

Jeremiah 32:33 "They have turned their back to Me and not their face; though I taught them, teaching again and again, they would not listen and receive instruction.

Luke 16:31 "But he said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead.’" (Who rose from the dead?)

Pay attention: what are you listening to?

Mark 4:24 And He was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides.

Apostles

1 John 4:6 We are from God; he who knows God listens to us; he who is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error.

Prophets, visions and dreams

Numbers 12:6 He said, "Hear now My words: If there is a prophet among you, I, the LORD, shall make Myself known to him in a vision. I shall speak with him in a dream.

Preachers

Romans 10:14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?

Speaks to the heart

Acts 16:14 A woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple fabrics, a worshiper of God, was listening; and the Lord opened her heart to respond to the things spoken by Paul.

Whispers in the ear

Matthew 10:27 "What I tell you in the darkness, speak in the light; and what you hear whispered in your ear, proclaim upon the housetops.

A voice behind you

Isaiah 30:21 Your ears will hear a word behind you, "This is the way, walk in it," whenever you turn to the right or to the left.

Out of a storm

Job 37: 1 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said,

Through His Son

Hebrews 1:1-2 God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world.

By His Spirit

John 16:13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

Acts 2:16-21 but this is what was spoken of through the prophet Joel: ‘AND IT SHALL BE IN THE LAST DAYS,’ God says, ‘THAT I WILL POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT ON ALL MANKIND; AND YOUR SONS AND YOUR DAUGHTERS SHALL PROPHESY, AND YOUR YOUNG MEN SHALL SEE VISIONS, AND YOUR OLD MEN SHALL DREAM DREAMS; EVEN ON MY BONDSLAVES, BOTH MEN AND WOMEN, I WILL IN THOSE DAYS POUR FORTH OF MY SPIRIT And they shall prophesy. ... ‘AND IT SHALL BE THAT EVERYONE WHO CALLS ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.’

Through Spiritual gifts

What is He telling us?

Jeremiah 7:23 "But this is what I commanded them, saying, ‘Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you will be My people; and you will walk in all the way which I command you, that it may be well with you.’

Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son… listen to Him!"

John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

Revelation 3:20 ‘Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me.

Exodus 15:26 And He said, "If you will give earnest heed to the voice of the LORD your God, and do what is right in His sight, and give ear to His commandments, and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I, the LORD, am your healer."

Have not listened

Psalms 81:11 "But My people did not listen to My voice…

Psalms 106:25 But grumbled in their tents; They did not listen to the voice of the LORD.

Result of not Listening

Malachi 2:2 "If you do not listen, and if you do not take it to heart to give honor to My name," says the LORD of hosts, "then I will send the curse upon you and I will curse your blessings; and indeed, I have cursed them already...

Proverbs 28:9 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.

Zechariah 7:13 "And just as He called and they would not listen, so they called and I would not listen," says the LORD of hosts;

Blessings for listening

Jeremiah 11:4 …saying, ‘Listen to My voice, and do according to all which I command you; so you shall be My people, and I will be your God,’

Isaiah 55:2-3 "… Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, And delight yourself in abundance. "Incline your ear and come to Me. Listen, that you may live…

2 Chronicles 20:15 … "Listen… thus says the LORD to you, ‘Do not fear or be dismayed because of this great multitude, for the battle is not yours but God’s.

Oh Father, have mercy on us and open our ears to hear, give us the power of your Spirit to obey your call. Blessed be your Name.

Proverb

Proverbs 28:9 He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.

Proverbs 1:33 "But he who listens to me shall live securely And will be at ease from the dread of evil."

Saying (s)

Only by opening our mind to the possibility that we’re not seeing everything will we be able to see what we’re missing. Stephen R. Covey

Come now, let us reason together,' says the LORD... (Isaiah 1:18)

Bible Quiz

1. What did Yeshua say to do if your right eye causes you to sin?
2. How many books are there in the first (old) Testament?
3. What city did Cain build?
4. How many times did Yeshua tell Peter we should forgive others?
5. On which day was the Passover animal to be taken from the flock?
6. Who was called "our dear friend, the doctor"?
7. Who said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called woman"?

Humility

"As strong as sin is a motive for it (humility), there is one still wider and mightier influence it is that which made the angels, Jesus himself, and the holiest saints humble. It is the first and chief mark of the relationship of the creature to God, of the Son the Father - it is the secret of blessedness, the desire to be nothing, that allows God to be all in all." Andrew Murray

Has one ever had a lasting relationship that was one sided? When YHVH invites us to come and reason together (Isaiah 1:18), and Yeshua stands at the door and knocks, desiring to come in and dine together (Revelation 3:20), I can only envision a two way conversation. Let us desire and seek such a relationship; "My sheep hear My voice…" Listen!

Did you know:

Fact Quiz

What happens on January 20 every fourth year in the United States? Hint: It is a public holiday, but only in Washington, D.C.

What is never alike but always alike?

On January 3, 1959, this state became the 49^th state of the American Union. What state was it?

Inauguration Day for a new president.

Lighter Side

According to a news report, a certain school in Garden City, MI, was recently faced with a unique problem. A number of 12-year-old girls were beginning to use lipstick and would put it on in the washroom. That was fine, but after they put on their lipstick they would press their lips to the mirror leaving dozens of little lip prints. Every night, the maintenance man would remove them and the next day, the girls would put them back.


Finally the principal decided that something had to be done. He called all the girls to the washroom and met them there with the maintenance man. He explained that all these lip prints were causing a major problem for the custodian who had to clean the mirrors every night. To demonstrate how difficult it had been to clean the mirrors, he asked the maintenance man to show the girls how much effort was required. He took out a long-handled squeegee, dipped it in the toilet, and cleaned the mirror with it. Since then, there have been no lip prints on the mirror.


THE MORAL OF THIS STORY:

There are teachers, and then there are educators! Are you listening?

Children's Story

It did not seem long; the weeks turned into years, the years into decades. Harry was always faithful in conducting the Sunday School Class for the teens. He was happy with the results of his efforts to guide and point his students to the Master. No matter how dedicated he was and how hard he tried some teens seemed to abandon the clear instruction of Scripture. He would go home and examine himself in light of Jesus’ (Yeshua’) teachings; what did he do wrong? How could he be a positive force in the lives of all these teens?

Harry never left home. His father died when he was twenty five; his mother became crippled with arthritis. He helped with the blueberries and cared for his mother. During the winter months he would dedicate hours to studying Scripture. He would listen to Christian music and Christian radio, he would send for Bible literature; always striving to walk close to his Savior.

The pressures of the surrounding housing growth and a couple of lean blueberry years in a row caused Harry to sell some of the acreage to home builders. Financially he was secure and could devote his time to care for his mother and helping others.

One night Harry had an unusual dream. He saw a figure dressed in a white, gleaming robe. He kept beckoning for Harry to follow him, as he walked across a narrow bridge. Next morning Harry pondered the dream, he prayed for understanding. In his studies that day he read in John 10:27 "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; but Harry did not hear any voice, so he dismissed the dream. Later he was reading Matthew 7:14 "For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. The dream now made a little more sense. A few nights later he had the dream again; he even remembered praying for understanding during the dream. This time he noted the figure had a radiant face and glowing feet. He seemed to hear something but could not make it out.

Now Harry was hooked on trying to understand his dreams. He desired to know more; so along with prayer and more searching in the Scriptures he made notes. Scripture after scripture seemed to pop out to him. What the Redeemer looked like in Revelation. How the LORD spoke to the prophets of old. What Isaiah recorded. More and more study, more and more notes. He saw and noted the Scriptures to keep the Commandments of the LORD, how Jesus said, "if you love me keep my commandments"; how Jesus said the Father and He were the same; that they spoke the same words.

He read in Joel about the pouring out of the Spirit in the latter days:

2: 28-29 "It will come about after this That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind; And your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions. "Even on the male and female servants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.

Was his dream a message from the Spirit of God? Harry fit the "old men" part of the prophecy in Joel (he was now in his 60^th year). Harry re-read his notes. All the Scriptures that referenced keeping the commandments seemed to lay heavily on his mind. "What is wrong?" Harry prayed and asked for insight. He thought, "I keep the commandments". That night Harry had a dream of someone descending a mountain, with two tablets of stone in his hands. The next morning Harry had no trouble understanding the dream. He turned to Scripture reading about Moses coming down the mountain and the Commandments written by the hand of the LORD in both Exodus and Deuteronomy. What was he missing, he mused. Finally, the fourth commandment Exodus 20:8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Harry had been keeping Sunday, he always thought that was the Sabbath day. Could he be wrong? He had known about the Seventh Day people in his community but concluded they were trying to obtain salvation by works. Could he be wrong about them? He began requesting literature about the Sabbath as the Seventh Day. By now Harry had acquired a computer and was able to search the internet about the Seventh Day. The more he checked, the more proof was evident; when held up to Scripture and recorded history, the Sabbath was the Seventh Day of the week.

Harry was so excited about his discovery he began to offer some of these proofs and Scriptures to his Sunday School Class. Most of the teens could have cared less and others began to question the validity of his claims. It was not long before the pastor and church board called Harry to meet with them. After much discussion and rebuke Harry was told he must stop instructing the teens about the Seventh Day Sabbath and not to bring up the subject again.

Next time: Harry makes the toughest decision of his life.

Quiz Answers

1. Gouge it out and throw it away - Matthew 2:29
2. Thirty- nine
3. Enoch - Genesis 4:17
4. Seventy times seven - Matthew 18:21-22
5. Tenth day of the month - Exodus 12:3
6. Luke - Colossians 4:14
7. Adam - Genesis 2:20,25