WHEN GOD SPEAKS — (Learning to heed God’s voice)
Exodus 40, Leviticus 1
Good morning! How’s everyone doing today?
Well, I’m really glad you’re here. This morning I want to talk to you about the importance of hearing from God.
I honestly think that “listening to — or hearing from God” seems to be a lost art. Not only on this planet, but also among those who call themselves Christ followers. It seems as if the day and age in which we live, there are just so many distractions that keep people “off balance” in their pursuit of Christ. And because of that — it seems as though we are just too easily distracted in the rush of this modern world.
There are so many choices and so many distractions all demanding our time and our attention.
Sadly though, it seems that we hear only what we want to hear — and all to often we just tune Jesus out! Sometimes we are just too busy to take the time to listen to His voice. And maybe, part of our problem, is that we really don’t have the kind of relationship with Christ that we think we do.
Let me ask you…
- How much time do you really set aside to spend with Him?
- How often do you slow down and wait upon Him. Wait for Him to speak?
Let me tell you a story that might help explain what I’m trying to say:
“Two men were walking along a crowded city sidewalk. Suddenly, one of the men remarked, “Listen to the lovely sound of that cricket,” But the other man could not hear the sound. He asked his friend how he could hear the sound of a cricket amid the roar of the traffic and the sound of the people. The first man, who was a zoologist, had trained himself to hear the sounds of nature. He did not explain to his friend in words how he could hear the sound of the cricket, but instead, he reached into his pocket, pulled out a half-dollar coin, dropped it onto the sidewalk, and watched intently as a dozen people began to look for the coin as they heard it clanking around amid the sounds of the traffic and the sounds of the city. He turned to his friend and said, “We hear what we listen for.”
Maybe that is our problem with the voice of Jesus, we hear everything else but him — because we are not giving Him our attention.
Or maybe we don’t really want to hear what He has to say.
In the Gospel of John there’s a story told about Jesus and the religious leaders who were really getting tired of the impact He was having on the people. They didn’t like it because people were listening to what He had to say, they were beginning to obey His teachings and it was changing their lives. Many people were being healed, delivered, set-free, and given hope in Him. And this really bothered the “religious leaders” because it was distracting the people from following them and their rules about life and faith.
And so, on this day, a number of these religious people came to Jesus and again tried to trick Him and embarrass Him in front of the people.
Here’s what the Bible says in John 10 — beginning with verse 22.
22 Now it was the Feast of Dedication in Jerusalem, and it was winter. 23 And Jesus walked in the temple, in Solomon’s porch. 24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and said to Him, “How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father’s name, they bear witness of Me. 26 But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.” — John 10:22-10:30 (NKJV)
Listen. It’s clear from scripture that God speaks to His people…and according to Jesus, those who follow Him (he calls us “His Sheep”) — Jesus says, we hear His voice.
The voice of God is a big deal in our lives…or at least it should be. And yet, most people would rather SEE God hand — than hear His voice!
If we’re honest…most of us would rather experience the GRACIOUS PROVISION of God…and the BLESSINGS of God…and know that HIS HAND was present within our lives — giving us everything we could ever want…more so, than we would HEAR His voice…and what He has to say to us! But when we live our lives…only looking for His hand and not His voice, we often become misguided in our pursuit of Christ!
So, what happens when you can’t see the hand of God in your life?
What happens when you face a trial, or a struggle?
What happens when you experience persecution or lose your job? What then?
Have you ever struggled in your faith because you just couldn’t see — or understand what God was doing in your life?
It’s dangerous to live only for God’s hand…and not his heart and voice!
Charles Haddon Spurgeon — England’s best-known preacher for most of the second half of the nineteenth century once said, “When you can’t trace the hand of God, you can trust His heart!”
Powerful words of hope and faith.
I know we live in a VISUAL SOCIETY. And seeing is so important to us. But I submit to you today — that more important than seeing God, is hearing God…because hearing leads us to believe!
Professor and Bible scholar Ken Matthews once said, “God has spoken that we might believe…and by believing, we might see!”
You know, it was at creation, that God spoke the world and all of the heavens into existence. The Bible tells us that it was at Sinai, when He again created…only this time, it was the nation of Israel, and He did so by His word.
In the new testament, we discover even more about the importance of God’s voice…and our listening to Him. The writers of the N.T. Testify that faith comes by hearing, and then the experience of hearing — fosters a belief in us…enabling us to trust in those things that are not seen (Romans 10:14-17, Hebrews 11:1).
One of the most well know stories about hearing and believing being MORE IMPORTANT than seeing involves the disciple Thomas. After the resurrection of Jesus, Thomas declared his own belief in Christ’s authority over death — but only after having seen Him with his own eyes. Only after being able to touch Him with his own hands did he believe.
Jesus would say of this — that those who had heard and believed in His resurrection…even though they had not seen Him for themselves were even more BLESSED! In the pages of this Old Testament book of Leviticus, God again spoke. Only this time it was not to create a place or even a people…but rather to prepare His people to experience the blessing and the provision of His promise.
Now, sometimes we tend to skip over CERTAIN old testament books. Such is the case with the book of Leviticus. I am sure many here today may have never read this book. And I’ll admit — it is a fairly deep and detailed book. But, it’s an important book. And this morning we’re going to study it.
The book of Leviticus was written to be the hand book for the Levites (those who would serve God as Priests…or Pastors to the people). This book can really be divided up into two parts, the first part deals with instructions for worshipping a Holy God, and the second part deals with instructions for leading a Holy Life.
The overarching theme of the book is found in chapter 19…which many of you would be familiar with. It’s that passage where God SAYS, “ Be Holy, because I , the LORD your God am Holy” ( 19:2)
This book follows the book of Exodus. And, Exodus might be more familiar to you.
What is Exodus about?
It’s the story of how God saved and delivered the Israelites out of bondage from Egypt. Exodus is esentially about redemption, and this redemption becomes the foundation for the details of worship found in the book of Leviticus.
Well, that’s enough background for you.
Leviticus picks up directly where the previous book (the book of Exodus) left off. As Exodus ended, it does so with Moses overseeing the development of one of the most sacred PLACES on earth…the place which would represent the the very PRESENCE of God on earth.
What’s so striking about the last chapter of Exodus is the the way it shows how Moses handled the things God said to Him.
Exodus 40 tells us…
1 “Then the LORD said to Moses: 2 “Set up the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, on the first day of the first month. 3 Place the ark of the Testimony in it and shield the ark with the curtain. 4 Bring in the table and set out what belongs on it. Then bring in the lampstand and set up its lamps. 5 Place the gold altar of incense in front of the ark of the Testimony and put the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. 6 “Place the altar of burnt offering in front of the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting; 7 place the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it. 8 Set up the courtyard around it and put the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. 9 “Take the anointing oil and anoint the tabernacle and everything in it; consecrate it and all its furnishings, and it will be holy. 10 Then anoint the altar of burnt offering and all its utensils; consecrate the altar, and it will be most holy. 11 Anoint the basin and its stand and consecrate them. 12 “Bring Aaron and his sons to the entrance to the Tent of Meeting and wash them with water. 13 Then dress Aaron in the sacred garments, anoint him and consecrate him so he may serve me as priest. 14 Bring his sons and dress them in tunics. 15 Anoint them just as you anointed their father, so they may serve me as priests. Their anointing will be to a priesthood that will continue for all generations to come.” 16 Moses did everything just as the LORD commanded him. 17 So the tabernacle was set up on the first day of the first month in the second year. 18 When Moses set up the tabernacle, he put the bases in place, erected the frames, inserted the crossbars and set up the posts. 19 Then he spread the tent over the tabernacle and put the covering over the tent, as the LORD commanded him. 20 He took the Testimony and placed it in the ark, attached the poles to the ark and put the atonement cover over it. 21 Then he brought the ark into the tabernacle and hung the shielding curtain and shielded the ark of the Testimony, as the LORD commanded him. 22 Moses placed the table in the Tent of Meeting on the north side of the tabernacle outside the curtain 23 and set out the bread on it before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him. 24 He placed the lampstand in the Tent of Meeting opposite the table on the south side of the tabernacle 25 and set up the lamps before the LORD, as the LORD commanded him. 26 Moses placed the gold altar in the Tent of Meeting in front of the curtain 27 and burned fragrant incense on it, as the LORD commanded him. 28 Then he put up the curtain at the entrance to the tabernacle. 29 He set the altar of burnt offering near the entrance to the tabernacle, the Tent of Meeting, and offered on it burnt offerings and grain offerings, as the LORD commanded him. 30 He placed the basin between the Tent of Meeting and the altar and put water in it for washing, 31 and Moses and Aaron and his sons used it to wash their hands and feet. 32 They washed whenever they entered the Tent of Meeting or approached the altar, as the LORD commanded Moses. 33 Then Moses set up the courtyard around the tabernacle and altar and put up the curtain at the entrance to the courtyard. And so Moses finished the work. 34 Then the cloud covered the Tent of Meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the Tent of Meeting because the cloud had settled upon it, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle. 36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the LORD was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel during all their travels.” — Exodus 40:1-38 (NIV)
We will come back to this passage in a few moments. But I want to flip over to the next page and read one more verse of scripture. (This one is in you notes). So, look with me at the first verse of the book of Leviticus. It says,
1 “The LORD called to Moses and spoke to him from the Tent of Meeting.” — Leviticus 1:1 (NIV)
There are many moments in Scripture when God called out and spoke to and through His people. The writer of Hebrews even states this in the beginning of his letter. Hebrews 1:1 declares:
1 “In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2 but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. 3 The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.” — Hebrews 1:1 (NIV)
The Bible tells the story of God speaking to mankind again and again. At times he spoke directly to people…and at times He spoke through people.
The Bible teaches us that…
- God spoke through Moses
- God spoke through Prophets
- God spoke through Jesus
Today we know that God still speaks.
- God speaks to us through His Word
- God speaks to us through His Servants (through the pastors, teachers, evangelists, church leaders)
- God speaks to us through His Church (through the men and women, fellow believers in Christ)
God generally speaks to us — both “in and through” community. In Acts 13, the whole church was gathered for prayer and worship and fasting. And while they were together — the bible says, God told them, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
What’s so great about that — is that God spoke to them while they were together. You see, this is the beauty of being “The Church!” God uses this community to communicate to and through us!
In Richard Foster’s book called Celebration of Disciplines, he talks about the way God guides us…and not so much as individuals, but as the Body of Christ. In fact, he writes about the guidance of God through the “corporate act” as being just as important as the way He speaks to us and guides us as “individuals”
So, the scriptures testify that God speaks to and guides us “together”. And that’s a wonderful part of our heritage, of our legacy as a church, as a people. Our faith (and the way God speaks to us) isn’t focused on any one person, individual, or spiritual superstar.
It’s through community, wise women and men together speaking into each other’s lives.
- But I would add — that God also speaks to us through His Holy Spirit (through that inner voice of His Spirit within us). As well as the Spirit declaring His Word and WIll through the various gifts of operation: Words of Prophecy, Tongues & Interpretation of Tongues, Words of Wisdom and the alike.
My point is simple — God Still Speaks!
I thing one of the best places you and I can experience this is in our quiet moments and times of prayer. Now, for some of you — when I say prayer, you think that time when you do all the talking and God does all the listening. But that’s really not a very accurate picture of prayer!
Prayer is not just me talking with God. Prayer is communication — and it involves God talking back to us.
You know, just this week I was reminded of the beauty of prayer being a dialog. While meeting with a friend in my office, he shared his story of following Christ and how God spoke to Him…very clearly in his time of prayer. It wasn’t an audible voice (I don’t believe) — but it was God’s voice. A very distinct and clear voice! To commune, and be in community with God, involves communication.
And Jesus says about His people, “When He (the Good Shepherd) has brought out all His own, He goes on ahead of them, and His sheep follow Him (this is a picture of guidance) because they know His voice.” To have a personal relationship with God means I must be open to the possibility that the Spirit of God is prompting me, guiding me.
Now, knowing that God has not silenced His voice — nor has He ceased speaking with us, I think we would do well to hear what He has to say!
And, I’d add…it’s important for us to…
1. Hear — That We Might Believe!
This is what the Bible says.
God has spoken. God is not and never has been hidden from men, except in the sense of their unwillingness to see and the deception of their own heart. God has spoken from long ago, and because He is God who wants to be heard, He has spoken often and through many.
“It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’” — Matthew 4:4 (NKJV)
Paul wrote in Romans 10 and said,
14 “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? 15 And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “ How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, Who bring glad tidings of good things!” 16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel.” — Romans 10:14-16 (NKJV)
There is great emphasis by Paul on the role of “hearing” — because it’s by hearing that we are able to believe. Paul knew the power of God’s Word.
He knew what it could do in a person’s life. He also knew that it could do nothing in a person’s life unless that person heard the message.
But I submit to you, that just as important as it was for you to hear the message of Jesus prior to Salvation…so that you could be saved — it is just as important that you NOW hear the voice of your Savior when He speaks to you, that you might continue to trust in HIM!
When you and I hear the voice of God speaking to us, we are able to LISTEN and BELIEVE that which He is saying. But don’t forget the ways in which God speaks to us…
It could be through that still small voice within, it could be through His Word, it could be through His people, or even as this passage notes — it could be through the one proclaiming His Word.
I have to admit, with great humility…it is sobering to think that God could use me to speak to you! And yet, I know He does. And I’m thankful to be used by Him.
The point of this passage is not the MEDIUM by which God speaks — but rather the reason God would speak! And His purpose is always the same: to conform us to the image of His Son Jesus.
When He speaks — He gives us the opportunity to BELIEVE…and exercise FAITH!
And as Paul notes, FAITH COMES BY HEARING! It’s important for us to…Hear, that we might BELIEVE! So, trust in God’s Word. Listen for His voice and believe.
But beyond that, it’s also important for us to…
2. Hear — That We Might Respond & Obey!
It is imperative that you and I learn to obey. The bible says that when we know what is right — and yet, do not do it, to us it is sin! There is nothing as frustrating to me as a parent then when I speak and my kids do not obey.
And yet, sometimes — it’s because they just don’t hear me. (They may be present in the room where I’m speaking to them. They may even be looking at me…but unless they are LISTENING to my words as well as my heart, sometimes they just miss it…and end up getting in trouble later — because they didn’t HEED, or OBEY my words.)
You know, the only way we can truly be responsive to the voice of the Lord is if we actually slow down, and hear what he has to say to us!
There is a story that has been passed down concerning President Franklin D. Roosevelt.
The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” The guests responded with phrases like, “Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir.” It was not until the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Surprised and confused, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, “I’m sure she had it coming.”
We need to slow down, calm ourselves and listen to our Lord and to others around us.
The bible is replete with this command to listen and heed the voice of the Lord.
22 “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” — James 1:22
Jesus said in Matthew 7:24, “Therefore whoever hears these sayings of Mine, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock…”
Do you remember that passage at the end of Exodus that I read to you earlier? I want to point out something so significant to Moses’ relationship with God. It was personal, it was strong, it was healthy, it was deep and exciting…and it was all established on His ability (not just to BELIEVE God), but to OBEY GOD’s VOICE!
Throughout that chapter (you go back and read it)…throughout that chapter it notes again and again…these words:
“… as the LORD commanded him.”
The distinguishing mark of Moses’ relationship with God, was that He DID JUST AS THE LORD COMMANDED HIM! He responded to God with great obedience.
This morning I urge you to do the same. So, whatever God is saying to you…listen, hear His voice…and OBEY.
- Today — if He is calling you to repentance – then repent.
- If He is calling you to salvation – then accept.
- If He is calling you to be baptized in the Holy Spirit – then receive.
- If He is calling you to declare His word to someone – then obey.
Here’s the thing with hear GOd’s voice…when He speaks…don’t hesitate to respond. Obey God’s voice and be used by Him!
CLOSING:
— God still speaks.
— The Spirit still guides.
— The world still gets changed.
— People still get blessed.
— God will do it. The Spirit will do it through you.
If you’re a Jesus follower…the Spirit is in you…that is part of your adventure. Our God…the loving, creative, redeeming God we serve…is also the God who speaks to us. So this morning, if you need to hear His voice of guidance, or comfort — then just ask.
He’ll do it for you.
Let’s pray!
Let’s do this. Right now, whatever area of your life it is where you need wisdom, where you need guidance…let’s pray and ask God to speak to us. And as He does, let’s hear and believe, hear and respond, hear and obey!
If you need His voice of guidance in your life then ask Him to speak to you. Maybe it’s your relationship. Maybe it’s somebody. Maybe it’s a friend, family member…you love them. There are just problems, and you’re not smart enough to know what to do.
Just ask, “God would You give me wisdom? I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what to do. Would Your Spirit guide me this week?”
Maybe it’s a worry, anxiety, depression, loneliness. Maybe there is a sin. Maybe there’s just some dark stuff in your life that you’ve been trying to cover it up. Maybe this morning God has been speaking to you and sort of putting His finger on your sin and reminding you that you need to quit covering it up…and bring out into the light. If that’s the case, then respond to His voice and confess your sin to Him (that you might be free from it). Maybe it’s finances. Big decision about what you’ll do or where you’ll live.
Heavenly Father, thank You that You’re a guiding God. Thank You that the same Spirit who guided Jesus guides us. You know how badly we mess up our lives with poor decisions. Would you help each one of us in this room just go on this adventure of walking in the Spirit this week? We pray in Jesus’ name, Amen.