Are You Listening?
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come into him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”
If any man (person) hear My Voice.
Are we hearing what Jesus is saying to us? Each day?
Jesus said:
Luke 8:18 “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and to whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”
Take heed how ye hear. If we have been born again, then we, as His children are to hear what He is telling us: in this set of circumstances [sometimes this is the only way He gets through to us], by His Holy Spirit through the Word, or by direct communication in our spirits.
He speaks to us.
The promise here is: If you have the Holy Spirit within you, and have heard Him; more will be given you. More light, more ability, more knowledge, more everything we need.
And this is because we hear Him.
But the promise also says: If you are one who has heard the invitation of Christ Jesus, and answered it with all the right words.
But it has been just that, an answer of words; not an answer of a life open to and receptive to Christ.
Then that which he “seems to have”, he does not.
[Not that that person can not be saved by opening their heart to Jesus Christ, but that they, have not as yet been.]
Remember, when Jesus Christ saves a life, He claims that life.
He will not be used as a “fire escape” from Hell; but He is a Savior, from sin.
Matthew 1:21 “And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins.”
Romans 10:17 “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
When we are saved; from that time on we are bought with a price and no longer our own.
Luke 8:16 “No man, when he hath lighteth a candle, cover it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light.”
This is what we are to do with what we hear: light a candle.
By our obedience to what Jesus says, we are manifesting Him in this lost world. We are lighting a candle.
It is amazing when you go into a dark room…really dark. Blackness seems to surround you. Then to light a candle, there, will make the darkness flee.
True the whole room will not be as light, as it is around the candle; but it will force the darkness into the corners, away from the light….even a small one, like a candle.
Raise that lit candle up, and more light will be shone around, for you are not blocking the light, but it shines all around.
Amazing, right? The Lord Jesus uses this example for that very reason: a candle can bring a lot of light, if it is placed where “they which enter in may see the light.”
In another place, Jesus accused the religious lawyers of hindering those which would “enter in” to the kingdom of God. (Luke 11:52)
Let us not do this. Instead let us hear Him, and recieve the light He gives by His Word, and Holy Spirit; and then let us shine the light, by holding up Christ Jesus to others.
Ephesians 4:21 “If so be that ye have heard Him, and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus:”
Are we hearing Him? Are we learning from what we have heard? Are we holding on to it, and sharing Christ?
(Years (yes, lots of years) ago, I was called to preach. I had recently been brought back to God; my rebellion and sin forgiven, and taken care of. I had started to go to church, and after a while I had been asked to sing a song for the church services.
I sang “Trust and Obey”.
Well, I sang it, and sat down; and the minister had his message. Then the Lord Jesus called me to be a preacher!
I could not believe it; me? The way I had been? This must be some mistake!
But the Lord spoke plainly to me: “You sang it [Trust and Obey], now, do it!”
So I went forward and committed my life to be a preacher of God’s Word.)
Jesus Christ always shows us the truth, for He is Truth. And as we face the truth, He gives us grace. Grace is the unmerited favor of power: the power in our lives to do what He has said…to be obedient to all His words to us.
John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
Will we receive Christ Jesus as Savior of our sin?
Will we hear His voice, and learn of Him?
Will we answer His call to lift our lights, and shine them in this dark world?
Well, if we will, He has everything we need. He can tell us everything we need. He is everything we need.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 