Listening to God

God keeps his promises. God is not a man that he should lie or a son of man that he should change his mind. If he says something he will do it. Numbers 23:19. God's word is settled forever in Heaven. Psalm 119:89. The grass withers and the flower fades but the word of God stands forever. Isaiah 40:6-8. Jesus said, 'Heaven and Earth will pass away, my words will never pass away.' Matthew 24:35. But we need to be receptive listeners. The Bible is like a mirror. Those who listen to the word of God but don't do what it says are like someone who looks in a mirror and immediately forgets what they look like. James 1:21-25. The Israelites were told by God to enter the promised land. They would not enter it because they were afraid. God's punishment was that that whole generation wandered around in the desert for 40 years until they died. Their children entered the promised land. Hebrews 3:15-4:3. God considered Abraham righteous because he believed in the promise that he would have a son and be the father of many nations. Abraham believed this even when he and his wife Sarah were both a hundred years old and Sarah had always been childless. He is the father not only of the jews but of the Christians. We share in the faith of Abraham if we believe that Jesus died for us and rose from the dead. Romans 4:16-25.

What is God's promise to us? The good news of Jesus is the power of God for those who believe. Romans 1:16,17. We have been born again of incorruptible seed. Jesus is living inside us by the power of his Holy Spirit and he is changing us to become more like him. Our souls are purified and we love one another. 1Peter 1:22-25. We are partakers of the divine nature. We are set free from the sinful habits of the world and the lustful desires that can overpower us. 2Peter 1:1-4. The Apostle Peter had seen Jesus and met him in person. He reminds people that if they had this experience they had seen the things that were mentioned by the prophets. The words of the prophets were now made certain. They should pay attention to it until the day would dawn and the morning sun would rise in their hearts. 2Peter 1:16-21. The Apostle Paul sowed the seed in the church in Corinth, when he preached there for the first time, and Apollos watered it, as he continued teaching the Christians. God made it grow. 1Corinthians 3:1-9. We need to be receptive hearers. Jesus told a parable about a farmer sowing seeds. Some seed fell on the path and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on the rocky ground where it grew rapidly but withered after a short time because the soil was shallow and it had no root. Some fell among the weeds where it was choked up by the weeds and withered. Some fell on good ground where it yielded a harvest a hundred times what was sown. Mark 4:3-8. If people have a hard heart the devil will come and snatch the word away like the seed sown on the path. Some people respond to the gospel with great joy at first but when trouble or persecution comes they wither away because they have no root. Others do believe but the weeds of life, the distractions of their job or their relationships, pull them away. If the word falls on a heart which is prepared and ready it will yield a harvest of a hundred times what was sown. Mark 4:13-20. A man plants a seed in the ground and whether he is awake or asleep it just keeps growing. We don't have to think about being a good Christian, God's seed is growing all the time. It is like a tiny mustard seed that grows into a great big tree. Mark 4:26-32. Jesus said, 'He who has ears to hear let him hear.' Mark 4:9. We need to be receptive hearers. You can see how many pips there are in an apple but how many apples are there in a pip?

The word of God has healing power. Some people had been afflicted with illness because of their rebellion against God. They loathed all food and drew near the gates of death. Then they cried out to the Lord in their distress. He sent forth his word and healed them. Psalm 107:17-22. A Roman centurion came to Jesus and said that his servant was ill. Jesus offered to come and heal the servant but the centurion said, 'I am not worthy to have you come under my roof. I am a man under authority. I give orders to my soldiers and they carry them out. Just say the word and my servant will be healed.' Matthew 8:5-13. The word of God is health to a man's whole body. Proverbs 4:20-22.