Listen To Your Teacher

See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: (Hebrews 12:25)

Our topic for the past two weeks has been on the importance of “listening.” As mentioned previously, our Father in heaven speaks to us in four distinct ways. So far, we have discussed two of those ways: through the blood of Christ and through His Word. Today, we will discuss the third way in which God speaks to us.

Remember, bad things happen when we do not pay attention. This concept of listening is not just hearing; the idea is listening with the full intention of heeding what is said.

The third way in which God speaks to us is through His Spirit. Hebrews 3:7-8 says, “Wherefore as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts.” Often, we get so busy in our lives, that we do not take time to listen to God. We do not allow Him to speak to our hearts. In all of the action and activity of life, we must carve out, on a regular basis, quiet time where we can listen to God. Before we launch out to face the adversity and pressure of the day, we need to allow Him to speak to us. Every child of God has the internal voice of the Spirit of God speaking. That voice is the voice of the Author of the Scripture. He will take the Word and apply it to our lives, if we will heed His voice.

The Holy Spirit makes application of what we read and hear, and helps us interpret the Scriptures correctly. It is miraculous that God takes the same Bible and applies it to the individual lives of millions of believers all around the world.

All of us, regardless of how long we have been saved and what our spiritual maturity level is, have different struggles and issues and problems that we are facing. God also knows what problems we will face in the future.

Many times, people have said to me, “Pastor Kingsbury, something I heard from God last Sunday really helped me this week.” That was the Spirit applying the Word to someone’s heart in advance to prepare them for adversity. If you are so busy, with so much activity going on, that you cannot take time to prepare your heart for the Spirit to teach you what you need to learn, you are going to miss out on His training and the benefit of His encouragement and teaching to help you live the Christian life.

Listen to Him today! If you have not already, STOP! Slow down and listen to His Spirit. Hear Him and heed what He tells you to do. Have YOU talked to Him today?

Have a wonderful day IN the Lord!
Dr. Paul A. Kingsbury