“He that hath ears to hear, let him hear”

It was such a blessing to come back to church this Sunday after missing because of snow last week. We were blessed by such a strong presence of the Lord during praise and worship, and Pastor Nathan was able to minister to and pray for many people individually. His message began in Mark 4:9. “And he said unto them, He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.”

Does God really want us to hear Him? Does He speak all the time? The obvious answer is YES! The Bible is full of verses which encourage us to seek God, to know God, and to listen for His voice, but we must tune our ears to hear beyond the natural realm. We must learn to hear with our spirit man. We must never forget that Satan and the realm of darkness desire to get in the way so that we cannot hear God’s voice, but God has given us authority over all the power of the enemy.

God desires for our lives to be simple, not filled with chaos and constant struggle. That should not be our identity. As born-again believers, our identity is now who we are in Christ. God wants us to be free. He wants to do more through our lives, but in order to do so, sometimes we must throw out the junk. The world often becomes heavy and noisy, and we must learn to find a quiet place with God so that we can hear His voice. We cannot expect to come to church once a week to hear from God. We must find time each day to detach from this world and grow closer in our relationship with Him.

Hearing from God is not only for individuals, but for the church. In Revelation 2:17 we see that through the Spirit, God also speaks to churches. As we all come together in unity, we can hear God’s plan for our church. Often when God is speaking, He will speak the same thing to other churches or individuals, for we all have the Holy Spirit living in us!

Finally, in II Timothy 1:6-7 we are reminded not to walk in fear, for God is not the author of fear. Christ has given us a Spirit of power, love, and a sound mind. We cannot be afraid to step out and do what God has called us to do, nor do we want to miss out on what God has for us. As this year already seems to be speeding by, may we make it a high priority to find a quiet place of fellowship with our wonderful Father and learn to listen intently for His voice, throw out the junk, and move forward with the plan of God for our lives and our church!