"CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW?"

Written and preached by David P. Nolte

ISAIAH 30:9-11

1. THERE ARE GOOD REASONS TO HEAR GOD:
1. God speaks, and we should hear Him. We should want to Hear Him. There are a number of excellent reasons to hear Him:
1. We should hear God because He knows everything. When God speaks there is no mistake, no untruth, no error. He won't mislead or deceive us. He is the source of all truth and wisdom.
2. We should hear God because there are many misleading voices and influences, and if we heed them we will be misled.
1. The world says, "Do whatever you want. Be your own boss. Get whatever looks good to you and do whatever brings you personal gain and position." The world says, "God doesn't matter. He may not even exist, and if He does, He is either impotent or incompetent, so don't worry about Him." The world say, "Do what we do.. Fit in. Go with the flow. Be just like we are."
2. Satan says, "Ignore God. Disbelieve God. Forget God. He is just trying to horn in on your life and to hold out on all the good things."
3. Our own bodies say, "Do what feels good. Make me comfortable. Make me happy."
3. We should hear God because it leads to life. Jesus said, "And I assure you that the time is coming, in fact it is here, when the dead will hear My voice - the voice of the Son of God. And those who listen will live." John 5:25 (NLT). Deuteronomy 8:3 (NLT) says, "real life comes by feeding on every word of the LORD." Good reason to hear Him.
4. We should hear God because it keeps us on track and makes us profitable. "All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It straightens us out and teaches us to do what is right. It is God's way of preparing us in every way, fully equipped for every good thing God wants us to do." 2 Tim 3:16-17 (NLT). That's a good reason to hear God.
5. We should hear God because it keeps us from falling prey to sin. David wrote, "How can a young person stay pure? By obeying Your word and following its rules." Psalms 119:9 (NLT). That's a really good reason for listening to God.
6. We should hear God because we love Him and want to hear what He says.
2. God speaks, and lying voices also speak. So the question becomes: To which voice will you listen? To whom will you pay heed? We do, after all, have a choice. God speaks and if we hear and heed, we prosper, if we don't, we lose.
3. God may speak through circumstances, or our failures, or through other Godly people, or through the Holy Spirit speaking to our spirit, or through some tragedy, or sickness or disappointment. But mostly God speaks through the Bible. Listen to His Word. Let me illustrate by a true situation in which a couple listened to what they thought was God but was indeed Satan. A minister and his choir director were carrying on a clandestine affair. They both prayed that their spouses would die so they could marry. The minister came to his paramour and said, "God has spoken to me and He said, 'Faith without works is dead' so we need to do something ourselves." They murdered their spouses believing that God had spoken telling them to do so. All I can say about that is, "Hogwash! God spoke alright, but He really said, "You shall not commit adultery. You shall not murder. You shall not covet your neighbor's spouse." Somebody wasn't listening to Him.

2. THERE ARE THINGS WHICH KEEP US FROM HEARING GOD:
1. What keeps us from hearing anything? The same things keep us from hearing God.
1. Sometimes we don't hear because we are not paying attention. When Alisha was little, she would take your face in her hands to turn your fact to her when she spoke to you. She wanted full attention. So does God. Are we paying attention to Him?
2. Sometimes we don't hear because we are too far away from the speaker. Are we staying close enough to God?
3. Sometimes we don't hear because we are surrounded by too much other noise. Is the world around us too loud?
4. Sometimes we don't hear because our hearing is damaged. Has the world deafened us to God's voice?
5. Sometimes we don't hear because we don't like the message. Look at the people's response to Isaiah, "'Shut up! We don't want any more of your reports.' They say, 'Don't tell us the truth. Tell us nice things. Tell us lies. Forget all this gloom. We have heard more than enough about your 'Holy One of Israel.' We are tired of listening to what He has to say." Do we love what God says?
2. But the bottom line is that the basic reason people don't hear God is attitude.
1. God said to Ezekiel, "Son of man, you live among rebels who could see the truth if they wanted to, but they don't want to. They could hear me if they would listen, but they won't listen because they are rebellious." Ezekiel 12:2 (NLT).
2. He said to Jeremiah, "To whom can I give warning? Who will listen when I speak? Their ears are closed, and they cannot hear. They scorn the word of the LORD. They don't want to listen at all." Jeremiah 6:10 (NLT)
3. Paul wrote, "For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to right teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever they want to hear. They will reject the truth and follow strange myths." 2 Timothy 4:3-4 (NLT).
4. Check it out. He speaks, and we should listen, we should pay attention, and we should heed. God asks, "Can you hear Me now?" Well, can you?
3. A group of young people were driving on a country road and approached a train crossing. They were laughing, and talking, and the radio was booming. They could hardly hear one another inside that car. Sadly, neither could they hear the approaching train. The noise inside the card drowned out the noise of the train. Three young people perished as they drove across the track and into the path of the oncoming train. Only one survived to tell what had happened, "We didn't hear the train it was so loud inside the car." There are things which keep us from hearing God, too. Eliminate them, turn them off, and give ear to what God has to say. It will save your life, forever.

3. THERE ARE DISCIPLINES NECESSARY TO HEARING GOD:
1. With most things that are worthwhile, some effort, some discipline on our part is necessary. There are ways to hear better in our daily lives:
1. If you want to hear what someone is saying, turn off the tv or radio, and take the i-pod bud out of your ear.
2. To hear someone, put down the magazine, newspaper or novel.
3. To be able to connect with someone, sit close to, and face, the one with whom you want to converse.
4. To hear what someone says, you need to pay attention and make effort to catch every word and phrase.
5. If you need to, get some good hearing devices. I was compelled to get help when I realized that I was constantly misunderstanding what others said. Of course, they were usually mumbling or speaking too softly - but my discipline was to get hearing aids.
2. Well, it works the same with God.
1. Eliminate every distraction, even good things that might make you unaware of God.
2. Draw near to Him daily in prayer and Bible study and worship.
3. Listen to Him with deliberate and conscious attention.
4. Act on what He says in humble obedience.
3. We can learn from a young man who walked into a telegraphy office to apply for work. There were three or four other applicants ahead of him, so he thought his chances were pretty slim, but he stayed. He sat there for about five minutes, then got up and walked right into the office. The employer came out and said, "The rest of you can go ahead and leave. I have hired this young man." When they protested, the employer said, "Had you been listening and paying attention, you would have head the morse code in the background. It said, 'The first applicant to walk into my office will get the job." He was paying attention, he heard the message, he obeyed it and he got the job." That is the discipline necessary to hearing God.

God speaks. He asks, "Can you hear Me now?" And the question implies, "Are you really lisetning? Are you paying attention? Does what I have to say matter to you?" He says, "I know you are guilty of sin. But come to Me in faith and repentance, and I will forgive you." He says, "I know you have tried and failed. But come to Me for another chance." He says, "I know that others have misunderstood, judged, and abused you. But come to Me and find rest and welcome." God speaks. He speaks to you, personally. In former times He spoke through prophets; now He speak through His Son. Can you hear Him? Listen to Him now as He invites you to come to Him for love, acceptance, mercy, grace and life. God speaks. Can you hear Him now?

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