HEBREWS 3:7
“Therefore, just as the Holy Spirit says, ‘TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE,’”
Many good intentioned Christians will tell you that God does not speak the same way He used to. May I beg to differ? God is speaking. The problem is we aren’t listening. There’s a great book by Henry and Richard Blackaby entitled “Hearing God’s Voice.” Let me encourage you to order it and read it. They take us through Scripture showing us how God spoke then and how He continues to speak to us today. You just have to have your ears tuned to the right frequency.
Today starts a long Old Testament quotation from Psalm 95:7-11. It may not be an exact quote, depending on our translation, but the message is clear. Listen to the Lord. Barnes says, “the admonition was as pertinent and important under the Christian dispensation, as it was under the Jewish. The danger of hardening the heart by neglecting to hear his voice was as great, and the consequences would be as fearful and alarming.” I agree wholeheartedly.
ASK QUESTIONS (Command to Obey, Promise to claim, Sin to avoid, Application to make, Something new about God)
Boy, if this isn’t a Command to Obey, I have never seen one. As I said in the opening, you have to be listening to hear His voice. As is often the case, our English doesn’t fully convey the original Hebrew text which could read “Today, oh that you would hearken to (obey) His voice” or “Today, if you hearken to His voice.” The Psalmist then goes on to deliver the words of the Lord directly.
So, the question begs to be asked – are you listening? Well, Carl, how do I hear God’s voice? So glad you asked. The first and best way is to get into His Word and let Him speak through the text. God inspired every writer to pen every word. Read it as if listening directly to the voice of God. Secondly, pray. Spend voluminous amounts of time in prayer. I have never known anyone who was in tune with the Lord who didn’t do that. Prayer is the gateway to the throne of God. And thirdly, shut up and listen. Just get in a quiet spot, turn off all distractions and listen. Don’t talk. Allow the Spirit of God to speak to you about things you need to hear.
Let me close this blog by saying, if you listen He will speak. So many times He has tried to speak to me, but I was too busy. As we go through these next verses from Psalm 95, take a minute and go read the entire psalm. It’s only eleven verses. I love what verse 6 says just before we enter into our quotation in Hebrews. It says, “Come, let’s worship and bow down, Let’s kneel before the LORD our Maker.” That’s where it begins. Are you worshipping? Are you kneeling?
Speak, O Lord, I am listening. I want to hear Your voice and obey Your commands.
