The Bible with Nicky and Pippa Gumbel, Classic Version, 2015Sample

Listen to God

Listening is very important. Some people are very good at it. General George Marshall said, ‘Formula for handling people: 1. Listen to the other person’s story. 2. Listen to the other person’s full story. 3. Listen to the other person’s full story first.’

Listening to God is one of the keys to our relationship with him. ‘To listen’, means to hear attentively, ‘to pay attention to’. Prayer means giving God our full attention. This is the sense in which the Hebrew and Greek words that are translated ‘listen’ in each of today’s passages are used.

Psalm 81:8-16

1. Listen to God speak to you through the psalms

We all experience physical hunger which can only be satisfied by food. You also have a spiritual hunger, which can only be satisfied by listening to God. Jesus said, ‘People do not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’ (Matthew 4:4).

‘Listen, dear ones’ says the psalmist (Psalm 81:8a, MSG). Jesus warns of the danger of not listening to God, and the blessings that follow when you do listen to him.

The words of God satisfy your hunger. God promises, ‘Open wide your mouth and I will fill it’ (v.10). If you listen to him he says, ‘You would be fed with the finest of wheat; with honey from the rock I would satisfy you’ (v.16).

On the one hand, he says, ‘Hear, O my people, and I will warn you’ (v.8a). God wants the best for you, and warns of the perils of ignoring him. He continues, ‘But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices’ (vv.11–12). The result of not listening to God is that he gives us over to the consequences of our own actions (see also, Romans 1:24,26).

On the other hand, he promises that if you do listen to him he will act on your behalf: ‘If my people would but listen to me, if Israel would follow my ways, how quickly I would subdue their enemies’ (Psalm 81:13–14a).

Lord, thank you that each day I can listen to you and be satisfied as with ‘the finest of wheat’. Help me each day to listen to you, to pay attention to what you say, and then to trust you to act on my behalf.

Acts 26:24-27:12

2. Listen to God speak to you through the apostles

The apostle Paul was God’s messenger. God spoke through him. Those who were listening to Paul in this passage had the opportunity to listen to God.

When Paul was sailing to Rome, the centurion ‘instead of listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship’ (27:11). His failure to listen to Paul was almost disastrous.

In the first part of the passage we see Paul in chains before Festus and Agrippa. He was telling the good news about Jesus, his death and resurrection. Festus said, ‘Paul, you’re crazy! You’ve read too many books, spent too much time staring off into space! Get a grip on yourself, get back in the real world!’ (26:24, MSG). Some people have always thought, and still do, that Christians are just ‘a little crazy’.

Paul’s response was, ‘I am not insane … What I am saying is true and reasonable’ (v.25). He did not reply, ‘Yes, it is all a bit crazy but I believe it.’ He refused to accept the suggestion that his beliefs were irrational.

Paul argued that there is a rational basis for faith. There are good reasons to believe that Jesus Christ rose from the dead. Our faith is ‘true and reasonable’. We should not be afraid to present logical and reasonable arguments. We need intelligent presentations of the gospel.

Today, there are many prominent atheist voices in the West arguing that faith is irrational. Like the apostle Paul, we must resist this suggestion. Many reasonable scientists and philosophers have also been faithful Christians.

One powerful document that argues that faith and reason are not opposed but complementary is the papal encyclical called Fides et Ratio (Faith and Reason). Pope John Paul II was a professor of philosophy. In this encyclical he shows how faith and reason go together. St Augustine said, ‘Crede ut intelligas’ (‘Believe in order to understand’). We understand in order that we may believe. And we believe in order that we may understand. This is the virtuous circle of faith and reason.

Before I became a Christian, I had listened to the arguments and the reasons for faith. Not all of my questions had been answered. Nevertheless, I took a step of faith based on what I had heard about Jesus. The moment I took the step of faith it was as if my eyes had been opened and I understood much of what I had not seen before.

Reason alone is not enough. It will only take us so far. However, when we are trying to persuade people, as Paul was, to follow Jesus, it is important to explain that the message about Jesus is ‘true and reasonable’.

Agrippa’s response to Paul was, ‘ “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul replied, “Short time or long – I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.” ’ (vv.28–29).

Paul did not mind whether people became Christians through a crisis (‘short time’) or through a process (‘long time’). But he did all in his power to persuade them to become Christians, as he had. Paul was not ashamed to pray that people would become what he was (Galatians 4:12).

The civil authorities recognised that Paul had done nothing deserving death or imprisonment (Acts 26:31), yet they found a rather pathetic excuse for not setting him free (v.32). This must have seemed so unjust and unreasonable and must have been deeply frustrating for Paul.

Yet here we are, nearly 2,000 years later, listening to the words that Paul spoke on that occasion, and through them having the opportunity to listen to God.

Lord, may we become like Paul in his faith and passion. May we seek to persuade people with arguments that are true and reasonable. As we tell the good news about Jesus may people have a sense that in listening to us they are listening to God.

2 Kings 16:1-17:41

3. Listen to God speak to you through the prophets

God allowed Israel to be taken captive and led away into exile because they refused to listen to him.

Joyce Meyer writes, ‘Do you ever get careless about doing what God has asked you to do, letting sin creep into your life? Do not let our enemy, the devil, lead you into the captivity of sin and disobedience; it leads only to destruction.’

The history of this period in the book of 2 Kings could be summed up in the words ‘not listen’: ‘They would not listen ... They would not listen’ (17:14,40). As we saw yesterday, all the problems the kings and the people of God faced were the result of not listening to God.

God spoke to his people through his servants the prophets. ‘God had taken a stand against Israel and Judah, speaking clearly through countless holy prophets and seers time and time again ... But they wouldn’t listen’ (vv.13–14, MSG).

This was the reason they went into exile. ‘The exile came about because of sin: The children of Israel sinned against God ... They did all kinds of things on the sly, things offensive to their God, then openly and shamelessly built local sex-and-religion shrines at every available site’ (vv.7–9, MSG).

‘They imitated the nations around them although the Lord had ordered them, “Do not do as they do.” ’ (v.15). The result of not listening was that the people of Israel lost the presence of God and were sent into exile in Assyria: ‘he thrust them from his presence … the Lord removed them from his presence’ (vv.20,23).

Like us, so often, they had not been ruthless enough about sin in their lives: ‘They honoured and worshiped God, but not exclusively ... They don’t really worship God – they don’t take seriously what he says regarding how to behave and what to believe’ (vv.32,34 MSG). ‘They didn’t pay any attention. They kept doing what they’d always done’ (v.40, MSG).

The tragedy is that God’s desire was actually to bless them. His commands and instruction were given to them so that they might flourish (see Deuteronomy 6:1–3). We can see this in the fortunes of the different kings of Israel and Judah. The writer of 1 and 2 Kings gives us a thumbnail assessment of whether each king did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. Every one of the kings of Israel is described as doing ‘evil in the eyes of the Lord’ (2 Kings 17:2), and it leads to the early destruction of the kingdom (v.8).

In contrast, around half of the kings of Judah are described in broadly positive terms, and around half in broadly negative terms. Under the ‘good’ kings Judah flourished, and its history is much longer and more positive than Israel’s. The reigns of the ‘good’ kings were generally longer than those of the ‘evil’ kings. The 12 evil kings reigned for a combined total of 130 years, whereas the 10 good kings reigned for a total of 343 years. The ‘good’ kings still faced all kinds of difficulties and challenges, and following God is no guarantee of an easy life. Yet their example is a powerful reminder of the blessings and wisdom of listening to and following God.

Lord, help us to listen carefully to what you say. Deliver us from secret sins. May we never allow sin to creep into our lives, and when it does to ask for help quickly. Help us not simply to do what the people around us do. Rather, help us to listen to your voice, follow you and enjoy your presence with us.

Pippa Adds

2 Kings 17:41

‘Even while these people were worshipping the Lord, they were serving their idols’.

Sometimes when we are worshipping in church, I start focusing on how nice someone’s shoes are or whether I should cook fish or chicken for lunch!

Notes:

Joyce Meyer, The Everyday Life Bible, (Faithwords, 2013) p.593.

Unless otherwise stated, Scripture quotations taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version Anglicised, Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 Biblica, formerly International Bible Society. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton Publishers, an Hachette UK company. All rights reserved. ‘NIV’ is a registered trademark of Biblica. UK trademark number 1448790.

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