12.9.8 "Positioned to Hear"

"Positioned to Hear"

Joel 1:1-3:21
Revelation 1:1-20
Psalm 128:1-6
Proverbs 29:18

"I was on the island of Patmos, exiled for preaching the Word of God, and for telling what I knew about Jesus Christ. It was the Lord's Day and I was worshiping, when suddenly I heard a loud voice behind me, a voice that sounded like a trumpet blast".

This is a familiar scripture. I'm sure you've heard it many times. I know I have. What struck me is something that we all need to remember. We never know when God is going to speak to us, but we need to be in a position to hear him.

John is on this prison island in exile. Yet that doesn't change the fact that he is worshiping the Lord on the Lord's Day. In fleshly reason, it's easy to say, "you know what, John, you've had it rough. You deserve to skip church today...." Yet, on the Lord's Day, he's worshiping the Lord.

Too often we create an excuse for our lack of discipline in time with the Lord. "I'm tired, I'm too busy..." We skip time in God's house, We skip our morning devotions. Of course it's for "good reason". I'm sure God understands...

And then we wonder why we don't hear from God. There's no revelation. Empowered Through Biblical Training is a Discipline. Discipline prepares us to be where we need to be when God needs to speak to us and to use us. I'm sure it's sad from God's perspective to have something he really desires to place in our heart, and i'm too busy & I run out the door. What he wanted to show me would greatly equip me for the day. Then I struggle through the day in my own strength. Then when I get home, I blame Him for how bad it went.

When I was in college, I heard a great analogy from this little missionary lady from Napal. Her name was Pam Seward. She told of how the Napali government was given a satellite dish for communications. The way it works is that a motor on the dish moves it to follow wherever the satellite went. Well they were happy to have received this for free, but they began thinking that if they used it to much it may wear out & they would have to fix it. So they decided to turn the motor off when they weren't using it. You can guess what happened. When they'd fire it up, it spent way more energy trying to search out the satellite. It would have been so much more efficient to keep it in tune with the satellite all the time.

The same is true for us. we need to daily be in tune with the voice of the Holy Spirit. Then we can clearly recognize the still small voice whenever and wherever it speaks. He's often telling us very simple practical steps that when obeyed, have the potential to change the world.

We are more desperate for the Lord than we realize. Every day we need to take the time to hear from God. It shouldn't be optional. It's vital to do this to discover and become who God created us to be. The "revelation" may not happen the first day, the first week, or when we want it. But, regardless, we need to be in position to hear him no matter the circumstance.


Through the Power of the Spirit,
Live the DREAM!

P Greg


Dynamic Lifestyle of Worship
Relationships Devoted to Unity
Empowered Through Biblical Training
Active Ministry Involvement
Mission to Reach our World for Christ