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Holy Trinity Anglican Orthodox Church
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Those of God Hear God |
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John 8:46- Passion Sunday March 29, 2009 Listening to God is a recurring theme in Scripture. When the prophets of ancient Israel spoke the word of God, the people were expected to hear and heed. When God sent His Son into the world, He sent Him as His message of Redemption, the Word of God, to whom we are expected to listen. When Jesus was confronted by opposition, as in John 8, it is important to see that He said plainly that His enemies did not receive, or hear, His words because they were not of God (Jn. 8:47). By contrast, those who are of God, that is, those who know God in true and Biblical faith, hear God’s words. Especially those words that come from the lips of Christ, the Living Word of God. To hear God’s word means to be focused on it. It means to pay attention to it. I knew a man who had trained his dog to balance a dog treat on his nose; the dog’s nose, that is, not the man’s nose. The dog sat there balancing the treat until the man said, “O.K.” At that point the dog moved his nose and grabbed the treat in his mouth. The movement was so fast it was hard to actually see it, but the dog never missed, and he never moved before he heard the word. Believe me, that dog was focused on his master’s word. His eyes were on his master. His ears were pointed toward his master. Everything about the dog showed that he was acutely focused on his master’s word. That is the way God’s people desire to “hear” the word of God. To hear God’s word means to hear with understanding. Many people can quote Scripture, but have no understanding of it. I think of the Ethiopian in Acts 8:26-39. He was reading the Book of Isaiah, but had no understanding of its meaning. So Philip “began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus” (Acts 8:35). To hear the word with understanding, and here we are talking primarily about the Bible, is to hear Christ in it. Christ is the whole point of the Bible. One pastor, asked about his method of preparing sermons, said he chose a text and made a beeline for the cross. He could do that because the Bible, Old and New Testaments, are about Christ. The Old Testament points to Christ. The Gospels tell of His advent, ministry, and sacrificial death, resurrection, and ascension. The Epistles explain the meaning of the Gospels, and the Acts and the Apocalypse show the advance and victory of the Gospel. To hear the word with understanding is to see Christ in the Bible, but it is also to see yourself in the Bible. When the Bible talks about sin, as, for example, Romans 3:23, which says, “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” those who hear the word with understanding realize it is talking about them. They may read it as “I have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I am the sinner who needs to repent. I am the sinner who’s sin needs to be forgiven. I am the sinner for whom Christ suffered and died upon the cross. My sin is evil. My sin justly angers God. My sin deserves His wrath, for by my own free will I have rejected God and gone my own way, and I am not worthy to have fellowship with God here or in Heaven. I am only worthy of His eternal wrath.” But to hear with understanding also means to realize Jesus took my place in the wrath of God. He died for my sin. He took my punishment for me, and because of Christ’s sacrifice God accepts me as holy and righteous and just and pure, if I have trusted Him to justify me. This simply means to receive the pardon Christ offers as a free gift by trusting what He did on the cross to secure your forgiveness. It is simply believing and trusting that, by bearing your sins on the cross, Jesus paid the price for your sins, and you are free and reconciled to God, forever. To hear with understanding also means to do what the Word says. We could say it means to hear obediently. When the dog I spoke of a few moments ago heard the word “stay” he obeyed. I’m sure he would have preferred to snatch the treat and tear into the box to eat them all, but he heard the word and obeyed. Likewise, they who are God’s hear his Word to do His Word. Christ did not save us so we could continue in the same old sinful patterns and destructive life-styles. He saved us to give to us real and eternal life. He saves us to give us the real “good life.” We were created to glorify and enjoy God forever. We were created to know the One who is perfect goodness and love; who gives perfect joy, who gives peace the world cannot give and the people outside of Him cannot imagine. Obedience to His word is the way we experience that joy and peace. Obedience to His word is the key. Actually, “obey” is not a strong enough word. “Embrace” is much better. Embrace with great joy a life shared with God, guided by His wisdom, and lived in His companionship. Embrace with great joy the tiny taste of Heaven that we can enjoy right here and right now as the gift of His grace, in which our differences begin to melt away, our pride and egos lessen, and we are enabled to experience real love and belonging to one another, real fellowship. In Christ we have already begun to beat our swords into plowshares and our spears into pruning hooks. Within the Church we are already tasting the unity and belonging we will experience fully only after we have crossed the “Jordan” and entered fully and finally into “The Promised Land.” In Christ we embrace God. We are His and He is ours . We abide in Him and He abides in us. We have seen the Pearl of Great Price, and we will not be satisfied with the tarnished trinkets of earth any longer. Our Treasure is in Heaven, but this Treasure is for those who will trust and obey. To those who are not “of God” these words sound silly. They call them, “pie in the sky bye and bye,” or “the opiate of the masses.” To those who are of God these words are life and peace. They are hope for the soul and life to the flesh. Those who are of God hear His words. God grant that we may “hear.” Amen. The Rev. Dr. R. Dennis Campbell, Vicar, Holy Trinity Anglican Church,
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