Skip to main content

Seven Bible Disciplines: Hearing The Word by Pastor Charlie Handren

By Anonymous
     The ancient charge that God gave to Israel still applies to his people today. The Lord said to them, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4). To hear the Lord is to listen to his words and take them to heart that we might love him with everything in us and walk in his ways. “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart” (6:5-6).
     In one sense, the Lord commanded his people to hear his words because they were, for the most part, illiterate people who could not read them. But in another sense, he commanded them to hear his words because he made people in his image to be part of a living, loving relationship with him. Even as a loving father speaks to his children and makes his heart and desires known, so the Lord speaks to his people and makes his glory, will, and ways known. Even as a loving child will listen, trust, and obey her father, so the people of God are called to lovingly listen, trust, and obey their God.
     Then, as God’s people learn to hear his heart and walk in his ways, they’re called to diligently teach those ways to those with whom the Lord has given them influence. “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (6:7). In other words, they’re called to be like their heavenly Father and teach his will and ways to others. They’re called to enter so deeply into his love and wisdom that they live to spread a passion for his glory and purposes.
     Since this life-giving process begins with hearing the words of God, his people are to do what they must to remind themselves to listen to him day by day. “You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” (6:8-9). These instructions are not so much about the particulars as they are about this principle: remind yourself to listen and then listen!
     Listen to the words of God by reading them aloud in worship services, in smaller gatherings, at home, and even at work. Listen to the words of God by taking advantage of audio Bibles or Bible apps like You Version. Listen to the words of God by sitting under expository preaching where the Bible is explained, illuminated, and applied to life. But whatever you do, remind yourself to listen and then listen!
     As you do, I have one more word of wisdom for you. While it’s good to listen to large portions of the Bible and a variety of expository sermons, it's better to listen to less and do more with what you hear. Train yourself to listen well, understand the meaning, and apply what you’ve heard to life. Remember that loving obedience is the goal of regular hearing.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Secret of all Failure is our Failure in Secret Prayer

By
“We may be assured of this—the secret of all failure is our failure in secret prayer” (12). So writes the anonymous author of the classic little book on prayer entitled, The Kneeling Christian (Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids: 1971). He means that the reason we so often fall into sin or live in discouragement or fail to bear fruit is because we do not cling to God in Christ above all things. We do not diligently seek him or lean on him or plead with him or draw on his strength. We give ourselves to busyness over communion with God and in this way we seek to accomplish in our flesh what can only be accomplished in the power of the Spirit.  Giving first place to what our dear author calls “secret prayer” is indeed a key to the Spirit-filled life but let’s be clear: prayer is not magic, rather, it’s a relationship. It’s not as if we simply have to file requests with God, being careful to use just the right words so that we can get him to respond as we wish. God is not a vending m
Post a Comment
Read more

Deacons - How They Serve and Strengthen the Church (Part 1)

By
  One of the next important priorities for GCF is to establish deacons in the life of the church. On March 14, 2021 we were able to establish an elder team. Currently, we have a team of four elders overseeing the congregation of GCF.  However, there is more work to be done. I have come to see that establishing an elder team was the bare minimum that needed to happen for GCF to survive. I believe GCF now needs to turn our attention to raising up a team of qualified and willing deacons to serve the congregation so that it will not only survive but thrive.   I would like to begin a series of blogs on deacons to help us understand who they are and what they do in the life of the church.  In this blog let me provide three reasons why I think deacons should be near our top priority.  Number 1: It is Biblical. Paul instructs Timothy to install elders who will help him pastor the church. For whatever reason, it seems the churches in our circles treat the installment of elders as non-negotiable
Post a Comment
Read more

Does the Doctrine Divide? by Patience Griswold

By Anonymous
“Oh, I try not to talk about doctrine. It’s so divisive.” This is a sentiment that I’ve heard expressed, as well as implied, on many occasions, and one that raises the question, does doctrine divide? In answering this question, we must keep in mind a very important truth and that is that everyone holds to some sort of doctrine . “Doctrine” is defined as “a belief or set of beliefs held and taught by a church, political party, or other group.” Regardless of whether or not someone publicly holds to a statement of beliefs from a particular church, every Christian, by definition, holds to a particular set of beliefs. As Carl Trueman observes in his book The Creedal Imperative ,       [W]hile Christianity cannot be reduced to doctrine, to mere teaching, it cannot be meaningfully separated from it, either. Even the most basic claims, such as “Jesus is Lord,” carry clear doctrinal content that needs to be explicated in a world where, as we have noted before, every heretic has his text and n
Post a Comment
Read more