Listening to God's Words I. Introduction A. 1 Samuel 15 1. Samuel speaks the word of God to Saul: utterly destroy Amalek (1 Samuel 15:1-3) 2. Saul goes, fights, defeats Amalek (1 Samuel 15:4-8) 3. Yet Saul spares Agag their king and the best of the spoils (1 Samuel 15:9) 4. Saul justifies himself, saying he did God's command (1 Samuel 15:13, 15, 20) 5. Samuel pointedly responds: obedience is better than sacrifice (1 Samuel 15:22-23) B. Here we have a graphic example of the importance of truly listening to God's words! C. Let us consider what the Scriptures teach regarding listening to God's words II. Hearing God's Words A. A fundamental concern of God throughout the covenants B. Deuteronomy 4:1-2 1. Israel must follow God's commands in order to live 2. Israel not to add to or take away from the law C. Deuteronomy 8:3: God's words as basis for life D. Jesus emphasizes listening to the word of God, keeping it (Luke 8:21, 11:28) E. The word of God the message proclaimed by the Apostles (Acts 13:5, 44, 17:13, 18:11) F. Acts 20:32: word of God as edifying G. 1 Thessalonians 2:13: the word from God, not man, works in believers H. 2 Timothy 2:15: need for diligence in properly handling God's word I. Titus 1:1-3: God manifests His word in the message of the Gospel J. Hebrews 4:12: great power of God's word K. Hebrews 11:3: evoking John 1:1-3, God's word as agent of creation L. The importance of God's words manifest 1. The reason for creation and existence 2. The source of instruction and direction for the believer 3. It ought to be handled properly, put into practice 4. They provide eternal life (cf. John 6)! III. The Challenge of Truly Listening A. It should seem rather obvious and self-evident that we should heed God's words B. Most people have the recognition that they should do so, but yet many do not actually do all things God commands C. Remember Saul in 1 Samuel 15? Sadly, this happens far too often! D. Isaiah 6:9-10 1. Quoted by Jesus in Matthew 13:14-15 (and parallels), John in John 12:37-40, and Paul in Acts 28:25-27 2. A strange message-- how can people see but not perceive, hear but not understand? 3. It refers to the fact that many may hear but are not paying attention or intend to take the message and practice it as expected 4. They are not listening to God's words in order to make the changes God would have them make! E. How can this be? IV. Trusting God Enough to Listen A. The problem is not with God or with His words B. The difficulty is in the sinfulness and rebelliousness of man (Romans 1:28, 3:23)! C. People will often be willing to listen to God's words insofar as they see value or they understand the truth within them... D. ...but what happens when God's words tell them something that they do not want to hear, that conflicts with their cultural or societal values, or challenges them in inconvenient ways? E. What did Saul do in 1 Samuel 15? 1. God's words to him seemed overly harsh and did not take sacrifices into account 2. Therefore, Saul felt secure in saving the best for sacrifice 3. But this was based in his logic, not in what God had said! F. What do people do today? 1. Many times God's words seem overly harsh to people 2. Statements in the Old Testament like 1 Samuel 15 and ethnic cleansing are hard 3. Many do not appreciate what God says about gender roles in Ephesians 5:22-33, the prospect of hell in 2 Thessalonians 1:6-9, the exclusivity of Christianity in John 14:6, or about marriage and divorce in Matthew 19:9 4. Since their cultural or social values strongly conflict with these ideas, many reject "this view of God" for an "alternative view of God" that is more in line with socially acceptable thinking 5. Too many others hear the strong exhortations of God to avoid drinking and sexual immorality and the call to self-control, self-discipline, and sacrifice (cf. Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Peter 4:7, Romans 12:1-2), or other such words, and do not want to give up their ways of life G. What then happens? 1. Some people are, if nothing else, completely consistent: they admit that they are rejecting God and His words outright 2. Too many others, however, attempt to make a grand compromise, and in whatever way justify or rationalize their particular view of God and why they are not respecting His words regarding various matters-- wandering off into myths (2 Timothy 4:3-4) H. The Big Problem 1. There is a big problem with what these people are doing, and we can call it idolatry (1 John 5:21) 2. Idolatry: serving something above and beyond the Creator (cf. Romans 1:18-32) 3. In these cases, people are serving themselves before God 4. Since God's words do not make sense to them, or God's words violate the way they see the world because of their society or culture, or God's words violate their intentions in life, the decision must be made to change for God, compromise, or reject God 5. Compromise or rejection mean that such persons are placing themselves, or their culture or society, as being greater than or wiser than God! 6. Yet what has God said about man? a. Clay, not the Potter-- the creation, not the Creator (Romans 9:19-21) b. Not able to direct his own steps (Jeremiah 10:23) c. Should fear God, not be wise in own ways (Proverbs 3:7, Galatians 6:3) d. His way ends in death (Proverbs 14:12) 7. These passages are unambiguous-- we cannot believe in God's words and yet trust ourselves to "correct" God's words! I. What Must Be Done? 1. We will all find that many of God's words are excellent and we know that we should put them to practice in our lives, however imperfectly we do so 2. But we all will find words of God that are difficult a. They may demand of us changes we do not want to make b. They may advocate things that go against what society and culture teaches c. They may offend our sensibilities 3. This is the moment of great decision-- the mark of whether one is truly a disciple of Christ or not, if one truly wants to follow God or not (cf. Matthew 19:21-22, John 6:67-68) 4. If we cannot come to grips with what God has said, but feel compelled to ignore it, change it, or compromise it, then we put ourselves in the position of judging God and His words, we have committed idolatry, and have fallen short, just as Saul did 5. In such a condition our hearts are dull; we have seen but not perceived, heard but not understood, as Isaiah says (6:9-10) 6. But if we are willing to change the way we look at the world because of God's words, willing to stand against societal or cultural values because of God's words, and/or are willing to change our way of living because of God's words, then we are willing to trust in God enough to listen! 7. The essence of walking by faith and not sight (cf. 2 Corinthians 5:7), doing all things by God's authority (Colossians 3:17), not our own 8. How else can we die to self and live for Christ (Galatians 2:20)? How else can we be rooted in Christ and not vain, worldly philosophies (Colossians 2:1-10)? V. Conclusion A. God expects and intends for people to listen to His words B. This listening is expected to lead to repentance and godly living C. Most people, however, find such to be too difficult, and instead trust in themselves, their societal standards, or in some compromised view of God D. Such is idolatry and will not lead to salvation! E. Instead, if we desire to be disciples of Christ, we must trust in God enough to truly listen to His words, and allow them to transform our lives, no matter how difficult they may be F. Let us be on guard against compromising God's words, and let us follow God's words so that we may obtain life! G. Invitation/songbook