Can You Hear Him Now?*

     The Bible says that God has magnified His Word above all His name (Ps. 138:2). His Word tells His people to have an ear to hear the LORD's voice, and to obey it. 

     The prophet Zechariah received this Word from the LORD in the month of Chisleu, which is our current month of December: "Should ye not hear the words which the LORD hath cried by the former prophets...? And the word of the LORD came unto Zechariah, saying, Thus speaketh the LORD of hosts, saying, Execute true judgment, and shew mercy and compassions every man to his brother: And oppress not the widow, nor the fatherless, the stranger, nor the poor; and let none of you imagine evil against his brother in your heart. But they refused to hearken, and pulled away the shoulder, and stopped their ears, that they should not hear. Yea, they made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law, and the words which the LORD of hosts hath sent in his spirit by the former prophets; therefore came a great wrath from the LORD of hosts." (Zech. 7:1-12). The LORD then said that because they would not listen to Him, He also would not hear their cries when they cried to Him, and He would scatter His people among all the nations, "for they laid the pleasant desolate." (v. 13-14). God is looking for honest and true judgment among His people, but men choose to serve themselves. We have stopped our ears, disdaining the poor, the weak, the homeless veterans, being more concerned with our own convenience. Can you hear Him now?

     When Jeremiah the prophet delivered the warning Word of the LORD to His people, the priests, prophets, princes and people all responded: "This man is worthy to die; for he hath prophesied against this city, as ye have heard with your ears." (Jer. 26:10-11).  Jeremiah told them that what he had prophesied came from the LORD: "Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you...know ye for certain, that if ye put me to death, ye shall surely bring innocent blood upon yourselves, and upon this city...for of a truth the LORD hath sent me unto you to speak all these words in your ears." (v. 12-15). As Jeremiah and Zechariah found out long ago, even today no one wants to hear, "Let's repent." Warning people of danger and lies by delivering to them the Word of the LORD is a good thing to do. We don't want to see anyone go to hell because we chose to remain silent. Can you hear Him now? Jesus would say, "He that hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Mt. 11:13-15). However, people respond to the Word of the LORD by becoming offended that it does not conform to the present culture of the world, and they are equally offended by those who do hear and obey His Word. Those who follow the ways of the world that are contrary to the Word of God think they are wise for doing so (v. 19), but they are fooling themselves. Culture and society changes, but the Word of God is forever.

     As Jesus told the parable of the sower who sows seed, and the greater results obtained if the seed falls into good ground, He told His listeners, "Who hath ears to hear, let him hear." (Mt. 13:3-9). However, His disciples asked Jesus why He spoke in parables. Jesus answered: "...it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given...Therefore speak I unto them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand...For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." (v. 10-15, see also Mk. 4:9-12, Lk. 8:9-10). Jesus then blessed them for having eyes that see, and ears that hear. (v. 16).  There is a pattern here in scripture that we are supposed to see. Those who follow Christ are supposed to be able to see, hear, and understand the mysteries of the kingdom that lead to salvation. The Word of the LORD is saying, "This is wicked...America repent!" Can you hear Him now?

     There is a choice to be made. There is a cost to be counted. There is a spiritual house to be completed, rather than left unfinished half-way through.  Grace and mercy, which some use as a self-justification for falling short, come at a price. Jesus spoke plainly of His expectations, and our need to understand them, as He spoke to a great multitude that followed Him: "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish...So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his savour, wherewith shall it be seasoned...men cast it out. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear."  (Lk. 14:25-35). Salt is made to make people thirsty. If your life is no different than others', you won't make them thirsty for the kingdom of God.

     Paul wrote about a spiritual blindness that came upon Israel, except for an elected remnant according to grace. Paul wrote: "(According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day...I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy." (Rom. 11:1-11). God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew. We are to be the salt that makes them thirst for the salvation of Jesus Christ. However, not everything that calls itself Christian is genuine.

     Jesus sent His messenger to the seven churches in the Book of Revelation. Some believe that these churches represent church ages, but they also represent specific types of churches. To some of the churches, Jesus sent severe warnings, corrections, and commands to repent because they were not as they ought to be. For a few of the churches, Jesus urged them to continue to remain faithful and obedient. There would be great losses to be suffered if the corrected churches did not make the necessary changes, but there were wonderful rewards to be received for the churches that heard the Word of the Lord and were obedient to it. To all seven churches He said, "He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches...". (see Revelation 2 and 3). 

     Can you hear Him now? There are a lot of prosperous churches that think they have it all, but as Jesus told the church of Laodicea, they "knowest not that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked..." (Rev. 3:15-18). Church, stop playing the political and cultural games of the world! The time is coming when God will no longer wink at sin. He is longsuffering towards us so that all may come to repentance. I pray that the Lord shines the light of His Holy Spirit upon us to show each of us and our nation how we must repent.

     * Based upon Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson, Jr.'s 12/3/23 message to the church. If you would like to hear the complete message, you can find it on Dr. Stevenson's Facebook page. To contact or support this ministry, you can write to PO Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705.