15 January 2015 - voicing concerns

15 January 2015 - voicing concerns

He told them, “Let us go on to the nearby villages
that I may preach there also.
For this purpose have I come.”

Jesus drives out demons, cure diseases, and preaches.  For this purpose he comes.  In another place we hear that he comes to seek and save the lost (cf. Luk. 19:10).  In another place we read that he comes to "destroy the works of the devil" (cf 1 Joh. 3:8). 

He comes to do the will of the Father.  His every action says, "Here am I; I come to do your will."  He won't allow himself to be confined even by the admiration and awe of the people.  Even if the "whole town" is "gathered at the door" he continues on to where he is the most needed.

We need to learn to do the Father's will, too.  If only we could say, "To do your will O my God, is my delight, and your law is witin my heart!"  It is therefore no good to us to hear confessions from demons about who Jesus is.  It is to our good that he does not permit them to speak.  They know who he is and tremble (cf Jam. 2:19) but such knowledge can't touch the heart.  It can in fact lead us to become callous.  It can lead to misunderstanding.  If we hear that Jesus is LORD while we still sit on the throne of our own life we try to use his power to accomplish our own plans.  Instead we must learn to hear his voice over time as Samuel does.

“Here I am,” he said. “You called me.”
But Eli answered, “I did not call you, my son. Go back to sleep.”

Like Samuel we benefit from the help of our elders who have familiarity with the voice of the LORD.

Then Eli understood that the LORD was calling the youth.
So Eli said to Samuel, “Go to sleep, and if you are called, reply,
‘Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.’”

We see in the story of Samuel that the LORD speaking is not always as obvious as we'd expect.  We may mistake it for a more mundane source.  Learning to distinguish the voice of the LORD from all else which echoes within our Spirit is a gradual task.  Jesus tells us that his sheep know his voice.  But sheep aren't born knowing his voice.  They don't even really know because they can authenticate the content as from him.  They know because they hear it so much that they are used to it.  Other voices are not similar and the sheep do not listen to them.

If we continue to be open to the LORD speaking to us he will be able to use us powerfully as he does Samuel.

Samuel grew up, and the LORD was with him,
not permitting any word of his to be without effect.
So let's be patient with this process, knowing that it is all part of God's plan. 

I have waited, waited for the LORD,
and he stooped toward me and heard my cry.