Hearing the Word of God

Jim:

1 Kings 22:1-28
Verse 14 says, “But Micaiah said, ‘As the Lord lives, whatever the Lord says to me, that I will speak.’” This is the call of a prophet, of course, to hear and to interpret the word of God for the people of God. But it is not limited to telling what will happen in the future. God may very well have a word about the present or the past. God may hold out a possible future, but may change the divine will according to human actions. God may also call or challenge certain people to undertake certain actions which they may or may not do. The goal in preaching should be to listen for the word of God in a particular text and to share it as faithfully as possible without interjecting one’s personal opinions into the process. By the way, this is a very difficult task and one that requires a lot of patience and practice. As a preacher, however, I don’t ever want to be the point of the message or of the service. That position at the heart of things is reserved to God and God alone, the one we worship. To place ourselves there instead is to create an idol.

1 Corinthian 2:1-13
In verse 12 Paul writes, “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit that is from God, so that we may understand the gifts bestowed on us by God.” This is pretty much in keeping with what the writer of 1 Kings was saying about prophesying. As God’s people we must learn to hear and to trust the Spirit of God and not the spirit of the world. In this way only can we be sure that we are hearing what God wants us to hear and doing what God wants us to do.

Matthew 4:18-25
The power of God’s word is demonstrated by the fact that when Jesus “called” Simon and Andrew and then James and John, they left what they were doing “immediately” (verses 20 and 22). There was no time for dilly-dallying or mulling over the possible implications of what God was doing. Nor was there much consideration as to what the actions of the four fishermen would mean to their families and friends. They heard the word of God as expressed by Jesus––not the spirit of the world, by the way, but the Spirit of God––and they acted “immediately.” This, too, is in keeping with the account contained in 1 Kings. When God calls faithful people hear and respond.