Sermon Tone Analysis

Tuning In

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Last week we talked about being spiritually minded.

We asked ourselves, “what thoughts and motives are in my mind?”

We looked at some practical tips and advice from Pastor John Piper that would help us to be more spiritually minded.

James wrote to other Christ followers telling them that they should see themselves the way God sees them by looking into our spiritual mirror, which is God’s word, and retain that word by, not just being a hearer of it, but also a doer of God’s word.

In that passage, James spends more time talking about “doing” than “listening.”

In fact, the only thing he really tells us to do here is to be quick to listen.

That kinda makes me wonder if people were just better listeners in his day.

Today it seems like getting people to listen is one of the most difficult tasks we face daily.

For example, after I install fireplaces I will always show the owner how to operate and maintain them.

“This pellet stove is going to build up ash, so you need to clean out the ashes or it will stop working.”

Then we will get a call a year or two later when the homeowner thinks it’s broken.

So we will go clean it and they will ask what was wrong with it.

“It was just dirty and needed to be cleaned.”

I can’t even begin to tell you how many times people will respond by saying, “It needs that?

Nobody ever told me I needed to do that.”

I am sure we have all experienced this to some degree.

This has become a pretty common joke, but how many of you remember sitting in the back seat as a kid trying to get your mom’s attention?

“Mom.

Mom.

Mom.

Mommy.

Mommy.

Mamma.

Ma.

Ma.

MAH!” Or as parents trying to get your kids to listen to you.

When Macayla was at home Amy and I were super mean to her and would actually give her chores!

Can you believe it?

The good thing was that she would do what we told her.

The bad thing was that she wouldn’t listen.

She was a doer, but not a listener.

On an almost daily basis I would hear, “Macayla, I told you to do it this way!

Spraying it with water doesn’t clean it.”

Or something to that effect.

Certainly in today’s world, listening is definitely a problem.

Hearing God can definitely be difficult.

Have you ever felt like you can’t hear God when He speaks?

Or like He is probably not talking to you at all?

As we study this topic today, it is important to recognize that even though you may have felt this way, those thoughts do NOT reflect God’s truth.

God IS speaking to you, He LOVES to speak to you, and He loves it when we fully rely on His Word.

When Jesus was walking the earth performing miracle after miracle, teaching the people about God, telling them that He was here to bring them eternal life, there were plenty of people who had a listening problem.

They were thinking, “if this is the savior when is He going to tell us?”

At one point Jesus was in the Temple during Hanukkah when some people surrounded Him and said, “How long are you going to keep us in suspense?

If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.”

“God, just tell me plainly, what am I supposed to do?

What should I say to this person?

Which job offer should I take?

Why won’t you speak to me?” Jesus responded to them by saying, “I’ve already told you and you don’t believe me.”

God is already speaking to them, they just aren’t listening.

They don’t believe what He is saying and doing, but His people listen and believe.

He calls His people His sheep...

In this passage, Jesus is telling the people that they are not His sheep and that is why they don’t believe Him.

Sometimes when we feel like we can’t hear God speaking to us we look at this verse and feel a little bit threatened.

“Uh oh… am I not His sheep?

Why can’t I hear Him?” I don’t think that is what Jesus intended at all.

Even baby sheep do not respond to their shepherd right away.

They have to learn the shepherd’s voice and get familiar with hearing it.

To me, this imagery of sheep hearing their shepherd’s voice is more of a promise than a threat.

A promise on the part of the shepherd.

That He will call to us and take care of us, we need only get familiar with His work and His voice.

Historically, shepherd’s would gather their flocks into one place at night and build a stone wall or some other boundary around them for protection.

That way, all of his sheep could rest in safety while he watched over them.

In the morning, he would make his call and only his sheep would get up to follow him.

Sheep still do this today.

I want to show you a video where you can see this exact thing happening.

Several people try to imitate the shepherd’s call but the sheep don’t even look up from grazing.

Watch what happens the second the shepherd begins to call...

Shepherd video.

Psalm 40:6 says that God doesn’t delight in sacrifice and offerings, but He has given the ability to hear.

The Hebrew translates more closely to “You have dug out my ears.”

There is a pretty good lesson on hearing just in that thought.

Packed with plenty of gross illustrations!

But I will not be tempted.

But if you don’t know what God’s voice sounds like, it might be time to let Him dig out your ears.

Today I want to talk about tuning in to God.

Before we do that, let’s take just a second to think about God’s voice.

His words.

Think about how powerful His words are.

At His word, radical changes occur.

When He spoke darkness became light, dry land appeared from the water, this chaotic wilderness we call earth was suddenly brimming with life and color.

Things that didn’t exist were spoken into existence by the power in God’s Word.

When God made people, He made them in His image.

No other creature was made this way.

No other creature was given the ability to speak.

When you speak, your words have power too.

When you speak God’s words in your situation, you will see your life transformed.

Proverbs teaches us that the tongue has the power of life and death.

What this tells me is that, first of all, God’s Words are very important.

God’s Word brings life.

Second, my mouth can both build up and destroy.

Therefore it is very important for me to HEAR God’s voice before I open my mouth.

He is speaking to you.

He will give you His words.

We just need to listen.

Jeremiah had to learn this same lesson.

God called him to be a prophet when he was young and he understood the importance of speaking God’s word to others.

His response to God was, “I can’t speak for you!

I’m too young!”