Hearkening Unto The Voice Of God

        It is a great blessing when people are willing to hearken unto the voice of God. Moses wrote, "And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the LORD thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God." (Deuteronomy 28:1-2) Blessings will come upon us and overtake us if we obey the laws and teachings of the Lord our God. Always obey God and the Lord will bless you in many ways. It is good to be blessed. It is also good to know what the Lord considers a blessing and what He considers a curse. In Deuteronomy 28:3 we observe that there are two places where God blesses His children. "Blessed shalt thou be in the city, and blessed shalt thou be in the field." Those who hearken unto the voice of the Lord will be blessed wherever they are!

         Obeying the voice of God brings great blessings. "Blessed shall be the fruit of thy body, and the fruit of thy ground, and the fruit of thy cattle, the increase of thy kind, and the flocks of thy sheep." (Deuteronomy 28:4) All of these things have to do with the production of offspring; whether it is our children, or our plants or our animals. I would especially like to point out that our children are a very special blessing from God. He tells us that our baskets and our stores will be blessed. I think that this means what we save (store) will be blessed. (Deuteronomy 28:5) If we obey God we will be blessed wherever you are. We will be blessed when we come in and when we go out. (Deuteronomy 28:6) We are blessed indeed when we hearken unto the voice of the Lord and there are many things that are a blessing.

 

         It is a great blessing when people hearken unto the voice of the Lord by becoming a Christian. It is man's greatest privilege to be a child of God. You can be just a Christian. God has a very simply plan of salvation. To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus (John 8:24), repent of sins (Acts 2:38), confess Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9-10), and be baptized into Christ. (Romans 6:3-4) Jesus invites all to come to Him. "And the Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' and let him who hears say, 'Come!1 and let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely." (Revelation 22:17) Many are willing to become Christians and that is a great blessing. In the last almost 45 years it has been my great blessing to see literally hundreds become Christians.

         It is a great blessing when people hearken unto the voice of the Lord and as Christians stay faithful to Him. God both expects and deserves our faithfulness. Christians are living stones in God's spiritual house. In their faithfulness they must offer unto God spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to Him. "You also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ." (1 Peter 2:5) Jesus is precious to the faithful. Those who are unfaithful are disobedient. "Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, And he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame. Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone, and A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense. They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed." (1 Peter 2:6-8) Christians must conduct themselves as ones called out of darkness. "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light." (1 Peter 2:9) I have been blessed over the years to have known so many Christians who have stayed faithful to God.

         It is a great blessing when people hearken unto the voice of the Lord and serve Him in His one true church. "Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen." (Ephesians 3:21) Millions are Hindu, Islamic and all kinds of religions and that fact is discouraging. They are very sincere but they are not "in Christ." Neither are they in His one church. However, there are many good people who are in Christ and His church.Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) Catholic and Protestant denominations are the works of men and not God. Jesus said "Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." (Matthew 15:13) While many are outside of Christ there are many that are "in Christ" and "in His church." They are saved and it is such a great blessing that they serve Christ in His one true church.

 

         It is a great blessing when people hearken unto the voice of the Lord and these Christians study the Bible daily and pray often. Bible study time is very important time for Christians. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.1 Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me." (John 6:44-45) Studying the Bible is one of life's greatest experiences. The Bible is the word of God and it is a great blessing that many Bible are being used up by being read often. Many children of God also ask the Heavenly Father's blessings. The Lord will hear if Christians seek Him in prayer. "I sought the Lord, and He heard me, And delivered me from all my fears." (Psalm 34:4) "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much." (James 5:16) I have been blessed to have known many faithful Christians who study the Bible as they should and who also pray as they should.

 

         It is a great blessing when people hearken unto the voice of the Lord and these Christians would never destroy their bodies with tobacco, alcohol or other drugs. The body of a Christian is the temple of the Holy Spirit. "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's." (1 Corinthians 6:19-20) Christians should do nothing that can not be done to God's glory. Why spend half of your life doing something that will destroy the other half of your life? Tobacco, Alcohol and other drugs have brought misery, pain and heartache to society. Nothing good has come from these enslaving habits. These habits are destructive and wasteful. Much misery and pain has been avoided by Christians who stay away from tobacco, alcohol and other drugs. I have been blessed to know many Christians who avoid these sins.

         It is a great blessing when people hearken unto the voice of the Lord and as faithful Christians never misuse their tongues. These people would never be guilty of profanity, lying, gossip, criticizing and backbiting. That wicked life style of misusing the tongue is a way of life for many, but there are numerous faithful Christians that never misuse their tongues. "Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so." (James 3:10) Christians remember their accountability to God for every spoken word. "But I say to you that for every idle word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned." (Matthew 12:36-37) I have been blessed to be around many godly people who would never misuse their tongues.

         Many other great blessings: It is a great blessing when people hearken unto the voice of the Lord. It is a blessing to know many Christians who, (1) Know the truth and share it with others, (2) Attend all the services of the church, (3) Visit the sick and serve the needy, (4) Are kind and full of compassion, (5) Do much good to help those who are hurting (6) Stay married for a lifetime, (7) Contribute to the unity of the church (8) Stand strong for the truth and would never be swayed by false doctrine, (8) Practice Christ-like love, (9) Love their family and support them completely, (10) Would never live a day without Jesus, (11) Smile, are friendly, greet visitors and fellow members, and (12) Allow their Christian light shine.

 

                  Do you have a living faith that Jesus Christ is the Son of God? If so it is time to become a Christian now! To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus (John 8:24), repent of sins (Acts 17:30), confess Christ as Lord (Acts 8:37), and be baptized to be saved. (1 Peter 3:21) After baptism follow Jesus in faithfulness as He leads you home to heaven. (Revelation 2:10)

 

          "The LORD bless thee, and keep thee: The LORD make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: The LORD lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace." (Numbers 6:24-26)

 

 By Charles Box, Walnut Street Church of Christ, P.O. Box 551, Greenville, Alabama 36037 USA