Will you listen to what God says? Heb. 1:1-4

 God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets,  2 Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;  3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high:  4 Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.

Heb. 1:1-4 , "In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways

Let us consider:  Many times  and  in  various ways…

God spoke to Job out of the whirlwind….Job 38:1  Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,  2 Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge?  3 Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.  4 Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding.

God spoke to Jesus’ earthly father, Joseph in a dream..  Matt. 2:13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.

God spoke to Moses in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush..Ex. 3:1-14  3 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father in law, the priest of Midian: and he led the flock to the backside of the desert, and came to the mountain of God, even to Horeb.  2 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush : and he looked, and, behold, the bush burned with fire, and the bush was not consumed.  3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside, and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt.  4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called unto him out of the midst of the bush, and said, Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I.  5 And he said, Draw not nigh hither: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground

God spoke to Samuel as a boy in the night I Sam. 3:1ff  1 And the child Samuel ministered unto the Lord before Eli. And the word of the Lord was precious in those days; there was no open vision.  2 And it came to pass at that time, when Eli was laid down in his place, and his eyes began to wax dim, that he could not see;  3 And ere the lamp of God went out in the temple of the Lord, where the ark of God was, and Samuel was laid down to sleep;  4 That the Lord called Samuel: and he answered, Here am I.  5 And he ran unto Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou calledst me. And he said, I called not; lie down again. And he went and lay down.  6 And the Lord called yet again, Samuel. And Samuel arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And he answered, I called not, my son; lie down again.  7 Now Samuel did not yet know the Lord, neither was the word of the Lord yet revealed unto him.  8 And the Lord called Samuel again the third time. And he arose and went to Eli, and said, Here am I; for thou didst call me. And Eli perceived that the Lord had called the child.  9 Therefore Eli said unto Samuel, Go, lie down: and it shall be, if he call thee, that thou shalt say, Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth. So Samuel went and lay down in his place.  And God spoke to Samuel in the night about what He was going to  Do to Eli and his family.

God spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice God spoke to Elijah in a still, small voice I Kings 19:2  Following his great victory over the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel (1 Kings 18), Elijah fled into the wilderness.  Because he had killed the prophets of Baal, Jezebel sent the message, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time (1 Kings 19:2).

If there was ever a person who needed to hear from God, it was Elijah!  When God asked Elijah why he had fled, he said,  I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life to take it away (I Kings 19:10)  Elijah thought he was the only faithful man left in Israel: I, even I only, am left.

God speaks to Elijah….  God said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by,  and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind:  and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake:  And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire:  and after the fire a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? (1 Kings 19:11-13).

Think of this!!  1. A great and strong wind rent the mountains and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord…  The Lord was not in the wind..  2. And after the wind, an earthquake…  But the Lord was not in the earthquake  3. A fire…  But the Lord was not in the fire…

But after the fire…  and after the fire a voice  a still small voice. And it was so, when Elijah heard it that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? (1 Kings 19:11-13).

 No doubt Elijah thought of the experiences of Moses, to whom God appeared, and especially the occasion when God demonstrated His presence on Mount Sinai in smoke, and earthquakes, and fire (Exodus 19).  In the great contest between Elijah and the prophets of Baal at Mount Carmel, God had decisively demonstrated His power by sending fire from heaven to consume the altar (1 Kings 18:38). The victory was all the more impressive because Elijah was outnumbered four hundred and fifty to one, and the pagan god Baal was supposed to be the god of thunder and lightning. The victory of the Lord showed that Baal was no god at all.

 God spoke to Elijah, not in the power of the wind, earthquake, or fire, but in a still small voice.  God wanted Elijah to know that He is much more than a storm god. He is powerful, and controls all nature, but He often spoke to the prophets in the quietness of the day. but the truth of His Word  It is not the fire, wind, and earthquake that show the power of God, but the truth of His Word. Elijah thought he was the only faithful man left, but God said, Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him (1 Kings 19:18).  In the midst of the storms of life, we still find peace in the still small voice of His Word.

Some want smooth things spoken to them. Isa. 30:10 speak unto us smooth things,  Which say to the seers, See not; and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits” (Isa. 30:10).  Are we that kind of people today who only want to be told what we  Want is alright! ‘smooth things’.

Some don’t care what God says on any subject…

Look what God says that we can easily understand… Rev. 21:8  8 But the fearful ,and unbelieving,  and the abominable,  and murderers,  and whoremongers,  and sorcerers,  and idolaters, all liars  and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.

Is that hard to understand?  If you don’t find God’s forgiveness  For one or all of these things, and  You are guilty, what will be your  End?  Anybody can answer that…Rev. 21:8  God hath spoken…will you listen to  Him.?

God wants you to worship Him faithfully…  John 4:23,24; Acts 20:7;  Heb. 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.  Isn’t God saying Don’t do this..forsaking the assembling..??  When you do, isn’t that doing something that God said don’t do…?  Is that really hard to understand??? God hath spoken…will we listen?  God hath spoken…will we listen?

How many times do you miss worship in a month? In 3 months; in a year? In your lifetime?  Do you think that matters to God?  Why remind you of what God says,  Of what you can read clearly in  The Scriptures..and then you conclude I can do what I want to..  I don’t have to go to church services if I don’t want to.  God hath spoken, will you listen  To Him?

God has spoken about the church  Matt.l6:18 Upon this rock, I will build my  Church .Not 33,000 denominations and sects, and divisive groups…  Told us what the church was called…  churches of Christ. Rom. 16:16  church of God. I Cor. 1:1,2  church of the firstborn 23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,   God hath spoken…will you listen?

God wants you to give as you have prospered…  I Cor. 16:1-2 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.  2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.

Do you think it matters what you give to the Lord?

Mal. 3:8 Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.  9 Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation.  10 Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.  11 And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the Lord of hosts.  12 And all nations shall call you blessed: for ye shall be a delightsome land, saith the Lord of hosts.  13 Your words have been stout against me, saith the Lord. Yet ye say, What have we spoken so much against thee?

 14 Ye have said, It is vain to serve God: and what profit is it that we have kept his ordinance, and that we have walked mournfully before the Lord of hosts?  15 And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered.

 16 Then they that feared the Lord spake often one to another: and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon his name.  17 And they shall be mine, saith the Lord of hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels; and I will spare them, as a man spareth his own son that serveth him.  18 Then shall ye return, and discern between the righteous and the wicked, between him that serveth God and him that serveth him not.

Does it matter to God what you give Him?  Acts 20:35  Matt. 6:19-21  God hath spoken!

God has spoken to mankind through prophets to the fathers…He hath spoken in various ways…  But today…He speaks to us through  His Son…We have written down  What the Son says to us!  John l6:13; John 14:26  … 2 Tim.3:16,17  In days gone by, God spoke  through windstorms, through earthquakes, through fire..

But in these last days, He has spoken.. Through His Son!....Heb. 1:1-14  It is written Rev. 14:13  We are to read it. (Eph. 3:3,4 “How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when ye read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ))  We are to listen to it. (Rom. 10:17)  We are to order our lives by it.  Rom. 12:2; Col. 3:17

 We have no excuse.  We know the truth. John 8:32  Will we obey the truth. Heb. 5:8,9  God’s Word is so important…  God hath spoken…will you listen and  Obey?

God hath spoken through His Son and told us how to be saved  If God is going to save us, then He has the right to tell us what He wants us to do to be saved! ..Saul was told, to go into Damascus and it would be told him what he must do. (Acts 9:6)  Acts 22:16 God had spoken to Ananias and told him to go and tell Saul what to do.  And Ananias did…

And now why tarriest thou?  Arise and be baptized and wash away  Your sins, calling on the name of the  Lord.  Acts 22:16  Acts 9:18 He immediately arose and was baptized.  He did what he was told to do.

God doesn’t change his requirements for salvation.  What saved people in the early days of the New Testament, saves people today.  They heard, they believed, they repented,  They confessed and they were baptized. Rom.10:17;Jno.8:24;Acts 17:30,31, Matt. 10:32,33,IPet.3:21  Can we do any less and hope to please the God who hath spoken???

God hath spoken through His Son to people who leave Him…  There is a way back to Him…but It’s the Lord’s way. ..you miss services, forsake assembling with the Saints, you can come back.  You don’t just walk in and resume…  The Prodigal Son…Father, I have sinned against Heaven and you…Lk.15:18

 Can we do any less and hope to please the God who hath spoken???