“Then drew near unto him all the publicans and sinners for to hear him.” Luke 15:1 / / / “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:” John 10:27
Why did the publicans and sinners DRAW NEAR to Jesus Christ? To HEAR HIM. Is the Spirit of God convicting you? Please read on.
As an evangelist, I meet people continually. You might be surprised how many people who profess to be Christians DRAW NEAR to God to pray to Him, praise Him, worship Him, to hear sermons about Him, to read devotionals about Him, to read Christian books about Him, and to read commentaries and study notes about Him. There’s nothing wrong with any of this, is there? But I wonder if there’s something wrong with the fact that so many people who DRAW NEAR to God do not take the love, time, care, devotion, and come with the hunger and thirst to HEAR HIM speak to their hearts personally by His Holy Spirit which will always and only be in line with His Word, the Bible. I’m not referring to an audible voice from God. I am referring to how we can HEAR HIM by repenting of our sins, believing in Christ as Lord, asking for and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit and subsequent fillings of the Holy Spirit and learning to hear the Great Shepherd speak to us individually as His Spirit loves us, comforts us, helps us, teaches us His Word, convicts us, leads us to repentance continually, grows and transforms us, and gives us instructions for our everyday lives.
God wants to speak to us. God wants us to hear Him. Yet is it possible we are so caught up in talking to God and listening to everyone else talk to us about Him that we are neglecting to sit every day at Christ’s feet and to learn how to hear Him?
I am sad to say that I believe countless people have been taught that it is impossible to hear from God. The Bible clearly shows us otherwise. I am also sad to say that even those who believe we can hear from God oftentimes do not take the time to hear Him. People are sometimes surprised by how much and how clearly I hear from the Lord. They shouldn’t be. I believe it is only because of my love and passion for Him, my hunger and thirst for Him, by how I continually seek Him, by how I draw near to Him and continually listen for the voice of His Spirit, by how my life is one of continual repentance and yielding to His transforming me, by how I long for and crave Him, by how desperately I desire to love, please, adore, and serve Him, by how I desire to learn to obey Him in all things that I hear the Lord.
How can we follow one we do not hear? How can we hear without drawing near? Is the Spirit of God convicting you?