“And God said unto Noah…” Genesis 6:13
Noah knew God’s Voice…
I should say, “Noah labored to listen to God’s voice” instead of “labored to hear.” Just because I hear the noises that are in a room doesn’t necessarily mean that I am listening to those noises. Many times people have talked to me, and although I heard what they were saying, I didn’t listen because my mind was focused on other things. I was hearing but not listening. Jesus said that people can hear, yet never understand.
“…You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.” Matthew 13:14 NIV
“It is the province of knowledge to speak, and it is the privilege of wisdom to listen.”
To walk in understanding, you have to do more than just hear; you have to listen to what is being said.
“Nevertheless, listen to what I have to say in your hearing and in the hearing of all the people.” Jeremiah 28:7 NIV
There is a big difference between hearing and listening. Hearing is the act or process of perceiving sounds. Listening is making a conscious effort to hear, to attend closely to what is being said. It simply means to “pay close attention” and to “take advice.”
The men of Noah’s time were wicked and did not even have the desire to hear, much less the ear to hear anything from a holy and righteous God. It’s obvious that Noah had a spiritual ear to hear, and not just to hear but also to recognize the voice of God. He had to be a man of principle; a man that kept his standards higher than the society that was speaking and living around him.
Favor Key: What you keep hearing you will eventually believe.
You must understand that whomever you allow to speak to you is forging what you are becoming. What you choose to listen to you will eventually believe. What you believe you will eventually do and become.
WATCH OUT FOR THE SECOND VOICE…
If someone changes their opinion of you, it is usually due to a second voice they have chosen to listen to. The power of this truth is clear. God had a garden (Eden) where everything was perfect, at least until another voice was heard speaking in that garden; a voice that questioned the instructions that were given in that garden; a voice that merged deception with true statements. It’s not that the other voice in and of itself had the power to deceive; rather the other voice gained power because there was an ear given to it.
I believe that Adam and Eve were already defeated when they chose to listen. That other voice has a very strong and powerful attraction; once one gives attention to it; one finds it almost impossible not to be persuaded. If this voice (whomever it may be) is not speaking what God has already said, then it is speaking to do harm and not good.
The other voice destroyed the perfect harmony of the one true voice. The same is true for our churches, homes, schools, and relationships. If we give that other voice an ear, we will destroy the harmony of what is good and perfect. We must qualify whom we allow to speak to us, or better yet, whom we choose to listen to.
Let’s spend some time on this; it will help us to survive a lot of church and relationship chaos.
“Now the serpent was more crafty (cunning) than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” Genesis 3:1 NIV
The word that gets me here is, “crafty” or “cunning,” the King James Version uses the word “subtle.”
Webster’s Dictionary defines “cunning” as getting what is wanted in a clever and often deceptive way; cleverness or skill especially at tricking people in order to get something.
Never think for one moment that this other voice is stupid or lacks the wisdom to deceive. Our biggest mistake when fighting the enemy is assuming that he’s weak. Evil is alive and well!
Labor to hear the true voice; it is the only voice that will set you free. You can identify someone’s voice only after listening to it for days and years. Many of us say that,
“God has said,” and the truth is that God didn’t say a word. Spirits have voices; Feelings have voices; Attitudes have voices; People have voices; Addictions have voices. No wonder people live in a sea of mass confusion and paranoia. It is a wonder that we can stay focused enough to finish this manuscript with so many voices in our heads. We must labor to hear the only voice that will set us free –
God’s voice.
