Title: God Hears Us
Contents
♡♥♡ God who listens to us / Deuteronomy 5:22-29
*** Introduction
What do you do when you are suddenly faced with a crisis, when a difficult situation arises, or when you are frustrated because there is no way and you are in a hurry?
This is one of the testimonies of Mrs. Coriten Boom, a Dutch woman who experienced walking with the risen Lord from the crisis and pain of death in a Nazi concentration camp during World War II, and published a famous book called 'Refuge' after the war.
After traveling around the world to evangelize, she went on an evangelistic trip to the former Soviet Union. The woman filled the trunk with the Bible for evangelism. At that time, the Soviet Union thoroughly persecuted Christianity, and entry procedures at the airport were very severe. On the day they are found out, all books will be confiscated, and you will be unable to even enter the country. Arriving in the Soviet Union, the woman was standing second from the end of the airport inspection queue with a large bag full of Bibles. The searchers were passing through one by one while asking questions and rummaging through their belongings. Gradually, it was her turn to be searched, and she devised a way to avoid the search. “What would you say? Will you lie for the Lord? No, don't lie! So what do you do?”
Soon, his turn came. The woman muttered and prayed. “Send your angel to help me.” While he was urgently asking the Lord for help, the man standing behind him cut him off. The woman stood at the very end. Finally, it was the woman's turn to be searched. The searcher came up to me and said, “Oh, Grandma! It must be hard Grandma is the last one, so I will carry the luggage.” Then, the searcher took a bag of Bibles and went through the checkpoint to the car.
I, too, have many witnesses like this. He is a God who hears and responds to our conversations, from small things to big things. It is not just that we kneel down and pray. He is a God who listens to everyday words and conversations, and responds to believers who trust and rely on God. The text confirms that fact.
1. First, let's summarize the case in the main text.
After the Israelites came out of Egypt, they arrived at Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. God directed the people to gather at the foot of the mountain to reveal to the people of Israel that He was the living God and to make them believe that Moses was a servant of God. Exodus 19:9. “The Lord said to Moses, ‘I am coming to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear what I am speaking with you, and that they may believe you forever.”
The people who had been sanctified for three days gathered in front of Mount Sinai. God descended in the midst of fire with thunder and lightning and with the sound of a loud trumpet in a dense cloud. When Moses spoke to God, God answered with a voice. Then he called Moses to Mount Sinai and taught God's law for 40 days and 40 nights and gave him the Ten Commandments.
After Moses came down Mount Sinai, a representative of the people of Israel came to Moses. The representatives of the people were so afraid of God's majesty that they asked Moses that we should not see God Himself or hear His voice now. And as in verse 27, Moses said that if you hear the word of God and tell it to us, we will hear it and do it.
But God heard what the representative of the people had to say to Moses. The text is verses 28 and 29. “When you spoke to me, the Lord heard your voice. And the LORD said to me, I have heard the words this people speak to you, and they are all right. But it is that they always have such a heart, that they fear me and keep all my commands, so that they and their children may be blessed forever.” It is said that God has heard people's conversations.
2. Believers must be humble in their language life.
In the text, the people of Israel received God's approval and mercy because their words were humble before God. When Israel feared God's presence and feared God's voice, they were acknowledging that they were a sinful life. Our lives cannot boast of being righteous before God. No matter how good you are and how righteous you are, you are not righteous before God. God said in Psalm 14:2-3, “The Lord looked down from heaven to see if there were any who had understanding and were seeking God. They have all turned aside, they have become unclean together, and there is no one who does good, there is none.” .
Therefore, we cannot boast of our deeds before God, nor can we speak arrogantly. We cannot exist on our own without the grace of God. Nevertheless, people talk and brag as if they are living with their own strength and ability. When the Lord spoke of the oath, in Matthew 5:36, he said, “You cannot make one hair white or black.” He spoke of the inability of life.
Then the Lord taught the Christian to say in all things. This is Matthew 5:37. “You only say, ‘You are right. right. not. No.’ Say it. Anything that passes from this is of evil.” (Hyundai Words Bible/ “But you just say, ‘Yes, I will.’ or ‘No, I will not.’ That is enough. It is wrong to say anything else.”)
Therefore, we Christians who live before God must lead a humble life that acknowledges God from the beginning.
3. Believers must fear God from their language life.
In the text, God commanded the people of Israel to continue to live in such an attitude of reverence for God. He promised that if they did, they and their descendants would be blessed forever. In other words, it says that Israel's self-acknowledgment and honor of God with humble words stemmed from the attitude of reverence for God.
Let's look at Ecclesiastes 5:2. “Do not open your mouth recklessly before God, and do not speak with a hasty heart. For God is in heaven and you are on earth. Therefore, you should speak little.” In other words, when a believer speaks, he should think of God first. Because God hears everything we say. If you speak hastily, you will end up making a mistake. In most cases, words spoken with a hasty heart disregard God. So, those who fear God should think about whether these words are proper before God, and then use as few words as possible. Because our words call upon God's judgment. In Matthew 12:36-37 the Lord says: “I tell you, whatever meaningless a man says, he will be brought to trial on the day of judgment; by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”
In the article ‘Three Golden Gates’ written by a person named ‘Day’, I give the following advice about ‘human language life’
Before you speak, pass through the three golden gates. They are all narrow doors. The first door is “Is it true?” The second door is “Is it necessary?” The last and narrowest door is “Is it a kind word?” If you have passed through these three gates, don't worry about what the outcome of those words will be, and shout out loud.
In the old Korean language, there is an old Korean saying, “One eon before fourteen” (一言前十思), that is, “Think ten times before you say a word.”
People in the world are telling us to be careful with our words, but how much more should a saint who lives before God, the King of kings, be more careful with his words?
A farmer was plowing a paddy field with a black cow and a yellow cow. “Which cow does a good job?” Then the farmer brought the stranger closer to him, and whispered to him, “Black cow.” The stranger said, "Why are you whispering?" The farmer said, "I'm jealous of a yellow cow, and I'm proud of a black cow... ” he said.
We are people who live before God. One small word from me can hurt people and lead to irreversible judgment. Let us start with a heart that thinks of God. This is Ephesians 4:29. Thinking of the saying, “Let no unclean word come out of your mouth, but as it is for edification, let it be good, that it may give grace to those who hear it”, and our hearts, words, and actions always fear God. I wish you the best of luck with your true life.