The audible voice of God was heard by those who were witnesses at Jesus’ baptism and on the Mount of Transfiguration. God the Father affirmed that Jesus is the Son of God. Our Heavenly Father was pleased with Jesus and gave humanity the simplest command. The instruction God gave those who heard God’s voice was that they should listen to Jesus. Matt. 17:5b This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him! “Listen to Him” was the Word of the moment, hour, and day and will always be for the rest of mankind’s existence. Three simple words that changed the course of history. We are to listen to what Jesus is saying to our hearts, and God the Father will be blessed by our obedience.

We have a scriptural understanding that faith comes by hearing the Word of God and doing what we hear. Our faith matures when we listen and submit to what the Word of God instructs our spirit to obey. Rom. 10:17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ. The more we obey the Word (who became flesh and dwelt among us), the greater our faith will grow, which in turn, will feed our spirit and give grace to our being for discerning what God says to us in truth. John 1:14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

If one believes in the process by which faith is built in our hearts as we mature in God’s gift of salvation, then following God the Father’s instruction to listen to Jesus should be of paramount importance. Of course, this is only based on whether one believes that faith comes by hearing the Word of God. If people are only going through rote rituals, then faith will become insipid and ineffective. When reading the Gospels of Jesus Christ, there are numerous things that Jesus said, and it will take a lifetime to implement and grow in what Jesus instructed us to believe and do throughout our lives. If we were to focus on the four Gospels of Jesus for the next while in our devotional time with the Lord, we would truly become the sheep who know His voice, and would walk in the obedience Jesus called us to respond to. John 10:27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow Me.

If God, the Father, is telling us to listen to Jesus, then wisdom dictates that we do what our Heavenly Father asks of us. Giving lip service to the requests of the Lord will not give us the tools to grow in the gift of righteousness that we now have through Christ. Jesus said a lot of things, and some of the things He said were hard to understand and hard to implement. As what happened to some of His disciples when they left Him and walked with Him no more, so it will also happen to us, as what is asked will cut across our self-righteousness and bruise our egos. The same statement that was said to Nicodemus is also directed at us. John 3:12 If I have told you about earthly things and you do not believe, how will you believe if I tell you about heavenly things? If we are not listening to the instructions for living righteously on earth, then how will we understand the illumination and depth of the eternal things of God that are being placed in our hearts?

Jesus said to feed the hungry, take care of the widow, visit the prisoner, and not to judge one another in harshness, but rather to judge with righteous judgment. Jesus said, “Let the children come to Me. Don’t stop them!” He also said to follow Him. Mark 1:17 Then Jesus said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you become fishers of men.” He said to forgive one another, and we would also be forgiven. He said to give, and we would be blessed in His abundance. Have we done half of the things Jesus said to do? God the Father said, “Whatever Jesus says, listen to Him and do it.” Having walked with the Lord for about five decades,  I’m certain that I have not done everything Jesus said to do. Every time we obey the Gospel of Jesus, the deeper our understanding will be of God the Father who is at work within ourselves.

Secretly, many would like to hear the audible voice of God. The thing is, that He would most likely say the same thing to us as He said at the Mount of Transfiguration. If you have not been doing what God the Father said to do in His Word, then why would He say something different to you? If we are not capable of obeying a simple three-word instruction (listen to Him), why would God give us an instruction with multiple words or even a long and running sentence? Matt. 17:5b This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him! As you read the Word of God this week, head over to the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John and pay close attention to the things Jesus said. Meditate on what is asked of you and pray for the ability to obey His Word and become skilled at listening to Him and Him alone. Heb. 6:3 And this we will do, if God permits.