Hear HIM
Gordon Crook, PastorGrace Assembly, Wichita, Kansas
“And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart, And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light. And, behold, there appeared unto them Moses and Elias talking with him. Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias. While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Matthew 17:1-5
I was impressed with the emphasis God puts on this statement. “Hear ye HIM.” Peter was impressed with what he was seeing, and had a great idea that was intended to exalt Jesus and Moses and Elijah. However, God was more concerned with bringing the focus back to Jesus alone. It was His Son, Jesus that mattered here.
I am reminded that often we get in the same mindset as Peter. “Hey, I have a really great idea to exalt Christianity.” “I have a great idea to improve our culture.” And on and on we can go with our ideas or the ideas of others. I believe that Satan distracts us with so many things and so many philosophies and so many “Christian” ideas. Ways to get people to like us and to come into our church. And God reminds us. “Hear ye HIM.” Are you paying attention to what Jesus is saying?
Some people will get really upset with Peter. “Why can’t he just shut up and pay attention to Jesus?” He was so privileged to spend time with Jesus in the flesh. I would have been always attentive to Jesus and just hung on His every word. But Peter was just like any one of us. We have the privilege of having Jesus in front of us at any time. I actually have a Bible in my cell phone. And still, sometimes I am distracted by my own ideas or by something the world is putting in front of me, or by something the Christian system is putting in front of me.
I need a reminder that I need to hear Jesus. What is He saying to me? Where is He guiding me with His Word? What does it mean to hear Jesus? In John 1:14 we read this, “And the Word was made 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.” Jesus is the Word. We find Him speaking to us in the Bible as we read and meditate.
In Hebrews 1:1-2, we read, “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, 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;” We find that God is making it clear that Jesus is the only one that has been approved to speak to us. Even the Old Testament prophets all spoke to us of Jesus. For God, it has always been about Jesus.
So, if Jesus is the one that we are supposed to listen to, why do we sometimes find ourselves listening to the world? Listening to some person who claims to speak for Jesus, but does not speak according to God’s Word? We have an enemy that knows exactly what to say to us to cause us to listen. He tried to do this also with Jesus in the wilderness. Jesus’ answer to him is exactly the example we need. The answer is to speak the Word of God.
This is just as important when we are hearing some “Christian” speaker that is using enticing words as it is when the world is trying to entice us. It is necessary when our own mind brings forth ideas that do not line up with God’s Word. God’s statement is not, “listen to this great charismatic preacher,” it is “hear ye HIM,” “my beloved Son.”
Many of God’s precious people today are failing to hear Jesus. They are listening to the call of the world, and sometimes they think it is good because it sounds like something that would be good for Christianity or they believe that they will be able to exalt Jesus with it. But it invariably turns out to be just monument to some human idea. Jesus always was clear about what He was teaching was not like this world and would not be accepted by the world. Don’t get caught up in the ideas that are not according to what Jesus tells us. Study God’s Word to know what He is speaking to you. Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal what He wants you to know. God is still reminding us today, “Hear ye HIM.”
