Week 4: Listening to the Son
Only Speak What the Father Has Told Me / You Have Heard that It is Said...
Week 4, Day 2
Jesus had a lot to say. But He knew what to say, when to say it, how to say it, and when to keep silent. What wisdom! John 12:49 (ESV) 49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment—what to say and what to speak. How was Jesus able to speak only His Father’s words and
remain clear in what the Father intended for His people to hear?
The Son of God made it a priority to set aside time in communication with His Father. In Luke 6:12, we see that Jesus “went out to the mountain to pray and spent all night in prayer to God.” All. Night. The Son of God, who was one with the Father, spent all night in communication with Him. How does that reflect the importance of spending time talking and listening to the Father?
Like the teachers of the law, many of us fall into the trap of not listening—or sticking stubbornly to what we thought we heard the first time. They had lost the spirit of all God had taught them through the commandments. Throughout the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus rectifies the errant teaching and clarifies the truth of God’s message to His people. “You have heard that it is said, but I tell you...” There were a number of things that the Israelites had gotten all wrong. And before we quickly condemn them, we must recognize our confusion at some of God’s teaching as well. We listen through the filter of past understanding or current circumstances and muddy the waters of His clear message.
Today, we are going to listen with fresh ears to the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5-7. Picture yourself sitting at the feet of Jesus on the mountainside as He first taught. Read these chapters while asking the following questions: How do I hear these words of Jesus with new perspective? Even if “I’ve heard that it is said,” what do I need to listen to today?
Notes, drawings or thoughts from listening to the Son through the Sermon on the Mount:
Evidenced in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus was clear in His purpose while on earth—even if what He needed to say was not what others wanted to hear. Consider the following verses as filters through which we consider the words we speak. Jesus kept these things in mind as He spoke to His Father and to others.
Matthew 22:34-40
Matthew 26:42
After listening to these verses, make note (above) of what you hear God saying and how He might want you to communicate those truths to others, using Christ’s example.
We would love to hear from you! Please share with us what you are hearing and how you are growing in your devotion to listening.
This blog post is taken from the book Called to Listen: Forty Days of Devotion. To order a copy of this book, please visit our website and invite a friend to participate in the study with you. The book includes additional guides and questions to be reviewed in a small group context weekly.