TOGETHER IN HIS PRESENCE: LISTENING

Dear Friends,

At the beginning of the summer I developed an infection in my right ear. It caused hearing loss, tinnitus, and vertigo as well as some pain. The vertigo was so bad that I could not drive for almost a week. I went to a doctor, who put me on antibiotics to clear up the outer ear infection. The outer ear infection healed up nicely, but in the weeks afterwards,the tinnitus continued, as well as my hearing loss. I discovered this week that the significant hearing loss in my right ear is permanent. I will have to use a hearing aid in my right ear for the rest of my life to be able to have at least some hearing in that ear. The point of this story is that almost everyone can hear, but you need to choose to listen, and learn to listen. Just because your ears can hear well, does not mean you can actually listen to other people, or listen to God.

This is my sixth blog on church worship, and by implication, on the common life of people who make up the local church. Our guide each week has been a beautiful and godly call to worship written in 1549 during the English Reformation. One key feature of godly worship, and by implication, a godly local church, is to listen to God’s most holy word.

Here again is the Call to Worship.

“Dearly beloved brothers and sisters, the Scripture moves us in sundry places to acknowledge and confess our manifold sins and wickedness; and that we should not dissemble nor cloak them before the face of almighty God our heavenly Father; but confess them with an humble, lowly, penitent and obedient heart; to the end that we may obtain forgiveness of the same by His infinite goodness and mercy. And although we ought humbly acknowledge our sins before God; yet ought we most chiefly so to do, when we assemble and meet together to render thanks for the great benefits that we have received at His hands, to set forth His most worthy praise, to hear His most holy word, and to ask those things which are requisite and necessary, as well for the body as the soul. Wherefore I pray and beseech you, as many as are here present, to accompany me with a pure heart, and humble voice, unto the throne of the heavenly grace, saying after me …”

The tone and content of the whole Call to Worship is very good, each part biblically consistent and each part helpful to the other parts. Today, let’s think about the very apt phrase, “to hear His most holy word.”

First, it reminds you that the Bible is “His most holy word”. This call to worship was written long before the “Battle for the Bible” of recent decades, which led to the development of “new” words like “inerrant” and “infallible”, which seek to help the church remain faithful to the historic, biblical faith, “which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3b, ESV). The phrase is very apt, the Bible is God’s word, not the church’s word or any person's word. The Triune God acted to ensure that the words He wanted spoken would be spoken, written down, recognized and preserved. Since they are His words, they are true and trustworthy, because He is true and trustworthy. The Bible is His word, and because out of all the words written throughout all of history by human beings, only the words of the Bible are His, then His word written is most holy.

Second, since He has caused His most holy word to be written, recognized and preserved, it is only wise that you should desire to hear His most holy word. How can it not be wise to want to listen to the One who has created all things, sustains all things, is sovereign over all things, and who alone can act, and has acted, to redeem His fallen image-bearers in the person and work of His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ? I can hear and safely ignore much of the verbal noise around me, but it is never wise to not hear, and listen, to your spouse or your child. If that is the case, then it is a far more serious error to not hear and listen to the Triune God speak. I can both listen to another person and disagree with them. However, you cannot listen to the Triune God and disagree. This does not mean you should pretend you agree with Him when you do not. It does mean that when you find His word hard or confusing or even repellent - you should honestly confess this to Him and ask that He will lead you into all truth so that you can listen and then walk in His words.

Third, pray that the pastor listens well to God’s most holy word, and that the congregation will listen well as well. This sounds self-evident, but it is a desperately needed prayer commitment. If I am in a conversation with my wife, and after a minute or so, I tune her out, and begin formulating what I am going to say, my wife will notice and call me on it. You would all agree that she is right to be upset with me. I should try to listen well to everything she has to say, and then after listening, reply. However, it is very easy for the preacher or Bible study teacher to spend 5% of their prep time listening to God’s word and 95% of their time working on what they want to say. This must grieve the Lord, and does not serve the congregation or Bible study group well. It creates the appearance of listening without the substance. So pray for your preachers and teachers that they will listen to the Bible deeply, humbly, intelligently, diligently and well - and to then preach and teach out of such humble listening.

Fourth, pray that everyone in your local church will gather to be in God’s presence and receive from Him in a worthy manner. This is why this phrase “to hear His most holy word” is both illuminated by the rest of the call to worship and helps illuminate the other parts of the call to worship. It is easy to think of a worship service as a performance, or as us showing up and hoping God will show up, or as us curating a time of transformation - or some other foolish idea. The fact is, “all things come of Him and of His own have we given Him”. We are pure need and dependance, He is pure source and gift. In obedience to His most holy word, we gather together in His presence, needing His help to even receive from Him and to respond to Him, in a manner worthy of His glory and grace. So please pray for Messiah, one church, three congregations (8am, 10am, online) that we will hear His most holy word, receiving from Him and responding to Him in a most worthy manner. Learning to listen well together to His most holy word.

George+