Consuming Fire
Jer. 23:29 (NIV) "Is not my word like fire," declares the Lord, "and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?"
Deut. 5:24-29 (NIV) And you said, "The Lord our God has shown us his glory and his majesty, and we have heard his voice from the fire. Today we have seen that a man can live even if God speaks with him. But now, why should we die? This great fire will consume us, and we will die if we hear the voice of the Lord our God any longer... [To Moses] Go near and listen to all that the Lord our God says. Then tell us whatever the Lord our God tells you. We will listen and obey." The Lord... said to me, "I have heard what this people said to you. Everything they said was good. Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!"
Deut. 18:15-16 (NIV) The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the Lord your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, "Let us not hear the voice of the Lord our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die."
Hebr. 2:1-3 (NIV) We must pay more careful attention, therefore, to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away. For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment, how shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation? This salvation, which was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard him.
Hebr. 12:18-24 (NIV) You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded:.. The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, "I am trembling with fear." But you have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Hebr. 12:25-29 (NIV) See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, "Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens." The words "once more" indicate the removing of what can be shaken--that is, created things--so that what cannot be shaken may remain. Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, for our "God is a consuming fire."
Pay Attention
Exod. 23:21 (NIV) Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.
Jer. 25:4 (NIV) And though the Lord has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention.
John 5:24-25 (NIV) "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life. I tell you the truth, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live.
Neh. 9:30 (NIV) For many years you were patient with them. By your Spirit you admonished them through your prophets. Yet they paid no attention, so you handed them over to the neighboring peoples.
Luke 16:31 (NIV) "He said to him, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.'"
Jer. 7:24 (NIV) But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.
Deut. 7:12 (NIV) If you pay attention to these laws and are careful to follow them, then the Lord your God will keep his covenant of love with you, as he swore to your forefathers.
Jer. 13:15 (NIV) Hear and pay attention, do not be arrogant, for the Lord has spoken.
Deut. 28:13 (NIV) The Lord will make you the head, not the tail. If you pay attention to the commands of the Lord your God that I give you this day and carefully follow them, you will always be at the top, never at the bottom.
Lev. 26:27-28 (NIV) "If in spite of this you still do not listen to me but continue to be hostile toward me, then in my anger I will be hostile toward you, and I myself will punish you for your sins seven times over."
Jer. 26:3 (NIV) "Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done."
Discerning God's Voice
Isa. 50:4-7 (NIV) The Sovereign Lord has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame.
Matt. 11:4-5 (NIV) Jesus replied, "Go back and report to John what you hear and see: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor."
Ears To Hear
Matt. 13:9 (NIV) "He who has ears, let him hear."
Check to see if you qualify... False Voices
2Tim. 2:15-18 (NIV) Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth. Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly. Their teaching will spread like gangrene. Among them are Hymenaeus and Philetus, who have wandered away from the truth...
Ezek. 13:19 (NIV) "You have profaned me among my people for a few handfuls of barley and scraps of bread. By lying to my people, who listen to lies, you have killed those who should not have died and have spared those who should not live."
Ezek. 13:1-4 (NIV) The word of the Lord came to me: "Son of man, prophesy against the prophets of Israel who are now prophesying. Say to those who prophesy out of their own imagination: 'Hear the word of the Lord! This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Woe to the foolish prophets who follow their own spirit and have seen nothing!'"
Acts 8:22 (NIV) Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.
Ezek. 33:30-32 (NIV) "As for you, son of man, your countrymen are talking together about you by the walls and at the doors of the houses, saying to each other, 'Come and hear the message that has come from the Lord.' My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to listen to your words, but they do not put them into practice. With their mouths they express devotion, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice."
2Tim. 3:8 (NIV) Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth--men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.
Rom. 1:28 (NIV) Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
Prov. 14:8 (NIV) The wisdom of the prudent is to give thought to their ways, but the folly of fools is deception.
Rom. 10:17 (NIV) Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ.
Hearing Problems
Isa. 6:9-11 (NIV) He said, "Go and tell this people: 'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people callused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed." Then I said, "For how long, O Lord?" And he answered: "Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged."
Isa. 42:18-23 (NIV) "Hear, you deaf; look, you blind, and see!.. You have seen many things, but have paid no attention; your ears are open, but you hear nothing." ...But this is a people plundered and looted, all of them trapped in pits or hidden away in prisons. They have become plunder, with no one to rescue them; they have been made loot, with no one to say, "Send them back." Which of you will listen to this or pay close attention in time to come?
Jer. 23:18-20 (NIV) But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord to see or to hear his word? Who has listened and heard his word? See, the storm of the Lord will burst out in wrath, a whirlwind swirling down on the heads of the wicked. The anger of the Lord will not turn back until he fully accomplishes the purposes of his heart. In days to come you will understand it clearly.
Told You So
Isa. 48:5-9 (NIV) "Therefore I told you these things long ago; before they happened I announced them to you... You have heard these things; look at them all. Will you not admit them?.. You have neither heard nor understood; from of old your ear has not been open... For my own name's sake I delay my wrath; for the sake of my praise I hold it back from you, so as not to cut you off."
Isa. 28:22-23 (NIV) Now stop your mocking, or your chains will become heavier; the Lord, the Lord Almighty, has told me of the destruction decreed against the whole land. Listen and hear my voice; pay attention and hear what I say.
Hear And Repent
Jer. 5:21-23 (NIV) Hear this, you foolish and senseless people, who have eyes but do not see, who have ears but do not hear: Should you not fear me?" declares the Lord. "Should you not tremble in my presence?.. But these people have stubborn and rebellious hearts; they have turned aside and gone away."
Hebr. 3:7-8, 4:7 (NIV) So, as the Holy Spirit says: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert..." Therefore God again set a certain day, calling it Today, when a long time later he spoke through David, as was said before: "Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts."
Healing Our Deafness
Mark 12:29-30 (NIV) "The most important one," answered Jesus, "is this: 'Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.'"
Luke 8:21 (NIV) He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."
Gal. 5:25 (NIV) Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Mental Problems
Mark 8:33 (NIV) But when Jesus turned and looked at his disciples, he rebuked Peter. "Get behind me, Satan!" he said. "You do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men."
Rom. 8:5-7 (NIV) Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so.
The Counsel Of The Lord
Luke 24:45 (NIV) Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures.
Rom. 12:2 (NIV) Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect will.
Isa. 48:18 (NIV) If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea.
Luke 11:28 (NIV) He replied, "Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it."
Isa. 35:3-5 (NIV) Strengthen the feeble hands, steady the knees that give way; say to those with fearful hearts, "Be strong, do not fear; your God will come, he will come with vengeance; with divine retribution he will come to save you." Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped.
Ps. 29:4 (NIV) The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is majestic.
Rev. 3:20 (NIV) "Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me."
Ps. 85:8 (NIV) I will listen to what God the Lord will say; he promises peace to his people, his saints--but let them not return to folly.
