Speak, Lord, for Your Servant is Listening – Christmas

Speak, Lord, for Your Servant is Listening – Christmas

Subject – The Importance of God’s Voice and the Christmas Story

By Rick Welborne

1 Samuel 3:9-10 (NIV)
⁹  So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
¹⁰  The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 

--We have been speaking quite some time about the importance and the power of hearing God’s voice. It is difficult to do His will if we cannot hear His voice.

--I have appreciated and am thankful for so many telling me how hearing God’s voice has changed their lives and many times given them direction when they did not know what to do.

--I listened to a retired missionary tell me the story of how God took him and his wife from a very successful career to having a home for children overseas. 

--With tears in his eyes he shared how the opportunity was presented to him and how he felt there was no way until he heard that still small voice saying this is My will for your life.

--Maybe you have never considered what I am about to share with you about the beautiful Christmas story. How important was it for the characters in this story to hear the voice of God?

1. Mary Hears from God.

Luke 1:26-38 (NLT2)
²⁶  In the sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a village in Galilee,
²⁷  to a virgin named Mary. She was engaged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of King David.
²⁸  Gabriel appeared to her and said, “Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!”
²⁹  Confused and disturbed, Mary tried to think what the angel could mean.
³⁰  “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God!
³¹  You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus.
³²  He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David.
³³  And he will reign over Israel forever; his Kingdom will never end!”
³⁴  Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”
³⁵  The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.
³⁶  What’s more, your relative Elizabeth has become pregnant in her old age! People used to say she was barren, but she’s now in her sixth month.
³⁷  For nothing is impossible with God.”
³⁸  Mary responded, “I am the Lord’s servant. May everything you have said about me come true.” And then the angel left her. 

--We can learn so much from Mary and how God communicated with her. God’s Words through the angel Gabriel was about to change her life forever.

--What can be more wonderful than a message from God letting you know that God is with you? Because she is afraid, the angel tells her to not be afraid because she had found favor with God.

--You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David. 

--If you are listening, God is speaking the same words to you. What is conceived in you is the Son of God and He will set up His throne in your life. And Holy Spirit will come upon you!

--Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So what is born inside you born will be the Son of God. We want Jesus glorified in our lives.

--One of the greatest words from God ever…For nothing is impossible with God. Mary’s response to Gabriel must be our response whenever God speaks to us. Willing to serve and obey.

Luke 1:38 (NKJV) ³⁸ Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her. 

--How would this story have changed if Mary could not hear from God and be an obedient servant?

2. Joseph Hears from God.

Matthew 1:18-25 (NLT2)
¹⁸  This is how Jesus the Messiah was born. His mother, Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before the marriage took place, while she was still a virgin, she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit.
¹⁹  Joseph, her fiancé, was a good man and did not want to disgrace her publicly, so he decided to break the engagement quietly.
²⁰  As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
²¹  And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
²²  All of this occurred to fulfill the Lord’s message through his prophet:
²³  “Look! The virgin will conceive a child! She will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel, which means ‘God is with us.’”
²⁴  When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife.
²⁵  But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. 

--Again, we can learn so much from this encounter with Joseph. Notice with Mary, God spoke to her through an angel, probably a vision while she was awake. 

--Gabriel speaks to Joseph in a dream. God can use a vision, a dream, or an angel to speak to us. And, God can speak to us in many different ways. Why? Because He is God.

--What can we learn. We can learn how to treat people respectfully. Mary, was engaged to be married to Joseph. But before they are married she became pregnant through the power of the Holy Spirit. Right!

--Joseph was a good man. He did not want to disgrace her publicly. Why do we get such joy from destroying people publicly? Joseph was a good man and good men hear from God.

--“Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus.

--How would this story have changed if Joseph could not hear from God and was not willing to be obedient to the words given to Him?

--Joseph new the Word of God and he knew the prophecies of the Messiah said that a virgin would conceive. Men of God, obedience becomes easier when you know God’s Word! 

--When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded and took Mary as his wife. But he did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And Joseph named him Jesus. A good man.

3. The Shepherds Hear From God.

Luke 2:8-20 (NLT2)
⁸  That night there were shepherds staying in the fields nearby, guarding their flocks of sheep.
⁹  Suddenly, an angel of the Lord appeared among them, and the radiance of the Lord’s glory surrounded them. They were terrified,
¹⁰  but the angel reassured them. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people.
¹¹  The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David!
¹²  And you will recognize him by this sign: You will find a baby wrapped snugly in strips of cloth, lying in a manger.”
¹³  Suddenly, the angel was joined by a vast host of others—the armies of heaven—praising God and saying,
¹⁴  “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth to those with whom God is pleased.”
¹⁵  When the angels had returned to heaven, the shepherds said to each other, “Let’s go to Bethlehem! Let’s see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”
¹⁶  They hurried to the village and found Mary and Joseph. And there was the baby, lying in the manger.
¹⁷  After seeing him, the shepherds told everyone what had happened and what the angel had said to them about this child.
¹⁸  All who heard the shepherds’ story were astonished,
¹⁹  but Mary kept all these things in her heart and thought about them often.
²⁰  The shepherds went back to their flocks, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen. It was just as the angel had told them. 

--We learn, as it says in the Book of Acts, that it is for certain that God is no respecter of persons. Shepherds were not known to be the best of society but the lowly of society.

--God is still wanting to appear and to speak to those of whom many (even in the church) have given up on. What a sight for the angel of the Lord to appear in the sky and to speak. What?

--“Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I bring you good news that will bring great joy to all people. The Savior—yes, the Messiah, the Lord—has been born today in Bethlehem, the city of David! 

--Everyone say “Good news.” Everyone needs to hear the good news. Everyone needs the opportunity to hear the Savior has been born. That’s why we do missions.

--It’s not enough to just have a lovely church and an exciting service for those of us who are already benefactors of the good news. Everyone needs to hear. Go shout it on the mountains!

--Can you imagine hearing the armies of heaven (the heavenly host) praising God and saying, “Glory to God in highest heaven, and peace on earth?

--I love the phrases that were said about the shepherds…they hurried…they found…they told everyone…they praised and glorified God for all they had seen and heard.

--Again, how important was it for Mary, and Joseph, and the shepherds to hear God’s voice and then, to do what He commanded them to do?

--How important is it for you and me to hear the voice of God, and then, to do what He commands us to do?

Jeremiah 11:4 (NKJV) ⁴ 'Obey My voice, and do according to all that I command you; so shall you be My people, and I will be your God,'

Your Christian Life Doesn’t Have to be Toxic - 5

Your Christian Life Doesn’t Have to be Toxic - 5

Subject – Cross-less Christians

By Rick Welborne

1 Corinthians 1:17-18 (NIV)
¹⁷  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
¹⁸  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

Philippians 3:18-20 (NLT)
¹⁸  For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.
¹⁹  They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth.
²⁰  But we are citizens of heaven, where the Lord Jesus Christ lives. And we are eagerly waiting for him to return as our Savior.

--Last week we continued our series on Toxic Christians and we talked about Christian atheist.

Christian atheist:  Someone who confesses Christ but lives like He does not exist.

--Today I want to speak to you about cross-less Christians.

Cross-less Christian – Someone who believes that their life in Christ should be, and must be, free from pain and suffering.

--Much damage has been done in the Kingdom by those who have taught a prosperity gospel that is all about what we receive and enjoy compared to what we give up and endure.

--This is probably not the kind of sermon you would preach if you were trying to be seeker sensitive or trying to boost your offering for your television program.

--So many want preachers to tell them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear. Preaching or teaching the Word of God comes with great responsibility and with fear and trembling. My job:

2 Timothy 4:1-5 (NKJV)
¹  I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom:
²  Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching.
³  For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;
⁴  and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.
⁵  But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. 

--Today I want us to talk about the cross of Jesus Christ…The Purpose…The Pain…The Power!

1. The Purpose of the Cross

John 3:14-16 (NKJV)
¹⁴  And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up,
¹⁵  that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.
¹⁶  For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

--The absolute purpose of the cross…the reason Jesus was lifted up was so that all of us could be saved. We do not have to be lost or to spend eternity away from God because of what Jesus did. 

--The message of the cross may seem to be foolish to some…think about the pretty cross you wear around your neck as jewelry.  The symbol of death for our Lord Jesus Christ!

--Celebrities wear crosses…athletes have crosses tattooed on their bodies…right next to momma…people have crosses on their walls or desk…oh, that we would remember what it stands for.

--Just imagine people wearing an electric chair ornament around their neck because someone they loved or someone who died for them was being electrocuted. That’s crazy!  Really?

--How about someone wearing a hypodermic needle for those who die by injection…that is sick, Pastor Rick.

--So what’s my point?  We have so softened the purpose of the cross and we have so devalued the price Jesus paid to the point we can wear the symbol of His death and still live any way we want..

Matthew 27:39-43 (NKJV)
³⁹  And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads
⁴⁰  and saying, "You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross."
⁴¹  Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said,
⁴²  "He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.
⁴³  He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, 'I am the Son of God.' "  

--He saved others; Himself He cannot save…the chief priest, the scribes, and elders didn’t know how true their statement was…His purpose was not to save Himself but to save all of us.

2. The Pain of the Cross

Romans 5:6-8 (NIV)
⁶  You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.
⁷  Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.
⁸  But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

--You see Jesus did not endure the cross for a bunch of wonderful people…He did it for rotten sinners like you and me.  Our veterans went to fight for those who loved our country and those who do not.  Thank you!

--Oh, how we here in America want a painless Christianity…give me the assurance of Heaven, give me my children serving God, give me blessings (big house and fancy cars) but no suffering please.

--Only a century ago there were brave souls who became known as one-way missionaries. They purchased their tickets to the mission field without the return half. 

 --Instead of suitcases they packed their belongings in coffins. Most said their goodbyes to family knowing they would never see them again.

--A.W.Milne was one of those missionaries. He sailed to the New Hebrides in the South Pacific knowing that the missionaries before him were martyred by the headhunters there.

--Milne did not fear for his life because he had already died to himself. His coffin was packed. He lived among the people there for 35 years and loved them. They buried him in the middle of their village.

Milne’s Tombstone – When he came there was no light. When he left there was no darkness.

Matthew 16:24-26 (NKJV)
²⁴  Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.
²⁵  For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
²⁶  For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?

3. The Power of the Cross

1 Corinthians 1:18 (NKJV) ¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.

--The cross is the power of God…the cross is the power of God to save us and to save those who are lost.

John 12:32-33 (NKJV) ³² And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."
³³  This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

--To the carnal mind this does not make sense…how can a dead man on a cross draw people to Himself?

--Yes, He died on the cross and, yes, He was buried but that is not the end of the story…something happened three days later.  Jesus walked out of the tomb sealing the deal forever.

Philippians 3:10-14 (NKJV) ¹⁰ that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,
¹¹  if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
¹²  Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid hold of me.
¹³  Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead,
¹⁴  I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 

--Pastor, I can’t press on…I can’t serve God because I have done ________.  The power of the cross can take away all your sin. It is nailed to the cross.

Colossians 2:13-15 (NKJV)
¹³  And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
¹⁴  having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
¹⁵  Having disarmed principalities and powers, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.

Christmas Program – 2023 – Behold

Christmas Program – 2023 – Behold

Subject – Behold the Lamb of God

By Rick Welborne

Matthew 1:22-23 (NKJV)
²²  So all this was done that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying:
²³  "Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel," which is translated, "God with us."

John 1:29 (NKJV)
²⁹  The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

--We want to thank Pastor Aaron and the entire team for such a great worship production called Behold. We give God glory for all the talent He has given to this multigenerational church.

--Today I want to share with you just for a few minutes my thoughts about Behold. Most of you know how I love to play with words and I believe God has given me some thoughts for you.

1. Jesus Can Be Holding Your Eternal Life.

--You see, all this work, all the practices, all the planning, and all the prayer that goes into a program like this is so people can find eternal life in Jesus Christ.

--Behold, the virgin shall be with child and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is “God with us!” Whether you know it or not, He is with us today.

--The gospel is called the “Good News” for a reason. It is good news for you today because Jesus is here to give you eternal life. We will all spend eternity somewhere but we have a choice.

--Jesus can be holding your eternal life in His nail pierced hands as a gift to you, but you have to be willing to receive it from Him. 

--Pastor, you don’t know how I have lived, how I have pushed Him away, and how I have sinned against Him all of my life. Good news! That doesn’t matter because:

John 1:29 (NKJV) ²⁹ "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

--At this Christmas season you could be holding the greatest gift ever given to mankind and that is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. He is God with us and what a beautiful thing.

--The greatest Gift Giver ever born wants to give you the gift of salvation today.

2. Jesus Can Be Holding Your Walk with Him.

--Pastor, life is tough and sometimes life doesn’t seem fair. I’ve lost someone I loved, I got a bad diagnosis from the doctor, my family is a mess, and I feel lost and helpless.

--I will never tell anyone that if you receive Christ, you will never have problems. But what I will tell you is this, as you go through those problems Jesus will be holding you.

John 16:33 (NKJV)
³³  These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world."

--Never forget, He is Immanuel which means God with us and He promises to never leave us.

Psalm 27:5-6 (NKJV)
⁵  For in the time of trouble He shall hide me in His pavilion; In the secret place of His tabernacle He shall hide me; He shall set me high upon a rock.
⁶  And now my head shall be lifted up above my enemies all around me; Therefore I will offer sacrifices of joy in His tabernacle; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises to the LORD. 

3. Jesus Can Be Holding You Through All Your Mess.

--Christian or non-Christian we all have our mess, our problems, our addictions, and there can seem to be no deliverance in sight.

--I know it is the Christmas season but never forget that Jesus can be holding all you sin and all your mess on the cross of Calvary. It was nailed to the tree. Remember, He was born to die.

Galatians 1:3-5 (NLT2)
³  May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
⁴  Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.
⁵  All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.

John 1:29 (NKJV) ²⁹ "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!

Speak, Lord, for Your Servant is Listening – 4

Speak, Lord, for Your Servant is Listening – 4

Subject – Let There Be Light – His Voice

By Rick Welborne

1 Samuel 3:9-10 (NIV)
⁹  So Eli told Samuel, "Go and lie down, and if he calls you, say, 'Speak, LORD, for your servant is listening.'" So Samuel went and lay down in his place.
¹⁰  The LORD came and stood there, calling as at the other times, "Samuel! Samuel!" Then Samuel said, "Speak, for your servant is listening." 

Genesis 1:1-3 (NKJV)
¹  In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
²  The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
³  Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 

--Think about the power of God’s voice. With just four words He speaks the universe into existence. God said, “Let there be light.” These are God’s first recorded words. His first recorded miracle.

--Again, try to wrap your mind around His words. Light is the source of vision; without it we can’t see anything. Light is the source of technology; we can talk to people halfway around the world.

--Light is the first link in the food chain; no photosynthesis equals no food. Light is the basis of health; the absence of light causes everything from Vitamin D deficiency to depression. 

--Light is the origin of energy; in Einstein’s equation E=MC2, energy (E) is defined as mass (M) times the speed of Light (C) squared. The speed of light is the constant.

--Light is the alpha and omega of everything, and that includes you. The very first revelation of God was as creator. So how did God create? With His voice!

--The universe is God’s way of saying, “Look what I can do with four words.” This same voice parted the Red Sea, made the sun stand still, healed a withered hand, made a tree barren.

--God’s voice can turn water into wine, can heal a blind man’s eyes, and it can resurrect a man after he has been dead for four days. 

--There is nothing God’s voice cannot say, cannot do. And, frankly, He can do it however He pleases. He can speak thru burning bushes, Balaam’s donkey, or Bethlehem’s star.

--His voice can write on palace walls or shut the mouths of lions. His voice can quench the flames of a fiery furnace or calm the storm on the Sea of Galilee. 

--His voice is all-powerful but that’s only half the story. His voice is also all-loving. We need to listen.

1. God’s Voice is Sweetness.

--I have heard people say that they are afraid to hear God’s voice because they are afraid of what He will say to them. That’s so sad because they don’t understand His heart.

Song of Songs 5:16 (NIV) ¹⁶ His mouth is sweetness itself; he is altogether lovely. 

--According to rabbinic tradition, when God spoke to the Israelites at Mt. Sinai, they were so scared that they felt as though their souls left their bodies. That was God using His outside voice.

--According to their tradition, what did God do? He softened His words and their souls returned to them.

--According to the Word of God, when God wants us to repent or to return to Him, He uses the sweetness of His voice to woo us back. Listen carefully and you will hear His love.

Romans 2:4 (NIV)
⁴  Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God's kindness leads you toward repentance? 

--I know that many people have a hard time believing God is loving, and it’s often because someone represented Him in a way that misrepresented Him.

--When I was at SW University in Texas I walked in on a conversation with one of these wild-eyed crazy people. He had a captive audience and was teaching them deep theology about Holy Spirit.

--He said, “Don’t believe that Holy Spirit is a gentleman. He has knocked me across the room to get my attention.” I had only been a Christian for two years and knew better.

--Being shy like I am, I walked up and interrupted the conversation and told his audience he was crazy and to walk away before he said something else crazy. The crowd dispersed. 

--I believe God is speaking over His children the same thing He spoke over Jesus at His baptism:

Matthew 3:17 (NKJV)
¹⁷  And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."

--For you who are insecure; Pastor, God was pleased with Jesus because He was perfect and righteous. Yes, but we have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. He loves you!

--God has a voice you want to hear. When you are in love with someone, you can’t hear their sweet voice enough. You can spend hours talking to them. So sweet!

--When you are in love with someone, you love the sound of his or her voice. And you long to hear it often. A real relationship with God is no different.

2. God’s Voice is Singing Over You.

Leonard Bernstein – I believe the best translation of the Hebrew in Genesis 1 was not ‘and God said’ but ‘and God sang.’ Creation is God’s symphony and science provides plenty of corroborating evidence.

--Wow! Creation is God’s symphony. Did you know that the electron shell of the carbon atom produces the same harmonic scale as the Gregorian chant? Makes you go hmmm!

--According to the science of bioacoustics, millions of songs are being sung all the time. Those songs are infrasonic and ultrasonic so we can’t hear them.

Physician and Researcher Lewis Thomas – If we had better hearing and could discern the descants of sea birds, the rhythmic timpani of schools of mollusks, or even the distant harmonics of midges hanging over meadows in the sun, the combined sound might lift us off our feet.”

--Pastor, that is just a little crazy and farfetched. You make it sound like singing is going on all the time.

Revelation 5:13-14 (NLT2)
¹³  And then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea. They sang: “Blessing and honor and glory and power belong to the one sitting on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever.”
¹⁴  And the four living beings said, “Amen!” And the twenty-four elders fell down and worshiped the Lamb. 

--I just wonder all those times that we were totally convinced that we could hear music coming from somewhere, could it have been God letting us hear his voice or creation’s voices?

--We need to learn to hear and to discern God’s voice because I truly believe He is speaking and singing to us all day long. Every day. Why? Because he loves us.

Zephaniah 3:16-17 (NLT2)
¹⁶  On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, “Cheer up, Zion! Don’t be afraid!
¹⁷  For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs.” 

3. His Voice Compared to Our Voice.

--The human voice is pretty much good for one thing—verbal communication. So we tend to think of God’s voice the same way. 

--God’s voice is so much more than audible words communicated in human language. God uses His voice to speak, but He also uses His voice to heal, reveal, convict, create, guide, and to show grace. 

--Does God speak to us audibly? Absolutely! But that is just a small part of His way of communicating with us. His ability to speak is way beyond our ability to hear audibly.

--There are people who say that they have never seen a miracle and there are people who argue that they have never heard God speak. I would argue with that thought process.

--That may be true of God’s audible voice within our small range of hearing, but everything we see on this earth was formed by His creative voice. “Let there be light.”

--What we see today, He once said. His voice is around us all the time. His creation shouts to us:

Romans 1:20-22 (NLT2)
²⁰  For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
²¹  Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.
²²  Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 

--Never think God is not speaking. His creation is shouting at you every day how awesome God is and how He wants you to know Him in a greater way. He loves you.

--How do you know that He loves me, Pastor? Everyone look up at the cross hanging in this church. Think about Jesus hanging on the cross. Listen to His voice.

1 Corinthians 1:17-18 (NIV)
¹⁷  For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.
¹⁸  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

--Maybe you don’t hear anything audibly but the cross is definitely speaking to you and if you listen carefully, you can hear Jesus say, I love you this much!