Investigating God #9
The God Who Hears
Steve W. Reeves
stevesermons.blogspot.com
INTRODUCTION:
A.
“Don’t call us, we’ll call you.” 1. Have you ever heard these words? Perhaps it was when you were applying for a
job or seeking information of some type.
2. Whatever the situation, there was no misunderstanding the message. “We are
not interested in hearing from you.”
B. Like a crystal clear communique, the message of Scripture is that God loves to hear
from us.
1. He is approachable. Hebrews 4:16 tells us that through Christ we can come
boldly before God’s throne of grace so that we might find help in time of need.
2. He is available. You will never receive a busy signal from God. You will never be
transferred to voice mail or put on hold. In Romans 8:15 Paul wrote, “For you have
not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit
of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself
testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs
of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may
also be glorified with Him.”
3. He is agreeable. God is not against us. He always has our best interest in mind.
Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it
will be opened to you. 8 For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds,
and to him who knocks it will be opened. 9 Or what man is there among you who,
when his son asks for a loaf, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, he will
not give him a snake, will he? 11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is
good to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:7-11).
C. Notice some pertinent passages regarding the God who hears.
1. Psalm 65:2 – “O You who hear prayer, To You all men come”
2. Psalm 116:1 – “I love the Lord, because He hears My voice and my supplications.”
3. Proverbs 15:29 – “The Lord is far from the wicked, But He hears the prayer of the
righteous.”
4. Jeremiah 33:3 – “Call to Me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and
mighty things, which you do not know.”
5. 1John 5:14-15 – “This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask
anything according to His will, He hears us. 15 And if we know that He hears us in
whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from
Him.”
D. God hears us during every time of life.
I. IN TIMES OF HARDSHIP
A. When the descendants of Jacob went into Egypt during the days of Joseph, their
population began to grow. When a new Pharaoh came to power he enslaved the
Israelites and laid a heavy burden of labor on them. The people began to cry for
deliverance.
1. According to Exodus 2:24 – “So God heard their groaning; and God
remembered His covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
2. In Exodus 3:7 God spoke to Moses, “I have surely seen the affliction of My
people who are in Egypt, and have given heed to their cry because of their
taskmasters, for I am aware of their sufferings”
3. Throughout the book of Judges similar scenes emerge.
a. In Judges 6:6, “So Israel was brought very low because of Midian, and the
sons of Israel cried to the Lord.”
b. God saw their distress and heard their cries. He raised up Gideon to lead the
people against Midian.
c. Each time a similar situation occurred God heard the cry of His people and
delivered them.
B. Does God ever grow tired of hearing from us?
1. My wife, Tami, receives phone calls from our three daughters almost daily. Many
times she receives “text” messages from our son. I asked her if she ever grew
tired of hearing from them. She quickly replied, “No.”
2. God loves to hear from us in good times and in bad times.
II. IN TIMES OF HEARTACHE
A. Have you ever been heartbroken over a situation? Such was the case with a
woman named Hannah in 1 Samuel 1. Hannah was the wife of Elkanah. She had
no children and was constantly taunted by Elkanah’s other wife, Pinninah.
According to 1 Samuel 1:10, “She, greatly distressed, prayed to the Lord and wept
bitterly.”
1. According to verse 15, she “poured out her soul to the Lord.”
2. Verse 19 says that God “remembered” her. She conceived and bore a son.
B. In Isaiah 30:19 during a time of great heartache and distress in Israel, Isaiah said,
“O people in Zion, inhabitant in Jerusalem, you will weep no longer. He will surely
be gracious to you at the sound of your cry; when He hears it, He will answer you.”
B. Why did Hannah cry out to God? Why did Isaiah tell Israel to turn back to God?
They both understood that God hears.
1. Jesus was certainly aware of this.
2. To illustrate the confidence God wants us to have in Him, Jesus told this
parable in Luke 11:5-8, “Suppose one of you has a friend, and goes to him at
midnight and says to him, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves; 6 for a friend of mine
has come to me from a journey, and I have nothing to set before him’; 7 and
from inside he answers and says, ‘Do not bother me; the door has already been
shut and my children and I are in bed; I cannot get up and give you anything.’ 8 I
tell you, even though he will not get up and give him anything because he is is
friend, yet because of his persistence he will get up and give him as much
needs.”
a. This parable is not depicting God as a reluctant giver.
b. It is depicting the friend as having so much confidence that he continues to
knock.
C. In times of heartache you can be assured that God hears.
III. IN TIMES OF HOSTILITY
A. What about the times when we are oppressed or persecuted by others? Does God
hear us during those times?
1. In 1 Kings 18:20ff the Old Testament prophet Elijah challenged 450 prophets to
a contest on Mount Carmel to prove who was God. Was it Jehovah or Baal?
Both the prophets of Baal and Elijah build an altar and laid a sacrifice on it. The
prophets of Baal called out to their idolatrous god. When he did not respond
Elijah taunted them, “Perhaps he is occupied?” When there was no answer they
began mutilating themselves. There was still no answer. Elijah ordered water to
be poured on his sacrifice and then called out to the God of heaven and earth.
Immediately, fire came from the sky, consuming the sacrifice and the altar as
well as the water in the trenches.
2. In the midst of a hostile environment God heard and answered.
B. Perhaps, you find yourself persecuted by others who are causing you distress and
grief. On more than one occasion David cried out to God during perilous times
(see Psalm 46).
IV. IN TIMES OF HOPELESSNESS
A. In the Genesis account of Abraham, his wife, Sarah, was initially unable to bear a
child. She gave her servant Hagar to Abraham. Hagar bore the child named
Ishmael. When strife arose in the family Abraham sent Hagar and the boy away.
1. It seemed like a hopeless situation as Hagar and her child faced the harsh
elements of the wilderness without the long term prospect of food, clothing or
shelter.
2. In Genesis 21:17, “God heard the lad crying; and the angel of God called to
Hagar from heaven and said to her, “What is the matter with you, Hagar? Do not
fear, for God has heard the voice of the lad where he is.”
B. Whenever you are facing what seems to be a hopeless situation remember that
God hears our cries just as He heard Ishmael.
1. God heard Paul and Silas in the Philippian prison – Acts 16:25.
2. God heard Elijah in the midst of despair – 1 Kings 19.
3. There is no situation so hopeless that God cannot hear and renew our hope.
V. IN TIMES OF HAPPINESS
A. God likes to hear from us in good times.
1. In seasons of joy and victory.
2. In times of blessing.
B. We should never view God merely as a 9-1-1 responder when we face a crisis
or difficult situation.
CONCLUSION:
A. God hears. His willingness to hear must be met with our willingness to come to Him.
1. Here is what David did. “I will call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised”
(Psalm 18:3).
2. When David called on the Lord, God heard.
B. God’s promise to you is that He always hears His children. When was the last time
you spoke with Him?
C. We invite you to come to the God that hears.
