Are We Receiving?

Scripture Reading: Revelation 13:9 See also 3:22

While I am writing this, I am without mobile cellular communication.  Fifteen years ago this would be the norm for everyone.  Not so today.  My cell phone was going on the blink and finally laid down and died.  Needless to say that put this little ear receiver out of commission too.   If you're not familiar with this device, it can be either a blessing or an irritant.  This is a typical Bluetooth headset made by Motorola.  It allows the user via voice commands in certain phones to make calls, receive calls, and perform other various functions while your hands remain free.  That is the blessing part.  The irritant part is walking about talking to someone and people give you weird stares as if you're talking to an imaginary friend or having an emotional fit.  Other than that they are nice.  

The one problem with these receivers are that they receive.  So in order to work, they need to have something to send them what they need.  If no phone is actively online and sending transmissions to them, then they are useless pieces of Star Trek looking technological jewelry. Yet they serve one purpose if you're looking for it, and that is a reminder of our relationship with God.  

If we look at our relationship with God as believers in a metaphorical sense, then God is the Transceiver (phone) we are the Receiver (headset).  Now important to note that God does not stop transmitting willfully due to error on His part.  However, we stop receiving willfully due to errors on our part.

First, we stop receiving from God because we get out of range.  A Bluetooth receiver does a good job, but only when its close to the source that feeds it.  When we let unconfessed sin linger in our hearts we drift farther apart from God.  The farther along we go from Him the weaker His voice is heard.  This desire to separate ourselves from Him comes from a lack of understanding His Word.  We see other people seemingly getting by with sin, so why not we? Lovingly that is where we are far different from the world.  The world has a father who doesn't care at all what happens to them.  The father of this world doesn't show any remorse when the children get into deep trouble because of their sin in fact, its welcomed to him.  Our Heavenly Father sees ahead of what we do and knows the consequences.  This is why when we get out of range we feel His discipline rather than hear His voice.  What better a thing it would be to hear a gently rebuke than feel a stern lash.  

Another reason why we drift out of range is because we get overly confident in our own strength.  The fundamental difference in God's parenting and the world's example is that God does not want us to become independent from Him.  God never pushes away a child from His house so that child can go it on his or her own.  Yet we get the urge to leave the comfort of the Father's care for some trifling matter.  We see others seemingly making it in the world without dependence on God so it naturally occurs to us that the same should be true of us.  We resent that Divine hand upon us at times.  

The second area in which we stop receiving from God is  that we are interrupted by other signals.  This is sort of like the previous paragraph with one difference.  The difference is that we are trying our best to depend on God, yet the world's distractions are so great and boisterous we lose our spiritual concentration.  There is so much out there clamoring for our attention.  TV ads, newsstand ads, seemingly innocent humor (that consequently we haven't noticed how gradually rough and evil it becomes).  There are demands on our schedule, listening to complaints and "wisdom" from friends who don't know Christ.  There is loud noise all around out spiritual ears so that it is hard to concentrate on Bible study, prayer, and Christian living according to God's standards.  The way we turn down the noise is to escape the source.  Now of course, we are not totally to separate ourselves from worldly contact, for we have no one to fulfill the Great Commission upon.  Yet, like the old adage, "one rotten apple in the barrel spoils the rest," certainly does apply.  The more we become involved with the practices of the world, the less we are receptive to God.   We need to spend time alone, even if its for a few moments, talking to God in a quiet place, reading a Scripture or reciting one committed to memory.  We cannot make it without Scriptural Truth and devotion towards God.

Lastly, we fail to make the connection many times when God is speaking.  This can result from many things, but somewhere in all the reasons, bitterness and disgruntlement are at the core.  We tend to judge God as we judge men, this is our first mistake.  Too often we see no need in ourselves to listen to God if we have judged God to have seemingly acted in "error" in our lives by not giving us something, allowing something other than we wanted, not answering us on our timetable, etc.   I cannot be writing to you now and say I am innocent of this.  In fact I fail at this a lot.  We question God's sovereignty.  We doubt His ability.  We question His willingness.  All these things compacted together makes us stop our Spiritual ears when God speaks.  To better term it, we go to our spiritual "pouting place."  I am not saying life is easy.  Contrary to modern sermonizing in today's pulpits, life is not getting better, its getting harder.  Jesus plainly told us that you can expect tribulation in this world.  Our joy comes from the certain knowledge that this world of trouble is not our permanent residence.  So when we choose not to hear from God, we typically are angry in some fashion with God.  The wonderful part of this is that God doesn't get as angry with us as we do with Him.  Is He displeased with us when we act so?  Yes Hie is.  Does He come down on us in punishment as we deserve? No He does not.  Yet being angry or unwilling to hear from God can be fearful.  In fact it may be that putting you in a place of fear is the only way you will desire to hear Whom you have shut off. I believe this is a mark of a true believer.  The one who desires to come back to the Father as the prodigal, is one who is truly a Son or Daughter of God.  

So how do we stop being unwilling to listen to God.  First repent (turn from) whatever reason you have to hold against God.  Second, re-committ a desire to talk to Him and spend time with Him.  Third, be thankful we have Him as our Helper and ask Him to safeguard our hearts from foolish behavior.  

Are you receiving from God?  Do you desire to be in contact with Him? Or are you still desirous to make it on your own without being connected?  Remember what Jesus said in John 15:5  "I am the vine, you are the branches....apart from Me you cannot do anything."

Heavenly Father, help each of us today to be desirous of Your guidance and Voice.  Help us not to look fondly after what the world calls pleasure.  May we be in tune with Your will.  Thank you for lovingly taking us back when we wander from You.  In Your Name we pray.  Amen.







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