Listen to God
LISTEN TO GOD
“O THAT THOU INCLINE THINE EAR UNTO WISDOM, AND APPLY THINE
HEART TO UNDERSTANDING” ( Prov 2:20).
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A great many of you probably either have children or grandchildren and are familiar with the old “Child Rearing” booklet and the principles of child rearing the Church once encouraged and taught. Many of us were probably quite diligent in our efforts to follow these instructions. As parents it is indeed ajoy when a child actually listens to instructions given. It brings real joy when you ask a child to do something and they say, "Yes, Mom" or "Yes, Dad" and they actually do it. But, as we also know, children often grow up and rebel against the good advice of their wiser parents.
I was listening to the news the other evening and a distraught mother was saying her two sons, one was 14 years old and I don't know what the age of the other one was, had got themselves into a lot of trouble. She said, "you know the reason why my sons are this way is because we are not allowed to discipline our children anymore. The government has taken away our privilege of teaching and correcting our children through discipline. If I do discipline my child, then it is considered 'child abuse.'"
God's word is full of accounts of His children that refuse to listen to Him. Do we listen to our Father, our Parent? Often children only learn to fear
their parents when they are punished. You know, "if you don't stop that now, I'm going to bring the paddle," or whatever, and that's what they fear. I'm sorry to say that all too often, that is the relationship we have with our Father - God. We only listen because we fear getting punished.
Do we listen to God? In the Old Testament, the word translated as "listen," is the Hebrew word "shama," which means to "hear, pay attention, consider, obey." In Proverbs 1:7 it says, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." "Fear" is the Hebrew word "yare," which simply means to "fear, or hold in reverence." This proper "fear" or reverence of God is the beginning of true knowledge.
David writes, "The fear (or reverence) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do " It adds in italics "His commandments" (Psa.111:10). Now if we go further back in the Psalm to verse 5 it says, "He has given food to those who fear Him." It is the same for us as a parent when we are talking about physical food. None of us as parents would take food away from our children. No, we feed them and care for them. God, our Father, is no different, He even wants to give us of Himself - to give His Spirit to us. The verse continues, "He will ever be mindful of His covenant."
The prophet Daniel, over in Daniel 9:4 says, ". . . 0 Lord, great and awesome God, who keeps His covenant " God faithfully keeps His covenant, but He keeps it with those who love Him and keep His commandments. But David goes on, in Psalm 111, "He has declared to His people the power of His works, in giving them the heritage of the nations. The works of His hands are truth and justice and all His precepts are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness. He has sent redemption to His people; forever. Holy and awesome is His name" (Vs.6-9).
And that is just like a parent. A parent gives his children instructions. Those instructions are sure because those instructions are meant to build up the child and support and care for the child. They are not given to cause the child problems and God is that way toward us. When He gives us something, it is to build our faith and to help us and to bring us closer to Him. All God's precepts are sure. They are given for our good. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; A good understanding have all those who do" (Vs.10). If we go back to Prov. 1:7, we can see that it talks about this same subject, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." We must take that knowledge of God in and apply it in our life and live it. Continuing with verse 7, ". . . But fools despise wisdom and instruction." Then in verse 8~9 it says, "My son, hear the instruction of your father, and do not forsake the law of your mother; for they will be graceful ornaments on your head, and chains about your neck." You see, the law and instructions of a parent, the wisdom, if you will, if listened to and obeyed by a child, are so much more than gold and silver, or any material wealth or blessings that you can give that child.
Listening to those instructions that the mother and the father give in the case of a child, or the instructions God gives, is far better than anything you can gain physically. We must take what God says and use it and apply it. In other words, listen to what He says and do it! We must be obedient children. If we don't do what our Father, God instructs us to do, it's like us telling our child "don't do that" and the child says "OK, I won't," but then does it anyway in disobedience. He's listened to you, but he continues to do what you told him not to do.
There is an excellent example of listening and doing found in Luke, "And the Lord said, 'Who then is that faithful and wise steward, (remember what we have been reading in Proverbs about wisdom), whom his master will make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of food in due season? Blessed is that servant whom his master will find so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to you that he will make him ruler over all that he has. But if that servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his coming,' and begins to beat the male and female servants, and to eat and drink and be drunk, (or, be a disobedient child) the master of that servant will come on a day when he is not looking for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in two and appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant who knew his master's will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more'" (Luke 12:42-48).
It's plain that God holds us very accountable for what He gives us - for what we know and understand. Listening must be coupled with obedience. The scriptures show the godly principle of correction in Proverbs 22: 15 and Proverbs 23: 13-14, where it talks about the rod of correction. But, of course, that has been done away with today in this society. Man has pretty much taken that out of the parents hands. But God still has His rod of correction. "My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; for whom the LORD loves He chastens, and scourges every son whom He receives. If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect (or feared them). Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it" (Heb. 12:5-11). We must apply what God is teaching us. We aren't to try and appease God by partial obedience, we must do His will.
The book of Proverbs is full of wisdom on this subject. "My son, if sinners entice you, do not consent" (Prov. 1: 10). Don't listen to sinners. It's interesting here that the Hebrew word for "sin" means, " those who miss the mark." The word "entice" in the Hebrew means, "open the way." So the verse is saying, "if those who miss the mark open the way for you to sin, don't yield or consent to the temptation of them that are opening the way for you to sin." In V s. 22 it says, "How long you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning. . ." Now the same word used for "entice"is used there for "simple ones." Part of the root of that word means to "delude." We know where delusion comes from - Satan. Satan allowed false reasoning to affect him way back there in time and he sinned. He reasoned (falsely) that he was so intelligent, so beautiful and so magnificent, that he could overthrow God and take His place. All his false reasoning caused him to sin and become what he is today - God's adversary and enemy.
We can't allow ourselves to be enticed by sin and spiritual delusion. We must listen to God's instruction, not the lawless one, and obey God, in order to resist sin and deception. What does God says about those who don't listen to Him. "How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity (or deception)?" (V s. 22). They love it. They love to be deluded and we can allow that in ourselves if we open up to false teaching. The verse ends with "and fools hate (godly) knowledge." Then in verse 23, God says, "turn at My reproof
(or correction)." Turn - repent - change. Don't we expect that from our children if we are correcting them? God expects us to turn or change. If He reproves us; He expects us to listen and then repent. God continues in the Proverb, "Surely I will pour out My Spirit on you."
God says, "Turn at my reproof. Turn. Do it!" "Show it through your sincerity, show with all your heart and mind that you fear and respect Me." As God said there in verse 7, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge." God is saying, "Show Me that you revere and love Me by listening to Me and applying what I teach you." Let's move on to Proverbs 2. "My son, if you receive My words, and treasure My commands within you, so that you incline your ear. . ." (Prov.2:1).God is saying to listen, to incline your ear to hear - desire to understand!
When you are talking to another individual, you "turn your ear" to the individual that is talking to you because you want to hear what he is saying - you want to be a good listener. "So that you incline your ear to wisdom, and apply your heart to understanding; yes, if you cry out for discernment, and lift up your voice for understanding, if you seek her as silver. . ." (Prov.2:2-4)
Obviously, this all takes effort and hard work and it takes a strong desire within the self. It takes commitment to listen to God and apply these things in your life and to change and overcome. "Then you will understand the fear of the Lord. . ." (V s. 5) Then you will understand that you have to do it. We have to be like an obedient child that says, "yes, dad" or "yes, mom, I will do it," and then he actually does! God says, "But whoever listens to me will dwell safely, and will be secure, without fear of evil." (Prov. 1 :33) If we listen to and obey God, we can dwell safely and secure and without fear. But today, in the Church, we have a situation where most of those children God has called are disobedient children. They are not listening to God. They all want to do what is right in their own eyes - not what God clearly shows in the scriptures. So many are more concerned for the self than looking after God and His wishes for us.
The prophet Jeremiah speaks to us today - if we listen with spiritual ears: "Then you shall say to them, 'Because your fathers have forsaken Me,' says the Lord; 'they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law. And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one walks according to the imagination of his own evil heart. . ." (Jer. 16:11-12) The Hebrew means "the desires" or "the purpose of their heart." What they desire or purpose, that's what they want to do. They are saying, "Forget what God is telling me. I'm going to do what I want to." At the end of verse 12 God says, "so that no one listens to Me." They all do their own thing - no one listens to God. God is saying, "I've given them this whole book (the Bible) full of instruction and knowledge, but still, no one listens to Me."
Back in the book of Exodus, Israel (including Judah) had a poor track record in obeying God. Israel was camped at the base of Mt. Sinai and God was about to give them His 10 Commandments. The people had said "we don't want to hear You God; talk to Moses." God said "fine" - and spoke to Moses. "...the people said, 'All that the LORD has spoken we will do.' And the LORD said to Moses, 'Behold, I come to you in the thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with you, and believe you forever.' So Moses told the words of the people to the LORD" (Exo. 19:8-9). Israel had a prime opportunity to hear God's word - we could still be hearing God's word today - directly from Him, but Israel said "no we don't want to hear You". They said, "talk to us through a man." So God sent them prophets.
Hundreds of years in the future from Mt. Sinai, when a captive Judah had returned from Babylonian captivity, the Levites offer up this prayer to God concerning Israel and Judah, "Yet for many years You had patience with them, and testified against them by Your Spirit in Your prophets, yet they would not listen" (Neh. 9:30). Remember God says we as humans, walk according to the imagination of our own evil heart so that no one listens to God. Here in Nehemiah was a time where Judah had come back from captivity and was rebuilding the temple. These are Levites crying out and praying to God. God testified to His people through His prophets, in whom His Spirit dwelled and they wouldn't even listen to that. The end of verse 30 reads, "Therefore you gave them into the hand of the peoples of the lands." God said, "fine, you won't listen to me, I will send punishment on you" - just as we would do with our disobedient children.
There seems to be a connection between the rump and the brain. That first wack really opens up the eyes. But it's soon forgotten, isn't it? Soon, they are back to their old tricks again. It's the same way with us, the same way with Israel. "Nevertheless they were disobedient and rebelled against You, cast Your law behind their backs and killed Your prophets, who testified against them to turn them to Yourself; and they worked great provocations." (Neh.9:26) These disobedient children killed God's prophets. They provoked and angered God through their actions. God spoke to these people, so that they had no excuse. Today He is speaking to us through the same words, through the same prophets.
Look at the book of Jeremiah again. God sent His prophets but Israel wouldn't listen. Just like our children - and sometimes, just like you and me. "But this is what I commanded them, saying, 'Obey My voice, and I will be your God, and you shall be My people. And walk in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you.'" (Jer. 7:23) What an incredible privilege for the Creator God to give us instruction. The implication though, is if you listen to God, He also expects you to obey His commands. God is no different than any other parent. We want our child to walk in the ways that we teach them, so it may be well with them - so that when they grow up they have good lives and don't get themselves into trouble. We hope they will develop into decent people. That is what God wants from us. He wants us to live well, not just physically, but spiritually. He wants us to have eternal life. "Yet they did not obey or incline their ear, but walked in the counsels and in the imagination of their evil heart, and went backward and not forward" (Vs. 24). We see exactly the same thing happening today with God's people. They seem to have gone backward and not forward. In verse 25, God goes on to say, "Since the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt until this day, I have even sent to you all My servants the prophets, daily rising up early and sending them." God is doing the same today. His prophets are there. All we have to do is turn to those pages in our Bible and they are there for us. The exact same words, the exact same prophets. "Yet they did not obey Me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers. Therefore you shall speak all these words to them, but they will not obey you. You shall also call to them, but they will not answer you" (V s. 26-27). That must have been disheartening to God. Here were His people - stubborn, stiff necked, resisting His instruction. "So you shall say to them this is a nation that does not obey the voice of the Lord their God, nor receive correction. Truth has perished and has been cut off from their mouth." (V s. 28) It is the same today, truth is in the process of perishing, or for some, has already perished. Sadly, many of those God has called in this age have quenched God's Spirit.
God sent Israel and Judah prophets. He spoke through these men. These instructions are preserved for us, so we may heed them as well. We need to listen to these men - these prophets. When we open the Bible we need to apply the words to ourselves. There is no better example than the prophet Ezekiel, who had much to say about the rebellious people of Israel. "And He said to me, 'Son of man, stand on your feet, and I will speak to you.' Then the Spirit entered me when He spoke to me, and set me on my feet; and I heard Him who spoke to me. And He said to me: 'son of man, I am sending you to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against Me; they and their fathers have transgressed against Me to this very day'" (Ezek. 2:1-3). So here is a prophet God sent - who had God's Spirit in him and the people still didn't listen, in fact they tried to kill him, as they have to virtually all of the prophets God has sent through the centuries. "For they are impudent and stubborn children. I am sending you to them, and you shall say to them, 'Thus says the Lord God.' As for them, whether they hear or whether they refuse - for they are a rebellious house - yet they will know that a prophet has been among them." (V s. 4-5)
You may be thinking, "that's the Old Testament." Well, let's look at an example in the book of Acts. There is nothing new under the sun; here, the deacon Stephen says, "You stiff-necked and un-circumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit; as your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who foretold the coming of the Just One, of whom you now have become the betrayers and murderers." (Acts 7:51-52) They were exactly the same in Christ's day as they were in ancient Israel and I dare say, the same today.
The scriptures are full of warnings from God to His people. The Apostle Paul found that the people of his day were just as stiff-necked as their ancestors! They too had closed minds - and this is after the inspired Apostle Paul had preached to them, "So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: 'The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, saying, 'Go to this people and say: 'Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand; and seeing you will see, and not perceive; For the heart of his people has grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart and turn, so that I should heal them.'" (Acts 28:25-27). You can go through other scriptures too: 1 Peter 1: 11 and 2 Peter 2:21 both talk about the prophets that God sent to these stiff-necked people, but they refused to listen and take God's instructions to heart.
You can imagine when Christ spoke to the disciples prior to His ascension as recorded in Acts 1, where He instructed them to stay in Jerusalem and they would receive the Holy Spirit from the Father. Well, what if they didn't listen? What if they said "yeah, yeah, we will do all You say, Gust as ancient Israel said)," but they went off fishing, or to Academy or to the mall? What would have happened then? I think you know the answer. Fortunately, they listened to Christ.
That brings us to the real point or lesson of this article: Let's bring this closer to home: Are we listening to God, or are we partial in our obedience to God? Do we only listen and obey when it's convenient for us?
What about God's Feasts - specifically the Feast of Tabernacles? It's just weeks away you know. Here is what God instructs in His word, and if there were a "red letter" version of the Old Testament, these words would be in red - this is God speaking, "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: 'The feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, these are My feasts.'" (Lev. 23:2) Then after listing the weekly 7th day Sabbath, God continues, in vs. 4, "These are the feasts of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times." God then speaks specifically about the Feast of Tabernacles, "Then the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 'Speak to the children of Israel, saying: 'The fifteenth day of this seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the LORD. On the first day there shall be a holy convocation. You shall do no customary work on it. For seven days you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall have a holy convocation, and you shall offer an offering made by fire to the LORD. It is a sacred assembly, and you shall do no customary work on it. These are the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations ( or commanded assemblies)" (Lev. 23:33-37).
What reasons, or I guess I should say excuses, do we give as to why we can't make it to the Feast? "We're too old, we need to take care of our pets, our elderly parents, our job; it's too far, no car (there are buses and trains), someone might break in and steal my 'stuff,' I took a 'vacation' already and don't have any money," etc., etc., etc.
Let me paraphrase a couple of plain statements made by Christ: John 5 :22 and 27, which by the way is red lettered - which means this is a quote from the lips of Christ - they state that the Father has given all judgement to Christ. Matt. 12:36 (again red letters) says that we will have to give our feeble excuses to Christ as to why we just couldn't obey God's word, or in this particular case, attended His commanded appointed times. I think you get my point. Christ Himself is quoted (again, red letters) in the book of Luke, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses (or his 'stuff)." (Luke 12:15) In vs. 29, Christ tells us not to be anxious about our daily needs. In vs. 31, He says to "seek the Kingdom of God," in vs. 33, to look to the true treasure, guarded by God - where no thief can break in and steal, and then in vs. 34, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Where is our heart?
Here is another profound teaching found quoted in the book of Luke - again, directly from the mouth of Christ Himself: Here are the "excuses of the day" at that time, "Now when one of those who sat at the table with Him heard these things, he said to Him, 'Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God! ' Then He (Christ) said to him, 'A certain man gave a great supper and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who were invited, 'Come, for all things are now ready.' But they all with one accord began to make excuses. The first said to him, 'I have bought a piece of ground, and I must go and see it. I ask you to have me excused.' And another said, 'I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to test them. I ask you to have me excused.' Still another said, 'I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.' So that servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, 'Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.' And the servant said, 'Master, it is done as you commanded, and still there is room.' Then the master said to the servant, 'Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. For I say to you that none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.' Now great multitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, , If anyone comes to Me and does not hate (or love less) his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it-- lest, after he has laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.' Or what king, going to make war against another king, does not sit down first and consider whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoever of you does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple'" (Luke 14:15-33).
Here is a very real example: In years past, the people of God would have moved heaven and earth to attend the Feast of Tabernacles. It was the high point of the year for them. It was a priority in their life. How important is it in your life? What are your excuses?
There is a story that my mother-in-law tells from time to time, that made an impression on her (and me); she relates this story of a lady who had an unconverted husband that used to just give her grief over attending Sabbath services each week. (Which we know is also one of God's "Feasts" we are commanded to keep). She was leaving for services one Sabbath and her husband finally lost all patience with her. He yelled, "if you leave, don't bother coming back! I just don't understand why this is so important to you. What can your faith offer you that I can't?" His wife, calmly turned to him and said, "Dear, I love you very much, but you can't offer me salvation, only God can." Because of her kind words and conduct, her husband started attending church himself.
Do we listen to God? Do we seek to obey Him in everything He commands - to live by every word of God? The people of His day wouldn't listen to the Messiah, the very Son of the Most High, just as they wouldn't listen to God's prophets. In fact, they took Christ and murdered Him - just as their fathers had murdered the prophets of old!
There is a story related in the book of Jeremiah, where God tells Jeremiah to put a linen sash around his waist, wear it for a couple of months, then take it and go to the Euphrates River and hide it in a hole in the rock. Then a few months later God tell him to go and get it. "Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing. Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, Thus says the Lord: 'In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing'" (Jer. 13:7- 10). If you tell people in the Church today, that this should be applied to us, they would laugh you to scorn. They say "oh no it's for those 'other people,' or 'the Laodiceans' out there, not us." Let's continue in Jeremiah: "For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,' says the Lord, 'that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear" (V s. 11). They refused to listen. They had this incredible opportunity to become God's people and lead the nations of the earth! "'And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together,' says the Lord. 'I will not pity nor spare nor have mercy, but will destroy them.' Hear (listen!) and give ear: Do not be proud, for the Lord has spoken. Give glory to the Lord your God before He causes darkness, and before your feet stumble on the dark mountains, and while you are looking for light, (much as the parable of the 10 virgins in Matt. 25), He turns it into the shadow of death and makes it dense darkness. (Or before, for what ever reason, you run out of time in your life)" (V s. 14-16). God wants them (and us) to give close and strict attention to what He is saying now. Listen now, before it is too late!
Pride was the cause of their obstinate resistance and disobedience. Humility is the first step to obedience. Humble yourself before God and listen to Him. We must rightly divide the word of truth and apply it in the sense that it is given to us by God, not try to twist the scriptures to suit our own desires. Use God's word to change the self, to turn, so we can direct ourselves according to God's will and not our own. A few chapters later, Jeremiah declares, "0 Eternal, the hope of Israel, all who forsake You (or refuse to obey You) shall be ashamed. . ." (Jer. 17:13). We forsake God the moment we place our trust in some person or physical thing, or put something before God thus breaking the 2nd Commandment. The inspired Jeremiah comments about the nature of the human heart, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?" (Vs. 9) But Jeremiah also knew where he (and we) should place our trust, "Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, and whose hope is the Lord." (V s. 7) God knows the heart of man. We can't hide even our intentions from God. "I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways, and according to the fruit of his doings" (Vs. 10). We will reap what we sow. If we listen to and apply what God says, then the fruit of our doings will be pleasing and approved by God and we will reap blessings and not cursing, eternal life and a glorious high throne will be ours. We will sit with Christ on His throne. What a privilege. But how many will make it?
In Revelation 3, Christ's instruction says to "listen to what the Spirit says to the Churches." As much as we want our children to listen, so God wants us to listen, to apply ourselves to His scriptures and certainly to keep His appointed times.
These scriptures are not given just for the fun of it. Remember God's prophets were killed bringing God's word to us. Men have died so we could have the truth- not the least of which is the very Son of God, our savior, Jesus Christ!
God knows those who are His. How does God know? Because they listen and fear Him and apply His word in their lives and because they do, God gives them of His Holy Spirit (Acts 5:32).
The crown of life will be ours if we listen to God. "Blessed is the man who endures temptation, for when he has been proved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him" (James 1:12). Or we can say, promised to those who listen and obey - because to love God is to obey Him and fulfill His will. 7
Pete Fleming