Hear And Heed

When it was day, the Council of elders of the people assembled, both chief priests and scribes, and they led Him away to their council chamber, saying, “If You are the Christ, tell us.” But He said to them, “If I tell you, you will not believe; and if I ask a question, you will not answer. But from now on the Son of Man will be seated at the right hand of the power of God.” And they all said, “Are You the Son of God, then?” And He said to them, “Yes, I am.” Then they said, “What further need do we have of testimony? For we have heard it ourselves from His own mouth.” Luke 22:66-71 NASB 

We need Jesus. The nations need Jesus. This is the message of the Bible – Old and New Testaments - there is tremendous value in all that God has to say. Jesus tells us, "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." Notice He said "every word." The entire Bible. Many, if not most of the words we hear on TV, radio, or read in the newspapers have dubious value, but every word God speaks is valuable to those who will hear and heed. And one of the messages that God has spoken has to do with quiet living. Not quiet as a withholding in lonely silence but Quiet kingdom purpose, living God’s commandments, as a witness to God’s grace and mercy, a quiet that makes room to hear Holy Spirit. A quiet life, “minding our own affairs” does not mean pulling away from people and not being involved in their lives; rather, we are called to do the “work of ministry” instructed in Ephesians and Phillipians. 

Ephesians 4:11-13 NASB ”And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, for the equipping of the saints for the work of service, to the building up of the body of Christ; until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.“

Phillipians 2:3-5 NASB Doing so would give us the focused attention to follow the example of Jesus, who humbly looked outward in love of others, rather than turned inward in love of self, “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,” 

The Bible tells us to aspire this to His quiet life, a life with Jesus, All the while going forth with the boldness of Holy Spirit and sharing the Gospel. How interesting that God desires that we aspire a quiet life in His presence and compels us to actively participate in His kingdom work. 

We find one of the major teachings about this life in Paul's first epistle to the Thessalonians, where he writes:  1 Thessalonians 4:11-12 …that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.  Paul goes on to give us some idea of what this quiet life looks like. The first thing he mentions is that we "mind our own business." Many of us, especially as children, have told others to mind their own business when they pried a little too closely into ours. Few of us realized that this phrase has come straight from the inspired Scriptures. Certainly this doesn't mean that we live isolated lives, refusing to ever involve ourselves with anyone. 

God does not call us to be hermits. Over and over the Scriptures use the term "one another." We are told to love one another, be devoted to one another, live in harmony with one another, accept one another, instruct one another, serve one another… the list is much too long to complete.

The question for us is, are we prayerfully seeking to live for Jesus? Is it our ambition to walk this place with our lives mapped out by the prince of peace, filled with the joy of the Lord, while living out God’s plan as prayer warriors, doing as the Lord wills…. The word “aspire” means to pursue, and eagerly strive for. 

Are we actively pursuing a peaceful life that is free of hostility and conflict toward others? Are we allowing Holy Spirit to quiet our thoughts and words, to correct us, do we repent after an outburst and seek God’s forgiveness, praying for wisdom to live at rest in the Lord, or is today more characterized by restlessness, tension, and anxiety? If we allow it, the chronic crush of perceived expectations and demands of our modern world can fill our lives with endless activities and a general state of unrest. There are many trials that threaten to disrupt the peace and quiet of our lives.