In February of 1980, Director John Carpenter released a movie called "The Fog." It was about a town that experienced a mysterious fog which brought about dark events. This was the result of the towns hidden secret. It was not very scary, but of interest to me was the way the fog rolled into the seacoast town. In a minute, they were unable to see more than a few feet, but the monster pirates could see very well. We all know, monsters have great vision.
My wife and I have been staying at an RV park near Chattanooga, Tennessee while visiting my brother and sister-in-law who live on Lookout Mountain. It has been raining almost every day and the mountain has been blanketed with dense fog much of the time. Driving in the fog is not difficult during the day, but it is a different story at night. I am very familiar with my brother's neighborhood and could almost drive there blindfolded. However, the last two nights as we left to return home, the fog has been very thick and I have had difficulty with my directions.
My wife will tell you I rarely have a problem with directions when I am driving, but this was different. I had a problem two nights in a row. First, Mally was with me and we navigated the streets with difficulty, but were successful none-the-less. The second night my brother was with me and I got completely turned around. I went up a wrong street, turned into a side pull-off, and finally turned into a different street altogether. I had no sense of direction and let me tell you, that is not a comfortable situation. In hindsight, I now recognize I would still be driving in circles up on Lookout Mountain if I had not listened to my brother's voice as he gave me directions. This is not easy for me to admit, but there it is. Stay with me, I am headed somewhere with this.
Recently, I came across a story about a man (let's call him Dave) who had been in Alaska on a business trip. He was in the airport, ticket in hand, and ready to fly home when he was approached by another man, a pastor, who said he would fly him to Anchorage in a small plane he had flown to Alaska. Dave was hesitant to accept the offer, but finally gave in and boarded the plane with the pilot along with another friend.
The take-off was routine and within minutes they were flying smoothly which relieved the anxiety Dave was experiencing. Now, the story gets real as the pilot told Dave he needed to tell him he (the pilot) would pass out in the clouds. When asked why, he said the clouds would make him pass out. Dave did not have enough time to process this new information because they flew into some clouds and sure enough, the pilot passed out.
The other passenger started calling for help on the radio and fortunately someone answered. It was another pilot flying a plane near them. He connected them with the control tower who was a few hours away. Bob, the controller, asked Dave, the newly promoted pilot, if he had ever flown a plane himself. He answered, no. There was a pause from the other end and then he received the following advice.
I am paraphrasing, but Bob reviewed the information; you cannot fly, you cannot see for the clouds, and the pilot has passed out. If that is the case, it is my job to get you home safely. That means you have one thing to do Dave. You must listen to my voice. He went on to emphasize the importance of this one rule. Even though Dave could not see anything around him, Bob assured him he was able to see his plane. He repeated you must do what I say, because you are flying directly at a mountain and will most certainly die.
Of course, that got Dave's attention and he proceeded to do everything Bob instructed him to do. The short of it is there were other pilots talking to Dave and praying for him on the radio and encouraging him to follow Bob's voice. Dave safely landed the plane. That night, Dave heard a knock on his motel door and it was Bob, the controller. Dave said he knew it was Bob because he recognized his voice. Bob told Dave how happy he was that Dave had listened to his voice, and how many pilots had lost their lives in those same mountains for one reason; they failed to listen to his voice.
I will include the link to this story at the end of the blog. I encourage you to listen to it because I purposely left out some encouraging material. Our situations were somewhat similar. I could not see while driving in the fog and the cliffs were just beyond the guardrails. Dave could not see while flying in the clouds and the mountains laid directly in his path. I listened to my brother and got on the right road. Dave listened to Bob and landed safely on the tarmac. Both stories ended well.
I suppose the moral of the story directly reveals the importance of listening.
There are many people who will bend your ear with good intentions or in an attempt to control you. This does not mean their advice or counsel is helpful or correct. And, it certainly is not to be listened to in order to appease them. Listening is of paramount importance; however, the one you are listening to is of more importance.
As I understand Scripture, listening is extremely important. The bible tells us not to listen to or believe every spirit.
"Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world...." 1 John 4:1
Proverbs 2:2 tells us,
"Make your ear attentive to wisdom and incline your heart to understanding."
To me, that means listen to the wise and what they are saying. We should listen with the intention of understanding what they are saying.
As Jesus was on the Mount of Transfiguration, Peter was asking Jesus if he should build three shelters for Moses, Elijah, and Jesus when God interrupted him saying,
"This is my dearly loved Son, who brings me great joy. Listen to him." Matthew 17:5
God did this to emphasize the importance and uniqueness of Jesus over Moses, Elijah, and any other person.
John 10:27 gives another account of Jesus being on the portico of Solomon when he was surrounded by the Jews . They were asking Jesus if he was the Messiah and Jesus answered,
"...The works I do in my Father's name testify to me, but you do not believe, because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice (listen); I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one can take them out of my hand."
In other words, (My sheep are the ones who are following me. They are listening to My voice.) It is interesting how sheep will only respond to their master's voice. Anyone else can call them and they will not come. But let the master call and they come running (check it out). When Jesus calls, his children will come running. That means when Jesus calls us throughout life we listen, follow, and when he calls us home, we come running.
Finally, in Mark 7:14, Jesus told the crowd,
"Listen to Me, all you, and understand."
When we listen to the voice of Jesus, the Holy Spirit helps us to understand the message.
These three stories all reveal the truth about listening. Mine was for physical preservation and to keep from getting lost. Bob's was for physical preservation, but he did a great job of applying the spiritual truth of listening to Bob in connection with the importance of listening to the voice of Jesus. It ended by connecting the act of listening with salvation. Jesus said,
"I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life and no one comes to the Father except through Me." John 14:6
That means, if we do not listen to Jesus and His truth, we will not experience eternal life in heaven. Listening is important. Listening to Jesus goes way beyond important. It is crucial. Jesus' sermon on the Mount is revealed in chapters five through seven in the Gospel of Matthew. Jesus concluded his sermon by saying,
"Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash. When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law."
I believe this is where the rubber meets the road. We listen to Jesus because He not only tells us to, but also because He warns us of the consequences of failing to do so. We know listening to Jesus means more than hearing. It means to act on what we hear and apply it to our lives.
I listened to my brother because, well, he is my brother and I trust him. Dave listened to Bob because he had no other viable option. I mean, do you think he really considered flying the plane on his own? Most importantly, we listen to Jesus because He holds our eternal destiny in His hands. Jesus is able to do this because He is the Son of God, the second Person of the Trinity, and the Savior of all who would believe. Listen to His voice!
Wear Jesus Well,
Blessings,
Steve
This is the link to "Bob's story"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6RfkCc5Tlyo
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