Hear and Declare: The Living Voice of God's Word
Deut. 4:12 And the LORD spake unto you out of the midst of the fire: ye heard the voice of the words, but saw no similitude; only ye heard a voice.
“…ye heard the voice of the words…” God’s word was, is, and shall forevermore be vocalized! Know assuredly that it is not enough that His word be written; it must also be spoken. Although it IS written to be preserved for all of eternity, forever settled in Heaven, it is still meant to be DECLARED. What good is a document that is not read, shared, and declared? What good is it, O Christian, for your Bible to sit on a shelf or a night stand collecting dust? Let it not be so mentioned among us! Read it, live it, and most importantly, declare it!
God first spoke it. Then God commissioned us to speak it! Israel heard God’s voice out of the mount, but then they requested that Moses speak in God’s stead, and God allowed it to happen. The truth is, God’s word still needs a voice. What is a voice? Isn’t it just an instrument by which thoughts and ideas are conveyed to the hearer? Indeed, it is! No more and no less.
Likewise, just as Moses became God’s spokesperson in the Old Testament (as well as all of His Old Testament prophets), even so John the Baptist came on the scene in the New Testament, declaring himself to be a “voice in the wilderness”. What was he saying? “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (see Matt. 3:3). In other words, he was just a message boy, delivering God’s message. He was not to declare his own thoughts, but only those divinely inspired words of God that he was sent to speak.
Furthermore, know this; the declared word of God is all-sufficient. What God says, goes, period. It is enough. It needs no bells or whistles; it needs nothing added or subtracted; it needs not to be tweaked or adjusted; it only needs to be declared! That’s why our text says “only ye heard a voice”. God was very careful to teach Israel an important lesson; His voice is enough! They needed not an image of Him to worship. Simply adhere to the “voice of the words”!
Dear friend, if you truly LISTEN to God’s word, then you shall see God through the eye of faith. Can you hear the voice of God? If you listen closely, you’ll hear His voice speaking to you through reading His word, through the preaching of His word, and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit who speaks only of and for Him. His voice is not always, and in fact usually is not, audible. His voice travels with His word, regardless of the instrument being used to deliver it. Will YOU be God’s voice declaring HIS word to this generation? SPEAK!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
“…ye heard the voice of the words…” God’s word was, is, and shall forevermore be vocalized! Know assuredly that it is not enough that His word be written; it must also be spoken. Although it IS written to be preserved for all of eternity, forever settled in Heaven, it is still meant to be DECLARED. What good is a document that is not read, shared, and declared? What good is it, O Christian, for your Bible to sit on a shelf or a night stand collecting dust? Let it not be so mentioned among us! Read it, live it, and most importantly, declare it!
God first spoke it. Then God commissioned us to speak it! Israel heard God’s voice out of the mount, but then they requested that Moses speak in God’s stead, and God allowed it to happen. The truth is, God’s word still needs a voice. What is a voice? Isn’t it just an instrument by which thoughts and ideas are conveyed to the hearer? Indeed, it is! No more and no less.
Likewise, just as Moses became God’s spokesperson in the Old Testament (as well as all of His Old Testament prophets), even so John the Baptist came on the scene in the New Testament, declaring himself to be a “voice in the wilderness”. What was he saying? “Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.” (see Matt. 3:3). In other words, he was just a message boy, delivering God’s message. He was not to declare his own thoughts, but only those divinely inspired words of God that he was sent to speak.
Furthermore, know this; the declared word of God is all-sufficient. What God says, goes, period. It is enough. It needs no bells or whistles; it needs nothing added or subtracted; it needs not to be tweaked or adjusted; it only needs to be declared! That’s why our text says “only ye heard a voice”. God was very careful to teach Israel an important lesson; His voice is enough! They needed not an image of Him to worship. Simply adhere to the “voice of the words”!
Dear friend, if you truly LISTEN to God’s word, then you shall see God through the eye of faith. Can you hear the voice of God? If you listen closely, you’ll hear His voice speaking to you through reading His word, through the preaching of His word, and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit who speaks only of and for Him. His voice is not always, and in fact usually is not, audible. His voice travels with His word, regardless of the instrument being used to deliver it. Will YOU be God’s voice declaring HIS word to this generation? SPEAK!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill