“You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. John 6:67-68

Our life depends on listening to God’s voice. It doesn’t matter how successful or influential you are; it doesn’t matter how clever or intelligent you think you are. If you don’t listen to what God tells you, you will fail and suffer. And it doesn’t matter how weak or powerless you are. You will succeed and thrive if you open your ears and listen to God! Whatever situation you find yourself in, whether a bind or a blessing, listen to God’s voice to guide your actions.

King Ahab is a prime example of what happens when you turn a deaf ear to God and rely on your wits and talent to survive. The prophet Micaiah warns Ahab that he will die in battle. Instead of heeding God’s words or repenting, he puts together a plan, which he thinks will save him. He persuades Jehoshaphat to impersonate him as the king. He knows the captains of Syria are instructed to target and kill him. Ahab hopes they will mistake Jehosphaphat for being the king and kill him. The captains pursue Jehoshaphat only to realize he is not Ahab. They let him go. Meanwhile, Ahab disguises himself as a regular soldier. Ahab fights the entire day, and when the sun sets, he is hit by a random arrow and dies. His seventy sons are killed. Instead of listening to God’s voice, Ahab used his wits- disguising himself as a regular soldier and having someone else impersonate him- and it backfired. We need to avoid this tragic ending.

In Exodus 14, Pharaoh chases after the sons of Israel. Moses and his people are trapped between the sea and the Egyptian army looking to annihilate them. They are in a tough spot, but unlike Ahab, Moses didn’t rely on his ingenuity or some ingenious plan: he turned his ear to hear God’s voice. When he did, God said, “Lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it…” When he did, the waters parted, and the people crossed the sea. If he had stopped listening to God’s voice, the people of Israel would have died in the sea. God said, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back over the Egyptians, over their chariots and their horsemen.” Moses listened to God’s voice at every turn. He never made a move without seeking and listening to the voice of God. When faced with an obstacle, he approached it differently than Ahab.

Many times in our lives, we live like Ahab. When things go bad, or we’ve been given a bad hand, we immediately look for a clever way to get out of it. Remember, when adversity hits, your character as a Christian shows. How many times have we relied on ingenuity and cleverness to solve problems or overcome hardships? Too many to count! How many times have we turned a deaf ear to God? How many times have we ignored God when making important decisions in our lives? We need to be more like Moses. When we are in a tough spot or just moving through life, we need to listen to God. What is God trying to tell me? What does God want me to do? If we listen to God, lift our staffs, and stretch our hands over the sea, God will deliver us.

Click for Korean sermon https://soundcloud.com/yhpaik/1981-8-9-mixdown