Listen Lyrics - Ffh

Voices are everywhere, and theyre screaming at us: use me, buy me, believe me. Weve got voices all over our culture: chat rooms, commercials, billboards, and bumper stickers, and they all want our immediate attention. 

And then there is that voice from the past or that voice in your head that says you messed up too many times. You cant do it. You cant do it on your own. Youre not smart enough. Youre not strong enough. Youre not stable enough. Youre not thin enough. And then theres the enemy. The father of lies that likes to get in there and say no way youll ever make anything of yourself. 

I had this amazing conversation with my dad not too long ago. Hes a great man. I love him so much. And he told me about the first time that his father said something encouraging to him. My dad had just put a room onto his house. And my grandfather was a master carpenter and he was inspecting my dads work. And he got done and went to my dad, and said, Thats a good job Harry. And that was the first time my grandfather said something encouraging to my dad, and he was 38 years old. 

Man, and without hearing that voice. Without hearing that, whether its the actually the physical audible voice of your father or mother, or the voice from God, you dont have any identity. You have no way to function. I think Jesus knew that. I think thats why, when He went through His ministry, touching people and healing people, and speaking to people. He never asked them to be anything that they werent. He tried to get them to understand who they were. Thats why he said, Youre my daughter, youre my son, youre my brother, youre my sheep. He wanted us to identify with Him and understand that were His creation; that we're worth something. 

Yeah, and thats something amazing about Jesus. He could look down into somebodys spirit and draw out who they really were. I mean, he looked at Simon and said, You know what? Youre not Simon, Youre Peter. Youre a Rock. 

And how bout that woman that came up to Him when He was going through that crowd, and she touched His garment, and he turned around and he said, Daughter. His first word: Daughter. 

You know, Jesus got that honestly from His father. Three times when Jesus was under immense pressure in his ministry, God the father actually spoke. I mean, spoke audibly, It wasnt inward. Jesus heard it, and the people around Jesus heard it. Like at His baptism, God the father said, you are my son, I love you and Im pleased with you. And then at the transfiguration, the father spoke again and the disciples heard it. The father said, You are my son. I have chosen you, and God just established Christs purpose on that mountain. And then, before Christ died at Gethsemane in John 12, Jesus prayed: should I pray to be delivered from this hour? No. This is why Ive come. Glorify your name father. And the father spoke and said, I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again. And I think that promise just drove Christ to the cross. 

I think it did too. You may have never heard that voice. That voice that says youre worth it. Youre smart enough. I believe in you. I love you. There may be a gaping hole in your spirit where that voice was supposed to speak into, and its just a vacuum. Listen, Jesus doesnt require anything of you. You cant work to get His approval. Remember, when he was affirmed by His father, when God looked down and said, This is my son who I love. Jesus hadnt done a single miracle. All he asks of you is that you listen.