“You gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which you really stop to look fear in the face.” – Eleanor Roosevelt

2 Samuel 19:33-37

“The king said to Barzillai, ‘Cross over with me and stay with me in Jerusalem, and I will provide for you.’

Introduction:

But Barzilla answered the king,

• ‘How many more years will I live, that I should go up to Jerusalem with the king?
• I am now 80 years old. Can I tell the difference between what is good and what is not?
• Can your servant taste what he eats and drinks?
• Can I still hear the voices of men and women singers?
• Why should your servant be an added burden to your lord, the king?
• Your servant will cross over the Jordan with the king for a short distance, but why should the king reward me in his way?

End:

Let your servant return, that I may die in my own town near the tomb of my father and mother.'”

“Listen to the voices,” begins the advertisement in big letters in one of our local papers. It continues with “Listen to over 250,000 podcasts on iHeart Radio. All your favorite local and international podcasts, all in one place.”

As a lover of the Bible reading “Listen to the voices,” reminds me of the voices I am listening to already for a long time, namely God’s Divine Voice, the Divine Voice of Christ and the Voice of the Prophets.

GOD’S DIVINE VOICE

God’s voice is majestic. Read about it in Ezekiel 43:2.

THE DIVINE VOICE OF CHRIST

Christ’s voice is mighty. You find that in Revelation 1:15.

VOICE OF THE PROPHETS

Please read what it says about the voice of the prophets in Matthew 13:35 and Matthew 21:4.

The advert in the paper encourages us to listen to our favorite podcasts on iHeart Radio, where they are all in one place.

Can I encourage you to listen to God’s Divine Voice, the Divine Voice of Christ and the Voice of the Prophets.

You find them all in one place, namely in the Bible.

“Jesus answered, ‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.'” – John 4:13,14

But we must be connected.

“Ich bin der Ueberzeugung, dass die groessten Gefahren, die dem kommenden Jahrhundert bevorstehen, folgende sind: eine Religion ohne den Heiligen Geist, eine Christenheit ohne Christus, eine Vergebung ohne Busse, eine Erloesung ohne Wiedergeburt, eine Politik ohne Gott und ein Himmel ohne Hoelle.” – William Booth (1829-1012)

“‘The LORD does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.'” – 1 Samuel 16:7