14/06/2026
Hearing by the Word : Part 2, please find the other parts of this series on my page (do note that all scripture references are taken from the New King James Version).
What this all means practically is that we need to have a Heart listening and obeying approach to God. As we study the Word and receive truths and commands from it, we must obey them. Life is a journey. And it involves a lot of problem solving. God’s solution to these problems is for us to use His Word as the foundational text and reference for answers. Hence the reason we need to use it as a stethoscope. One of the main problems in life, found in non-Christians and even immature Christians is the self-centered approach to all things. It is the “cult of the false trinity of Me, Me, Me”. This is the message we find expressed in much of society. And it is a loud message. I can testify to this because before I knew Jesus, even as a young Christian, it was my approach to things. However, as we are exposed and taught the Word and begin to use it to hear the Heart of God and obey His will, a shift occurs. We go from “Me, me, me” to “JC, JC, JC” “Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ”. This is the correct order of doing things, by placing God first. This is the reason Matthew 6:33 tells us : “Seek first the kingdom of heaven and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.” When we live by this principle, we succeed because by placing God first, He provides and aligns all things for us. But to place Him first we must hear Him and obey his commands. God’s guidance is progressive. He leads us one step at a time. This is the reason Psalm 37:23 tells us “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in His way”. The best example of this is the life of Jesus Himself. When He was baptised, God said from heaven “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased”. We read this in Matthew 3:17. This is because the steps of Jesus were ordered by the Father. And the reason for this is that Jesus read and obeyed the Word. As such He gave us the best example to follow. Greater even than David, Jesus was the best man after God’s own heart. Let us do the same. This statement made in Matthew 3:17 was repeated later in His life because He continued to obey the Father God. We see this in the transfiguration when Jesus’ face shone like the sun and His clothes became as white as light. Shortly after this God said again “This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased, Hear Him”. Hence it can be said that one of the reaons Jesus shone so brightly in the transfiguration and in his life on Earth in Israel was because of His obedience to the father. In a way, Jesus also used the Word as a stethoscope. Even though this instrument did not exist at the time of Jesus in Israel, the Bible shows us that Jesus lived by the Word. A good example of this is Luke 4:18. In this scripture Jesus read a portion of scripture, mainly Isaiah 61:1 in a synagogue. This is important because it reveals that He was familiar with the Word and based is life on it. And hence, as his body, the church, so should we. Just like Him, we should obey in the same way. Jesus is the embodiment of the Bible, the living Word. Hence, we are called not only to listen to the guidance of the Holy Spirit, but also to the Word. When we do, our steps are ordered so that we hear the heart of God, and this fulfils the love commandments, and we receive good success and please the Father. This is what happens when we use the Word as a stethoscope.
One of the main problems that plagues Christinanit is how few Christians read the Bible. I made the very same mistake for a very long time at the beginning of my Christian life with Christ. It took a long time and a lot of encouragement and even chastisement from God to move me to begin to regularly read the Word. This is one of the main reasons that many Christians are not mature. You cannot know God if you do not know His Word. God leads by His Word. The Holy Spirit uses it to do so. It is His literary mouthpiece. In my life this Word has become indispensable. Like a trained horse I use it to keep a reigning ear to listen to God’s commands. I do my best to read the Word daily, meditate on it and obey it. It is true that there is still room for improvement in my obedience of the Word, but I am on my way to success. What I have learned is that beyond just reading, God wants us to apply his Word as James 1:22-25 tells us, reminding us that we must be doers of the Word. Luke 7:35 tells us that wisdom is justified by all her children. This means that it is only when we receive the results of the application of wisdom that we fully understand it. Hence, we must not simply stop at hearing the Word, we must do it. To fully use the Word as a stethoscope means applying it and doing it and listening to the results that this application produces.
One of the other main problems plaguing society is the confusion of personal and collective identity. Most people, including immature Christians, do not know their identity. This is because they do not know God nor his Word. Using the Word as a stethoscope enables us to understand ourselves. We can hear ourselves because the Word acts as a mirror that reveals who we are and should become. We see this in James 1:23. Identity is important because it is the foundation of destiny. You cannot fulfil your destiny if you do not first know your identity. The knowledge of your identity, your “who” will determine your destiny, your “do” and all the works associated with it. Mastery of the word enables self-understanding. This has become an increasingly evident revelation in my life of late. The Word also allows “debugging” and “error correction” to discover mistakes in all aspects of my life as well as that of the people I encounter as well as the circumstances that I face. I have become increasingly able to understand the true motives for my actions. It has become easier to step down the ladder of understanding myself to know the depth of true motives for my actions. Hence the Word has not only revealed my identity, but the Holy Spirit uses it to help me reveal my past and current mistakes. The Holy Spirit also uses the Word to reveal my future. In addition, the Holy Spirit also used the Word to show me the mindset that I should adopt as well as the numerous solutions to the problems as they came. This has allowed me to understand myself increasingly. For the first time in years, I now have a solid foundational understanding of the Word, God, and based on this wisdom my identity and destiny. I now understand myself deeply. As I mentioned in the previous posts, I am now able to understand people better because the Word reveals the intents of their hearts. On numerous occasions, God has used the Word to help me deal with conflict and deceit. This makes the revelation of the Word timely and practical. The Word is not just a record of history, but when the Holy Spirit uses it in our lives, it becomes applicable for our current contexts. This has proved the power of the timelessness of the Word.