Fools and Favor

Hebrews 3:15 while it is said, TODAY IF YOU HEAR HIS VOICE, DO NOT HARDEN YOUR HEARTS, AS WHEN THEY PROVOKED ME.

What does it man to “hear” Gods voice?

The “hear” means to “listen”.

In order to hear God,

in order to listen to God,

we need to “tune in” to God.

Just like you would adjust the dial on your radio to hear your favorite radio station, we need to tune our dials to Gods frequency.

Why? Because...

God is always speaking...

God is always calling...

God is always searching...

Psalm 53:1 THE fool has said in his heart, There is no God, They are corrupt, and have committed abominable injustice; There is no one who does good.

2 God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after God.

3 Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one.

Those above 3 verses, do you agree with them?

Look at verse 1.

THE fool has said in his heart, There is no God,

How do you know if someone is a fool?

First and foremost, there is no GOD in the heart of a fool.

So how serious is this offense to God?

Well, in order to find out, we need to dig deeper into the word of God.

The first mention of the word “heart” in the bible is found in Genesis 6

(I know, for you postmodernist the following did not happen)

Check out when and what God says.

Genesis 6:5 Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

Fools? I think so, and this is our heritage.

Because of sin, foolishness is what we are all born into.

So, the whole world stands not only guilty, but also condemned.

6 The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.

7 The LORD said, I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.

That word “sorry” in the Hebrew actually means “grieved”.

It means to be in pain in the heart.

So much so that Gods desire was to “blot” out man.

What does that mean? To “blot out?”

It means to destroy, to exterminate.

Like when you can't stand the ants in your house anymore so you call the exterminator to wipe out the whole colony.

8 But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.

What did Noah find?

Favor.

Before the ark, did Noah do anything to earn Gods favor?

Was Noah considered to be a part of those whos hearts were continually bent towards evil?

Or was Noah different from the rest of the world?

It is my belief that Noah's heart was indeed corrupted by sin.

But was Noah a fool?

Yes, he was.

Then what was it about Noah that God would save Him from the flood?

That word favor actually means “grace.”

Noah found grace with God.

Check out the first mention of the word grace, not favor in the bible.

Ezra 9:8 But now for a brief moment grace has been shown from the LORD our God, to leave us an escaped remnant and to give us a peg in His holy place, that our God may enlighten our eyes and grant us a little reviving in our bondage.

Doesn't that sound familiar?

Isn't this what God did for Noah?

I think so, and this is what God is doing for you as you struggle to live and think and act like Jesus.

In Jesus we find grace.

In Jesus we find a remnant.

In Jesus we find His holy place.

In Jesus we find enlightenment.

In Jesus we find revival, even in our bondage to our flesh.

So who is the fool?

The fool are those people who are outside of Gods grace because there is no Jesus in their heart.

And yet, even to today, God keeps calling.

God keeps on broadcasting His message of love and forgiveness, His grace and peace and restoration....

But who will listen to Him?

Who will tune into God, by turning their ear towards God?

Ephesians 1:13 In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation -- having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise,

14 who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.

Before belief is the act of YOU hearing God calling you...

Romans 10:17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.

Our problems begin the moment we stop tuning into God.