One God. Many Voices.

We're picking up the story of Jesus this morning in John's Gospel, chapter 12.

Last we heard, Jesus was deeply troubled in his soul.

He was wrestling with his thoughts and emotions,

with the difficulty of this hour that has now come for him.

And at the end of this, Jesus prayed out loud to God in front of the whole group of people,

Father, glorify your name.

And something quite extraordinary and unexpected happened.

Then a voice came from heaven.

I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.

The crowd that was there and heard it said it had thundered.

Others said an angel had spoken to him.

Jesus said, this voice was not for your benefit.

Sorry, this voice was for your benefit, not mine.

Wow.

What a moment.

Do you wish that you could have been there, in the crowd, and heard this amazing thing?

Jesus turns to heaven and prays to his Father, and God, the Father himself, answers from heaven in an audible voice.

We're going to come back to what God said to Jesus later.

But let's talk about the reaction of the crowd.

We notice, first of all, that not everybody came to the same conclusion here.

Some of the crowd insisted that the noise was merely thunder.

Not just that it sounded like thunder, but that it was just thunder.

Perhaps these are people, in the words of D.A. Carson, who are just less open to observable, supernatural intervention.

We certainly have those kinds of people in our world today.

People who read the Bible, and then they look for a natural explanation to all of the miracles.

It can't have been God.

It can't have been God speaking from heaven.

And maybe they were already biased against the possibility that God would actually do such a thing.

And we should note here that it is exceedingly rare for God to speak like this from heaven in an audible voice.

This is one of only three times in the New Testament that God did this.

The first was at Jesus' baptism.

The second was on the mount, where Jesus was transfigured before his disciples.

And the third one is here.

That must have been thunder, some said.

As I was thinking about this, you know, we often assume that God's voice is big and boomy, right?

Like thunder.

Well, there is some basis for that right here.

God is quite able to make himself be heard in a majestic and powerful and glorious way.

But let's not forget that God's voice came to Elijah, the prophet, in a gentle whisper.

God can speak in all kinds of ways.

Or we might say he has many different voices to choose from.

And I love to think about this.

He's spoken through his angels.

He's spoken through his prophets, both their mouths and their pens.

He has spoken through dreams.

He speaks through his creation.

The heavens are telling the glory of God.

Their expanse is declaring the work of his hands.

He spoke through Balaam's donkey.

He spoke through the big events near the beginning.

And he spoke through the little events and the happenings with his people all through the Old Testament.

He spoke through the Bethlehem star at the birth of his son.

He speaks through miracles, signs, and wonders that his power performs.

The old standard for home entertainment systems was 5.1 surround sound.

Maybe you had a system like that.

You had a speaker in the middle and then you had one on the left and one on the right.

And you had a pair of speakers behind you on the right and the left.

And don't forget about that subwoofer at the bottom that, you know, really brings out those low tones.

It makes the sounds in the movie come alive with a richness and depth.

Well, forget about 5.1 or 7.1 or whatever we're at today.

God speaks through 10,000.1 surround sound.

His word is coming at us from every angle.

All creation.

Every kind of speaker and voice.

Even in this moment here with Jesus, God is speaking through the lips of his own son.

And in the same minute, he's speaking from heaven with an audible voice.

From below and above.

Surround sound.

All at the same minute.

We often wonder,

Why doesn't God speak from heaven like this more often?

Well, maybe one reason is because God is glorious.

And he delights in speaking in all kinds of ways and with all kinds of voices.

A subwoofer is great.

The booming thunder voice of God is awesome.

But there's more than one frequency in the audible spectrum.

And God seems to enjoy using them all.

But maybe there's more to it than that.

Let me ask you.

Do you really want to hear the thundering voice of God all the time?

As the norm?

Like the Israelites did at Sinai to feel your knees knocking and your heart pounding?

As he spoke the Ten Commandments to them?

God could very well thunder at us from heaven every single day.

He could speak in the most elegant and sophisticated of heavenly languages that only he knows.

But maybe he chooses to speak through human beings, prophets, and now his son in our language to show us his tenderness and his love for us.

There's maybe a lesson here for us who are parents.

We can roar and thunder at our children.

We can intimidate.

But maybe the ultimate way is to get down on their level and use the calm voice.

The voice of conversation.

The gentle whisper.

Perhaps there are moments to thunder, but maybe they should be quite rare.

So some thought or said that it thundered.

Others who were there acknowledged that this was a voice speaking words to Jesus.

Yeah, we heard that.

Definitely a voice.

But it seems that they didn't know who was speaking.

Was it an angel?

Maybe?

And then Jesus himself gives a word of explanation.

Verse 30.

Jesus said, this voice was for your benefit.

Not mine.

It's interesting.

Even though the response came to Jesus, and I'm sure it pleased Jesus and encouraged him and was beneficial to him.

Jesus says that the main purpose of this voice was not for him, but for the people standing here listening in.

It was like a sign to them.

A testimony.

A confirmation from God to them.

That yes, this Jesus, the one who has just been paraded into the city of Jerusalem not long ago as King and Messiah, is the one.

I mean, look.

He prays to the Father, to God.

And in that very moment, God answers.

What an amazing sign and evidence that he is the Son of God.

Now, I can't be sure of this.

So take it with a grain of salt.

But since God says, Jesus says, this voice was for your benefit.

God intended to speak for the people's benefit.

I can't help but think that these people who said that it thundered.

It was just thunder.

Really knew that it was a voice speaking from heaven.

Did they really mistake God's voice for thunder?

Or is this Jesus' opponents and the skeptics trying desperately to cancel Jesus?

Now, I really do want to talk about what Jesus, what God said to Jesus.

And as I was meditating on it this week, I realized there's a whole sermon right here in verse 28.

What Jesus says to the Father, glorify your name.

And what the Father says in response, I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.

And maybe you're thinking, oh, come on, Josh.

We're never going to get through the book of John at this rate.

But let me ask you something.

Let's say that you were at a little gathering here in Davidson this week.

Just happened to be a whole bunch of people out bustling around the post office.

And while you were there, all of a sudden, God spoke from heaven audibly.

And everybody there heard it.

What would your response be?

What if like some in the crowd here, you heard clearly, clear as day, what the voice said.

The words that were spoken.

And there were others in the crowd too who were saying, oh, no, no, no, no.

That was just thunder.

I mean, knowing how often God speaks like this in an audible voice from heaven, would this not be one of the most significant moments of your life?

Something that you'd want to point back to and tell everyone about for the rest of your life?

I still remember that day on the sidewalk near Davidson where God spoke to all of us with an audible voice from heaven, you would tell people.

And as you tell the story, people would ask you, well, what did he say?

And would you look them in the eye and say, well, you know, it was something about glorifying his name.

I don't know.

I haven't really given it too much thought what it means.

And they might say, well, I guess it didn't have too much impact on you then.

But cool story.

How many of these people, I wonder, left and walked away this day after having the rare privilege of hearing God speak from heaven?

How many of them just walked away and left, talking lots about it, maybe, but didn't really make much of an effort to understand what God's words from heaven actually meant?

And then I got thinking about this.

This way of God speaking, this particular voice that he chose, yes, it was rare.

But this response of people happens all the time.

As I said earlier, God speaks in all kinds of ways.

He uses a great variety of voices.

And yet this response of the people to God's voice happens all the time.

I got thinking, this book, what is it?

It's our collection of all the times that God has spoken to humanity in a variety of ways, with a variety of voices that he's chosen.

And I'm not talking about like the little feeling we get in our heads like God spoke to me last week.

I'm talking about the undeniable moments in human history where God chose a prophet to be his mouthpiece and spoke through him.

Or a scribe to write down his words.

Or a chronicler to lay out the history of all the times when he intervened in the most tangible and obvious ways, miraculous ways, on purpose to get our attention.

Like this book is our collection of all of those moments throughout history.

That's why we call it the word of God.

You and I may not have been there that day and heard what Jesus heard and the crowd heard as God spoke from heaven.

But we have the very words recorded right here for us from those who heard it.

How often do we think about our Bible sitting on the shelf, the coffee table, the nightstand, in the drawer?

But then we think again, I'll read it later.

I've got more important things to do.

I've got more interesting things to do.

I think I'm going to check Facebook instead.

I think I'll check out the news about the trucker convoy instead.

Or maybe we do pick up our Bibles and maybe we do make an effort to read.

We've got maybe our Bible reading plan open beside and our pen is ready to check off the box of what we read.

And we come to a verse like this and we're reading and we say,

Oh wow, God spoke from heaven.

I have glorified it and I will glorify it again.

Huh?

I wonder what that means.

I don't know.

Let's just keep going.

How's that any different from having been there in person?

He heard the voice in person and just walking away and not really bothering to understand what God just said.

Are you catching my drift here?

So many times I've been talking with Christian brothers and sisters and often something's come up in their lives and they've said these words to me.

I wish God would just speak to me in an audible voice.

Tell me what I need to know for this situation.

But if we don't really make much of an effort to understand what we know he has said when he has chosen to speak through human history,

what makes us think that an audible voice today would make all the difference?

The problem is not that God rarely speaks.

As we talked about earlier, he's spoken in all kinds of ways.

No, the problem I think has to do with us and whether or how we listen.

I think Jesus hit the nail on the head with the parable of the sower and the soils.

God's word comes to us like that seed.

And for some, it just sits on the surface.

It doesn't sink in.

And before you know it, it's gone.

For others, it comes to us and we take it in a little bit, but not deeply.

And then as soon as any trouble or stress comes our way in life, we just lay it aside.

For others, we take it in a little bit.

Seems to be good and things are good are coming from it.

But then the worries and the cares and desires of life sprout up all around us and they choke it out.

The problem is not with the seed or the sower, the word of God or the God who speaks.

The problem is with the soil, the hearts and the minds of the people to whom the word comes.

So you want God to speak to you in an audible voice.

And then you would really listen and take it to heart.

There was another time when God spoke with an audible voice to his people long ago.

Mount Sinai.

Maybe you know the story.

Deuteronomy chapter 4.

Deuteronomy 4 · chapter mention

Moses is reminding the people about this.

Verse 33.

This is what he says.

He says,

Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire as you have and lived?

Has any God ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation by testings,

by signs and wonders,

by war,

by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm,

or by great and awesome deeds,

like all the things the Lord your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?

You were shown these things so that you might know that the Lord is God.

Besides him, there is no other.

From heaven,

from heaven,

he made you hear his voice

to discipline you.

On earth he showed you his great fire,

and you heard his words

from out of the fire.

And it goes on.

They heard God speak with an audible voice

and an awesome visual display

from heaven through the fire.

And yet these very same people were the ones who rebelled against Moses,

challenged Aaron,

grumbled and complained against God,

disobeyed his commands,

were kept from entering the promised land

and were punished

with 40 years of wandering in the wilderness

and to die there.

Do you really think that having God speak to you

in an audible voice

will make all the difference?

That then you would really listen and take it to heart?

It sure didn't stop these Israelites from ignoring God

or from turning away in their hearts from God.

As the author of Hebrews reminds us,

God has graciously spoken to us in all kinds of ways.

And for our generation and time,

God has carefully preserved all that he has said

throughout human history

right here

in our Bibles.

And yet,

do we read them?

Do we not just read them,

but do we think and meditate hard

and long over the words that he has said?

Even study them?

Seeking to understand them?

Trying to get them deep in our hearts?

Or are we waiting instead

for an audible voice?

Almost like saying,

well, you know,

I'll only eat a meal

if it's of a certain caliber

or quality.

And meanwhile,

we're starving our souls to death,

shoving them full of junk food

from the internet.

Do you really think

that having God speak to you

in an audible voice from heaven

would make all the difference?

The God who spoke to Jesus here

in the hearing of all of them

is the same God

who spoke through Moses

and told him to write down

the first five books of the Bible.

Genesis to Deuteronomy

is just as much God's word

as these words are to Jesus.

It's the same God speaking

just with a different voice.

Moses, his chosen prophet.

The God who spoke from heaven

to Jesus right here

is also the same God

who spoke through the prophet Samuel

long ago.

Same God, different voice.

And we have the privilege

of hearing all that God said

through Samuel to Saul

and David and the Israelites.

The God who speaks here to Jesus

from heaven

is the same God

who spoke through King Solomon

as he sat down

and penned the Proverbs

with the wisdom

that God gave him.

The same God speaking

yet with another different voice.

And so it has gone.

Same God, different voices.

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel,

Obadiah, Joel, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk,

Malachi, John the Baptizer.

Jesus, God's own son.

Greatest human mouthpiece of God ever.

The word of God incarnate,

enfleshed.

Enfleshed.

And we have everything

that he did and said

right here.

Not everything,

but all that we need

to see a lot

of what we need to see.

The apostles,

the writers of the New Testament letters,

same God speaking,

different voices.

Instead of wishing

that God would speak to us

audibly from heaven

like he has to some in the past,

we need to realize,

we need to open our eyes

to see what we have right here.

To see that God has spoken

to all of us

in all kinds of ways

using all these different voices.

And it's right here

in this most precious book.

These words were

not just for them back then.

They're for all of God's people

throughout every generation.

By God's intention and design,

he has preserved them

so that we could all benefit

from all of those moments.

I mean,

think about this.

What is your Bible

sitting there

on the desk,

on the nightstand,

on the coffee table,

on the bookshelf?

It's a phone ringing.

And on the other end of the line

is the creator.

The one who made you.

The father.

The one who loves you.

The same one

who spoke from heaven audibly

right here to Jesus.

And this is how he has chosen

to speak to us today.

Through all those people

who lived long ago,

who were like us,

through his chosen prophets

and apostles,

through his son.

It's like a phone

ringing.

A direct line

to the God

who has spoken

all through history.

Are you going to answer it?

Do you want to listen

to what he has to say

in the voices

that he has chosen

to speak with?

Are you going to

answer

and then listen a bit

and just,

ah,

okay,

go on your way,

forget about it,

not think too much about it?

Are you going to answer it

and press that receiver

into the ear of your heart

and linger

and hang on those words

and seek to

understand them?

What do they mean?

What are you saying

to me, God?

Every day

for the rest of your life.

Let's not think

for a second

that we're any less

privileged

than the people

were

who heard

who heard

this audible voice

that day.

We know

what God said

in that moment

that day

and we have

even more.

And so that's why

we're going to take

a whole message

next Sunday

and we're going to

just have a whole sermon

right on

what God said.

I have glorified it

and I will glorify it again.

We'll think about

what it really means.

I'm going to end

this morning

by reading a portion

of Psalm 19.

More than

anyone I know of

David,

the shepherd boy

who became king,

he understood this.

This is what he said

in Psalm 19,

Psalms 19:7

verse 7.

The law

of the Lord

is perfect,

refreshing the soul.

The statutes

of the Lord

are

trustworthy,

making wise

the simple.

The precepts

of the Lord

are right,

giving joy

to the heart.

The commands

of the Lord

are radiant,

giving light

to the eyes.

The fear

of the Lord

is pure,

enduring forever.

The decrees

of the Lord

are firm

and all of them

are righteous.

they are more

precious than

gold,

than much

pure gold.

They are sweeter

than honey.

Honey

from the honeycomb.

I love

these verses.

How can

this man,

David,

say such

things

about the law?

You ever

think about that?

About the book

of Genesis,

Exodus,

Leviticus,

Numbers,

and Deuteronomy.

Refreshing

the soul?

Giving joy

to the heart?

Giving

light

to the eyes?

More precious

than a whole

lot of gold?

Sweeter

than honey?

I mean,

how can you

say such

things about

the first

five books

of the Bible?

Parts of which

we might just

say,

that's boring,

and just

skip over it.

my answer

is because

David knows

that God

speaks here.

These are

the very

words of God,

and by pressing

in deeply

to meditate

on them

and understand

them

and hear

what God

has to say,

he's truly

experienced

this.

the refreshment

of his own

soul

while reading

or listening

to Leviticus.

the joy

rising in his

heart while

reading or

listening to

Genesis.

The awakening

of wisdom

in his soul

while reading

or listening

to Exodus.

The realization

that he has

something of

ultimate value,

more precious

than gold

while reading

Numbers.

Something of

ultimate desire,

sweeter than

honey,

while reading

in Deuteronomy.

Let me ask

you something.

If you don't

see the Bible

like that,

if you read

and hear

and feel

something totally

different than

David did

about the Bible,

who's right?

Who's seeing

it the way

that it really

is?

David?

Or you?

Is David

just a flowery

poet that's

just making

things up here?

Is this just

different strokes

for different

folks?

Or is it

possible that

all along

you've not

been seeing

clearly

just what

we have

here?

If you're

not in

this book

meditating

on it

deeply,

studying it,

chewing on it,

hanging on the

words here,

do you know

what you're

missing out

on?

The refreshment

of your soul,

the wisening

of your heart

and mind,

joy in your

heart,

discernment,

the brightening

of your eyes

beyond what

bars of gold

and the sweetest

delicacies of

earth could do

for you?

Let me ask you

this.

As you look

out at the

world today,

do you feel

a weariness

in your soul?

As you read

the news,

are you in need

of some refreshment

in your soul?

David says

you can find

it right here

in the Bible

by listening

to what God

has said.

Put down

your phone,

your tablet

and pick up

the word

of God.

Maybe you're

already in your

Bible and you've

just been having

a hard time

getting something

out of it.

I want to

encourage you

to come talk

to me.

Maybe you just

need some extra

resources to help

you out.

There's all

kinds of stuff

out there.

Maybe for you

it's the prayer

and the relationship

with God part

that's missing

from your Bible

reading.

There's resources,

books,

all kinds of

things that can

help us with

that.

Maybe it's

distractions and

worry and

anxiety that's

keeping you

from really

focusing while

you're reading

and that's the

battle that you're

fighting right now.

There's stuff

to help with

that.

Maybe you could

benefit from a

good commentary.

A man or a

woman who spent

years of their

lives,

studying and

meditating on a

particular book

that you're

about to read

and you just

need someone

else to

kind of help

guide you and

lead you into

the deeper

meanings of

what's there,

how it applies

to your life.

I'd love to help

and encourage you

however I can so

that David's

words about the

Bible can be

your words about

the Bible.

So don't wait

for the audible

voice of God

from heaven.

Pick up the

phone that's

ringing on your

nightstand.

Not the

smartphone.

This phone.

Open the pages.

Read the book.

Hang on every

word.

Hang on to it

like Jacob did

when he was

wrestling with the

angel of the

Lord.

You remember

what he said?

I will not let

go of you

until you bless

me.

May we struggle

with God and

his word like

that and prevail

with his blessing.

let's pray.

Father in heaven

thank you for

this incredible

gift that we

don't have to

look back and

think oh we

missed out.

You never spoke

to us.

You have.

Help us all see

that.

Help us to

treasure and

cherish your

word and to

become people who

are deeply

transformed by

it.

A radiant

light in this

dark, dark

world.

Lord, I

pray this in

Jesus name.

Amen.