Listening with your eyes
Introduction
Listening with your eyes is hearing God speak as you read His Word. God has written a letter to the world. It is a special letter contained in a special book. Even the name of the book is special. The book is called the Holy (having a divine quality) Bible (book). Those who practice listening with their eyes as they pass over the printed text are privileged to hear from the living God, the creator and sustainer of the universe, and all that is therein, speak directly to them. The message that they receive is personal, true, inspiring, informative, encouraging, and verifiable. It is the message of Gods perfect plan, for all that He has created from the beginning to the end and on in to eternity.
In 2nd Timothy 3:16-17 we learn the author of the letter and the purpose of the letter. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work."
In Hebrews 1:1 we read: "God, who at various times and in different ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they."
And in 2nd Peter 1:20-21God assures against any confusion by informing us that there is only one interpretation of His word. It is not uncommon for some to confuse application with interpretation so God recorded, "knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit." So in fact, Listening with your eyes is hearing God speak as you read His Word. God speaks to those who are listening closely to His message. 413 times in the O.T. we read "Thus saith the LORD" (KJV) and 17 times in the N.T. we read "the Lord said". (NKJ)
In 1st Corinthians 14:33 we read; "For God is not the author of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints." God not only speaks to us as we read His Word but He makes His message clear and unmistakable to those who are listening closely and applying the rules of hermeneutics (The primary need of Hermeneutics is to determine and understand the meaning of Biblical text. The purpose of Hermeneutics is to bridge the gap between our minds and the minds of the Biblical writers through a working knowledge of the original languages, ancient history and the comparison of Scripture with Scripture.) to their interpretation as they study.
A second assurance that we have that there is no confusion in the letter is that the Scripture is a letter from God and we learn from the text that there is only one God.
O.T
- Deuteronomy 4:39 "Therefore know this day, and consider it in your heart, that the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other.
- 1st Kings 8:60 "that all the peoples of the earth may know that the LORD is God; there is no other.
- Isaiah 44:8 Do not fear, nor be afraid; have I not told you from that time, and declared it? You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.' "
- Isaiah 45:5 I am the LORD, and there is no other; there is no God besides Me. I will gird you, though you have not known Me,
6 That they may know from the rising of the sun to its setting that there is none besides Me. I am the LORD, and there is no other;
- Isaiah 45:14 Thus says the LORD: "The labor of Egypt and merchandise of Cush and of the Sabeans, men of stature, shall come over to you, and they shall be yours; they shall walk behind you, they shall come over in chains; and they shall bow down to you. They will make supplication to you, saying, 'Surely God is in you, and there is no other; there is no other God.' "
- Isaiah 45:18 For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the LORD, and there is no other.
- Isaiah 45:21 Tell and bring forth your case; yes, let them take counsel together. Who has declared this from ancient time? Who has told it from that time? Have not I, the LORD? And there is no other God besides Me, a just God and a Savior; there is none besides Me.
- Isaiah 45:22 "Look to Me, and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am God, and there is no other.
- Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things of old, for I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like Me,
- Daniel 3:29 "Therefore I make a decree that any people, nation, or language which speaks anything amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made an ash heap; because there is no other God who can deliver like this."
- Joel 2:27 Then you shall know that I am in the midst of Israel, and that I am the LORD your God and there is no other. My people shall never be put to shame.
N.T.
- Mark 12:32 So the scribe said to Him, "Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth, for there is one God, and there is no other but He.
- 1st Corinthians 8:4 Therefore concerning the eating of things offered to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one.
Psalms 46:10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
Christian Denominations
Listed are more than 200 distinct Christian bodies in the United States. This listing is based on information from Hill, Samuel S. and Mead, Frank S. Handbook of Denominations in the United States (Abingdon, 1994).
With this many different views on what the Scripture teaches can there be any wonder there is so much confusion in the church today?
Adventist
Advent Christian Church
Church of God General Conference
Seventh-Day Adventist
Amana Church Society
American Ethical Union
American Evangelical Christian Churches
American Rescue Workers
Apostolic Christian Church of America
Apostolic Faith Mission of Portland, Oregon
Apostolic Overcoming Holy Church of God
Armenian Church
Baptist
American Baptist Association
American Baptist Churches U.S.A.
Baptist Bible Fellowship, International
Baptist General Conference
Baptist Missionary Association of America
Bethel Ministerial Association
Central Baptist Association
Conservative Baptist Association of America
Duck River (& Kindred) Assns of Baptists (Baptist Church of Christ)
Free Will Baptist
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches
General Baptist
General Conference of the Evangelical Baptist Church, Inc.
Landmark Baptist
National Baptist Convention of America, Inc.
National Baptist Convention, U.S.A., Inc.
National Missionary Baptist Convention of America
National Primitive Baptist Convention of the U.S.A.
North American Baptist Conference
Primitive Baptist
Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc.
Reformed Baptist
Separate Baptists in Christ (General Association of Separate Baptists)
Seventh Day Baptist General Conference
Southern Baptist Convention
United Baptist
United Free Will Baptist
Berean Fundamental Church
Bible Fellowship Church
Bible Protestant Church
Bible Way Church, Worldwide
Brethren
Brethren Church (Ashland)
Brethren in Christ Church
Church of the Brethren
Church of the United Brethren in Christ
Fellowship of Grace Brethren Churches
Old German Baptist Brethren
United Zion Church
Catholic
Byzantine Catholic Church in America
Liberal Catholic Church, The
Mariavite Old Catholic Church
North American Old Roman Catholic Church
Old Roman Catholic Church (English Rite)
Polish National Catholic Church of America
Roman Catholic Church
Christadelphian
Christian and Missionary Alliance
Christian Catholic Church
Christian Church, The (The Stone-Campbell Movement)
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)
Christian Churches and Churches of Christ
Churches of Christ
Christian Church of North America, General Council
Christian Congregation, Inc.
Christian Union
Church of Christ (Holiness) U.S.A.
Church of Christ, Scientist
Church of God
Church of God, The (Huntsville, Alabama)
Church of God, Inc.,The (Original)
Church of God (Anderson, Indiana)
Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee)
Church of God (Seventh Day)
Church of God and Saints of Christ
Church of God by Faith, Inc.
Church of God in Christ
Church of God in Christ (International)
Church of God of Prophecy
Church of God, Holiness
Church of Jesus Christ
Church of Our Lord Jesus Christ of` the Apostolic Faith, Inc.
Churches of Christ in Christian Union
Churches of God, General Conference
Churches of Illumination
Churches of the Living God
Community Churches, International Council of
Congregational Bible Churches, Inc.
Congregational Christian Churches (National Association)
Congregational Holiness Church
Conservative Congregational Christian Conference
Divine Science
Episcopal/Anglican
African Orthodox Church, The
Anglican Orthodox Church
Episcopal Church, The
Reformed Episcopal Church
Other Anglican Bodies in the United States
Evangelical Church, The
Evangelical Congregational Church
Evangelical Covenant Church, The
Evangelical Free Church of America
Foursquare Gospel, International Church of the
Friends (Quaker)
Friends General Conference
Friends United Meeting (Five Years Meeting)
Religious Society of Friends (Conservative)
Grace Gospel Fellowship
Independent Fundamental Churches of America
Jehovah's Witnesses
Lutheran
American Lutheran Church, The
Apostolic Lutheran Church of America
Church of the Lutheran Brethren
Church of the Lutheran Confession
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Free Lutheran Congregations, The Association of
Lutheran Church--Missouri Synod, The
Lutheran Church in America
Protestant Conference (Lutheran)
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
Mennonite
Beachy Amish Mennonite Churches
Church of God in Christ, Mennonite
Conservative Mennonite Conference
Evangelical Mennonite Church
Fellowship of Evangelical Bible Churches
General Conference Mennonite Church
Hutterian Brethren
Mennonite Brethren Churches, General Conference
Mennonite Church
Old Order Amish Church
Old Order (Wisler) Mennonite Church
Reformed Mennonite Church
Unaffiliated Mennonite
Methodist
African Methodist Episcopal Church
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
Christian Methodist Episcopal Church
Congregational Methodist Church
Evangelical Methodist Church
Free Methodist Church of North America
Primitive Methodist Church, U.S.A.
Reformed Methodist Union Episcopal Church
Southern Methodist Church
Union American Methodist Episcopal Church
United Methodist Church, The
Metropolitan Community Churches, Universal Fellowship of
Missionary Church
Moravian
Moravian Church (Unitas Fratrum)
Unity of the Brethren
Mormon
Church of Christ (Temple Lot)
Church of Jesus Christ (Bickertonites)
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, The
Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (Strangite)
Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Nazarene
Apostolic Christian Church (Nazarene)
Church of the Nazarene
New Apostolic Church of North America
Open Bible Standard Churches, Inc.
Orthodox (Eastern)
Albanian Orthodox Archdiocese in America
American Carpatho-Russian Orthodox Greek Catholic Church
Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America
Bulgarian Eastern Orthodox Church
Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America
Orthodox Church of America
Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America
Russian Orthodox Church
Serbian Eastern Orthodox Church in the U.S.A. and Canada
Syrian Orthodox Church of Antioch
The Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.
Pentecostal
Assemblies of God, General Council of .
Elim Fellowship
Independent Assemblies of God, International
International Pentecostal Church of Christ
Pentecostal Assemblies of the World, Inc.
Pentecostal Church of God
Pentecostal Free-Will Baptist Church, Inc.
Pentecostal Holiness Church, International
United Pentecostal Church, International
Pillar of Fire
Plymouth Brethren
Presbyterian
Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church .
Bible Presbyterian Church
Cumberland Presbyterian Church
Evangelical Presbyterian Church
Orthodox Presbyterian Church
Presbyterian Church in America, The
Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.)
Reformed Presbyterian Church of North America .
Second Cumberland Presbyterian Church in the United States
Reformed
Christian Reformed Church in North America
Hungarian Reformed Church in America
Netherlands Reformed Congregations
Protestant Reformed Churches in America
Reformed Church in America.
Reformed Church in the United States
Salvation Army
Schwenkfelder Church
Social Brethren
Spiritualist
National Spiritual Alliance of the U.S.A.
National Spiritualist Association of Churches
Swedenborgian Church, General Convention of
Triumph the Church and Kingdom of God in Christ (International)
Unitarian Universalist Association
United Church of Christ
United Holy Church of America, Inc.
Unity School of Christianity
Volunteers of America, Inc.
Wesleyan Church, The
Worldwide Church of God
