One cannot properly understand the divine nature without acknowledging the immutability of God.

If God is unchanging, then God’s fundamental character and desires remain constant across all epochs. The God who spoke to Abraham, who guided Moses, and who inspired the prophets is the same God who calls out today. This recognition dismantles the notion of a God whose activity is confined to history.

The biblical narrative is not merely a record of past events; it is the script of an ongoing conversation.The foundational message of the Hebrew and Christian scriptures centers squarely on the imperative of righteousness—tzedakah in Hebrew—a concept far richer than mere personal piety.

Righteousness, in its scriptural context, represents right relationship: a right relationship with God, characterized by fidelity and devotion, and a right relationship with humanity, characterized by justice, equity, and mercy.

God’s command to "do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8) is not an archaic statute; it is the current, defining mandate for every person of faith.

This mandate is actively communicated through several interconnected channels. First, the Holy Spirit acts as the primary conduit of God’s active sermon.

The Spirit does not merely remind believers of past teachings; the Spirit guides them into all truth and speaks to the conscience, convicting individuals concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment (John 16:8). This is the immediate, intimate voice that speaks in the quiet moments of reflection, urging the believer towards integrity in business, compassion for the marginalized, and honesty in speech.

Second, the living world serves as a perpetual sounding board for God’s righteousness. The suffering of the poor, the oppression of the weak, the stark imbalance of power—these are not simply sociological problems.

They are shouts of protest against the absence of God’s ordained righteousness, a violation of the divine order. When one encounters an act of injustice, the resulting spiritual discomfort is often God’s current communication, a demand to respond with justice and mercy, rather than apathy or indifference. The sermon for righteousness is being preached every time a person confronts suffering and chooses to act with selfless love.

The Forgotten Sermon is not a call for moral neutrality or passive goodness. It is an invitation to active, transformative justice. Scriptural righteousness is inherently communal and concerned with the equitable structuring of society.

The prophets of the Old Testament were not simply moral scolds; they were divine activists, confronting kings and religious leaders about their failure to care for the widow, the orphan, and the sojourner. Their words are not merely historical critiques; they are a template for current activism.

Consider the powerful imagery of Amos, who declared:

This is a call for a continuous, unstoppable force of moral integrity to cleanse society. The fact that injustice persists today is evidence that this sermon is still being preached, and the flow of righteousness is still obstructed by human greed and systemic fault.

To listen to God’s current call is to recognize that personal holiness—while essential—is incomplete without a corresponding commitment to public holiness, working to ensure that all people have access to dignity, opportunity, and fair treatment.

In the contemporary context, this means that the sermon for righteousness demands more than charity; it demands systemic change. It calls for believers to engage with challenging issues like environmental stewardship, economic inequality, racial reconciliation, and ethical governance.

When a believer chooses to advocate for fair wages, to support policies that protect the vulnerable, or to speak out against corruption, they are not engaging in mere politics; they are embodying the active sermon of God’s current will for the world.

They become, in effect, the contemporary prophets translating the ancient divine mandate into modern, actionable terms.

The current communication of God is manifest when faith moves from the sanctuary to the public square, demanding that all human structures conform to divine standards of fairness.

The core problem is not that God has stopped speaking, but that the listeners have become spiritually distracted.

Hearing "The Forgotten Sermon" requires the deliberate cultivation of spiritual attentiveness—a deep, persistent readiness to perceive the divine voice amidst the cacophony of modern life.

This attentiveness is not a one-time event; it is a discipline.

One essential practice is the cultivation of silence and solitude. The divine voice is often a "still small voice," (1 Kings 19:12), not a public address. In the rush of a twenty-four-hour news cycle and the relentless demands of digital connection, silence has become a rare and often uncomfortable commodity.

Yet, it is in the intentional stillness that the background noise fades, and the persistent spiritual signal becomes discernible. Solitude, coupled with contemplative prayer and scriptural reflection, acts as a spiritual tuning fork, helping the believer to align their inner state with the frequency of God’s righteousness.

Another crucial aspect is humility and a willingness to be corrected. The sermon for righteousness is not always comforting; often, it is profoundly challenging, revealing areas of personal or societal complicity with injustice.

A person cannot hear God’s current communication if their heart is hardened by defensiveness or self-justification. True attentiveness demands a posture of intellectual and spiritual humility, a readiness to repent for both individual failings and for societal complicity.

This echoes the sentiment expressed in James 1:22:

The proof of hearing the sermon is not in theological knowledge but in transformed action.

Furthermore, engaging with a community of authentic, pursuing faith amplifies the ability to hear. The community acts as an echo chamber for the Holy Spirit’s promptings.

When believers share their spiritual struggles and convictions, they help to discern and validate the authenticity of the divine call. Where one person’s ear may be dull, another’s may be sharp, and through communal worship, prayer, and accountability, the collective hearing of God’s current voice is enhanced.

The sermon for righteousness is often preached through the collective conscience of a spiritually awakened community.

The time for believing in a historically inert God is over.

The God of the universe is not a figure confined to history books or ancient relics; God is the Immediate Reality, the Present Speaker, and the Current Caller for a world defined by integrity and justice.

The "Forgotten Sermon: Listening to God's Call for Righteousness" is a profound, life-altering truth that demands a radical shift in perspective—from viewing the biblical message as a completed work to understanding it as an ongoing, active dialogue in which all people are invited to participate.

To ignore this current communication is to live in a state of self-imposed spiritual exile, content with a faith that asks little and accomplishes less.

The voice for righteousness is not a distant echo; it is a clear, insistent demand to look at the world’s pain and respond with the transformative love of God. It calls upon every individual to become a living sermon, a walking embodiment of justice, mercy, and humility.

The challenge is clear: tune out the static, quiet the inner noise, and listen intently. The sermon is being preached right now. God’s active communication for righteousness is the most urgent sound in the universe.

To hear this sermon is to accept an immediate mandate for change, to embrace a dynamic faith that does not merely study the past but actively shapes the future. May all those who profess belief in a living God cultivate the spiritual ears to hear and the courageous hearts to enact this eternal, yet profoundly current, divine will.

The continuation of God’s kingdom on earth depends upon the attentiveness and obedience of those who choose to listen to and live out this unforgettable call.