Luke 8:18 "Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seems to have."
Introduction: I read about a lady who had a hearing problem. One day she and her husband were driving from Tennessee to Little Rock, Arkansas. They were pulled over by a state trooper who asked if the husband knew how fast he was driving. The wife asked, "What did he say?” The husband replied, "HE ASKED IF I KNEW THAT I WAS SPEEDING.” Looking at the driver’s license the trooper said, "I see you’re not from around here.” The husband said, "No we are from Memphis.” The wife again asked, "What did you say?” The husband told her, "I SAID WE ARE FROM MEMPHIS.” The state trooper then commented, "You know, the meanest woman I ever met was from Memphis.” The wife again asked, "What did he say?” The husband replied, "HE SAYS HE THINKS HE KNOWS YOU!"
How many of you think that you are good listeners? They tell us women tend to be better listeners than men are. Husbands are notorious for being poor listeners. We are all familiar with the scene of a husband reading the newspaper while his wife is trying to talk. His response is "Yes, dear. Uhuh. Mmmm. Is that so?" But we all know he’s not really listening. Suddenly she pulls down the paper and says, "Have you heard a word I’ve said?” Two men were talking one day. One of them said, "My wife talks to herself a lot." His friend answered, "Mine does, too, but she doesn’t know it. She thinks I’m listening."
Too often, we feel that we are listening what God is saying to us but we really hear only what we want to hear.
I. A Severe Warning about how we hear.
A. Luke 8:18 "Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken, even that which he seems to have."
B. God desires to speak to us. He desires to reveal His will to us, and to be actively involved in leading us.
C. In verses 16, Jesus declares that He came to reveal the truth and not to hide it. The warning Christ gives in verse 18 is in reference to hearing that truth and with what you do with it after having heard it.
D. How you listen and what you do with it will determine what you receive. It’s the Law of Use: "Use It or Lose It.”
E. Dag Hammersjkold (Markings. Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 11.) How can you expect to keep your powers of hearing when you never want to listen? That God should have time for you, you seem to take as much for granted as that you cannot have time for Him.
F. Proverbs 8:34 "Blessed is the man that hears me..."
II. Four Types of Hearers
A. Care-Less Hearers – Luke 8:12 "Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved."
1. The message goes in one ear and out the other. They could care less what they hear.
2. It is possible for us to hear with our physical ears and not hear with our ears of understanding.
3. President Franklin D. Roosevelt got tired of smiling that big smile and saying the usual things at all those White House receptions. So, one evening he decided to find out whether anybody was paying attention to what he was saying. As each person came up to him with extended hand, he flashed that big smile and said, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." People would automatically respond with comments such as "How lovely!" or "Just continue with your great work!" Nobody listened to what he was saying, except one foreign diplomat. When the president said, "I murdered my grandmother this morning," the diplomat responded softly, "I’m sure she had it coming to her."
4. Matthew 13:13 "Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand."
5. There are those who make the mistake to imagine that by simply hearing first one preacher and then another they can derive benefit to their souls! Such hearing profits little. A raven can fly from cage to cage, but by doing so it will not be changed into a dove. You can go from banquet room to banquet room, and the sight of the tables of food will never relieve your hunger. What matters is not to just hear but to have and hold the truth personally and inwardly. If you don’t see to this, you will die in your sins, even if ten thousand voices direct you to the way of salvation or even if you’re able to recite the Romans Road from memory. It is a tragedy that the bulk of hearers are hearers only, and are no more likely to go to heaven than the pews they sit on in the churches across this land. (adapted from Charles Haddon Spurgeon)
B. Superficial Hearers – Luke 8:13 "They on the rock are they, which, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which for a while believe, and in time of temptation (testing) fall away."
1. He hears, believes and receives the Word of God in respect to forgiveness and redemption – but fails to clearly hear what the word declares concerning the Lord’s call to discipleship. He fails to count the cost, to consider the extent of the commitment, self-denial, sacrifice to which the Lord calls His disciples.
2. He never applies himself to gain a fuller or deeper knowledge of Christ, to discern His will, to become rooted and grounded in the Word of God.
3. Matthew 24:12 "And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."
4. Neil Postman in Amusing Ourselves to Death, Christianity Today, Vol. 38, no. 10 – “I believe I am not mistaken in saying that Christianity is a demanding and serious religion. When it is delivered as easy and amusing, it is another kind of religion altogether.”
5. John 12:25-26 "He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. [26] If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honor."
6. Matthew 16:24-26 "Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. [25] For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. [26] For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"
C. Carnal Hearers – Luke 8:14 "And that which fell among thorns are they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to perfection."
1. This person receives the Word and honestly tries to live for Christ. He joins in church activities and professes Christ in his daily walk. The problem is that he is unwilling to severe himself from the world. He lives a double life trying to live for Christ while living for the world.
2. He brings forth fruit but his fruit never matures.
3. Christians who compromise can never evangelize the world.
4. James 4:4 "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."
5. Dwight L Moody – There are very few who in their hearts do not believe in God, but what they will not do is give Him exclusive right of way... They are not ready to promise full allegiance to God alone. Many a professing Christian is a stumbling block because his worship is divided. On Sunday, he worships God; on weekdays, God has little or no place in his thoughts.
6. I John 2:15 "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him."
D. Sincere Hearers – Luke 8:15 "But that on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."
1. At the beginning of his reign, King Solomon prayed one superior gift from God. Not wealth, not long life, but something far more valuable--he asked for "an understanding heart," which translated a hearing heart. 1 Kings 3:9 "Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people?" He asked, we say, for wisdom. But the genius of wisdom ... is the ability to open a room in one’s heart for the talk--and so for the presence--of another.
2. John 10:27 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:"
3. John 8:31-32 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; [32] And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
III. Those who are closest to Christ are those who hear and obey – Luke 8:21 "And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it."
A. They hear and do!
B. The deepest relationship is not determined by blood, but by hearts and minds meshed together.
C. The person closest to God is the person who obeys God and takes His Word seriously.
D. John 14:21, 23 "He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him... Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
E. 1 John 2:24 "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father."
Conclusion: Revelation 3:20
