A country boy went to visit a friend in New York City. It was about noon and they were downtown by Times Square in Manhattan. The streets were filled with people. Cars were honking their horns, sirens were wailing and the sounds of the city were almost deafening. The country boy said, “I hear a cricket.” His friend said, “You have got to be kidding. You couldn’t possibly hear a cricket with all this noise.” The country boy listened again and said, “Yes I’m sure of it. I hear a cricket.” The two boys listened very carefully for a moment and then the country boy walked across the street to a big cement planter where some bushes were growing. He looked into the bushes and sure enough there was a cricket there. “That’s incredible,” said the city boy. “You must have super-human ears.” “No.” said the country boy. “My ears are no different then yours. It all depends on what you are listening for.” What are you listening for today? God wants to speak to you.
When God speaks, do you obey Him? For Christians, this might seem like a silly question for someone to ask and I think most would answer, “Of course, I obey Him.” As Christians, it pretty much goes without saying that we love God and want to obey Him. We want to be like Isaiah, answering God with “Here I Am!” But the issue for many of us Christians is similar to the issue we will read about . God speaks, but often people do not listen. Jer 26: 1 Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, this word came from the Lord: 2 "This is what the Lord says: Stand in the courtyard of the Lord’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the Lord. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. 3 Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. 4 Say to them, ’This is what the Lord says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, 5 and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), 6 then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.’" 7 The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the Lord. 8 But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the Lord had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, "You must die! NIV .
God speaks, but often people do not listen. But why is that? I know that as a parent, there many times when I am irritated with my children because I have asked them to do something, and then upon finding out that the task didn’t get done, they’d claim, well, “you never told me to do that.” What’s even more frustrating is I remember, distinctly, telling them, to do that chore. I spoke; the kids heard me, but they didn’t listen. And here it is again in Jeremiah. God speaks, but the people do not listen. So let me ask you, when is the last time God spoke to you? Does He speak to you? And if so, do you hear him? Are you listening to Him? In these verses , we find the people of Judah in a bit of hot water. God had a warning for them… that the Lord sincerely wanted them to hear and obey. If the people persisted in their sin and refused to listen to the Lord’s prophets, Jerusalem would be invaded and the Lord would abandon his temple . So Jeremiah hoped that this warning would bring the people to their senses and prompt them to listen to God, to stop sinning and to repent and ask for forgiveness. Did the people listen to God’s message? Well, they “heard” it, but they certainly didn’t listen to it or obey it. In fact, verse seven tells us, “the priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words…” But their actions certainly didn’t demonstrate that they listened because if you keep reading in chapter 26, you’ll find that they, in fact, tried to kill the Prophet because of the message. Hearing, then, is not the same as listening and obeying.
What are, then, some of the ways we as Christians can learn to listen to, and obey the Lord? In verse three, we see that God wants us to do more than simply hear Him; He wants us to listen, listening to God is far more than hearing. But hearing is the starting point of where we receive God’s word. One of the basic claims we have as Christians is that God is alive and He wants to have a relationship with us. In order to have a relationship with someone you must speak to them, you must listen to them and they must speak and listen to you. You must have communication. Do you remember the story in the Old Testament about the Tower of Babel? Do you remember why the work stopped on that tower? The work stopped because there was a break down in communication. The people wanted to be greater than God. So God gave the people various languages. This caused a break down in communication. because they could no longer understand one another. And when they could no longer communicate with one another The work came to a halt. There is a timeless truth found in that story. This truth is true for families, for business partnerships as well as your relationship with God. When there is a breakdown in communication you will cease to be productive.
What we are going to look at this morning is: “How to Listen To God’s Voice.” Follow along with me as I read Luke 8:5-8.
Notice the last phrase in this passage. “He who has ears let him hear.” Did you know that this is one of the parables in the Bible that Jesus explains to His disciples? In fact Luke 8:11-18 is Jesus explanation of the parable. Notice what Jesus says in verse 18:“Therefore take heed how you hear." Luke 8:18 (NKJV) Twice in the first 18 verses of Luke 8 Jesus tells the people to listen. Listening is important in communication. If you don’t hear what another person is saying you will not communicate with them.
Did you know there are four ways to listen? That is what this parable is about. Let’s look at four ways people listen.
1. Some people don’t LISTEN AT ALL. "A farmer went out to sow his seed. Some of it fell on the road; it was tramped down and the birds ate it.” Luke 8:5 (MSG) This is planting in the parking lot …. Some people don’t listen at all.
ILLUS: I heard a story about FDR that when he was president he got tired of saying the usual things all the time at those White House receptions. So one evening he decided to find out if anybody was paying any attention to what he was saying. As each person came up to him and shook his hand he would smile and say, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” Person after person greeted him and would respond with, “How lovely." or "That’s nice.” FDR realized that no one was listening to him. Finally a foreign diplomat shook his hand. FDR said, “I murdered my grandmother this morning.” The foreign diplomat looked a little shocked but leaned in to the president and said softly, “I’m sure she had it coming to her.”
Notice with me the characteristic of this ground. The ground was unbroken and hard. Because it landed on the pathways and road between the fields the soil never really received the seed at all. The seed just bounced off the hard surface and lay on top of it, ready to be blown away by the wind or carried away by the bird. These hard beaten paths are characteristic of the hearts of some people who hear God’s word. Some hearts are so callused they are completely closed to the message of the Gospel. The word is stolen away before it can penetrate the hearts of the listener. The hard hearted person dismisses the truth of the Gospel on the basis of their prideful superior intellect. They may not be hostile, but they are simply uninterested. Their hearts are as hard as nails and dulled of all feeling.
Some people don’t listen at all. Some people do. This is true with many of us at times. God wants to speak to us and our minds are closed, our hearts are hardened, we are unwilling to listen, we just don’t want to hear what God has to say to us. What causes us to have a closed mind?
Let me give you three common reasons people have a closed mind.
A. PRIDE. When we think, “I don’t need God. I can do it on my own. I know enough or I know it all. I can handle it myself. I can resolve it. I can fix it.” All of these are statements of pride and they can keep us from hearing God.
B. BITTERNESS. Whenever we get hurt we have a choice. We can become bitter or better. Some people have chosen bitterness and when a person is bitter – they stop listening. When we get hurt we build walls, we hide in a shell and we can say, “Nobody will ever hurt me again.” We can even start blaming God and stop listening to Him. Bitterness does not make us better. Do you remember when we studied the book Of Job… Did you know one thing that Job never does is that he never turns his back on God. He was always ready to hear God speak. He is always ready to listen to God.
C. LACK OF UNDERSTANDING. Some people don’t listen because they don’t know that God wants them to come and listen Him. God wants to speak to you. He wants your attention. He wants you to talk with Him and He wants to talk to you. God wants to communicate with you. A big part of communication is listening.Look at what Psalm 25 says:“The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way.” Psalms 25:9 (NKJV) How does He guide and teach the humble? By speaking to them. Being humble means being teachable. We saw that when we studied the sermon on the mount. The only way we are teachable is by listening to the teacher. He who has ears let him hear.
There are a second group of people.
2. Some people LISTEN BUT FORGET. These are people who plant their gardens in a gravel pit. They are quick to hear but also quick to forget. “Some fell on rock; and as soon as it sprang up, it withered away because it lacked moisture.” Luke 8:6 (NKJV)Have any of you ever tried to plant a garden in gravel? You can throw the seeds out in the rocks. They will spring up when they get some moisture – but if they don’t have a strong root system they will not last. Shallow soil makes weak plants. A shallow hearer makes a weak believer. The stony ground is not just ground with rocks in it, but rather it describes ground that is only a few inches thick with bedrock underneath. So when the seed is sown it quickly germinates but is unable to put down any real roots. When the sun comes out it rapidly scorches the plant which came up quickly, but because it is without roots it cannot get the water it needs to survive. These listeners respond enthusiastically to the presentation of the gospel, . The problem with the shallow superficial heart is that it always ready to follow whatever seems to offer the greatest reward. Many of this caliber turn back because they believe in a gospel that says, “One should never have to struggle or suffer if they are walking in the will of God.” They had their emotions stirred but they made no real commitment of their lives to Christ. They will follow Jesus only so far as it makes things better for them, make things happier and more prosperous.
The truth is that God has promised to be with us on the mountaintops and in the valleys. He will be us in the good times and in the bad. He has promised that he will never leave nor forsake us. He did not promise us a easy time, he promised that we would never be alone. Those with a shallow superficial experience are immediately offended when the hard times come . In other words, they quit. The demonstration of Salvation is not seen in those who endure for a while. We are to study the Word of God, we are to meditate on the Word of God, and we are to put it into practice if we are to be strong believers. James 1:22 says:“Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” James 1:22 (NKJV)
Most advertisers tell us that if they want their message to reach the point of media saturation where they are assured that their message has covered the vast majority of a T.V. listening audience, they must have their commercial played 17 times. Even then not everyone will have heard and understood the message.
The United States Air Force did a study and found that we forget 90-95% of everything we hear within 72 hours. For some of us it doesn’t even take that long. But if you write something down – you can retain it much longer. Even if I forget it – if I write it down – I can pull it up later.
We are to study the Word of God, we are to meditate on the Word of God, and we are to put it into practice. Listen - hear - remember - put it into practice.
Here’s a sad point.
3. Some people listen but it’s NOT IMPORTANT. They plant seeds in the brier patch. There is too much competition for the seed to survive.
“And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it.” Luke 8:7 (NKJV) This type of ground is clear on the surface but underneath where no one can see there are all manner of weeds just waiting to spring up. In this life the word is choked to death. The thorns, Jesus explained represented life’s worries, riches and pleasures.” These three things choke out the word. There are the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of riches and the pleasures of life. These pleasures can be entertainment, which pushes God out or sports or hobbies that come before church.
There are many who begin well and it looks like they are believers, but the love of this world and the concern for the things of this world and the pleasures of life strangle the rest of life from their souls.
Let me give you three things that preoccupy our minds.
A. Worries. You can’t listen to God and worry at the same time. The Greek word for worry means to be pulled in different directions. Have you ever felt that you’re being pulled in different directions? You’re not going in right direction when you’re preoccupied and distracted. That’s worry.
B. Money. Our minds can be preoccupied with money. Either the lack of it or what to do with it. Is there enough to go around? If I have it how do I keep it? How do I spend it? If I don’t have it how do I make it? Our minds are filled with money issues. Did you know that Jesus talked more about money then he did about heaven. That’s because people think of it a lot.
C. Busyness. We’re so busy making a living that we don’t really live. We keep so busy that we don’t have time to relax. We get up in the morning and run all day. We are exhausted when we go to bed but we wake up the next day to do it again. God gets the leftovers in life. We are so preoccupied with "doing” that we forget God. We just don’t listen. God gets crowded out.But let me tell you:
4. Some people listen and HEAR.They plant their seed in good soil. God talks to people who open their ears to hear. “But others fell on good ground, sprang up, and yielded a crop a hundredfold." Luke 8:8 (NKJV)
Jesus goes on to explain in verse fifteen, “But the ones that fell on the good ground are those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”
First of all notice that the ground is prepared.
Jeremiah 4:3, “This is what the LORD says to the people of Judah and Jerusalem: "Plow up the hard ground of your hearts! Do not waste your good seed among thorns” (NLT).
We have a responsibility to actively seek the Lord and to do all we can to avoid those things that cause the word to be unfruitful in our lives, then and only then will we be productive for the Kingdom of God. Rather than grieve for the seed that does not come up, we should be thankful for the seed that does produce.
The three characteristics given of “good ground” is that they hear “with a noble and good heart.”
Secondly that they “keep it” or hold fast the word.
The result is the third characteristic that they “bear fruit with patience.” The kind of listener that pleases God is not the one that makes a dramatic start and then quits or the one whose commitment is slowly choked out by worldly concerns, but rather the one who thoughtfully hears the gospel, understands it implications, and then consistently grows and matures and as a result bears fruit.
God is willing to talk with you. In fact He wants to talk to you. Are you receptive? Are you the good soil, ready and willing to listen to God? Look at what Jesus says about His followers:“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” John 10:27 (NKJV)
What are you listening for today? God wants to speak to you.
