What kind of ears do we have?
Mark 4:23-25 “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear.
And He (Jesus) said unto them, Take heed what ye hear. With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured unto you; and unto you that hear shall more be given.
For he that hath, to him shall be given; and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath.”
We must hear aright….for we are responsible for our hearing.
Once we have heard, we must act on our hearing.
Are we, in some way, trying to get around what we have heard the Lord say to us?
[Remember the scribe who asked “Who is my neighbor?”
This man could speak about the two most important points of the Law….”to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, strength and mind, and to love thy neighbor as thyself”.
But when Jesus told him to do it…..then….he asked all sorts of questions, to look like he did not know, so he would not have to obey. (Luke 10:25-29)]
If we fail to answer His claims on us….then we have not heard with hearing ears.
(Matthew 11:15, 13:9, 13:43, Mark 4:9, 4:23, 7:16, Luke 8:8,14:35. In all these verses Jesus says “Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.”)
Are our ears, dull of hearing?
Hebrews 5:11 “Of Whom we have many things to say, and hard to be uttered, seeing ye are dull of hearing.”
They weren’t “hard of hearing”…..but dull. It was their spiritual understanding that was not working….for times were hard for them….and they became like children again….wanting only to be comforted….not encouraged to grow, in the faith.
The writer of Hebrews was setting forth some wonderful aspects of our Lord’s ministry as High Priest in Heaven for us…..
……but the people he was writing were not as “grown up” in the grace of God as they should have been…
…they should have been teachers,…
…..but were still acting as babes in Christ….needing the milk of the Word…instead of being able to go on in the harder, more blessed things.
What the Lord asks from each of His own, is…..”a life open to and receptive to Him” (Revelation 3:20)
Without this, we shall never succeed by faith, in the pilgrim life.
We should walk before Him in spirit and truth….listening to His Holy Spirit within us….and getting honest in the things He shows us.
Isaiah 30:21 “And thine ear shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand, and when ye turn to the left.”
This is to know the things that the Lord is requiring of us, and then do them.
We should know when things are not quite right….and by the Holy Spirit, we should take the effort to set it right.
1 John 2:20 “But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye shall know all things.”
Though it is not within man to direct his steps….yet it is within God to do it.
Philippians 3:15 “Let us therefore, as many be perfect (complete…up-to-date in their walk) be thus minded: and if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.”
God shall reveal this to you….
Psalm 78:1 “Give ear, O my people, to My law: incline your ears to the words of My mouth.”
“Incline” means to lean over to hear…..to really want to hear what the Lord is saying to us.
Do we want to hear Him?
Where there is no sense of our lack….there will be no reaching forth to the further purpose of God for us. (2 Peter 1:9-10)
Philippians 3:13-14 “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”
But in our acknowledged weakness, we are made strong.
2 Corinthians 12:9-10 “And He said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for My strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities (my weakness) that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches , in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ’s sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.”
Paul heard the Lord speak to him, about his “weakness” (his eyes were often blurry, because of a disease he had…and he often had a hard time reading or writing.)
Paul need direction for everything….he asked for it, waited on the Lord for it, and praised the Lord for all that He gave him.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding,
In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
If we acknowledge Him….He shall direct our paths.
Do we have ears to hear?
Well, He is speaking….Let us incline toward Him and His Word …and hear
“For unto you that hear shall more be given”.
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 