How Do You Hear God? Do You Listen?

markhear

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 seemeth to have.” —

These words follow shortly after the parable of the sower–a parable which was intended to represent the various classes of hearers and the diverse results of their different or opposite courses.

Immediately after recording that parable, Luke adds.

“No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed, but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither anything hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.”

The idea of this seems to be that God will show who have improved their opportunities and who have not. These things, however secret now, shall be made manifest. All the workings and results of our present hearing or refusing to hear, shall in due season be spread out before the universe.Hence the solemn injunction–“Take heed, therefore, how ye hear.” How forcible, if it be indeed the case that all its consequences are to be revealed before the universe!

HOW THEN SHOULD YOU HEAR?

1. You must hear with very deep and fixed attention when the word of God is spoken to you. You must give your mind up most deeply and thoroughly to understand and obey it.2. You must hear with reverence and awe. Nothing is more displeasing to God than a state of levity of mind when He is speaking. You can readily understand this. If you were a father, think how you would feel if your children received your most solemn remarks or appeals to them with insulting levity.

3. You must hear with a most sincere desire to understand what God says. How many are there who have never set yourselves with seriousness really to understand the Gospel as if you felt it to be a matter of infinite concern to you?

How many are there who have never really pondered the plan of salvation–saying “I must know how I may be saved–I must understand the will of God concerning myself–I must know whether I am still held guilty and still doomed to hell, or whether I am pardoned?”

Some of you perhaps have never said this honestly in all your life. Yet you have had the Bible in your hands; and you have heard sermons enough to have enlightened unto salvation a thousand heathen souls. Who of you have come to God today with an intense desire to understand everything said to you?

But how can you expect ever to understand these great things of salvation unless you give up your minds to this study in solemn earnestness?

I am often astonished to hear persons saying–“The Bible is a mysterious book; I don’t understand it.”

Have you ever studied it as you do your class books? Do you ever give your whole mind to understand it as you do to understand Euclid or Cicero?

Yet with what intense interest should you desire to understand it! Nothing in all the universe is so important to you as to understand this way of salvation. Your state of mind therefore by no means corresponds to your responsibilities, or to the subject you have to study;–and how can you expect the Lord to bless you?

4. You must hear with candor, and be willing to know the worst of your case. Your heart must be really open to hear the whole truth.

Few persons have really come to understand how much importance is to be attached to this state of mind. Many seem not to be sensible of being prejudiced.–Perhaps they have not even dreamed of being committed against the truth of God; but yet they are, full of committal–and most resolutely fixed in their false opinions. They are by no means candid.

I doubt whether a really honest man ever came to the reading of the Bible or to the hearing of the preached gospel, without being infinitely benefited by such hearing and reading.

And how is it here in this matter? Are there not persons here who know they do not give up their minds to understand the truth–who know they have not heard the gospel with any real desire to learn their duty that they may do it?

I wish I could go to every individual , with this question–Did you ever come before Almighty God with an intense desire to open your whole heart to the truth, and to give yourself up to be carried by it just where the truth might carry you? Without such honesty and earnestness, how can you hope ever to be enlightened by the truth? How can you rationally expect ever to know The Truth?

5. You should hear with fear and trembling lest you fail to understand. Surely nothing can be more reasonable than this. How would you feel if you were actually to hear the voice of Jehovah proclaiming to you your duty, or your doom? Would you not tremble?

How did Israel hear at Sinai, when the awful voice of the Lord of Hosts shook the solid mountain, and smote every heart with fear and awe! O they felt then that they could not stand before that awful Lord God! How earnestly did they implore that they might not themselves hear that dread voice again, but that Moses might stand between themselves and the Lord and hear from Him and communicate to them?
And is it not most fit that you no less then they, should hear the word of God with fear and solemn awe?

Imagine to yourself how you should listen if God should come to speak to you himself. You would see no physical form but you would hear a voice, and know it to be the voice of the great God. How would awe and wakeful attention hold your mind in such dread moments! Oh, you would say–this is the great God! This is that Being in whose hand our breath is, and whom by our sins we have offended! O will he forgive us graciously for Christ’s sake, or frown upon us in his righteous wrath? Would you not listen as for your very life?

6. You should hear with an intense desire to learn what the will of God is that you may do it whatever it may be. Now if you do not hear with a determination to obey, your hearing is only tempting God. It is an insult to God of the foulest stamp. Willing and ready to know your duty–but your heart fully set to disregard it however clearly known! What can be more horrid impiety than this!

7. You should hear with your heart set upon present obedience. You should not merely intend to do at some future time the duty you may learn to day; but you should fully determine to do present known duty immediately.
Moreover your heart should be thoroughly set to do your duty fully–not partially; and perpetually,–not merely for the present hour.

8. You must also hear with repentance for past neglect. How many times have you heard in vain? And is it not fit that for this you should stand before God with a broken heart?

9. You must hear with implicit confidence in God. Else of what use can it be to you. The Bible says the Jews were not benefited by their hearing because it was not mixed with faith. So unless you really believe God, of what possible use can it be to you to listen to his word?

This reveals the secret why so many hear without any real profit. If they truly believed God, it would be of use to hear; but having no faith in God, all is to them as an idle tale. May it not be so with many of you?

Let us suppose that an apostle should come or one of the prophets of yet more ancient time; suppose one of them to be sent from the other world and you were assured of the fact; would you not listen with amazing attention?
Or suppose that God should send to you an inspired man, and you knew him to be inspired; would you not even then listen with wakeful, thrilling interest? Would you not yield your utmost attention to such messages from the living God?

But in the Scriptures you have the living oracles of Jehovah. Here they are in the language of men: and yet you know they come from God. Suppose it to be the fact that God has chosen to reveal himself to you just in this way, rather than by making his own voice distinctly and awfully audible, or rather than by an angel radiant with glory–or rather than by sending from the other world a prophet or an apostle, or rather than by sending to you an inspired preacher; and the reason of his choice has been that he might put you on a more effective trial and see whether you would believe him on such evidence as your reason tells you is adequate, and see moreover whether you will under such circumstances search for truth as for hid treasures.

Suppose you understand the precise nature of your trial; you know that it turns very much upon the point whether you will hear the voice of God through his word and his preached gospel or not;–now, knowing all this, will you give heed to the warning voice of God and listen to his truth? O how you would search this truth if you understood the results of the trial by which the Lord is now trying you to see if you will indeed obey his voice though it comes to you through the silent words of the book and the merely human voice of one who is a frail mortal, like yourselves!

Take heed HOW you hear. lest we hear carelessly and slightly, lest, upon any account, we entertain prejudice against the word we hear; and take heed to the frame of our spirits after we have heard the word, lest we lose what we have gained.

>>Hebrews 4:1-2. 1 Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it. 2 For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.

>>Hebrews 12:25-29. 25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: 26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven. 27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.

>>Hebrews 10:26-31. 26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses’ law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? 30 For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.