Listening with Intent: How Your Attitude Toward God's Word Shapes Your Faith
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.
“Take heed therefore how ye hear…” Jesus points out that there are different ways in which we can hear. So the question is, how do we hear truth? Do we listen with an eagerness to learn, or do we listen with a critical attitude? Do we listen as if we already know, or do we listen as if we have much to learn? Do we give our undivided attention, or do we wish it to be over even before it begins? What matters more than what you hear, is how you hear what you hear.
In Matt. 13:16, Jesus said, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” In other words, if you are able with a willing heart and a ready mind to receive the Word of God and keep it, then you are a blessed individual! It is to this end that Jesus thus teaches in our text that “whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” In other words, for those who have good hearing, to them He shall give more understanding. However, to those who do not have good hearing, from them shall He take even that understanding which they thought they had. That is why folly leads only to more folly. Those who do not listen because they do not see the need to listen shall eventually get to a place where they lose it all.
Have you not witnessed those who reject the truth deteriorate over time? If you will open your eyes, you will see it for yourself. Perhaps some reading this need not look any further than the person in the mirror. Sin will rob you of all reasoning. However, God says in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” The good news of the Gospel is that even when we as sinners become deafened by our sin, yet our Lord speaks the Word of God onto an otherwise deaf ear, causing that which is dead to come to life, and that which could not hear to hear. God reasons with a sinner who cannot reason for himself. God wants you to respond to His quickening Word so that you can receive cleansing through His blood!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
“Take heed therefore how ye hear…” Jesus points out that there are different ways in which we can hear. So the question is, how do we hear truth? Do we listen with an eagerness to learn, or do we listen with a critical attitude? Do we listen as if we already know, or do we listen as if we have much to learn? Do we give our undivided attention, or do we wish it to be over even before it begins? What matters more than what you hear, is how you hear what you hear.
In Matt. 13:16, Jesus said, “But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.” In other words, if you are able with a willing heart and a ready mind to receive the Word of God and keep it, then you are a blessed individual! It is to this end that Jesus thus teaches in our text that “whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.” In other words, for those who have good hearing, to them He shall give more understanding. However, to those who do not have good hearing, from them shall He take even that understanding which they thought they had. That is why folly leads only to more folly. Those who do not listen because they do not see the need to listen shall eventually get to a place where they lose it all.
Have you not witnessed those who reject the truth deteriorate over time? If you will open your eyes, you will see it for yourself. Perhaps some reading this need not look any further than the person in the mirror. Sin will rob you of all reasoning. However, God says in Isaiah 1:18, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” The good news of the Gospel is that even when we as sinners become deafened by our sin, yet our Lord speaks the Word of God onto an otherwise deaf ear, causing that which is dead to come to life, and that which could not hear to hear. God reasons with a sinner who cannot reason for himself. God wants you to respond to His quickening Word so that you can receive cleansing through His blood!
~ Pastor Gary Caudill