“Watch How You Hear”
Notes
Transcript
Saturday morning opened oddly for the husband and father of a home. His wife cold-shouldered him most of the morning and his daughter just clung to her mother. He even tried to call his mother, but she wouldn’t pick up the phone. The man could only enjoy the silence for so long before becoming overwhelmed by the obvious tension originating from his family. So he decided it best to intervene.
“Babe. What’s up? Today is so different than yesterday. I mean, you were just telling me that you love me, that I’m amazing, that I should go out with my friends after work, which I did exactly like you told me. You said that I didn’t need to worry, that you can take care of everything yourself. You told me I could be back when I wanted to and you know, midnight is a respectable hour to come home for an adult like me. I don’t get why you’re the one who’s mad! You told me I could expect breakfast to be waiting by the bed when I got home and nothing was there. Do you see me holding that against you?”
Now, his wife contemplated her options like it was a game of Clue. Where would it be and with what blunt instrument would her husband’s demise finally come about? She took a deep breath a decided that she would use her words. “That’s what you heard when I spoke to you yesterday?” she asked. “Yep.”
She said, “That’s interesting, because what I remember telling you was, ‘I love you, but you’re a slob. You have to start cleaning. It’s amazing how lazy you’ve become. I miss the days where you would lend a hand around the house, so can you step up a little? By the way, I’ll be back late tonight, so don’t even think you can go out with your friends. And don’t forget to call your mother so she doesn’t worry. I’m swamped at work today and cannot take care of everything myself. Suzie, our daughter, will be home right after school, and when she does, make her what she wants to eat for dinner, not what you want to eat so she doesn’t puke like she did after you made breakfast yesterday. Please be there and wait for her to finish and please sit by the bed until she falls asleep.’”
Then the wife asked, “How in the world did you hear what you say out of that?”
Do y’all remember how “Law & Order” used to build intrigue for a new episode with their “Ripped from the headlines” promos? If this little story feels like it hits too close to home, it’s just a coincidence, but I should also add that it might be time to set your selective listening aside for our next bit of time together.
Jesus is teaching to us this morning in a parable, or a short story that used imagery and metaphor to communicate some meaning. If you notice with me, there in the middle of the passage is something that stands out as odd, if we pay attention to it at all. At the end of preaching this parable to the great crowd that surrounded him, he says in
Luke 8:8 (ESV)
As he said these things, he called out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”
We might wonder, “What is it that Jesus is saying with this?” Can you imagine being in that crowd, hearing this from the lips of Jesus, and then reaching up to grab your ears while asking the person next to you, “Does it not look like we have ears? We can clearly hear him.” This has nothing to do with the ability of men and women and boys and girls then or even now to audibly hear this parable, but has everything to do with how people receive the kingdom seed that is the Word of God, preached to them. Jesus diagnoses that how you hear, or rather, how you receive the Word proclaimed reveals the nature of your heart. Like the line about ears, I’m going to ask a rather odd question to begin our time this morning:
What kind of heart do you have?
What kind of heart do you have?
We’ll find during our time together that there are four different kinds of hearts that you and I can have when it comes to receiving the Word of God. The first of which is
A Hard Heart
A Hard Heart
This represents a person who may be here today or listening to me on the internet. You are “hearing” the Word of God, because I am preaching it. But my words are like my hunting story from last week, in one ear and right out the other. God’s Word rolls off you like water off a duck’s back. You don’t consider yourself to be a hard-hearted person, but you just really aren’t interested in the Word of God. Your heart is like a pathway that has been trampled down until the dirt is hard-packed. What you are hearing today may be entering your ears, but it certainly won’t enter your heart.
There is a something going on right now, invisible to the human eye, which makes it even harder to receive the Word of God. Jesus says Satan tries to “steal” the Word from you. It was common to see a flock of birds swarming around a farmer as he tossed his seed. The birds knew some of the seed would fall on the packed-down earth and they would swoop down and eat it. In the same way, the devil stands ready to try to steal the Word away from people as soon as they hear it. Don’t ever be surprised if you have trouble concentrating when you are reading the Bible or when you are hearing the Bible being taught. One of the enemy’s most effective strategies is distraction. At this moment, Satan would love nothing better than for you to be distracted by this building, or these screens, or the choir, or the people around you. Why? Because the devil is actively attempting to steal the Word away from you.
There is also
A Shallow Heart
A Shallow Heart
I believe most of you present today aren’t hard-hearted because many of those folks never bother to attend church. Most of you at least have a Bible open and many of you are taking notes. However, it’s very easy to slip into the category of the shallow heart.
Notice Jesus said these people receive the word with joy. They react with an emotional acceptance of the Word. They listen and they are happy to hear the Word. They will smile, shout “amen,” and even shed a few tears of joy on Sunday. But by Tuesday morning, they are downcast and defeated. The emotion is gone, so the commitment is gone. They’re the yes and then no types, or saying that another way, they’re like a soda bottle that’s opened right after it’s all shook up. It fizzles everywhere for a minute and then is just flat after that.
This is a real warning to us about the danger of basing your Christian faith on your emotions. Some people think the reason they come to church is to get happy and they hope they can get enough joy to last them through the week so they can come back the next week and get a refill.
It’s an interesting thing to hear feedback about a message you preach. There are some Sundays that some folks will tell me with tears in their eyes, “that was the most wonderful message I’ve ever heard in my entire life.” When I hear those, part of me thinks that the lunchtime conversation involves someone saying, “Why doesn’t he always preach like that?”
As your pastor, it is not my desire to only touch your emotions; I’m trying to build healthy, strong, fully-devoted, mature followers of Christ. Some of you will think after today’s message, “Well, that was nice, but nothing like last week!” That’s why I believe God has called me to be a Pastor, to consistently feed you the meat of the Word of God Sunday after Sunday. We all love ice cream but if we ate it every meal, it would soon get old! Christmas is wonderful, but if it were Christmas every day, it would soon be disappointing. Be careful that you don’t come to church just looking for a thrill–that’s what Six Flags is for.
Don’t get me wrong. I believe we should love God with our entire being, our mind, our wills, and our emotions. But your emotions are the shallowest part of your soul.
You may be wondering, “What’s wrong with an emotional faith? I want to feel good about God!” Let’s let Jesus tell us what’s wrong with this kind of attitude: It doesn’t stand up under the heat. He speaks of trouble and testing that come into our lives; an emotionally based faith won’t pass the test. In this parable, the plant had no root, so when the heat came, there was no depth so it withered and died. When the heat gets turned up in your life you need more than just an emotional faith. You need deep roots.
Are you “rooted and grounded” in the Word of God? The massive redwood trees out west are majestic to see–they soar to amazing heights–but surprisingly, they have short, weak roots. The reason they can stand and survive the elements is because the roots of each tree are intertwined with the roots of the trees around it. That’s why you never see a redwood standing alone; it cannot support itself, it needs other trees to stand. What a beautiful picture of the Church! That’s one reason why it’s absolutely imperative for you to attend church. I will never say you have to attend church to be forgiven by God, but I will say unapologetically, that you have to attend church to be a strong, growing, maturing Christian.
Then there is a
A Crowded Heart
A Crowded Heart
It’s my opinion this third category has more people in it than the first two combined. This represents the kind of attitude that hears the Word, receives it, and it is watered and nurtured and the person begins to really grow as a Christian. I believe this person has a genuine desire to be a deeply rooted, maturing Christian. But somewhere along the way their growth process is interrupted. They simply allow their lives to become so crowded with other interests that the impact of the Word of God gets choked out.
There is a limited amount of moisture and nutrients in soil, so weeds and thorns compete with the good plants. Jesus is warning us there are some things in our lives that compete with the Word of God. If you aren’t careful they will just choke out the effectiveness of it. He mentions three of these thorn plants or weeds. Ask yourself if you are allowing any of these weeds to strangle the Word in your life. God’s Word can be
Strangled by worries
Strangled by worries
Our English Word “worry” comes from the German Word “wurgen” which means “to choke.” Worry is when the devil puts a mental and emotional choke hold on you. I’m convinced the most prevalent sin among Christians is worry. There are two categories of trouble in life, (1) Those you can’t do anything about it; and (2) those you can do something about. If you can’t do anything about your trouble, then why worry? If you can do something, why worry–do something! My attitude about worry can be summarized in a little poem:
For every evil under the sun; either there is a cure; or there is none. If there be one–seek ‘till you find it. If there be none–never mind it!
God’s Word can be
Strangled by wealth
Strangled by wealth
A better translation of this is found in Matthew 13:22 where Jesus warns about the “deceitfulness of riches.” There is nothing inherently evil in wealth but wealth can fool you. It can give you a false sense of security and worth. It can deceive you into thinking you can buy your way into and out of any situation.
They called him the King and now there’s a new Netflix series about him. On August 16, 1977, Elvis died from complications of drug usage. Some said he “had it all.” Each year over 250,000 people still tour Graceland. You can see his motorcycles, his Cadillacs, his toys and his gold records. You can see his jets, one named Hound Dog II and one named the Lisa Marie. Elvis loved to fly around the country late at night just to get things like ice cream or a special kind of peanut butter sold only in Denver.
Elvis’ younger stepbrother, Rick Stanley, has spoken at churches several times. Rick said he thought Elvis really loved Jesus at one time and his favorite style of music was always gospel music. But Elvis’ biggest mistake, according to Rick, was he allowed all the fame, all the money, and all the success to choke the Word of God out of his life. He died sad and lonely, surrounded by wealth. What a sad testimony of a person who allowed the Word to be choked out.
You don’t have to be as rich and famous as Elvis for that to happen. If you love gold more than God, the Word will get choked out. For some of you, Jesus has become just one of several good interests in your life. Listen, friend, if Jesus is not Lord of all–His is not your Lord at all.
God’s word can be
Strangled by wants
Strangled by wants
Jesus called these “pleasures.” It just means loving the things the world has to offer. One of the biggest enemies you’ll ever face in spiritual warfare is busyness. We all lead such busy, cluttered lives it’s hard to concentrate on the Word of God; and it’s getting harder. Life is getting more complicated. For instance, growing up, television used to consist of five stations depending on which way you had your antenna turned. Forget satellite, we stream from at least a dozen different subscription sources now. It used to be “church” on Sunday and Wednesday; now other organizations and sports teams are even expecting you to be there while church is going on.
The sad thing about this attitude is that the hearer really wanted to receive the Word and be fruitful. He isn’t hard hearted, or shallow minded; he just got too busy. Can someone like this be a child of God? Probably. What’s the downside then? Look at Jesus’ observation in Luke 8:14. “Their fruit does not mature.” A busy, distracted, over-extended Christian is doomed to a sad life of perpetual spiritual immaturity.
The last type of heart is
A Teachable Heart
A Teachable Heart
It doesn’t take a genius to figure out this fourth attitude is the ideal; it’s the goal for which every disciple of Christ should strive. Would you like to have an open, teachable heart? It doesn’t come automatically; it must be “cultivated.” Let’s talk about how to cultivate a teachable heart.
Unless you grew up on a farm, you may not know what the word cultivate means. It doesn’t mean to plow, or plant or reap. According to the dictionary, cultivate means “to prepare or prepare and use for the raising of crops.” It also means “to loosen or break up the soil for growing plants.” That farming word has come to mean the development of any preference like, “I have cultivated a taste for country music.”
In order to be a good listener of the Word and have a teachable heart, that’s something we must do. In Hosea 10:12, God says,
Hosea 10:12 (ESV)
Sow for yourselves righteousness; reap steadfast love; break up your fallow ground, for it is the time to seek the Lord, that he may come and rain righteousness upon you.
The other day, I was complaining to my yardman about the weeds in my yard. I’m my yardman, so yes, I was talking to myself. I said, “unless you get in there and remove those weeds, they are going to take over the yard.” You don’t have to intentionally plant weeds; they just grow on their own. You do have to intentionally remove them or they will choke out the good plants. When you get in there and you dig out most of those weeds, better things will grow. Now weeds are living plants, and it’s not that I hate weeds or anything; it’s just that I love actual grass better. If you love the Word of God and the God of the Word supremely, you will be willing to cultivate a teachable attitude–by breaking up the hard soil of your heart.
Would you like to have a teachable heart that receives the Word of God like soft, fertile soil and produces a bumper crop of unfailing love? Here are four practical ways to cultivate this kind of attitude:
Hunger for the Word
Hunger for the Word
The Psalmist observed, Psalm 119:103 “How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!”
Do you have a voracious appetite and desire to read and hear God’s Word? Sadly, many of you are more interested in your next meal than you are in hearing from God. Do you have hobbies, activities or other things in your life you enjoy much more than hearing from God?
The French have an interesting phrase. When you sit down to eat a meal they say, “bon appétit,” which means “good appetite.” Why don’t they say, “Good food?” Because they understand your enjoyment of a meal is directly related to the intensity of your appetite, not necessarily the quality of the food. If you haven’t eaten in two days, a bowl of soup tastes heavenly. On the other hand, you can sit down to the finest meal prepared by the most talented chef but if you’ve just eaten three Big Macs, you won’t really enjoy that fine meal. Why? Obviously, because you are already full.
You may not hunger for the Word of God because you are already full of something else. So, let me ask you: How is your appetite for the Word of God? The reason some of you aren’t really fed by the Word says much more about your lack of spiritual appetite than about the quality of the food. For example, a person who truly hungers for the word never asks on Saturday night, “Am I going to church tomorrow?” That question is as silly as asking “Am I going to eat today?” If you hunger for the Word, your only question on Saturday night is “What time am I leaving for church?” You aren’t coming because you have friends there. You come because you have a hunger for the Word. That kind of hunger must be cultivated intentionally.
You must also
Hear the Word Aggressively
Hear the Word Aggressively
At this moment, some of you are aggressively listening, and others are only passively hearing. Do you read the Word or come to church and cock your ear heavenward to listen for the voice of your Master? Sadly, I look into the faces of people every Sunday who don’t seem to be really listening for God. Some people come into church and cross their arms and put mental signs around their necks saying, “DO NOT DISTURB.” That’s why when Jesus finished the parable, he issued this challenge: Luke 8:8 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Huh? Didn’t everybody there have ears? But not everyone who can hear really listens to God. A Bible paraphrase puts it this way, Luke 8:8 (MSG) “Are you listening to this? Really listening?”
Chuck Swindoll told this story: An Indian was walking in downtown New York City alongside a friend who was a resident of the city. Right in the center of Manhattan, the Indian seized his friend’s arm and whispered, “Wait! I hear a cricket.” His friend said, “Come on! This is downtown New York. You can’t hear a cricket! There are taxis going by with their horns honking. The subway is roaring beneath us. You can’t possibly hear a cricket!” The Indian insisted, “Wait a minute!” They stopped, and the Indian walked down to the end of the block, and there in a large cement planter where a tree was growing, he dug into the mulch and found the cricket. “See!” he yelled, as he held the insect high above his head. His friend walked over saying, “How in the world could you hear a cricket in the middle of downtown Manhattan?” The Indian said, “Well, it simply depends on what you’re listening for. Here, let me show you.” And he reached in his pocket and pulled out a handful of change–a couple of quarters, and three or four nickels and then he said, “Now watch.” He held the coins waist high and dropped them to the sidewalk. Every head within a block turned around and looked in the direction of the coins. It all depends on what you’re listening for.
When you are reading the Bible or hearing it taught, do you aggressively tune your ear to listen to God? There may be two of you sitting right next to each other in this room. One of you is saying, “Yes, Lord, I am hearing You!” The other is looking at your watch thinking, “When will this be over?” Are you really listening?
Hang on to the Word
Hang on to the Word
In Luke 8:15, Jesus said a good listener not only hears the Word but also retains it. It’s important to hang onto the Word of God. There are two ways you can do it. First, you can work on memorizing passages of scripture. The Psalmist said, “I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:11
Another way to retain the word is to take notes when you hear the Word taught. Studies have shown that 24 hours after you hear something, you will only remember 10% of it, unless you take notes and then you will be able to recall over 40% of what you heard.
Einstein was correct when he said, “A short pencil is better than a long memory.” If a doctor came into your hospital room after surgery, and said, “Okay, you are going home, but there are three things you need to do to get well,” you’d be scrambling for a piece of paper and a pen to write it down.
That’s a good way to hang on to the Word of God as well. It’s more than simply filling in a few blanks. Try to write down everything helpful God reveals to you. It may be something totally different than what I’m saying! You can replay these messages any time you want on Facebook or YouTube and you can even read a written manuscript of all my messages by accessing “Sermon Manuscripts” from the ChurchCenter app. A teachable heart hears and retains the Word.
Help others hear the Word
Help others hear the Word
Jesus said a teachable heart is like fertile soil that produces a crop that reproduces itself a hundredfold. Good soil not only produces crops, it produces more seed that can be replanted.
One way to know for certain you have a teachable heart is when you are producing enough fruit to plant seeds of the Word yourself. Consider this beautiful picture from
Psalm 126:6 (ESV)
He who goes out weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
When you have a teachable heart, your heart is so broken for those who don’t know Jesus you literally weep as you plant seeds of the Word. Are you seed planter? Did you notice the farmer was so generous with his seed he didn’t only plant the seed in the fertile ground? He tossed it everywhere, even knowing that less than 100% of the seed would find fertile soil.
The Word of God is such a powerful force, you can just spread it around generously, don’t be stingy with it. There are hundreds of ways to plant seeds, from passing out Bibles or sharing gospel tracts. Brother Mike Alvarez is famous for sharing his “Million Dollar” tract with anyone that will take it! Years ago, I bought a bunch of tracts with the title “Who is Jesus?” and do you know who I share them with the most? The Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses that scoot around town - they have no clue who Jesus really is! I’m just planting seeds. I won’t be a bit surprised if I find somebody in eternity who says, “I was saved from a cult by reading a gospel tract because I learned who Jesus really is!” Our online stream scatters seed all over the world, literally. There’s a pastor in the Philippines who regularly sends us encouragement after he watches our service. When you share the post of our service with your friends, you are scattering seeds.
I repeat, the best way to know when you have the right kind of heart is when you aren’t only interested in hearing the Word; you are heeding the Word and helping others hear the Word.
The seed of the Word is so powerful all you have to do is plant it—God will do the rest. Dr. Gaylord Kambarami was the General Secretary for the International Bible Society in Zimbabwe. Once he was passing out New Testaments, and a very skeptical man pushed back. The man told him if he took the Bible he would just tear the pages out and roll them up to make cigarettes. Dr. Kambarami told him to go ahead and do that, but to promise him he would read each page before he smoked it.
Years later, he met the man at a Christian convention. The scripture-smoking man had been saved and was now an evangelist himself. His testimony was simple. The man told how he had received a New Testament to make cigarettes. He said, “I smoked my way through Matthew, Mark, and Luke but when I got to John 3:16, I couldn’t smoke anymore. When I read that I got on my knees and that’s when Jesus changed my life!”
We’ve been in a sermon series called “Faithful. Not Faithless.” since last week. Growing into faithfulness in our Christian walk involves seriously assessing how you answer this question:
What kind of heart do you have?
What kind of heart do you have?
What kind of heart do you have today? Hardened? Shallow? Over-crowded? Will you make a new commitment today to cultivate your heart to become more teachable? Will you strive to be rooted deeply in the faith? Will you weed out some of the things that are strangling the Word in your life? Will you become someone who is actively planting the Word everywhere you go?
I met the Lord during a message preached from this parable twenty-one years ago. I walked in to that church service hard-hearted, focused on everyone and everything but God and yet, found myself by the end of that message longing for God to transform my heart so that his kingdom seed would find fertile soil. No matter where you’ve been, no matter what you’ve done, you’re never too far gone. The Spirit of Jesus can transform you. Surrender to Jesus.