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Chariot of Fire -7- |
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Greetings, We, here at The Spirit of Elijah Ministries are excited about the arrival of the new audiotape series, "Rising to the Call", which we have introduced in previous issues. The CD version is due to arrive in a couple of weeks. The responses to the messages from the series that were presented at the Illinois Home Educators' Convention this past weekend were very encouraging. The testimonies of changed lives and families indicated that God's heart has turned to His children in an unusual way at this time in the history of our nation. One man told me of having heard the message of turning his heart to his children last year. This year he had repented and turned his heart (with actions to show it) toward his grown children who had moved out of his house. He pointed to his son whom God had changed and brought to this year's convention to hear more about the calling out of sons and rising to the call of God as a son to his father. God is faithful to keep his promises! In the previous articles, I've presented the idea of the irrevocable calls of God in our lives. But what is we don't have ears to hear the callings of God? The first taped message in the series is about having ears to hear the callings of God in our lives. In this issue, I want to explain how it is possible for children to grow up in Christian homes and have a large body of knowledge about God, Jesus Christ, and the Bible, and yet walk away from Christ, their family, and the church. The main issue revolves around their ability to listen. How do they listen? Do they have ears to hear? Did you know it's possible to see but not see and hear but not hear? Join me, please, as we think about one of the most powerful parables that the Lord Jesus ever taught.
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F E A T U R E A R T I C L E Having Ears to HearThe father was discouraged, disillusioned, and confused. His seventeen-year-old daughter had rejected his faith, his leadership, his lifestyle, and values. The other children were showing signs of taking a similar course. As he sat across the table from me and expressed the torment in his soul, what bewildered him most was that he had been sincerely concerned for his children and had sought to bring them up in God's ways. He had been a minister. He and his wife had thought that if they lived out their faith in a quiet consistent way being diligent to faithfully bring their children up in the ministries of the church their children would hear the truth, see the wisdom of God's ways, and walk in their steps. But the children hadn't. Something had gone wrong. Who failed? Had their children simply exercised their free wills and chosen foolishness in spite of all their efforts to teach and train them in God's ways? What about the verse "Train up a child in the way he should go and when he is old he will not depart from it"? Was it true? Had something been overlooked? The questions were relentless. What has happened in our churches? Arguably, there has never been a generation of believers in the United States, or for that matter anywhere in the world, who has had more opportunities to grow spiritually or more resources available to them. Has there ever been a time in history when there were more Christian books, tapes, videos, CDs, TV and radio programs, movies, conferences, and church programs of every variety for every age? What is the explanation for the loss of many church-raised youth to an antichrist culture? Why is the church in America in such a poor spiritual state? I trust you are as concerned about this as I am and would like to prevent your own children from being lured away by an anti-Christ culture. In the next two articles I would like to suggest what lies are at the heart of the problems mentioned above. Besides the fact that few people have an understanding of their callings as sons and daughters of their parents or their spiritual calling as sons and daughters of God, few really have been taught how to listen. They don't have ears to hear the call of God. According to one of Jesus' most potent parables: It's possible to see, but not really see, and hear, but not understand. A Foundational Parable After having heard Jesus present a parable to a crowd that had gathered, his disciples questioned him about the meaning of the parable. Jesus responded with a couple of questions: "Do you not understand this parable? And how will you understand all the parables" (Mark 4:13)? The parable of the sower, familiar to most church-goers, apparently is the foundational parable of all parables. It may arguably be one of the most important things Jesus taught during his incarnation. Do you know what the vital lesson is in the parable of the sower? How many sermons have you heard on the passage from Luke 8? If you've been raised in the church, you've probably heard dozens. The questions this parable poses are these: Have you really heard? Do you know how to listen? What kind of a listener are you? Knowing how to listen is foundational! He Who Has Ears to Hear, Let Him Hear In verse eight of Luke eight, the historian inserted a comment about Jesus' delivery of this parable. After giving us Jesus' words in verses four through eight, he remarked, "And as he said these things he would call out, 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'" This gives us some insight into what the crowd experienced that day. It would have gone something like this: Jesus began his parable, "The sower went out to sow his seed; and as he sowed, some fell beside the road; and it was trampled under foot, and the birds of the air ate it up. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And other seed fell on rocky soil, and as soon as it grew up, it withered away, because it had no moisture. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And other seed fell among the thorns; and the thorns grew up with it, and choked it out. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. And other seed fell into the good soil, and grew up, and produced a crop a hundred times as great. He who has ears to hear, let him hear." It certainly would have been helpful also if we had been there to see Jesus' gestures and facial expressions, and to hear his voice volume and tones. But what Luke gave us is very helpful. Can you guess what the main point was in this parable? I'm sure you can. Contrary to the numerous sermons preached on this passage about evangelism, this parable is about listening-about having ears to hear. A Startling Truth The disciples didn't want to miss anything, so they asked Jesus about the meaning of the parable. In his introduction to his explanation, he made a very startling statement. "To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is in parables, in order that seeing, they may not see, and hearing they may not understand" (Luke 8:10). First we see that knowledge comes from God regarding the mysteries of the kingdom. Second, we discover a sobering truth: It's possible to see but not see and hear, nor understand. What did he mean? According to Jesus' explanation in the following verses, we can deduce what he meant. It is possible for one to physically hear the word of God and truth taught, but not spiritually to comprehend by the heart what is meant so that it affects his life. One may hear with the ears on the sides of his head, but not hear with the ears of the heart. A person may see signs and evidences of God at work in creation and history with his physical eyes, but not really see with the eyes of his heart. Could this be one of the major causes of the apostasy in our day? Let's see if we have ears to hear. Seed Collectors As Jesus continued to explain his parable, he revealed that the seed represented the Word of God. It is important to know that anytime we hear a sermon, read the Scriptures, listen to a Christian song, attend a spiritual life conference, or listen to a Christian radio program, we're only getting seed. God's Word doesn't come to us in fruit form. Seed has tremendous potential, but it is only realized after a lot of work and care. The problem arises from the fact that people often think if they have received the seed, then they have done all that is necessary. They may view going to church and sitting under the preaching of a fine expository teacher as the end or goal of their religion. Acquiring knowledge and a library of scripture verses in the mind that can be quoted when needed becomes the point of his attendance at church and his study of the Bible. Those who do so may even someday become professional "seed collectors." It is possible for a person to go to seminary and figuratively drive away with a truckload of seed! He may have notebooks full of notes and sermon outlines and messages to preach. He may know how to parse the Greek verbs and organize neat outlines with clear points and an accompanying poem or illustration, but has he really heard with his heart? The real question is: What kind of ears do we have? Do we have ears to hear? Jesus described the experiences of four kinds of listeners in this foundational parable. To which of them do you relate? The Careless Listener
I think of this person as one who could care less about spiritual truth or hearing God's Word. Surely, you've seen this kind of listener. This is the teenager who's made to come to church, but really doesn't want to be there. Or he may want to be at the youth Bible study because of a certain girl, but he could care less whether he really understands what is being read and taught. You may have seen this kind of listener sitting around your family devotion table! Often our children who are not born again exhibit this type of inattentiveness. If a child doesn't know the importance of listening and how to do so, he may be careless with the seed he receives. Jesus said that this careless listener hears. The important thing to consider is that when a person has heard something with his physical hearing apparatus and recognizes it with his mind, he thinks he has heard it. For instance, if a pastor were to be impressed to repeat last week's sermon the following Sunday, the careless listener would recognize the seed as something he's already heard. Once that occurs, he may then start counting the number of squares in the ceiling, pipes in the pipe organ, and girls in the congregation. Although the careless listener hears, the devil takes the word away from his heart so that he may not be saved. Paul gave a similar description of this kind of listener in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4. "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." Like the listener in Jesus' parable, these hear the gospel, they don't believe because their minds are affected by the devil, and they are not saved. Have you ever been a careless listener? Let's make this practical. Here are some discussion starters for your family time. How does a careless listener look when he is listening? What is his body language? What does the careless listener do with the seed that he hears? Why does the careless listener think that he hears? Husbands and wives, have you been careless listeners to each other? What is the fruit of this kind of listening in your marriage? Perhaps parents, you can think back on your childhood and teen years and give some illustrations to your children of when you were a careless listener and what the consequences were of such inattentiveness. The Overwhelmed Listener
Have you ever heard a really good sermon when God's Word impressed you but then were subsequently overwhelmed by temptation so that you never returned to think about that sermon again? Perhaps you got into the car with the children who were tired and arguing, and that tempted you to get angry and to give them a lecture all the way home. Maybe when you got into the car, your wife brought a particular point to your attention, and it offended you that she was listening to the sermon for you instead of for herself! Or maybe the attack came later on in the day or week and you fell into temptation, never really applying the truth that was contained in the sermon to your life. That's the experience of the overwhelmed listener. Jesus indicated that these people also heard. But, they were emotional listeners. These kinds of hearers go for the feeling they receive when they hear a good sermon or good teaching. There's no intention of letting the seed take root in their hearts, and so when temptation or trials come along, the seed hasn't become established in their lives. How easy it is to be overwhelmed by a trial in life and forget that we didn't meditate or inculcate the truth we heard or read in our quiet times. But if the sermon were to be repeated the next week or our eyes fall on those same verses the next morning, we probably would respond with, "I've heard that." Or "I've already read that." The writer of Hebrews was contemplating whether to lay again the foundational principles of the gospel for his readers when he realized that there were two groups of people. Should he move on past the foundational truths or should he repeat them? In chapter six, he wrote why he decided to move on and not lay again a foundation.
As he thought about it, he realized that there were some who had received the seed with joy. They tasted, not ate or applied, the good Word of God. These recognized the presence of God's Spirit and felt moved by the experience. But, having fallen away afterwards, he realized that going over the foundational truths again wouldn't bring them to repentance. Why? Because they would say, "I've already heard that." He wasn't saying that these kinds of listeners couldn't be saved. Giving them the foundation again wouldn't accomplish anything in their case. The problem wasn't the seed's content, it was the way they listened the first time. How can we learn from this kind of listener described in Jesus' parable? First, it would be wise to realize that often temptations and trials follow the hearing of the Word of God to test if we really value the Word. Will we be determined to hear? Will we overcome the temptation and stay fixed on the Word we've heard until we bear fruit, or will we be overcome by the temptation? During your family discussion time, you might each share a time when you were an overwhelmed listener. What can you learn from that experience now that you analyze it? Lessons for a Lifetime One of the most important lessons you'll teach your children is the importance of listening and what constitutes true hearing. They'll apply this lesson for their entire lives. This month, I encourage you to become experts at listening. Let's teach the next generation how to listen. In this article, we've discussed the careless listener and the overwhelmed listener. I hope you'll consider these things and apply them to the way you listen. How can we and our children rise to the callings of God in our lives if we and they don't have ears to hear the call? Next month, we'll continue learning about two more kinds of listeners. Until then, may God give you ears to hear as you take in the seed, the good Word of God. Norm
Wakefield
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Copyright 2008 / Spirit of Elijah Ministries
P.O. Box 377, Bulverde, Texas 78163 / info@spiritofelijah.com