Hearing Heart

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The Hearing of the Heart

 

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."

The ability to hear with your heart will ultimately determine what you do with the Word of God.  We often see people who get saved and do well for a while, but after a period of time they stop serving God, and some drop completely out of church.  Though most people never start out wanting to quit on God, many do quit and hurt the work of the LORD.  

In the verse above, we find the answer to the problem is to make sure that you have a heart that hears.  The parable of the sower is about a man who sowed seed and the results of where the seed fell.  According to this parable, the seed is the Word of God.  The seed fell on four different types of surfaces: way side, rock, thorny ground and good ground.  In each of these instances, the surfaces show what type of hearing the heart of that person has.  It is vitally important that you make sure your heart is hearing God's Word. Let me show you the problems that cause the heart to be hard of hearing.  

First, being unsaved will cause the heart not to hear.  In verse 12, you will notice that the person is unsaved.  One of the biggest reasons people don't understand the Scriptures is because they are not saved.  Only the Holy Spirit of God can explain the Scriptures to you.  When you are not saved, you will have a hard time understanding the Scriptures. If you never understand what you read in the Scriptures, then I would advise you to be sure that you are saved.  If you can't remember a time when you put your complete trust in the shed of blood of Jesus to save you, then you need to get saved.  

Second, a sinful heart will cause your heart not to hear.  In verse 13, you will notice that God talks about temptation.  Those who live a life of sin will have a hard time understanding the Word of God.  Sin is like noise that will keep you from clearly hearing what the Scriptures are trying to say.  You need to quiet the noise that keeps your heart from hearing by getting rid of your sin.  

Third, a worldly heart will keep you from properly understanding the Scriptures.  In verse 14, you will see that those who are wrapped up in the affairs of this world have a hard time hearing God's Word. Christian, if your life is wrapped up in money, pleasure and possessions, then God's Word will be muffled, and you will not hear It clearly.  When you listen to the world more than you do to God, then you will find your heart having a hard time hearing what He wants you to do.  

Last, an honest heart is the answer to hearing God's Word correctly.  In verse 15, God talks about the "honest and good heart." When, in your heart, you desire to do right more than anything else, then God can clearly speak to you, and you will understand.  Until you come to the point when all you want to do is serve God, then God's Word will not be as clear to you as It should be.  

I ask you, what type of heart do you have? The determining factor of how clearly you hear and understand the Scriptures is determined by your heart.  Don't allow the world and sin to silence the voice of God's Word to your heart.  Get rid of sin so that your heart can clearly hear what God wants you to hear.

Beatitudes

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The Beatitudes Principle

 

Luke 6:20

"And he lifted up his eyes on his disciples, and said, Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God."

A very important principle for life is taught in the beatitudes that I fear most people miss.  The principle that is missed is that in order to enjoy something, you must partake of the opposite.  For instance, God says that you must be hungry before you can be filled.  You must weep before you can laugh.  You must have hardships before you can rejoice.  In other words, you will never enjoy anything to its fullest without experiencing the opposite as well.

It is important that you learn this principle and teach it to your children.  For instance, your children need to learn to work before they can play.  Too many parents allow their children to play all the time without working, only to find the children frustrated.  Your children will enjoy their play time more if they must work before they play.  My parents always made sure that I had my chores done before they would let me play.  They were simply teaching me that I would enjoy my play time better if I worked.

Likewise, your home and life will not enjoy laughter to its fullest if there is no time to weep.  You could plan times to weep by visiting people in the nursing homes and hospitals.  I am all for laughter, but there must be a time to weep so that laughter can be enjoyed to its fullest.

If you want your love to be greater, then you must also hate.  I know this sounds strange, but love without hatred is a shallow love.  For instance, I love my wife and daughter, and anything that would hurt them I hate.  If I don't hate what would hurt them, then I don't love them the way that I should.  Love needs hatred as must as hatred needs love. One without the other is wrong.

Likewise, young married couples need to learn that before they enjoy the luxuries of life, they need to struggle for a while.  Those who enjoy everything at the beginning will end up getting themselves into trouble.  The strongest marriages are the marriages that struggled in the early years. Those years of struggling together allowed them to enjoy the pleasures of life greater. Too many young couples immediately want the nice house filled with new furniture and two new cars sitting in the driveway.  If they want their marriage to be more fulfilling, then they would be wise to wait until they can afford these things.  Struggling together will give your marriage more fulfillment.

Christian, I am simply trying to get you to see that you will never quite enjoy life until you apply the beatitudes principle of partaking of both sides.  Grace needs truth, love needs hatred, play needs work, pleasure needs struggles, patience needs tribulation, joy needs sorrow, laughter needs crying, etc.  Be careful about only enjoying one side of life.  Realize that you must partake of both if you want your life to be truly fulfilling.

MSNBC Guest Explains: Burning a Koran is ‘Much’ Worse than Burning a Bible | The Blaze

Did you know that burning the Koran is worse than burning the Bible? That’s what MSNBC guest and Time Magazine world editor Bobby Ghosh told host Chuck Todd on Friday. According to him, the Koran is directly from God, while the Bible isn’t. Mediaite offers a transcript:
via theblaze.com

But of course there is no bias in the media. Well, at least when there is, it is in the favor of our adversaries.

And Peter

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And Peter

 

Mark 16:7

"But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you."

The story from the verse above occurred after the death and resurrection of Jesus.  Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James went to the tomb with spices to anoint the body of Jesus.  When they arrived at the tomb, they noticed that the stone had been rolled away.  When they entered, they saw a young man sitting in white apparel on the right side of where the body of Jesus was laid.  The young man informed them that Jesus had risen from the grave, and they were to go and tell the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee.

In this statement to these ladies, the young man, by the commandment of Jesus, didn't just tell them tell the disciples to meet Jesus in Galilee, but he said, "But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter..." There was a reason that he said, "...and Peter." The reason was because Peter had denied Christ and certainly felt that Jesus would no longer want to use him.  Yet, the verse above shows us that Jesus still had great things planned for Peter, even after he fell.

Unfortunately there are many people in the Christian life who feel that they are no longer useful because of some sin they committed.  They, like Peter, feel that their sin would keep Jesus from ever using them again. Yet, you must remember that only Satan would want you to think this way.  Throughout the Scriptures you will find that God used people even after they committed a horrible sin.  Sometimes God simply has to remind us that He still has something in store for us just like He did with Peter.

I was recently talking to an individual who used to be greatly involved in their church. This individual had experienced the pain of sin. They told me that they didn't know what else they could do for God.  As I heard this, I reminded them that they were not the first person who had experienced the touch of sin, and that God could still use them if they would allow Him to do so.

Maybe because of your sin you feel like Peter.  Maybe you feel that there is no way that God could use you because of your sin.  Let me remind you of two words, "...and Peter." Yes, if God could use Peter again then He can use you again.  You are not the first person who has been touched by the destructive hand of sin.  You must not allow Satan to feed you the lie that you are beyond ever being used by God again.  God can use you again!

Furthermore, if God is going to use you again, then you must go and meet with Him.  If Peter would not have gone to Galilee to meet with Jesus, then we would have never heard about him again.  Instead, throughout the New Testament you see God using Peter in a mighty way.  He was used again because he went to meet Jesus in Galilee.  

God wants to use you again, but you must get up from where sin has left you and go meet with God again.  What I mean by this is that you must take the initiative to get up and get involved again.  Yes, you will have to face those who know what you have done, but if you will get involved again in the LORD's work, then He will use you.

Maybe the greatest two words in the Scriptures for those who have committed sin are the words, "...and Peter." Always remember that God wants to use you again, but you must meet with Him if that is going to happen.  The ball is in your court, what are you going to do with it?

Are you needed?

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The LORD Hath Need of You

 

Matthew 21:3

"And if any man say ought unto you, ye shall say, The Lord hath need of them; and straightway he will send them."

What an astonishing statement when God says, "The Lord hath need of them..." Can you imagine the God of the Universe having a need?  Can you imagine the Creator of all things lacking something that you have?  Can you imagine that the God Who owns the cattle on the thousand hills wanting something that you have?  That is what happened in the verse above.  

Jesus was about to make His triumphal entry into Jerusalem before His crucifixion.  He sent His disciples to a man who had something that He needed.  Without this man allowing his livestock to be used by God, prophecy would have been voided.  Without this man being willing to give up what he had, Scriptures would have been deemed a lie, because it was prophesied in the Old Testament that Jesus would ride "upon an ass" into Jerusalem.  Jesus had a need that only this man could fill, and if he didn't fill that need, then a void would have been left in this world.  

Christian, let me make this clear to you, the LORD hath need of you. The very same God that needed this man's animal needs you as well.  You may wonder why God would need you, but let me remind you that you were made for a purpose that only you could fulfill.  God did not place you on this Earth for no reason at all.  God placed you on this Earth because He had a need that only you could fill.  The LORD hath need of you doing what He made you to do.  

Furthermore, when you don't fulfill the purpose of why God made you, then you leave a void on this Earth that nobody can fill.  We wonder why this world is in the shape that it's in, and the reason is because there are so many Christians who are not fulfilling the purpose of why God made them.  Though others may try to fill in where you are not doing your part, nobody can fill your position quite like you.  

I challenge you to do your part in filling the purpose of why you were made. Yes, the LORD hath need of you.  Whatever your shortcomings are in life, let me remind you that the LORD hath need of you.  However your physical frailties may limit you, let me remind you that the LORD still hath need of you.  Whatever your education level is, the LORD hath need of you.  Fill in the blank and we can still say that the LORD hath need of you.  Don't leave the LORD with a need unfulfilled.  Just think, you have something that the God of the Universe needs; that need is you.  Let God have His need filled by you surrendering to do whatever He needs you to do.  When you fill God's need, then He will fill your need.