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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.