2 Chron 7:14
14 if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. ESV
- It isn’t enough to just admit you have sinned. God wants us to turn from our sins. Anything short of turning from our sins would be us deceiving ourselves. James 1:22 speaks of those who hear but don’t change. We learn that it feels good to hear and to know, but it isn’t until we do that we will be helped. Judges 10:16; Prov 28:13;
John 9:34
34 They answered him, “You were born in utter sin, and would you teach us?” And they cast him out. ESV
- Prov 16:18 Pride makes a fool. He who can’t or will not learn, is a fool. I was once told that a wise man knows a fool isn’t always wrong. The one who is above listening, never learns. God, help me to remember I don’t know everything and to be open to listen, no matter who is speaking.Prov 1:5;
Mark 4:24
24 And he said to them, “Pay attention to what you hear: with the measure you use, it will be measured to you, and still more will be added to you. ESV
- This verse combines two concepts that I have never connected. I am familiar with the idea that I need to be careful of what I hear, I know that with the measure I use it will be used back to me, but how does that apply in what I hear? The answer lies in verse 25.
Mark 4:25
25 For to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.” ESV
- Is the answer as simple as it sounds? If you use what you have you’ll grow and be able to hear more, but if you don’t listen to what you have you will not receive any thing else. Instead, you’ll become too calloused (hard) to hear. Heb 3:8 Says if you hear, do not harden your heart… So if you hear and do not listen- what you have will be taken away. Luke 8:18 accounts these thoughts as tied together as well. Matt 28:11-15 shows ignoring the word because it didn’t line up with what they wanted.
- Note this is immediately after the parable of the sower, three times in this chapter we have been told to listen. We were given the story of different people who all received the word, though all received, only 1 of the 4 groups produced fruit. 3 of the 4 groups lost what they had. They have been given a word but because they didn’t let it go down deep, take root and grow, they lost it. Even what they had was gone.
- Lord, help us to be the good soil, let your word take root and produce fruit (actions) that are pleasing to you.
Zech 3: 7
7 “Thus says the Lord of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.” ESV
- “If you will”, is a condition to the promise that will follow. “And” is a conjunction adding a second condition to the promise. God’s blessing always comes with following God’s word. Prov 2:8; you can’t get God’s blessing your way.
- The word “if” appears in the NKJV 1,637 times. Not every “if” is a condition coming from God to us. God does make a lot of promises based on the condition of listening to Him. Eph 6:2 says that honoring your father and mother is the first commandment with a promise. It seems that a lot of the “ifs” are God telling you the laws that He has put in place, not actually making up conditions you must follow. If you step off a cliff you will fall; that is a condition due to the law of gravity. Honor your father and mother that it will go well with you… is a condition of the laws God wrote. Ps 119:105 says that God’s word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. God has given us the secrets to the world that He created. What we doing with them? We cannot ignore God’s conditions and laws and expect God’s blessings and protection. Deut 28:1-2, & 3-14.
Zeph 3:1-2
Woe to her who is rebellious and polluted, to the oppressing city!
2 She has not obeyed His voice, She has not received correction; She has not trusted in the LORD, She has not drawn near to her God. NKJV
- It gives a description of the rebellious. 1 Sam 15:23;
1. They are defiled
2. The don’t listen
3. They refuse correction
4. They don’t trust in God
5. They don’t draw near to God.
- Does some or all of the description of the rebellious fit you? Just a good thing for us to check.
Ezek 3:27
27 But when I speak with you, I will open your mouth, and you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD.’ He who hears, let him hear; and he who refuses, let him refuse; for they are a rebellious house. NKJV
- Eze 2:3-8; 3:19; Once again we hear this theme repeated, you have been commissioned to speak, and you will give an account for your response.
- Hearing or listening is a choice. Your ears pick up sounds, but choosing to comprehend the words and take them in, is a completely different matter. That is a choice Prov 1:5. God, help me to choose to listen. Open my ears to hear and my heart to receive. Don’t let pride ever keep me from hearing.
1 Kings 8:61
61 Let your heart therefore be wholly true to the Lord our God, walking in his statutes and keeping his commandments, as at this day.” ESV
- Later in life Solomon himself would have done well to listen to his own advice. I think most of the time we are fully capable of giving ourselves great advice. If someone else came to us with the same problem we would give them good advice the trick is both in doing, and making your choice before the heat of a moment filled with emotion. 2 Chron 12:14
- What areas are you not taking your own advice? “I know I really should….” “I probably shouldn’t… But” Why is it hard to take your own advice?
- Are you making choices ahead of time or do you wait until emotions are high and you can no longer think straight.
Prov 18:13
He who answers a matter before he hears it, It is folly and shame to him. NKJV
Listen before you answer. If you don’t, you are being stupid and insulting. TEV
- I think I have been guilty of answering before I had really finished listening. Be quick to listen and slow to speak. Vs 17; James 1:19; Prov 1:5; Rev 3:13; Acts 19:35-38;
I just made this mistake on a first class level. I got a face book message with the title, “my daughter” and a little picture of a baby in a hospital blanket. I didn’t have much time so I didn’t read the post I just sent a message saying congratulations. I thought nothing of it until I received a return message saying: Congratulations???? So then I clicked on the original post to read through it. When the picture was made bigger you could see it was not a new born in fact she was 18 months old. She had just gone to the hospital with a life threatening illness. She was recovering but they were uninsured missionaries and were asking for help to pay the large hospital bills. Needless to say I felt like an idiot. Answering before listening made me look stupid and came off very insulting.
Ps 25:9
9 The humble He guides in justice, And the humble He teaches His way. NKJV
- God will teach those who will listen. Am I humble enough to listen, to receive correction? God I want to be humble, I want to receive your instruction not defend myself and the reasons I made wrong choices.
- Ps 141:5(correction is a blessing) Prov 1:5 (the wise hear and increase in learning) Prov 16:18 (pride comes before destruction) those who are think they are always right don’t receive correction, they choose to face the consequences of their mistakes before learning, and still they often refuse to change. (Prov 26:11)
Prov 8:33
Hear instruction and be wise, And do not refuse or neglect it. AMP
- One of the fist steps to wisdom is listening. Are you listening? I suppose that the search for wisdom is done mostly with ones mouth shut. We do not learn much while we are talking. We apparently undervalue the ability to ask, wisdom is found in listening to answers.
- Vs 6 & 10, 36; Prov 22:6; 29:26
