Hearing

It's good to be back with you here at Waukesha, nice to see faces again, I'm not going to say old faces because you haven't got that old looking, but it's nice to see faces, friendly faces, faces we recognize and we trust God will bless not only this weekend of conference meeting but the weeks to follow in the gospel. Now I'd just like to read a couple verses in Luke chapter 8. I was thinking of this even in view of the start of the conference, Luke chapter 8 verse number 5. A sower went out to sow his seed and as he sowed some fell by the wayside and it was trodden down and the fowls of the air devoured it and some fell upon a rock and as soon as it was sprung up it withered away because it lacked moisture and some fell among thorns and the thorns sprang up with it and choked it another fell on good ground and sprang up and bare fruit and hundredfold and when he had said these things he cried he that have ears to hear let him hear. Down to verse 19.

Then came to him his mother and his brethren and could not come at him for the press and it was told him by certain which said thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to see thee and he answered and said unto them my mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God and do it. So here he adds this second phrase to it here not only hearing it but doing the word of God as well. Now God will bless to us the reading of his precious word.

I just want to just make a few comments this evening on on hearing. You know as we get older either people aren't speaking as loud as they used to or or things like that but we don't hear quite as good as we used to. We have to put an effort into listening to what people are saying to us.

Well it's the same when it comes to the word of God. There was a philosopher about 300 years before the Lord Jesus and and he said the reason we have two ears and only one mouth is so that we listen twice as much as we speak. And you know that makes sense sometimes we instead of listening we're quick to speak while the Lord Jesus and then of course James he mentions it in his book and he says let us be swift to hear and slow to speak.

So I just want to think for a few seconds here in view of the weekend before us on the importance of listening. The importance of hearing what is being said. It's very clear here in these two passages that we've read in the parable of the sower and this mention he makes of his family that fruitfulness of life clearly depends on faithfulness of listening.

We can't be fruitful we can't be obedient to the word of God unless we listen and that's what he says in verse 8 of chapter 8 here. He that hath ears to hear let him hear. He's talking about fruitfulness there and then of course in verse 21 he was including as well not only hearing but doing the word of God and so there is a fellowship involved there.

So we have fruitfulness and fellowship based on hearing the word of God. Now our brother in his prayer and different ones when they were praying they were mentioning the preparation that was necessary for this conference weekend. You know there's a bit of foresight involved here it's just that the brethren and sisters aren't going to show up here tomorrow and you know they're going to get together at the break and say you know we've got all these people here I wonder I wonder what we're going to feed them and they start worrying about it then no of course not you said it'd be foolish and so there is thought put into the conference as far as even preparation when it comes to the requirements to the physical needs that each one is going to have as the weekend passes by and of course and we hope that is the case that when it comes to those that are going to be opening the word of God that there was some preparation as far as their involvement as well.

You know if a preacher or even at a Sunday school time the teacher shows up and they come along and they come unprepared or they become you know unenthusiastic or just very monotonous with their message you say what's going on? Don't they understand what they're here for? Don't they understand that the people of God are here and they need to hear the word of God and they want to hear the word of God and so we would be you know kind of upset and perhaps those men that are in charge they would maybe take them aside and say listen it's very evident that you didn't come prepared to speak the word of God they would be upset. Well I just wonder here and I just like to maybe apply tonight as we're talking about listening and hearing are we coming prepared to listen this weekend prepared to hear the word of God not just coming because it's a conference weekend although that's a good reason to come not just coming because all our friends are going to be here and that's a good reason to come but come specifically prepared to hear what God is going to say to me because God is going to speak this weekend. God is going to speak and am I prepared to hear? Am I prepared to listen? You know sometimes in order to prepare to listen we have to prepare physically.

Now I know the folks that are involved in a conference we've been involved in many conferences at that end of it and there's a lot of physical labor and it's very tiring and it can wear the folks down and sometimes just by being tired when we come we're not able to listen now I know and I'm not going to tell people that there's a curfew or anything like that there but sometimes you know we have to use a bit of common sense and say okay I'm going to be sitting the whole day and I want to hear I want to listen to what God has to say so I need to come prepared physically I need to come rested and alert and ready to listen to the word of God because sometimes you know and we've all experienced this a weary body translates to a weary mind and we can go away from the conference and you know think it was a waste of time going there and really it wasn't the problem of the speakers it wasn't the problem of the word of God it was perhaps us because we didn't come prepared to listen here he says he that have ears to hear he that have ears to hear let him hear so we need to come prepared prepared to listen to the word of God now sometimes when we're prepared to listen and we come listening takes concentration again I don't know if it's just a sign of getting old or what but you know you just you can't take in two or three people talking at the same time and when you get in a crowd you know you've got to focus you've got to concentrate on on what that person is saying in order to understand what they're saying to us and so we have to concentrate we have to concentrate on what is being said in order to hear actually what the word of God is being spoken what the men that are preaching are actually saying and sometimes you know sometimes we can get distracted with the easiest of things sometimes the other saints distract us I've sometimes sat when I've lost my concentration I might be sitting at a conference maybe I'm sitting behind the sister and she's got this great big hat on and you know I'll be sitting there and at first I'm thinking I can't see past it and then the next thing I'm thinking oh I wonder where she bought that you know I wonder how much she paid for that and it's so easy to go off on a tangent that we have to force ourselves to come back to concentrate on what the word of God is going to say and so if we come purposing to hear if we come purposing to put our mind into it to listen to what the word of God says usually the outlook we come with will determine the outcome if I am coming not determined to listen to the word of God we don't need the words of men and yet it is going to be the words of men that will explain the word of God but listening to to concentrate on what is being said and perhaps we will hear the voice of God that which each one of us as an individual need so there's preparation coming prepared to listen to the word of God there is the need to concentrate on what is being said but then of course as is being asked tonight in prayer we we all need the illumination of the spirit of God you know it's it's not just coming prepared it's not just purposing in my heart to hear what men say but it is crying unto God as it's been done tonight praying to the spirit of God that that he will open our eyes that we might be able to receive the truth of the word of God if if we come looking to hear the word of God praying to God that that he will illuminate the word of God for us will be able to go we get past the men past those that are standing on the platform and listening to what they have to say I know we all have our favorite preachers I know we do and sometimes it's sad to say that depending on who is speaking whether we pay attention or not listen it's when it's when perhaps the most unexpected man is speaking he will speak to us the most I can think and I don't want to well I'm going to publicly confess this but I was 18 years old at the time because I remember it just as if it was yesterday and it wasn't and I was at the Arnstein conference in 1976 18 years old 1976 Toronto conference Sunday afternoon after their wonderful roast beef dinner that they're world-renowned for there at Arnstein and you know it's kind of hard to focus the the roast beef kicks in and uh a dear brother and uh you know as a young person I didn't appreciate him the way I should uh Richard Hanna Mr. Hanna he was at Arnstein that year for the conference missionary to Chile he was home and and he got up that afternoon and uh I sort of groaned inside because anybody knew Mr. Hanna he is he was not a dynamic preacher but he was certainly a student of the word of God but I remember him getting up that Sunday afternoon and I had gone to that conference praying for a message from God for me I went there I was at a crossroads in my life 18 years old there was things on the horizon and I went there that day expecting to hear the voice of God and we'd gone to Sunday afternoon and I was still waiting I thought and then Mr. Hanna got it and you know I just about put it into you know uh screensaver mode when he got up but I didn't I listened and and he opened the word of God and he spoke from Chronicles who then is willing to commit his service this day unto the Lord and that man spoke I don't know was maybe only 20 minutes and he spoke of commitment to God and to the things of God and to the word of God and and I went away from that meeting and I firmly believe I had heard the voice of God for me and and it changed my life it changed the direction in which I was going to take and it had an effect upon me listening and I didn't expect to hear nothing that that would impress me from Mr. Hanna but I heard the word of God and it and it had an effect and if we come to this conference prepared to hear prepared to hear what God has to say whether it's what we want to hear or not but prepare and we come and we concentrate we won't let things distract us but we'll listen to the word of God and allow the spirit of God to illuminate allow the spirit of God to make it living in our own beings it will have it has the potential to have a profound effect on every single one of us here so there is that need of illumination but then of course the weekend's going to come and go you're going to be surprised how quickly Sunday night will come and Lord willing when it comes and the conference is over and the the comfort and the camaraderie and the fellowship of being together as a group of saints is going to come to an end and now as we go out having heard the word of God there must be of course the application of what we have heard that's why in that second in in Luke chapter 8 he says these are they my mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God thank God for each one that's going to be here and hear it this weekend but it's not enough to hear it he says we must do it and that's what again James reminds us of in his epistle that we not be found just to be hearers of the word but doers of the word as well we allow the word of God to do its work we allow the spirit of God to illuminate us and and to illuminate the word of God to us and as we leave this place to apply it to allow it to have a practical effect upon our lives that this won't be a weekend wasted this won't be a weekend where nothing will happen it will be a weekend that can have a profound and life-changing effect upon every single one every single saint maybe even a sinner as they come in the word of God living the powerful word of God could even change their destiny for all eternity so he says he that have ears to hear let him hear are we ready to listen are we prepared to hear what God has to say listen it would be amazing it would be wonderful if each one of us heard the clear voice of God this weekend in the ministry of the word of God