A recurring statement made by Jesus throughout the gospels is, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Following important teachings about the kingdom, holiness, devotion to God’s word, and other critical matters, Jesus would conclude with the statement, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” Is God trying to tell us something?
One of the devil’s tricks is to keep us from obeying God’s word once we have heard it. To Satan, that may be even better than not hearing at all. It worked on the Pharisees. They would listen to Jesus teach, but they had no intention of changing. They listened for one reason – to see if they agreed with what He said. They wanted to catch Him saying something they disagreed with so they could challenge Him, or worse, condemn Him. The result was devastating – they heard the word, but were still spiritually lost.
We must be careful of this trick of the devil. Because we are truth seekers and opposed to man-made doctrine, there is the temptation to listen to a sermon with one idea in mind, “Do I agree, or disagree, with what is being said?” We should cling to the truth of God’s word, but also listen for things that will help make us more like Christ. We need to listen in order to make changes in our lives. God’s word needs to hit home every time we read and study it.
Jesus said, “Everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts upon them, may be compared to a wise man, who built his house upon a rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and winds blew and slammed against that house; and yet it did not fall, for it had been founded on the rock. Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. The rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and slammed against that house; and it fell – and great was it’s fall” Matthew 7:24-27.
Let’s train ourselves to hear and obey the word of God. This requires a humble heart that recognizes we have not arrived at perfection. We must “keep our ears on.”
Mike