Pastor Wayne Cordeiro
December 28, 2003 - W0352

As we end the ìSeasons of Giftsî series, a new year quickly approaches. Of course, most will welcome it with joyful celebrations as the count down begins. However, as we do, let our hearts and ears be quietly attuned to what the Lord is saying for the coming year. Did you know itís possible to have eyes yet not see and ears yet not hear? And as much as listening is essential to communicating well, we often do not value that skill. The Israelites had this problem. In fact, we too have this problem with listening today.

So how can we listen well? Well, we must first understand that listening is a God-given gift that needs to be developed. Furthermore, God commends those who listen. Listen to what Mathew says.  ìÖblessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hearî. (Mt. 13:16)

?        LISTENING IS (A GIFT THAT IS) DEVELOPED.

ìSo take care how you listen; for whoever has, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not have, even what he thinks he has shall be taken away from himî. (Lk. 8:18)

God says that the abundance of our life will be determined by how we listen. Thus, the way we listen or respond is very important in how fruitful our life will be. Isnít it true that we listen very selectively? We hear only what we want to hear. On top of that, if we have a defensive motive or skeptical outlook, weíll often hear things that offend us even though they werenít meant to.

We may have ears, but it doesnít automatically mean we listen well. For example, if our heart is insecure, we often hear things that were never said. So instead of misinterpreting what is being said, letís ask God to help us listen because that isÖ

HOW TO DEVELOP THE GIFT OF ìEARS THAT HEARî:

So how do we develop ìears that hearî? Well, I remember when Aaron was 4 years old that heíd taken some money from his Momís purse. When I got home and heard about it, I really scolded him. I expected and waited for him to say sorry, but when he didnít, I sent him to his room until he was ready to apologize. A few moments later I heard his cheery little voice saying ìHi dad! You want play Pac Man with me?î Still upset because Aaron didnít say sorry, I replied ìNo Pac Man, bad boy, go back to your room!î With this, Aaron shrugged his shoulders and went back into his room. 

After awhile, the Lord spoke to my heart. He said I wasnít listening. You see, for Aaron to come out with his cheery voice asking me to play Pac Man was his way of saying sorry. In other words, he learned the lesson and wanted to restore my relationship with him. By then, my heart broke and I then asked God for his help with ìlisteningî. I then went back to Aaronís room and said ìLetís play Pac Man!î

You see, if we donít take care how we listen or have a dull heart, we just wonít hear what others are truly saying. So God gives us three points that will help us develop ears that hear. The first is toÖ

1.      ASK GOD FOR HIS HELP.

Go to God first. It all begins with being able to learn and listen to God. If we donít, we will never learn to hear peopleís hearts. Most of the time, weíre wrapped up in ourselves and tend to be poor listeners. Even our conversations with others are usually about us. The scriptures say faith comes by hearing by the word of Christ. What this means is that when weíre listening to the Lord, our faith grows.

ìOpen my eyes, that I may behold wonderful things from Your lawî. ( Ps. 119:18) God says, ask Me and Iíll open your eyes so you can start seeing what Iím seeing and doing. Paul says, ìI pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightenedÖî (Eph. 1:18) Listen to what Jesus says, ìIf anyone has ears to hear, let him hearî. (Mk. 4:23)

Pray that your hearts open up to the things of God. In fact, youíll be surprised at how insightful and patient youíll become due to Godís grace. Youíll be giving the gift of listening to people which is one of the rarest gifts around. Not many people are able to do this. So develop ears that hear by reading and learning to listen to Godís Word daily. And you can use the Bible bookmarks to help you get started for the New Year ahead.

The same goes for praying. The best way to pray is to read the Word of God. For years and years I thought praying meant talking ìatî God. Actually, I used to attend prayer meetings at a Pentecostal Church years ago when I first received the Lord. Boy, did they have prayer meetings. I thought if I wanted to be a prayer warrior, Iíd have to pray the loudest without stopping for one hour straight! I knew Iíd loose because I would need to breathe! Then I thought, wait a minute! I think I need to hear from God more than He needs to hear from me. Did you know that the highest form of prayer is not talking, but listening?

So just settle down with the Word of God, at the Lordís feet listening to what He has to say. Then when you are there, ask Him questions like, how am I doing in this Lord? Or, how am I doing in my thoughts, or with my family? Often, the Lord will instruct us on ways to improve, prune, or change areas that need it. And when we are listening, growth takes place and faith increases because faith cometh by hearing or listening to the Word of God. So the best way to pray is to listen.

Remember that when weíre reading the Bible, God is speaking and we are listening. At first, reading the Bible was really hard for me. Whenever I started reading, I couldnít stay still that long. And the Lord said, no, no, no; just settle down, because He just wants us toÖ.   

?        LOOK TO GET TO KNOW JESUS.

ìYou search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Meî. (Jn. 5:39) One of the things we look for when reading the Bible is getting to know Jesus.

ìÖan hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.  And these things they will do, because they have not known the Father, or Meî. (Jn. 16:2-3) An example of this in the world today is called a Jihad. People get religiously inclined to kill others thinking theyíre offering a service to God. And this is not because they donít know the scriptures, but because they donít know Jesus and His heart. And we too can read the scriptures and misuse them if we donít know the Fatherís heart. So get to know Jesus and His heart. And in doing so, youíll become more graceful and forgiving to others, instead of misinterpreting or making false accusations.

Therefore, as we read and are seated at His feet, instruction and wholeness begins. Yet how do we know if weíre learning to listen to God? Well, if weíre learning to listen, weíll find that we begin toÖ

2.      LIVE DIFFERENTLY BECAUSE OF WHAT YOU HEAR.

ìBut prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselvesî. (Jas. 1:22)  The test of whether or not weíre becoming good listeners is if we are becoming a good doer. In other words, are we applying what Jesus is telling us? Then if we say, what if we donít understand half of what weíre reading? SimplyÖ

?        START WITH WHAT YOU DO UNDERSTAND.

If you understand 10% of what you read, start with that. By next year, youíll understand twenty percent, and so forth. Day by day youíll be transformed. He will renew the spirit of your mind and youíll start to understand God. Youíll understand His heart and His ways and more about the Bible. Itís all about relationships! So start with the portion the you understand and keep going.

Once, some Pharisees went to Jesus and questioned Him about where John the Baptist got his authority. So Jesus told them if they answered His question, Heíd tell them where His authority came from. So Jesus asked the Pharisees if they knew where John got his authority from. Now even though the Pharisees knew the right answer, they said: ìAnd answering Jesus, they said, ëWe do not know.í He also said to them, ëNeither will I tell you by what authority I do these thingsíî. (Mt.21:27) What Jesus was saying is...

?        IF I CANNOT BE ACCOUNTABLE TO THE TRUTHS THAT I ALREADY KNOW, WHY SHOULD HE REVEAL TO ME TRUTHS THAT I DONíT YET KNOW?

The Pharisees knew the truth, yet they didnít want to be accountable to them. Sometimes it is the same with us. If we want God to increase our ability to hear and listen, then we need to be obedient to the truths that weíve been shown. So if we understand half of what we read, we must be obedient to that.   

Here at New Hope we have lots of programs. But, the best program we have is our daily devotions. This is where we take the time to sit before the Lord and listen to His words. Find the time every day to sit, read, and listen to the Lord. The Bible bookmarks will help to be our daily guide as we do devotions together. And as we ask God for His help and get to know His heart, we begin to live differently. Then the final point to help us develop listening ears is toÖ

3.      PRIORITIZE YOUR TIME FOR LISTENING.

ìMartha had a sister called Mary, who was seated at the Lordís feet, listening to His word.  But Martha was distracted with all her preparationsÖand the Lord said to her, ëMartha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from heríî. (Lk. 10:39-42)

The Lord says in heavenís eyes there are only a few things that are necessary and really only one. Like Mary, we too must choose to prioritize our time. Sure we live in a world thatíll pull us in different directions. We have many different responsibilities and commitments. Yet we must remember: ìWhen you come to the place of God, draw near to listen rather than talk, because that would be foolish.î (Ecc. 5:1) Then when we sit at His feet and listen to His word, weíll be surprised at the things weíll hear from God.

Remember that listening is a gift from God. And as we learn to listen by reading scriptures, ask God for His help and get to know Jesus. Then by doing so, weíll start to live differently because of what we hear from Him. Next starting with what we do understand, our spirit will be transformed. And as we are accountable to those truths, He will reveal even more truths. Finally, Heíll begin to pour direction, creativity, and fruitfulness as we prioritize our time daily for listening.

The Holy Spirit will mentor us, so begin to be someone seated at His feet this coming year. Remember that only a few things necessary in 2004 and really only one, but we must choose it and youíll be surprised with what youíll hear from the Lord!

Discussion Questions 

Q1)      How are you doing with your daily devotions? What (obligations & responsibilities) hinders you from reading daily? What can be done to prioritize?    

Q2)      Are you accountable to truths that you already know?

Q3)      At this stage of your spiritual walk with the Lord, are your prayers mostly talking or listening?  

Q4)      What is the Lord saying for 2004?

Mahalo Doreen Rabaino for this week's summary and  for serving with such a joyful heart!