Ears to Hear
Hi everybody, it’s Pastor Dave. Thanks for joining us for another Alone With God journal guide today. If you have your Alone With God journal, open it to a “Daily Journal” page. If you don’t have an Alone With God journal, you should go to wordbymail.com and check it out. Maybe even buy one. But if you’ve got a blank journal, you can use that. Get your Bible.
Listen, here’s the deal. I’ve got one question for you today. Are you ready? Here’s the question. Do you have ears to hear? I’m just going to do two little sets of verses for you out of Matthew Chapter 13. So, grab your Bible, open it to Matthew Chapter 13, and let me answer a question for you today. Grab your Bible; pause this if you need to.
Matthew 13, look at verse 3. It says, 13 He (That’s Jesus) told many stories in the form of parables, . . . And I want to tell you about why Jesus told stories in parables today.
So, here’s the deal. This verse, Matthew 13:3, comes right before one of the most famous parables of the Sower and the Seeds. And it’s so important, that I’m probably going to take tomorrow and go through the Sower and the Seed parable. But here’s what I want to do today. I want to ask you, do you have ears to hear? Because Jesus told many mysteries, many secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven in parables.
But here’s the question I want to help you grasp. Down in verse 10 it says, His disciples came (this is after Jesus tells the parable of the Sower and the Seeds and the four soils) and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” Now, this is the question right here. The answer is: Do you have ears to hear? But let me explain it to you.
Verse 11, 11 He (that’s Jesus) replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. And maybe you would be like, “Oh, Jesus! That’s not fair! What do you mean?” Listen, listen, listen. The word “secrets” is maybe better translated “mysteries.” Most often translated “mysteries.” It just means something that has not yet been revealed. It’s just something God hasn’t fully revealed yet. And so, Jesus spoke in parables in order for those who had ears to hear to be able to hear the secrets or the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.
And so, verse 11 again says, “You are permitted to understand the secrets (or mysteries) of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. Is that some kind of an arbitrary choice from God? Like, “Okay, you get to hear – you don’t get to hear. You get to hear – you don’t get to hear.” No!! Stop it. And anybody that says that God would arbitrarily choose one person over another as if he loved one person over another – listen, listen, please listen to me. God is sovereign. But God is outside of time. And so, it is impossible for God to not know whether you either are or one day will be a Believer. So, where God exists, you’ve always been a Believer. So, that deals with that. That’s a little bit of a tangent right there, but I can’t help it.
“You are permitted to understand the secrets (or mysteries) of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
And then look at verse 12 – it explains it. 12 To those who listen . . . (Listen . . . Linda, listen.) To those who listen to my teaching (to those who have ears to hear), more understanding will be given, Are you following me in verse 12? To those who listen. To those who desire to hear, to those who are looking for the truth, to those who have ears to hear the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven . . .That means a desire to hear. To those who desire to hear, to receive my teaching, Jesus says, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. Because as we know Jesus more and more, we grow more and more in our knowledge of him. But for those who are not listening, Those who don’t have ears to hear, those who have already rejected God, those whose hearts aren’t open to God. They’ve already made their own decision about God. They don’t want to hear from God. They don’t want to hear from God’s Word. They’re already shut off. They already have their own views –“Well, here’s what I think?” Listen, for those who are not willing to hear, for those who are not willing to have ears to hear. . . even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
Whoa! Man, oh, man! So, just stay with me here. You decide. You decide whether you have ears to hear. Does God already know your decision? Yes. He cannot not know. That’s what omniscience means – it means “all-knowing.” And he’s outside of time. So, God already knows, but you don’t know. And so, you have to decide. Do I choose to have ears to hear what Jesus says to me? Or have I already cut him off? Have I already rejected him? Am I already just looking for criticism – a critical spirit – Am I already denying what little I know about God?
Listen, if that’s you, today’s your day to turn around and say, “Lord, Jesus. Give me ears to hear. I want to hear what you are saying to me. I want to hear the mysteries, the secrets of the Kingdom of God. As I read the parables, Lord, please open my mind. Open my heart so that I can understand the parables, Lord. Please speak to me. I’m here. Your servant is here. I’m listening.” That, right there, that’s what gives you ears to hear.
So, let me just be a little blunt. I’m a little on edge today. Let me just be blunt. You choose whether you are willing to have ears to hear or not. You choose. God already knows your choice. But that doesn’t take your choice away. You choose. You can say, “Lord, I need to hear. I need to hear from you.” Or, you say, “God – I got better ideas than you. I know more than you. You know, who do you think you are, God?” Yeah – that is who he is, but I know people who do that. I say, “Look. Look at the powerful Word of God.” And they say, “Well. You know, here’s what I think.” So, I’m not trying to offend anybody. (I do it without trying. I don’t have to try.) I want you guys to have ears to hear. So, that’s it for today.
Grab your journal. You have a Meditate section there that just says, “What is God’s Word saying in these verses?” Today, it’s Matthew 13:3 and Matthew 13:10-12. What is the Word saying there? I want to encourage you to hear that it’s saying if you are willing to hear, you will hear. If you believe a little, you will believe more. But if you are already cut off by your own choice from listening to God, then you won’t hear. You won’t understand.
So, in the Apply section in your journal, write how does that apply. “How does that apply to your life today” in a very real, tangible way?
And then the Respond section. Your respnse. “How will you respond to God, to what he’s saying?” (And listen, if I’ve offended you, I apologize.)
You get it, right? Meditate, Apply, Respond. Wrestle with God about this. Wrestle with God. And remember, we interpret the Bible through context, and through the context of the entire Bible, and in line with the character of God. So, you work it out – wrestle with it.
Let me pray for you.
Heavenly Father, we pray that we would have ears to hear. (Even now, while you’re listening to me pray, you can say,) Lord, I want ears to hear. Open my heart, Lord, that I can hear from you. Pour out your Spirit on me, Lord, that I can hear from you. And then, Lord, show me, show me the truths, the secrets, the mysteries of the Kingdom. And Lord, help me to know you better, and better, and better. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for making a way for me to hear about the truth of the Kingdom of God. In your name, I pray, Jesus, amen.
Well, that’s a little over ten minutes, guys. But, listen. You can communicate with me anytime you want. Text me, please. Text me. You can say whatever you would like. Just know my heart is for you. Text me at (877) 790-WORD – as in Word By Mail. (877) 790-9673. You can also send us a message at wordbymail.com. And listen, this area of this Bible teaching ministry is growing. You can see the over one thousand messages that I’ve taught over the last twenty-three years or so; all of that’s on there. There’s a lot there. But this area is really growing. And so, if you feel led to support it, would you give, please, to help us get these daily journal guides into the hands of more people?
I thank God for every single person listening. And I pray that God will bless you in the powerful name of Jesus, amen!
Listen, here’s the deal. I’ve got one question for you today. Are you ready? Here’s the question. Do you have ears to hear? I’m just going to do two little sets of verses for you out of Matthew Chapter 13. So, grab your Bible, open it to Matthew Chapter 13, and let me answer a question for you today. Grab your Bible; pause this if you need to.
Matthew 13, look at verse 3. It says, 13 He (That’s Jesus) told many stories in the form of parables, . . . And I want to tell you about why Jesus told stories in parables today.
So, here’s the deal. This verse, Matthew 13:3, comes right before one of the most famous parables of the Sower and the Seeds. And it’s so important, that I’m probably going to take tomorrow and go through the Sower and the Seed parable. But here’s what I want to do today. I want to ask you, do you have ears to hear? Because Jesus told many mysteries, many secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven in parables.
But here’s the question I want to help you grasp. Down in verse 10 it says, His disciples came (this is after Jesus tells the parable of the Sower and the Seeds and the four soils) and asked him, “Why do you use parables when you talk to the people?” Now, this is the question right here. The answer is: Do you have ears to hear? But let me explain it to you.
Verse 11, 11 He (that’s Jesus) replied, “You are permitted to understand the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. And maybe you would be like, “Oh, Jesus! That’s not fair! What do you mean?” Listen, listen, listen. The word “secrets” is maybe better translated “mysteries.” Most often translated “mysteries.” It just means something that has not yet been revealed. It’s just something God hasn’t fully revealed yet. And so, Jesus spoke in parables in order for those who had ears to hear to be able to hear the secrets or the mysteries of the Kingdom of Heaven.
And so, verse 11 again says, “You are permitted to understand the secrets (or mysteries) of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not. Is that some kind of an arbitrary choice from God? Like, “Okay, you get to hear – you don’t get to hear. You get to hear – you don’t get to hear.” No!! Stop it. And anybody that says that God would arbitrarily choose one person over another as if he loved one person over another – listen, listen, please listen to me. God is sovereign. But God is outside of time. And so, it is impossible for God to not know whether you either are or one day will be a Believer. So, where God exists, you’ve always been a Believer. So, that deals with that. That’s a little bit of a tangent right there, but I can’t help it.
“You are permitted to understand the secrets (or mysteries) of the Kingdom of Heaven, but others are not.
And then look at verse 12 – it explains it. 12 To those who listen . . . (Listen . . . Linda, listen.) To those who listen to my teaching (to those who have ears to hear), more understanding will be given, Are you following me in verse 12? To those who listen. To those who desire to hear, to those who are looking for the truth, to those who have ears to hear the secrets of the Kingdom of Heaven . . .That means a desire to hear. To those who desire to hear, to receive my teaching, Jesus says, more understanding will be given, and they will have an abundance of knowledge. Because as we know Jesus more and more, we grow more and more in our knowledge of him. But for those who are not listening, Those who don’t have ears to hear, those who have already rejected God, those whose hearts aren’t open to God. They’ve already made their own decision about God. They don’t want to hear from God. They don’t want to hear from God’s Word. They’re already shut off. They already have their own views –“Well, here’s what I think?” Listen, for those who are not willing to hear, for those who are not willing to have ears to hear. . . even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.
Whoa! Man, oh, man! So, just stay with me here. You decide. You decide whether you have ears to hear. Does God already know your decision? Yes. He cannot not know. That’s what omniscience means – it means “all-knowing.” And he’s outside of time. So, God already knows, but you don’t know. And so, you have to decide. Do I choose to have ears to hear what Jesus says to me? Or have I already cut him off? Have I already rejected him? Am I already just looking for criticism – a critical spirit – Am I already denying what little I know about God?
Listen, if that’s you, today’s your day to turn around and say, “Lord, Jesus. Give me ears to hear. I want to hear what you are saying to me. I want to hear the mysteries, the secrets of the Kingdom of God. As I read the parables, Lord, please open my mind. Open my heart so that I can understand the parables, Lord. Please speak to me. I’m here. Your servant is here. I’m listening.” That, right there, that’s what gives you ears to hear.
So, let me just be a little blunt. I’m a little on edge today. Let me just be blunt. You choose whether you are willing to have ears to hear or not. You choose. God already knows your choice. But that doesn’t take your choice away. You choose. You can say, “Lord, I need to hear. I need to hear from you.” Or, you say, “God – I got better ideas than you. I know more than you. You know, who do you think you are, God?” Yeah – that is who he is, but I know people who do that. I say, “Look. Look at the powerful Word of God.” And they say, “Well. You know, here’s what I think.” So, I’m not trying to offend anybody. (I do it without trying. I don’t have to try.) I want you guys to have ears to hear. So, that’s it for today.
Grab your journal. You have a Meditate section there that just says, “What is God’s Word saying in these verses?” Today, it’s Matthew 13:3 and Matthew 13:10-12. What is the Word saying there? I want to encourage you to hear that it’s saying if you are willing to hear, you will hear. If you believe a little, you will believe more. But if you are already cut off by your own choice from listening to God, then you won’t hear. You won’t understand.
So, in the Apply section in your journal, write how does that apply. “How does that apply to your life today” in a very real, tangible way?
And then the Respond section. Your respnse. “How will you respond to God, to what he’s saying?” (And listen, if I’ve offended you, I apologize.)
You get it, right? Meditate, Apply, Respond. Wrestle with God about this. Wrestle with God. And remember, we interpret the Bible through context, and through the context of the entire Bible, and in line with the character of God. So, you work it out – wrestle with it.
Let me pray for you.
Heavenly Father, we pray that we would have ears to hear. (Even now, while you’re listening to me pray, you can say,) Lord, I want ears to hear. Open my heart, Lord, that I can hear from you. Pour out your Spirit on me, Lord, that I can hear from you. And then, Lord, show me, show me the truths, the secrets, the mysteries of the Kingdom. And Lord, help me to know you better, and better, and better. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you for making a way for me to hear about the truth of the Kingdom of God. In your name, I pray, Jesus, amen.
Well, that’s a little over ten minutes, guys. But, listen. You can communicate with me anytime you want. Text me, please. Text me. You can say whatever you would like. Just know my heart is for you. Text me at (877) 790-WORD – as in Word By Mail. (877) 790-9673. You can also send us a message at wordbymail.com. And listen, this area of this Bible teaching ministry is growing. You can see the over one thousand messages that I’ve taught over the last twenty-three years or so; all of that’s on there. There’s a lot there. But this area is really growing. And so, if you feel led to support it, would you give, please, to help us get these daily journal guides into the hands of more people?
I thank God for every single person listening. And I pray that God will bless you in the powerful name of Jesus, amen!
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