"this people’s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears" (Matthew 13:15).
I have an honest disclaimer to make. Today's sermon is not to pick on those who are wearing hearing aids. It used to be that mostly the older people wore hearing devices. Now you can see devices on ears of all ages. When seniors wear them, we call them hearing aids. When new gen and young people wear them, we call them ear buds or Bluetooth. What is blue about tooth?
By the way be cautious about those ear buds, they can record conversations too. I saw a sign at a charging station where you charge your devices, “Watch your conversations, you never know who is recording.” If you have guests in your houses who try to charge anything in your kitchen or living room, watch what you say. A man got in trouble with his in-laws like that. If you spend a lot of time wearing earbuds, the wax can't naturally exit your ear, and it gets trapped inside which can cause temporary hearing loss, earaches and infection.
Although all ages enjoy listening to audio and spend an average of 17.2 hours a week with their favorite broadcast radio stations, streaming music service, podcasts and more, the study found that Millennials and Gen Z listen the most. spending more than 18 hours each week. That is about 2.6 hours or more each day listening to some type of audio.
Gaming with audio has gained popularity among the new generation. Have you seen or heard children lately on computer making hilarious loud laughs and noises? We know a young man who plays a lot of video games on computer. At times we hear these unusual hisses and noises that we thought of calling 911. When you talk to him about it, he has no clue what we are talking about. These numbers, along with social media’s continued popularity, reflect consumers’ need for live, human connections.
What is in your ear matters and what you hear or not, matters. It is believed that women tend to be better listeners than men are. Husbands are notorious for being poor listeners. We are all familiar with the scene of a husband reading the newspaper while his wife is trying to talk. His response is "Yes, dear. Uhuh. Mmmm. Is that so?" But we all know he’s not really listening. Suddenly she pulls down the paper and says, "Have you heard a word I’ve said?”
Two men were talking one day. One of them said, "My wife talks to herself a lot." His friend answered, "Mine does, too, but I think she is doing it because she thinks I’m listening." The Bible is about God's desire to speak to us . He desires to reveal His will to us, and to be actively involved in leading us.
Jesus said, “Therefore consider carefully how you listen.” Luke 8:18.
We often become Care-Less Hearers – because of many things fill up our ears. Jesus talked about the farmer who sowed seeds. Some fell on the way side, some in rocky ground and some in the thorns. Luke 8:12 "Those by the way side are they that hear; then cometh the devil, and takes away the word out of their hearts, lest they should believe and be saved."The message goes in one ear and out the other. They could care less about what they hear.
The seeds that fell on rocky ground were eaten by birds and the ones among the thorns were choked by the weeds. The message you hear does not take root because of other things that take away the place of good seed.
Adam heard God’s voice in the garden and he was afraid.
The first conversation of man and God was in the garden of Eden. God was calling, “Adam where are you?” Is it because God didn't know where he was hiding? But God was asking him if he knew where he was. Adam and Eve were stricken with the shame of guilt and lost their place in the garden and found themselves hiding from an omniscient and omnipotent creator. The question really was: “Adam, do you know where you are?”. It was a question that beckons an answer with the need for their acknowledgement. Sin is more than an act of disobedience. It is the state of mind where one loses sight of the identity of who you are and where you are in life.
Many are not hearing the voice of God because they are hiding in shame. They are afraid that they will be caught. We are all being called by God every day, every moment of our lives. Where are you in life? Are we hearing and listening?
Moses heard God’s voice in the wilderness.
He heard the voice of God when he was 40 in the palace of Pharaoh, and he left the palace for the desert. He heard the voice of God in the burning bush, He was about 80 years old at that time. He became the leader of the people of Israel and became the liberator of God’s people.
Samuel was a little boy of about 12 years old when he heard God speaking to him.
There are no age limits for God to speak. Samuel heard the voice in the middle of night, but He did not recognize God in the beginning. The part of this story in 1 Samuel 3:1-20, Eli’s diminished vision was a problem. He couldn’t see anymore and I suspect it was in more ways than one. His eyes were failing him, yes, but he also had no vision. The Lord had been speaking to him but he wasn’t listening or perhaps he wasn’t hearing. So the Lord started to talk to Samuel. He was only 12 years old at the time. The first two times the Lord called Samuel’s name, he didn’t understand what was happening. He didn’t know whose voice he was hearing. It took three tries. And I suspect that if he hadn’t gotten it on that third try, God would have continued calling until he did. Eli helped him get there, though. Eli realized what was happening before Samuel did. And he gave Samuel the best instruction he could: go back to where you were, lay there, and listen. Should you hear the voice again, answer it, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” The Lord did speak a third time. The Lord stood there and called Samuel’s name. Samuel did as he was advised and answered the call. The Lord proceeded to give Samuel a vision. It wasn’t an easy message. The boy Samuel was given the a message to deliver to Eli that his family is going to judged because his sons had displeased God.
Elijah heard God speaking in a still small voice when he was about to take his own life.
God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice. ( 1 Kings 19) There was a wind, an earthquake and fire. But after the fire, there was a still small voice from God. “what are you doing here Elijah?” What followed in his life was a tremendous change of direction.from a loser to a victorious Prophet of God, anointing kings and Elisha the prophet.
Job heard God speaking to him in the whirlwind. (Job 38:1-7)
The whirlwind was a representation of the distressed and disturbed state and condition in which he was.C.S. Lewis says that “God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Mary heard the angel bringing God’s message, and she was blessed. Joseph heard the angel. Paul heard the voice, no one else did, He was changed. The apostles heard and they changed the world.
The Jews heard only what they wanted to hear
What is in your ear? What are you (and what am I) listening to these days? Or maybe, it might be accurate to ask, "What are you listening these days?’ That which we listen to and watch on a repetitive basis does have the possibility of influencing us. Yes, we are free thinkers and brag that we are well able to make our own decisions, but to deny that what we listen to, and watch, does not have influence is, I think, to ignore one of the realities of life. The actor Alan Alda is quoted to have said, “Listening is being able to be changed by the other person.” Mr. Alda seems to imply that when we listen there is a great probability that we will be influenced. The Jews were afraid of what Jesus had to say, because it would make them change their lives, their faith and their lifestyles
The good news is that God continues to to speak to us. He never stops or give up because he loves us. Maybe one day someone would listen and respond. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice. I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish.” (JOHN 10:27-28)
“Listen,” Jesus says in the Book of Revelation (3:20), “I am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in to you and eat with you, and you with me.”
Today, we are invited to listen again to the voice of our shepherd. To hear his voice. To open the door. And to follow him. And in so doing, to discover once again that there is nothing else that we shall want, when the Lord is our shepherd. For his goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life. And we shall dwell in the house of the Lord. Forever. Amen.
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