Are You Listening?

Luke 8:16-18

          "No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light. Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." Luke 8:16-18

          These words were spoken by our Lord immediately following His “Parable of the Sower”. I’m sure you are all familiar with that parable and Jesus’ explanation of it. He taught that when people hear the word of God they respond in different ways.

          He gave four different scenarios, in the first, the devil deceived them and they lost the word, and their salvation. In the second, they started of on the right foot but had no foundation and fell away. In the third they decided to follow the ways of the world instead of Christ and never matured. And in the forth they heard the word, held on to it like their life depended on it, and grew both in faith and works.

          Jesus didn’t explain very many parables so when He did we should assume that they were very important for us to comprehend. It is with this understanding that we will look at what follows.  "No one after lighting a lamp covers it with a jar or puts it under a bed, but puts it on a stand, so that those who enter may see the light.”      

          I love old gospel songs. That is what I remember hearing when I was growing up and so they are dear to my heart. One of my favorites was and always will be, “I Saw the Light” by Hank Williams Sr... The words may not be quoted straight from the Bible but they are certainly theologically correct and reflect the journey many of us have taken:

                    I wondered so aimless, life filled with sin,

                        I wouldn’t let my dear Savior in.

                        Then Jesus came like a stranger in the night.

                        Praise the Lord, I saw the light.

                        I saw the light, I saw the light.

                        No more darkness, no more night.

                        Now I’m so happy, no sorrow in sight.

                        Praise the Lord, I saw the light.

          Hank referred to Jesus as the light but he was not the first to do so. Jesus said; "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life." John 8:12 And also; “As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.” John 9:5 

          Jesus is the light of the world, but is that what He is talking about in our lesson today? In Zechariah’s prophecy he announced; “…because of the tender mercy of our God, whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace." Luke 1:78-79   

          The light referred to in this prophecy is the same light Jesus is talking about. It is the light of the truth proclaimed by Him in His teachings and available to all. No one lights a lamp and then covers it up, and Jesus does not hide the truth from anyone. That same light is accessible today through the Bible. Seeing the light means that one is open and responsive to the word of God. The revelation of God’s truth is always available; the problem is the kind of soil or the condition of the heart, if you will, that the word falls on.

           This may be explained better in Hebrews 6: “For it is impossible to restore again to repentance those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, if they then fall away, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt.”

            The truth is proclaimed through the gospel. It must be received in it’s entirety by faith. The result of this faith is the bearing of fruit for the kingdom. This continues with patience until we are called into the presence of Christ. If you see the light, praise the Lord and don’t look back.

          There is something else that truth does, it illuminates and expose the lies and secrets of the world and the individual; “For nothing is hidden that will not be made manifest, nor is anything secret that will not be known and come to light.”

            Man may try to cover his deeds up but it won’t work. Someday God will uncover all men’s thoughts and deeds and bring them into judgment. Ecclesiastes 12:14 states; “For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.”  

            Let’s look at another passage for a moment because I know what you are thinking. “He told us we wouldn’t be judged.”

          “Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. From his presence earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. Revelation 20:11-15  

          For three years I have been emphasizing the importance of proper hermeneutics and this passage is another example of why that is important. St. John says that there are a set of books that the dead are judged in which are recorded “what they had done.” In his exposition on the book of Revelation, David Chilton wrote concerning this passage; “We must remember that St. John is not writing of the general judgment, but of the fate of the wicked, called here the dead.”

          The other “book” mentioned contains the names not of the dead but the living. It is the “book of life.” Only the names of those who are in Christ will be found in it. Listen to the words of St. Paul; “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality.”

          For those who have chosen not to see the light, nothing is hidden that will not be made visible and nothing that is now a secret will not be made public. Darrell Bock wrote; “…evil thoughts [are] brought to public attention before God….God’s truth is preached publicly, and it is the function of truth to illumine, to expose reality……[light will eventually] expose what has previously been hidden.”

          The consequences of turning away from the truth are disastrous, therefore Jesus gave this warning; “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." 

          This warning harkens back to the “Parable of the Sower.” All four groups heard the word of God, but did they listen to the word of God? Did they attempt to understand the word of God? Three out of four turned away from the truth and were lost for eternity. That is why Jesus tells us to be careful how we hear.

          In this passage and the parallel passage in Mark, Jesus stresses the responsibility of man in three different ways concerning the hearing of the gospel. First He stresses that we should hear. In verse 8b Jesus said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” If a man refuses to hear the truth, and is lost forever, He has no one to blame but himself. 

          If someone refuses to listen to you, Jesus gave specific instructions on what to do. “And wherever they do not receive you, when you leave that town shake off the dust from your feet as a testimony against them."  There are many who need to hear the truth, but not all are willing to listen.

          The problem is that we humans don’t like to give up. Sometimes we’re like the energizer bunny; we just keep going and going after the same person or people when there may be others that need to hear the truth and may be more receptive to it. That decision is entirely up to you, just be ready to except the fact that some will never be willing to trade the lies of the world, the flesh and the devil for the truth. Remember, they are not rejecting you, they are rejecting Jesus. Let Him deal with them.

          The second responsibility that man has is what he should hear. In Mark 4:24 Jesus said to “Pay attention to what you hear:” This is in contrast to what you should not hear. What you hear will have a direct influence on your spiritual growth. Unless and until you are absolutely grounded in orthodox Christian doctrine, you should not be reading any other religious material or listening to any non-Christian leaders.

           I know that I have used this example before but it bears repeating. When the Royal Canadian Mounted Police are training there officers to recognize counterfeit money, they never use counterfeit bills. The only money they see and touch is the real thing. That way when they do encounter something that’s not genuine, they will recognize it right away as bogus.

          That is how Christians should approach Christianity. If you use God’s word as the foundation for every aspect of life, when you do encounter a false world view, you will recognize it right away and will not be taken captive by it. What are you listening to? This question should always be on your mind.

          The third responsibility Jesus has given man is how they should hear. “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away." 

          Let’s look at some examples from the Bible of how people normally hear. In the 40^th chapter of Isaiah we read; “Do you not know? Do you not hear? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth?” Apparently some people hardly listen at all. Now I know that none of the men in this room have ever been accused of not listening. It is our nature to listen attentively, especially to our wives. I didn’t get any amen’s from the ladies so I think I’ll move on.

          Ezekiel wrote that some people listen just for entertainment.  “And they come to you as people come, and they sit before you as my people, and they hear what you say but they will not do it; for with lustful talk in their mouths they act; their heart is set on their gain. And behold, you are to them like one who sings lustful songs with a beautiful voice and plays well on an instrument, for they hear what you say, but they will not do it.” Ezekiel 33:31-32

          Unfortunately, things haven’t changed much in 2600 years. Except that today it is the modern church that sees itself as having to entertain God’s people rather than calling them to repentance and revenant worship. That does not however relieve the people of their responsibility. If a person goes to church just to be entertained, they will have to live, or die, with the consequences.

          The Bible also says that some listen just to find fault with others. Luke 11:53-54 gives us a glimpse into the mind of the Pharisees, “As [Jesus] went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.”

            Now I can’t say that I listen just to find fault with others, but I do admit that I am always sensitive to what others are teaching. If something doesn’t sound right, a red flag goes up and I go on high alert. That is the awareness level we should all have and strive to achieve. Remember St. Paul’s warning to the Colossians; “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.”       

          Finally we are given an example that some listen, to acquire true wisdom and to put it to good use. In Acts 17 we read; “The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” 

          Jesus said to take care how you hear. We must hear with faith, believing in God’s word. We must hear with reverence for God’s Holy Bible. And we must hear with prayer as we ask God to bless us with sound teaching and preaching each week.

          I’m going to let Bp. Ryle conclude this sermon today.

          “Let us bear these rules in mind every Sunday morning, before we go to hear the word of God preached. Let us not rush into God’s presence careless, reckless, and unprepared, as if it mattered not in what way such work was done. Let us carry with us faith, reverence, and prayer. If these three are our companions, we shall hear with profit, and return with praise.”