Got your ears on, good buddy?

I used to talk on the CB radio,  and you might catch us saying things like, “Breaker, Breaker. Hey, RC, you got your ears on, good buddy?” RC was my friend (Erich Stinson),  and that was me asking if he was listening to his radio so that we could talk together.

Then he said, “Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand.”
Mark 4:9 NLT
http://bible.com/116/mrk.4.9.NLT

Anyone with ears. Do you have ears?

If I asked what are they for,  and you answered “to hear” – you would not be wrong, but your answer would be focused only on the physical. You would be acknowledging the obvious, physical truth about your ears,  but overlooking the greater truth and purpose.

Yes, ears are for hearing,  but if all we do is hear and we don’t do anything with what we hear, doesn’t that produce the same result as being physically deaf? If three men are standing on a railroad track and one is deaf and does not hear the train whistle,  and if another hears the whistle but is distracted and isn’t listening and understanding the danger, and if the third hears the sound and understands the danger and steps of the tracks – who is going to live and who is going to die?

The one who listens and understands does something with what he hears,  and his life is saved. It is the same with the Word of God. Some people refuse to listen or read the Word of God, and they are deaf and dumb, lost and dead, in need of this gospel message.

Some people hear the Word of God spoken, but they aren’t truly seeking God, they aren’t hungry to receive guidance directly from the Lord. They might be satisfied with the emotional experience, or comfortable thinking they have bought their heaven ticket, or still caught up in the temptations of this world – and since they are not seeking Him,  since they are not repenting,  since they are not listening and understanding, they too will know death.

But disciples of Christ,  those truly seeking the Kingdom of God, those listening for God to speak into their lives and change them, those understanding the value of His Word and His guidance upon our lives, we are going to step out in faith and follow Him,  and be led to life.

His voice is there friends. His breath is upon you. Feel His presence. Recognize His voice. He has life for you,  friend.

Don’t just hear,  listen.
Don’t just read,  listen.

Seek Him.
If you have not yet found Him,
If your spiritual ears are plugged up,
Knock on His door,
Be persistent,  friends,
Seek and knock until the door is open before you,
Because a door opened by the Lord will not be shut by the enemy.

Seek Him and ask Him
to call you out upon the waters
To use you for His glory and honor
To open your spiritual ears to hear
To guide your spiritual self to listen
To teach you understanding
So that He can be manifest in your life
Yes,
so that His work is done through you.

This is the gospel –
That I was lost,
But now I am found.
I was deaf,
But now I hear.
I came to a realization that I was not complete,  that I was not whole,  that I needed healing in my life and that I need freedom from the chains that were binding me in a prison of sin and death.
I sought Him out and cried out to the Lord,
I knocked and pleaded with Him,
I called upon His promises of mercy and grace,
I remembered the blameless life that He lived out as an example to all,
I remembered the sinners death that He died for me,
so that my sins could be washed away by the power of His blood,
I remembered that the stone was rolled away,
And that He rose against to victory over sin and death,
I called upon His promises of mercy and grace,
And He heard me.

Not only did He hear me,
but He demonstrated to me that He is faithful and true.
He called me His,
And He anointed me with His very spirit,
He baptized me not in water,
But in the Holy Spirit,
And it is a fire inside of me that does not go out,
It is a voice that I can now hear,
And if I choose to listen
And if I seek to understand,
I can apply it and walk it out,
As He leads me along the path.

Do you have the fire,  friend?

Have you sought Him out today? If not,  there is no better time than right now.

Have you knocked on a closed door and given up because you found it closed? Keep knocking,  friend – but make sure that it is the right door,  that you are seeking His will,  not trying to convince God of your own desire to open a door that is closed for a reason.

Are you not hearing Him? Pray for forgiveness and healing in your life and rid yourself of the things of this physical life and set your eyes upon the higher things. Surrender all to Christ. If your idol, your sin, is money,  sex,  addiction, self – whatever it is,  lay it down at the cross and give it to Him. Get whatever is standing between you and God out of the way.

Are you hearing but not listening, not seeing change in your life,  still finding yourself trapped in temptation and sin? Repent,  for the Kingdom of God is at hand!

Are you listening, but not understanding that you are called to action as a disciple of Christ, to spread the gospel to the nations, to bear the burdens of others, too be a servant to all? Count the cost,  friends. And decide what is greater to you, a temporary life of dust and pleasure and temptation – or a promised eternity with our creator God who loves us enough to offer that we be adopted into His family.

Count the cost today and make your decision now,  while there is still time. And I pray that you will love not your own life,  but that you will lay it down to serve and bring life to your brothers and sisters who are lost and wandering in darkness, headed to destruction.

Hear.
Listen.
Understand.

Thus says the Lord your God.