ARE YOU LISTENING?
When a large crowd from several towns had gathered around Jesus, he told them this story:
A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was doing this, some of the seeds fell along the road and were stepped on or eaten by birds. Other seeds fell on rocky ground and started growing. But the plants did not have enough water and soon dried up. Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants. The rest of the seeds fell on good ground where they grew and produced a hundred, sixty, and thirty times as many seeds.
When Jesus had finished speaking, he said, “If you have ears, pay attention!”
Luke 8:4-8
Friends, you don’t need a Ph.D to know if someone is listening to you when you are talking. You can tell by their lack of attention or response to what you are saying. When a person does this, what they are really saying is that your words are not valuable to them. If you can tell if someone is listening to you, surely God knows if someone is ignoring Him. God knows if you value His Word and Kingdom. The parable of the sower (sometimes called, the parable of the farmer), is about a farmer planting seeds in a field. The seeds that he scattered fell on four different types of soil, and Jesus described the subsequent results. After Jesus told the story, he ends by challenging the crowd to pay attention to what they just heard. Are you listening?
The parables that Jesus used, like this one, are prophecies with hidden meaning. Jesus is sharing important news, but the meaning of the parable is concealed from Jesus’ enemies. That is why Jesus said, “If you have ears, pay attention”. You see, listening ears indicate that you believe what Jesus is saying. Listening ears means that you receive His word into your heart by faith and that His word is valuable to you. The hidden meaning of the parable went over the crowd's head, because they had made up their mind not to believe. Friends, Jesus gave up His life to save you. That is a huge price that He paid for you and me. We at least need to do our part by trusting and obeying what He says. If a person never values the Kingdom of God, you can tell and, more importantly, He can too.
Questions: How do you make sure that you listen when God is speaking to you? Do you think people will make it to heaven if they never take God’s Word seriously? Explain?
Prayer: Lord, just like the disciples asked for understanding and you gave it to them, we ask for understanding so that we can know what to do in these times. Thank you for your goodness, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
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ARE YOU LISTENING?
When a large crowd from several towns had gathered around Jesus, he told them this story:
A farmer went out to scatter seed in a field. While the farmer was doing this, some of the seeds fell along the road and were stepped on or eaten by birds. Other seeds fell on rocky ground and started growing. But the plants did not have enough water and soon dried up. Some other seeds fell where thornbushes grew up and choked the plants. The rest of the seeds fell on good ground where they grew and produced a hundred, sixty, and thirty times as many seeds.
When Jesus had finished speaking, he said, “If you have ears, pay attention!”
Luke 8:4-8
Friends, you don’t need a Ph.D to know if someone is listening to you when you are talking. You can tell by their lack of attention or response to what you are saying. When a person does this, what they are really saying is that your words are not valuable to them. If you can tell if someone is listening to you, surely God knows if someone is ignoring Him. God knows if you value His Word and Kingdom. The parable of the sower (sometimes called, the parable of the farmer), is about a farmer planting seeds in a field. The seeds that he scattered fell on four different types of soil, and Jesus described the subsequent results. After Jesus told the story, he ends by challenging the crowd to pay attention to what they just heard. Are you listening?
The parables that Jesus used, like this one, are prophecies with hidden meaning. Jesus is sharing important news, but the meaning of the parable is concealed from Jesus’ enemies. That is why Jesus said, “If you have ears, pay attention”. You see, listening ears indicate that you believe what Jesus is saying. Listening ears means that you receive His word into your heart by faith and that His word is valuable to you. The hidden meaning of the parable went over the crowd's head, because they had made up their mind not to believe. Friends, Jesus gave up His life to save you. That is a huge price that He paid for you and me. We at least need to do our part by trusting and obeying what He says. If a person never values the Kingdom of God, you can tell and, more importantly, He can too.
Questions: How do you make sure that you listen when God is speaking to you? Do you think people will make it to heaven if they never take God’s Word seriously? Explain?
Prayer: Lord, just like the disciples asked for understanding and you gave it to them, we ask for understanding so that we can know what to do in these times. Thank you for your goodness, in Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
Inspired by the Video Series