SEE HOW YOU HEAR

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on May 27, 2020 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: May 27, 2020 from Luke 8:16-18

Theme: The effectiveness of God’s word in our lives depends very much on how obediently we will hear it.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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Back in my Bible college days, I had the opportunity to join in on a small lunch group with a very noteworthy theologian and educator named Kenneth Kantzer. Dr. Kantzer was a professor of theology at Trinity Evangelical Seminary and had been the editor of Christianity Today. He had graduated from Harvard; and he told us a story about a question he had asked one of his professors while he was there.

This professor taught the Bible; and he knew the Bible extraordinarily well. He had spent his life studying it and writing about it. But the remarkable thing was that he didn’t believe what it said. And so Dr. Kantzer told us that, one day, he asked this professor about that. “Why is it that you have spent your entire life, and have expended so much energy, studying a book that you don’t even believe?” And I’ll never forget what Dr. Kantzer said was the reply: “Oh, I don’t know”, the professor told him. “It was just fun—like working on a puzzle.”

Those of us who were in that small group with Dr. Kantzer were, at the time, stunned at that story. What a waste that was of an entire life spent studying the Bible! And yet, I have seen the same sort of thing happening many times since. Some people can have a lifetime of encounters with God’s word; and yet, seem to gain absolutely nothing of value for their soul. How can this be?

The Lord Jesus gives us an answer in Luke 8. In this section of the Gospel of Luke, the Lord Jesus was speaking on the matter of ‘hearing the word of God’. He had just gotten through teaching His disciples the parable of the soils—about how the word of God is like a seed that only grows and produces fruit in relation to the type of soil that receives it. And then He said:

“No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed, but sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light. For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light. Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him” (Luke 8:16-18).

The key exhortation in these very serious words is found at the beginning of verse 18; “Therefore take heed how you hear.” The word that is translated “take heed” can also be translated “see”; and so, in a remarkable mix of metaphors, our Lord basically warns us to “see how we hear.” When it comes to the word of God, we’re to pay attention to how we hear it. We can hear it all our lives—and even study it vocationally and academically—and yet gain nothing from it at all because we weren’t being careful to ‘hear’ it as we should. This is because the effectiveness of God’s word in our lives will, in the end, depend very much on whether or not we chose to hear it in the right manner—that is, with genuine receptivity and a readiness to obey.

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Now; there’s a fascinating thing about this passage. Our Lord used some phrases and parables in it that He used on other occasions. That’s what a good teacher does, by the way. He or she uses the same sorts of examples and illustrations in different settings in a very effective way. And our Lord is the Master Teacher. No one did this better than He did.

For example, if you’ll look at Luke 11—just a few pages away from the passage we’re studying now—you’ll find that he used the illustration of the lamp; but on a completely different occasion and for a completely different purpose. In Luke 11, He was talking about the need to have a single eye—not one distracted by the things of this world, but one focused upon the things of God. If our vision is divided, then the light in us will become darkness. And so, He said in verse 33, “No one, when he has lit a lamp, puts it in a secret place or under a basket, but on a lampstand, that those who come in may see the light.” It’s the same ‘saying’; but used with a different purpose in mind. Or you’ll find it again in the Sermon on The Mount. Jesus taught His disciples, “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:14-16). Again, the same words—but in a different setting and for a different purpose.

Or take verse 18 of our passage. Jesus used similar words to what we find there in Matthew 25. He was teaching about the parable of the talents—how a master gave one of his servants a certain number of talents, and that servant invested those talents wisely, and so did another. But a third servant took what he was given and hid it in a napkin; not obeying his master and doing nothing with it. The master in our Lord’s parable took the talent away from him; saying, “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away” (Matthew 25:29).

Now; it would be a mistake to think that Jesus’ use of these same phrases and sayings meant that He intended the same exact things by them each time. We need to pay careful attention to the point that He was trying to make in the use of these repeated sayings of His. His intention, in this case, is very clear; because He had just gotten through telling the parable of the soils. When He was finished speaking to the crowd, He ended it all by crying out, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (v. 8b).

Right after that, in verses 9-10, we read;

Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?” And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that

‘Seeing they may not see,
And hearing they may not understand’” (vv. 9-10).

They came to Him privately, and with a humble spirit, because they wanted to know more. They genuinely wanted to hear the truth. And so, they received more. And that was what Jesus’ instruction in our passage is about.

Notice that the very first thing Jesus makes clear to us is that …

1. GOD MEANS FOR HIS WORD TO BE A CLEAR LIGHT FOR OUR PATH.

In verse 16, He said, “No one, when he has lit a lamp, covers it with a vessel or puts it under a bed …” To do that would defeat the purpose of having lit the lamp. It would not be very prudent either; because the bed might catch fire, or the vessel might be ruined.

Instead, as Jesus said, someone lights a lamp and “sets it on a lampstand, that those who enter may see the light.” The whole purpose of lighting the lamp is to give illumination to a room so that people in it can see. And given the context of our Lord’s words, we can be sure that this is meant to teach us the principle that God’s word was given that people might have illumination—that they might see spiritual realities and know God’s will.

I love what God said to Joshua back in Joshua 1:8;

This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success (Joshua 1:8).

And you and I can take that as representing God’s purpose for giving His word to us. It’s meant to guide our steps in His good way. Therefore, we can be sure that it isn’t meant by Him to be obscure or vague; but rather, to be clear to those who sincerely want to obey Him and walk in His righteous way. As it says in Psalm 119:105-1-6;

Your word is a lamp to my feet
And a light to my path.
I have sworn and confirmed
That I will keep Your righteous judgments (Psalm 119:105-106).

As the apostle Paul has put it in 2 Timothy 3:16-17;

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Now; this doesn’t mean that we don’t have to put any work into it. The Bible isn’t a magical book that we can put under our pillow at night and have insight when we wake up in the morning. We need to read it and study it diligently. But when it comes to those who truly seek to know the truth, we can be sure that the study of God’s word will be profitable to the soul; because God has meant for it to be a clear guide. It is a light that God has not put under a bed or under a vessel, but upon the lamp-stand; so that it gives spiritual light to all who seek it.

And this is because of a general principle in God’s plan for the ages; that …

2. ALL THINGS WILL BE REVEALED.

Our God is a God of truth. He will make the truth come out in the end. All will one day bow to the truth—whether they want to or not. Jesus said in verse 17, “For nothing is secret that will not be revealed, nor anything hidden that will not be known and come to light.”

There is a sense in which this is true with respect to the things that His word reveals to us about ourselves and our needs. In Hebrews 4:12-13 says;

For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account (Hebrews 4:12-13).

The Holy Spirit works in and through His word. He gives it power to impact our lives. And because this is so, it is able to reach down to the deepest level of our innermost being and reveal what is there. Nothing is hidden from its searching power. When we read it in the power of the Holy Spirit, it reveals the truth about us. It shows us our sin; and it shows us our guilt before a holy God. But it also shows us what God has done to take our guilt away through the cross of His Son. Truly, in that sense, all things will be revealed by God’s clearly understandable word.

But there’s another sense in which this is true; and that’s in respect to how the true nature of a person is shown by whether or not they will allow themselves to be exposed by the word of God. For some, it is too clear! The apostle Paul urged Timothy to be faithful to preach the word;

For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables (2 Timothy 4:3-4).

If someone does not want the truth, then that will be revealed too. Absolutely all things will be revealed and brought to light—both what is in our hearts, and our willingness to have what is in our hearts exposed.

And so; because God’s word is meant to be clear, and because all things that are hidden are destined to be brought to the full light, our Lord’s exhortation is to …

3. THEREFORE, GIVE HEED HOW YOU HEAR.

In verse 18, He said; “Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”

Here again, we find a form of teaching that our Lord used elsewhere. But in this particular context, it’s meant to declare to us our own personal responsibility to hear the word rightly. When Jesus speaks of “whoever has”, He’s speaking of those who have the desire and the humility to receive truth. They genuinely desire it, and intend to put it into practice. In their case, “more will be given”. But when He speaks of “whoever does not have”, He’s speaking of those who do not have the genuine desire to hear the truth or obey it. They treat it like that professor I mentioned earlier—handling it, and perhaps even gaining a lot of head knowledge about it; but never allowing it to reach down into the level of personal conviction of sin, or of a call to repentance, or of guidance in obedience. In such people’s case, “even what they seem t have will be taken” from them.

A good way to help us understand our Lord’s meaning is to look at how this same story is told to us in Mark’s Gospel. There, we’re told that our Lord said, “Take heed what you hear. With the same measure you use, it will be measured to you; and to you who hear, more will be given” (Mark 4:24). God looks at our hearts when we come to His word. As He Himself tells us in Isaiah 66:2, “But on this one will I look: On him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, and who trembles at My word.” It is only those who come to His word in humble and obedient receptivity—with trembling at the fact that ‘God has spoken’; and who ‘measure’ it as His revealed word to humankind that is meant to be obeyed—that will gain the gracious benefit of it.

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So then; how to we ‘take heed how we hear’ God’s word? Pastor James gives us some good and practical instruction on this. I suspect that he was thinking of our Lord’s teaching in our passage this morning when he wrote;

Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it, and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does (James 1:21-25).

EA