Have you ever been around someone who is deaf or partially deaf? To say it is a challenge is an under statement, for both parties. But there is also something which I will call spiritual deafness. Sadly, this form of deafness might actually be worse than the physical kind because it cuts us off from hearing God. However, the good news is that this spiritual deafness can be overcome. And the one who has the power to overcome it, is you and I.
Jesus talks about having ears to hear, no less than 14 times in Scripture! Seven times in the Gospels He repeats the phrase “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” (Matt:11:15, 13:9, 13:43, Mark 4:9, 4:23, 7:16, Luke 8:8)
Seven times in the book of Revelation, when He addresses the 7 churches, He finishes with the phrase “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”(Revelation 2:7, 2:11, 2:17, 2:29, 3:6, 3:13, 3:22)
Now I’ve always been taught that when something is repeated in Scripture, it’s important. So with that in mind, I would suggest that repeating something 14 times must be very important! But what does it mean, you might ask? Well, clearly Jesus is not talking about only physical ears, although that would definitely be part of his admonition. He is also talking about spiritual ears. I do not believe that He would say this, if He did not want us to hear what He is saying. In John 10, Jesus very clearly says “My sheep hear My voice”. This implies that not only is He talking to us, but that we need to be listening.
It is my opinion, and the Bible makes it very clear, that not only do we have control, we are very much responsible, for what we do and do not hear.
To give you an example of what I mean, in Acts 7:51, when the Pharisees were stoning Stephen, he spoke these words to them: “You stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit!” He is clearly referring to spiritual ears here when he says this. And what did he suggest was their problem? They were stiff necked and had hardened hearts. Consequently, they could not hear what God was saying to them through Stephen.
Sadly, their response was very much in the physical. “Then they cried out with a loud voice, stopped their ears, and ran at him with one accord; and they cast him out of the city and stoned him.” (Acts 7:57) Not only did they not want to hear what he said, they killed him for saying it.
Obviously, we are no longer allowed to kill people for saying things that convict us, at least not according to the law, but that does not mean, people are listening to what God is trying to say to them. However, we are not left without warning, when we don’t listen to the Holy Spirit.
Jesus makes this very clear while speaking to His disciples in Mark 4:21-25. After talking about the parable of a lamp, He says the following to them: “Is a lamp brought to be put under a basket or under a bed? Is it not to be set on a lampstand? For there is nothing hidden which will not be revealed, nor has anything been kept secret but that it should come to light. If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”
He continues with this warning: “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. For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him.”
I’ll be honest with you. When I read this warning, it scares me. Not because I’m afraid, but because I know that the responsibility of hearing what He says to me, is mine and mine alone. Yes, He is a very gracious and forgiving God. He is kind. He is merciful. But He is also the Judge of all the earth. And when He speaks to me, I need to listen. I don’t want to be stiff necked. I don’t want to harden my heart and close my ears. I love Him and I want to obey Him. Why is that important?
Because we are told in Scripture, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, to obey Him. John 14:15 tells us, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”. In Exodus 23:20-22 the Lord tells the people of Israel, while they are in the wilderness, waiting to enter the promised land the following: “Behold, I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared. Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him. But if you indeed obey His voice and do all that I speak, then I will be an enemy to your enemies and an adversary to your adversaries.” The really interesting part of this Scripture is the word “obey”, which the Lord uses twice here. It is a Hebrew word that means, to hear intelligently, to understand, to obey.
In order to obey Him, when He speaks to me, I have to hear Him intelligently, and I have to choose to understand, and then, to obey Him. The Lord will not force you to obey. He is not interested in prisoners of war or slaves. He calls us His friends. But He is also our Father, our Redeemer, our Judge, and our Bridegroom. If we do not listen to what He is saying to us, to the church, then we don’t love Him! It really is that simple.
Perhaps I am offending you with all this. I would rather offend you and save your soul, then speak nice words that tickle your ears, and send you to hell. We are living in a very short window of time on this earth. It is called the age of grace, or the age of the Gentiles. Jesus Himself told us in Luke 21:24, “And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.” If you see what the Lord is doing in Israel, what He is doing to bring them back from all the nations of the earth, what He is doing around the world, to fulfill prophecy, you will realize that this age is drawing to a close. The rapture is at the door, and the tribulation is coming. Those horses in the first 4 seals of the scroll, (Revelation 6:1-8) are at the starting gate and if you have ears, you can hear them snorting with anticipation. They are ready and the only thing they are waiting for is the word, “come”!
So I will leave you with this. If you are hearing Him speak to you and you are not listening, if you are hardening your heart, and turning away from His voice, don’t do it! He loves you and He has no desire to pour out His wrath upon you. Repent. Obey what He is telling you. If you don’t know Him, repent and believe that He is alive and sitting at the right hand of the Father. He died on a cross for your sins and He is coming back soon as King of kings and Lord of lords. He tells us in John 3:3 that we must be born again. You cannot work off your sins. Only His blood can wash you clean. Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your heart, but turn and be healed.
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