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LISTENING IS HEARING (Luke 13:6-9 KJV) "He spake also this parable; A certain man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard; and he came and sought fruit thereon, and found none. {7} Then said he unto the dresser of his vineyard, Behold, these three years I come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and find none: cut it down; why cumbereth it the ground? {8} And he answering said unto him, Lord, let it alone this year also, till I shall dig about it, and dung it: {9} And if it bear fruit, well: and if not, then after that thou shalt cut it down." If a tree doesn’t produce fruit after a certain time, then it should be cut down. We have watched over the past twenty-five years a multitude of trees being planted. Souls have been brought in like never before in history. Eighty-six percent of Americans claim to be Christian, yet only 36% ever go to church on a regular basis. And out of the 36% only God knows how many are producing fruit in their lives. Whatever you do with your time, possessions and life, if it is not producing something that is eternal, it is fruitless. It is of dead works. Children & teens, you may think your primary objective is to get an education right now. But if that education does not produce eternal fruit, it is wasted. All of you who work may think your most important responsibility is to pay your bills week after week. But that is because Satan has you convinced there is no time to do anything else because you can hardly survive now. We spend more time physically and mentally in the natural realm and wonder why the spiritual realm is so distant to us. BUT, this is all about to end, for as the harvest takes place and all the heirs to salvation are brought in, those who have been in are going to be inspected for fruit. Over the past several years God has cleaned house in His leadership - over 200 leaders per month have left the ministry. Now God says, "let’s take a look at those who have been listening. What have they learned? How have they responded?" It’s time to cut down all the dead lifeless plants so that those who are bearing fruit can spread out their roots and strengthen their branches so the fruit will remain firm and be able to ripen. God says, "I want to find the listeners." I learned in my previous position that people by nature are not lazy. They really do want to work. They really want to do the right thing. The problem isn’t with desire; the problem is with understanding, and understanding comes with listening. If people listen intently, after all is said and done, they will work. It is time to listen intently to what God says to each of us: "He that hath an ear let him listen." I started practicing what God was speaking to me over ten years ago. I was rebuked, mocked, ignored and eventually put out. But the counsel of God gave me real genuine joy within. So I kept listening. I started teaching this to our fellowship with remarkable results. And for each one that participated, it brought both joy and anguish of heart: Joy because it was real and it was truth. There is no voice sweeter than the voice of our lover - Jesus. And there are no words so soothing as His. But when we failed to listen, our hearts hurt & doubts rose up because God began testing us to make sure we didn’t listen to the voice of strangers. I know of one couple who literally stopped listening (for awhile) because of the tests. During this time as I shared what God was doing, critics would tell me how dangerous it was because of deception and lying spirits and that God doesn’t speak to us today except through His written word. And you better not say "the Lord said" to do this or that because you are being sacrilegious and God will hold you accountable (HE WILL). But I didn’t stop teaching, practicing and listening. Like so many things that are eternal, people eventually jumped on the band-wagon and now, years later, I am hearing more people than ever before saying, "The Lord has spoken to me. He is directing me on a daily basis. I am being set free from bondages, legalism, people, controlling influences in my life." I am listening for the first time in my life and now I can produce fruit; and when Jesus comes for His inspection he will see life and not cut me down or cast me out. Jesus said "My sheep know my voice." All that have been brought in have heard, but the call to those who are in is "My sheep will follow me for they know my voice" (present perfect tense). They will continue to listen, obey, grow, and produce. There are several things that hinder us from listening: 1. We don’t know God. We get Him confused with all the other voices because we don’t practice listening. There is a training period that comes with tests. (Just because most of us don’t go to school doesn’t mean all the tests are over.) All of life is a test. God could have created us as angels but they will never know the wonderful experience of grace! Everyday of our life is a test. And the best way to know God is to begin to listen. 2. We are hindered from hearing God because of a poor image of our self. We have a false sense of guilt that we carry in case things don’t go right. We open our guilt case and explain away our error instead of repenting for sin. THAT’S PRIDE! First, we shouldn’t have an image of ourselves; we should have the image of Christ within -- what would Christ want me to do? How would He use me to effect change? That is what listening is about: Directing all of our thoughts through Him. We are hindered from hearing God because of our busyness which we need to evaluate. Is it worth anything eternal? If it isn’t God is going to cut it down. Conclusion: To know if you, a child of God, are producing fruit, begin by knowing the voice of God in your life. Works of the flesh are often done in the name of Jesus because of human reasoning. It looks good, it’s needed, I can do it, so lets start - when all the time God never said a word. We are going to see unfruitful works cut down. Learn to be patient when God speaks. He is never in a hurry. Your life will find much order when following His voice. It will result in spiritual growth with lasting fruit. You will also find your life in less turmoil, bringing a sense of calmness. (Exo 20:18-20 KJV) "And all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightnings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain smoking: and when the people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. {19} And they said unto Moses, Speak thou with us, and we will hear: but let not God speak with us, lest we die. {20} And Moses said unto the people, Fear not: for God is come to prove you, and that his fear may be before your faces, that ye sin not." God wants to speak to you today to show you His awesome power so that from now on you will be in fear of sin! It brings holiness!
- PASTOR STEVE September Newsletter 1997 | Listening Is Hearing | Pastor's Journal September 1996 The Fruit of Our Lips | Depart from Evil | Called, Chosen and Faithful Revised: February 22, 2008. |
Biblical Counseling for Leaders
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