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Ears to You
When asked what is the greatest commandment, Jesus began His answer (Mark 12:29) by quoting Moses in Deuteronomy chapter 6 verse 4, "The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these." First Jesus commands us to HEAR that the Lord our God is one Lord. Somehow we seem to miss this most important part of the command, which Jesus stated is the first commandment and which also describes the trinity. The Lord (1), our God(2), is one Lord (3). The word trinity does not appear in the Bible, however, Tertullian, a questionable theologian of the early church, provided this metaphor: "It is an image of the Trinity as a plant, with the Father as a deep root, the Son as the shoot that breaks forth into the world, and the Spirit as that which spreads beauty and fragrance." Not bad for a man with stubborn notions, as was reported of him.
Have you noticed that when asked what the greatest commandment is, the answer we hear always begins with, "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, and mind, etc. Somehow we seem to neglect hearing Jesus’s preface to that answer. He distinctly said, The first of all the commandments is Hear... and He then tells us what we are to hear.
We are not going to delve into the Trinity or the commandments at this time, but, as the title implies, what benefit is there, if there is indeed any at all, by regarding what we hear. We hear the news of the day and realize that it is often embellished by the biased thinking of the narrators. We may hear the preacher waxing eloquently only to find his words are falling on deaf ears. We discover, to our dismay, that it is possible to hear and not perceive. Some like to be impressive by their use of high sounding vocabulary and unfamiliar seldom used words. And there are those preachers that always try to speak what they think the listeners want to hear. Then there are the TV evangelists in their colorful double- breasted long waist coats and flashy jewelry bellowing what they are certain God wants their audience to hear.
Have you noticed that most of these preachers entertaining a large following are now using the title Doctor? (Meaning PhD, of course). In the days of Wesley, Luther, Finney, Spurgeon and others, including Billy Graham, what mattered was bringing the truth, the Word of God to the hearts of the listeners. What they were hearing was important, not how those who spoke were dressed or adorned or their degree of education. Being humble was a sign of the times. There are lots of good Pastors and teachers in pulpits and on TV, but we as the "flock" must make a sound judgement when we offer our approval or decide on a "Shepherd"
If you are attending a Church that is more a social gathering patiently waiting for the Sunday service to end so that they can gather in the refreshment area for coffee, doughnuts, and whatever, you are in the wrong place. Go find a Church where you will be fed on the Word of God to where your hunger is satisfied to the limit. The Sunday gathering never was meant to be anything other than a time of corporate "worship and prayer" where all attending have an opportunity to participate in some good old fashion "carpet time." Jesus said, "My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer?" (Mark 11:17; also Matthew 21:13 & Luke 19:46)
In many Churches, sorry to say, the only prayer during the service is said by the Pastor. One of the most beautiful sounds you are ever likely to hear is an entire congregation worshiping and praying aloud all at the same time, some standing, some kneeling, some prostrate, some praying in other languages. It sounds like one beautiful harmonious note orchestrated by the Holy Spirit, going up to Our Father in Heaven. When this happens all sense of time is lost and what seems like a few minutes could go on for hours. If you have never experienced this you have missed something beautiful. Many Pastors today are enamored with delivering an inspirational message, which is good, but they are depriving everyone, including themselves of spending a little time pouring out genuine, heartfelt, honest, natural, real, sincere, true, unaffected, love and worship for Our Heavenly Father. It is always in this kind of worship that the Holy Spirit takes over and we inevitably hear God’s response. A message may suddenly come forth from, who knows who, in English or in an unknown language, and prophesy is likely to be heard. As my old friend and teacher Winston Nunes once said, "God shows up when this happens, He can’t stand not being there."
Jesus said in Luke 8:10... "that seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand." God wants us to understand, otherwise he wouldn’t let us hear, but if there is a lack of understanding be persistent, keep seeking. "But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."(Matthew 6:33) including understanding. And always remember the Church is not the building, the Church is people, born again believers, committed Christians.
Your ears shall hear a word... saying, "This is the way, walk ye in it."(Isaiah 30:21) We may talk the talk, but we must be sure we walk the walk. "As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving." (Colossians 2:6-7)
Solomon’s Porch Thought for the Day
"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
(Revelation 3:22)
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