Be Careful How You Hear

Introduction

Last week looked at John the Baptist imprisoned. Having been imprisoned for about 6 months now, his faith was tested. He questioned whether or not Jesus, about whom he’d so boldly proclaimed as the Messiah, was actually the the Messiah. As he received reports from the outside about what Jesus was saying and doing, it didn’t line up with his desire to see Jesus declare Himself categorically as the Messiah and establish His earthly kingdom now. So he began to doubt.

John then sent messengers to Jesus asking if He was the one they had been waiting for? Instead of answering “yes” or “no,” Jesus pointed John to the Scriptures and to His, Jesus’, track record. Jesus had been fulfilling the prophecies of the Messiah since the beginning of His ministry, and once John the Baptist could see this, he would once again be confident in Jesus.

We saw this as a lesson for you and me. A lesson that would teach us many things. The first thing it teaches us is that everyone will get to a point where their faith will waver, and maybe even fail. When this happens to us, we need to look to the Scriptures and look at God’s track record in our own life.

When this happens in the lives of people we know, we learned that we ought not be surprised. We also learned that we should not heap on more guilt and shame, but we should lovingly take them in prayer into the presence of the Lord, point them to the Bible, and direct their focus on all the things God has done in their lives. After that, we need to continue doing that, understanding that we are not the restorers of faith, but we must pray that the Holy Spirit will do that work within them.

When the disciples of John the Baptist left, Jesus turns to the crowd that has been following Him and makes some remarks about John the Baptist.

One Act Does Not Make Character, One Doubt Does Not Discredit It

Notice what He says in Luke 7:24-28

Luke 7:24–28 KJV 1900

24 And when the messengers of John were departed, he began to speak unto the people concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness for to see? A reed shaken with the wind? 25 But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they which are gorgeously apparelled, and live delicately, are in kings’ courts. 26 But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and much more than a prophet. 27 This is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 28 For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he.

So Jesus immediately begins to clear John’s name. Remember, Jesus is not in private when John the Baptist’s disciples ask Jesus the questions that betray the fact that John the Baptist’s faith is wavering. So others around hear what is being said, and Jesus begins to clear John the Baptist’s name before anyone can actually begin to say anything bad about him.

He says, “What did you go out in the wilderness to see? Did you expect to see someone that was blown about by every public opinion and rumor?” This is what Jesus meant when He said, “Did you expect to see a reed shaken in the wind?” There were reeds that would grow up to 12 feet high that skirted the areas around the Jordan River. These reeds, though tall, would bow themselves almost to the ground with only a slight breeze. But when the people went out to see and hear John, what they saw was the embodiment of Psalm 1, a man planted as a tree by the rivers of water. Not a reed.

No, this tree, was firm and unwavering. He spoke truth boldly and never took it back, never apologized for it, even when it cost him his freedom. And Jesus is declaring here that John the Baptist imprisoned is still the same John the Baptist that they had seen and heard preach out in the wilderness. Just like one act does not make a person’s character, this one doubt was not one that would unmake it.

The next verse shows that John was not just a prophet, he was much more than a prophet - he was a herald. Prophets foretold the coming of the Messiah, but John got to announce the Messiah’s arrival.

Then after saying that, Jesus quotes a passage from Malachi3:1

Malachi 3:1 KJV 1900

1 Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: And the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, Even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: Behold, he shall come, saith the Lord of hosts.

John the Baptist was this prophet, this messenger, and he had been preparing the way for Israel to receive it’s Messiah, Jesus Christ.

And then Jesus makes a very bold claim, that in the time from John the Baptist’s birth all the way back to the the Adam and Eve’s family, there has been no one greater born than John the Baptist. How is this? Well, John was not just a prophet. He was not just an announcer of Jesus’ coming. He was Jesus’ forerunner. He didn’t just say, “There He is.” He went before Jesus, prepared the way, and announced, “Here He comes.”

John’s greatness arose directly from his association, his relation, his contact with Jesus. His greatness did not come from his message. John the Baptist’s greatness did not come from his boldness. His greatness did not come from his style of clothing, nor from anything beyond the fact that he was closely associated to, he had a relationship with Jesus.

Too many Christians get caught up in what they wear, how they appear to others. Preachers and aspiring pastors, and even ones that have been preaching for a while get caught up trying to sound like their favorite evangelist or other preacher, trying to look like them and do everything just like them.

Let me point something out about John the Baptist - the person he followed the closest and the person he admired the most was Jesus. But I want you to note that John the Baptist was not the same in personality, diet, or style as Jesus. Yes, they preached the same message - repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand - but they preached it differently too. Jesus was calm and level headed, John the Baptist was wild, and that is not to say that he was temperamental or out of control, he just had a wild demeanor to him.

Jesus wore a nice garment and tunic that was a very good quality, that we see when we get to His crucifixion and the soldiers were gambling over it. John, on the other hand, wore camels’ hair. Jesus had a varied diet, eating and drinking with a variety of people, while John the Baptist’s diet consisted primarily of locusts and honey.

John, never aspired to be just like Jesus outwardly, but he had close contact and fellowship that was so intimate that he couldn’t help have the same message. We know this as well because later, after John’s execution, Jesus is thought by some to be John the Baptist resurrected.

So John the Baptist, though he has this one doubt, and it’s a big one, is cleared and defended by Jesus. And look what happens next.

Luke 7:29 KJV 1900

29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

God Can Still Use You After You Mess Up

One of the amazing things about Jesus is that He is the Redeemer. He redeems things - He buys them back. That’s what redeem means, to buy back. He buys things back and uses them for His glory.

We often think of redemption simply in the context of salvation, but God does so much more than that. After He buys back and redeems us from sin and from the curse of sin, we become these new creatures that are then made with a purpose - to honor God with out deeds and attitudes.

We cannot do that perfectly, and every time we fall, Jesus is there to redeem that particular fall into sin and use it in a way that will still bring Him glory. John had messed up. He had begun to lose faith, and yet, it was the baptism of John the Baptist that many people that day followed in.

Jesus had redeemed the doubt, He had bought back the stumble, and now was using it as a way to glorify the Father.

And what happened after that? Many people “justified God” the Bible says. This phrase, “justified God” means that they approved of God, they saw the wisdom of God, they thought God just in sending such a man as John the Baptist. Then, they showed in works what they believed by being baptized.

John’s testimony and His words about Jesus were still being used to glorify God and change people’s lives even when he was in prison. This is the amazing thing about the redeeming power that Jesus has.

Be Careful How You Hear

But the focus I want to place with this sermon is not on John the Baptist. The title of this message is Be Careful How You Hear. many of us have heard the song that goes, “O be careful, little ears what you hear,” (repeat), “For the Father up above is looking down with love, o be careful, little ears, what you hear.”

But this is not a sermon about what we hear, but how we hear.

Notice what Luke 7:29 says.

Luke 7:29 KJV 1900

29 And all the people that heard him, and the publicans, justified God, being baptized with the baptism of John.

All the people. And while Luke does initially say all the people, he is not including two particular sub-sects of those people. We find this out by reading the next verse. Luke 7:30

Luke 7:30 KJV 1900

30 But the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him.

The Pharisees and the lawyers (these were the Scribes, those that specialized in knowing and interpreting the Mosaic Law) did not think John the Baptist was sent by God. The counsel of God was that John the Baptist should bring the nation of Israel into a repentant state ready to receive the Messiah, but these Pharisees and Scribes did not believe. In fact, they actively opposed John and Jesus both. They frustrated their plans as much as they could, and they themselves refused to be baptized by them, as they refused to repent and change their minds about it.

Jesus then begins to make a few comparisons. Look at verses 31-35

Luke 7:31–35 KJV 1900

31 And the Lord said, Whereunto then shall I liken the men of this generation? and to what are they like? 32 They are like unto children sitting in the marketplace, and calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you, and ye have not wept. 33 For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine; and ye say, He hath a devil. 34 The Son of man is come eating and drinking; and ye say, Behold a gluttonous man, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners! 35 But wisdom is justified of all her children.

What exactly is Jesus saying here? He makes a comparison of the ‘men of this generation’. He is specifically talking to the Scribes and Pharisees right now, but as a whole, Jesus is speaking about all those that would not listen to Jesus or John the Baptist.

He says that the men of this generation are like children that are sitting in the market place calling to one another. Have you ever been sitting with a group of friends trying to think of what to do? “What do you want to do?” “I don’t know. What do you want to do?” “I don’t know either… What do you want to do?”

Or maybe it might be more relatable if we put it this way. Have you ever sat in a are with your spouse trying to decide where to go eat? “Where do you want to go eat?” “I don’t know; wherever is fine.” How about Chili’s?” “No, not Chili’s.” “Then where?” “How about Olive Garden?” “No, not Olive Garden.”

“Well, where do you want to go?” “I Don’t know. Wherever is fine...” And on, and on it goes.

That is what Jesus is comparing the Scribes and Pharisees to. The children in the market place are calling to each other, but they aren’t doing anything.

Jesus goes so far as to say that some people actually took interest in the kids and they “piped to them.” They played a playful tune to dance to. And nothing happened. The kids stayed sitting down. No one played, no one danced.

Then, another person went weeping, or playing a dirge, a sad song. Even that was not enough to get the children interested in doing anything. They just sat there, like bumps on a log. Not wanting to do anything, complaining that they didn’t want to get up and have fun, but they didn’t much feel like being serious either.

Jesus says, “That’s what you are like, Pharisees. John the Baptist came to you, and he didn’t eat bread or drink wine. His eating habits were weird. He was very serious. And you complained about him, and even accused him of being demon possessed because he was so different. Then, I, Jesus, the Messiah come in a completely different way. I came drinking and eating with publicans and sinners. I came having a pretty good time.” Think back on Matthew’s party that he threw so that all his sinner friends could hear Jesus and what He was preaching. “Well,” says Jesus, “I came eating and drinking all the things that are normal and being engaged in parties and eating and drinking and doing the normal thing that everyone else is doing, and you accused me of being gluttonous, of being a drunk, and of bein associated with sinners.”

Two different people with two different ways of evangelizing and the Scribes and Pharisees were not moved by either of them.

“But,” Jesus says, “wisdom is justified of all her children.” All those that have moved, either by the seriousness of John or the lightness of Jesus, they can see that their message is a wise message. But only those that were moved by it.

Warnings for Those Who Hear

This next part is something that we only see in the book of Matthew, so I’ll ask you to turn to Matthew 11:19-20

In a moment when we begin reading this, you will see that Jesus continues his speaking here right after he gets on to the Pharisees and Scribes about not being content with either messenger from God.

Matthew 11:19–20 KJV 1900

19 The Son of man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children. 20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were done, because they repented not:

He begins, the Bible says, to upbraid cities. This means “to get on to, to show reproach for.” And the way he does is is in a lament, an expression of sadness. He uses the word “woe.” Woe is an exclamation of grief and sorrow.

Matthew 11:21–24 KJV 1900

21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for thee.

There were certain cities and areas where Jesus had repeatedly performed miracles, and he lists some of them. Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum. These cities were all near each other. Jesus is currently operating out of Capernaum, visiting the surrounding areas to preach, teach, and do miracles. But something is happening in these places. People are gathering and listening to Jesus; they are following Him and receiving His miracles, but so many are not receiving Him.

Jesus, as he visits these areas, is preaching that repentance is needed to enter into the kingdom of heaven, but few actually are repenting.

First, Jesus lists Chorazin and Bethsaida, and says, “If the mighty works that were done in those two cities were to have been performed in Tyre and Sidon, the population of Tyre and Sidon would have repented in sackcloth and ashes.”

Why is this significant? Well, Chorazin and Bethsaida were Jewish cities, but Tyre and Sidon were Phoenician cities. These pagan cities were known to have no care about holy things and were highly materialistic.

Jesus is elevating their status above that of the Jews, almost, and this would have gotten the religious leaders quite angry. You might think that it is easy to state a comparison like that, but Jesus was indeed proven right, at least about Tyre.

We find in the book of Acts that the city of Tyre did receive the Gospel with records indicating that it became a Christian city.

But meanwhile, Bethsaida and Chorazin, both cities inhabited by a people who were supposed to be on the lookout for the Messiah, Jesus was received for His miracles, not for the salvation that He offered.

The passage goes on to lament over Capernaum. “Capernaum, you have been exalted up to heaven.” What does that mean? Well, the King of Kings had set up His headquarters in Capernaum. He had based His ministry from that city. And if the miracles that He had done in Capernaum had been performed in Sodom, Sodom would have remained a city and not suffered destruction. It would have repented and been blessed.

You probably noticed also that for all three cities, Bethsaida, Chorazin, and Capernaum, it is mentioned that their punishment in the day of judgment will be more severe than for the cities of Sodom. Tyre, and Sidon.

We can learn a couple of things from here.

1. Jesus’ Miracles Were Meant to Lead People to Repentance

Why did Jesus do miracles? To show His authority and to lead people to repentance. The miracles, the Bible says, would have been enough to make Tyre, Sidon, and the wicked city of Sodom repent in sackcloth and ashes. They would have recognized Jesus as Lord and accepted him.

2. Hearing Always Has Consequences

We are probably aware that not hearing the Gospel has consequences, dire consequences. The consequence of never hearing the Gospel is that the person that does not hear ends up in the lake of fire.

But there are consequences for hearing the Gospel as well. We often think of the the word consequence in a negative way. For us, when we hear the word consequences, we are generally thinking of punishment or something like that. But consequences are the outcome of something, whether good or bad. There can be bad consequences, and there can be good consequences.

J. W. McGarvey stated this lesson/warning like this: “Each hearer of the Gospel is left either much more blessed or much more wretched.”

We see that those that heard the Gospel and did not accept it, like the cities of Bethsaida and Chorazin, and Capernaum, will have greater consequences for hearing and not believing than those people that never got the opportunity to hear the Gospel.

This leads us to another lesson: that for those entering into the lake of fire (that is to say, all unbelievers), there will be varying degrees of torment. Now, don’t get me wrong, it will all be torment. But Jesus is pretty clear here. “In the day of judgment, some people’s punishment will be more tolerable than others.” This becomes a little more clear when we read in the book of Revelation that each person that is an unbeliever will be judged according to their works, their sins, before being cast into the lake of fire.

But there are good consequences for those that hear and believe. Those that hear and believe will be much more blessed, for they will enjoy the salvation of the Lord. Their sins will be forgiven, they will have a personal relationship with God as their Father. They will be joint heirs with Jesus Christ. They will have become new creatures. They will enjoy the presence and empowerment of the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, among so many other blessings that we who are saved experience.

And this principle applies to Christians as well.

Christians that hear God’s word and become aware, whether by reading the Bible, by listening to preaching, or by being advised by spiritual counsel, those Christians become responsible to what they have heard.

James encourages us to be doers of God’s word, not just hearers of it.

James 1:21–26 KJV 1900

21 Wherefore lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. 23 For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: 24 For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. 25 But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed. 26 If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, this man’s religion is vain.

The Bible starts off by telling us to lay aside certain things - filthiness and the abundance of wickedness, of sin.

Then, it says to be doers of God’s word. This is a command, not a suggestion. Be a doer of God’s word and not just a hearer. If you just listen to God’s word, if you know what it says and don’t follow it, you are deceiving your own self.

If you know God wants you to be faithful to the church He has put you in and you are not, the only one you are deceiving is your own self with all your excuses. The Bible says we are an open books, read by our fellow man, and when I say I believe something and don’t follow it, and then make excuses for it, the only person I am deceiving is my own self.

Why? Because knowing God’s word and not doing it is like looking into a mirror, the Bible says, and seeing that your hair is all messed up and that you have dirt all over your face, and then not doing anything about it. And after a little while, you forget how messed up your appearance was in the first place.

But those that do God’s word, those that obey, those that follow, are those that look into the Bible and instead of seeing a list of binding rules, they see the law of liberty. They see that Jesus has given us these things, not for our downfall, but for our benefit, for our blessing. And those that do God’s word instead of just hearing it, they are blessed in the things that they do.

And what do we see in verse 26? James gives us a little test. You think you are religious? You think that you are doing what God wants you to do? Here is a test: How well do you control your words? If you think that you’re religious and spiritual but you can’t control your tongue, than all you have is vanity. Worthless. Meaningless. And again, the only person you are deceiving is yourself.

Hearing and Knowing God’s Word Has Consequences

The main thing is that you and I are responsible for what we know. Do you know that you should be developing a deep relationship with Jesus? Yes, we all know that. And we are all responsible for it. Not to me, but to the Lord.

Do you know that you should be serving God in your church? You are responsible for what you do with that knowledge.

Do you know that you are responsible for discipling others and allowing others to disciple you? I hope that over the last three years that has been made clear, because it is true, and we will all be held responsible for that.

For Christians, there will not be the consequence of losing our salvation, but there will be loss of rewards (both heavenly and earthly) when we hear God’s word and don’t do it. I have, for a very long time, believed with all my heart that the most miserable people in this world are Christians that will not follow God.

It is a miserable thing to be under the conviction of God and not listen to it. This is why Jesus ended this discourse of His with some words that are probably very familiar to us, but when we look at them in this context, we see how true they ring.

Matthew 11:28–30 KJV 1900

28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.

You will not find rest for your souls anywhere else but in Jesus. If you are not saved, if you have not put your faith in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins, then you will not find rest for your soul anywhere else but in Jesus. Alcohol will not give it to you, drugs won’t give it to you, food won’t give it to you, friends won’t give it to you, your job won’t give it to you. You will find rest only when you find Jesus.

Christian, you will find rest for your soul only in Jesus. There is no ministry that will give you rest, there is no break from ministry that will give you rest, there is nothing like following Jesus on that narrow road to give you rest. Yes, there is a burden, but His burden is light. Why is is light? Because Jesus has conquered the world. He has navigated it successfully and perfectly, and now wants us to hook up to Him and walk with Him as he shoulders the weight of our burden. But the moment we try to take that burden ourselves and navigate this world without His guidance, we start to loose strength and get bogged down. Sooner or later, you will find yourself in a mot wretched and miserable condition, and you may already be there.

Can I take this time to encourage you, there is no rest but by fully following Jesus?

Invitation

I am going to ask you to bow your heads and close your eyes as we have a time of invitation. This time is to invite you to respond to God if He is speaking to you.

I would first like to speak to anyone in here that may not be saved. Are you sitting here this morning without Jesus? If you were to die today, are you certain that you would be in heaven with the Lord. The Bible says that sin separates us from God, it bars us from entering heaven, and only those that have accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior can be forgiven of their sin.

If you are here this morning and you are not sure if you have ever been saved, I am going to ask that you raise your hand and then put it right back down. I do not want to embarrass you at all, I just want to be able to pray for you. Is there anyone like that?

Now to those that are saved. What are you choosing to ignore? Is it an area of personal growth that God has been trying to work on you? Is it an area of service, whether in the church or outside it? Is it in an area of your relationships with your family or your friends?

Is there anyone that would ay, “Mike, God is dealing with areas in my life that I have been ignoring, would you pray that I would begin to be a doer of God’s word?” Is there anyone like that?

For the next few moments, as Tahsha plays the piano, if God has spoken to you this morning, would you get things right with Him right now.