"Take Heed How You Hear"  Part 3

God’s Word contains all you need for a successful Christian life.  But it won’t work for you just because you place it on your coffee table.  It will never produce for you until you plant it in your heart and cultivate it.

 I (Paul) have planted. Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.  So then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth; but God that giveth the increase. Now he that planteth and he that watereth  are One: and every man shall receive his own Reward according to his own labor. For we are labourers together with God: Ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building. ! Corinthians 3:6-9 

 Praise the Lord Precious Saints of the Living God.  How are you?  I know you are Blessed and Highly Favored of the Lord.  We are living in exciting times.  We are seeing the Word of God demonstrated daily in our midst.

Here we are, this is part III of this very important series “Take Heed How You Hear!”  I spent quite a bit of time explaining in much detail that when the Word of God goes forth, only about one fourth of the people may understand what was preached.  The sower (the minister) is responsible for sowing the Word, and on the other hand, the Hearer is responsible for everything that was taught or preached.

Please allow me to prove it to you by the Word.  Take a few minutes and go over the text from Mark 4: 3-8 slowly.  As you went over the parable, have you noticed that all the time that Jesus took to tell this story He only mentions the sower once?  Jesus never said anything about the sower’s responsibility.  He spent all His time talking about The Hearer.   

He wound up talking about the hearer’s responsibility by saying “Take heed how you hear …” (Luke 8: 18)!  You see, it makes all the difference in the world How You Hear.

Of course ministers are responsible for what they preach and teach, but where does the greater responsibility lie?  With The Hearer!

I remember when I first came in contact with the faith message from Brother Kenneth E. Hagin on the radio.  I would purchase blank audio cassette tapes by the hundreds from a whole sale company right here in San Antonio named Studio Central. 

Everyday Monday through Friday at 9:15 a.m. for 20 years I would set my portable battery operated radio in my car in the right position with a good signal, and I would record his radio broadcast. Then, I would take those tapes home and listen to them over and over.  I was very selective how I heard the Word.  I would listen to them in my bathroom, in my kitchen, in my car.  To this day I still do listen to those faith building messages.  As you can tell God has richly

rewarded me.  I took heed to How I Heard, and it produced great results.

 ROMANS 10:17

17 So then faith cometh by HEARING AND HEARING by the word of God.

Well, this verse is talking about hearing, isn’t it?  Does faith come by hearing one time?  No, faith comes by hearing and hearing, and hearing.  I kept hearing and hearing, and God has blessed my life and my family’s life significantly.         

Your Pastor 

Word for Today: Avoid The Trap Of Pride

Hollywood loves to portray business executives and other successful people as arrogant and rude.  It’s an unfair stereotype, but it’s accurate more often than it should be. The truth is, when you experience some success, it’s easy To Fall into the Trap of Pride.  One of the Bible keys to keep an organization growing is maintaining a humble Spirit.  Don’t Fall Into The Trap Of Arrogance.  Not only is it unseemly, its bad business.  In the Book of Proverbs we read, “The arrogance of a man will be brought low, and the pride of men humbled.” Here is a word of caution for all of us. Examine your attitude carefully, and make sure you are not exhibiting the warning signs of having fallen into the Trap of Pride. Ask the Lord to help you walk in love among the brethren.