During the Sermon, Part 6

The Command to Take Heed How You Hear

0:02 We turn again this morning to Luke chapter 8 and verse 18, where our Lord Jesus, speaking to his own inner circle of followers, gives them this very straightforward command, Take heed, or pay careful and close, constant attention, therefore, how you hear. For whosoever has, to him shall be given, and whosoever has not, from him shall be taken away, even that which he thinks or seems to have. Now according to our Lord Jesus and the clear teaching that he gave in the context immediately preceding the verse read in your hearing.

1:02 Next being the parable of the sower and the soils, our Lord has underscored that the manner in which the word of God preached is received is the very issue which determines the eternal destinies of those who hear that word. In the parable, the human heart is the soil, the seed is the word of God preached, and it was in it that God preached. In each case, the state of the soil that determined the fate of the seed, and that in turn determined the eternal state of the hearer. Surely then it should not surprise us that having given a parable that highlights the great issues of how the word of God is received into the human heart, that our Lord should say, Take heed, therefore. Therefore, how you hear. And with these words of our Lord Jesus establishing the duty of paying careful attention to the hearing of the word, we have been opening up and applying this command of our Lord in three clearly defined categories.

Sobering Facts and Simple Directives for Hearing

2:24 What it means to take heed to our hearing before the preaching of the word, during the preaching of the word. Our present focus is on the category of taking heed, how we hear while the word is being preached. And I have sought to demonstrate from the word of God that first of all there is a sobering fact to be faced whenever we hear the word of God. And that fact is this, that the insidious, soul-destructing, exploitative influences of sin and of the devil himself are neither negated nor suspended under the preaching of the word. In Luke 8 and Verse 12 this is very clearly stated by our Lord. These are they that have heard, Then cometh the devil. Our Lord was a realist with respect to the devil's proximity to the actual understanding of that saying.

3:32 activity of the preaching of the Word of God. But then in addition to this sobering fact to be faced, I've stated that there are some simple directives to be implemented as we take heed how we hear under the actual preaching of the Word. The first, we must hear the Word with the resolute fixation of our minds. And the second directive, we must hear the Word of God determined to render the appropriate responses of the heart which the Word demands of us. We gave as a first example that sin-exposing, convicting words from God demand an immediate response of a tender heart and of renewed repentance. He that covers his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesses and forsakes them shall obtain mercy. And then last Lord's Day, we focused on this example of the principle. A word presenting a divine provision, promise or prophecy, demands an immediate response of faith in that word and in the God who has given it.

The Demand for Faith in Divine Promises

4:55 Our key text was Hebrews 4, 2. The Word preached did not profit them not being mixed with faith. And then we illustrated from two contrasting examples in Luke chapter 1, Mary who gave an immediate response of faith to the Word of the Lord through the angel Gabriel that she would become the mother of Messiah. And then Zacharias who had a word from that same angel, but who doubted that word and was chastised for his doubts. And I could not help but think in my preparation and in my preparing of the review of that beautiful example of this principle in Acts chapter 27, and I simply quote the text as we end the review, when Paul in the midst of that apparent disastrous situation, of this tremendous storm that went on day after day and all hope was abandoned. And yet he says in Acts 27, 28, there stood by me this night an angel of the God whose I am, whom also I serve, saying fear not, Paul, you must stand before Caesar and lo god has

6:20 granted you all them that sail with you. Wherefore sir, wherefore sir, sir, sir, words. I want you to know that having heard this word from God, I am earnestly praying that I will eventually be able to lay hold of it in faith. That is, if God is pleased to give me the faith, but until then, let's carry on our tragic state of dejection, despondency, and despair.

6:49 Now, that's the way some of you would have responded, but that's not what Paul did. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer. Why? For I, that it shall be even so as it has been spoken unto me. Unbelief, therefore, is not some kind of spiritual illness to be pitied. It is moral and spiritual perversity and wickedness. Men will be damned. Damned for unbelief. He that believeth not shall be damned. And Jesus scolds his own when they

Responding to Impenetrable Mysteries: Chastened Silence and Reverent Praise

7:35 don't believe. Oh, fools and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have written. Oh, unbelieving and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you? May God help us that under the preaching of the word, every announcement of a divine provision, every setting forth of a divine promise, every articulation of a divine prophecy may be met by the spirit of faith in each of our hearts. Now we come thirdly and finally this morning in this matter of taking heed how we hear under the preaching of the word to address a third and crucial example of how we should respond. And I'm expressing it this way. A word from God asserting or demonstrating the impenetrable mystery of his ways and works demands an immediate response of chastened silence and reverent praise. Now I know that's a lengthy statement. And in a slogan age that trivializes the most sacred thing into three words

8:58 on a bumper. sticker. I know I'm standing against the whole tide of this generation, but I intend to stand against it till I go to my grave. There are some things that can't be trivialized into a bumper sticker. And when we think of God in all of the mystery of his being, the magnitude and the infinitude of his being, and the mystery of his way, some things can't be stated in three words.

9:32 And what I'm stating is that when under the preaching a word from God comes in the opening up of scripture, asserting or demonstrating, for the Bible not only makes statements, it sets before us history and fact and biography, a word from God then either asserting or demonstrating the impenetrable mystery of his ways and works. We will we will confront again and again under any ministry that is true to the word of God, those things that God says and does, before which we stand and say, to figure that out, it is an impenetrable mystery. It is not something that is all convoluted and contrary to all sense of logic, but it transcends our ability to grasp. It goes beyond us. It is out of sight in terms of being able to feel that we have mastered our understanding of it. There are these impenetrable mysteries of his ways and his works.

10:52 And I say under the preaching of those dimensions of truth, God demands of us an immediate response of God. What chastened silence and reverent praise. What in the world ever moved me to sit at my desk and come up with a statement like this? A word from God asserting or demonstrating the impenetrable mystery of his ways and works demands an immediate response of chastened silence and reverent praise.

God's Ways and Thoughts Transcend Ours (Isaiah 55)

11:29 Well, the directive is established. First of all, when we turn to a text such as Isaiah 55, 8 and 9, we should assume that God's ways and works will often be characterized by an impenetrable mystery. For here in Isaiah chapter 55, verses 8 and 9, God asserts through the prophet, For my thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.

12:11 God asserts that there is a great disparity between his thoughts and our thoughts, our ways and his ways. And what is that fundamental disparity? Well, some say the context indicates it's the disparity between our wicked thoughts that we are to forsake, verse 7, and God's righteous thoughts. Thoughts that we are to embrace.

12:38 Our ways, which are devious, are to be abandoned, and we are to embrace God's ways, which are righteous. And there's an element of truth in that. But you see, the great point of contrast is not looking back at what precedes, but looking at the next verse that follows. Look at it.

12:59 My thoughts are not your thoughts. Neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. And the contrast...

13:05 Contrast is not to be derived from the preceding verses, but notice verse 9. For, here's the fundamental area of difference. As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. You see, God himself interprets the significance of verse 8.

13:38 In what way are his thoughts unlike ours, and his ways unlike ours? Well, they are unlike ours, and here's the imagery, as the heavens are higher than the earth. They transcend and are above the earth. And it is this very nuance that E.J. Young, in his masterful commentary in Isaiah, highlights when commenting on this very verse.

14:05 He says, The implication is that just as the heavens are so high above the earth, that by human standards their height cannot be measured, so are God's ways and thoughts so above those of man that they cannot be grasped by man in their fullness. In other words, the ways and thoughts of God are incomprehensible to man. Even though God revealed them to man, man cannot fully understand them. To him they are incomprehensible.

14:43 It is for this reason that God's ways are not to be identified with man's ways. Now, if God says of himself, My ways are not yours, my thoughts are not yours, and the point of emphasis is the heavens are high above the earth, so are my ways above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts, then surely, if this Bible contains the record of the ways and thoughts of God, we're going to be confronting the incomprehensible again and again and again and again. And the element of impenetrable mystery will be confronting us again and again and again. And I say in a day that trivializes the most noble things, the most imaginable, will not trivialize his thoughts and his way, and reduce the religion of the Bible to bumper sticker slogans, and to three-minute soundbites.

The Mystery of God's Sovereign Purpose (Romans 9)

15:58 God will not accommodate himself to such nonsense with respect to the sacred issues of his being, of his ways, and of his works. What do I mean by responding, before those mysteries with chastened silence and reverent praise? Well, those of you familiar with the structure of the book of Romans will remember that after expounding the heart and soul of the gospel of the grace of God, the apostle turns in chapters 9 through 11 to deal with this whole question of the dispensation of that gospel, in the sovereign purpose of God with respect to the nation of Israel and to the nations of the earth. And he begins chapter 9 by saying, I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bears witness with me in the Holy Spirit. I have great sorrow and unceasing pain in my heart. I could wish that I myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren's sake, my kinsmen according to the flesh.

17:16 He says, My heart breaks and yearns with an indescribable burden for my fellow Israelites, who are in, for the most part, a state of unbelief and impenitence. And then he takes up what would be the logical cause. Well, Paul, if so many of your fellow Jews are in blindness and unbelief, has God's purpose failed? Are his promises being frustrated?

17:42 Verse 6, But it is not as though the word of God is come to naught, for they are not all Israel that are of Israel. And he begins to take up this whole issue. God is not frustrated. God is not disappointed.

17:57 God has not failed to accomplish his purpose. From the very beginning, God has made a distinction between the earthly seed, the carnal seed, and the seed according to promise. And that distinction has its roots in the absolute, sovereign purpose of God. Verse 11, For the children, having not yet been born, neither having done any good or bad, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calls.

18:33 It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. And the immediate response before this impenetrable mystery of a man saying, My heart is broken. I long to see my fellow Jews saved. That yearning is but a reflection of the heart of God.

18:57 Then he goes on to say that God's promises have not been frustrated. God's purposes have not been canceled and limited. God's purposes according to election have been and are and shall be fulfilled. Well, then someone says, I can't figure that out.

19:15 This must not be right, that God should say, of one before anything was done by them, I'll love this one and bypass this other. Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. That isn't right. Wait a minute, Paul says, What shall we say then?

19:36 Is there unrighteousness with God? God forbid. God is God. And he's going to illustrate it.

19:45 He said to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. I will have compassion, on whom I have compassion. I'm under no obligation to show compassion to any of the fallen, hell-deserving sons of men. If I will to show mercy upon one or ten or a thousand or an innumerable company, my mercy is in submission to my will.

20:11 My will acts at the behest of the integrity of my whole holy being. No one has me on a hammerlock, saying, If you show mercy to one, it must be mercy to all. Mercy to all or mercy to none. He said, Wait a minute.

20:28 You're dealing with God. Don't presume to teach God what's right and wrong. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and whom I will, he says, I will harden, verse 18. Now we come to verse 19.

Human Accountability and Divine Sovereignty: The Impenetrable Mystery

20:43 All of this has been to show the flow of thought. Thou wilt then say unto me, Why does he still find fault? For who withstands his will? Paul, if men's actions are ultimately resolved in the sovereign will of God, the will of his decree, how in the world can he hold men accountable for their actions?

21:11 If what they do is but the transcript of what he purposed, how can he blame them for what they do? That's the question. You see it? Thou wilt then say to me, Why does he still find fault?

21:28 For who has withstood his will? What men do is but the transcript of what God is will, and he holds up which is evil. How can God be totally sovereign and man totally responsible? And how does Paul answer?

21:51 There's an impenetrable mystery. And what does he do? He doesn't cheapen the mystery by a philosophy. A philosophical response.

22:01 Look what he says. But nay, O man, creature of the dust, whose breath is in his nostrils, O man, repliest against God, shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why have you made me thus? You see what Paul is saying before that impenetrable mystery of a God who is absolutely sovereign, a God whose will determines all of the actions of all men in all of human history, and yet a God who holds man fully accountable for his sin and rebellion, even his sin of unbelief. Before that mystery, Paul says, put your hand upon your mouth and remember who you are. If God declares that his will determines all things, then bow before him, as a righteous, holy, sovereign of the universe. And if that God says he'll hold you accountable for every sin, in thought, in word, in deed, and fall before that thing for mercy and pardon through the blood of the cross of his Son,

23:28 for the sins for which he holds you accountable and for which your eternal damnation will be an eternal monument of your accountability, unless you go to Christ. And find pardon and forgiveness in the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.