In Matthew 13:1-17, Jesus tells the disciples a parable about a sower, how his seeds fall onto different places and the seeds die, wither, choke or grow. Then Jesus said 'Who hath ears to hear, let him hear'. You see, not everyone has the ears to hear. To hear, one must pay attention. To hear, one cannot be stubborn. To hear, one must believe to have any effect on what is heard because we only act on the things that we believe in but do nothing when we don't believe.
When you are offered a job that you believe is perfect for you, you will quit your present job for it. If you believe something is good for you, you will act upon that belief. It's that simple (2 Corinthians 11:3). This is the same with the kingdom of God. The lame man believed he would walk and so he stood up to walk (John 5:8-9). The Centurion believed Jesus would heal his servant and so he personally came to Jesus to ask for his healing (Matthew 8:5-6). The disciples then asked Jesus why he spoke in parables and Jesus said that to those who are his disciples, will the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven be revealed! This means, to those who follow him, those who hearts are prepared to hear, who pay attention, who are not stubborn and who believe, will they experience the kingdom of heaven! You see, there are those who hear and see but don't believe or understand. Jesus said that blessed are those who do believe because they will be healed! And such followers of Jesus will hear and see the things that prophets and righteous men desire to see! Many call themselves a prophet or appear to be a righteous man yet have not enough heart or willingness to believe that the kingdom of heaven is here and now! (Mark 1:15). This was the problem with the people in Nazareth, where Jesus himself 'did not do many mighty works' in His hometown 'because of their unbelief' (Matthew 13:58) And for all of God's love and provisions for the Israelites during their journey in the wilderness, in the end only 2 out of 600,000 made it to the promise land (Hebrews 3:19). And so we encourage you to follow Jesus, hear with your hearts and not be stubborn of hearing His words. We encourage you to learn of His promises and act on those promises with a believing heart. We encourage you to become good seeds that flourish and not seeds that die, wither or choke. VERSE REFERENCE : Matthew 13:14-17 And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: ‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; 15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.’ 16 But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear; 17 for assuredly, I say to you that many prophets and righteous men desired to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. 2 Corinthians 11:3 But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. John 5:8-9 Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” 9 And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked. Matthew 8:5-6 ... a centurion came to Him, pleading with Him, 6 saying, “Lord, my servant is lying at home paralyzed, dreadfully tormented.” Mark 1:15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Matthew 13:58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Hebrews 3:19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief. |
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