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Woodland Hills Church of Christ episodes

January 18 Survey of Genesis 2-5
Bible Classes / Speaker:David Desloge
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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45 min
January 18Be Careful How You Hear (2): How To Understand The Message
Topical Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
Be Careful How You Hear (2)
How to Understand the Message
Introduction: Last week we looked at the emphasis Jesus placed on hearing. He accused the multitudes of having the same dullness and hard heart as their forefathers in Isaiah’s time. However, it is a peculiar rebuke considering the sermon was merely 5 stories without any mention of explanations or applications.
Therefore, in this lesson we will explore the method of of the Master Teacher. Jesus used a method that is uncommon today but was common in the first century.
Consider Luke 2:46-47 when Jesus at age 12 was in the temple. “After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions. And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.” The text reflects the method of teaching and learning. The scribes are questioning Jesus; they are not simply giving him information. It is not a one-way street. Jesus is listening and asking, but the teachers are also asking Jesus questions. They are testing his knowledge and his desire to learn. Why continue a conversation if he loses interest?
Therefore, to understand Jesus and the biblical message, we must understand Jesus’ method of teaching, a method that is usually unfamiliar to the modern reader.
Understanding Begins with How Jesus Taught
There are many messages in the Parable of the Sower. One of those messages is how aggressive our minds must be in order to learn. Television and other types of media have caused us to be lazy listeners. It is noteworthy that Jesus refers to the secrets/mysteries of the kingdom. When we read a mystery book or watch a mystery movie, what happens? The joy of the mystery is trying to see the clues given in the story in order to find the answer to the mystery. That is what Jesus has done in telling parables, not just the Sower, but 9 parables, five to the multitudes and four more to those who came in the house wanting answers. Add the parables up, meditate on them, and we come to a very good picture of what Jesus has planned for his kingdom.
Therefore, this sermon of parables was used by Jesus to engage dull minds in discovering a secret. Isn’t that in many ways the whole method in scripture? There are always embedded messages. Why did God rest on the seventh day? What is marriage about? Why do we read an elaborate story of the Exodus? Mysteries and secrets are echoed time and again and God is urging us to work at discovering the answer. We should say to ourselves, “Wow! How exciting! The God and Creator of the universe is bringing us into an eternal reality show. Want to play?
Consider Mark 4:13, “And he said to them, ‘Do you not understand this parable? How then will you understand all the parables?’” Obviously, it was not impossible to understand the parable without Jesus giving an explanation. Challenging, yes, but not impossible.
Jesus gave them clues: this is a parable about the coming kingdom (of which the Jews had the wrong belief) and it is a parable about “hearing.” The only other ingredient needed was a knowledge of farming—seed responds differently to different soils and that’s the way the kingdom of God is! That’s not rocket science, but it does need careful meditation.
The point is, the possibility of understanding was present in the parable. One of the themes of Mark’s account is the dullness of the apostles and the Jews in general. However, though Jesus gives a mild rebuke to the disciples in the house, he commends them for asking in order to learn and condemns the multitude for not pursuing an answer.
With the above knowledge, “why did Jesus speak to them in parables?” Did he expect the multitude to understand? No way! Not even the apostles understood. In fact, at the moment Jesus does not intend for the multitude to understand: “but for those outside everything is in parables, so that they may indeed see but not perceive, hear but not understand…” (Mark 4:11-12). He is looking for people who desire to know and learn; people who will come and ask and pursue the greatest offer made to mankind, the Kingdom!—“to you it is given to know, but to those outside it is not given!”
Therefore, Jesus purposely does not make everything perfectly understandable to every person on every point. Does that surprise you? We would be appalled if a preacher today gave a sermon of five parables without explanation! The expectation was and is that each person would bring their brain to the study and go into discovery mode and draw conclusions from what they heard and then ask questions and seek answers. Jesus was testing their hearts, testing their desire for the Kingdom of God!
Consider some examples;
Example: Exodus 3:6 “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Jesus strongly rebuked the Sadducees for not understanding the resurrection based on this verse. Listen to his words, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the scriptures nor the power of God?” (Mark 12:24). And in Matthew’s account, “Have you not read what was said to you by God?” (22:31).
Example: Matthew 22:41-46 Jesus asked the Jews a question they could not answer. Why didn’t the Master Teacher go beyond the question and give them the answer? We would never have left the conversation at that point! When Jesus went away after the question, there would have been two kinds of soil left behind. Some would have been so predisposed to the Messiah being a mere human, they wouldn’t have cared. They had already made up their minds. But others would not have been able to get the question off their minds and they would have gone to the scriptures to find the answer. It is these latter people who would be saved and who Jesus was interested in saving.
Therefore, the message for us is critical—we need to learn aggressive listening, not simply with a sermon, but primarily with our own personal study.
Jesus’ Expectation of Aggressive Listening, Mark 4:21-25
This is Jesus’ immediate followup to the interpretation of the parable of the Sower. Do you understand verses 21-23? This is such an interesting few verses because we easily skip them in favor of the simplicity of Jesus’ explanation of the parable in the previous verses. But is Jesus finished with his explanation? Obviously not. He is giving the final explanation point on the message of the parables.
The purpose of the parable is to bring everything that is hidden to light. In the Lord’s Kingdom everything that is secret must be revealed. Nothing will be hidden any longer. Therefore, in the parable what is hidden that is being brought to light? It is the hearts of men and women! When Jesus preached his word throughout the entirety of scripture, it became a lamp. And the purpose of a lamp is to reveal and expose all that is in the room.
When Jesus again repeats the words, “If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear!” we are able to get the primary message of the parable. The parable illustrates exactly what happened after Jesus preached it. Some went away without a thought of what Jesus said (wayside ground). Some had a measure of belief, but never pursued any further so that they became “rooted” in Jesus’ teachings (stoney ground). Others believed, but allowed the other desires and cares in their life to take precedence over the pursuit of the kingdom (thorny ground). And those who came into the house and asked for more and put following Jesus and bearing fruit the priority in their lives are the good ground.
Do you see it? Jesus has exposed hearts—all of our hearts. And of the four types of soil/hearts only one is good. With this we can conclude that Jesus’ is not trying to keep people from being saved by giving the parables, he is weeding out people who do not have the heart he desires.
Therefore, consider what Jesus is doing—and I would say is always doing in his preaching and in the biblical text—he is testing us as hearers and revealing our hearts! Just think how much God has revealed in his word. But how often have we looked briefly just like the multitudes and just shrugged it off because it did not immediately peak our interest or we did not immediately understand. There are eternal consequences to dismissing biblical truths that do not interest us or we do not understand.
Verse 24 “Pay attention to what you hear.” Jesus is the teacher and the Holy Spirit revealed everything in our Bibles. Pay attention to what you hear! If we don’t, we have failed the test, and even what we have will be taken away from us.
Jesus Destroys Our Excuses, Luke 11:5-13
The context is Jesus teaching the apostles how to pray. We read it easily; we read it simply, but we miss the point!
The parable: God is not like a friend who does not want to be bothered by another friend seeking bread at midnight. The friend gives the bread, but only because his neighbor won’t stop banging on the door!
God is different. He loves people who ask, seek, and knock. And to those who do, it will be given, they will find, and the door will be opened. What kind of Father do you think God is! He is ready to give! Oh goody, we say. I can ask God for “things,” the things I’ve always wanted. That’s not what Jesus is talking about.
Verse 13 “…how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” Jesus just took away all our excuses. “It’s too hard! It’s too deep! I’m not a scholar!” Sorry, that doesn’t work. Jesus just gave us two keys to understand even the most obscure of his teachings.
The best Bible student always asks questions while reading. Don’t just read and don’t just listen. Ask questions—that’s what a seeker does. If you are not asking questions and desiring a fuller understanding, then you are not seeking. God rewards seekers—that is the promise Jesus gives in his application of the parable.
Most importantly, when you have the desire of a seeker, nothing in scripture becomes too “deep” or too hard for you. Two reasons:
Jesus just made a promise to us that if we ask, seek, and knock, he will give abundantly to us. Therefore, the seeker is not trusting his or her own mental intelligence, but trusting God.
Further, to convince ourselves that there are parts of scripture “too hard” for us, is to indict God. We are accusing God of not delivering his word in an understandable way. Is this not the the main point of the parable? There is nothing wrong with the seed! It is the ground that is the problem! We simply cannot buy into the idea that there are books of the Bible that are just too deep, too hard to understand.
[Harrison is a new Christian, but nothing is too deep for Harrison. David and I can teach him anything and everything that is in a text. Harrison doesn’t know that something in the Bible is too hard—and so he asks, seeks, and knocks, and the result is he always understands. And when he understands, he asks for more.
A hungry person eats differently than a person who has filled themselves with cake, pie, and deserts.
Conclusion: The Bereans (Acts 17:11) are the perfect example of proper connection between teacher and listener. Paul preached a message to them that they had never heard before in spite of their knowledge of the scriptures. Their response is what made them more noble than the Jews in Thessalonica. Those Jews immediately rejected preaching that was new and different. But the Bereans searched the scripture. That is what Luke is commending and that is what God is commending when he inspired Luke to record those words.
Berry Kercheville
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37 min
January 15 Genesis 1:1-2:3 – Having Dominion
Bible Classes / Speaker:Michael Lindsey
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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46 min
January 12 When We’re At Odds With One Another
New Testament Sermons / Speaker:Colin Slayton
Philippians 4:3-9
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34 min
January 11 Be Salty
New Testament Sermons / Speaker:Colin Slayton
The post Be Salty appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
34 min
January 11 Genesis 1:1-2:3 – The Image of God
Bible Classes / Speaker:Michael Lindsey
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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47 min
January 08 Genesis 1:1-2:3 – The Relationship of Days
Bible Classes / Speaker:Michael Lindsey
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The post Genesis 1:1-2:3 – The Relationship of Days appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
46 min
January 05Ephesians 4:11-16 And He Gave Evangelists… (1)
Topical Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
“And He Gave Evangelists…” (1)
Introduction: Many Christians may not be aware of the decreasing number of evangelists and qualified shepherds in our brotherhood. I’m sure most of you would understand the seriousness of this problem.
The danger is that when a church has good elders and a good preacher, not much thought is given to the many churches who may not have elders and cannot get it an evangelist,—someone who does more than preach a sermon. This need is not about a “sermon,” it is about what Paul commanded Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:5, “Do the work of an evangelist.”
The problem begins with leaders who did not prepare themselves for the work and/or do not place their primary focus on Ephesians 4:1-16. Paul’s direct proclamation in Ephesians 4:11-12 teaches that the apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers are gifts from Jesus to his body for the equipping of the saints and for the growth of the body, remind us of how important evangelists, shepherds and teachers are to the church. This text is the foundation for growth!
In this lesson, we will concentrate more on evangelists than on shepherds because Paul taught in 1 Timothy and Titus that evangelists are required to teach and equip the church so that qualified shepherds can be appointed.
Of course, your first response might be, “What does that have to do with me? What could I possibly do to help that situation?” That is the subject of this sermon. There are principles we can all understand better and efforts we can all make to improve us and any other church that we may influence in the future.
Disclaimer: Much of what we will discuss in this lesson has often or “generally” taken place in a significant percentage of churches. I am not suggesting that all churches or even a majority of churches are failing their calling. But there certainly is and have been a strong trend toward both preachers and shepherds to fail pursuing the requirements of Ephesians 4:1-16.
The Work of Evangelists, Shepherds and Teachers (Ephesians 4:11-16) What do you see?
Primarily, it bring “the whole body to maturity.”
Maturity includes…?
Unity of the faith
Knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man (not tossed by every wind of doctrine)
Able to “speak the truth in love”
The whole body knit and joined together so that every part does its share
The Pastoral Epistles: Paul’s Challenge to an Evangelist (imagine yourself as Timothy or Titus and being given this charge)
1 Tim. 1:3 “…that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine, nor to devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies… The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. Certain persons, by swerving rom these, have wandered away into vain discussion, desiring to be teachers…”
Roles of men and women in the church
Modesty (teaching women not to overdress!)
Appointing elders/deacons
Warning against various departures from the faith
Instructing widows and the church concerning widows
Instructions to servants and masters
Instructions concerning contentment and the love of money
Charge the rich…
2 Tim. 2:2 “…what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men/woman who will be able to teach others also.”
2 Tim. 2:14 “Remind them of these things, and charge them before God not to quarrel about words, which does not good, but only ruins the hearers.”
2 Tim. 4:16 “…avoid irreverent babble, for it will lead people into more and more ungodliness.”
2 Tim. 4:2-4 “…preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching…”
2 Tim. 4:5 “…always be sober-minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”
Titus 1:5 “This is why I left you at Crete, so that you might set in order things that are wanting…. And appoint elders in every town as I directed you…”
Titus 1:10 “For there are many who are insubordinate, empty talkers and deceivers…they must be silenced, since they are upsetting whole families by teaching for shameful gain what they ought not to teach.”
Titus 1:12 “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons. This testimony is true. Therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in the faith…”
Instruct older men, younger men, older women, younger women, bondservants and masters.
Titus 1:15 “Declare these things; exhort and rebuke with all authority.”
Titus 3:10 “As for a person who stirs up division, after warning him once and then twice, have nothing more to do with him…”
Titus 3:14 “And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful.”
Summarizing the above survey, 2 Timothy 4:5, “Do the work of an evangelist.” If you were Timothy or Titus, how do you feel about what you have been called to do?
Why the Need for a Full-Time Evangelist?
In the OT, God set aside a whole tribe in Israel so that the nation would always be instructed and reminded of the teachings of God’s word.
2 Chronicles 31:4 “And he commanded the people who lived in Jerusalem to give the portion due to the priests and the Levites, that they might give themselves to the Law of the LORD.”
Hosea 4:4-7 “Do not let anyone accuse or contend against anyone else: for my case is against you priests! You stumble day and night, and the false prophets stumble with you; you have destroyed your own people. You have destroyed my people by failing to acknowledge me! Because you refuse to acknowledge me, I will reject you as my priests. Because you reject the law of your God, I will reject your descendants. The more the priests increased in numbers, the more they rebelled against me. They have turned their glorious calling into a shameful disgrace!” (NET)
Malachi 2:4-9
If God needed a whole tribe to give themselves the God’s law (5 books) and teach the people, how much more is that needed today with 66 books? Cf. 2 Timothy 3:14-17.
In many, if not most Christian’s minds, the work of an evangelist has been reduced to preaching sermons. That is not a recent problem and if that thinking does not change, the cause of the gospel and God’s kingdom will be seriously damaged.
The Challenge & Problem Before Us and in the Kingdom
We are typically concerned only about our local church, where as in the NT the overriding concern is God’s Kingdom. [Recent conversation: a friend from another state telling me about their church’s condition and that he has watched 9 churches close their doors over the past few years. I pre-supposed the reason to be the inability to get an evangelist––someone who would direct evangelism efforts and lead the church in Bible teaching and preaching. His answer? “That is exactly the reason the churches dwindled and eventually folded.”]
Consider: What would have happened to the churches in Crete if Paul had not sent Titus?
The decreasing number of evangelists even among those who “preach.” Many decide to preach out of need in a local church or sometimes other personal reasons like being out of work. However, even though I’m sure most of these men have good intentions, their understanding of the work is often limited to giving a sermon and teaching a Bible class at the building.
The increasing number of Christians/churches who do not see the importance of an evangelist. Why would some come to that conclusion?
If the men of the church can preach a sermon, why should we have a preacher? After all, many of the preachers they have heard aren’t nearly as good as the men they have in their local church.
Training programs that concentrate on sermons and sermon delivery, but neglect training in the work outside of the pulpit.
To summarize the problem, even though there are young men who have a passion to learn the work of an evangelist, understanding the full meaning of the work has been seriously compromised, especially in the last 50 years.
There are fewer and fewer young men who are willing to consider being an evangelist. Why? And what can we do? (Stay Tuned for Part 2)
Berry Kercheville
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36 min
January 04 Genesis Intro
Bible Classes / Speaker:Michael Lindsey
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
The post Genesis Intro appeared first on Woodland Hills Church of Christ.
43 min
January 04Matthew 13:10-23 Be Careful How You Hear
Topical Sermons / Speaker:Berry Kercheville
The Expectation of Our Father: Be Careful How You Hear
Introduction: Reading: Matthew 13:18-23. Our text is Jesus’ interpretation of the Parable of the Sower. What is the message? What is the key to the parable? Did you “hear” it? Yes, the message is hearing. The message is when the word is spoken, taught, or preached, what is the condition of the heart, the mind?
Jesus said it plainly at the end of the parable: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” In Luke’s account, “he cried out.”
When Jesus answered the apostles’ question of why he spoke to the people in parables, his answer was, “…because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.”
At the conclusion of Mark’s account of the parable, Jesus said, “Take heed what you hear…” (4:24, ASV). “Consider carefully what you hear” (NIV). “Pay close attention to what you hear” (NLT).
In Luke’s account (8:18) “Take care then how you hear, for to the one who has, more will be given, and from the one who has not, even what he thinks that he has will be taken away.”
Did you also notice that when the seed is sown, everything depends on the condition of the ground? Ask yourself this question: On this day, did Jesus preach a good sermon or a bad sermon? If you said he preached a good sermon, you would be in the minority. The multitudes believed he preached a bad sermon. They walked away without any desire to understand or to know more about what Jesus taught. They were similar to “wayside ground, stoney ground, or thorny ground.”
Therefore, if you evaluated Jesus’ sermon as did the multitudes, why was the sermon bad? It was a bad sermon, because they were bad listeners! Nothing has changed. Sometimes sermons are bad because they do not reflect the message of the scriptures. But many times, sermons are bad because you or I have been bad listeners!
Poor Listeners Are Common in the Scriptures
The Bible is filled with people who complained about God’s word. There are repeated complaints about the preaching of God’s prophets and even NT teachers, with Jesus being at the top of the list. Isaiah addressed the problem repeatedly, even quoting the people mocking his teaching with the English equivalent of “blah, blah, blah, blah.” Isaiah 28:9-10 “To whom will he teach knowledge, and to whom will he explain the message? Those who are weaned from the milk, those taken from the breast? For it is precept upon precept, precept upon precept, line upon line, line upon line, here a little, there a little.”
The Corinthian teachers mocked Paul’s preaching, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing” (2 Corinthians 10:10).
Paul recognized that Timothy would have the same problem when he admonished him to continue teaching with patience regardless of whether it fit the desires of the people because the time was coming when they would “accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own desires, and would turn away from listening to the truth” (2 Timothy 4:2-4). To these people, what is a good sermon? It is a sermon that fits they desires.
Jesus said to the Jews, “Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word” (John 8:43).
The Present Day Application
There are and have been thousands of inept preachers, even in Bible days, and there are today. Many should not even be preaching because they don’t have the passion or desire for learning the scriptures. I had one preacher ask me, “How do you get excited about studying? I really have to force myself to get in the office and at work at it.” I fear there are way too many who preach who have that problem. It is evident in their lessons.
That being said, Jesus, the prophets, and the apostles exposed what none of us want to hear: we listeners are a bigger problem than the speaker! Jay Adams states, “In the scriptures, there is more instruction about listening than about preaching and teaching! Leave it to us sinners to reverse things, putting all of the stress on the latter at the expense of the former!”
Preaching is not like building a house, fixing a car, or the painting of a great artist. I imagine that every one of us has at some time thought of preaching as if it were a one-way street, as if the responsibility of the biblical message rests solely on the speaker and that you and I have nothing to do with it. But we know better! When Jesus taught the above parables, he clearly showed that teaching and communicating demands competence from both the listener and the teacher. And Jesus put the bulk of the blame on the listener.
The heart and ears of the listener can cause a great sermon to be mediocre and what is considered a bad sermon into a great sermon. The preacher must work with people who had a bad night’s sleep, are repeatedly interrupted by their children, are not interested in the message, misunderstand the text or what was said, and even become angry. Unlike clay, the listener plays an active role in the communication process.
Consider this, there are hundreds of courses taught and books written on improving preaching (I’ve written one of them), but where are the listeners’ courses or the books written that address the responsibility of the learner? Why is it that the preacher is constantly thinking and working on how to “wake up the listener” instead of the listener working on his or her responsibility to “not be dull of hearing?” In other words, if a preacher averages 15 hours to prepare and the deliver the lesson, how much time have we listeners put into preparing to hear the lesson that week?
Therefore, the lesson we all must learn is that there is a biblical balance that accepts that preaching/teaching alone is not the answer, and that preaching is seriously deficient without the desire, pursuit, and personal study of the listener!
Maybe you can admit this with me. I’ve heard hundreds of sermons in my life, many that I’ve even preached. Many sermons I’ve heard were fantastic. Others were mediocre at best, and some were horrible. But there were also many, many sermons I’ve heard that I have no right to judge, because I’m convinced I was the problem. I had not prepared to listen. I did not give grace to the speaker. My mental condition and interests were not where they should have been.
Illustration: I remember especially when I was 21 years old and I sat in an adult auditorium class on Isaiah. I thought the preacher did a terrible job. I didn’t understand his explanations. I got lost in the text we were studying. I didn’t see the relevance for my life. I was glad after a month I could go back into my “young adult class” where things were simpler. Now here is the rest of the story:
I came into the Isaiah class in the middle of the study. I wasn’t there when the study started at the beginning of the Summer.
I never prepared for the class. I had not ever read Isaiah, and though I had just come into a class on Isaiah, I still did not read the book nor did I even read the text that was about to be studied.
I had been convinced that the average person could not understand Isaiah unless such a person had a brilliant mind and had studied for at least 40 years. I knew I was a virtual dumb, dumb because I barely passed an English Literature class, and that only by the mercy of the teacher.
So, why didn’t I understand Isaiah? Well, it certainly wasn’t the preacher’s fault, and it certainly wasn’t God’s fault. It was my fault, and for years I put the blame elsewhere. Do you relate?
Jesus’ Answer to the Hearer
Let’s go back to Jesus’ words at the conclusion of the parable of the Sower: In Mark 4, the NLT gives the further explanation this way, “Then he added, ‘Pay close attention to what you hear. The closer you listen, the more understanding you will be given—and you will receive even more. To those who listen to my teaching, more understanding will be given. But for those who are not listening, even what little understanding they have will be taken away from them.”
Do you want God to give you a greater understanding of his word? Be a better listener and seeker of him and his word and he will give you more.
Matthew 7:7-11 “…how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Cf. Luke 11:13 “…how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
Do you think you have been at this study thing for years and you are not progressing? Maybe it is because you are not a diligent listener and seeker. Maybe, like me, you have convinced yourself that some things in the Bible are too hard to understand. And maybe you just have to admit to yourself, there are others things in your life that are of greater interest to you than God’s word.
Look at Matthew’s account and how Jesus answered the apostles’ question:
“Then the disciples came and said to him, ‘Why do you speak to them in parables?’ And he answered them, ‘To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.’”
Do you see what has happened in the above text? The multitudes and Jesus’ disciples heard the same message. The disciples heard, didn’t understand, and therefore desired more. The multitudes heard, didn’t understand, so they walked away!
Therefore, what they had been given “will be taken away from them!”
And catch that critical statement in verse 11: “to you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.” Losing the kingdom of heaven because you didn’t understand his words and therefore did not pursue an understanding, is a serious failure and no one’s fault but our own!
When Jesus opened the Sermon on the Mount with eight beatitudes, among them was, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst after righteousness.” The greatest teacher and preacher the world has ever known could not get the attention of those who did not hunger and thirst!
Conclusion: Isaiah 29 The context of this chapter is the coming destruction of Jerusalem about 100 years later. In verses 9-10, Isaiah compares the people to reasoning with a blind, drunk person so that the preaching of the prophets just puts them to sleep.
In verses 11-12, Isaiah says that their lack of interest can be compared to a person who is asked to read a scroll that is sealed. But they say, “I cannot, for it is sealed.” Then a person who cannot read is given the scroll and told to read it. But he says, “I cannot read.” I know I have been exactly like this in my early days, and it is a strong warning to all of us. God does not accept these excuses.
Berry Kercheville
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31 min