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| Take heed, therefore, how ye hear. It has both great, and grievous consequences. |
Brother Hin Cheong led the saints in our first worship service; he read and exhorted us from Mt 13:10-17. (I took down these notes)
Take heed, therefore, how ye hear;
it has both great, and grievous consequences. Read on.
Matthew 13
10 ¶ And the disciples came, and said unto him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
11 ¶ He answered and said unto them, Because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it is not given.
12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath.
13 Therefore speak I to them in parables: because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they understand.
14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
15 For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
16 But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
17 For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard them.
This is addressed to God's children.
We are directed to consider three sobering truths drawn out from the passage:
1. A sublime gift has been given you
- "because it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven." How much do you think of this gift?
- we have been uniquely and exceedingly blessed by the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ; we have been justified, regenerated, and adopted as children of the living God; we are given the gift of the Spirit of adoption; we have been renewed and enabled to perceive the sublime mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, the glorious gospel of our blessed Lord Jesus Christ.
- What incredible blessings have been bestowed upon us, all freely by His grace!
- What do we do this heavenly privilege, given the spiritual ability to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven?
- Will you take advantage of it unto His glory, or will it be squandered unto our own poverty and ruin?
2. An incredible incentive to utilize the gift
- "For whosoever hath, to him shall be given, and he shall have more abundance."
- Whosoever has the desire to utilize the spiritual gift to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- This ability to perceive spiritual things will be blessed to understand more and greater spiritual truths.
- Of such is said, "But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear."
- They shall be established and grounded in their most holy faith; they shall have great hope and assurance, and confidence; they shall not be tossed to and fro by every wind of falsehood; they shall be made teachers, to lead others unto the truth.
- Let us be found as faithful stewards of this incredible gift for the glory of God and for our own well being and usefulness in His kingdom. Don't neglect it like the wicked servants did.
3. A solemn warning against neglecting the gift
- "but whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken away even that he hath." Do you shudder at these words?
- What is it that he has not, and what is it that he has that shall be taken away?
- He has the gift but acted likes the wicked servant; he buried that gift, he does not have the faithfulness in using that gift to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
- He is slothful and negligent in hearing; he hears but is forgetful; he is hearing but not is a doer of the word. These are some symptoms of this evil among God's children.
- Consequences: "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." Shudder at these words! It is worst than being inflicted with cancer!
- These will be among them that are "ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."
Take heed how ye hear!
(THANK YOU, Brother Hin Cheong)
