What Will You Do With Jesus? Listen To Him! Series

WHAT WILL YOU DO WITH JESUS?

“Listen to Him!” Romans 10:13-17

Focus: Hearing the good news of Jesus demands a response.. will it be to listen to him?

Function: To call hearers to make a decision to listen to what Jesus has to say for their lives.

What a beautiful text: Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved! We’ve looked quite a lot at the NAME of the Lord over the last several weeks. By taking a look at the different names that the Bible uses to describe Jesus, I hope that we’ve gotten a better feel for who he was, who he is and what he has done for us.

But, just knowing about this name is not enough! There is more to knowing Jesus than knowing about Jesus! Think about it for just a minute: Is it possible to be near to Jesus physically and yet be far from him spiritually? Of course! We’ll see in our look at Judas Iscariot tonight that here’s a man who lived right with him for more than two years, and yet never really knew him. Just being in church doesn’t make one a Christian anymore than being in a hen house makes you a chicken! I hope that our look at Jesus over the last two months has given you a fuller view of who Jesus is… but I want you to hear this morning that simply knowing more about him isn’t enough… we are expected to DO something about that knowledge!

This morning I want to introduce to you a new series: “What Will You Do with Jesus?” This series is about ACTION! It says, “You’ve heard about…Now, what are you going to DO about him?” Some of you have heard about him since you were a small child; parents, grandparents, Bible school teachers who lovingly passed along the message of Jesus to you. Others of you have come to be introduced to him rather recently. Some of you made a decision to DO something about him at a young age. Others of you have heard the story for many years as well, but have never made a decision to DO anything about it- I know b/c I’ve talked with some of you about it. All of us are called upon to make a decision… we are called to ACTION… but that’s getting ahead of myself. Let’s look back at the text:

Romans 10:13-17

13 for, "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." 14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!" 16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, "Lord, who has believed our message?" 17 Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word of Christ. NIV

My question to you is this: Will you HEAR the message, this morning? Will you LISTEN to HIM!

We usually think of hearing as a Passive thing, but anyone who has been married knows that it is ACTIVE!

My wife gives me a hard time about this all the time. The truth is: there are certain men who are simply gifted at being able to ‘hear’ without ‘listening.’

She’ll be talking to me about something important (usually while I’m doing something important like driving or listening to the radio or watching t.v.) and then she’ll pause and say, “Are you listening to me?” To which I can always reply with a “sure” and spout back the last sentence she just said… Of course, I had no idea what she had been talking about, but I had at least heard it! This is NOT what the Bible is talking about here! I went back to some of our books on Marriage (that people gave us when we got married) to look again at some practical advice on ACTIVE LISTENING… I knew where to look b/c Celeste had highlighted all of the stuff she wanted me to notice! What’s the difference b/w ‘Hearing’ & ‘Active Listening’?

I Found Five Principles—(you might want to write these down, men) Focus attention on the partner; maintain eye contact and don’t interrupt or finish your partner’s sentences for her. I’ve noticed myself doing this from time to time. Celeste and I have been married for long enough now that I know her pretty well and can almost finish my sentences for her. But that destroys good communication! Listen not only to what is said verbally, but non-verbally as well; How a thing is said sometimes tells you more that what is actually said. Give Feedback; be responsive letting your partner know that you are hearing what he/she is saying. You can say something like, “So what I hear you saying is…” Good Communication requires TIME to be devoted to it; that means that you sometimes have to take the time, or make time! Finally, it shows RESPECT to your spouse. Doesn’t she deserve it? That’s my FREE marriage counseling for you this morning (remember, you get what you pay for!) If you ever have a real need for marriage counseling, you’ll want to see Mike.