3. Thoughts In 2 Peter - Number Three - A Listening Discipline - 2 Peter 1:18 Series

3. THOUGHTS IN 2 PETER - NUMBER THREE - A LISTENING DISCIPLINE - 2 Peter 1:18

“Didn’t you hear what I said?” “Weren’t you listening!” “Pay attention!” - a favourite of teachers. We hear these expressions often around the home and at school, though not confined just to those places. The comments have nothing to do with faulty ears but more with comprehension and attention factors.

The worse things is when people say they are listening, but they do it with closed ears, or more to the truth, they do it with closed minds. They listen and want to give you the impression that they are listening and agree with you, but have no intention of complying. We will come back to this.

Peter shares an unforgettable experience with us and pens it this way:-

{{2 Peter 1:16-18 “For we did not follow cleverly devised tales when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but WE WERE EYEWITNESSES of His majesty. For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased” - and WE OURSELVES HEARD THIS UTTERANCE made from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.”}}

How majestic was that experience and how momentous to the ears and comprehension. Peter had heard the Lord say, {{Matthew 11:15 “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”}} This must also apply to us and is what I term, “A Listening Discipline.”

[A]. AN EAR AND EYE PROBLEM

The Old Testament prophets have a lot to say about intransient Israel and their continual refusal to obey the LORD and continue in His care. Their history is one of rebellion and constant sinfulness. The eyes and the ears were often referred to as being aware, with no tangible results. Here are some Old Testament passages from Isaiah and Jeremiah:-

(a). EARS THAT ARE SET IN CONCRETE. Isaiah is writing what the LORD gave him to write. This Isaiah passage was quoted by Jesus in Matthew 13:15. God knew the hearts of the people who shut their ears and eyes to God’s messages and pleading even though they were told to keep listening -

{{Isaiah 6:9-10 He said, “Go, and tell this people: ‘KEEP ON LISTENING but do not perceive; keep on looking but do not understand.’ Render the hearts of this people insensitive for THEIR EARS ARE DULL and their eyes dim, lest they see with their eyes, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, understand with their hearts, and return and be healed.”}}

(b). OPEN EARS THAT LEAD TO NOWHERE. So much evidence of God and His displeasure against sin was evident to the people but they could not comprehend any of it. They were unable to discern rightly the hand of God. The message entered the ears and then died. It went nowhere. {{Isaiah 42:20 “You have seen many things but you do not observe them. YOUR EARS ARE OPEN, BUT NONE HEARS.”}}

(c). A STUBBORN AND REBELLIOUS HEART RESULTS IN DEAF EARS. Jeremiah calls the people senseless because they refuse their God, and it is no different today where men and women absolutely refuse to listen to “any religious stuff” but scorn any attempt to talk about God. {{Jeremiah 5:21-23 ‘Hear this, O foolish and senseless people who have eyes, but do not see; WHO HAVE EARS, BUT DO NOT HEAR. Do you not fear Me?’ declares the LORD. ‘Do you not tremble in My presence? I have placed the sand as a boundary for the sea, an eternal decree, so it cannot cross over it. Though the waves toss, yet they cannot prevail; though they roar, yet they cannot cross over it, but this people has a stubborn and rebellious heart. They have turned aside and departed.”}}

(d) THE CONDITION OF MAN’S HEART AND SPIRIT IS SEEN THROUGH THE ACTION OF THE EARS. Warnings of God’s impending judgement are rejected. They have shut up their ears so they can not hear. It is even worse than just refusing to listen. They considered God’s word a reproach. They stuffed up their ears. {{Jeremiah 6:10 “To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Behold, THEIR EARS ARE CLOSED, AND THEY CANNOT LISTEN. Behold, the word of the LORD has become A REPROACH to them. They have no delight in it.”}}

Point (d) above is as bad as this episode shows – {{Acts 7:57 “but they cried out with a loud voice, and COVERED THEIR EARS, and they rushed upon him with one impulse,”}}

{{For when He received honor and glory from God the Father, such an utterance as this was made to Him by the Majestic Glory, “This is My beloved Son with whom I am well-pleased” –“}}