Learning To Listen Series

From The Problem to the Solution

#4 - LEARNING TO LISTEN

This morning, we are continuing our series of messages where we’re talking about going "From the Problem To The Solution"

And we’ve been talking about the steps that it takes to get from the problem to the solution

And so far, we’ve discovered the sources of all of life’s problems

And we’ve told you that in order to get from the problem to the solution, you must…

--1. Acknowledge the Problem

--2. Make a Decision

--3. Find Your Evidence

And to compliment these messages, on Sunday nights, we’ve talked about…

--Thank God for Romans 8:28

--Faithing It

--Above and Beyond

--Salvation – The Main Thing

And so this morning, we come to the 4th step in going from the problem to the solution and that is LEARNING TO LISTEN

Have you ever thought that there might be a reason that God gave us TWO EARS and ONE MOUTH?

Indeed, there is – and if we’re going to go from the problem to the solution, not only must we…

--acknowledge the problem

--make a decision

--find our evidence

But we must also LEARN TO LISTEN

Let’s read…

•Proverbs 1:5 (KJV) "A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:"

•Proverbs 4:10 (KJV) "Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many."

INTRODUCTION

The wisest man who ever lived, in our texts this morning, gives us beautifully and wonderfully and simply the secret to all of life’s wisdom – and it’s found in these words…

A WISE MAN WILL HEAR

In other words, in order to avoid…

--sin

--set backs

--disappointments

--problems

We need to "LISTEN UP" to what God is saying in our lives

Don’t you just hate it when you do something wrong and your…

--wife

--parents

--coworkers

Say I TOLD YOU SO!!!

Well, to be honest with you, when we look at all of life’s problem, GOD HAS ALREADY TOLD US SO

He’s already told us…

--how to avoid them

--how to recover from them

--how to go from the problem to the solution

And one of the ways is to make sure that we are hearing what God is speaking to our lives

Understand, that God wants to…

--personally

--powerfully

--pertinently

--prophetically

Speak into your heart and life

C. S. Lewis, the very popular Christian thinker and writer, some years ago said, "We should not listen to those people who say that God does not communicate with His creation. It is just not right to exclude the idea that God, who made us, will not talk with us. We cannot believe those who say that God does not reveal Himself because you cannot, by any stretch of the imagination, believe that reason can evolve from unreason or that by chance God’s Word says, ’Come, let us reason together.’"

The question is not if God is longing to speak, the question is are we learning to listen

And so, this morning, I want to talk to you basically about 2 things

Let’s first of all talk about…

1. HEARING PROBLEMS

Because if we’ll all be honest, we can all say that we’ve got in some form or measure or sort HEARING PROBLEM

You see, we’ve got to realize that there is a solution to the problem

You’re not the only one that’s gone through this problem

There’s nothing new under the sun

There is a way out, there is a solution

And quite often the solution presents itself when we deal with our hearing problems

Now, what are some hearing problems we all have…

A. SELECTIVE HEARING

We all know what selective hearing is!

We hear what we want to hear, and act like we haven’t heard what we should have heard!

It’s like people who say "I hear you when it comes to heaven" but, when I talk about TITHING that’s another story

You have to ask the teenager 7.3 times to take out the trash, but let the phone ring and thy may be outside in the barn and they’ll run in a get it!

Not only is there "selective" hearing, but there is…

B. UNFOCUSED HEARING

This is where we listen to someone but we’re not really focused on what they are saying and we’re not hearing them

We are all familiar with the scene of a husband reading the newspaper while his wife is trying to talk

His response is "Yes, dear. Uhuh. Mmmm. Is that so?"

But we all know he’s not really listening

Suddenly she pulls down the paper and says, "Have you heard a word I’ve said?”

•Two men were talking one day. One of them said, "My wife talks to herself a lot." His friend answered, "Mine does, too, but she doesn’t know it. She thinks I’m listening."