WHAT CAN I GIVE TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?
By Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
*CAN YOU HEAR ME: WE DO NOT HEAR OR SEE THINGS AS THEY ARE …. WE HEAR AND SEE THINGS AS WE ARE!
What is the best gift you could give in the holidays? To your family? To your church?
Romans 11:8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.
Romans 11:8 (NLT2) As the Scriptures say, “God has put them into a deep sleep. To this day he has shut their eyes so they do not see, and closed their ears so they do not hear.”
*SOME: part, not all, INDEFINITE, part, portion,
*COMPASSION: concern for the sufferings of others, pity, motivated to action,
*DIFFERENCE: to cause a change, significant effect on others, offer strengthens,
Jude 1:22 And of some have compassion, making a difference:
WHAT DEMONSTRATES COMPASSION AND LOVE THE BEST?
Matthew 11:15 He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Matthew 11:15 (NLT2) Anyone with ears to hear should listen and understand!
• I have found KISS 23 times in the Bible.
• I found HOLDING HANDS 12 times in the Bible. Holding hands and kissing is mention 35 times in the Bible.
• LISTEN is in the Bible 353 times in the Bible.
• HEAR is mentioned 382 times in the Bible.
• LISTENING is mentioned 19 times.
• Listen, hear, listening === 353 +382 + 19 = 754 x’s hear, listen, listening.
• GOD’S WORD SEEMS TO PUT A GREATER PRIORITY ON TO HEAR AND LISTEN IS MENTION 33xs than KISS and HUG.
• SEEMS WE CAN TRAIN ANIMALS, DOGS, CATS, AND ELEPHANTS. SEEMS WE CAN TRAIN OUR BOWELS AND KIDNEYS… BUT WE CAN’T TRAIN OUR TONGUES AND OUR EARS TO HEAR…?
IF YOU REALLY LOVE JESUS YOU WILL SHOW HIM BY SHEMA… TOO LOVE JESUS YOU WILL LISTEN AND OBEY HIS WORDS.
People have this great ability to plug up their ears and completely shut off their ears and eyes. 7 times JEJSUS SAYS: HE WHO HAS EARS LET HIM HEAR.
Jeremiah 5:21 Hear now this, O foolish people, and without understanding; which have eyes, and see not; which have ears, and hear not:
Matthew 13:15 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.
DO WE LISTEN WITH OUR EARS OR OUR HEARTS?
James 1:19 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath:
FEW LEARN THE POWER OF THE SPOKEN WORD… POWER IN HEARING AND SPEAKING WORDS. GOD TEACHES US THERE IIS POWER IN LISTENING AND SPEAKING WORDS.
Genesis 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
DO WE KNOW LISTENING AND SPEAKING ARE BOTH RESIDENT IN ONE TONGUE.
Proverbs 18:21 Death and life are in the power of the tongue: and they that love it shall eat the fruit thereof.
SELECTIVE HEARING: WE FALL IN THE HABIT OF HEARING WHAT WE WANT TO… WE NEED TO HEAR THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH AND NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH...
MAYBE DON’T SIT IN THE WINDOW? HOW DO WE LISTEN? CAN WE LISTEN AND NOT HEAR? CAN WE BLAME THE PREACHER FOR SLEEPING SAINTS? LET ME DISCUSS ON OF THE GREATESTS ORATORS AMD PREACHERS OF ALL TIMES… SAUL LATER CALLED PAUL.
There was a young man at church one night, his name was EUTYYCHUS. Eutuchus are you listening. There were upstairs. Paul was very long winded. All the candles were burning maybe the oxygen levels were low? Maybe Eutychus was not paying attention to Paul? EUTYCHUS was sitting in the 3rd story window…
Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight. 8 And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together. 9 And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
Eutychus learned to listen and pay attention. Paul would never be this way again. There would have been a CODE BLUE…
HOW WELL DO I LISTEN? Are we slow to hear? Are we quick to speak? Are we quick to GET ANGRY? What can I do to be a BETTER LISTENER? Do I make my ears stay focused? DO I HALF LISTEN? How about listening with both ears? DO WE LISTEN WHILE RUNNING OUR MOUTHS? REAL LOVE ALWAYS LISTENS.
GOOD LISTENING MIGHT BE AS IMPORTANT OR MORE IMPORTANT THAN JUST SPEAKING. Real healthy families listen to each other even if it is painful. We must learn to listen with more than our ears. We must be patient and listen with our HEART.
SHEMA IS MORE THAN MERELY HEARING… SHEMA MEANS TO LISTEN INTENTLY. WE MUST NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF WORDS AND LISTENING.
Proverbs 18:13 He that answereth a matter before he heareth it, it is folly and shame unto him.
When we listen we will not live in chaos… we will have deep understanding.
M.L.KING said: If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl.
BUT WHATEVER YOU DO YOU HAVE TO KEEP MOVING FORWARD.
CONCLUSION:
THE FIRST DUTY OF LOVE IS TO LISTEN.
KNOWLEDGE SPEAKS, WISDOM LISTEN. GREAT PEOPLE LISTEN!
THE GREATEST GIFT YOU CAN GIVE OTHERS IS TO BE A GOOD LISTENER.
SPEAKIING MIGHT BE SILVER, LISTENING IS GOLD.
ABOUT 65%OF COMMUNICATION SKILLS IS NON-VERBAL, BODY LANGUAGE.
KEEP EYE CONTACT 60% OF THE TIME.
Listen without judging or jumping conclusions. Learn to love to listen.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
His servant, Wade Martin Hughes, Sr. Kyfingers@aol.com (YouTube: Wade Hughes)
