What We Hear

What We HEAR

“Then Simon Peter having a sword drew it, and smote the high priest’s servant,

and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus” (John 18:10).

Intro: I want to talk to you today about What We HEAR.

What are some of the favorite sounds that you like to hear?

Maybe it is the sound of a loved one stirring in the house, making an early morning pot of coffee…

Or the sound of someone making a late night snack.

The comfort of knowing someone is in the house with you…,

The noise of family, friends, companions…, is something that we all look forward to hearing…

Maybe it is the sound of birds singing…

Their chirping is a melody of praise to God the creator…,

Or maybe it is the sound of silence…

The old proverb silence is golden…

Or I think of the translation: It is better to be silent and be thought a fool…, than open my mouth and prove it…

The sound of laughter,

the sounds of music,

The sound of silence…, all have their value and place in life.

I. God’s Word demands a response…, a result…, an obedience…, an action…,

James chapter 1:22 says, “be doers of the word and not hearers only.”

It is important to listen to what God’s Word says…, but it is much more important to obey and live it…,

To do what it says…,

Do you put into actions what you read in your study time?

Do you put into action what you hear in the songs we sing?

And the sermons that are preached?

There is a story the bible about an ear…,

It takes place in the Garden of Gethsemane..

At the foot of the Mount of Olives…, is the most famous garden in Jerusalem.

The Garden of Gethsemane.

After eating the Passover meal with His Disciples…,

Jesus led them out into the Garden of Gethsemane.

He then left most of the Disciples…, at the edge of the Garden…,

and he took Peter…, James…, and John…, a little farther into the darkness,

where He then left them…,

as He, Himself…, went alone…,even deeper…, into the garden…, to pray.

Luke 22:44 teaches us that he prayed earnestly…, fervently…, more intently…, with grave seriousness…

so intense was his prayer…, that his sweat…, was as if great drops of blood…, were falling down to the ground

It is important for us to understand why this was such a solemn and serious moment…

For it was at this very moment…, that God began to lay the iniquity…, the sins of us all…, on Jesus…

Isaiah 53:6 says…, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned…, every one…, to his own way;

and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Think about / Circle the words “the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all”

Christ went to the cross and ultimately suffered death…, because of our sin…,

Christ took our faults…, our mistakes…, our griefs…, sorrows.

Upon the cross…, He was wounded for our transgressions, our iniquities, our guilt, and our sin.

Not His own.

For he had no sin of his own.

The Lord Jesus was the sinless…, spotless…, guiltless…,

Holy…, pure…, and good…,

The innocent Lamb of God who was sacrificed to take away the sin of the world.

There would be no forgiveness…,

There would be no salvation…,

Had Jesus not gone to the cross…

For we would still be carrying our sin…, and our guilt

If they had not been put on Jesus…

Yet it is in the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus may well have faced His greatest struggle in life.

Do I submit to the will of God, my Heavenly Father,

or do I do my own thing?

Or do I take the easy way out?

We know that Jesus prayed, “Father let this cup pass from me, nevertheless not my will, but thy will be done.”

Jesus’ normal human nature said, “Please don’t let me go through this…, suffering on the cross.

I can’t do it.

But He was submissive to His Father’s will. ‘Nevertheless, not my will, but thy will be done.’”

The greatest thing that any of us can do in life is to say, “God, not what I want, but what you want.”

Not my will…, but thy will be done.

It’s somewhat easy to say those words, but it is sometime hard to do.

It’s hard to yeild or surrender.

There was once a preacher from a large city church…,

called to deliver a sermon in a small southern church.

As he began his message, a visitor who came to hear the guest preacher…,

got caught up in the sermon and said “Amen” a few times.

The city preacher was not accustomed to hearing any “amens,”