Listen
To Me
Steve W. Reeves
INTRODUCTION:
A. An
older couple was having difficulty communicating. The man was convinced that
his wife was becoming hard of hearing so he
decided to try an experiment. One
evening as she was standing across the room
with her back turned he asked, “Can
you hear me?” There was no reply. He moved
closer and said, “Can you hear me
now?” Again, he heard no reply. He moved
closer. “Can you hear me?” he said.
Finally he edged up right behind her and
said in a loud voice, “Do you hear me?”
Quickly she snapped, “For the fourth time,
yes!”
B. Do
you ever have trouble hearing God?
1. The Jews of the first century had not
heard from God in approximately 400 years
when the concluding book of the Old
Testament (Malachi) was written.
2. Their lives had been filled with
political and social unrest. The Persian Empire had
given way to Greece and finally to Rome.
Their culture was changing. Their religion
had suffered from division and the heavy
burdens of human traditions (Matthew
15:7-9).
3. When Jesus came He said:
a “Come to me” (Matthew 11:28).
b. “Follow me.” (Matthew 4:19).
c. “Learn from me” (Matthew 5:1-2).
C. As
the Sermon on the Mount progressed according to Matthew 5 Jesus repeatedly
used the phrase, “I say to you.” This is
found nine times from verses 17-48.
1. Vs. 18 – “I say to you, until heaven and
earth pass away, not the smallest letter or
stroke shall pass from the Law until all
is accomplished.”
2. Vs. 20 - “I say to you that unless your
righteousness surpasses
that of the scribes and Pharisees, you
will not enter the kingdom of heaven.”
3. Vs. 22 – “But I say to you that everyone
who is angry with his brother
shall be guilty before the court; and
whoever says to his brother, ‘You good-for-
nothing,’ shall be guilty before the
supreme court; and whoever says, ‘You fool,’
shall be guilty enough to go into the
fiery hell.”
4. Vs. 26 – “Truly I say to you, you will
not come out of
there until you have paid up the last
cent.
5 Vs. 28 - You have heard that it was said,
‘You shall not commit
adultery’; but I say to you that
everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her
has already committed adultery with her
in his heart.”
6. Vs. 32 – “But I say to you that everyone
who divorces his wife, except
for the reason of unchastity, makes her
commit adultery; and whoever marries a
divorced woman commits adultery.”
7. Vs. 34 – “But I say to you, make no oath
at all, either by heaven, for
it is the throne of God, or by the earth, for it is the footstool of
His feet, or by
Jerusalem, for it is the city of the
great King. Nor shall you make an oath by your
head, for you cannot make one hair white
or black. But let your statement be,
‘Yes,
yes’ or ‘No, no’; anything beyond these is of evil.”
8. Vs. 39 – “But I say to you, do not
resist an evil person; but
whoever slaps you on your right cheek,
turn the other to him also. If anyone
wants to sue you and take your shirt,
let him have your coat also. Whoever
forces you to go one mile, go with him
two.”
9. Vs. 44 - “But I say to you, love your
enemies and pray for
those who persecute you, so that you may
be sons of your Father who is in
heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on
the evil and the good, and sends rain
on the righteous and the unrighteous.”:
D.
These words of Jesus are timeless. They transcend the boundaries of time and
culture with a message that is relevant for
us today. How can we be sure to hear the
voice of Jesus in our lives?
I. WE MUST BE READY
A. It can be extremely difficult to hear
Jesus above the noise of our busy lives.
1. We live with such crowded schedules
and full agendas.
2. Stress is a huge factor in our lives.
One survey estimates that more than 80$ of
Americans suffer from “Chronic
Stress Syndrome” at some point in life. Another
survey says that up to 75% of visits
to Primary Care physicians are stress
related.
B. The challenge we face is described by
David in Psalm 46:10. “Be still and know
that I am God.”
1. The instruction of God is seldom
accompanied by fanfare.
2. Elijah fled to Mount Horeb to escape
Jezebel’s wicked wrath (1 Kings 19). As he
waited on a word from the Lord there
was a tremendous wind, an earthquake
and a ravaging fire. God was in none
of those things. Suddenly, an a soft, still
voice God reassured Elijah that
there were 7000 men in Israel who had not
bowed their knew to Baal. Elijah had
to be still to hear those reassuring words.
C. Hebrews 1:1-2 says, “God, after He spoke
long ago to the fathers in the prophets
in many portions and in many ways, 2
in these last days has spoken to us in His
Son, whom He appointed heir of all
things, through whom also He made the world.”
1. Jesus says, “Listen to me.”
2. The question is not, “Does God speak?
It is, “Are we ready to receive what Jesus
says?”
II. WE MUST RECEIVE THE MESSAGE
A. In the early 1950’s my parents bought
their first television. My dad was in his
thirties at the time. He told me how it
occurred to him all of the pictures and sounds
were being transmitted through the air
but they did him no good unless he had a
receiver. When I was a boy there was no
cable or satellite TV. We had an antenna
mounted on the roof of our house.
Occasionally the picture on the TV would
become blurry and my dad would climb up
on the roof to adjust the antenna so
proper reception could occur.
B. In John 1:11-13 the Bible says, “He came
to His own, and those who were His own
did not receive Him. 12 But
as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to
become children of God, even to
those who believe in His name, 13 who were born,
not of blood nor of the will of the
flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
1. Notice the two groups of people described
in these verses.
2. Those who did not receive Him (vs.
11) and those who did receive Him who are
given the right to become children
of God (vs. 12).
C. When Jesus says, “Listen to me,” He
invites every man and woman to be His
disciple. We have a decision to make.
1. Some choose to reject Christ.
a. The rich young ruler in Matthew
19.
b. Felix in Acts 24.
c. Agrippa in Acts 26.
2. Thankfully, many hear Jesus and receive
Him through obedient faith.
D. Jennifer Johnson was driving through a
large city when she became lost in a run
down, dangerous warehouse district late at
night. Suddenly she ran out of gas. She
had no cell phone and was terrified of her surroundings.
She decided it would be best
to lock the doors and stay in the car until
a policeman came along. As she waited her
worst fear was soon realized. A large,
rough looking man appeared and began
beating on her window. She screamed, blew
he horn and turned on her lights to get
attending. The man finally left. Suddenly
he appeared again with a crowbar. She
began screaming again. He broke the rear
door glass, reached in and unlocked the
door, opened the door and grabbed her. He
jerked her out of the car ran with her a
few steps and threw her to the ground.
Suddenly the ground began to shake, there
was a blaring noise and a bright light.
Jennifer did not realize it but her car had stalled
across a railroad track. The man she had
been resisting so forcefully had come to
save her life. Jesus died so you might
live. He came to save your soul. Will you
receive Him?
III. WE MUST RESPOND TO THE MESSAGE
A. Look at the end of the Sermon on the
Mount. In Matthew 7:28-29, “When Jesus
had finished these words, the crowds
were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was
teaching them as one having authority,
and not as their scribes.”
1. It was obvious to these people that
Jesus was genuine.
2. Jesus said, “Listen to me.” What He
said demanded a response.
B. In Willie Cato’s biography of Marshal
Keeble he tells about the evangelist in his
later years being asked to speak to a
large gathering of people in the Nashville
Civic Auditorium. Before he spoke one of
the organizers of the event said, “Brother
Keeble, just close your message with
prayer. We are not going to offer the
invitation.” Catp wrote that Brother
Keeble honored that request but when he got in
the car to go home there were tears in
his eyes. He prayed, “Father, forgive me for
not giving people an opportunity to
respond to the Gospel.”
1. Each of us responds to the Gospel in
some way. Jimmy Allen used to say that
preaching should make people “glad,
sad or mad.”
2. Even if you choose to stay where you
are and make no changes in your life you
have still responded.
CONCLUSION:
A. A familiar
song says, “I heard the voice of Jesus say, Come unto me and rest. Lay
down, O weary one, lay down your head upon
my breast.” I came to Jesus as I was,
so weary, worn, and sad; I found him in a
resting place, and he has made me glad.”
B.
Jesus speaks to your heart today. Are you listening? We invite you to come to
Him
right now!
