M1076 – STEPS OF VICTORY: LISTEN
7 Jan 2024
INTRO:
How can believers have a victorious year with God?
What is the ultimate key to win the spiritual battle in our daily life?
How could the body of Christ overcome any challenge in this end time?
Are you looking forward for a better and strong year with God?
Are you looking forward for a victorious year for your spiritual journey?
Are you looking forward to receive more from God?
LUKE 8
18 Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever has, to him more will be given; and whoever does not have, even what he seems to have will be taken from him.”
Indeed, God taught His people so seriously in this area! TAKE HEED HOW YOU HEAR. The attitude of believers in hearing the voice of God will build the steps of victory OR the pit of defeat.
As we commence this new year of 2024, let us together also take heed how we hear. If someone did not hear the truth carefully, they would become weak, and the devil is always ready to twist it!
NIV: consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they think they have will be taken from them.
ITB: Karena itu, perhatikanlah cara kamu mendengar. Karena siapa yang mempunyai, kepadanya akan diberi, tetapi siapa yang tidak mempunyai, dari padanya akan diambil, juga apa yang ia anggap ada padanya.
GOD: ”for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” Gen.2:17
EVE: God has said, ‘You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.’ Gen.3:3
SERPENT: You will not surely die. Gen.3:4
The first sin happened because Adam and Eve did not hear seriously toward God’s message!
We must take heed how we hear because it may decrease the level of focus that God really want to say.
Unfortunately, Eve removed the strong and important highlight. The devil knows better than Eve so that he enticed Eve with the opposite highlight!
We knew the story how then God took what already given to them: Eden!
Illustration: game of Chinese whisper
KEJADIAN 2:17 sebab pada hari engkau memakannya, pastilah engkau mati.
KEJADIAN 3:3 Allah berfirman: Jangan kamu makan ataupun raba buah itu, nanti kamu mati.
KEJADIAN 3:4 Tetapi ular itu berkata kepada perempuan itu: “Sekali-kali kamu tidak akan mati.”
Illust: From CEO to Project Engineer!
On schedule behind schedule
On budget over budget
Meeting quality low quality
There was a very interesting story about a victory and a loss that goes back-to-back in the Bible. Both of those were about listening!
Joshua and Israelites defeated the Jericho and brought her wall down, not because they were so mighty in the war! Instead, God is the mighty one and Joshua just obeyed to what God had commanded to him. Here we can see again that God will give more to those who hear carefully and faithfully.
But then the next chapter went awfully as the Israelites was defeated by much smaller city called Ai!
Achan did not listen!
The commandment was written in Joshua 6:18-19
18 And you, by all means abstain from the accursed things, lest you become accursed when you take of the accursed things, and make the camp of Israel a curse, and trouble it.
19 But all the silver and gold, and vessels of bronze and iron, are [b]consecrated to the Lord; they [c]shall come into the treasury of the Lord.”
JOSHUA 7
19 Now Joshua said to Achan, “My son, I beg you, give glory to the Lord God of Israel, and make confession to Him, and tell me now what you have done; do not hide it from me.”
20 And Achan answered Joshua and said, “Indeed I have sinned against the Lord God of Israel, and this is what I have done:
21 When I saw among the spoils a beautiful Babylonian garment, two hundred shekels of silver, and a wedge of gold weighing fifty shekels, I coveted them and took them. And there they are, hidden in the earth in the midst of my tent, with the silver under it.”
22 So Joshua sent messengers, and they ran to the tent; and there it was, hidden in his tent, with the silver under it. 23 And they took them from the midst of the tent, brought them to Joshua and to all the children of Israel, and laid them out before the Lord.
Listen intentionally!
The same message repeated 7 times!
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.
To him who overcomes I will …
REV 2:7 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give to eat from the tree of life, which is in the midst of the Paradise of God.” ’
REV 2:11 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes shall not be hurt by the second death.” ’
REV 2:17 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes I will give some of the hidden manna to eat. And I will give him a white stone, and on the stone a new name written which no one knows except him who receives it.” ’
REV 2:26, 29 And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations—
29 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’
REV 3:5-6
5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.
6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’
REV 3:12-13
12 He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.
13 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’
REV 3:21-22
21 To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.
22 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ ”
HEARING CHECK
or
LISTENING CHECK
What the medical can check is as far as the hearing ability, but not the listening check.
Because listening is way more complicated and profound than hearing.
MATTHEW 13:15
15 For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, so that I should heal them.’
It all starts from heart!
PROVERBS 4:23 Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it spring the issues of life.
KJV: waxed gross
pachunō
Thayer Definition:
1) to make thick, to make fat, fatten
2) metaphorically to make stupid (to render the soul dull or callous)
Illust: I want you (Jesus) to heal my husband’s selective hearing 🙂
LUKE 16
27 “Then he said, ‘I beg you therefore, father, that you would send him to my father’s house,
28 for I have five brothers, that he may testify to them, lest they also come to this place of torment.’
29 Abraham said to him, ‘They have Moses and the prophets;
let them hear them.’
30 And he said, ‘No, father Abraham; but if one goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
31 But he said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded though one rise from the dead.’ ”
The dull heart will never listen, even though the angels come to them!
JAMES 1
21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
The WORD must be implanted in our heart!
ISAIAH 50
4 “The Lord God has given Me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak; A word in season to him who is weary. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as the learned. 5 The Lord God has opened My ear; And I was not rebellious, nor did I turn away.
Listen every morning!
Not only when we want to listen!
STEPS of VICTORY
Take heed how you hear – listen carefully
Listen & win – listen intentionally
Listen every morning – listen faithfully
SONGS:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus
Look full, in His wonderful face
And the things of earth
will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace