Have You Heard The One About....The People With A Hearing Problem? - Haddon W. Robinson

2:28 about 20 years, so it's not that much. Strange feeling coming back to the campus. It's changed. But what it does is reminds me of the days that Bonnie and I were here. We came two weeks after we were married. Not a good way to start a relationship. But while we were here, the major thing that happened is we got to know and love people. You can go to college and come away with a little more than a memory. Go to seminary, you come away with an association with some grand-souled men and women of God. Mike Sandsvik, pastor for a long time in Orange, California.

3:29 Stan Tussain, who's still here. Dean and Mary Nail, pastors up in Pennsylvania for a while. And then we came back on the faculty, and it's a grand group. There were a few of us who would go out to lunch every day. Bruce Waltke, who was here for a number of years. Stan Toussaint. Harold Hohen. Zane Hodges. It was probably the richest, deepest fellowship that I've ever known. Many of them have already entered the kingdom. Some of the rest of us are just packing our bags. We're ready to go.

4:23 But those are rewarding memories. I've been teaching preaching now for over 50 years. That's a long time. I taught preaching here at Dallas and then at Denver and then at Gordon-Conwell. And sometimes people ask me what I have learned about teaching in the 50 years. And the honest truth is I'm not sure I've learned anything. I mean, some basic things you should know I don't know. For example, how do people learn? In my classes, there are students who do very well. And my explanation for that is the bright ones get it.

5:17 Except, many of the students who do well in my class don't do that well in other courses. And there are other people who ace the other courses who stumble a bit in mine. How do you explain that? Here's a group of people who listen to the same lectures, read the same books, go through the same exercises. Some of them get it, some of them don't. I've often wished that when I started 50 or more years ago here at Dallas, that I had a mentor. I mean, somebody who could stand beside me, show me the way. But I didn't. I had to muddle along on my own. And then I thought, wouldn't it have been wonderful if I could have been there when Jesus was here?

6:14 I mean, he's the master teacher. If I could only have been there and watched him, I would be home free. Only difficulty with that is when I read the text of scripture, I'm not sure he had the hang of it either. For example, in Luke chapter 8, Jesus is at the top of his form. People are coming to hear him from as far south as Jerusalem. west as the Mediterranean. On this day the throngs were so great that Mark says Jesus had to commandeer a boat up at the Lake of Galilee. The crowd stood on the shore and he taught them. As he began his sermon he looked over at the in a distance and he saw a farmer didn't come to services that day. He was out scattering seed on the ground and Jesus said look look look look you see that man he's scattering seed he's propagating he throws it everywhere some of the seed goes on hard ground on the path that crosses the field but the seed bounces up and the birds swoop down and take it away and notice some more of seed falls on shallow ground, there are layers of rock in Israel. If the Israelis could export rock they'd be the wealthiest nation on earth. You know, but there's that layer of dirt on the top. And the seed gets into that layer of dirt and then it springs up. Then the blazing sun comes and just shrivels it. And then Jesus said, look, some of it falls on other ground.

8:12 It's better ground. The only trouble is it's good ground for the seed, but it also has thorns and thistles and the bad growth kills the good growth. And then note too, he throws that seed on good ground and he waits a while he'll reap a hundredfold what he's sown and then jesus says he who has ears to hear let him hear that's it

8:47 i mean no final hymn no summary that's it you can't help but wonder what the crowd thought about that. Lemuel was there. He came from a town over close to the Mediterranean. I mean, he had to get up early in the morning to be part of that audience, trudged a long distance. He got there and he listened to this. And now, had to trudge all the way back home. When he got back, the sun was about to go down to the night. His wife said, well, honey, what do you think of that young rabbi?

9:28 He said, it was the darndest thing you'd ever hear. I mean, the whole thing was just keen insight into the obvious. He told us about some farmer that was sowing seed and fell everywhere. Some of it worked, some of it didn't. We all knew that. We didn't have to go that distance to find that out. They say he was a carpenter before he became a rabbi. My advice is he should have stayed with what he had to do well. Malachi was there. He came from a town close by. He got home early afternoon. So instead of going to his little place of business, he found some of his cronies and they drank some wine together. Ah, so you went to hear that young rabbi, huh? Yeah.

10:23 What do you think of him? I tell you, he's got a good voice. He was out in that boat and he, yeah, we could all hear him. And he told about a fellow that was scattering seed on all kinds of ground. I don't think he was talking about planting seed. I think he was talking to the teachers of the law. I think he was telling them that don't waste your seed on the bad soil. Just invest it in the good soil. I think that was it. Trouble was, as far as I looked around, there weren't many teachers of law in the crowd. And it certainly didn't apply to me. I'm a shopkeeper. I guess it was all right. But frankly, the whole thing was irrelevant.

11:17 And then when the crowd left, his disciples sidled up to him. And they said, what was that about, that thing about the seed and the soil? And they really did want to know. I mean, they had staked their life on this young rabbi. And they hadn't heard a whole lot of his teaching, but anything they heard, they wanted to know. They came, they were sincere. And Jesus responded and said, well, if you want to know, I'll be glad to tell you. He said, the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom, verse 10, the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to the others I speak in parables, so that though seeing they may not see, though hearing they may not understand.

12:16 Now, this is the meaning of the parable. The seed, that's the word of God. Those along the path are the ones who hear. And then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts so that they will not believe we'll be saved. And then those on the rock are the ones who receive the word with joy when they hear it, but they have no root. They believe for a while, but in the time of testing they fall away. And the seed that fill among the thorns stands for those who hear, but they go on their way and they are choked by life's worries and riches and pleasures.

13:13 They don't mature. But the seed on good soil stands for those with a noble and good heart, who hear the word, retain it, and by persevering produce a crop. That's a pretty easy explanation. If you thought about it a while, you'd probably get it. What bothers you is the way Jesus says, I speak to you, but to the others I speak in parables, so that though seeing they may not see, though hearing they may not understand. What in the world is that about? Well, Jesus captures something here that started back in the book of Isaiah. Isaiah had that grand vision of God, high, lifted up, his train filled the temple.

14:11 And Isaiah was changed, ecstatic, moving, seeing God. And then suddenly he heard the voice, who shall we send, who will go for us? I responded to the invitation. I'll go. The wife says, good. Better know, though, that when you go, they're not going to listen to you.

14:38 You're going to actually harden them. So seeing they'll not see, hearing they'll not understand. And then Jesus picks that up. and says that's what I'm about. But what in the world is he saying? I mean, is he saying, I don't want them to know? If he's saying that, why talk to them at all? I mean, if you don't want them to know, don't send Isaiah. If you don't want them to know, put Jesus in some hermitage where they can't get out of him. So what is he saying when he talks about speaking to them in parables, so that seeing they may not see, and hearing they may not understand?

15:32 Well, it's just a little bit about parables. Folks who work my side of the street in preaching are fond of saying that the reason you ought to use illustrations is that Jesus used them. Maybe. He told parables, but parables really aren't illustrations. If you think about an illustration, an illustration is a story that when you give an abstract truth explains it or proves it or applies it. Good to use them by the way. But a parable doesn't do that really. The word means to throw something alongside of another. So a parable is something thrown alongside the truth. But you, the listener, have to make the connection.

16:31 For example, if I say, even monkeys fall out of trees. That's a parable. Not a very long parable. Not ready for prime time, but it's a parable. Or if I say, if you're going to buy a fur coat, don't buy one from a bear that's still wearing it. That's a problem. Or if you're going to have an alligator as a tailor, just be aware that in the trousers there'll be a slit for a tail. You leave and you say, that's the nuttiest thing I ever heard. Talked about monkeys, bears, and fur coats, and alligators. If I don't make the connection, you have to work at it.

17:36 If I say, even experts fall out of trees, even experts make mistakes, even monkeys fall out of trees, I've made the connection. Once I do that, it's no longer a parable, it's an illustration. But a lot of burden falls on the hearers when you use parables. So Jesus isn't saying, I'm using parables because I don't want anybody to get it. In fact, he says in verse 16, no one lights a lamp and hides it in a jar or puts it under a bed. Then he puts it on the stand so that those who come up and come in can see the light. There's nothing hidden that will not be disclosed, nothing concealed that will not be known or brought out into the open.

18:40 So the parable is somehow like a light. Not the purpose of the preacher to hide the truth, it's to set it out so you'll get it. But Jesus says, in order to do that, I use parables. So, when he says at the end of his little sermon, he who has ears to hear, let him hear, that's got some meaning to it. Lem didn't get it. I'm sure others didn't. even the disciples wanted more explanation. But they wanted it, Jesus gave it to them. Notice at the end of the paragraph I just read, in verse 18.

19:45 Therefore, consider carefully how you listen. Whoever has will be given more. Whoever does not have even what he thinks he has will be taken away from him. What do we do with that enigmatic statement? I think what Jesus is saying is listen carefully. Because if you don't use the truth you have, you'll lose it. If you use it, you'll get more. That's the principle. Lose it or lose it. When I was on the faculty here at Dallas, Van Klyburn was an internationally known pianist. He won a great concert in Mexico, at that time, excuse me, in Moscow.

20:55 At that time, when I had given attention between our two countries, we took any victory we could get. And then after a while he dropped out. A couple of years ago we were watching Good Morning America. Clyburn was on the program. The host asked him what he was planning to do and he said he was seriously thinking about getting back on the concert stage. And the host said, well, what will that take? And he said, well, it's going to take practice eight to 10 hours a day, six days a week for two years to get back where I was. Principal. Use it or lose it. For several years he didn't use it.

21:49 And he didn't stay where he was. He lost a great deal of his skill. When I went to University of Illinois for my PhD degree, I had to pass an exam in French and German. I had to pass an exam in which I could read five pages of German in an hour and a half. I could use a lexicon. And I could only make two mistakes. So for the first month and a half I was here, I studied German. I mean I studied it day and night. I had a tutor who came. All I had to do was read it. And I passed the exam. I haven't used German in the last 45 years. I mean, I had too much in English.

22:47 I wasn't reading. But I've often wondered what would have happened if I'd really studied it. I mean, by this time, I'm sure I could read it fluently, maybe even speak it. But whatever I had at Illinois is totally gone. I doubt that I could translate three sentences today, even with a lexicon, not have two errors.

23:14 What I had, I lost. If I had used it, I could have made great gains. Use it, or lose it. It's true with spiritual truth, isn't it? You go to seminary, you can pass all kinds of tests. But if you don't take the truth of the Word of God and incorporate it in your life, you don't stay where you are. You lose it. If you use what you get, put it into practice, you gain more and more. You really want a mastery of the scriptures, you've got to use it.

24:13 Not just study it, you've got to use it, put it into practice. Let it become part of your life. Use it or lose it. Do you want to have a relationship with God? I mean a personal relationship with him. Well, look at how this pericope ends.

24:37 Now, Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him. But they weren't able to get near him because of the crowd. And someone told him, your mother and brothers are standing outside waiting to see you. Jesus replied, my mother and my brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice. I'm sure Mary had a relationship to God through her son. But Mary did not have a relationship to God because she held Jesus in her womb for nine months. She didn't have a relationship with God because she fed him at her breast for two years.

25:32 If she had a relationship with God, and I'm sure she did, it was because she heard His Word and put it into practice. If you want a relationship with God, that's what you have to do. Hear the Word, put it into practice. And that's why Jesus says, take heed how you listen.

26:06 That's why he said to the crowd, he who has ears to hear, let him hear. That's just another way of saying it. Know the truth. Practice the truth. it will help you to know God give you a relationship with his son Jesus Christ He or she who has ears to hear. Let that person hear. Will you bow with me in prayer? Lord. We are well aware of the danger of the academic study of Scripture.

27:11 We get it, we memorize it, we know it, we learn it. But it doesn't necessarily affect our lives. So we pray that we will hear this word from our teacher, your son, our Savior. He who has will be given more. He who does not have what he thinks he has Will be taken away And we would rather not have that happen. So please, Lord, help us.