EPHPHATHA – EARS BE OPENED TO HEAR THE SHEPHERD
Matthew 13:9 “He who has ears let him hear.”
We all want to hear God’s voice. Jesus says in John 10:27 “My sheep hear my voice”. We know that we are His sheep. We believe in Jesus as our only Lord and Savior yet many of us do not hear God’s voice. Many others oftentimes are not sure if it is really God speaking to us. So where is the problem.
The Bible says He who ‘Has’ ears let him hear. What is God trying to tell us.
Yes we all have ears but He what He is asking is if we really have control of our hearing.
If u notice eyes can be closed whenever we want because we have eyelids , also we can physically close our mouth as we have lips but our ears cannot be closed just like that. Even if we stick our finger in we cannot completely cut off hearing.
We have to realize that it is always open. So we tend to hear a lot of things throughout the day. The ear is a big gateway to our heart. If we have to guard our heart which is the well spring of our life (Pro.4:23). We need to carefully control what we hear.
He who has ears let him hear.
This is a statement that is often used by Jesus in the Bible. Because I Believe Jesus felt that it is a very important issue that we have to address in the world today. We all want to hear from God to make vital decisions. We need to hear God, we cannot always depend on hearing the word of the Lord from prophets alone.
The Bible says in the last days many false prophets will arise and deceive many (Matt 24:24). The prophets and prophecies should always confirm what God has already spoken to our hearts else we will be easily confused and disappointed about God and be led astray.
We must learn to choose to hear the right things.
In Deuteronomy 1:28 we read that the Israelites chose to hear all the reports that the spies gave about the promised land. God never asked them to send spies in the first place. Because God himself had personally chosen (Ezekiel 20:6) that land for them. But they heard the 10 who gave a bad report about the land. They chose to believe the majority. Hence they doubted God’s love for them and wandered in the desert for 40 long years, all because they did not choose to hear the right things.
Also we know the story of Eve, the first woman Eve who chose to hear the wrong message from the serpent which made not only her but the entire humanity fall short of God’s standards. (Gen. 3:1)
Well we see that a lot of our decisions are based on what we hear so we must choose to choose what we hear.
Today ask yourself DO YOU HAVE YOUR EAR. So that God can speak to you or is it like an open garbage dump where anything can be thrown in by anyone, anytime. But you may say it is practically impossible to shut my ears and walk around.
Here are some practical tips of how you can control your ears.
1. Speak in the Heavenly language of tongues:
“The gift of speaking in tongues helps you control what you hear.” Imagine someone talking to you something that is detrimental in nature. At that time if you speak something else audibly you will not be able to hear what they say. Whatever they are saying will not enter your mind or heart (may be that’s why they ask us not to talk in class)
It is the same way with tongues. If you receive this special gift you can speak in it to avoid unwanted information that in waiting to enter you.
If you don’t have this gift, all you have to do is ask. God said ask and you shall receive. If evil fathers know (Luke 11:13) how to give good gifts to their children how much more will your father in heaven give the Holy spirit to them that ask.
Some points on the gift of tongues
* It catches God’s attention.
When most of people communicate with God, they are praying their own desires. But when you pray in the spirit you are allowing the Holy spirit to pray through you. He prays on your behalf the will of God. For he alone knows the mind of God (I Cor. 2:11). So your prayer will be so different that it gets God’s attention.
* Praying in tongues helps you hear God’s voice”
If you really think about it, the gift of tongues is the Holy Spirit in you who is using your tongue to speak mysteries unto God. (I Cor. 14:2)
It is God speaking through you and your ears are hearing what God is speaking. Even if you cannot understand it. God can because it’s His language anyway.
So go ahead be filled with God’s Spirit and speak in the most astounding Heavenly language. It is a unique exclusive gift only for the people of God who believe in Jesus (Mark 16:17). It is Christ alone who claims to give something as unique as the gift of tongues to those who believe in Him .
2. Read aloud the word of God
The next way to keep your ears under our control is by reading God’s word aloud. Keep bombarding your ears with the word of God. You don’t have to watch some preacher on television always to hear God. Speak aloud to yourself like David who always kept saying to himself.
‘Bless the Lord O my soul’
Talk to yourself the word of God, then you will not allow your ear to wander. The word of God is Double edged sword (Heb. 4:12) that can bring about great changes in others and in you.
Everybody wants to hear the thundering voice of God out of the blue. It is a good desire no doubt but as John says in (Rev. 1:10) “On the Lord’s Day, I was in the spirit and I heard behind me a loud voice. So it is on the Lord’s Day and not wherever you want that He will speak to you. Also note that he was in the spirit when God spoke to him. So one of the best times to hear God is when we are in the fullness of His Spirit.
Speaking in tongues and declaring God’s word that is full of His Power Over our lives helps us ‘Have’ our ears.
Have you noticed that at times when we begin to read the Bible our mind tends wander off. Our mind begins to hear various things people said. Now to get over this problem, try reading the Bible loudly so that your ears will be occupied and thereby your mind will be able to concentrate on God and on what He is saying to you.
So when we do these two things we are building a hedge for our ears. So that we can ‘HAVE’ our ears to hear God speak to us clearly. When He says“This is the way walk in it “(Is. 30:2), our ears will hear so that we can follow.
We cannot be hearing all kind of junk and expect to hear God’s voice in the midst of it. Not that God will not speak, only that we will not ‘HAVE’ ears to hear what the Spirit of God is saying. Well our ears will be controlled by what the world says and not what His word says.
Today let us decide with the help of God to once again regain control of our ears.
So that we can hear what God has to say to us and live our life hearing our shepherd’s voice.
Stay Blessed
Mrs. Merliyn Jemimah Amirtharaj
