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PART I: THE WORD OF GOD AND PRAYER
CHAPTER 5
LISTENING TO GOD
Introduction
One requirement for a successful life is to internalize the
Word of God--to listen to God with the heart.
Parable of the Soils
The Parable of the Soils is found in all three of the
synoptic Gospels: Matthew 13:1-23; Mark 4:1-20; and Luke 8:4-15.
This parable is a key to other parables of Jesus, since Jesus
explains this parable in detail. [R. C. Trench, NOTES ON THE
PARABLES OF OUR LORD, Popular Edition (Grand Rapids: Baker Book
House, 1948), pp. 16, 29-33]. It deals with inner transformation
through hearing the Word of God:
And he began again to teach by the sea side:
and there was gathered unto him a great
multitude, so that he entered into a ship,
and sat in the sea; and the whole multitude
was by the sea on the land. And he taught
them many things by parables, and said unto
them in his doctrine, Hearken; Behold, there
went out a sower to sow: And it came to pass,
as he sowed, some fell by the way side, and
the fowls of the air came and devoured it up.
And some fell on stony ground, where it had
not much earth; and immediately it sprang up,
because it had no depth of earth: But when
the sun was up, it was scorched; and because
it had no root, it withered away. And some
fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up,
and choked it, and it yielded no fruit. And
other fell on good ground, and did yield
fruit that sprang up and increased; and
brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty,
and some an hundred. And he said unto them,
He that hath ears to hear, let him hear. And
when he was alone, they that were about him
with the twelve asked of him the parable.
And he said unto them, Unto you it is given
to know the mystery of the kingdom of God:
but unto them that are without, all these
things are done in parables: That seeing they
may see, and not perceive; and hearing they
may hear, and not understand; lest at any
time they should be converted, and their sins
should be forgiven them. And he said unto
them, Know ye not this parable? and how then
will ye know all parables? The sower soweth
the word. And these are they by the way
side, where the word is sown; but when they
have heard, Satan cometh immediately, and
taketh away the word that was sown in their
hearts. And these are they likewise which
are sown on stony ground; who, when they have
heard the word, immediately receive it with
gladness; And have no root in themselves,
and so endure but for a time: afterward, when
affliction or persecution ariseth for the
word's sake, immediately they are offended.
And these are they which are sown among
thorns; such as hear the word, And the cares
of this world, and the deceitfulness of
riches, and the lusts of other things
entering in, choke the word, and it becometh
unfruitful. And these are they which are
sown on good ground; such as hear the word,
and receive it, and bring forth fruit, some
thirtyfold, some sixty, and some an hundred.
(Mark 4:1-20).
The setting is a natural amphitheater. Jesus sat in a boat
and the people sat on the shore. The water carried the voice of
Jesus to the people who lined the gently sloping shoreline.
There may have been a farmer sowing grain in the distance when
Jesus called out, "Look! A farmer was sowing seed and some of the
seed fell on the hard-packed soil by the road." Thus Jesus began
with a familiar event to teach a truth that would affect the
destiny of billions of people. (The word PARABLE is the
transliteration of the compound New Testament Greek word, PARA
"alongside" + BOLE, "to cast." Hence, Jesus placed an unknown
spiritual truth alongside a known earthly truth in order to teach
new truths to those who would listen. There is one central truth
in each parable. If one did not understand the truth at the
time, it would exist in story form in the mind of the hearer, so
that it might be understood at a later point in the spiritual
development of the hearer. If one chose to harden his heart and
not receive more spiritual understanding, he would never
understand the truth. This could be an act of mercy, since,
according to Jesus, we will be judged according to the light we
have).
The first soil was a hard-packed soil and represented the
person with a hardened heart where the Word of God did not
penetrate and was consequently stolen by Satan. The person
represented here never had saving faith, since "...faith cometh
by hearing and hearing by the word of God." (Romans 10:17).
The second soil consisted of an extremely thin layer of soil
over a solid rock. The person represented here received the
Word in a "soulish," superficial way and immediately fell when
under pressure.
The third soil was good, but was infested with thorns. The
person represented here was a genuine Christian, but he allowed
legitimate concerns and materialistic values to take precedence
over the Word of God. Thus, there was not a complete Christlike
transformation in his being.
The fourth soil was good in varying degrees. The persons
represented here were Christians who opened their hearts to the
Word of God in varying degrees and were transformed
correspondingly. Jesus is the primary sower, the soil is the
human heart and the Word of God is first an abstract Word that
becomes incarnate. In other words, the Word is form and when
superimposed upon a malformed human, that human becomes a new
Christ-like being.
Jesus teaches us that the place of the Bible is not on a
fireplace mantel, coffee table, bookshelf, etc., but in the human
heart. THE BEST TRANSLATION OF THE WORD OF GOD IS A HUMAN BEING.
God abstracted his essential nature and placed it in a book as a
means to reproduce himself in the human heart. Of course, the
Holy Spirit is involved from start to finish.
The purpose of the abstract Word of God is to transform the
individual into the image of Christ. Once one understands God's
purpose relative to the Word of God, he can cooperate in the
process.
When one knows the Word of God, he can pray according to the
will of God. Then, God can answer authentic prayer.
A Christian Epistemology
In the Parable of the Soils, Jesus teaches the importance of
WHAT and HOW one hears. Using these scriptures along with other
selected scriptures, a basic outline for a Christian epistemology
can be constructed.
Ideally, the whole Word of God would be received. Jesus
said, "... Take care WHAT [italics mine] you listen to. ...."
(Mark 4:24, New American Standard Bible). He also said,
"Therefore take care HOW [italics mine] you listen...." (Luke
8:18, New American Standard Bible). In this case, the Word of
God would be received into the body (through the eye, ear, or
touch gates); into the soul (through the conscious, then through
the preconscious, then through the unconscious); and into the
heart or spirit (the deepest level of understanding).
Another possibility would be the reception of the Word on a
mere intellectual plane. The Word would stop somewhere in the
mind and go no deeper. In this case, the individual would not
have saving faith. John Wesley warned of the danger of "mental
assent" being substituted for faith.
Then there are some immediately "turn off" the Gospel either
mentally or by actually doing something physically like switching
channels on a television set to avoid the Word of God.
Tragically, there are those who completely avoid contact
with the Gospel. They have made a foolish choice to reject
Christ and have learned how to minimize exposure to the truth of
God's Word.
Some substitutes for the Word of God are mentioned in the
Bible. One is human reason and mere sense perception. Reason
and sense perception are both good. However, the Word of God
must transcend them. One biblical example of the taking of the
Word of God above human reason and sense perception is the case
of Joshua and Caleb in Numbers 13-14.
Another substitute for the Word can be the traditions of
men:
Then came to Jesus scribes and Pharisees,
which were of Jerusalem, saying, Why do thy
disciples transgress the tradition of the
elders? for they wash not their hands when
they eat bread. But he answered and said
unto them, Why do ye also transgress the
commandment of God by your tradition? For
God commanded, saying, Honour thy father and
mother: and, He that curseth father or
mother, let him die the death. But ye say,
Whosoever shall say to his father or his
mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou
mightest be profited by me; And honour not
his father or his mother, he shall be free.
Thus have ye made the commandment of God of
none effect by your tradition. (Matthew 15:1-
6).
Many traditions that religious people have inherited are not
scriptural. Their source may be rationalistic as cited above, or
it may stem from ignorance and superstition.
However, it would not be proper to throw out all tradition.
The proper way to deal with tradition is to hold on to the best
understanding of God's Word that we have. Then, we must
constantly revise our understanding of the Word of God according
to new light that the Holy Spirit gives.
Another substitute for the Word can be the philosophies of
men:
Beware lest any man spoil you through
philosophy and vain deceit, after the
tradition of men, after the rudiments of the
world, and not after Christ. (Colossians
2:8).
For the preaching of the cross is to them
that perish foolishness; but unto us which
are saved it is the power of God. For it is
written, I will destroy the wisdom of the
wise, and will bring to nothing the
understanding of the prudent. Where is the
wise? where is the scribe? where is the
disputer of this world? hath not God made
foolish the wisdom of this world? For after
that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom
knew not God, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. For the Jews require a sign, and
the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach
Christ crucified, unto the Jews a
stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks
foolishness; But unto them which are
called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the
power of God, and the wisdom of God. Because
the foolishness of God is wiser than men; and
the weakness of God is stronger than men. (1
Corinthians 1:18-25).
We all have a guiding philosophy or theology. It may not be
systematized and written in philosophical or theological
language, but it is there nonetheless. The important thing is to
continually upgrade it with the Word of God.
At the extreme end of the substitute spectrum is the
position most opposed to the Word of God: doctrines of demons.
The world is filled with many voices, religions, philosophies and
ideologies. Some of them are inspired by demons:
Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in
the latter times some shall depart from the
faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and
doctrines of devils; Speaking lies in
hypocrisy; having their conscience seared
with a hot iron; (1 Timothy 4:1-2).
Keep in mind that some may have been brought up in beliefs that
were inspired by demons, but who haven't rejected Christ. They
can be delivered from wrong beliefs.
Probably the most common predicament of Christians is the
position of having a "curious mixture" of the Word of God and
other content. It is also common to hold part of the Word of God
on an intellectual level and part on a heart (spirit) level. As
wrong beliefs are purged and the Word is internalized, at least
four things to happen: (1) the self is actually conformed more
and more into the likeness of Christ; (2) the self-image is
corrected; (3) the conscience is educated and (4) faith is guided
and strengthened. As a result, prayer life becomes more
effective.
Internalizing the Word of God
Here are nine practical steps to help internalize the Word
of God. The first step is re-establish a right relationship with
God. Confess all known sin to God. Then make things right with
people. After one clears his conscience, then he must choose to
obey God as a lifestyle. This means walking in the light of his
Word as the Holy Spirit illuminates his Word.
The second step is to pray in the Spirit in order that the
heart might be further prepared to receive the Word.
The third step is to quiet the body and mind. Involved in
this would be to perform all mundane duties possible so that the
mind is undivided. Since psychomotor functions tend to distract,
it would be better to sit or lie down. It is important to rid
oneself of both internal and external distractions before, during
and after Bible reading and meditation. A good time for Bible
reading would be at bedtime, unless one is too tired.
The fourth step is to read the Word. It is good to read a
small portion carefully. (There is a time to read large portions
quickly, but not for this exercise). Some key scriptures should
be memorized.
Step five involves meditation. Christian meditation is not
"emptying" the mind (to let the devil write on it), but rather it
is filling the mind with the Word and allowing the Holy Spirit to
give one understanding of it.
The sixth step is actually receiving the Word into one's
heart. Some may think that they have done this when the Word is
still on the intellectual level. How does one know if he has
internalized a particular truth of the Word of God? One has
internalized a truth when he automatically ACTS on it!
The seventh step is to think God's thoughts (Word)
consciously as a practice. The eighth step is to practice
speaking God's thoughts consciously. The ninth step is to
practice acting out God's thoughts consciously.
END
