Hearing and Obeying

We all know that it’s possible to hear something and yet not hear it at all. For instance, a mother might tell her teenage son, “Remember to make your bed and take out the trash and do your homework.”

Meanwhile, he hears, “Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.” He’s hearing audibly, but he’s not really listening.

People can do the same when they listen to a message from God’s Word. We need to pay attention. We need to listen to what God’s Word has to say.

In the parable of the sower, we see the phrase “hears the word” repeated for every category of person. The problem is they didn’t receive it. They didn’t hear it in the right way.

Success or failure in the Christian life depends on how you hear the Word of God. If you listen to podcasts or great biblical teaching on the radio, if you’re in a small group, then God bless you. But it’s important that once you hear God’s Word, you obey it.

It’s actually a dangerous thing to hear the Word of God and not apply it in your life. The golden key of spiritual growth is hearing, receiving, and obeying the Word of God.

In Luke’s version of the parable of the sower, Jesus said, “And the seeds that fell on the good soil represent honest, good-hearted people who hear God’s word, cling to it, and patiently produce a huge harvest” (8:15 NLT).

So how do we produce a harvest, or spiritual fruit? Jesus gave the answer in John 15: “He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing” (verse 5 NKJV). Fruit is evidence that you’re a true follower of Jesus.

To abide in Christ means to walk with Him and cultivate your relationship with Him every day. Are you abiding in Christ?