Seeing They See Not - Hearing They Hear Not

Turning back to Matthew 13, and I'll repeat my text. Matthew
13, verse 13, I'm speaking tonight on seeing they see not, and hearing
they hear not. And our Lord said in Matthew
13, 13, Therefore speak I to them in parables, Because they
seeing see not, and hearing they hear not, and neither do they
understand. What a beautiful sight it is
to see people going to the house of God. What a beautiful sight
it is to behold his house filled with people on the Lord's day. It's thrilling. Our congregation
this morning, the house was just about filled. And our hearts
rejoiced, and we could say with all of you, I was glad when they
said to me, let's go to the house of the Lord. I feel a little
bit like David when he said, I had rather be a doorkeeper
in the house of God than to dwell as a son or an heir or a ruler
in the house of the wicked. How sad it is when the house
of God is empty, and the pulpit does not ring with the message
of the gospel. But there is a danger, and there
are warnings throughout the Bible about this. Turn to Matthew 15,
verse 8, and this may be true here tonight. I hope it's not true of us, but
I feel the warning must be sounded. Verse 7 of Matthew 15, Ye hypocrite,
well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, This people draweth nouns
to me with their mouth, with their bodies, and honoureth me
with their lips, but their heart is far from me. Are we hearing
body? Are we hearing hearts? Are we
singing these hymns? What a wonderful Savior is Jesus,
my Jesus. Are we singing that with our
lips? Or are we really praising God with our hearts and with
our souls? And then our text. Our Lord had
given a parable, and the disciples came to him and said, why do
you teach the people in parables? He said, because they see, but
they don't see. They see with their eyes, but
they don't see. They see these words here, but
they really don't see them. And they hear the words, but
they really don't hear them. And there's an example over in
the book of Ezekiel. I would like you to turn to this
because you need to read it for yourself. Over in the book of
Ezekiel, chapter 33, there's an example. And I go back and
read this occasion, I've used it here two or three times in
past years. Ezekiel 33, verse 30. He said
in verse 30, Also thou son of man, he's talking to the preacher,
he's talking to his prophet, and he says, the children of
thy people are still talking against or about thee. They're
talking about thee by the walls, out on the streets. And they're
speaking, one to another, in the doors of the houses, they're
speaking one to another, every one to his brother, saying, Come,
I pray you, and hear what is the word that cometh forth from
the Lord. Let's go and hear the preacher.
Let's go to church. Some of you have driven for many
miles here to this service tonight. You've invited someone to come
with you. The people are talking about you. They've heard you
on the radio. They've heard you on the television. They're talking
about you on the street and in the home, and they're saying,
let's go and hear the preacher. Let's go and hear what the Word
of God says in the service tonight or this morning. And they come,
verse 31, they come to you, and they sit. They sit before you
as my people. They bring their Bibles. They
come in to sit there. They give all the outward signs
of being my people. They sit before you as my people,
and they hear your words. They're not deaf. You've got
a good speaker system. They hear every word you say.
They sometimes turn in the Scripture, and they follow what you read
from the Word of God. They hear you. They hear you,
but read on. They hear thy words, but they'll
not do them. With their mouths they show much
love. They show much appreciation.
I enjoyed your sermon. It was a good sermon. I enjoyed
the text. I enjoyed the application. And
they show much love, but their hearts, their hearts goeth after
covetousness, vanity, the world. That's where their hearts are.
That's where their hearts are while you're preaching. That's where
their hearts are when you finish preaching. That's where their
hearts are when they leave your preaching. And they hear you. They sit back. And they listen
to you. And they listen attentively.
But they don't hear what you say. Because if they heard these
words with their heart, oh, they hear them with their ears. They
seeing, see, they're not blind. And they hearing, they hear with
their ears, but not with their heart. And they do not do them. And then read on. And lo, thou
art unto them as a very lovely song, the one that hath a pleasant
voice, if you only knew how beautiful that was. What a message! what
it would be like to stand at the judgment without a Savior,
without blood to atone. They heard that. They heard it. It was plain. It was well done. You have a beautiful voice. You
have a pleasant voice, Mike. And they would love to hear you
play. And they hear these words, but
they're not going to do them. They have no intention of doing
because they've heard them only with these ears and not with
their hearts, and they've seen them with these eyes and not
with the eyes of faith. And they're not going to do what
you say. They're going to do nothing about it. You can sing
if you only knew what the judgment will be like, if you only knew
what it will be like to be without a Savior, and some of them are
going to stand there without a Savior, because they didn't
hear you with their hearts. They saw you And they heard you,
but they didn't see, and they didn't hear, and they didn't
understand. And when does this come at the past? When death
comes, suddenly. A couple here this morning telling
me about how they lost their son six months ago. 37 years old. Came to the house
one morning to see his mother. Kissed her goodbye and went to
work. Walked across the street and a truck hit him and killed
him. He's the only noody. And it'll come to pass, lo, it
will come. It's appointed unto me and wants
to die, and after that, the judgment. It will come, and then, O then,
shall they know that a prophet's been among them." God sent a
messenger, God sent an ambassador, God sent a man with a word, God
sent a man with a message, And at that day, they're going to
realize that God did send them a warning. God did send them
an invitation. God did send them an offer, the
free offer of the gospel. God did invite them. When it
comes, they shall know that a prophet has been among them. I believe
hell will be more than fire if it's fire at all. I don't know.
You may think that I'm emphasizing the wrong point. I do not. But
I believe hell is four things, four grievous things. Number
one, and this is from the parable or the story of the rich man
in hell in Luke 16. Our Lord said hell is memory.
The rich man was tormented with memory. He said, Father Abraham,
send Lazareth that he may dip his finger in water and touch
my tongue. I'm tormented in this flame.
And Abraham said, son, remember. Remember. Spend eternity remembering. Remember that thou in thy lifetime
had good things. You had good opportunities. You
had good possibilities. They were there. You had a good
mind. You had good ears. You had good eyes. If you didn't
seek the Lord, you sought the world. And hell will be filled
with memory, memory of every song you ever heard and every
sermon you ever heard and every prayer you ever heard, every
service you ever attended. Hell will be a place of unfulfilled
lust. Revelation says, he that's filthy,
let him be filthy still. He that's unrighteous, let him
be unrighteous still. He that's holy, let him be holy
still. In hell, men have the same needs, the same desires,
the same thirsts, which go unfulfilled, for they're in darkness and they're
alone. Hell will be a place of suffering. The rich man said
he was tormented. But hell in the fourth place
will be a place of truth realized too late. He said, Father Abraham,
I had five brothers. Send Lazarus back there to preach
to them lest they come to this awful place. Send them a preacher.
Send them a preacher. Father Abraham, send them a preacher.
Well, you weren't interested in preachers while you were on
the earth. Why are you interested in preachers now? Because I realize
the truth. And hell will be a place where
the truth will be realized too late. And when this cometh to
pass, lo, it will come, then shall they know that there's
been a prophet among them. Seeing, they see not. Hearing, they hear not. Tonight I want to deal with different
classes of heroes. I want to show the difference
tonight in hearing with the heart and hearing with the ears. I
want to show the difference tonight in seeing with the natural eye,
yeah, and even the mind, logically, but not with the heart. There
are five classes of hearers, I believe, in our services. Number
one, there are those who hear and soon forget. Turn to James
chapter 1. They are those who hear us, but
how quickly, how suddenly they forget what we say. Here in James
chapter 1 verse 22, James says, But be ye doers of the word,
and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if a man be a hearer of the
word, and not a doer, he's likened to a man," this is what he's
like, he's likened to a man, "...beholding his natural face
in a glass. For he beholdeth himself, and
goeth his way, and straightway forgeteth what manner of man
he was." A man comes to a mirror. He stands before the mirror.
He gets a good look. He needs to brush his hair. He can see
that. He needs to shave. He can see
that. He needs a bath. He can see that. His teeth need
repairing and cleaning. He can see that. And he looks
into that mirror for a moment. He says, my, my, I don't like
what I see. I don't like what I see. But
then he goes his way, and quickly he forgets what he saw. His attention
is diverted elsewhere, and he forgets the image that he saw,
he forgets the picture that he saw, and he continues as he is. This is the man who hears the
word and quickly forgets. He leaves it at the church door.
He comes and sits and listens. And my sermons are designed to
be remembered. These sermons are designed to
be remembered. I've read some scripture, I've laid a foundation,
I've presented an introduction, I've entered down into the message.
And there's no reason why anyone here should quickly forget what
we're dealing with tonight. Seeing but not seeing, hearing
but not hearing. But there'll be people shake
hands at the door and walk down those steps, and you can ask
them ten minutes later what the message was about, they don't
have the faintest idea. Not the faintest idea. They've
heard the preacher preach about man's ruin. Oh, the fall in the
garden, the terrible fall when man lost his knowledge of God
and his communion with God and his relationship with God and
his spiritual life. I don't like what I see. I don't
like what I hear. What a wretched man I am. He
hears the preacher talk about the excellency of Christ's redemption.
O love of God, how rich, how pure, how measureless, how strong! It shall forevermore endure the
saints' and angels' song. Christ in love left his home
in glory and came to this earth and bore my guilt and my shame
and my sin, went to the cross and died for me, was buried and
rose again. He's seated at God's right hand
as my intercessor. How grateful I ought to be! How
thankful I ought to be! How dedicated I ought to be!
how much in love with him I ought to be. But we forget that. He hears the exhortation to repent,
go home and seek the Lord. And while he's looking in the
mirror, he sees his ruin, he sees God's redemption, he sees
God's remedy. And he says, I'm going to do
something about it. But just soon as he cranks up
that car and starts home, he turns the radio on, he forgets
The next day he goes about his business, and it's business as
usual. It's involvement as usual. It's
the world as usual. And he never gives one thought
to that message. He beholds his faith. He doesn't
like what he sees. For a moment he rejoices in what
he hears. The preacher says, Come ye sinners
poor and needy, weak and wounded by the fall, Jesus stands ready
to save you, full of pity, love, and power. Let not conscience
make you linger, nor fitness fondly dream. All the fitness
he requires is to feel your need of him. Let not conscience make
you linger. Come on! And he stands there
and he listens to it and he says, I ought to confess Christ. I ought to receive Christ. I'll have no better opportunity.
I've got my mind, I've got my health, I've got my thoughts,
I've got my faculty. There's no better time right
now than to cry, Lord, be merciful to me, a sinner. And as soon
as he walks down those steps, somehow Satan has a way of picking
up the seed that's sown on that fallow ground and burying it
so far away that all memory is forgotten. The people of God
hear the preacher exhort them to love and mercy and godliness
and holiness and righteousness and truth and all these things.
I'm going to do something about that while he's looking in the
mirror. But then as soon as he turns
and walks away, he forgets what manner of man he was. He leaves it all at the church
door. What a tragedy! But they didn't hear it. They
see it. It's laid out before them. Ruin,
redemption, regeneration, God's remedy, all in Christ, clear
as a bell. If you ask them the next day,
how does God save the sinner? They don't have the faintest
idea. They'll come up with some old
wise table that they heard years ago. All right, there's another type
of hearer. the one who hears and forgets. Now, turn to Ecclesiastes,
the book of Ecclesiastes, chapter 5, verses 1 and 2. I'm going
to meddle a little right here, but I want you to listen to me
because I think it will help you. Anything that will help
you spiritually, I think I ought not to keep it back. If it offends
And that's all right, too. Sometimes we learn more when
we're offended and when we're wounded. At least we remember
it longer if it hurts a little. Some people here, unprepared. Unprepared. Perhaps the reason we don't get
and retain very much from a service is that we spend so little time
preparing the vessel to receive it. Now, this is important. It is for me. I've been doing
this for years, and it's not just a mechanical thing with
me. It's something that is absolutely
essential. For many years I've been meeting
with some of the men of this church in the study, between
6.30 and 7.00 on Sunday night, between 9.30 and 10.00 on Sunday
morning, and we sit in there and read God's Word and we pray. And then we leave the study and
walk through this door and come up here to hear the Word preached. I am so human and so fleshly,
I have to prepare my heart to approach God. I am so fleshly
and so human that I can't rush into God's presence, I can't
do it, unprepared. In the Old Testament there was
much preparation for the coming into the presence of the Lord.
When the priest was going to come into the presence of the
Lord, he went through a series of washings, of changing his
clothes, of putting on white linen, and the people were told
by the priest to sanctify themselves, to get themselves ready. God
was going to meet with them. And here in Ecclesiastes 5 verse
1, look at it, "...keep thy foot when thou goest to the house
of God." and be more ready to hear than to give the sacrifice
of fools, for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash
with thy mouth, let not thine heart be hasted, utter anything
before God. God is in the heavens, thou upon
the earth, therefore let thy words be few." I brought a sermon here one time
on this subject, three It was part of a message before sermon,
during sermon, and after sermon. Do you remember it? I talked
about before the sermon, time ought to be spent in prayer,
ought to be spent in meditation, it ought to be spent reading
the Word, it ought to be spent praying for the preacher, praying
for those who are going to direct the service. We might not just
go through another ritual, another ceremony, but we might have really
a refreshing visit with the Lord. I don't know what goes on out
here before the service. I'm never out here. But I've been to churches where
I hold meetings. I try to get there early. I never
could rush into the presence of God. I feel unprepared to
worship. I have to get there early. And
I come and sit down on the front seat, and I open my Bible, and
I begin to agonize for God's presence and God's power. But
you say, you're preaching. I know, but you're listening. Don't only pray for the cook
that fixes the meal, but pray that you might have something
decent to eat. And I sit there and try to think about the sermon
and pray, and back behind me it sounds like a three-ringed
circle. People are laughing and talking and carrying on, and
I look at my watch and it's 7.29, service starts at 7.30, and there's
not even a trace of anybody meditating or communing with God. It's like
a madhouse. Suddenly the preacher walks up
and says, Everybody get a book. Everybody hushes. And we're supposed
to worship. During the sermon there ought
to be concentration. Are we so fleshly that we're
unable to concentrate on the Word of God for 30 minutes? A willing spirit, oh God teach
me, I know how our minds wander, I have to confess the same thing
to you. You'll be standing up here praying
and your mind goes sailing off down the road. But we can always
say, Lord forgive me, bring it back. Bring it back. Our problem is we're not trying.
We're giving in to the flesh. We're saying, well, that's just
my nature. That's just the way I am. That
sounds good, but I can't do it. You could try. And then after
the sermon, after the sermon's over, I know we're happy people.
I know we're blessed people. We have so many blessings it's
hard to contain ourselves. We're happy. But I'll tell you
this, it's a solemn, serious time to meet with God. And I
think we ought to converse. I don't mean to end this sermon
and pray a prayer and sing a hymn and everybody walk out like a
zombie. But you could talk about the Lord. You could talk about
that blessed hymn we just heard. You could talk about the sermon
that we just heard. You could talk about the scripture
we just read. we could discuss the word, we could have some
spiritual recollections and memory, we could go back and say, now
I want to remember that. Did you hear that, what the message,
did you get that? Yes, I, well, what do you think
about that? I don't mind you discussing my sermon. Please
do. Please do. But discuss the sermon. The vessel must be prepared to
be filled. And then when God fills it, it
ought to be carried with a serious hand. A serious hand. So we have hearers that are unprepared. They're unprepared for the presence
of God. They're unprepared for the mercies
of God. They're unprepared for the message
of God. And sometimes when we hear it, and it's mixed in with
all these other things, I tell you, the old man Let me tell
you this, every young Christian, maybe you've been saved a week
or a month or a year, well, that new man's a year old, that old
man's thirty years old. And I tell you, he's strong.
He's been fed a long time. He's got a lot of power and a
lot of influence. And if he can, he'll sure turn
your mind away from Christ. You may be ten years old spiritually,
but you're nearly fifty years old fleshly. And it takes concentration,
it takes determination, it takes resolve. Daniel, you read, purposed
in his heart. He purposed. The third type of hearer, turn
to 2 Corinthians 5. There are those who hear and
forget. There are those who don't hear
with their hearts because their hearts aren't ready. They're
not ready. You can't come into the presence
of God from anger. You can't rush into the presence
of God from freshly quarreling with somebody. That's the reason when we're
preparing for the house of God on Sunday morning in our homes
at the breakfast table, when we're getting ready to go to
the house of God, he It's the Lord's day. Every day ought to
be that way with peace and love and joy, but I'm talking about
I'm coming into the presence of God, and I've got to have
my heart prepared. It's pretty difficult to come
into the presence of God from visiting with our neighbors over
trivial matters. But here are some people, the
third type of here, they hear a man and don't hear God. There's a man speaking tonight,
and I'll tell you this, if you hear the sermon only as the word
of a man, as the reasoning of a man, as the arguments of a
man, then it'll be the word of man to you, and it'll do you
no good. My thoughts are no better than your thoughts. My ways are
no better than your ways. But Paul says here in 2 Corinthians
5.20, Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ. ambassadors for Christ. God has given us this ministry
in an earthen vessel. It's earthen, I know that, you
know that. But I tell you, you can drink some awful sweet water
from a clay pitcher. You can drink some awful sweet
water from a tin can, if you give your attention not to the
can, but to the water. Don't throw the water away because
it's in a can. And don't throw the water away
because you don't like the picture. Quit listening to a man and start
listening for God. We're ambassadors for Christ
as though God did beseech you by us. And sometimes God will
choose an unlikely vessel so that the attention won't be given
to the vessel but to the water, so that the vessel won't get
the glory but he'll get the glory. There's a great possibility there. We don't want you looking at
the cup, we want you talking about the water. And if the cup's
too fancy, if the cup's too beautiful, that'll be what you'll think
about. God knows what he's doing. He put this message in an earthen
vessel, and he says, as though God did beseech you by a... Barnard
told me when he was just a young preacher that he read a statement
by a man that turned his ministry around. He read a statement a
man made one time when he sat there. If my voice is the only
voice you hear tonight, nothing of any eternal value will be
done for you. You've got to hear him speak,
who speaks through his word and through his sermon. God speaks. This is God's word. It's Christ
that said what Charlie read. They see and see not, they hear
and hear not. That's what the Lord said. Keep
thou firm when thou comest into the house of God. God said that. When you look into a mirror,
don't walk off and forget what manner of man you are. Do something
about it. God said that. You know, I like what that says
over there in Acts, chapter 17, verse 11. We were talking about
this the other day, some of us, Acts 17, 11. Look at it. Oh, talking about these folks.
Were they folks down in Berea? Yeah, Berea, the Bereans. Act
1711, these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that
they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched
the scriptures daily, whether these things were so. Any honest
preacher will tell his congregation, jot down the scriptures that
I use, get you a tape, go home and search the scriptures to
see if these things are so. Search the scriptures. What I
would give If our people would saturate themselves and bathe
themselves and submerge themselves into the word of God, what a
testimony, what a lighthouse, what a church for the glory of
God. He said, Timothy, preach the word. I command you to preach
the word. And our Lord commands not only
the one who preaches it, but he commands the one that hears
it, take heed how you hear. And then there's a fourth type
of hearer. Turn to 2 Timothy 4. There's another type of hearer
besides those that hear a man. You know, a fellow told me one
time he rode by a church, a beautiful church building. And as he rode
by the church, the man in the car next to him said, I wonder
who preaches there? And the man driving the car said,
that's not nearly so important as what is preached there. It really doesn't matter who
does the preaching, it's what he preaches. That's what's important. Then in 2 Timothy 4, verses 3
and 4, we have those that hear that which pleases them. He said,
look at verse 1, "...I charge you before God, and the Lord
Jesus Christ, who shall judge the quick and the dead at his
appearing in his kingdom, preach the word." Be instant, in season,
out of season, exhort, rebuke. Exhort with all longsuffering
and doctrine. Look at verse 3. For the time
will come when they will not endure sound doctrine. Sound
doctrine. Do you want to hear what God
says? Or do you want to hear what you think he says? Now,
you've got to decide. Do you want to hear what God
says? or do you want to hear what you believe that the preacher
ought to preach? They will not endure sound doctrine,
but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers
having itching ears, and shall turn away their ears from the
truth, and be turned unto fables. There are 3 or 4 things that
mark the great reformation. Luther and Calvin and these men
led the whole world through a great spiritual reformation, and there
were 3 or 4 things that marked that reformation. First of all,
they preached salvation by grace alone, not by works. Secondly,
they preached salvation by Christ alone. not by the church, not by the
priest or the pope or Mary or any of the ceremonies or rituals
or sacraments, salvation by Christ alone, not by the church. Thirdly,
they preached the scriptures alone, apart from human tradition. Some of the churches were putting
their traditions with the word of God. They were including their
traditions with the word of God. And then fourthly, and I want
you to listen to this now, These men preached the right of private
judgment. Now that means just this, prior
to the Reformation in the Dark Ages, the Middle Ages, and on
back to the 3rd or 4th century, prior to the Reformation, the
Bible was not allowed in the hands of the common people. Nobody
had a copy of God's Word. The Word of God, I've seen pictures
of it chained in the churches to a big pulpit with a chain
actually going down so it could not be removed. The priest had
copies of the word of God. Those in authority in the church
had copies of the word of God. The common people were not allowed
to read the scripture. They had to take the interpretation
of the priest. The priest gave the people what
they wanted them to have. They didn't know anything about
the Word of God. Therefore, most religious superstition was born
right then. It was born during that time.
When the people didn't know, the priest stepped in the pulpit
and told them what the Word of God said, well, that's it. They
didn't know. They had no word to read. They
had no Bible to read. They couldn't search the Scriptures
to see if these things be so. That man was hallowed and honored
and reverend and holy. And that's what started purgatory,
that's what started praying for the dead, that's what started
all the praying to Mary, that's what started all these religious
superstitions that have bound people through the years, and
we're even plagued by them today because they've come down through
the years. But these men in the Reformation started giving the
Bible to the common people and said, you have a right to read
God's Word and interpret God's Word for yourself. You're not
under the dominion and the power of super-ecclesiastical leaders. You take that word and read it.
That's the right of private judgment, and I defend it and I hold to
it. It's a God-given blessing. But
be careful now. Be careful that when you start
reading the Word of God and interpreting the Word of God and translating
the Word of God, you let the Word of God speak for itself.
Don't you be like those who twisted the scripture and made them say
what they didn't say. Don't be just as guilty as those
who withheld the Word of God. Don't rob your own soul of a
blessing by withholding what God says from yourself. And I'll
tell you this, you know the way to interpret scripture? You interpret
scripture by scripture. It's just like you cut a diamond
with a diamond. The scripture says that the word
of God came in old times, by the breath of God, holy men of
God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit, and no scripture
is of any private interpretation. That means just this. If you
believe the Bible teaches something, put it on a pedestal. Just put
it up there. Now, you've been reading the
Bible and you draw this conclusion. Let's take an example. Suppose
you're reading Acts 2.38, and it says, "...repent and be baptized
for the remission of sins." And you draw the conclusion from
that that baptism is that which remits sin. Now, you know what
you do with that interpretation? Put it on a pedestal. Just set
it up there. Baptism saves. start throwing
the scripture at it. If you knock it off with the
rest of the Word of God, leave it on the ground, it's not God's
Word. That's right. The Bible has to
be interpreted in the light of the Bible. The Bible has any
verse in this scripture has to be in harmony with, it has to
be connected with, all of God's Word. So take that doctrine and
put it on a pedestal. And go back to Genesis and Exodus
and Leviticus and Numbers and Deuteronomy and just throw God's
Word at it. You can knock it off, God didn't
say it. That's so. Pray for divine revelation. Pray for divine revelation. Don't
just hear what you want to hear. You're not that smart, I'm not
easy. I've been reading God's Word a long time, I've been preaching
a long time. But I'll tell you this, I don't trust my heart,
it's deceitful. I'm not going to form any doctrines,
I'm going to submit my gospel. I hope when I'm 70 years old,
if I'm still preaching, I'll submit my gospel to this book. And don't you come to hear me
and say, now I'm going to listen to him. If he says what I want
to hear, I'll keep on listening. If he says what I don't want
to hear, I'll leave. You're in trouble. Preacher preach
the word. Exhort, rebuke, reprove with
all patience. And whatever you read from that
book, by God's grace I'll take it. It might kill me. It might
destroy some of my traditions. It might do away with some of
my old religious customs. But if you can preach it out
of God's Word, work me over, strip me, slay me, knock my foundations
out from under me, because I don't want to perish defending a false
profession. Do you? I don't. I don't want to hear what I want
to hear. hear what I'm pleased to hear. And then last of all,
another kind of hearer is this hearer, the man who hears, but
never grows. He never grows, he never bears
any fruit. Turn, if you will, to Luke 13.
Here's a sad picture here, a sad picture. In Luke 13, beginning
with verse 6, I want you to look at this. Here's the Lord speaking
again. And he says in Luke 13, verse
6, he speaks unto them this parable. A certain man had a fig tree
planted in his vineyard. And he came and he sought fruit
thereon. He didn't find any. Get the picture? Here I am in the house of God.
I'm in the family of God. I'm in the vineyard of God. God's
the husband. I'm in the vineyard. He planted
me here. He's got every right to expect some fruit. He's got
every right to expect me to go. When you plant a tree, it's one
year old, you don't expect much fruit on it, but it's been there
several years, you expect to have at least an apple or two.
Fruit of the Spirit, joy, patience, meekness, love, understanding,
kindness, faith. So he came and sought fruit he
didn't find any. He said to the dresser of the
vineyard, the whole three years, I've come seeking fruit on this
fig tree, and I haven't found any. Cut it down. Cut it down. Why cumbereth it
the ground? And he answering said unto him,
Lord, let it alone this year. This year also, and I'll dig
about it and I'll dung it. I'll preach to him, I'll pray
for him, I'll minister to him. And Lord, if he bears fruit,
well. But if not, then after that,
thou shalt cut it down. Philip said, Lord, show us the
Father, and it sufficeth us. He said, Philip, Have I been
so long time with you and yet you don't know me? Have I read this book all these
years and I still don't know him? Have I been in the Lord's vineyard
all these years and still when he comes he finds no fruit? I
haven't grown. Just nothing but leaves. Nothing
but leaves. Just profession. Just words.
Just idle conversation. No fruit. Cut it down. Lord, be patient one more year,
will you? All right, one more year. If
I don't find any fruit, I'll cut it down. I'll cut it down. Here, it don't grow. desire the sincere milk of the
word, that you may grow thereby." I'm not here to entertain myself
or you. I'm here that I might grow and
you might grow. These subjects are given to me
in order that I might develop spiritually and you might develop
spiritually. I tell you honestly, I don't I don't expect to lose
anybody out of this congregation. I expect people to stay. I expect
people to grow. I expect the word of God to bear
fruit. I expect it. And I'm disappointed when it
doesn't. I'm disappointed in myself. We're not perfect, far
from it. But I do detect, and I do want
to detect more, growth in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord
Jesus Christ, don't you? Our Father in heaven, thank thee
for the word. of our presence with us tonight,
O Lord, that it might never be said, they sit as my people,
and they approach me with their lips, but their hearts are far
from me, and seeing they don't see, hearing they don't hear. And they don't understand. Give
us understanding. Give us hearts that embrace the
Savior, embrace the Word. Thank you for our happiness and
blessings. Thank you for one another, for
the fellowship. That, O God, thou hast written in thy Word,
there's a time to sing, there's a time to weep, there's a time
to dance, there's a time to mourn. It's a time to live, it's a time
to die. We pray that in these services that Christ might be
exalted, that our presence might be felt. Don't leave us to ourselves. Minister through us and to us
and in us for the glory of our Lord. For in his name we pray,
amen.

Seeing They See Not - Hearing They Hear Not

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Seeing They See Not - Hearing They Hear Not

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