Keep Listening! (Proverbs 19:27)
Listen Here:
Proverbs 19:27
Cease to hear instruction, my son,
and you will stray from the words of knowledge.
Coming off the ropes of Proverbs 19:20 yesterday, today’s message is clear:
If we stop listening to instruction, particularly godly instruction, we will stray.
Attention and effort are needed to stay on the narrow way following Jesus.
Without constant attention to wisdom, without an ear inclined to Christ and His Word, we as depraved and sinful beings will unconsciously stray from it.
Look no further than the author of this verse himself, Solomon, the wise man himself, who strayed when he ceased listening to his own proverbs.
His example should serve as a warning to us not to lose sight, not to ignore and close our hearts and ears to the instruction found in God’s Word.
We need it every day. Like I said yesterday, each day we are moving either closer to or further from God. And those steps make a difference.
It’s like if you put on a pound a month. Maybe for a little while no one would notice, but after one, two, or three years? You’ll look like a completely new person. That happens with us and God. After years of taking tiny steps toward Him, continuously listening to His voice, what we’ll find is we are much closer to Him, and we can much more easily discern what He is saying to us.
And if we don’t take tiny steps toward God, we’re taking tiny steps away from Him. And after a while, it’ll be noticeable, as your language and character will resemble more and more of the world (because you are spending more time indulging there), and God’s voice to you will be a distant memory.
Yesterday I encouraged you to listen. And today I encourage you to listen and keep listening! Don’t stop.
Even when you may not feel anything, or you don’t believe you are hearing anything from the Lord, either audibly or through His Spirit, keep showing up. Keep giving God your ear. Pastor Jon Tyson says, ‘God shows up where He’s wanted’. God will speak to an ear that is constantly tuned toward Him to listen. Samuel in 1 Samuel 3:9 is a great example:
‘Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening’.
Let’s pray that that would be our heart posture today.
