BIBLE REFERENCE:
“Wherefore, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath” James 1:19;
WORD OF ENCOURAGEMENT:
I often think back to a movie that we have all seen and loved over the years. The movie that I am referring to is “The Wizard of Oz”. When you watch this movie and pay attention to the words that are spoken by the characters in the movie, you come to a conclusion that they were way ahead of the time, and it is almost as if they were describing the days in which we live. The scarecrow has a line that clearly states the society in which we live, and I quote, “Some people without brains do an awful lot of talking”. I would say that this is extremely relevant in our society today. The area in which this is most common is in the area of eschatology, (any of various Christian doctrines concerning the Second Coming, the resurrection of the dead, or the Last Judgment.) Those that have studied the Bible and are considered experts in the file of eschatology have a very good grasp on what is happening and what is in the near future. Then there are those that have never picked up a Bible or ever attended a church that seem to know more than those that are experts. These are the ones that are doing most of the talking when they should be listening.
We read a verse in Proverbs 19:20; “Hear counsel, and receive instruction, that thou mayest be wise in thy latter end.” This verse is saying that in the end days, which we are clearly in, we should be listening to those that have been called to teach what is truly happening in our world today. But with that being said, the Bible also instructs us to read the scriptures daily and search out those things that are being said to make sure that they are true. Paul says in Acts 17:11;” Now the Bereans were of more noble character than the Thessalonians, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true.” The Bereans were a sect of Christianity that would listen with open ears what was being spoken of, but then they would read the scriptures for themselves to find out if they were true or not. It seems today that most people are ready to criticize everything they hear but can never come up with evidence to support their view. If you feel that you do not want to believe what you are hearing, that is fine, but don’t just assume that it is wrong, find out what the scriptures say. Your eternal sole is a stake.
We read another verse that is very relevant in today’s world, 2 Timothy 4:3; “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers;” People will only listen to what they want to hear. Even Simon and Garfunkel knew this when they sang the song “The Boxer” “I am just a poor boy though my stories seldom told, I have squandered my resistance for a pocket full of mumbles such are promises, all lies and jest still a man hears what he wants to hear and disregards the rest”.
If you are not attending a church that is preparing you for the days ahead, you will be caught off guard and it may cost you your eternal salvation. Churches today should be teaching about sin and repentance, instead of telling you that all will be fine, when in reality it will not be fine if you do not know the truth. When is the last time your pastor or priest told you that you were a sinner heading for eternal damnation if you didn’t repent of your sins and give your life to Jesus Christ. If you haven’t, run quickly to the nearest Bible teaching church in your area.
Something else that I have noticed about people talking and listening. I have been around groups of people where there might be four to six people and it always amazes me that usually three or four are talking at the same time and nobody is listening. I, myself am guilty of this at times, someone might be talking, and I will cut them off without thinking. I have to admit, I am getting better because I am trying to listen more and talk less. Let me give you the best advice that I can, if someone approaches you and starts to talk about Jesus and salvation, give him your undivided attention, it may be the Holy Spirit reaching out to you and it may be your past opportunity to be saved. God uses His Born-again believers to share the gospel just as the Bible commands us to. We read in Mark 16:15; where Jesus commands His disciples to do the following. “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature." He has called the Born-again believers of today to do the same thing. But without fail, the people of today are mocking and laughing at all those that are called just like the prophets of old. Nothing changes. God is always trying to reach His creation with warnings and truth that are most necessary to know.
This next verse is why the world has not yet been judged, but you can be certain that time is at hand. Jesus had this to say in regard to why judgement hasn’t come yet, 2 Peter 3:9; “The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” But unfortunately, the day will come when God will say, “Enough is Enough!” This brings me to one of the scariest verses in the Bible, one we should all take very seriously, Matthew 7:14; “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Do not believe for a second that everybody is going to heaven, in fact, quite the opposite is true according to this spoken of by Jesus Christ. Few is few! In Noah’s day, eight were saved from judgement, in Sodom and Gomorrah, four were saved, now that is a few. You need to attend a church that teaches the whole counsel of God, if you don’t, you may miss the most important part of the scriptures that will determine your eternal fate. All those that do not want to listen to truth will one day wish they had. “Written To the extreme glory of God and Inspired by the Holy Spirit!” Amen!
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