Father, most of us think that we're really good at listening,
and most of us think that we're really good at listening to you.
And Father, you know that we delude ourselves and fool ourselves,
and we are unaware of it.
So Father, we ask that you would be very kind and gracious to me
and to each one who is here today,
and that you would gently but deeply pour out your Holy Spirit upon us.
And Father, you would help us to listen to your word
and learn to listen to other people as well.
And Father, all of this we ask in the name of Jesus, your Son, and our Savior. Amen.
Please be seated.
So I don't know how many of you listen as I pray,
and maybe I said something which was a little bit offensive,
but I don't think there's been a statistic about this.
But would any of us be surprised?
Would any of us be surprised if they did a very, very good opinion poll in Canada
and asked people if they were like terrible listeners,
below average listeners, average listeners, above average listeners,
or excellent listeners?
Would any of us be surprised if they did such a survey like that?
And maybe some of you will tell me afterwards that they did.
Would anybody here be surprised if the survey found
that 80% of Canadians thought they were either above average or excellent listeners?
I mean, I don't think any of us would be surprised with that, would we?
And of course, statistically, that's probably not the case,
that 80% of us could be above average.
That, you know, most of us would be average, right?
In fact, I know that we're all, and I'm not going to ask you to do this,
and now that I'm sitting on the stage, we'd all be very polite about it and modest.
But my guess is that most of us here think that we're one of the best listeners in the congregation.
And some of you are thinking to yourself,
that person thinks they're a better listener than me?
Are they smoking dope or something like that?
But most of us probably think that we're amongst the best listeners in the congregation.
And my guess as well is this, that just about every single person in the room,
and it depends on your context,
but my guess is that just about every single person here in the room
thinks that, you know, whether it's something at work
or something with your boyfriend or girlfriend or your spouse or your family,
that situation would be better if they listened to you more.
That's probably what most of us think,
that if at work they just listened to me more,
things would go better.
If my wife would just listen to me more,
things would go better.
If my dad, if my kids, if, you know,
that probably just about every single one of us here thinks that.
And so, see, here's the problem.
So, okay, yeah, you're going to do a sermon on listening.
Oh, yeah, yeah, I got that covered.
Why do we think that's covered?
Why do we think that's boring?
Why?
Because we're probably part of the 80% or 90% of Canadians
who think they're above average in listening.
Therefore, they don't have to listen to more information about how to listen.
Because we already got that covered.
But if you sort of acknowledge that one moment,
if 80, 90% of the people, like these people around me,
they actually think they listen better than me?
And the shocking thing is they're saying that about you, okay?
The person around you is saying they think that they listen better than you listen.
And if that's the case, then maybe we have a bit of a problem with listening.
And so maybe we need to listen to some wisdom from the Bible about listening.
So this is going to be a day where we're going to say the scripture as well
because saying it will help us to listen.
So, Andrew, if you could put up the first text.
We're going to say it together in a moment.
Or you can read it off the screen or you can find it on your little insert.
And I'm not going through the insert in the order that they're written,
but sort of in a bit of a logical or rhetorical order.
So if you could just, and I'm going to be asking you to say it with me.
So if you could just say this with me, that would be great.
An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
And we don't have to say Proverbs 18, 15.
Let's say it again.
An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
Now, I started, I thought I'd start with a proverb that's sort of simple.
In fact, it would be one of those examples of a proverb that we'd almost not even want to try to remember
because, you know, I got listening down pat, right?
I'm part of the 90% of Canadians who's above average or excellent at listening.
So I don't have to listen to advice on listening.
And so I thought I'd start with a proverb that sort of is almost like,
how are we going to get into any type of a debate?
Although in a second, I'm going to say something that maybe,
I think this proverb tells us something that will maybe bother most of us in the room.
But before that, I'm not one of these Canadians who doesn't believe that IQ tests measure anything.
And I'm not one of the Canadians who think that IQ tests only measure how well you do at IQ tests.
I just think it's a common sense notion that some people are smarter than others.
And some people are just really good at, you know, figuring out logical type of problems very, very quickly.
And some are just better than others.
So the first thing you want to notice about this proverb,
when it says that an intelligent heart acquires knowledge and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge,
it's not saying that people with high IQs acquire knowledge.
And the ears of the wise, in other words, people with high IQs seek knowledge.
It's not saying that at all.
In fact, the proverb would be quite comfortable with the statement,
you know the problem with that person?
They're really, really intelligent and they're really dumb.
Or they're really, really intelligent or they're stupid.
Or they're really intelligent and they're dumb in the way that only really intelligent people can be dumb.
And the proverb would say, yeah, yeah, that, like that, the writer of the proverb would say,
yeah, that's a common sense thing.
So it's not talking about IQ.
And it's interesting that it uses the word heart rather than mind.
And the fact that it uses heart rather than mind is significant
because it's reminding us that at the heart, which is sort of deeper than the mind,
that's the control or the command center, it's not referring to the seat of the emotions.
It's referring to, in most of the Bible, when you see the word heart,
I've said this before, think of where Captain Kirk sits in Star Trek.
And that's what the heart is referring to.
It's referring to, in a sense, the command center of the good ship George
or the good ship Andrew or the good ship, you know, the good ship Louise.
It's referring to the command center, sort of deeper than the mind and higher than the mind.
And it's referring to something that deals with both relational knowledge,
practical knowledge, experiential knowledge,
and obviously as well the ability to do conceptual knowledge.
And it's referring to that part of us as being intelligent.
And what characterizes that part of us being intelligent is that we seek to acquire knowledge.
And we seek to acquire knowledge through hearing, in particular.
And so there's just several things in this that are a bit surprising.
The first thing here is that the common misconception about Christians,
and a very common belief amongst Christians, is that Christians shouldn't want to know more.
I mean, we've got the answer here in the Bible.
But this proverb says, is basically saying that Christians should always want to know more.
That that's a Christian idea.
You see, it's one of the reasons why science developed in a Christian context.
I'm going to talk about this more in a little bit.
But there's this fundamental idea that if this proverb is true, an intelligent heart acquires knowledge,
and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
It's telling those of us who are Christ followers that we should desire to always know more.
That when we're 80, when we're 85, when we're 90, that we should still have a desire to know more.
The second thing, and this is a whole other sermon topic,
is that if you read the Gospels, it's very clear that Jesus asks questions.
I mean, part of the mystery of the Gospels is that if Jesus never asked questions,
he wouldn't really be a human being, would he?
Because human beings ask questions.
It's obvious, if you look at all the different texts together,
that what happens in Jesus' case is that when God the Father wants God the Son to know something
that he couldn't know by normal human means,
then God the Father gives it to Jesus.
But apart from that, and Jesus would just have to trust that when the Father's going to give that type of knowledge
and when he won't, the rest of the time Jesus would have to...
Jesus probably had to ask directions sometimes when he was going from village to village.
He had to ask people their name.
And he probably had to ask his dad,
how is it that you fit this piece of wood to that piece of wood?
And if he didn't, then he wouldn't have been a human being.
But here's the thing.
Remember that the proverb is,
an intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.
And note this, it doesn't say the eye of the wise, it says the ear of the wise.
Does this maybe imply that we should stop watching news on television?
I think it does.
I think it maybe implies that we shouldn't be watching news.
Because in fact, it's a very consistent theme all the way through the Bible
that the ear has a special place in acquiring knowledge and wisdom,
and that in fact, often the eyes mislead us.
And it's far easier to manipulate us with an image than it is with the ear.
So maybe one of the takeaways from this is that those of you who watch the news
should maybe stop watching the news.
I told you that when you actually look at these proverbs,
even the ones that seem very simple can all of a sudden be fairly surprising.
That maybe, maybe we shouldn't watch the news.
The next proverb, now we're going to start to get from these simple ones,
to start to get more into the problem of listening,
is this next proverb is going to say that basically every commencement address
that you've ever heard gives you absolutely terrible advice
that goes against the Bible.
I mean, most of us don't think that we're in a commencement address,
probably even at Christian colleges,
that they're saying things that the Bible says are very foolish.
And maybe you're not going to agree with the proverb,
but that's what the proverb says.
Andrew, if you could put up the next proverb,
which is Proverbs 12, 15.
Could you say it with me?
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.
Let's say it again.
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.
What's one of the main things that they always say at every commencement address?
Follow your heart.
Do what is, follow your dream.
Stay on the path of your dream.
Don't let people put you down or take you away from your path.
Follow your path.
Follow your heart.
Follow your dream.
And the book of Proverbs says,
The way of a fool is right in his own eyes,
but a wise man listens to advice.
Bit of a shock, eh?
It's a bit of a shock.
Obviously, these things have to be nuanced,
but it's hard to believe that this proverb would say that most...
And by the way, I'm a bit of a minor expert on commencement addresses.
Maybe not as much of those of you who are teachers,
but I have now had eight children graduate from high school,
six graduate from university,
and several graduate from university with several degrees or certificates.
I've heard lots of commencement addresses.
I think they always say it during the...
There must be a web page,
things you have to say in a commencement address,
and then they go up and read it.
But here's another thing.
Do you think that these proverbs are written
so that I can feel superior to you?
You're going,
One moment, George.
Did you just say there's a proverb here that was written
so that you could feel superior to me?
George, there can't possibly be a proverb
that would allow you to feel superior to me.
Well, I agree with you,
but let's read the proverb.
If you could put up the next one, Andrew.
Proverbs 13.10.
Proverbs 13.10, you want to say it with me?
By insolence comes nothing but strife,
but with those who take advice is wisdom.
Let's say it together again.
By insolence comes nothing but strife,
but with those who take advice is wisdom.
Now, what do you mean, George,
by saying that this proverb is telling you
that you can be superior to others?
Well, I've just put it in a shocking form.
But you see, the problem is
is that we're going to come to a lot of these types of proverbs,
and the problem is that we're going to take this proverb
and say, wow, Proverbs 13.10,
by insolence comes nothing but strife,
but with those who take advice is wisdom.
I wish my boss would read that.
I wish my wife would read this.
I wish my kid would read this.
I wish my pastor would read this.
One moment, you're reading this to think you're superior to me?
I'm reading it to think I'm superior to you.
What happens if two people are both wishing the other person read this proverb?
How do you think those conversations go?
How do you think it goes if I'm reading this proverb thinking,
wow, I wish Louise would read this.
We'd have far better conversations.
And if Louise is reading it saying,
boy, I wish George would take this to heart,
we'd have far better conversations.
We're both reading it in a way that makes us feel superior to the other person.
In other words, we're reading it in an arrogant and proud way
that does not respect the other,
which is what insolence is.
We're both reading it in a proud way
that does not respect the other.
And when that happens, there's strife.
It's when happens, there's strife.
And the thing about this is, by the way,
no Christian should read this saying
that this only applies to Muslims or atheists or feminists or gays
or NDPers or people who are actually going to vote for Harper.
You pick your outside group.
I mean, the fact is this does apply.
This does apply to feminists.
It applies to women's shelters.
It applies to gay collectives.
It applies to university faculties.
It applies in business.
It applies in bureaucracies.
It applies in gospel halls, in Roman Catholic cathedrals,
in Eastern Orthodox places, in evangelical places.
It's a human problem.
Isn't it a human problem?
It's a human problem.
And just because you've asked Jesus into your life
to be your Savior and Lord
doesn't mean that you don't have a problem with insolence.
It doesn't mean that I don't have a problem with insolence.
The scripture, if we read it carefully,
is inviting us not to look at how it applies to others
but how it applies to myself.
How much of the strife in my life
is caused because I think
I listen better and know better,
way better than the other person?
How much of it's going on?
Here's, in fact, another very...
You know, when I told my wife last night,
she has good reason for this reaction.
When I told my wife last night
that I was going to do a sermon on listening,
I was looking at her face
and she said,
Oh, that would be interesting.
She has good grounds for this, by the way, okay?
And she said,
Too bad I'm going to be in the nursery
to hear what I...
You know, George on listening.
That could be a variant.
My kids would probably be thinking the same thing.
Dad on listening.
It's a human problem, folks.
And I'm probably getting a little bit red right now.
So maybe if you could make the lights a little bit
so I don't look like I'm blushing when I say this.
Too bad we can't do it quickly.
The other thing is that these Proverbs
tell us that we should be open to new ideas.
In fact, the sad fact is that in many churches,
if you were to say that the Bible tells you
to be open to new ideas,
a lot of people will instantly feel,
Oh!
Christians don't need to listen to new ideas.
George, that's a dangerous thing to say
that Christians should listen to new ideas.
Let's look at the next Proverb,
if you could put it up.
It's Proverbs 18, 18-2.
Do you want to say this with me?
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
Let's say it again.
A fool takes no pleasure in understanding,
but only in expressing his opinion.
Understanding means you're learning new ideas, folks.
That's what understanding means.
And this is, you know, once again,
this is a very powerful proverb
that it's very, very easy for us to say,
Wow, does this ever describe my professor or my boss
or my husband or my dad?
And it, you know, it doesn't,
we have a harder time thinking it might apply to us.
I mean, the fact of the matter is
is that we've all probably talked to people,
and you can tell that the only reason they stop talking
is that they have to catch up with their breathing,
and they're actually, but graciously,
will allow you to continue talking
while they catch up and replenish the oxygen in their body.
But what you say is completely and utterly irrelevant.
Or that even when they appear to listen,
because their eyes are on you,
and they have functioning ears,
but you can tell that when you're talking to them
that what's going on inside their brain
is that all they're doing is marshalling new things
they're going to say to you
once you finally stop speaking.
And the challenge is, does that describe us?
Because, you see, the fact of the matter is
is that most of us wouldn't say that we're fools.
In fact, my guess is that if we did a little survey,
you know, are you really foolish?
Below average fool?
Average fool? Above average fool?
Really foolish?
Probably most of us wouldn't put ourselves
in the above average fool.
In fact, most of us probably wouldn't even put ourselves
as average fools.
But how many of us in our conversations,
actually, maybe not in all of them,
all we're actually interested in doing
is expressing our own opinion.
And we're not actually interested in listening at all.
And how can you learn?
How can we learn?
How can I learn,
if that's all that's going on
with what I've already thought?
Now, this all sets up another one of these proverbs
that probably when we're looking through the book of proverbs,
looking for something really interesting
that'll help us,
we'd skip over this
because it sounds sort of hokey
and probably wrong.
But if we've come through
listening to Proverbs 18.15
and 12.15 and 13.10 and 18.2,
then maybe we're ready to actually listen to Proverbs 13.8
and see that it's actually a lot wiser than we think
and we need to hear it a lot more than we think.
If you could put it up, Andrew,
that would be great.
13.18.
You want to say it with me?
Poverty and disgrace come to him
who ignores instruction,
but whoever heeds reproof is honored.
Say it again.
Poverty and disgrace come to him
who ignores instruction,
but whoever heeds reproof is honored.
Now, just before I say anything more about this,
you'll notice we're going to do this all the way through.
We're going to say the Proverbs twice
because it's far more important
that you remember the proverb
than you remember me
or what I have to say about it.
Right?
The Proverbs wise.
Hopefully I don't get in the way
of the wisdom of the proverb.
And so some of these you might want to take back
and memorize yourself
or meditate upon them
or something like that.
But here's the thing about this.
At first glance,
if I hadn't tried to lead you to the point
where you acknowledge,
hopefully with me,
that there's a listening problem going on within me
and that, in fact,
a lot of strife and other problems
and ignorance and everything
comes from our lack of willingness to listen,
if we hadn't sort of gone through that,
we would maybe think that this proverb is wrong.
I couldn't find it in my bookshelves easily,
so I couldn't check it up.
But a man by the name of Stephen Covey
that probably many of you have heard of,
he's not a Christian,
but a few years ago,
I don't know, 15, 20 years ago,
maybe more than that,
for his PhD dissertation,
he did his PhD dissertation on,
he read all of the books,
the main books for the past,
I think it was 150 years in English,
that talked about success and effectiveness.
And when he read the 150 years worth of literature
on the subject,
he came to the conclusion
that the advice could be narrowed down
to seven statements.
And he ended up turning that PhD dissertation
into a book that sold millions of copies,
and it's called
Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.
And that, with the book by Alan,
Getting Things Done,
are probably the two most important books
in literature around how to use your time
and how to be effective.
And one of those seven things
that he found key to effectiveness
was in fact,
he didn't word it this way,
I'm going to give you a different way
to word it in a moment,
but it's basically this,
that he found that listening
is key to success.
He found that
if you ignore listening to people,
if you ignore correction,
if you ignore listening,
things like poverty and disgrace
will come to you.
But if you listen to correction
and listen deeply to others,
you'll be honored.
Now, just think about it for a second,
because, you know,
just think about my,
you know, a marriage or a family.
Like, what's it like with a marriage
if the husband never listens to the wife?
What's it like in a marriage
if the wife never listens to the husband?
What's it like if all of these proverbs,
the husband and the wife,
think it applies to the other?
What's it like for a husband
and a father and his kids
or a mom and her kids?
What's it like in a workplace
if you absolutely never,
ever, ever, ever feel
that you're listened to?
Well, the marriage is going to suffer.
The marriage will be poorer.
The marriage won't be an honorable marriage.
The workplace will be poorer.
People will call in sick all the time.
They won't give their best.
They'll be backbiting and slander
and they'll be stealing
and there'll be all of these types of things.
And in fact, Stephen Covey found
that one of the seven habits
of highly effective people in that,
and as I said,
the book by Alan in secular
and in Christian circles
are often used
to try to teach people
to be more effective.
He's discovered in 150 years of literature
something that this proverb says,
which we will simply often read
and not even think it's true.
Isn't that amazing?
That a non-Christian,
after all the research,
would come across a proverb
that we would dismiss
as being one of the seven keys
to living an effective life.
Andrew, if you could put up
the first point,
I've slightly reworded it.
I actually do have points
in the sermon today
and this is a simple one.
Seek to understand something
or someone before you seek
to be understood.
Slightly rewording how Covey put it
and that's what this advice here is.
Seek to understand something
or someone
before you seek to be understood.
How will that change
your conversation with your wife
if you go into it saying,
you know what,
I'm actually going to spend time
talking to my wife.
You pray that I can do this, okay?
Pray that I can do this.
And I don't want to spend
my time talking to her
just so I can talk
and talk and talk and talk
but I want to really try
to understand her
and I want to try to make sure
I really understand her
before I try to make myself understood.
I want to try to have as my goal
that I will understand her
like very, very deeply
before I make any attempt
to be understood.
And, you know,
the problem with the Stephen Covey book
is that it's very easy for people
and this will sort of go
into the next one.
It's very easy for people
to take these habits
of highly effective people
as a way to exalt themselves
but not really take it to heart.
It's like that old saying
that, you know,
in business and in life
if you can fake sincerity
you've got it made.
You don't have to actually be sincere
just fake sincerity.
You don't have to actually care for people
just fake that you care for people
and things will go smart.
It can also even do that
just fake that you're actually
really trying to understand
the other person
but you're really just doing it
because you know that Covey
says that you do it.
But for us as Christians
this is to cut us to the heart.
I mean, this is now God
saying this to us
that that's how I should live my life
that I should seek to understand
before I want to make myself understood.
One of the things you can pray
for me and for Daniel
and for anybody who opens
the Bible in this church
let me tell you
this is a great besetting sin of clergy.
A huge, huge, huge
unaddressed sin of clergy
and I would love it
if you pray that I not practice it.
I would love it
if you pray for Daniel.
Daniel will not be upset
if you pray this for him
or anybody.
It's your small group leader
or whatever.
It's very easy.
Oh, you have to do a Bible study
on Luke chapter 5 verse 1
chapter 5 verse 1
and you read it over quickly
and you scan and you say
okay, I scan it
ta-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da
Okay, I understand this.
I got it.
And all you've done
is done a quick scan
and you've got it.
I'm going to be able
to talk about this.
I'm going to be able
to talk about this.
I'm going to be able
to talk about this.
I'm going to be able
to talk about this.
And before you know it
the Bible study leader
the clergy, the pastor,
the evangelist
they haven't actually
listened to the Bible.
They've just quickly
looked at it
to see what they can
grab out of it
because wow,
I've been really wanting
to talk about this.
We never say this
to ourselves out loud
but that's what goes on
in our spirits.
That's often what happens
in studies of a lot of clergy.
Whoa!
Okay, I can talk about this.
I can talk about this.
I want to talk about this.
I've been wanting
to talk about this.
This is a great opportunity
to talk about this.
Or even when we approach
the Bible
pray that this doesn't happen to me.
Pray that it doesn't happen
to Daniel.
It's a great temptation.
Pray that it doesn't happen
to your Bible study leader
that all throughout the week
I'm thinking to myself
oh, what do I?
What do I really want
to say to my congregation?
What do I,
I,
I
want to say to my,
my, my
Bible study group,
my Sunday school class,
my congregation?
Maybe I can find something
in the Bible
that will allow me
to talk about it.
Whoa!
This will allow me
to talk about
what I want to talk about.
We don't realize
that we do that.
Pray that we don't.
Pray that that doesn't happen.
Pray that when
we slip into it
because every minister
slips into it.
Pray that,
that when we start
to slip into it
that the Holy Spirit
will convict us of sin
and,
and we'll say,
you know what,
maybe I should spend
80% of my time
trying to understand
what the Bible's saying
and 20% of my time
how to explain it
or talk about it.
One of the things
which is,
I'm not going to try
to betray my,
my political things,
biases.
Probably some of you
would guess some of the things
and be wrong
about a lot of the other things.
But,
you know,
one of the things
that happens is
if you watch John Stewart
or if you watch Bill O'Reilly
or Rush Limbaugh,
take your pick,
left or right.
I remember a few years ago
that John Stewart
talked as if he didn't
actually think
he was left wing.
And I thought,
whoa,
doesn't think he's left wing?
Sorry,
I made somebody laugh
there for that one.
And,
and a lot of people
would say,
no,
Bill O'Reilly's not,
the guy,
you know,
Rush Limbaugh,
he's not right wing,
he's just right.
And a lot of what goes on
is we can end up
becoming part of a tribe,
pro-Harper,
anti-Harper,
NDP,
conservative,
you know,
green,
whatever.
And,
and what we don't do
is we don't actually
listen.
What we do is we mock
people who differ from us.
And we're not aware
of the fact that
much of what happens
with Limbaugh
or John Stewart
and you,
or Colbert,
you can take your
different picks,
is that a lot of what
is their humor
is actually just
mocking and scoffing.
And,
the book of Proverbs
say that that's
actually not good.
Let's,
Proverbs 9,
verses 7 to 10.
Andrew,
if you want to put it up.
I don't know if it all
made it on one slide
or not.
Two slides,
okay.
I will just say this one
once because it's
actually four Proverbs.
If you want to join
with me in saying it.
whoever corrects a scoffer
gets himself abused
and he who reproves
a wicked man
incurs injury.
Do not reprove
a scoffer
or he will hate you.
Reprove a wise man
and he will love you.
Give instruction
to a wise man
and he will be still wiser.
Teach a righteous man
and he will increase
in learning.
The fear of the Lord
is the beginning
of wisdom
and the knowledge
of the Holy One
is insight.
Here's this thing.
You know,
if you try to correct
Limbaugh,
instruct him,
he'll,
I mean,
I wouldn't try
to match wits
with John Stewart
or with Rush Limbaugh.
I wouldn't try
to match wits
with him.
And I would probably
have to,
you know,
depending on either one,
I'd have to sit there
with mocking invective
that would overwhelm me.
But this isn't just
a proverb
that makes fun
of what we may be,
some of us might say
are extreme people.
This actually is an important
litmus test for us.
Andrew,
if you could put up
the Venn diagram.
So hopefully
you can read that.
I have to make sure
I don't fall off
the screen,
the stage
while I talk to you
about it.
Here's,
here's what happens.
So,
most of us
will say,
no,
I'm pretty good
at listening to people
who disagree with me.
I'm actually
pretty good at that.
In fact,
you know,
George,
if you had a poll,
I would say
I'm above average
in listening
to other people
who disagree with me.
In fact,
we might discover
that 90%
of Canadians
think they're
above average.
Which,
once again,
you know,
unless it's
a modal distribution,
sorry,
statistic geek
comment,
it's probably
not the case.
But,
see,
what happens is
that we have
my thoughts
and then there's
the other person's
thoughts
and there's
a bit of
an intersection.
My guess is
with John Stewart
and Rush Limbaugh
it would be
a very tiny area
that they agree on.
I don't know,
maybe they both
like dogs
or something,
I don't know.
But,
apart from that,
it would be
a very tiny little area.
And,
and some of us
it's bigger areas.
The hard part
isn't the fact
that we can listen
to that area,
the part of the
intersecting circles
which is number two.
The hard part
is listening to that
which is number three.
Doesn't intersect
with us at all.
Doesn't intersect
with us at all.
And when we come
across that,
is there a propensity
within us?
Is there a time
within us
that we want
to make fun of it?
We want to joke?
We want to belittle it?
That,
this,
this ends up
being a bit
of a,
of a litmus test
for us.
Because the,
the fact of the matter
is,
is if I was to say
how many of us
have a problem
with mocking
and scoffing,
my guess is
that none of us
would actually feel
even remotely
convicted about it
before we read this.
But I,
I think mocking
and scoffing
is a human problem.
And once again,
just because you
gave your life
to Jesus
doesn't mean
you have a problem
with mocking
and scoffing.
Just because
I'm a pastor
doesn't mean
I don't have
a problem
with mocking
and scoffing.
And the fact
that I might
listen to one
of those guys
and,
and it happens
to fit with
something I already
believe,
but it's the things
that I don't believe
and if,
if I have a tendency
to just want
to make fun of them,
then Proverbs 9
verses 7 to 10
is talking about me.
It's not talking
about some other person.
It's a litmus test.
And you know,
here's one of the things
by the way.
Just sort of pause
before we're going
to wrap this all up
with a couple
of the final Proverbs.
If,
if people
weren't able
to take in
completely new
information
and new ideas,
there'd be no science.
If people
weren't able
to take in
completely new
information
and new ideas
and not just dismiss it,
there would be
nothing that,
I mean,
some people,
you know,
social science
isn't really
very scientific,
but that's,
there'd be no
understanding.
There'd really
be no growth
in anybody's life
or in whole
disciplines like science.
And it's interesting
here that it's
also saying
that there's
actually no,
no growth
in our walk
with Jesus.
That there's
a type of
a seamlessness
between being able
to listen
to new data
and not say,
no,
I really
think the data
has to go
this way.
And then you
just keep
trying to do
the data,
you know,
the experiments
over and over
and over again
before you get
the data
that you like.
And that's
not how science
works.
You know,
it's not how
in social sciences
you should actually
be sort of interested
in trying to figure
out what the actors
say and what's
going on in the
country and the
culture.
And actually,
you have to be
prepared to be
surprised.
Some of you
remember,
there's a few
while ago,
I used to be,
I used to do
sociological research.
That was what I
did before I was
a minister,
amongst other
things.
And I was
involved in a
research project
and that this
time when the
Holy Spirit
convicted me,
I was doing
some research
about the
effect of
income transfer
policies in
different nations,
capitalist,
advanced capitalist
nations,
and the impact
of transfer
payments on
income inequality.
And the
United States
wasn't finishing
the worst.
And I kept
using all of my
cleverness with
statistics to try
to bring in
different variables
because I was
driven to believe
that the United
States would be
the worst.
And it was one
of those times,
it's an odd time
when in my
sociological research
that it was as if
the Holy Spirit
spoke to me and
said,
George,
what are you
doing?
Why are you
driven by this
hatred of the
Americans?
Many,
many years ago.
And I realized
that's what I was
doing.
I wasn't actually
just trying to
actually understand.
I had an
agenda.
And so it's
very,
very interesting
here that the
same type,
it's all connected
to the fear of
the Lord,
that there's
no,
it's not a
scene,
you know,
you think,
fear,
God is vastly
different than
me.
His thoughts
are not my
thoughts.
And if I'm
not prepared
to listen to
thoughts that are
different from me
in another person,
if I'm not
prepared to listen
to three with
you,
what makes me
think I'll
listen to
three from
God?
Like,
what makes me
think I would
listen to three
from God if I'm
not willing to
do it,
even listen to
it with you?
How does that
work,
George?
How does that
work?
I mean,
it can't work.
just a couple
of final ones.
One of the
reasons that we
have a hard
time listening
to instruction
from others is
that we know
they hate us.
We know they
hate us.
So if you could
put up the
next one,
it's I think
the second to
last of our
Proverbs.
You want to
say this with
me?
It's Proverbs
3,
verses 11 and
12.
Let's say it
together again.
My son, do not despise the Lord's discipline or be weary of his reproof,
for the Lord reproves him whom he loves as a father the son in whom he delights.
I mean, one of the things that you have to get away from this proverb is,
remember I didn't put it down as a point, but it's like an important takeaway for us,
is that one of the reasons that people who really like John Stewart
don't want to listen to Rush Limbaugh is they believe that Rush Limbaugh hates them,
and vice versa.
So one of the things, you know, if one of my first point was that seek to understand
before you want to seek to be understood, like one of the first,
another sort of takeaway which I didn't put as a point is that if you don't like somebody,
if you maybe hate them, maybe you shouldn't offer them advice.
If I really don't like somebody, then maybe I shouldn't offer them advice.
I mean, the thing here about all of these proverbs is on one hand,
the proverbs are all a bit, just because somebody hates you doesn't mean their comment
on your driving isn't true, which is why we always have to be willing to open,
to listen to advice.
I mean, the fact of the matter is they might hate me, and the fact of the matter is I might
drive badly.
And maybe a person who hates me is the one who's going to talk to me about it,
and maybe I have to listen to them.
But, you know, generally speaking, if we think somebody hates us,
we're going to probably not want to listen to their advice.
And so we should try to put that into practice ourself.
And if you really don't like somebody, if you really, really, really don't like them,
probably don't offer them any advice.
Pray instead.
Pray.
But here's the thing for us.
This is a shocking thing, because this is directly connected to God.
That means that when we listen to the Bible about hell, when we listen to the Bible about tithing,
about money, about homosexuality, about sexuality, about Jesus being the only way,
about a whole range of things, nothing, this text is telling us that nothing in the Bible
that's God's Word written, that's come to us, is written because God hates us.
Every word, every word emerges from the love that has dwelt before the planets were formed or created.
From all eternity, the Father has loved the Son, and the Son has loved the Father.
And the movement of the love from the Father to the Son, and the Son to the Father,
is one way to understand who the Holy Spirit is.
And from all eternity, there has been love, and every word in the Bible addressed to us
is a word of love addressed to us, even the hardest parts.
Even the hardest parts.
So here's just a couple of points, and then we'll wrap it up.
True love, and if you could put it up, true love truly corrects.
True love truly corrects.
Any attempt to think that there's a type of spirituality or religion that's never going to try to correct us,
it's a spirituality or religion that doesn't love us.
Granted, some correction comes out of hatred,
but true love always corrects.
My wife corrects me because she loves me, and because I need correction.
True love truly corrects.
Another takeaway.
God always has more to teach me in his word.
I mean, here's the question for you.
When did you stop listening to God?
Why did you stop listening to God?
And some of you will say,
George, okay, this is a church.
I didn't stop listening to God.
Well, how often do you read your Bible this week?
For those of you who have been Christians for more than five years,
it's an uncomfortable moment.
How many of you have never read the Bible cover to cover?
Well, why did you stop listening to God?
Like, how would it work with Louise if I came home and Louise wanted to talk to me about it?
I said, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
Don't read Numbers.
Don't read Leviticus.
Don't read First Chronicles.
I don't want to talk to you about these topics either, Louise.
How do you think it would go if I said to my wife,
these are the areas of our life together that I don't want you to talk to me about
because I'm not going to listen.
That would not go very well.
And it shouldn't go very well, by the way, right?
I'm not saying it wouldn't go very well because there's a problem with Louise.
It shouldn't go well.
So if you haven't tried to read the whole Bible,
like, so why did you decide you're going to stop listening to God?
When did that happen?
And how come you're fine with it or how come I'm fine with it?
All of these proverbs are telling us that God always has more to teach me in his word.
And one more takeaway.
Lord, have mercy upon me.
Help me to never stop listening to you.
Lord, have mercy upon me.
Help me to never stop listening to you.
And that's just, it's not all work.
There's grace in all of this.
True love truly, true love truly corrects.
There's grace in the proverbs.
It's not just about our ability to listen.
The Bible is going to convict us of listening, but it wants to convict us of grace first.
If you could put up the final proverb, Andrew.
If you could say it with me.
Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself,
but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life
that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Let's say it together again.
Whoever despises the word brings destruction on himself,
but he who reveres the commandment will be rewarded.
The teaching of the wise is a fountain of life
that one may turn away from the snares of death.
I pray because I believe God listens.
And it's not always been the case,
but I know that the listening problem in God and me and our relationship,
the listening problem isn't on his end, it's on my end.
God is always more willing to listen than I am to speak.
And I'm never as willing to listen to him as he is willing to speak to me.
But I pray because I know God listens.
And God just doesn't only listen to the cry of our hearts,
he listens to our rage.
He listens to our blindness.
He listens to our self-deception.
And that's why he sends his son to die upon the cross.
As a power of God for salvation for all who believe.
And why it's something just very, very, very tiny that we do
that allows the power of God for salvation to enter into us
and for us to enter into him.
And this proverb tells us the word.
It's very, very interesting.
Actually, if you want to put up the final point, Andrew, that would be great.
By his grace, God's word is life-giving life.
Or James, I guess it is.
If you could put up the final point.
By his grace, God's word is life-giving life.
It's very interesting because, you know, if you read John's gospel,
you know that the word became flesh and dwelt among us full of grace and truth.
And you know that in the same John in the gospels that Jesus preaches the word
and he is the word made flesh who preaches the word written.
And so there's this wonderful double meaning in this proverb.
To despise Jesus, to despise the word, brings destruction on ourselves.
Just as, in a sense, to despise the word from my wife brings destruction to our marriage.
To despise the word of my children brings destruction on my family.
To despise the word of your employer or your neighbor will bring destruction to the relationships.
And the very, very same type of thing is to despise the word of God brings destruction on himself.
To despise the word made flesh brings destruction on ourselves.
But he who reveres the commandment, who has an affection for it,
doesn't understand all of it but has a desire to honor it, to affection for it.
And when I became a Christian, I didn't know everything that Jesus did,
but I knew that I had to trust him as my savior and as my lord.
And God takes that tiny bit of revering of him
and the power of God for salvation comes and enters into us.
That life comes into us.
Life-giving life enters into me and I receive it and I enter into it.
And in fact, a whole way to understand the Christian faith,
if you have a hard time understanding, repent and believe,
just take the last part of this proverb to say that to turn to Jesus is to turn to a fountain of life.
And if you turn to Jesus who is the fountain of life,
you are turning from death and it snares towards a fountain of life.
And that's the heart.
God, by his grace, gives life.
And my call and my cry to try to learn to listen to God
and to learn to listen to others is not now something that I have to do in a certain way before God loves me
because God, who is life-giving life, offers life-giving life to me,
who is incomplete and self-deluding and self-deceiving,
and he's not weighing my merits.
He offers me this gift.
And now my journey to listen is not a journey that I have to walk on by myself,
but I can walk with Jesus.
And the love of Jesus for me is not an abstraction, but it's real.
He died on the cross.
He drank the cup that I deserve of my doom
and offered me his cup of destiny.
It's not an abstraction.
It's not an idea.
It happened on Calvary.
It's real.
Every word in the Bible is a word of love
that will turn me, hopefully,
to life-giving life,
a fountain of life-giving life
that I might turn from death
and the snares of death
to enter into life
and learn to listen
to life-giving life.
Please stand.
Let's just bow our heads in prayer.
Father,
we confess before you
that probably we didn't think
we had to hear any proverbs about listening
because we had that covered
and we had it matched.
We never struck us, Father,
that maybe there's whole areas of our lives
where we don't want to listen to you
or that we read the Bible
in a way that will make us feel superior to others.
Father, we thank you
that your word has the power
to cut us to the heart.
But we thank you, Father,
that your word has the power
to cut us to the heart,
not so that you will mock us
or scoff at us,
but so that we will cry out to you
for mercy and come to Jesus.
We thank you, Father,
that in Jesus and his death upon the cross
that you offer life-giving life,
a fountain of life-giving life
that we can plunge into
and that can enter into us.
Father, turn our hearts to Jesus.
Help us to listen to you.
Help us to want to listen to you.
Help us to want to learn more from your word.
Help us not to feel that we have arrived,
that there's not more for us to know
and more of us to learn
and more for us to try to experience.
Father, grant us a hunger and thirst
for the fountain of life-giving life.
Father, grant us an ability
to turn from death and the snares of death
to life-giving life,
your son Jesus, to your word.
And Father, as we enter more deeply into that,
help us to listen to others,
unafraid to listen to others,
without mocking, without superiority,
to listen to others.
Father, we ask that you would help us.
And this we ask in the name of Jesus,
your son and our savior.
Amen.