Luke 8:18 are the words of the Lord Jesus.  It says, “Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”  This saying of the Lord came right after he spoke a parable of ‘the sower and his seed,’ a very important parable that all believers should become familiar with and ponder its meanings.  In between that parable and Luke 8:18, we read this in Luke 8:16-17, “No man, when he hath lighted a candle, covereth it with a vessel, or putteth it under a bed; but setteth it on a candlestick, that they which enter in may see the light. For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.”

The Lord instructs us in verse 18 to ‘take heed how ye hear’ in reference to the parables He had just told.  How is it that we need to be warned about how we hear?  I believe it has much to do with the heart.  We might ‘hear’ with an indifferent heart, not caring about the lesson the Lord gives to us.  We might ‘hear’ with a critical heart, just looking for something that we can criticize or try to use to confuse others.  We should ‘hear’ with a heart willing to learn and obey God’s Word.  Revelation 3:22 says, “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.”  In fact, the Lord uses that term seven times as he addresses the seven churches in Asia.  Dear reader, do you ‘have an ear’?  Do you have an ear that is willing to listen to the Lord as He speaks to you through His Word?  Do you delight in sitting at the Lord’s feet and learning from Him?  Are you willing to follow and obey His Word, no matter how contrary it might sound from the changing morals of our day?

The Lord continues His warning in Luke 8:18 by saying, “…for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.”  Here we have two different types of people…those who have, and those who ‘seem’ to have, or ‘thinks that he has.’  It is important that we understand this difference.  In the spiritual sense, it is true that when we truly hear the Word of God, and are obedient to what we have learned, the Lord will continue to bless us with more and more truth as we continue in obedience.  This is a blessed formula that is guaranteed to work!  As you read your Bible, pray for understanding, meditate upon its meanings and instruction, act in obedience to the Word.  The Lord will honor that by continuing to bless you in every facet of your life.  We read in Psalm 37:4, “Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.”

To those who ‘hear’ the Word of God with an indifferent or critical heart, with no intention of following its teachings, they will lose what they ‘think’ they have.  They may think they are wise and well learned, but if the Word has no impact on their lives, they really do not have anything.  This will become apparent in time.  As we read in verse 17, “For nothing is secret, that shall not be made manifest; neither any thing hid, that shall not be known and come abroad.”

May we have ‘ears to hear’ what the Lord is telling us.  May we read God’s Word with a true desire to follow and please the Lord.  Dear reader, I must ask you, “What kind of hearer are you?”  May we be like Samuel who said to the Lord in 1 Samuel 3:10, “…Speak; for thy servant heareth.”  (202.6)