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Title:Hearing but not Understanding

Text: Isaiah 6; Matthew 13
14 October 2007

(I) A NATION SO GREATLY BLESSED WITH KNOWLEDGE

1. Acknowledged by Moses (Deuteronomy 4:32-36)

2. Appreciated by the Apostle Paul (Romans 2:17-20)

(II) DEGENERATION OF A NATION

1. Children who have rebelled against their Father (Isaiah 1:2)

2. A nation laden with sin (Isaiah 1:4)

3. Natural consequences of indulging in sin (Isaiah 1:5-9)

(III) ONLY A SHELL

1. Multitude of sacrifices (Isaiah 1:11)

2. Religious feasts that are rejected (Isaiah 1:12-15)

(IV) WHERE DID IT ALL BEGIN?

“Keep on hearing, but do not understand;Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.” Isaiah 6:9

1. Hearing but not taking the trouble to understand

2. Seeing but not taking the trouble to perceive

(V) DANGEROUS CONSEQUENCES

“Make the heart of this people dull, And their ears heavy, And shut their eyes;Lest they see with their eyes, And hear with their ears,And understand with their heart,And return and be healed.” Isaiah 6:10

1. Tragic consequences (In Isaiah’s day)

a) The heart can become dull (no interest)

b) The ear can become heavy (no response)

c) The eye can be shut (no comprehension)

2. Continuing Tragic consequences (In Jesus’ day)

“And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says:‘Hearing you will hear and shall not understand,And seeing you will see and not perceive;For the hearts of this people have grown dull.Their ears are hard of hearing,And their eyes they have closed…” Matthew 13:14-15

a) Sad fulfillment of the Scriptures (in this case)

b) Self-fulfilling prophecy

c) Harming of ourselves

(VI) GUARDING OF OUR HEARTS

“But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear” Matthew 13:16

“But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” Matthew 13:23

1. Training our eyes to see always

2. Training our ears to hear always

3. Ensuring that our hearts are “good ground”