The Purposeful Hearing.

By Deacon Adekunle Adenuga

Scriptures reading. Mark 4: 3-25.

Mark 4:3 KJV
3 Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

Hearkening is listening. This is to be attentive to hear. It is paying close attention to a message; giving heed to a message. To heed is to pay careful attention to somebody.

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Fear comes by hearing the word of Satan. The Word of God is the truth. John 17:17. Faith comes by hearing the truth that God speaks. The word of Satan is lies. John 8:44. Fear comes by hearing the lies that Satan speaks.

Faith or fear comes by paying close attention to hear the truth of God or the lies of Satan respectively. Therefore, what you pay attention to hear influences what comes to you. What you pay attention to hear determines what comes to you. What you pay attention to hear decides the results you have.
Luke 8:18 KJV
18 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.
It is important what you listen to for it will produce what you will have.

To hearken is to listen meaning to be attentive to hear. This is what you concentrate yourself to hear. Faith or fear will come to you by what you pay close concentration to hear. This is deeper than just hearing. This is concentrated hearing. This is called attentive hearing. Faith comes by being attentive to hear the Word of God.

Faith comes by hearing the Word of God. Now, this hearing is not casual or nonchalant or effortless or careless or irregular. This hearing must be engaging and engrossing, it is being aggressive in hearing. It is to hear as if your whole being depends on it. Deuteronomy 8:1. Hearken is to listen. It is hearing with intention. It is hearing with purpose. This is called a purposeful hearing.

Luke 9:43-45 KJV
43 And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God. But while they wondered every one at all things which Jesus did, he said unto his disciples,
44 Let these sayings sink down into your ears: for the Son of man shall be delivered into the hands of men.
45 But they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them, that they perceived it not: and they feared to ask him of that saying.

Jesus told His disciples to let these sayings sink down into your ears In other words, let these sayings be engrafted into you. Let these sayings get deep into you. Let these sayings take root inside you. This requires purposeful hearing. Listen to the Word. Give attention to hearing and complete engaging in hearing the Word of God.

When you hear God speaks, faith comes.
Psalms 29:4 KJV
4 The voice of the LORD is powerful; the voice of the LORD is full of majesty.
When you give attention to hear the voice of the LORD, the power of God is manifested. The power of God is expressed in the voice of God. The voice of God is the Word of God. When you become purposeful in your hearing the voice of God, experiencing His power in your life becomes purposeful and a reality.

Hearing the Word of God is giving attention to the Word. It is to be engaged and engrossed in the hearing of God. It will be of no value if you hearing of the Word are not given adequate attention. It is important to hear the Word, but if the hearing is not purposeful and focused, it will be of no use.

Psalms 62:11 KJV
11 God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.

Twice- or double-hearing is called focused hearing. David heard twice what God spoken once. This implies that when God speaks once, your spirit man ought to repeat the words again and again. Focused, purposeful hearing brings understanding. Mark 4:12, That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.
Jesus Christ said when you hear attentively, understanding comes. Purposeful hearing will bring understanding. That is the reason Jesus Christ told His audience, foremost to Hearken. Until you give attention to hear, understanding will not come.

Proverbs 4:20 KJV
20 My son, attend to my words; incline thine ear unto my sayings.

Give attention to the Word means to give your ear to the Word. It is to pay close attention to give all your ear to the Word. It is inclining your ear to the sayings of the Lord. Paying or giving attention to hear is fundamental to possessing understanding. It requires leaning or bending your ears to the sayings of the Lord. It is relying on the Word of God. When you give attention Gods Word, you gain understanding. Gods wisdom comes when you retain His Words and keep His commands. You retain His Word and keep His commands when you know them. You know His Words and commands by hearing and listening to Him speaks to you.

Mark 7:14 KJV
14 And when he had called all the people unto him, he said unto them, Hearken unto me every one of you, and understand:

Hearkening  to be attentive to hear  brings understanding. Your ability to comprehend and know the meaning of the Word is in your choice to be attentive to hear the Word. The Word of God is given to be hearkened. The Word is to be heard with attention and obedience. Hearing without attention and obedience is likened to not hearing at all. Hearkening brings understanding. Understanding results into conversion or changing the way you live and think. This is called transformation. Understanding coming through hearkening produces transformation. Purposeful hearing will births for you transformation, if you engage yourself in attentive hearing.

When you hearken to God speaks to you, you know His Words and commands. When you hearken to the Word of God with the purpose of doing and acing on it, you will live and possess your inheritance in the kingdom. The written Word is God speaking to you in the now. The Bible is the Word of God to you now. This is the voice of God to you now. To hear the Word of God is to have the Word from God.

Deuteronomy 4:1 KJV
1 Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your fathers giveth you.
Hearkening to the Word  to do  will cause you to experience His surpassing and unlimited blessing. Hearken to the Word. Get understanding. It will preserve you, promote you, keep you, and honour you.

It is hearkening to Gods Word with the purpose of doing it that sets you up for the blessings of God. Deuteronomy 28:1-2; Genesis 1:28.