Jeremiah 29:11-12 – “For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  ¹² Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”

As I prayed, read, and mused on the Word of God, something in Jeremiah 29:11-12 gripped my heart.  Here, the Lord is saying, in essence, “I know what I have planned for you.  I have good plans for you.  I do not plan to hurt you.  I plan to give you a good future.  THEN, you will call on My Name.  You will come to Me and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.”  I felt prompted to share something that will be part of my message on Sunday.

We must believe that promise in order to develop that Deep Sense of Peace and Trust necessary to be Hearers and Doers of the Word of God!   The question is, “How Can We Develop a Hearing Ear?”   How?  

• By making a deliberate choice and effort to set our minds on God!  [Do you have an Undisciplined Mind?  Ask for His Help.] 
• By making a deliberate choice to exercise our minds by focusing on God.  [Have Regular Times – – Start Slow and build up in intensity and frequency.]
• By extending this exercise of setting our minds on God into every area of our lives.  [Consciously bring all thoughts captive and turn them over to Jesus.]

Something worthy of note is a Sign I Have Seen in Health Clubs or Gyms:

F – – – Frequency

I – – – Intensity

T – – – Time

If we are to be led by the Spirit of God and Live as Sons and Daughters of God, we must hear God.  Tragically, too many remain Spiritual Infants and never grow because they have never learned to Hear GOD!  They have developed Substitutes and allowed those Substitutes to become their source of Hearing!

Those may be good books, religious broadcasts, religious services, and professional or spiritual counselors.  All of these can be excellent additions to Hearing God, but can never replace Hearing God for ourselves!  We need to hear GOD personally.

The problem is that when we listen to these substitutes, we may not feel responsible for taking Action.  We can accept or reject the advice, counsel, or word.  But – When we hear GOD for ourselves, we have two choices – – Obey or Disobey!

God has built a perfect system for hearing in each of us.  It is called the R.A.S.—the Reticular Activating System.  It works like this:

• Positive Focusing – – – – A New mother and her baby’s cry even in a crowded room or in the next room filled with crying babies.
• Negative Focusing – – – Live next door to an Airport, or Railroad track, and soon you do not hear the planes or trains.  They get filtered out.
• Individual Perceiving – Five people see an Accident, and each report something different.

The R.A.S. filters out unimportant stimuli and focuses on what is essential at that moment.  Once we have made the Distinction that something is significant to us, our R.A.S. immediately transmits any and All Information it receives regarding that area of Significance into our consciousness.

When we decide that Hearing GOD is Vital, our R.A.S. starts putting God through whenever He speaks.  It is Vital that We Learn to Hear GOD!  However, if we are to continue hearing from God, we must begin Bearing Fruit from our Hearing.

Matthew 13:12 – “For whoever has, to him more shall be given.”

Let’s determine that Hearing God is Vital.