Ears to Hear: Hearing the Coach
Ears to Hear: Hearing the Coach

Ears to Hear: Hearing the Coach

10/2/2011 — David R. Slentz —
Those with “Ears to Hear,” as Jesus referred to (Mat. 13:9; Rev. 2:7; 2:11; 2:17; 2:26-29; 3:5-6; 3:12-13; 3:21-22), listen to each Sunday’s message with an entirely different attitude. Consider how a quarterback listens to his coach’s pre-game pep-talk and compare that to how we would listen were we watching the same speech on television. Certainly we would be excited to listen in, but there would be something dramatically different occurring in that quarterback! He would be desparately grasping onto of every phrase being shouted from his coach’s mouth. Every word landing upon his eardrums would send a rush off adrenaline surging through his bloodstream. Thigh muscles would be contracting and biceps would flex as vivid images of breaking through the defense line fills his mind. Yet, the most drastic difference between us and that quarterback occurs when the pep-talk is over: That quarterback dashes out to the field with a shout, while we sit back in our lazyboy recliner with a handful of peanuts and say, “Wow! That coach had an awesome word today!” Perhaps this may also explain the difference between a “forgetful hearer” and an “effectual doer” (James 1:25).
While football may be exciting, how much more exciting to know that we are actual players on the “Church-Team” of Jesus Christ, living in the last quarter and positioning ourselves together on the last few yards before the end-zone of time! Hearing that is focused on purpose and accomplishment — that is, getting out on the football field to put into play — is what having “Ears to Hear” is all about!

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