"How's Your Hearing?"

by Frederick Drummond

Everyone wants more. This is the American way. For that matter, it’s the way of the whole world. We want more for good reasons and we want more for bad reasons. Just make it more!

The big question is “How do we get more?” “More of what?” is usually the reply. Surely more of something is dependent on what it is! To a degree this is true. Nevertheless, Jesus gave us a one-size-fits-all spiritual answer that underlies every practical solution when He said, “To him who hears, more will be given” (Mark 4:24,25).

In other words, getting more depends on what you’re doing with what you have right now. In the case of these Scriptures, it was about hearing more from God. He said, “Do you want to hear more from God? Then pay attention to what He has already told you.” This is why we ministers always remind those who are in trouble or who need answers that the only way to move forward is to get back on the tracks where they got off. The last thing God told you is the most important Word you have ever received. It above all else is the next stepping-stone to your destiny. Build on it by faith!

For the Christian, this is the key to abundance: improving our hearing. He reminds us that some hear forty percent, others sixty, and even less one hundred percent. Taking all of this at face value affords us many life lessons on how to get ahead. Here are a few!

• To get more, you have to be a better steward of what you have already received.
• Paying attention is the shortcut to success.
• God blesses listeners—those who remember what they have heard.
• Losers make a common mistake—they forget what they have heard.

This introduces us to another side of the story. He had this to say to those with a hearing problem: “If you don’t pay attention to what I’ve already told you, it will be taken from you and given to another.” Wow! I wonder how many live impoverished lives because they let what they have heard slip. What an interesting thought. It certainly stirs up those who want more to pay better attention, doesn’t it? It also reminds us that those who have more usually get more on top of that, because God is a rewarder of the diligent.

Perhaps there is a Kingdom rule here we might all do well to remember. God never says anything lightly. He only gives pertinent information, and those who hold themselves accountable to it get more. Only the truly hungry get filled. God doesn’t feed fussy eaters. Apparently He gets very excited about people who take what they’ve heard and rehearse it or hear it, if you please, until it turns into practical faith—something they live by through thick and thin. Perhaps this insight affords us the reason why God is only able to give more to those who hear and remember what they have already heard.

Hearing and remembering are the building blocks of faith (Romans 10:17). These are the substance of success. Whether it is a Word from God, a lesson learned, an opportunity given, or an occasion to stand on what you know, more always comes to those who do so. And for those who don’t, only loss.

I wonder how different things would be if we approached the disenfranchised, the weak, those in need, if you please, with the attitude of Jesus, and instead of looking at them as victims or the unfortunate, we saw them as those who lost what they had because they had a hearing or remembering problem. You know what I mean—calling an ace an ace and a spade a spade and facing the fact that the biggest problem the needy have is spiritual first before it is practical. Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m not trying to be unkind. Hearing is God’s spiritual solution to our lack. Far too many let their solutions slip through their fingers this way and end up in big trouble. Don’t throw away your answers!

Of course this parable was shared by Jesus to inspire the hungry. “Go for it,” He was saying, “because in the end you will get what you’re looking for.” The negative side isn’t a threat to me, because I’ve chosen to live on the positive side. I believe, therefore I receive. God guarantees this.

I preach about a God who is a rewarder of the diligent. It’s plain to me that if you want more, you can have it. Everyone gets to choose for themselves—forty, sixty, or one hundred percent return. Thank God, all it takes is a good memory, a heart of faith, and a keen eye.

I say unequivocally, you can have more if you want it. Yes, the Christian life isn’t a stagnant experience. It’s for movers and shakers who want to lay hold of their destiny and get the most out of life.

The Master said, “You shall have more if you remember what you hear.”