He who has ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to perceive.

We are all 3 parts:  we have a physical body, we have a mind that contains our thoughts, will, and emotions, and a spirit.  One way to think about it is the body is the temple, the soul is the mind, and the spirit is our heart.  Our ability to hear the Word, see the connections, perceive and understand the complete picture, is not with our physical body or brain, but with our spirit.  It is not a matter of your effort or your intellect.  When we are physically born our spirit is not able to comprehend spiritual truths.  Only the Holy Spirit can do that for you when you submit yourself to the lordship of Jesus Christ.  Only the Holy Spirit can convince a person of their unbelief or sin.  Only the Holy Spirit can create in you a new spirit.  

Moses talking to the children of Israel:  “Yet the LORD has not given you a heart to perceive (understand) and eyes to see and ears to hear, to this very day.”  Deuteronomy 29:4 (NKJV)

If you are a believer, do you remember the day that you were born again?  All of a sudden everything you’d heard about Jesus made sense.  All the puzzle pieces fell into place.  It’s like the proverbial light bulb lit up.  Scripture calls it “the opening of the eyes of your understanding.”

Before we came to this place, we could hear the Gospel message and it wouldn’t make any sense.  So we ignored it.  We pushed it out of our thoughts.  Maybe we would go to Sunday School or church or even try to read the Bible.  None of it added up.  That’s why so many critics of the Bible and even theologians claim that the Bible cannot be true.  It’s because of our unenlightened hearts that we cannot really understand all of it.  Our spiritual ears are deaf.  Our spiritual eyes are blind.  Our spirit is in a state of death, the Adamic nature.

Jesus talking to Nicodemus:  “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of GOD.”  John 3:3  (NKJV)  “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of GOD.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.  Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’  The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.  So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.”  John 3:5-8 (NKJV)

Have you ever met people who said they’ve read the Bible several times?  Or taken theology classes in college?  (Nicodemus was a renowned rabbi of the day.)  They say they’ve done everything and more to understand and yet still haven’t connected with the LORD.  Does GOD hate them?  No, but they think so.

Or maybe they have a sin in their life that they cannot accept is a sin.  They’ve read the Bible, go to church, yet cannot accept the fact that what they are doing is wrong, it grieves the heart of GOD.  They cannot accept that a Holy and Loving GOD could be so strict and one-sided, when really He loves them and wants what is best for them.  It’s like they are blinded and deaf.

There are people out there who claim to be saved, yet believe church doctrine and traditions over the Word of GOD.  They haven’t read the Bible nor do they plan to.  Even if they did read it, it would be filtered through what they have been told it says or means.  Some churches exclude whole portions of scripture because it doesn’t fit with their theology.

There are over 40,000+ different denominations now.  There are over 50 English translations of the Bible to choose from.  That’s not counting all the international languages that have been translated.  But be careful.  Just because it is easier to understand doesn’t mean it was translated correctly.  Even some of the oldest English translations have a few flaws in them.  Some of the newer translations exclude language that they deem “hateful” or “strong” or “divisive.”  Some lose the flavor of the original and lose the emotion of the heart of GOD that way.

This is a big problem.  Modern society allows the readers to pick and choose which portions they like and ignore the ones they don’t.  GOD doesn’t do that.  Every word He has uttered is still valid, or else the whole universe would fall apart!  “So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it.”  Isaiah 55:11 (NKJV)

When you have 40,000+ denominations you have division.  GOD is not divided, so this is to our shame.  What we are trying to do is find points where we can all agree, compromise what we might believe so that those who don’t agree can “belong” as well.  When you do that you polute the original Word, you turn the truth into a lie.  (Remember it only takes one germ to create a plague.)  GOD’s Word is true and everything else is a lie.  So who is the liar?  The Father of all lies is satan.  His only goal in life is to lead us away from the truth, the whole truth or any part of the truth.

We don’t have access to the original documents however the Jewish people have been meticulous in copying the scrolls down through the ages.  Not only that, but I can’t translate the original Hebrew, and I doubt many people can.

It’s not that we are such awful orators or debaters.  It’s not that we are such bad witnesses that we cannot reach the lost and convince them of the Gospel.  We could all be totally logical and wonderfully educated and vocal and have the whole Bible memorized so that we could always quote the relevant scriptures.  To be saved by logic is to not be saved at all.  Let that sink in.  Logic will never save anyone.  We never saved anyone.  The Holy Spirit is the one who comes and opens their ears to they can hear and opens their eyes of understanding and then their hearts are changed!

satan will always try to hinder the Gospel because it is death to him.  He hates us because we who believe have been adopted into the Family of GOD and are joint heirs with Christ.  He will try to stop up the ears of non-believers so they cannot even hear the words of life.  He screws up their logic so that it accomplishes what he wants.  He blinds the eyes of their understanding so that they cannot understand the implications of those words.  In other words, the Bible will not make any sense to them at all.  They will think GOD is hateful and only wants our subservience.  He sits up there and counts our sins and we have to work for our salvation, and on and on and on . . .  

“Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the Law and the Words which the LORD of Hosts had sent by His Spirit through the former prophets.  Thus great wrath came from the LORD of Hosts.”  Jeremiah 7:12  (NKJV)

satan lets you hear his accusations like “You’re not good enough and you’ll NEVER be good enough to be saved!”  “These are all lies, there is no GOD so go ahead and enjoy yourself.”  “At least in hell you’ll be with all your friends.”  “You’re in the group of goats that Jesus is sending to hell.”  satan will never let you have any peace.  He never shuts up.  And that’s where Praise and Worship come in.  He can’t stand the name of Jesus and when you praise and worship the Jesus and call on His name, satan has to flee!

So what am I trying to say?  GOD loves everyone with an unconditional love.  He hates sin and sinful acts.  No one is perfect, we are all sinners, however the punishment for all our sins was nailed to the cross by Jesus.  He has forgiven us and cast our sins away.  But you have to believe!  You have to acknowledge that you’ve sinned.  And you have to change your ways.  You have to ask Jesus to forgive you for your rebellious thinking and your sins.  You have to spend time in having conversations with the LORD so that you can grow and the best way to do that is to read the Bible and wait for Him to speak.  That’s the Gospel!  That’s the Good News!  That is life eternal and full of Glory!

satan will do his level best to try to keep the unbeliever from hearing the Good News.  “If it sounds too good to be true, it must not be.”  Ever heard that before?  We must do spiritual warfare on their behalf because they are innocent victims.  If they’ve spoken badly to you, remember, they are just parroting what satan has whispered in their ears.  And then forgive them!  They really don’t know any better.  We must Praise and Worship the LORD, believe in His great love and provision, and bind satan from our friends, children, other family, acquaintances, government officials, the police, the firemen, teachers, parents, everyone!  

Read Ephesians 6:10-20 (NKJV), especially verse 18: “praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints . . .”

The unsaved are future saints, folks.  In GOD’s timeline they already are saints.  We must join with the LORD’s will and pray that Jesus will open the ears of the unsaved and open the eyes of their understanding and give them a new heart to understand the things of GOD.  Pray that in the Holy Name of Jesus satan would be bound and powerless in the life of ____________ (you fill it in).  And that the Holy Spirit of GOD would have free access to their hearts and minds to speak the words of Life to them.  That GOD’s overwhelming presence would overtake them and love them into the Kingdom!  That we would be courageous to love them in spite of how they may treat us.  That GOD’s will would be done and that His Kingdom would come!  

“For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, ‘I dwell in the high and holy place, with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.’ ”  Isaiah 57:15 (NKJV)

Our best witness is love, servitude, and sharing the testimony of what Jesus has done in our lives, not preaching at them.  The Holy Spirit is the one who explains it to their hearts.  We can talk and talk and talk about the Gospel and GOD’s great love and forgiveness of sins, but they will never understand anything unless the Holy Spirit comes and speaks to their hearts.  You wonder how all the puzzle pieces fell in place when you received that light-bulb moment?  It was GOD Himself speaking to your heart.  That is why it is so important to keep the message true, short, and heartfelt.  And let the Holy Spirit do the rest!  You prepare yourself with faith, prayer, and fasting to let GOD the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit work in them and speak the Truth to their hearts.  We plant the seeds, and the Holy Spirit makes it all fit together.  This is a joint mission, and the Harvest is the LORD’s!

“For GOD so loved the world [that is all the people in it], that He gave [sent] His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.  For GOD did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.”  John 3:16 (NKJV)

“Blessed [gratefully praised and adored] be the GOD and Father of our LORD Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant and boundless mercy has caused us to be born again [that is, to be reborn from above – spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose] to an ever-living hope and confident assurance through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead . . .”  1 Peter 1:3  (AMP)

NKJV:  Scripture taken from the New King James Version®.  Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson.  Used by permission.  All rights reserved.

AMP:  Copyright © 2015 by the Lockman Foundation, La Habra, CA  90631.  All rights reserved.

Linda Rosenbaugh © 2019