LISTENING OR LAMENTING?  GP 320   11/74

         1. I had a dream that a group of us were staying in a French home. You & I had a bedroom way upstairs in this third or fourth floor garret & we were sleeping with a beautiful girl who seemed to be very, very much in love with me.
         2. WE CAME DOWN TO BREAKFAST & her father & mother & brothers & sisters & some of our own young people were all gathered 'round the table for breakfast. There were at least a dozen or 15 of us there altogether, like a nice little Home.
         3. THE MOTHER & FATHER WERE BEING VERY KIND & HOSPITABLE TO US. The mother had fixed us a good breakfast & the father made a good fire to warm the big room we were eating in, & they were more or less trying their best to be very good to us. Everybody seemed to be happy & having a good fellowship & enjoying it. We had a real good breakfast & everybody was talking & laughing & praising the Lord like we always do.
         4. THEN AT THE CLOSE OF THE MEAL I ASKED IF THERE WAS A BIBLE HANDY. I said, "It's our custom in our Family to have a little time of devotion or Bible study & read a Chapter out of the Bible or a Psalm or Proverb & have a little prayer before we go about our various duties."
         5. SO THE MOTHER OF THE HOME FOUND A SMALL NEW TESTAMENT, & EVERYBODY STOPPED FOR A MOMENT & STARTED LISTENING. I suggested that we take turns reading the verses around the circle, each one reading a verse, as we used to do even when the children were small, in order to hold everybody's attention.
         6. BUT PRETTY SOON OUR OWN KIDS BEGAN TO GET A LITTLE BORED WITH THE READING, SINCE IT WASN'T IN THEIR LANGUAGE, & BEGAN TO DRIFT OUT OF THE ROOM INTO ANOTHER ROOM WHERE THEY WERE WATCHING TV, & I could hear the TV blaring away, almost drowning out the Bible reading. I was very embarrassed that our OWN KIDS didn't have enough respect to SIT there & LISTEN!
         7. FINALLY I INTERRUPTED OUR HOSTESS & I CALLED OUR OWN KIDS BACK IN AGAIN. I tried not to be dictatorial, but tried instead to firmly invite them, except they knew if they DIDN'T obey voluntarily they'd have to reckon with me later!
         8. SO THEY STRAGGLED IN RELUCTANTLY 'CAUSE THEY'D GOTTEN REAL INTERESTED IN SOME GOOD TV SHOW, & they sat down grumblingly, muttering under their breath, "Such a good show!--Why do we have to come back in HERE?" Of course this is all very symbolic: They got so interested in TV they didn't have time for the BIBLE!
         9. WHEN OUR OWN KIDS HAD WALKED OUT, THE NEW KIDS SEEMED RATHER DISMAYED BECAUSE THEY THEMSELVES REALLY WERE HUNGRY & WANTED TO HEAR. So, they were happy to see them return, & we began reading again in English. But we hadn't been reading long when, of all things, our own kids began to sneak out & watch TV again! Well, I was so ashamed & embarrassed about our own kids setting such a bad example!
         10. FINALLY ONE OF OUR OWN LEADERS APOLOGISED AS HE WENT OUT, SAYING, "I'M SORRY, DAD!--BUT IT'S SUCH A GOOD SHOW we just HATE to miss it! Please forgive us, but we've just GOT to see this show through!" So pretty soon, sure enough, all our own kids were out watching TV again!
         11. BY THIS TIME THE MOTHER & FATHER WERE GETTING A LITTLE RESTLESS THEMSELVES & ANXIOUS TO BE ABOUT THEIR OWN WORK. So the mother stopped reading & went ahead clearing the table while we were reading, & I could hear her & some of the girls in the kitchen washing dishes. The father too had disappeared to get ready for work.
         12. AT LAST I WAS LEFT SITTING THERE WITH NO ONE BUT YOU & one or two others of the young folks of the foreign family! They were all looking rather sad & disillusioned, for they seemed really hungry & wanted to have the Bible study, but were really disappointed that even our own kids weren't interested!
         13. WE COULD HEAR THE TV IN THE NEXT ROOM BLARING AWAY & OUR OWN KIDS WERE LAUGHING & NOISY. I became so angry finally that I got up, slammed the Bible shut & said so loudly that everybody in the house could hear me:
         14. "ALL RIGHT!--I'M THROUGH!--IF YOU'RE NOT WILLING TO LISTEN TO GOD, THEN GOD'S NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO YOU! He's not going to speak to you any more until you're ready to LISTEN!" I just gave up & stomped out of the room & walked back upstairs.
         15. I WAS TERRIBLY DISAPPOINTED IN OUR OWN KIDS THAT THEY WOULD WALK OUT ON THE WORD just because they were so interested in this TV show! I thought, "What a terribly poor example to these new kids!"
         16. BUT ODDLY ENOUGH, YOU & THE NEW KIDS FOLLOWED ME ON UPSTAIRS!--That must be symbolic too: It was like even though our own kids had disappointed them, the new kids still wanted to hear the Words & follow & were hungry & even more sincere & serious & sober about it than our own kids! They apparently felt they really needed it!
         17. THE UPSTAIRS "UPPER ROOM" IS SIGNIFICANT & USUALLY SYMBOLISES INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP WITH THE LORD in prayer & devotion & meditation, the secret place for Bible study & prayer, the "closet".--Mat.6:6. So just this little handful of us went way back upstairs to this garret bedroom apparently to continue this Bible study with the Lord.
         18. I COULD UNDERSTAND THE PARENTS & FORGIVE THEM FOR FEELING THEY HAD TO GO BACK TO THEIR WORK. They HAD listened respectfully for a FEW minutes. But if I couldn't even get the attention of my OWN kids, what could you expect from these parents & strangers? So they had slipped quietly out & seemed pleased at least that I was holding the attention of their OWN children.
         19. BUT I WAS VERY, VERY ANGRY WITH OUR KIDS! They seemed to have NO RESPECT for our HOSTESS or for the BIBLE reading. But WORST of all, the fact that they so quickly lost interest & went back to their TV show made me just FURIOUS!
         20. IT SHOWED THAT OUR KIDS WERE MORE INTERESTED IN THE TV SHOW THAN THE WORD! But I was really pleased that the new kids were so serious, sober & even desperate & hungry that they didn't want to leave me for a moment! Even though they were really disappointed in OUR kids, the new kids were still so HUNGRY for the WORD that they FOLLOWED me & didn't want to leave my side, just clinging to EVERY WORD! This one family symbolised the family of God who DID respond. But our OWN young people had lost interest & were more interested in the TV!
         21. THE THING THAT REALLY WOKE ME UP WAS THAT I WAS YELLING SO LOUD from upstairs when they said, "Dad, if you'll just come back DOWN we'll LISTEN!--We're sorry!" I just yelled back down at them loudly & angrily, "Nothing doing!"
         22. "GOD'S FINISHED TALKING TO YOU! HE'S NOT GOING TO SPEAK TO YOU ANY MORE UNTIL YOU'RE READY TO LISTEN!--And furthermore, He's not even going to LISTEN to you until YOU'RE ready to listen to HIM!" It must be that apparently they're so interested in other things that they haven't got much time for the Word!
         23. IN THE DREAM ONE OF THE MEN LEADERS SAID, "DAD, WE'RE SORRY!"--And I said, "When you're crying out to HIM for help, He's not going to help YOU!" It was like I symbolised the Lord: That I wasn't going to come back down or listen to them or heed their pleas for help because I knew that they didn't seem to want to listen very much.
         24. I'M JUST WONDERING IF THIS COULD POSSIBLY BE TRUE?--That our own kids are too busy with other things & that their own Homes are such a poor example that the outside kids are now just having to turn to the WORDS themselves ALONE for leadership because our own kids are such a poor example & too busy with other things! But at least the hungry youth OUTSIDE are still pleading to listen & eager to follow.
         25. THE NEW KIDS FOLLOWED ME UPSTAIRS IN WONDER, ALMOST LIKE THEY DIDN'T UNDERSTAND WHY OUR OWN KIDS WERE NOT WILLING TO LISTEN! But it was all new & wonderful to them. They were wonderingly, awesomely wide-eyed following me upstairs to the quiet bedroom.
         26. THAT BEDROOM IS SIGNIFICANT, THE PLACE FOR THOSE WHO REALLY WANT THE INTIMATE FELLOWSHIP, those who really want to go to BED with me SPIRITUALLY! All these things are PHYSICAL SYMBOLISMS of the SPIRITUAL REALITIES: SOME want to be ALONE & in LOVE with me & the Lord's Words in SPITE of the failures of the OTHERS & the poor example of our own young people! It's amazing!--It doesn't seem to take long:
         27. APPARENTLY SOME OF OUR OWN KIDS ARE ALREADY BECOMING LIKE ISRAEL OR THE CHURCHES! "Familiarity breeds contempt", & they've had so MUCH, they're so FULL they're GLUTTED & they don't even really APPRECIATE the Lord's Words any more.
         28. THE AWFUL FEELING I HAD AT THE END WAS A TERRIBLE FEELING OF WARNING, LIKE THE JUDGEMENTS OF GOD WERE GOING TO FALL on the kids for their WANING interest in the WORD & their GROWING interest in other things instead!--So that when they cried for HELP under the rod of the Lord's CHASTISEMENTS then HE wasn't going to listen to THEM! He was really going to sock it to them! He was just going to let them suffer for their sin--their REAL sin of not being willing to listen to HIM!
         29. IF THEY WANTED TO FOLLOW HIM, THEN ALL RIGHT, THEY COULD! They could go upstairs to the quiet place. But He wasn't going to go chasing THEM around trying to beat them over the head with a Bible to get them to listen! But the hungry & thirsty ones, the real sober & sincere & needy & desperate ones--desperate for the Word--those who couldn't live without it--followed even when our own kids wouldn't!
         30. I FELT GOD WAS REALLY GOING TO JUDGE OUR KIDS FOR THEIR TERRIBLE EXAMPLE & their disinterest in His Word & being more interested in ENTERTAINMENT than ENTERING INTO the WORD, more interested in ATTAINMENTS in the entertainment of the World, instead of the ENTERING IN of the WORD!
         31. WHEN YOU START GIVING THE TOOL MORE OF YOUR TIME & WORSHIPPING THE CREATION MORE THAN THE CREATOR, THEN GOD REALLY BECOMES FURIOUS! When you've forgotten what He gave it to you FOR & you've forgotten Him & His WORD, which are most important of ALL, He's apt to turn right around & take it AWAY from you! He'll DESTROY it, when it was INTENDED to be USED for a GOOD USE, because you began to fall down & WORSHIP it like an IDOL!--It's become your god because you're putting this other thing first, whatever it is, instead of HIM & His WORD!
         32. BECAUSE YOU HAD DESERTED THE LORD, HE WAS GOING TO TURN AROUND & DESERT YOU for a little while, too, & let you suffer for it!--And maybe it's what's happening right now with all the TROUBLE you're having!
         33. EVEN GETTING OUT THE LIT IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS GETTING INTO THE LIT YOURSELF FIRST! We need to get the Words IN as well as OUT! Some of you are really getting them OUT but not getting them IN.--And you'll never have the SPIRITUAL STRENGTH & stamina nor the SPIRIT that will even sustain your BODILY STRENGTH & stamina to keep going to GET OUT the Word--unless you yourself are DRINKING IN the Word & being spiritually nourished & strengthened by it yourself FIRST.
         34. YOU CAN'T SELL TO OTHERS WHAT YOU YOURSELF ARE NOT SOLD ON! It is the sincerity, the honesty, the reality, the spirit of you kids that comes through when you're really SOLD OUT & SOLD ON your product that really helps you to sell it! But if YOU YOURSELVES are not even USING it, you're not going to be able to inspire OTHERS to use it!
         35. YOU'LL NEVER SELL ANYTHING TO OTHERS UNLESS YOU'RE SOLD ON IT YOURSELF & PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH! It's like some of you marrieds who are complaining that your mates have deserted or neglected YOU, but you've forgotten how & when you deserted & neglected THEM, so it's no wonder they finally gave up on YOU & deserted YOU!
         36. IT'S JUST LIKE THE LORD HIMSELF DESERTS THE CHURCH WHEN SHE NEGLECTS & DESERTS HIM!--He finally gets sick & fed up with her & deserts her even when she's yelling for help! He lets her SUFFER for awhile for her sins of neglect & disinterest & desertion!
         37. SO DON'T BE SURPRISED WHEN THE LORD SEEMS TO NEGLECT & DESERT YOU & DOESN'T LISTEN TO YOUR WORDS: You've probably neglected & deserted Him & refused to listen to Him!--And after people have refused to listen for a long time, the Lord doesn't always inform them in ADVANCE what He's going to do NEXT, because He figures if after THAT long a time of neglecting to listen, they won't listen NOW either!
         38. SO LET THE LISTENERS BEWARE EVERYWHERE THAT THE SAME THING DOESN'T HAPPEN TO YOU! Those who ARE LISTENING WILL BE AWARE of what's happening & they WILL listen & they will FOLLOW, thank God! But those who AREN'T listening won't even know there is anything wrong until their World begins to crumble around their EARS that won't LISTEN!
         39. ARE YOU LISTENING?--OR ALREADY LAMENTING? I hate to hear these non-listeners' laments! They really make me sick as they must make GOD sick because of their INDIFFERENCE & LUKEWARMNESS & lack of real INTEREST in His Word & failure to LISTEN to what they needed to do & when it would have done some GOOD before it was TOO LATE!
         40. "STOP, LOOK & LISTEN!"--BEFORE IT'S TOO LATE & YOU'RE ONLY LEFT WITH LAMENTS!--Which are you?--A LISTENER or a LAMENTER?--Or which WILL you be? God have mercy on you & help you to LISTEN before it is too LATE & you're left with nothing but LAMENTS!
         41. THE TROUBLE WITH MOST LAMENTERS IS THEY HAVEN'T LISTENED FOR SO LONG they don't even realise they're not listening anymore! Just like the Lord said in His last message to Israel before He shut up for 300 YEARS & REFUSED to TALK to them any more! He was quoting THEM, saying, "You say to Me, 'WHEREIN have we done these things?--WHEREIN have we robbed Thee?'" And He says, "Were they ASHAMED?--NAY, they could not even BLUSH!" The Lord said, "Their EARS are so DEAF they cannot HEAR; their EYES so BLIND they cannot SEE; their HEARTS so HARDENED they cannot UNDERSTAND!"--Mal.3:7-9; Jer.6:15; Mat.13:15.
         42. I THINK SOME OF THE SADDEST WORDS IN THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE were found written all over the cell walls of a criminal who was executed for his crimes!--They found that he'd spent his time while waiting for execution writing the words all over his cell walls: "If I ONLY HAD! If I ONLY HAD! If I ONLY HAD!"--If he only had WHAT?--If he had only LISTENED!--To GOD'S VOICE or his CONSCIENCE or the WARNINGS of his PARENTS or PREACHERS or TEACHERS or LEADERS?
         43. ARE THOSE GOING TO BE YOUR FAMOUS LAST WORDS!--"IF I ONLY HAD!"?--If I only had listened?--If I only had LISTENED I wouldn't now be LAMENTING! "If I ONLY HAD!" HAD you LISTENED you wouldn't have LAMENTED, "If I ONLY HAD!" Are you listening?--Or lamenting: "If I only had!"?