hearing – La Vista Church of Christ

The World Is Noisy… What Should Christians Do?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Fri, 10 Apr 2026 21:48:43 +0000

Do you ever feel like the world is just too loud? Between constant information, opinions, notifications, and noise, it can feel overwhelming — and as Christians, that noise can make it harder to hear what really matters.

In this video, we’re talking about:

Why the world feels so noisy right now
How it’s affecting us more than we realize
What Scripture says we should do about it

If you’ve been feeling mentally or spiritually overwhelmed, you’re not alone. And there is a better way forward.

We’ll walk through two simple, biblical practices that can help you cut through the noise. And at the end, I’ll share one key truth that completely changes how we think about the noise in our world.

Two People Listen to Paul

Jeffrey Hamilton — Fri, 27 Feb 2026 00:48:35 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

You get out of a sermon or Bible lesson what you put into it. This is illustrated by two groups of people toward the same preacher. The first group was from Corinth. They were not “open” to Paul (II Corinthians 6:11-13) and justified their lack of interest in anything he said by ridiculing anything they could, even dismissing him as an apostle. There was carnality, spiritual immaturity (I Corinthians 3:1f) at the heart of why they chose to be cold and unaccepting of him. These brethren could have been made spiritually rich by Paul if they had taken a different attitude toward God, His word, and their brother in Christ. Corinth had members who lost a great spiritual opportunity for growth and unity simply by not opening their hearts to love Paul and respect the word of God he was preaching.

The second group heard Paul, but with a different attitude. To the Thessalonians, Paul wrote: “For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe” (I Thessalonians 2:13). The same man, same style, same message, but two completely different responses. The first group is not open and treats his word as that of a mere man instead of the precious word of God. They missed out on a great opportunity to learn from an apostle of Jesus Christ. The second group was open and treated Paul's words with great respect, recognizing that he was preaching the word of God. This allowed his preaching to work effectively in them. The difference was all in the attitude they brought to the table when Paul preached the word of God. James said this problem can be solved. “Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). The attitude one brings makes all the difference as to what you get out of sermons and Bible classes.

What Are Ears For?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 16 Aug 2025 15:33:26 +0000

by David Gibson

Closed ears

One advantage of a hearing aid, they say, is that you can turn it off. But even a person with excellent hearing can easily tune out an unwelcome message.

Jesus said, “For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them” (Matthew 13:15). Note the progression: hear→understand→turn→be healed. Healing is dependent on hearing—receptivity to God’s message of grace, life, hope and peace. And some would close their ears to this?

Open ears

To His disciples, Jesus said, “For blessed are your eyes, because they see, and your ears, for they hear” (Matthew 13:16). Then He told them, “... many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it” (Matthew 13:17). Why didn’t they? They died long before Jesus came, and therefore did not hear what the apostles were hearing. But they desired to, nonetheless (I Peter 1:10-12). By telling His disciples this, Jesus wanted them to realize just how privileged they were to hear God’s message.

Open or closed?

Jesus’ most often repeated statement is, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” The Bible records examples of both those who were eager to hear the gospel (Acts 8:30-39; 10:33; 13:42, 44; 17:10-12) and those who were not (Acts 13:44-46; 18:5-6; 19:8-9; 28:23-28). Of these two kinds of people—those with ears open and those with ears closed—which are we?

The Man Who Would Not Listen

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 13 Aug 2025 19:47:17 +0000

by David Gibson

In spite of ...

King Zedekiah had at least two positive influences in his life that should have prompted him to make wiser choices. His father, Josiah, was one of the most godly kings Judah ever had. And Jeremiah, God’s prophet, tried repeatedly to persuade Zedekiah to obey God. In spite of his father’s example and Jeremiah’s warnings, Zedekiah was determined to go his own way. Paying dearly for his foolish choices, he lost his home, his throne, and his freedom. At age 32, the last thing Zedekiah saw before being blinded was the slaying of his sons before his eyes. He died a prisoner in a foreign land (Jeremiah 52:7-11).

If only ...

And all this tragedy could have been averted if only he had been willing to obey. His life is summed up in these sad words: “He did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God. He did not humble himself before Jeremiah the prophet, who spoke from the mouth of the Lord . . . . He stiffened his neck and hardened his heart against turning to the Lord, the God of Israel” (II Chronicles 36:12-13).

A lesson for us

“But neither he nor his servants nor the people of the land listened to the words of the Lord that he spoke through Jeremiah the prophet. King Zedekiah sent . . . to Jeremiah the prophet, saying, ‘Please pray for us to the Lord our God’” (Jeremiah 37:2-3).

Zedekiah wanted God’s protection but not His direction.

We can’t have it both ways.

Hearers Only

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 08 Jan 2025 16:47:28 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

The Holy Spirit inspired James to write: “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves“ (James 1:22 NKJV).

There are only two choices:

self-deception because of only hearing the word and
truth because you are a doer of the word.

Hearers-only are deceived mainly because of the self-deception of “faith only.”

Some preachers advocate that the doctrine of faith-only is very full of comfort. Yet, the Bible says it ought to give us much discomfort. James also said that faith only is “dead.” You are not alive to God when all you do is hear His word but don’t do what is required.

Those preachers and teachers today who advocate a salvation by “faith only” are among the ones that James said are “deceived”. One should never advocate a position plainly denied by the word of God. The doer of the word is the one that will be blessed “in what he does”(James 1:25). Hearers-only are not blessed, though they have faith only enough to hear only. The Spirit revealed the truth; we must hear it, teach it, and do it.

Not Put into Practice

Jeffrey Hamilton — Tue, 19 Nov 2024 16:37:14 +0000

by Zeke Flores

How many times have we heard a sermon, yawned, and went on our way unchanged?

For the Israelites, it's not like they didn't hear the words; they just weren't listening with their hearts. They knew what God expected yet didn't do anything about it. And they paid a heavy price for it.

4CamRes MultiMedia on Flickr.com

Sometimes, we "listen" as though we're watching a performance. "He's easy to listen to," someone might say. "He's got a good delivery," says someone else. But when the lesson is over and the final "Amen" is said, there's no surrender to God's will and certainly no intention of making changes in life. Like the old saying about words going in one ear and out the other, there's no absorption of the message.

The next time you're zoning out in worship, remember God's words to Ezekiel about the Israelites and make sure they're not true about you.

Or you, too, may pay a heavy price.

"My people come to you, as they usually do, and sit before you to hear your words, but they do not put them into practice. Their mouths speak of love, but their hearts are greedy for unjust gain. Indeed, to them you are nothing more than one who sings love songs with a beautiful voice and plays an instrument well, for they hear your words but do not put them into practice" (Ezekiel 33:31-32).

Quick to Forget

Jeffrey Hamilton — Sat, 07 Sep 2024 18:21:51 +0000

by Zeke Flores

How many times have you heard a thing, yet forget what you heard in a matter of minutes? The older we get, the more we are “quick to hear, fast to forget.” Or, as we’ve all heard it, it’s in one ear and out the other. But the malady isn’t merely age-related.

Jesus warned about the problem in His parable of the sower and the seed (Matthew 13, Mark 4, Luke 8), which is more of a story about different kinds of “soil” or attitudes of the heart. Jesus explains that the seed sown is “the word of God” (Luke 8:11). You’d think such an important message would immediately be held fast, protected, and practiced. You’d think.

Unfortunately, after hearing such crucial information, we read about many who immediately forget all about its requirements and make no changes to accommodate themselves to it. While some people are willing to bask in the glow of such good news for a while, they are quick to leave it alone.

Ezekiel, the prophet, spoke of some who sang God’s message with "a beautiful voice" but still didn’t live according to it (Ezekiel 33:32). Isaiah mentioned some who delighted to know God’s ways but not enough to practice them (Isaiah 58:2). Not much has changed since then.

Hearing is not always believing, and believing is not necessarily doing. If we want God’s word to abide deeply in us, we’ve got to let it take root and root deep. This is done by hearing and then doing what He says.

Hearing and heeding, ah, now that’s the ticket.

"To you it has been granted to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been granted. Fro whoever has, to him more shall be given, and he will have an abundance; but whoever does not have, even what he has shall be taken away from him" (Matthew 13:11-12).

The Case of the Philippian Jailor

Jeffrey Hamilton — Mon, 15 Jul 2024 14:30:47 +0000

by Terry Wane Benton

He wanted to know, “What shall I do to be saved?” (Acts 16:30). The simple answer: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ…and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31). The details of why believe in Jesus, what to believe about Jesus, and how to express faith in Jesus followed. In other words, explanations of what is involved in believing in Jesus to be saved were given (Acts 16:32). “Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him” (Acts 16:30-32).

You mean they had not spoken the complete word of the Lord to him about how to be saved? No! They have stated a summary word, faith, but not the details of what is involved with faith in Jesus, so they explained it, giving him the details of how to be saved and what is involved under the umbrella of faith in Jesus. He showed godly sorrow and repentance by washing the stripes of those he had earlier beaten and was baptized at the same hour of the night (Acts 16:33).

Why the urgency in baptism? It was one of the details of how to be saved (Mark 16:16; Acts 2:38; 22:16). It was one of the details of how to express faith in Jesus. After baptism, he “rejoiced, having believed in God” (Acts 16:34). When Jesus placed faith and baptism before salvation (“he that believes and is baptized shall be saved” - Mark 16:16), the Philippian jailor believed Jesus enough to express faith properly by not just having a claimed “faith only” but showing an active faith in Jesus. In other words, if he had refused the baptism part of being saved, he would be showing unbelief, not faith in Jesus and what Jesus said. So, since salvation is after baptism, not before, he was baptized after midnight, the same hour of the night. Unlike today, where people deny the urgency and put baptism off for days and weeks, the truth is that baptism is part of having sins remitted (Acts 2:38), having sins washed away (Acts 22:16), entering into the death of Jesus for those blessings (Romans 6:3-6), uniting together with Christ (Romans 6:5-6), and being able to “rise up for newness of life" (Romans 6:5-6; Colossians 2:12). Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved because true believers have faith enough in Jesus to be baptized in His name.

Do you truly believe?

Follow-Up

Despite the evidence presented above, some have been so blinded by traditional “faith-only doctrine” that they will defend their doctrine at any cost. They will not be faithful to the text over tradition. Peter discusses people who “twist the scriptures to their own destruction” (II Peter 3:16).

One responded to the above by ignoring the textual evidence presented and the supporting verses and just asserting, “Acts 16:30-31 clearly states that faith alone is required for salvation.”

But “faith alone” is not what Paul said to the jailer. He said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Is it enough to believe Jesus is just a man, maybe an earthly governor? That would be "believing on the Lord Jesus Christ," but with insufficient information about what to believe about this man. Is it enough to believe that Jesus Christ is a mere good man who is a Lord, like other earthly kings? Will that bit of insufficient information magically wipe my sins away and transport me out of darkness into His kingdom?

Why did they follow that general statement, "Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him?” Clearly, they had to explain what to believe about Jesus and tell Jesus’ words about “he that believes and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:15-16). Isn’t that what believing in Jesus requires? After stating the general requirement of faith and then speaking the word of the Lord to him, it is clear that they had not yet spoken the word of the Lord to him. "Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). This man had not heard the word of the Lord with just that introductory statement: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.” The word of the Lord details what to believe about this man, Jesus Christ, at what level of “Lordship” (human or divine level?), and about Jesus’ death on the cross. Can the jailer be saved without this information? Does the jailer have to believe Jesus was born of a virgin, was God in human flesh, was raised from the dead and showed His power even over death?

Would he need to know how faith is expressed in repentance, confession of Jesus, and baptism in the name of Jesus? Apparently so, because after they spoke the word of the Lord to him, he showed his faith by washing their stripes and being baptized the same out of the night. How did he know he needed to do these things? Because the general statement of “believe on the Lord Jesus Christ” was further explained when they then spoke the word of the Lord to him. They explained what to believe about Jesus, why it was necessary, and how faith must be expressed. Otherwise, the man would not know what to believe about Jesus, why he needed to believe and obey Jesus, and how to express faith in Jesus. That was all further explained to him.

To say “faith alone is required for salvation” is to say what the text does not say. Further, the text shows he hadn’t heard the word of the Lord yet and further indicates he repented and was baptized the same hour of the night, and that is when the text says he "believed in God." In other words, had he not repented and been baptized, the evidence would show that he did not believe in the Lord.

Further, James clearly says we are not saved by faith alone (James 2:14-24). Why would someone contradict James and say what Paul did not say? I hope the one making the assertion will give this more honest thought and consideration because to teach salvation by “faith alone” is to teach what no Scripture ever says and flat-out contradicts the scriptures that say, “not by faith alone.”

When you contradict God’s word you are doing exactly what the serpent did in the Garden (Gen.3). That is a doctrine that brings death, not life. So, never listen to someone who uses Acts 16:30-34 to teach salvation by faith alone. It is not in that text, is contrary to the text and other clear statements of God in scriptures. That is a doctrine of demons, that want people to feel a false sense of security. Jesus warned about this in Matthew 7:21-24. Calling Jesus “Lord” will not save you if you do not DO what He says. The jailer is an example of faith leading to his repentance and baptism, not stopping short of salvation. Do not be deceived!

Whose Voice Are You Hearing?

Jeffrey Hamilton — Thu, 24 Mar 2022 16:10:24 +0000

by Doy Moyer

“My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me” (John 10:27). Whose voice are we hearing? We are all listening to someone’s voice, whether it be the voice of culture, the voice of another perceived authority, or the voice of Jesus. There is no escaping this.

“Hearing the voice of” someone else or a cultural group-think is acknowledgment in our lives of where we think authority ultimately resides. When we hear the voice and follow, we are saying that this voice holds enough weight for us that we are willing to give our lives and thoughts to what this voice is saying. The “voice” is everything to us. It is the “voice” to which we appeal for why we do what we do. The “voice” becomes an integral part of our identity.

In the cacophony of voices, we will hear echoes of confusion, distrust, every wind of doctrine that tosses us about and creates in us a chaotic sense of doubt and lack of clarity. There is no peace, no grounding, and no hope in the disorder. We are tired, restless, and hungry for what truly satisfies us. The voice of culture cannot give this, for it is ever in flux, never providing a solid footing on which to stand. The voice of others beset by their own sins and weaknesses cannot provide ultimate hope, no matter much confidence they exude or the pride they demonstrate. They are empty, “waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever” (Jude 12-13).

We are made to hear the voice of clarity that reaches the depths of our hearts and renews our spirits. We are made to hear the voice of Jesus.

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Matthew 5:6).

Whose voice will you listen to today?

Setting Your Mind on the Things of God

Jeffrey Hamilton — Wed, 23 Mar 2022 20:01:42 +0000

by Doy Moyer

What we are trained to think about truth will be determined by whether we are thinking the things of God or the things of man. Recall that in Jesus’ rebuke of Peter’s reaction to Jesus talking about His own death, Jesus said, “For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23).

Peter had been trained to think of the Messiah according to the expectations of man, and the only way he was going to get over what he thought about Jesus would be to retrain and refocus his mind to hear the things of God. The same is true for us. We are setting our minds on the things of God or things of men, and this applies to just about any issue we face.

If we are going to think according to the mind of God, we must consider what God has revealed from His mind about, for example, issues like who human beings are, male-female relationships, sexual relations, race relations, marriage, love, the church, salvation, how we treat others, relation to government, and on we can go. Mostly, this is about the nature of truth itself. If we are setting our minds on the things of man, truth becomes fluid, relative, subjective, and ultimately manipulated according to our wishes. There is no standard, and the fruit of this is chaos, confusion, and corruption. The mind of God tells us something very different. I realize there will be disagreements about various particulars, but the starting point must still be the mind of God rather than the mind of man.

Remember, too, that the mind of God is not going to be a replica of the way we already think. God’s ways and thoughts are not like ours (cf. Isaiah 55:8-9). We cannot know God’s mind simply by meditating within ourselves and then thinking that our thoughts are actually God’s thoughts, for then we have only succeeded in making God after our own image. If we are going to really listen to the mind of God, we need to be prepared to think very differently from what we might naturally think.

“Take care then how you hear…” (Luke 8:18 ESV).