Clean Out Your Ears!

He who belongs to God hears what God says.  John 8:47 (NIV)

Props: Picture of a giant ear, giant cotton swab, sticky tack

*You can make a giant cotton swab by attaching polyester filling to a wooden or plastic rod.

            Did you know that God wants to talk to you?  He has some very important things to teach you and share with you!  Today we’re going to talk about learning to listen to God and hearing His voice.  It is important to understand that there are things that can deep you from hearing God’s voice.  In our body we hear with our ears.  Raise your hand if you can think of one thing that might keep you from hearing with your ears.  (Allow for response).  There is one really gross thing that can keep you from hearing: ear wax.  Ear wax is that thick, gooey yellow stuff that builds up inside your ear.  Most of you clean out your ears once in a while…I hope.  So your ear wax never gets so bad that it makes you deaf.  But if you didn’t clean out your ears for a while, it could build up so bad that you wouldn’t be able to hear anything!

            This lesson isn’t about the ears on your head, so I’ll stop talking about ear wax now.  Today’s lesson is about hearing God.  And just as things can build up in your ears to keep you from hearing sounds, things can build up in your spiritual ears to keep you from hearing God.  (Place pieces of sticky tack on the picture of the giant ear to represent things that can block spiritual hearing).  Your spiritual ears can be filled with the opinions of other people.  When other people don’t agree with God and keep telling you what they think, it might keep you from hearing God’s voice.  Your spiritual ears can also be clogged with lies that the devil will try to tell you.  If God tells you to do something, the devil will tell you not to.  Even your own thoughts can keep you from hearing God’s voice.

            The only thing to do when your spiritual ears get clogged is to clean them out.  (Begin to “clean” giant ear with giant cotton swab).  Clean them out by asking God to help you hear His voice and to block any other voices that do not agree with His.  Clean them out by refusing to listen to people who try to tell you something that is not God’s truth.  Clean them out by getting rid of all the lies of the devil and filling your ears with God’s Word and His truth.

            Learn to listen to God’s voice.  Learn to listen to His voice by cleaning out your spiritual ears so you can hear what He is saying to you.