How to Hear a SermonSelected Scriptures

INTRODUCTIONSince the Fall of last year, in our preaching, we have been focusing our attention on who we are as a church and what we do together as a body.

Our series in Titus reminded us that we are a people unified around the centrality of the gospel - from leadership, to membership, to our citizenship.

Since January we have reviewed why we need the ministry of the church, the importance of preaching, examining how we serve each other as a church, and just recently completing a series challenging us to think hard about how we worship together as one people.

This morning I continue in that same vein, and coming back to the subject of preaching.

The majority of what we do on the Lordʼs Day centers around the teaching of Godʼs Word - which is what the Bible calls us to emphasize when we gather.

Rather than argue more for the value of preaching - I want to approach it a bit differently.

If preaching is so vital to the church, then listening is critical.

And how we listen is actually a major subject in the New Testament:

Listen to these verses on listening:

NAU Matthew 11:15 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear.

NAU Matthew 13:9 "He who has ears, let him hear."

NAU Matthew 13:15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.'

NAU Matthew 13:16 "But blessed are your eyes, because they see; and your ears, because they hear.

NAU Matthew 13:43 "Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let him hear.

NAU Matthew 15:10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to them, "Hear and understand.

NAU Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said, "This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to Him!"

NAU Mark 7:14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:

NAU Luke 9:44 "Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men."

NAU Luke 16:29 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.'

NAU Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know --

NAU Acts 7:57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered their ears and rushed at him with one impulse.

NAU Acts 13:16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said, "Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:

NAU Acts 15:13 After they had stopped speaking, James answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me.

NAU Acts 22:1 "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now offer to you."

NAU Romans 11:8 just as it is written, "GOD GAVE THEM A SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY."

NAU James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him?

Thereʼs a lot in the New Testament about listening

Listening is critical – listening to Godʼs word as it is preached is essential.

Preaching is not the only weapon in our battle - not the only maneuver in our conflict

But it is foundational –Piper: it is a biblical goal and norm for Christians to be a part of worship gatherings where the word of the cross is preached. God ordains this for our joy. Studying the Word is good. Meditation is good. Discussion is good. Analyzing and explaining is good. But preaching is also good, and God calls us to enjoy the blessing that comes to us when the word of the cross explodes in the heart of a godly preacher and overflows in exultation to the minds and hearts of a worshiping people. The fight for joy loses one of its weapons when it does not regularly hear the gospel preached.

How much do you want to hear from God?

How important is it to you that the Holy Spirit communicate with you?

In Revelation 2-3 – we read and heard 7 messages from God to his church

- in essence they were sermons- and – at the end of every message – was a

command to listen to itI take from that – " - the message – the word that God the Holy Spirit was speaking – was what that church read and heard as it was preached publicly to them" And it was that preached message – that the Spirit was speaking to the congregation and that they were commanded to listen to

There is a divine responsibility we have to pay attention to the way we listen.

If you want to hear God speak – listen to a sermon

" " Now – letʼs be careful and attempt to be clear with this:" " Do I mean

- that there is a special, unique message for each individual – that will be different for each person – a meaning from the Bible that will be unique and totally individual for you and no one else that you should try and listen for in the sermon?

NO – that is not what I mean

Sometimes we hear people pray this wayo help each person here get a special

message from the sermon

That is not the purpose of preaching nor is it the purpose of listening

The purpose of preaching is to preach the message of the text of the Bible – that IS the message God has for each and every individualo there are not different messages – different

meanings for different people who are listening

o There is one message because there is one meaning

You are not to listen to the sermon – with the aim of finding some message or meaning for you personally- you are to listen to the sermon – to find and

understand the actual meaning of the passage of Scripture being preached

To the degree that a preacher accurately reflects what God intended in His Word" And to the degree that the listener actively and accurately receives that word

" To that degree – God has spoken and the listener has heard

" Only after you know the meaning of the passage- can you then seek for the specific manner in

which it is to be applied to your life

- and that is where the responsibility for listening comes home

o When you understand WHAT the passage means

o Then you can discern HOW it is to be used correctly and personally

o

Also – I donʼt mean – that only listening to sermons is the only way to hear God speak

- Godʼs speech is His Written, Objective Word in the Bible

o When I read it – He is speakingo Not a message meant merely for me – not

a unique, special word just for meo NO – He has written a book to be read,

heard and understood The meaning is the same for

everyone – the application is what may be unique

- When I say – Have you heard God speako Iʼm not asking – did you hear a still small

voice – did you get a warm feeling – did you get a specific word for your situation

o Iʼm asking – do you understand the meaning of this passage

o the meaning of the Scripture is the Scripture – and the Scripture is Godʼs Word – Godʼs Message – Godʼs speaking

we may discern principles from passages that shape our actions

- but taking a text out of its context, to make it say something to you personally – that it was never intended to say – is a misuse of the Bible

o and the only person you were hearing, was yourself, not God.

I want to give you some help in making the most of a biblical message preached on the Lordʼs Day or any day that you might hear one" - but particularly on the Lordʼs Day – when preaching is central to what happens

Let me give you three steps you can consider so that you might effectively listen to a Sermon.

I. PREPARE INTENTIONALLY

How do you prepare for preaching?- we certainly expect the preacher to be prepared

to preach- do we take much care in preparing ourselves to

listeno we should – because we are commanded

to hear with spiritually attentive ears and deeply affected lives

It may in fact be much of the preacherʼs fault if no one wants to listen

- maybe he is bland – maybe he should yell more (everyone knows, yelling means someone is passionate and interesting), maybe he should use handouts, maybe he should not – maybe he should wear palm print shirts and sandals – maybe he should wear a suit – maybe he didnʼt pray much – read much – think much or plan well

There are a thousand things that go into an effective sermon

- I am constantly ashamed of the many miserable messages I have brought to the Lordʼs people on the Lordʼs Day

But – even if he is bland, dry, humorless, passionless, too fat, too skinny, too much hair, not enough hair, too young, too old

- despite all the little unimportant distractions

If the Word of God is at least preached in an accurate way – doesnʼt the congregation bear some

responsibility to take intentional steps to passionately, personally and persistently apply that Word?

As F.W. Boreham said:: “I suppose it was largely my fault that the sermon seemed to me to be so ineffective. There are tremendous astonishments in the Christian evangel which, however badly stated, should fire my sluggish soul with wonder, and fill me with amazement. The fact that I listened so blandly shows that I have become blasé.”

Or consider Charles Spurgeonʼs comments:“we are told men ought not to preach without preparation. Granted. But, we add, men out not hear without preparation. Which, do you think, needs the most preparation, the sower or the ground? . . . It seems to me that there is more preparation needed by the ground than by the sower, more by the hearer than by the preacher.”

When I talk about preparing intentionally for preaching - I need to divide that into 2 distinct areas

o Spiritual Preparationo Practical Preparation

1. Are You Spiritually Prepared to Hear from God?

What do I mean by this question?Well – how many times do the Gospels and the Book of Revelation say:" He who has an ear, let him hear.

That means I should begin by asking this question:

" a. Do You Have an Ear to Hear?" " Matthew 13:3-17

" " Here is a parable about Hearing – and Salvation

" " Verse 8 – compellingThat means it's not enough to have ears on the side of your head. Everybody has those. But there is another kind of ear that only some people have. And those can hear. "He who has ears to hear let him hear." There is a spiritual ear, or a heart-ear. There is an ear that hears, in the preaching of the Word, more than mere words. There is a beauty and a truth and a power that these ears hear as compelling and transforming and preserving. That's the kind of hearing Jesus is calling for. That's what this text is about.

" " " And there is a sense here – that hearing is very much a spiritual issue – and that not just anyone can hear and have the kind of “heart” hearing that Jesus says is the only effective kind of hearing

" " That means God is involved in the whole issue of hearing – who can and will and who canʼt and wonʼt

" " 4 Kinds of Listening to the Word of God" " " vv 18-23

There is a hearing that barely gets started and the Word is gone before you get out the door. There is a hearing that lasts until there is a hard time in life, and then one turns from God to other messages. There is a hearing that flourishes until the riches and pleasures

of this life choke it off. And there is a hearing that defeats the devil, endures trial, scorns riches and bears fruit unto eternal life.

Here is the first question to ask of yourself- which soil describes your listening?- You see the kind of listening you have by your

response or lack of response the word

And this reveals a salvation issue

To hear what the Spirit is saying – you must be first born again by the Spirit

You must seek to know and understand Godʼs Word by first becoming Godʼs child – humbling yourself in absolute submission to his Lordship and seeking His kingdom above anything else in the world

Those who sit under years of preaching and never change – you must wonder if they actually have “heart-ears” or notSo – do you have an ear to Hear – or are you in fact a follower of Jesus Christ –

- because if you are not – your treasuring of the Word will only go so far – and it wonʼt be far enough

but a 2nd question should be asked concerning this idea of Spiritual Preparation:

2. Are Your Ears Clean?" James 1:19-25" Vv 19-21 – points to the believer – who needs to continually clean his ears" Vv 22-25 – refers to the two kinds of listeners that reflect to kinds of spiritual conditions (saved & lost)

" Clearly v 21 – suggests that we must keep our hearts free from the dirtiness and distraction of sin if we hope to be effective hearers of the Word and in turn doers of the Word

The same though in 1 Peter 2:1-2NAU 1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,

If you want to grow – if you desire to mature – if you hope to be different

- you must take responsibility for your sin- and take such responsibility for your sin – so you

can hear God clearly and correctly and truly

Are you spiritually prepared to hear the WordBut, letʼs get very practical now

Not only are you spiritually prepared- certainly people who actually come back on a

Sunday evening are spiritually prepared – who else would come?

But secondly –

2. Are You Practically Prepared to Hear the Word?

What do I mean by this?- what did you do today to prepare yourself to hear

the preaching of Godʼs word and hear with ears that are ready to hear and apply?

Let me provide you with 4 actions to take in practically preparing yourself to Hear the Word

" a. Pray"" " For the PreacherNAU 2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be glorified, just as it did also with you;

! Gardner Spring said – 200 years agoIf a people are looking for rich sermons from their minister, their prayers must supply him with the needed material; if they seek for faithful sermons, their prayers must urge him. . . If Godʼs people are going to expect powerful and successful sermons, their prayers must make him a blessing to the souls of men. Would they have him come to them in the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of peace . . .? If so, their prayers must urge him to pray. . . . It is in their own closets that the people of God most effectively challenge their beloved ministers to take heed to the ministry they have received from the Lord Jesus. . . . When the churches cease to pray for ministers, ministers will no longer be a blessing to the churches.

" " For the Other Hearers- pray for the others who will come- think about the soils – pray for people to come

with prepared “heart-ears”- pray for yourself to listen with your heart

b. MeditateAs one pastor put it – you need to learn how to “appetize” your heart- that is not a word – my word processor did not

recognize it- but you and I know what we mean

- Whet your appetite – prime your spiritual pump –

- Meditate on the Scripture

o Which ones – not too hard – when we preach expositionally – you have a good idea of what is coming next – spend some time Sunday morning or even more radical – Saturday night reading through the portions of Scripture to be preached the next day.

o Read through a Psalm Sunday morning – get your heart ready, thinking dwelling on and meditating on Scriptural things

o Make yourself teachable before you come to church – tantalize your spiritual taste buds so that they are craving to be satisfied on Sunday morning

c. Schedule

How many of you schedule around church – and how many of you schedule church around life- if life is too busy – you are too busy to go

One pastor exhorted his congregation:

Think counter-culturally about Sunday mornings! While the rest of the world sleeps in and ratchets back on the first day of the week, we need to build in a value that declares Sunday morning the most important time of the week. Encourage them to wake up earlier and plan a real breakfast. Make it clear that getting ready for church has greater implications for their lives than getting ready for work or class any other day of the week.

Schedule Your Sunday – your whole Sunday

Donʼt engage in activities that you know will keep your heart from hearing what it needs

- Hearing from God must be more important than any other activity you do

- So, you know what kind of activity you do on Sunday that will make you tired, sleepy, frustrated, mentally exhausted, distinterested, etc.

John Piper says is powerfully – It astonishes me how many Christians watch the same banal, empty, silly, trivial, titillating, suggestive, immodest TV shows that most unbelievers watch - and then wonder why their spiritual lives are weak and their worship experience is shallow with no intensity. If you really want to hear the Word of God the way he means it to be heard in truth and joy and power, turn off the television on Saturday night and read something true and great and beautiful and pure and honorable and excellent and worthy of praise (see Philippians 4:8). Then watch your heart unshrivel and begin to hunger for the word of God." What do you do on Saturday evening?

Do you plan to go to bed at a descent hour – so you will not be wasted during the service Sunday

" What do you do on Sunday morning?- do you get up with just enough time in the

morning to spend any time preparing your heart for worship – or do you get up with only the bare minimum time to get ready, rush out the door and show up looking good, but feeling like you just woke up?

d. Participate- Bring your Bible to church and use it- Think while worshiping – donʼt just sit passively

as if to be entertained – participate in the singing- THINK –

What do you do to prepare for preaching – How much do you want to hear from God?

Intentional Preparation may be one of the most important steps to hearing with “heart-ears”

II. LISTEN CAREFULLY

The work is not done when you have intentionally prepared yourself to listen

- You then must listen

Is it completely up to the preacher to make you listen carefully

- must he tell funny stories for you to pay attention?

- Must he give long illustrations for you to think about what is being said?

I will not excuse any preacher, including myself, - for making the sermon too technical, that no one but a seminary professor could follow it

" - for providing no structure that is easy to follow

- for giving no relevant illustrations to make the text understandable to a culture vastly different than the one in the biblical text

But – what responsibility does the listener have- the commands to “listen” are prominent and

numerous- there is a specific and definite need for the

congregation to give some attention to paying attention

But, practically – how could we listen best?

1. Have an Attentive Attitude" Acts 10:33 – Cornelius and his household

- knew that whatever it was that Peter would say – was something they desperately needed to listen to

- they showed up to Corneliusʼ house with an attentive attitude

How do you show up – What is your attitude when listening- Entertain me – Please me – Prove it to me

Do you come hungry – ready to eat, prepared to listen

Do you listen with a sense of expectancy – or with a heart of complacency – oh, I already know that or I have already heard that before.- Iʼm just there to encourage other people to listen

to this stuff

2. Have a Teachable Attitude" James 1:21

- an attitude that says, even if I have studied every verse – heard preaching for more years than the one preaching has been alive

- There is still more to learn

i.e. W.A. Criswell" - Powerful Pulpiteer" - Keen Thinker" - Constant Learner

" Paige Patterson has shared – that he was preaching at FBC Dallas during the Mid-Week –

going to preach through First Peter and knew that he was going to take a different stand on a passage than Dr. Criswell- Dr. Criswell encouraged the congregation – Dr.

Patterson is going to show us something new in this book

- Sat down on the front row – with Greek New Testament in Hand and paper to take notes – copiously taking notes on what Dr. Patterson preached

Your attitude toward listening and receiving has a lot to do with whether or not you are going to hear what the Spirit is saying to the churches

" 1 Thess 2:13

3. Use Your Bible" Follow along in passages" Mark key words" Put question marks alongside portions you need to study more"" Bring a Bible you regularly read from or study with

- you may notice something in the passage during the sermon that you flew by while reading

Even if it feels awkward – you donʼt know where all the books are- do your best to follow along – - and think with the preacher through the section

he is preaching as you read along with him

4. Write Down Major Points

" Here is where some get all bent out of shape

" Now – if you are an outstanding listener and remember the points

- this actually takes much more concentration- and can repeat the points after the message and

give a basic description of themo then donʼt worry about this

But if you are like the majority of us- writing something down – helps your mind to

track with the preacher- helps you stay focused on what is being

preached- causes you to remember more of what you heard

Iʼm not talking about transcribing the sermon- donʼt try to write everything down – you probably

wonʼt listen very carefully – you are merely trying to reproduce phrases

you wonʼt be listening to understand

- if all you do is write down the major points – one or two words per point – something like that

you will be doing yourself a favor

Donʼt use the excuse – well, I donʼt like to write anything down – I just like to sit back and listen – I get more out of it if I just listen and donʼt write anything down- probably you donʼt take much with you from the

day- and – you probably will not spend any time

during the week – thinking about how the particular passage or passages addressed in the message apply to you

My guess is – you write down instructions your spouse gives you for the grocery store or errands

- if you are going to build something – you probably write down a few notes for materials

- if you are going to relay a message to someone – you jot a few thoughts down

Why would we take time to write down things that wonʼt matter tomorrow – and will take no time to write down even a few points that could help change us for eternity?

Begin a file system for keeping your notes- In a notebook – in a drawer – in file folders

Even kids could do this –

5. Fight Distractions -

" What distracts you the most during the message?" You may need to think about where you sit

You may need to think about who you sit by – especially those who think they are Sermon Commentators- you know, the ones who have to verbally say

something when they disagree with something said –

- the ones who have to lean over to talk about a point – comment on something – who must always say something about everything

Donʼt create a climate that is distracting to others

But also – donʼt allow distractions to distract you

Make it hard to be pulled away from hearing what God is saying in His Word

Let me remind you

- the physical distractions – are actually – spiritual battles

Ephesians 6:12

When distractions arise – you might need to immediately go to prayer rather than nudging your neighbor to point them out and distract them

Listen carefully to what is said – to what is explainedThink along with the preacher – carefully consider the text being explained.

One last element we want to talk about:

III. APPLY FERVENTLY

1. Review Soon After

There is biblical precedent for this – " Acts 17:11

As Richard Baxter said several hundred years ago:! “Chew the cud . . . when you come home in secret, and by meditation preach it over to yourselves. If it were coldly delivered by the preacher, . . .[consider] the great weight of the matter, and preach it more earnestly over to your own hearts.”

Take some time on Monday morning to review your notes and think about what was said on Sunday Morning

Take some time on Tuesday morning to review your notes and think about what was said on Sunday Evening

Take some time on Wednesday morning to review what the Sunday School lesson was about

Take some time on Thursday morning and review what was said on Wednesday Evening

2. Write Down Something Practical to Apply

Think about a sermon journal – where you think out loud – in writing about what was said and what you should do with the message.

" An Attitude to Change

" An Insight Gained

" A Behavior to Begin

" I know this in not normal

" I know this is beyond what may feel comfortable – but would it help you be more intentional and practical with what you hear on Sunday?

3. Share It With Some One

" A neighbor you are trying to reach

" Your spouse on the way home from church

" Your children just before dinner on Mondays – family devotions

" Why?- When you have to retell it – you will remember

more of it- Preaching helps me to learn more

o – I have to verbally share what I have studied

o – therefore I have to choose words that you will understand

o I have to put my study into specific words and phrases – and I am likely to remember more

The key is to finish listening to a sermon and apply:" James 1:22-25

Are you ready to Hear from God?

Is it important to you?

What needs to be different in your approach to a Sunday- so that you can consciously, intentionally,

practically apply Godʼs Word?

CONCLUSION