It's
a familiar feeling. You're seated in church, listening to the
pastor's sermon in respectful silence. You hear his words, catch his
sentences. But you leave the service with little more than a vague
sense of what the sermon was about. And you're not alone.
We
all struggle from time to time with listening to sermons, and there
may be many reasons why. Ken
Ramey, in his book Expository
Listening,
says this:
“In many people's mind, if they don't get anything out
of the sermon, it's the preacher's fault. But that's only half true.
The Bible teaches that listeners must partner with the preacher so
that the Word of God accomplishes its intended purpose of
transforming their life.”
So
how do we partner with the preacher? We can start by being aware of
the following things when preparing to hear a sermon.
1.
Biblical Preaching = God's Word
The
first thing to know about preaching is this: A
sermon is God speaking to us, to the extent that it is faithful to
God's written word.
This is clearly implied in Romans
10:14
and Ephesians
2:17.
In
Romans
10:14,
Paul is describing the process of conversion. He says, “But how are
they to call on him [Christ] in whom they have not believed? And how
are they to believe in him whom they have never heard? And how are
they to hear without someone preaching?” (NASB)
The ESV reads “of
whom
they have never heard,” but in the original Greek New Testament,
there is no word “of.” So, this is what Paul is implying here.
For someone to believe in Christ, they first have to hear Him
speaking to them (not just hear of
Him). This, happens when someone (who is not Christ) comes and
preaches Christ's word to them.
The
logic here is clear. When we hear a faithful preaching of the
Scripture, no less than Christ is preaching to us! If this is true,
then what can be more important than to listen to what Christ is
saying to us?
2.
Preacher = God's Messenger
Why
can
the preacher hold
the
attention of an entire gathering for half an hour, an hour, or more?
What gives him the authority to speak about God and make judgments
about right
and wrong?
The simple fact is that a preacher who has been called by God must
preach, and the people God has sent him to must
listen
to him, for God's sake.
Paul
said in 1
Corinthians 4:1-2,
“This
is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of
the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they
be found trustworthy.” This tells us several things about the
preacher. First, we shouldn't think too highly of the preacher's
person.
He's
just a
lowly servant and a steward. Second, we should think very
highly of the preacher's office.
He serves no less than the Lord Christ, and he imparts nothing less
than the mysteries of God. Third and finally, God holds a
preacher
accountable to how he conducts himself and his ministry (also see Heb
13:17).
Now,
because of the preacher's high calling, Paul also said this: “Let
the elders who rule well be considered
worthy of double honor,
especially those who labor in preaching and teaching.” (1Tm
5:17)
Christ
made it clear that when God sends messengers He takes it as a
personal insult when they're
ignored (Mat
22:32-44;
Luk
9:5).
Because the office is
so important
there are
also strong warnings
against false preachers. Paul says in Galatians
1:8,
“But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a
gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.”
So
when the preacher stands before the congregation and delivers God's
message faithfully, it would be good to keep in mind who he is. He's
the man God holds primarily responsible for the spiritual health of
the church.
3.
Preaching Has Always Been at the Heart of Worship
In
evangelical circles, the service is often described like this: “We
start of with some praise and worship, then comes the sermon, and
finally we end with more praise and worship.” Sadly, we've limited
the idea of “worship” to singing.
But
the Scriptures define worship more broadly, as this quote from Warren
Wiersbe suggests: “Worship is the believer’s response of all
that they are
– mind, emotions, will, body – to what God is and says and does.”
Take
Romans
12:1,
for example, which calls
on Christians to
“present your bodies [not
just your words] as
a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your
spiritual worship.”
How
did the Early Church worship? Acts
2:42ff
tells us, “And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching
and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. … And all
who believed were together and had all things in common. … And day
by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their
homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts,
praising God and having favor with all the people. ...” Worship
is a way of life. More specifically, it applies to everything that
Christians do when they come to glorify and enjoy God together.
Now,
when the congregation gathers for a worship service, the central
event is the sermon.
At first glance, Acts 2:42 seems to imply that preaching (the
apostles' teaching) is no more important than fellowship, communion
and prayer. And yet if you scan the rest
of the
Bible, the proclamation of God's word is spoken of in very weighty
terms. Fellowship, communion and prayer are also given importance,
but not as frequently and certainly not as emphatically. For example,
Paul told Timothy, “Until I come, devote yourself to the public
reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. … Keep a close
watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so
doing you will save both yourself and your hearers.” (1Tm
4:6,13,16)
Notice that this time, there was only one
thing that Timothy was to be devoted to: the ministry of the Word.
This
makes perfect sense, since everything else we do as a church or as
individual disciples should have its foundations in the Word of God.
This is why the sermon should have the most prominent place in our
worship services.
Now,
if this is so, then to “zone out” during the sermon is to miss
the best part of the service. It is a failure to worship God as we
should.
4.
Preaching Involves God's People
We
often think of preaching as a one-way communication by the preacher
to a passive audience. According to this view, the 'proper' way to
listen to a sermon is to sit still and absorb everything the preacher
says.
a.
We are to respond by thinking. First,
God himself teaches us to test everything by the Scriptures (1Jn
4:1;
Deu
13:1ff).
Even Paul, who occupied the most authoritative position of apostle,
did not exempt himself from scrutiny. In fact, he probably encouraged
it (Acts
17:11).
Second, if we habitually engage with the preacher in this way, we'll
often come away with questions or concerns that we can discuss with
him or with our disciplers.
b.
We are to respond by praising God. What
drives biblical praise? Not worked-up emotions but a deep
understanding of who God is and what he has done. The Psalms make
this very clear. God is honored when hearts are captivated by him and
respond in heartfelt words of awe and gratitude. So let the sermon be
a springboard to a new sense of awe and delight in God.
c.
We are to respond by applying.
A sermon isn't meant to merely entertain us or to feed our
intellects. Paul said in 1Tm
1:5,
“The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a
good conscience and a sincere faith.” In the next verse, he
contrasts biblical preaching with “vain discussion” that does
nothing to mold character and morals. If you listen to sermons
determined to live out whatever biblical principles God confronts you
with, then you definitely won't be just a passive listener.
Sounds
Familiar?
We
may have heard all of this before. But we easily forget these truths
during a worship service. If you've fallen into the habit of mentally
drifting off during sermons, then you probably need to have a deeper
appreciation of these things.
Let
me end with this quote from Ken Ramey:
“In
order for you to receive the maximum benefit from the sermons you
hear, you must partner with the preacher so that the Word of God
accomplishes its intended purpose of transforming your life. Nothing
creates a more explosive, electrifying, life-changing atmosphere than
when the lightning bolts from a Spirit-empowered preacher hit the
lightning rods of a Spirit-illuminated listener. There is no telling
the dynamic impact the Spirit of God will make through the Word of
God any time someone who faithfully explains and applies God's Word
comes in contact with someone who faithfully listens to and obeys
God's Word.”
In February, 1665, the sisters slipped into the town to meet some friends. Someone there asked them to drink to the king’s health, but they refused, saying that it was against Scripture and Christian moderation. Their cover was blown! They were seized and thrown into prison, where they suffered bitter cold and squalid conditions until their trial. 
Thus they found themselves standing before Lord Grierson of Lag, a man who would be remembered for his savage persecution of the Scottish Covenanters. He commanded them to kneel, and when they refused, his men forced them to the ground. Satisfied, Grierson proceeded with the pronouncements. Agnes, being so young, would be released as soon as her father paid the stiff fine of 100 pounds. Margaret, on the other hand, was to be drowned alongside a fellow Covenanter, the elderly widow, Mrs. MacLachlan.
