How to Listen to God’s Word When Taught

“…but I gave them this command: Obey me and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. But they did not listen or pay attention; instead, they followed the stubborn inclinations of their evil hearts. They went backward and not forward.” (Jeremiah 7:23-24)

Often pastors and teachers spend countless hours in the preparation of their messages in an attempt to make them as biblically sound, compelling and practical as they possibly can. Yet, just like the Israelites of old, many members do not listen, or fail to listen properly. And like the Israelites, they go away following the stubborn inclinations of their hearts, continuing to go backward rather than forward.

There are ample warnings in the Bible about how we should listen: “He who answers before listening – that is his folly and his shame.” (Proverbs 18:13) “Therefore, consider carefully how you listen.” (Luke 8:18) “I have told you already and you did not listen. Why do you want to hear it again? …” (John 9:27) “My dear brothers, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.” (James 1:19)

While these verse tell us to listen carefully to anyone who is speaking, they are certainly very applicable when listening to the teaching of God’s Word.

Listening is a thinking process. One has effectively listened when he has received and understood the message as the sender intended for it to be understood. Several “listening experts” list four steps in the listening process: Hearing (sensing the message with the ear); Interpretation (understanding the intent of the message); Evaluation (making a judgment of the message); Response (At times the Bible uses listening and obeying – or responding – synonymously. One has not listened if he has not obeyed, see Jeremiah 7:23-24 above.)

A good listener:

· Blocks out possible distractions and is not easily distracted

· Concentrates (listening is work) and avoids mind drifts

· Anticipates but does not assume (does not jump to conclusions)

· Does not judge until comprehension is complete

· Recognizes his own predispositions, prejudices or biases toward the subject or speaker and attempts to re-evaluate his position (listening objectively)

· Does not dwell on unfamiliar vocabulary, but rather continues to work at listening and attempts to comprehend the main intent of the message

Listening to sermons might benefit from some additional, practical helps:

1. GET READY TO LISTEN

· Get sufficient rest before the message so that your mind is not so worn out that it cannot listen.

· Pray continually, asking God to help you to understand and respond properly to His Word.

· Make sure that you have everything you needed (Bible, writing pad, pen, etc.). Sit where you can see and hear. Make sure personal needs are taken care of.

· Motivate yourself. The responsibility for developing interest and understanding is primarily yours before God – not some cute attention grabber the speaker might employ. Make a conscious effort to be optimistic and interested from the beginning. Give the speaker your attention. If you don’t have a good, immediate reason for listening to a speaker, you probably won’t listen properly.

· Be sure to read any assigned readings in advance that might have preceded the lesson/teaching/sermon. A listener who has done his homework has better comprehension.

· Be certain to listen in context – keep up with sermons from a series that you miss by listening to the CD audio.

2. FROM THE BEGINNING, DETERMINE THE FORMAT

· Try to figure out how the speaker has organized the lesson. Does the sermon begin with a brief summary of the main concepts, themes, or ideas? Does the speaker give an overview of his outline? Did you catch the main headings?

· Adjust your note taking to the speaker. Each speaker is unique and each should be listened to in an individual way.

· Speakers should tend to select certain words, phrases, or expressions to make transitions in their outline, to introduce examples and illustrations and to qualify their statements.

Transitions: “Next…”; “First, second…”; “Finally…”

Examples & Illustrations: “For instance…”; “As an illustration…”; “For example…”

Qualifiers: “In my opinion…”; “It is likely…”; “Many would agree…”

Special Emphases: “Listen…”; “Mark this…”

3. DO NOT LET THE STYLE OF THE SPEAKER STOP YOU FROM LISTENING

· Judge content, not delivery. Style is the person’s characteristic manner of expressing his thoughts. You may not like a person’s style (too dramatic, too flowery, too fast, too slow, too emotional), but a good listener focuses on the content and knows that delivery is of secondary importance. (1 Corinthians 2:1-5; 2 Corinthians 10:10; 2 Corinthians 22:5-6)

· A young teacher is still developing his style. Be patient with him.

· A good listener skips over delivery errors and tolerates bad habits in a speaker.

The person who speaks with charm and a polished style may really be saying nothing – although he says nothing quite well. A person who speaks with an air of authority may still be dead wrong. The unpolished speaker may really have something important to say.

4. BE AN ACTIVE LISTENER – WORK AT LISTENING

· Remember that listening is work – concentrate!

· A good listener anticipates, mentally summarizes and weighs the evidence.

· Our thoughts can be faster than the speaker’s words. The average speaker talks from 125-200 words per minute. The average listener can process 400 words per minute. Poor listeners tend to daydream and then get lost in the sermon, much like the rabbit that took a nap during the race with the turtle. Try to harness your thoughts during a message.

· Be aware of your predispositions and try to listen objectively. If your position can withstand the arguments of a speaker – good. If not, maybe you need to study and reevaluate.

5. EVALUATE (Make a judgment on what is said)

· Has the speaker interpreted the passage correctly? Has he supported his position? Has he applied the truths of Scripture fairly and correctly?

· How does this relate to me? What are the implications? Where would this logically lead me?

6. RESPOND

· Ask: “What am I going to do with the truths I have learned or of which I have been reminded?”

· Seek to grow into godly living, not just knowledge. Conform to God’s Word. (Colossians 1:10)

· Persevere. Keep trying. We are closer now than when we first believed!