Hearing the Word: Practical Applications (2)
I'm back with a couple more application points for the right hearing of the Word of God. One thing to add as I continue: Friend, the matter at hand is as important as about any we can discuss. Life-long practice of these things will determine the growth, sanctification, joy, and consistent revivings of your soul.
God has ordained that the preaching of the Word be the power of God for salvation and godliness (1 Corinthians 1:18-24; James 1:19-21; 1 Timothy 4:13-16). I urge you to read those texts to notice the importance given to preaching. When we come to hear God's Word preached each Lord's Day, we are coming to a means of grace that is "the power of God" which "saves the souls" of those who hear.
With that in view I offer two more how-to-rightly-hear-the-Word application ideas:
4. Posture. Take that as a verb. We need to posture our hearts rightly if we're going to hear God's Word rightly. We're to cultivate teachable and submissive hearing. We ought always to hear God's Word humbly, no matter who is preaching, because the Word faithfully preached is not the word of man but an oracle of God (1 Peter 4:11). Every faithful and accurately preached word is God talking. And (let me just say it because it is true) we must listen with even greater humility as we hear our pastors, since they are in a place of spiritual authority in our lives (Hebrews 13:7, 17).
Look again at James 1:19-21 to see how you should approach preaching, and make sure that as preaching starts you have consciously so postured your heart. James is clear; we are to guard our hearts from hasty, angry, critical reactions to preaching. We're not to argue with the preacher. We're not to come as self-appointed and self-assured critics; we're to come with conscious humility. I'm to do this every time I hear preaching. I'm to do it especially, every time one of my fellow pastors or one of my spiritual leaders is preaching. All of us are. Such humiltiy guarantees God's grace (James 4:6).
5. Prove. This point balances the previous one. Acts 17:11 is one of my favorite Bible verses. True listening involves a testing and proving of what we hear. It requires that we receive and search the Word to see if what we've heard is true. If we are members of a church in which the pastors exhibit proven carefulness in how they handle the Word, there should be a consistent teachable and humble trust when they speak. However, this should never be blind trust, for pastors err. God's Word is inerrant but His messengers are not.
Here are a few hints for the testing and proving of what you hear (BTW--as you practice these, expect to be blessed!):
a. Pray for illumination from the Holy Spirit--to understand what you've been taught.
b. Re-listen. In today's hi-tech world messages can be listened to more than once. There's always more in a Sunday sermon than you can take in in one hearing. Plus people almost always mishear the first time through. A second hearing can help you get what the speaker was really trying to say.
c. Double-check all texts cited. Read each text and its context to make sure it says what the preacher says it says. If you don't see it, ask him about it humbly the next time you see him!
d. Think about the main points of a message in light of what you already know to be true from God's Word to make sure that it agrees with what God has already taught you. At the same time be willing to learn something new so long as it passes the test of God's Word.
e. Embrace the hard work of discernment; it doesn't come easily as Hebrews 5:11-14says.
(By the way: this testing and proving process should sound an important alarm. Beware of listening to or reading more than what you can test and prove. We're better off listening to and testing a few proven messages/messengers (including your pastors and those recommended by them) than to listen to and read more broadly and indiscriminately. As one in my church has put it: she's come to realize that it is better to learn than it is to just listen. Better is one message per week heard, tested and proven than several messages or studies merely heard.)
Enough for today. I'm still very much interested in the hearing helps you all have gained along the way; send in your comments.
God has ordained that the preaching of the Word be the power of God for salvation and godliness (1 Corinthians 1:18-24; James 1:19-21; 1 Timothy 4:13-16). I urge you to read those texts to notice the importance given to preaching. When we come to hear God's Word preached each Lord's Day, we are coming to a means of grace that is "the power of God" which "saves the souls" of those who hear.
With that in view I offer two more how-to-rightly-hear-the-Word application ideas:
4. Posture. Take that as a verb. We need to posture our hearts rightly if we're going to hear God's Word rightly. We're to cultivate teachable and submissive hearing. We ought always to hear God's Word humbly, no matter who is preaching, because the Word faithfully preached is not the word of man but an oracle of God (1 Peter 4:11). Every faithful and accurately preached word is God talking. And (let me just say it because it is true) we must listen with even greater humility as we hear our pastors, since they are in a place of spiritual authority in our lives (Hebrews 13:7, 17).
Look again at James 1:19-21 to see how you should approach preaching, and make sure that as preaching starts you have consciously so postured your heart. James is clear; we are to guard our hearts from hasty, angry, critical reactions to preaching. We're not to argue with the preacher. We're not to come as self-appointed and self-assured critics; we're to come with conscious humility. I'm to do this every time I hear preaching. I'm to do it especially, every time one of my fellow pastors or one of my spiritual leaders is preaching. All of us are. Such humiltiy guarantees God's grace (James 4:6).
5. Prove. This point balances the previous one. Acts 17:11 is one of my favorite Bible verses. True listening involves a testing and proving of what we hear. It requires that we receive and search the Word to see if what we've heard is true. If we are members of a church in which the pastors exhibit proven carefulness in how they handle the Word, there should be a consistent teachable and humble trust when they speak. However, this should never be blind trust, for pastors err. God's Word is inerrant but His messengers are not.
Here are a few hints for the testing and proving of what you hear (BTW--as you practice these, expect to be blessed!):
a. Pray for illumination from the Holy Spirit--to understand what you've been taught.
b. Re-listen. In today's hi-tech world messages can be listened to more than once. There's always more in a Sunday sermon than you can take in in one hearing. Plus people almost always mishear the first time through. A second hearing can help you get what the speaker was really trying to say.
c. Double-check all texts cited. Read each text and its context to make sure it says what the preacher says it says. If you don't see it, ask him about it humbly the next time you see him!
d. Think about the main points of a message in light of what you already know to be true from God's Word to make sure that it agrees with what God has already taught you. At the same time be willing to learn something new so long as it passes the test of God's Word.
e. Embrace the hard work of discernment; it doesn't come easily as Hebrews 5:11-14says.
(By the way: this testing and proving process should sound an important alarm. Beware of listening to or reading more than what you can test and prove. We're better off listening to and testing a few proven messages/messengers (including your pastors and those recommended by them) than to listen to and read more broadly and indiscriminately. As one in my church has put it: she's come to realize that it is better to learn than it is to just listen. Better is one message per week heard, tested and proven than several messages or studies merely heard.)
Enough for today. I'm still very much interested in the hearing helps you all have gained along the way; send in your comments.
Labels: Hearing God's Word, Spiritual disciplines
posted by Tim Shorey at
10:06 AM
2 Comments:
Thank you! This makes me eager for Sunday. The power of the Word of God (not me) to change us-- if only we carefully, and humbly hear.
What hope this brings! Looking forward to hearing the Word of God preached this Sunday.
Hebrews 5:11 struck me in this reading... "dull of hearing." Lord, Help!
I'm so grateful for your encouragement bro.
And yes this is exciting and filled with hope. I think that too often we all come to worship with such low expectations, such little awareness of what God is about to do.
He's about to speak and when He speaks power happens. He restores the weary; He encourages the downcast; He raises the dead; He convicts of sin; He even can bring a widespread revival to the church in which through one sermon, many can be saved and many others can be radically affected.
In short, Pentecost (Acts 2-type power) can happen whenever the Word is preached.
And it will happen the more we pray for it and then arrive truly prepared to rightly hear and respond.
O Lord come!
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