"SERVING THE LORD WITH GLADNESS"
Getting More Out Of The Preaching
INTRODUCTION
1. In most of our assemblies, much of the time is devoted to
preaching...
a. In which the focus is (or should be) on the Word of God
b. In which God's Word is expounded upon and applied to our lives
2. Why so much time devoted to this activity...?
a. It certainly has scriptural precedent - cf. Ac 20:7
b. It also has great potential to inform, convict, and convert - cf.
1Ti 4:13,16; 2Ti 4:1-2
3. Despite its potential, preaching often affects people differently...
a. Some are informed and inspired
b. Others are bored and unimpressed
[Why the difference? Again, we get out of something based on what we
put into it. To see how that applies to listening to someone preach,
let's take a closer look at...]
I. PREACHING IN OUR ASSEMBLIES
A. THE BENEFITS OF PREACHING...
1. One can be blessed by what they hear
a. For those willing to listen properly, there are wonderful
things to learn - Mt 13:16-17
b. Things which great people (David, Daniel, etc.) did not have
the opportunity to learn
c. Things pertaining to wonderful blessings that are now
available in Christ! - cf. Ep 1:3
d. We may miss out on these blessings if we do not carefully
listen!
2. One can develop saving faith by what they hear
a. God has ordained that we be saved through faith in Christ
- cf. Ro 1:16-17
b. Such faith often comes through listening to a preacher - cf.
Ro 10:14,17
c. One can certainly gain faith through reading God's Word (cf.
Jn 20:30-31), yet many are often dependent upon what they
hear proclaimed
d. Does our 'listening' during the preaching hinder the
development of our faith?
3. One can be more fruitful by what they hear
a. Bearing fruit comes from 'understanding' the grace of God!
- cf. Col 1:6
1) Note that the gospel was bearing fruit in the Colossians
2) But that was "since the day you heard and knew
(understood, NASB) the grace of God in truth;"
b. By careful listening we can 'understand' God's grace, and
thereby motivated to bear fruit to His glory!
4. One can avoid apostasy by what they hear
a. There is a real danger of drifting, by neglecting "so great
a salvation" - cf. He 2:1-3
b. The solution is to "give the more earnest heed to the things
we have heard"
c. This assumes that we have been listening to the Word in the
first place!
-- These are just a few of the blessings that can come from
listening to the preaching of God's Word!
B. DIFFERENT KINDS OF LISTENERS...
1. Yet some listeners are "dull of hearing"
a. Like some of the Hebrew Christians - cf. He 5:11
1) When a person has this problem, it is hard for others to
explain things to them!
2) The fault is not with the subject material, nor the
preacher, but with the listener!
b. Isaiah wrote of such people, and Jesus applied it to many
in His day - Mt 13:13-15
1) People are this way because they are dull of heart!
2) Which prevents them from understanding God's truth,
turning from sin, being healed (saved) by God!
2. And some listeners have "itching ears"
a. Paul warned Timothy about such people - 2Ti 4:3-4
b. They listen only to that which is pleasing to them,
rejecting truth for 'fables'
c. They do not like "sound doctrine" (which often requires the
kind of preaching mentioned in 2Ti 4:2)
3. But the best listeners hear with "a noble and good heart"
a. Jesus spoke of these in His parable of the sower - cf. Lk
8:15
b. The Bereans were listeners of this kind - Ac 17:11
c. They were 'fair-minded' (NKJV), thus willing to give Paul a
fair hearing
d. It showed in how they 'received' (or listened to) the word:
"with all readiness"
-- What kind of listeners are we when others preach the Word of
God to us?
[We all should be listeners like the Bereans! If we are, then every
opportunity to hear the Word preached to us will be an opportunity to be
blessed! Here are suggestions for...]
II. GETTING MORE OUT OF THE PREACHING
A. MAKE LISTENING AN ACT OF WORSHIP...
1. How you listen to God's word being read or preached is as much
an indication of your devotion to God as to how you pray or
sing
2. When you have opportunities to listen, do it with 'a worshipful
attitude'
3. Think of how you would listen if some great person were
speaking
4. Imagine your rapt attention if you were listening to some
famous person
-- Does not the proclamation of God's Word deserve as much
attention?
B. LISTEN FROM FIRST TO LAST...
1. That is, pay attention all the way through
a. Do you expect to understand a novel by simply reading a
sentence here and there?
b. So it is with preaching: sentences, phrases, words, to be
understood must be heard in light of the context in which
they are presented
2. Preachers must follow basic rules of speech so as to be
understood:
a. Introduce the subject
b. Present main points with supporting arguments
c. Conclude with a summary
-- Listeners must listen to ALL the parts to truly benefit from
what they hear
C. LOOK AT THE PREACHER...
1. This greatly aids your concentration
a. Looking elsewhere makes it easy for your mind to wander
b. Closing your eyes makes it easy for you to nod off!
2. This requires self-discipline, but it is conducive to
developing a longer attention span
-- Try it, and see if it does not make a difference!
D. READ ALONG IN YOUR BIBLE...
1. You remember more of what you both see and hear over what you
simply hear
a. Which is why visual aids are often used in sermons
b. But the greatest visual aid is your own Bible!
2. Your knowledge of the Scriptures can be greatly improved by
doing this
3. It may be hard at first to keep up, but persevere and it will
soon become easier
-- We encourage children to do this, shouldn't adults set the
example?
E. LISTEN WITH FAITH...
1. That is, listen with a willingness to accept and believe what
is shown in God's Word
2. Those Israelites who died in the wilderness did not listen with
faith! - He 4:1-2
3. If we don't listen 'with faith,' the same sort of thing will
happen to us
-- Do we want to fall short of our heavenly rest?
F. LISTEN WITH A MIND TO ACT...
1. Are we like the people in Ezekiel's day? - cf. Eze 33:30-32
a. They loved to hear him, but for the wrong reason
b. Do we love to hear sermons because of how well the speaker
presents them?
2. Hearing must be accompanied by doing to be of any profit - Ja
1:22-25
-- As important as good preaching may be, the blessedness comes
only if the listeners are doers as well as hearers!
CONCLUSION
1. The role of preaching has an important place in the kingdom of God...
a. Jesus used it in His ministry - Mt 4:17,23
b. Jesus wanted His gospel preached to every person - Mk 16:15-16
c. It has the potential to do much good - cf. Ro 1:15-16
2. We owe it to ourselves as listeners to give the Word of God its
due...
a. To receive the Word with all readiness - Ac 17:11
b. To receive the Word with good and noble hearts - Lk 8:15
c. To receive the Word with every intention to do what it says - Ja
1:22,25
For those willing to so listen, preaching will aid us in "Serving The
Lord With Gladness"...!
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Executable Outlines, Copyright © Mark A. Copeland, 2009
