03/08/2024
The pastor prepares to preach the Word that the listeners may be reproved, rebuked, encouraged and exhorted. What does the listener do?
Jay Adams has observed, "too many laymen speak about the preaching event as if it were a one-way street, as if the responsibility for what transpires when the Bible is proclaimed rests solely on the shoulders of the preacher. But that’s not so! Effective communication demands competence from all parties.
How can you be better prepared to be an active listener?
1. Be Personally Ready:
"The whole purpose of sitting in the listener’s seat is exposure to the message for the purpose of personal confrontation, information, conviction, motivation, and transformation. The hearer’s thoughts should not be concerns about how well the preacher is doing, how clever or interesting he is, or how well structured his sermon is. The listener is not there to admire or criticize a piece of oratorical art, but to be spoken to personally by God’s representative. The object of the preaching event is a change in thinking, attitude, and behavior. The hearer must prepare himself with this anticipation."
2. Be Physically Ready:
"A basic key to good listening is being in good physical condition. This depends on adequate rest, well-balanced meals, and proper exercise. Each of these varies with different individuals, but all are essential to being alert and ready to comprehend what is spoken.
People do not listen well when they are tired or hungry. Their minds drift to other things because of improper care of their bodies. On the other hand, being awake and attentive is essential for one to hear God’s message in a refreshing and dynamic way. The way one spends Saturday evening and Sunday morning, for example, will directly affect the expository exchange between expositor and listener."
3. Be Prayerfully Ready:
"Expository preaching can be defined as a spiritual event through which Almighty God Himself speaks His Word to the hearts of men and women so that they might know and understand His will and obey it. So prayer is an essential element in readying one’s heart to hear what God wants to communicate through His appointed messenger.
Two distinct, yet inseparable, objects summarize the format for preparatory prayer: Pray for the preacher as he communicates God’s message, and pray for the ability to comprehend what God communicates, as the psalmist prayed: “Deal bountifully with Thy servant, / That I may live and keep Thy Word. Open my eyes, that I may behold / Wonderful things from Thy law” (Ps. 119:17–18)."
From: REDISCOVERING EXPOSITORY PREACHING: BALANCING THE SCIENCE AND ART OF BIBLICAL EXPOSITION
