.png)
19 My dear brothers and sisters, understand this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak, and slow to anger, 20 for human anger does not accomplish God’s righteousness. 21 Therefore, ridding yourselves of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent, humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. James 1:19-21
Each week local churches across the world gather to worship God. This time of worship involves many shared experiences such as the reading of scripture, prayer, the partaking of the Lord’s Supper, the singing of songs, the celebration of baptism, and the preaching of the Word. Today I want to take some time to reflect on how we worship God through listening to the preached Word of God.
When people refer to the sermon as part of worship, they are not just referring to the preacher worshiping God through their preaching. Yes, they are doing this, however, each of us in attendance is worshiping God through listening! Yet, just as some preachers don’t preach in the mindset of worshiping God through their preaching, we as listeners, can fall prey to the same mindset. During the sermon, there is one person who preaches while everyone else is listening. Worship during the sermon is on display predominately by listening because that is what the whole of the church is doing.
How do we worship God through listening, then? The Book of James can give us some insight into how best to listen during the preaching of the Word!
Quick To Listen:
“Quick to listen, slow to speak”, if there was a mindset to approach listening to a sermon, this would be it. It is hard to listen if you are speaking. Matter of fact, you are not listening if you are speaking. You might ask, how does this apply to a sermon? People don’t normally interrupt a preacher while they preach. You would be right: people don’t start speaking out loud during a sermon. However, I think as we listen, if we are not careful, we let our minds run free distracting us from the preaching. In this moment, we might as well be talking, engaging in a completely different conversation than the sermon. If you are talking, you are not listening! If our own thoughts dominate us during the sermon and not the sermon itself, then how much of the message are we receiving? Our primary response should be to listen, not to speak. It’s not to say there isn’t a time to talk. It’s hard to engage with what is being communicated to us if we don't take in the message.
Slow To Anger:
Another caution to us from James is to be, “slow to anger”. How do people become mad during the sermon? I think this happens in a couple of forms. The most common, being the preacher says something that rubs us the wrong way, or even the words of scripture. Part of being slow to anger, I think, starts with hearing the complete message. If the pastor or Bible says something we don’t understand or frustrates us, then we should write it down and listen to the rest of the message. Take what they said with the entire message in mind. Don’t sit in anger, festering on something that is keeping us from worshiping God through listening. Instead, hear the complete message. If what they spoke or even if the scriptures still frustrate you, then reach out to the pastor. I strongly recommend that you take notes during a sermon. This allows us to jot down something that speaks to us, or that we need to circle back. This also allows us to have a place to do our own research to further study the scriptures.
Humbly Receive:
If part of what makes us mad during the message is because of scripture calling out sin, or a call to live within a certain moral code, this is to be expected. There are two types of people listening to a sermon: those who are lost in need of salvation, and those who are saved in need of sanctification. Each message has the potential to rid ourselves, “of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent”, in the world! The process of sanctification through the preached word is challenging. Each week we have the opportunity to receive the Word and take it and run with it. However, that is the trick isn’t it? Taking the Word. That’s why we are to, “humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls”. The best preachers are those who walk with a sense of humility, and I would argue the best listeners do the same! Another reason I would suggest being humble and hear out what the preacher is saying, because they have spent at least the entire week praying and studying for this sermon. The least we can do is seek to understand what the Lord has laid on their heart to be preached. If the preacher is also our pastor, we should be humble in trusting this is who the Lord has brought to our church for a time such as this. The Word of God not only feeds us, but heals us. We just need to let God do both! We need to be what Psalm 1 describes: a person who’s, “delight is in the Lord’s instruction, and meditates on it day and night. Being like a tree planted beside flowing streams that bears its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers.” Let us worship God through listening!
Continue Reading:
Don't miss part two Advice For Listening to A Sermon from The Book of James: More Than Hearing!
Comments