Don’t Be A Lazy Listener

James 1:22-23 (KJV)

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

After listening to a particular program while I was bicycling, I purchased a book.

The subject of the book intrigued me. I thought it would help my preaching and especially counseling skills.

But the book turned out to be much more challenging than I imagined.

Honestly, I can read the book. It is not particularly difficult to read the words.

But practicing what the book teaches – that will be a whole different story.

I am going to have to work at the lessons of the book or I will have read a book and be done with it.

I’ve picked up a simple point or two – but that’s about it.

Frankly, a lot of the books I’ve read were not as intimidating to look at, but, truth be told, I’ve done the same thing with them.

I read them for the one or two good points I can skim off the surface. Then I go get another book.

It got me to thinking, that’s what most of us – maybe all of us – do with preaching.

We come to church and hear it, but we don’t get much out of it.

People who study these things tell me that the average church attender will come away from church with less than 2% of the message he heard.

Two percent; that’s less than two sentences of this morning’s message.

No wonder the Bible says, Isaiah 28:13 (KJV)

But the word of the LORD was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.

We get so little out of the messages we hear that we are fortunate if we get a line here and a precept there and if we don’t fall into some ditch before we get enough of the Word of God to help us.

Here’s why.

We are lazy listeners.

Tell me if this isn’t true in your own heart.

You came to church today expecting that I have done all the work for you so you can sit in your seat and take it in without having to work too hard at listening to me.

Preachers understand this so they do things to help you pay attention.

·   Some of them move around a lot

·   Some of them make wild gestures

·   Some of them raise their voices a lot

·   Some of them try to be humorous and get you laughing

·   Some of them perform antics intended to keep you awake and engaged

We know that the average person has an attention span of less than about five minutes.

We have to do something every five minutes to get your attention back or you will drift off to think about:

·   Dinner or

·   The ball game or

·   Work or

·   The kid sitting two rows in front of you

The ideas I want to bring to were rattling around in my head while I was preparing the message I preached this morning about Paul and thanks giving.

One of the challenges I have as a preacher is that I cannot possibly present all of the different applications that the church members need.

·   Paul was thankful even though he spent time in a prison cell

·   Paul was thankful even though he was left alone to defend himself in court

·   Paul was thankful even though his former friend would not admit they knew him

·   Paul was thankful even though he could have drowned in a sinking ship

·   Paul was thankful even though he was eventually executed

I can take the example of the Apostle Paul and find all sorts of reasons why I too can be thankful.

But I can’t, in one sermon, tell every one of you why you can be thankful given your own circumstances.

In other words, I can’t do all of the work for you.

There’s some work for you to do right now – as I am preaching.

All I can do while I am preaching is give you the tools to work with; perhaps point out a good place in scripture or a Bible truth to work on.

The rest of this sermon is up to you.

I want to give you four things you need to do to make preaching meaningful to you…

First

I. YOU HAVE TO PREPARE TO HEAR

Matthew 11:15 (KJV)

He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

This phrase is found eight times in the New Testament.[1]

This phrase is used another 7 times in the book of Revelation

Revelation 2:7 (KJV)

He that hath an ear, let him hear ….

Every time it’s spoken by the Lord Jesus.

Everyone says He was the greatest preacher of all time.

You’ll get no argument from me.

But Jesus said that it was up to his hearer to hear.

“He that hath and ear…”

What, does that mean some don’t have ears?

That’s exactly what it means. Some people possess ears, but they are not capable of hearing.

You will hear God’s Word in the preaching tons better if you prepare yourself to hear.

·   Study the Bible on your own so you are familiar with the passages that I preach

·   Pray to the Lord often, asking Him to help you understand

·   Confess your sins to God and to the rest of your family BEFORE you get to church

·   Listen to godly music on the way to the house of God – avoid things that will turn your attention to the world

What you are doing is making it so, when you get to church, you can hear.

Some of us come to church with so much garbage in our heads, by the time we get it swept out enough to listen to God, the service is over and that’s if I preach a long message!

You understand this is serious business here, right?

Come to church ready to work at hearing!

Second

II. YOU HAVE TO PURPOSE TO HEAR

Luke 8:18 (KJV)

Take heed therefore how ye hear: for whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have.

Did you notice he said, “…how ye hear”?

It means, in what way.

In other words, we are to think about the ways in which we will hear so we get the most benefit from hearing.

There are several things people do to help them hear the message a bit better:

·   Some people take notes

·   All of us ought to have our Bibles open to the main text

·   Some people copy out the outlines

·   Some people actually do small Bible studies that are triggered from the message[2]

It might have to something to do with where you sit in the auditorium so you get less distracted.

It might be you need something in your hand to quiet you mind enough to listen.

That’s ok, just remember you aren’t the only one hear. Do whatever you do quietly.

You don’t need to floss your teeth, or play with a fidget spinner.

We ought to turn the sounds off on our phones and probably turn them on airplane mode too.

There is no reason a young person ought to be looking at their phone in church.

You tell me that you aren’t tempted to read a txt message when you get notified in the middle of church!

You have to purpose to listen to what God wants to say to you.

Third

III. YOU HAVE TO MAKE YOURSELF HEAR

2 Corinthians 10:3-5 (KJV)

For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh:

(For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)

Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Most Christians read these words and take it to mean that they are responsible to capture their thoughts and cast down imaginations.

Years ago I read the passage in context with, 2 Corinthians 10:1-2 (KJV)

Now I Paul myself beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ, who in presence am base among you, but being absent am bold toward you:

But I beseech you, that I may not be bold when I am present with that confidence, wherewith I think to be bold against some, which think of us as if we walked according to the flesh.

And came to the conclusion that Paul was teaching that the preacher’s job is to use preaching to cast down the imaginations, and bring people’s minds into captivity and obedience to Christ through his preaching.

I want to compromise a bit and tell you that it takes both you and me to make this message capture your thoughts.

By the way, notice that the idea is to capture your thoughts just so you hear, but capture your thoughts so they can be corrected and brought into obedience to Jesus Christ.

You might not like what you hear.

·   You might get upset at what you hear in church.

·   You might get under conviction by what you hear in church

·   You might get beat up and stepped upon by what you hear in church

Here’s what you do…

You bring your thoughts into captivity and obedience to Jesus.

·   You repent

·   You change

·   You turn around

So you are going the same way Christ sent you,

Finally

IV. YOU HAVE TO PROTECT WHAT YOU HEAR

Matthew 13:18-23 (KJV)

Hear ye therefore the parable of the sower.

When any one heareth the word of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way side.

But he that received the seed into stony places, the same is he that heareth the word, and anon with joy receiveth it;

Yet hath he not root in himself, but dureth for a while: for when tribulation or persecution ariseth because of the word, by and by he is offended.

He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

Satan is going to do everything he can to steal from you what God gives you in church.

You are going to have to work at it so you keep what you got.

So I have some suggestions for you

A. Make use of the altar

When God speaks to your soul during the message, assume that you ought to respond to Him.

What, you think God talks to you for “small talk”?

If, while the message is being preached, something “pops” for you, something sticks out, something strikes some chord, expect that it would be good to talk to God about it.

I know you will say you can do that at home in private.

But that’s only partly true. God spoke to you in a public setting. To tell Him you’ll get back to Him later changes the dynamics of the conversation.

Besides, before you get home the devil will try to steal that thing God gave you over and over again.

Speak to God about it at the altar right away!

B. Make marks in your Bible

Those marks, by the way, are just so you can keep track of where I have preached before.

They should be tools you can use for digging deeper into the message that was preached.

As I said, I can’t possibly run through every application a message might have for you.

You, however, can make marks in your Bible so that, when you are home, you can look up the Scriptures and find applications that God wants for your life personally.

C. Make us of our church website

Every message I preach today will be posted on our church blog by end of the week.

You can read the actual notes I preach from to help you remember some part of the message that particular spoke to you.

You’ll also find my personal daily visits with God on a blog. They are laid out so that you could use them as a Bible commentary. Right now there are more than 4000 daily visits with God that cover every book of the Bible and almost every chapter of the Bible.

I would love it, by the way, if you subscribed to the blogs. That way you would get them as soon as they are posted and, the more people subscribed, the more likely that others will find them.

D. Make opportunities to tell others what you heard

The best way to remember something you have learned is to teach it to someone else.

If you come to church here you must have a reason.

Surely something in the message here helps you.

Find someone this week you can share what helped you to them.

E. Make it real in your personal walk with the Lord

James 1:22-23 (KJV)

But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves.

For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass:

So we come all the way around to the very first passage we read tonight.

If you only hear and refuse to do what you hear in the messages, you are deceived.

·   Deceived about your faith

·   Deceived about your relationship with God and maybe

·   Deceived whether you are saved at all

Conclusion

This is serious; this that we do in church.

The very best you can do, you couldn’t get everything that is intended in a single message.

But if you are lazy when you listen, you won’t get much of anything out of the message.

Maybe most people don’t get much of anything.

And it’s not the preacher’s fault.

If you won’t do your work in hearing, no amount of the preacher’s work in preaching will make much of a difference.

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[1] Matthew 11:15, Matthew 13:9, Matthew 13:43, Mark 4:9, Mark 4:23, Mark 7:16, Luke 8:8, Luke 14:35.

[2] This is a great idea, but you probably should wait until you get home