Notes from Sunday 4-10-11's sermon.

1. How to Hear a Sermon
Selected Scriptures
INTRODUCTION
Since the Fall of last year, in our preaching, we have been
focusing our attention on who we are as a church and
what we do together as a body.
Our series in Titus reminded us that we are a people
unified around the centrality of the gospel - from
leadership, to membership, to our citizenship.
Since January we have reviewed why we need the
ministry of the church, the importance of preaching,
examining how we serve each other as a church, and just
recently completing a series challenging us to think hard
about how we worship together as one people.
This morning I continue in that same vein, and coming
back to the subject of preaching.
The majority of what we do on the Lordʼs Day centers
around the teaching of Godʼs Word - which is what the
Bible calls us to emphasize when we gather.
Rather than argue more for the value of preaching - I
want to approach it a bit differently.
If preaching is so vital to the church, then listening is
critical.
And how we listen is actually a major subject in the New
Testament:
Listen to these verses on listening:

2. NAU Matthew 11:15 "He who has ears to hear, let him hear.
NAU Matthew 13:9 "He who has ears, let him hear."
NAU Matthew 13:15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS
BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR,
AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY
WOULD SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS,
AND UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART AND RETURN, AND I
WOULD HEAL THEM.'
NAU Matthew 13:16 "But blessed are your eyes, because they see;
and your ears, because they hear.
NAU Matthew 13:43 "Then THE RIGHTEOUS WILL SHINE FORTH
AS THE SUN in the kingdom of their Father. He who has ears, let
him hear.
NAU Matthew 15:10 After Jesus called the crowd to Him, He said to
them, "Hear and understand.
NAU Matthew 17:5 While he was still speaking, a bright cloud
overshadowed them, and behold, a voice out of the cloud said,
"This is My beloved Son, with whom I am well-pleased; listen to
Him!"
NAU Mark 7:14 After He called the crowd to Him again, He began
saying to them, "Listen to Me, all of you, and understand:
NAU Luke 9:44 "Let these words sink into your ears; for the Son of
Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men."
NAU Luke 16:29 "But Abraham said, 'They have Moses and the
Prophets; let them hear them.'
NAU Acts 2:22 "Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the
Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and
wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your
midst, just as you yourselves know --
NAU Acts 7:57 But they cried out with a loud voice, and covered
their ears and rushed at him with one impulse.
NAU Acts 13:16 Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said,
"Men of Israel, and you who fear God, listen:

3. NAU Acts 15:13 After they had stopped speaking, James
answered, saying, "Brethren, listen to me.
NAU Acts 22:1 "Brethren and fathers, hear my defense which I now
offer to you."
NAU Romans 11:8 just as it is written, "GOD GAVE THEM A
SPIRIT OF STUPOR, EYES TO SEE NOT AND EARS TO HEAR
NOT, DOWN TO THIS VERY DAY."
NAU James 2:5 Listen, my beloved brethren: did not God choose
the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom
which He promised to those who love Him?
Thereʼs a lot in the New Testament about listening
Listening is critical – listening to Godʼs word as it is
preached is essential.
Preaching is not the only weapon in our battle
- not the only maneuver in our conflict
But it is foundational –
Piper: it is a biblical goal and norm for Christians to be a
part of worship gatherings where the word of the cross is
preached. God ordains this for our joy. Studying the
Word is good. Meditation is good. Discussion is good.
Analyzing and explaining is good. But preaching is also
good, and God calls us to enjoy the blessing that comes
to us when the word of the cross explodes in the heart of
a godly preacher and overflows in exultation to the minds
and hearts of a worshiping people. The fight for joy loses
one of its weapons when it does not regularly hear the
gospel preached.
How much do you want to hear from God?
How important is it to you that the Holy Spirit
communicate with you?

4. In Revelation 2-3 – we read and heard 7 messages from
God to his church
- in essence they were sermons
- and – at the end of every message – was a
command to listen to it
I take from that –
" - the message – the word that God the Holy Spirit
was speaking – was what that church read and heard as
it was preached publicly to them
" And it was that preached message – that the Spirit
was speaking to the congregation and that they were
commanded to listen to
There is a divine responsibility we have to pay attention to
the way we listen.
If you want to hear God speak – listen to a sermon
" " Now – letʼs be careful and attempt to be clear
with this:
" " Do I mean
- that there is a special, unique message for each
individual – that will be different for each person
– a meaning from the Bible that will be unique
and totally individual for you and no one else that
you should try and listen for in the sermon?
NO – that is not what I mean
Sometimes we hear people pray this way
o help each person here get a special
message from the sermon
That is not the purpose of preaching
 nor is it the purpose of listening

5. The purpose of preaching is to preach the
message of the text of the Bible – that IS the
message God has for each and every
individual
o there are not different messages – different
meanings for different people who are
listening
o There is one message because there is
one meaning
You are not to listen to the sermon – with the aim of
finding some message or meaning for you
personally
- you are to listen to the sermon – to find and
understand the actual meaning of the passage of
Scripture being preached
To the degree that a preacher accurately reflects
what God intended in His Word
" And to the degree that the listener actively
and accurately receives that word
" To that degree – God has spoken and the
listener has heard
" Only after you know the meaning of the passage
- can you then seek for the specific manner in
which it is to be applied to your life
- and that is where the responsibility for listening
comes home
o When you understand WHAT the passage
means
o Then you can discern HOW it is to be used
correctly and personally
o

6. Also – I donʼt mean – that only listening to sermons is the
only way to hear God speak
- Godʼs speech is His Written, Objective Word in
the Bible
o When I read it – He is speaking
o Not a message meant merely for me – not
a unique, special word just for me
o NO – He has written a book to be read,
heard and understood
 The meaning is the same for
everyone – the application is what
may be unique
- When I say – Have you heard God speak
o Iʼm not asking – did you hear a still small
voice – did you get a warm feeling – did
you get a specific word for your situation
o Iʼm asking – do you understand the
meaning of this passage
o the meaning of the Scripture is the
Scripture – and the Scripture is Godʼs Word
– Godʼs Message – Godʼs speaking
we may discern principles from passages that shape our
actions
- but taking a text out of its context, to make it say
something to you personally – that it was never
intended to say – is a misuse of the Bible
o and the only person you were hearing, was
yourself, not God.
I want to give you some help in making the most of a
biblical message preached on the Lordʼs Day or any day
that you might hear one
" - but particularly on the Lordʼs Day – when
preaching is central to what happens

7. Let me give you three steps you can consider so that you
might effectively listen to a Sermon.
I. PREPARE INTENTIONALLY
How do you prepare for preaching?
- we certainly expect the preacher to be prepared
to preach
- do we take much care in preparing ourselves to
listen
o we should – because we are commanded
to hear with spiritually attentive ears and
deeply affected lives
It may in fact be much of the preacherʼs fault if no one
wants to listen
- maybe he is bland – maybe he should yell more
(everyone knows, yelling means someone is
passionate and interesting), maybe he should
use handouts, maybe he should not – maybe he
should wear palm print shirts and sandals –
maybe he should wear a suit – maybe he didnʼt
pray much – read much – think much or plan well
There are a thousand things that go into an effective
sermon
- I am constantly ashamed of the many miserable
messages I have brought to the Lordʼs people on
the Lordʼs Day
But – even if he is bland, dry, humorless, passionless, too
fat, too skinny, too much hair, not enough hair, too young,
too old
- despite all the little unimportant distractions
If the Word of God is at least preached in an
accurate way – doesnʼt the congregation bear some

8. responsibility to take intentional steps to
passionately, personally and persistently apply that
Word?
As F.W. Boreham said:
: “I suppose it was largely my fault that the sermon
seemed to me to be so ineffective. There are tremendous
astonishments in the Christian evangel which, however
badly stated, should fire my sluggish soul with wonder,
and fill me with amazement. The fact that I listened so
blandly shows that I have become blasé.”
Or consider Charles Spurgeonʼs comments:
“we are told men ought not to preach without
preparation. Granted. But, we add, men out not
hear without preparation. Which, do you think,
needs the most preparation, the sower or the
ground? . . . It seems to me that there is more
preparation needed by the ground than by the
sower, more by the hearer than by the preacher.”
When I talk about preparing intentionally for preaching
- I need to divide that into 2 distinct areas
o Spiritual Preparation
o Practical Preparation
1. Are You Spiritually Prepared to Hear from God?
What do I mean by this question?
Well – how many times do the Gospels and the Book of
Revelation say:
" He who has an ear, let him hear.
That means I should begin by asking this question:
" a. Do You Have an Ear to Hear?
" " Matthew 13:3-17

9. " " Here is a parable about Hearing – and
Salvation
" " Verse 8 – compelling
That means it's not enough to have ears
on the side of your head. Everybody has
those. But there is another kind of ear
that only some people have. And those
can hear. "He who has ears to hear let
him hear." There is a spiritual ear, or a
heart-ear. There is an ear that hears, in
the preaching of the Word, more than
mere words. There is a beauty and a
truth and a power that these ears hear
as compelling and transforming and
preserving. That's the kind of hearing
Jesus is calling for. That's what this text
is about.
" " " And there is a sense here – that hearing
is very much a spiritual issue – and that not just anyone
can hear and have the kind of “heart” hearing that Jesus
says is the only effective kind of hearing
" " That means God is involved in the whole
issue of hearing – who can and will and who canʼt and
wonʼt
" " 4 Kinds of Listening to the Word of God
" " " vv 18-23
There is a hearing that barely gets
started and the Word is gone before you
get out the door. There is a hearing that
lasts until there is a hard time in life, and
then one turns from God to other
messages. There is a hearing that
flourishes until the riches and pleasures

10. of this life choke it off. And there is a
hearing that defeats the devil, endures
trial, scorns riches and bears fruit unto
eternal life.
Here is the first question to ask of yourself
- which soil describes your listening?
- You see the kind of listening you have by your
response or lack of response the word
And this reveals a salvation issue
To hear what the Spirit is saying – you must be first born
again by the Spirit
You must seek to know and understand Godʼs Word by
first becoming Godʼs child – humbling yourself in absolute
submission to his Lordship and seeking His kingdom
above anything else in the world
Those who sit under years of preaching and never
change – you must wonder if they actually have “heart-
ears” or not
So – do you have an ear to Hear – or are you in fact a
follower of Jesus Christ –
- because if you are not – your treasuring of the
Word will only go so far – and it wonʼt be far
enough
but a 2nd question should be asked concerning this idea of
Spiritual Preparation:
2. Are Your Ears Clean?
" James 1:19-25
" Vv 19-21 – points to the believer – who needs to
continually clean his ears
" Vv 22-25 – refers to the two kinds of listeners that
reflect to kinds of spiritual conditions (saved & lost)

11. " Clearly v 21 – suggests that we must keep our
hearts free from the dirtiness and distraction of sin if we
hope to be effective hearers of the Word and in turn doers
of the Word
The same though in 1 Peter 2:1-2
NAU 1 Peter 2:1 Therefore, putting aside all malice and
all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander, 2 like
newborn babies, long for the pure milk of the word, so
that by it you may grow in respect to salvation,
If you want to grow – if you desire to mature – if you hope
to be different
- you must take responsibility for your sin
- and take such responsibility for your sin – so you
can hear God clearly and correctly and truly
Are you spiritually prepared to hear the Word
But, letʼs get very practical now
Not only are you spiritually prepared
- certainly people who actually come back on a
Sunday evening are spiritually prepared – who
else would come?
But secondly –
2. Are You Practically Prepared to Hear the Word?
What do I mean by this?
- what did you do today to prepare yourself to hear
the preaching of Godʼs word and hear with ears
that are ready to hear and apply?
Let me provide you with 4 actions to take in practically
preparing yourself to Hear the Word

12. " a. Pray
"
" " For the Preacher
NAU 2 Thessalonians 3:1 Finally, brethren, pray for us
that the word of the Lord will spread rapidly and be
glorified, just as it did also with you;
! Gardner Spring said – 200 years ago
If a people are looking for rich sermons from their
minister, their prayers must supply him with the needed
material; if they seek for faithful sermons, their prayers
must urge him. . . If Godʼs people are going to expect
powerful and successful sermons, their prayers must
make him a blessing to the souls of men. Would they
have him come to them in the fullness of the blessing of
the Gospel of peace . . .? If so, their prayers must urge
him to pray. . . . It is in their own closets that the people of
God most effectively challenge their beloved ministers to
take heed to the ministry they have received from the
Lord Jesus. . . . When the churches cease to pray for
ministers, ministers will no longer be a blessing to the
churches.
" " For the Other Hearers
- pray for the others who will come
- think about the soils – pray for people to come
with prepared “heart-ears”
- pray for yourself to listen with your heart
b. Meditate
As one pastor put it – you need to learn how to
“appetize” your heart
- that is not a word – my word processor did not
recognize it
- but you and I know what we mean
- Whet your appetite – prime your spiritual pump –

13. - Meditate on the Scripture
o Which ones – not too hard – when we
preach expositionally – you have a good
idea of what is coming next – spend some
time Sunday morning or even more radical
– Saturday night reading through the
portions of Scripture to be preached the
next day.
o Read through a Psalm Sunday morning –
get your heart ready, thinking dwelling on
and meditating on Scriptural things
o Make yourself teachable before you come
to church – tantalize your spiritual taste
buds so that they are craving to be
satisfied on Sunday morning
c. Schedule
How many of you schedule around church – and
how many of you schedule church around life
- if life is too busy – you are too busy to go
One pastor exhorted his congregation:
Think counter-culturally about Sunday mornings! While
the rest of the world sleeps in and ratchets back on the
first day of the week, we need to build in a value that
declares Sunday morning the most important time of the
week. Encourage them to wake up earlier and plan a real
breakfast. Make it clear that getting ready for church has
greater implications for their lives than getting ready for
work or class any other day of the week.
Schedule Your Sunday – your whole Sunday

14. Donʼt engage in activities that you know will
keep your heart from hearing what it needs
- Hearing from God must be more important than
any other activity you do
- So, you know what kind of activity you do on
Sunday that will make you tired, sleepy,
frustrated, mentally exhausted, distinterested,
etc.
John Piper says is powerfully –
It astonishes me how many Christians watch the same
banal, empty, silly, trivial, titillating, suggestive, immodest
TV shows that most unbelievers watch - and then wonder
why their spiritual lives are weak and their worship
experience is shallow with no intensity. If you really want
to hear the Word of God the way he means it to be heard
in truth and joy and power, turn off the television on
Saturday night and read something true and great and
beautiful and pure and honorable and excellent and
worthy of praise (see Philippians 4:8). Then watch your
heart unshrivel and begin to hunger for the word of God.
" What do you do on Saturday evening?
Do you plan to go to bed at a descent hour –
so you will not be wasted during the service
Sunday
" What do you do on Sunday morning?
- do you get up with just enough time in the
morning to spend any time preparing your heart
for worship – or do you get up with only the bare
minimum time to get ready, rush out the door and
show up looking good, but feeling like you just
woke up?
d. Participate
- Bring your Bible to church and use it
- Think while worshiping – donʼt just sit passively
as if to be entertained – participate in the singing
- THINK –

15. What do you do to prepare for preaching – How much do
you want to hear from God?
Intentional Preparation may be one of the most important
steps to hearing with “heart-ears”
II. LISTEN CAREFULLY
The work is not done when you have intentionally
prepared yourself to listen
- You then must listen
Is it completely up to the preacher to make you listen
carefully
- must he tell funny stories for you to pay
attention?
- Must he give long illustrations for you to think
about what is being said?
I will not excuse any preacher, including myself,
- for making the sermon too technical, that no
one but a seminary professor could follow it
" - for providing no structure that is easy to
follow
- for giving no relevant illustrations to make
the text understandable to a culture vastly
different than the one in the biblical text
But – what responsibility does the listener have
- the commands to “listen” are prominent and
numerous
- there is a specific and definite need for the
congregation to give some attention to paying
attention

16. But, practically – how could we listen best?
1. Have an Attentive Attitude
" Acts 10:33 – Cornelius and his household
- knew that whatever it was that Peter would say –
was something they desperately needed to listen
to
- they showed up to Corneliusʼ house with an
attentive attitude
How do you show up – What is your attitude when
listening
- Entertain me – Please me – Prove it to me
Do you come hungry – ready to eat, prepared to
listen
Do you listen with a sense of expectancy – or with a
heart of complacency – oh, I already know that or I
have already heard that before.
- Iʼm just there to encourage other people to listen
to this stuff
2. Have a Teachable Attitude
" James 1:21
- an attitude that says, even if I have studied every
verse – heard preaching for more years than the
one preaching has been alive
- There is still more to learn
i.e. W.A. Criswell
" - Powerful Pulpiteer
" - Keen Thinker
" - Constant Learner
" Paige Patterson has shared – that he was
preaching at FBC Dallas during the Mid-Week –

17. going to preach through First Peter and knew that
he was going to take a different stand on a passage
than Dr. Criswell
- Dr. Criswell encouraged the congregation – Dr.
Patterson is going to show us something new in
this book
- Sat down on the front row – with Greek New
Testament in Hand and paper to take notes –
copiously taking notes on what Dr. Patterson
preached
Your attitude toward listening and receiving has a lot
to do with whether or not you are going to hear what
the Spirit is saying to the churches
" 1 Thess 2:13
3. Use Your Bible
" Follow along in passages
" Mark key words
" Put question marks alongside portions you need to
study more
"
" Bring a Bible you regularly read from or study with
- you may notice something in the passage during
the sermon that you flew by while reading
Even if it feels awkward – you donʼt know where all
the books are
- do your best to follow along –
- and think with the preacher through the section
he is preaching as you read along with him
4. Write Down Major Points
" Here is where some get all bent out of shape

18. " Now – if you are an outstanding listener and
remember the points
- this actually takes much more concentration
- and can repeat the points after the message and
give a basic description of them
o then donʼt worry about this
But if you are like the majority of us
- writing something down – helps your mind to
track with the preacher
- helps you stay focused on what is being
preached
- causes you to remember more of what you heard
Iʼm not talking about transcribing the sermon
- donʼt try to write everything down – you probably
wonʼt listen very carefully – you are merely trying
to reproduce phrases
 you wonʼt be listening to understand
- if all you do is write down the major points – one
or two words per point – something like that
you will be doing yourself a favor
Donʼt use the excuse – well, I donʼt like to write
anything down – I just like to sit back and listen – I
get more out of it if I just listen and donʼt write
anything down
- probably you donʼt take much with you from the
day
- and – you probably will not spend any time
during the week – thinking about how the
particular passage or passages addressed in the
message apply to you
My guess is – you write down instructions your
spouse gives you for the grocery store or errands

19. - if you are going to build something – you
probably write down a few notes for materials
- if you are going to relay a message to someone
– you jot a few thoughts down
Why would we take time to write down things that wonʼt
matter tomorrow – and will take no time to write down
even a few points that could help change us for eternity?
Begin a file system for keeping your notes
- In a notebook – in a drawer – in file folders
Even kids could do this –
5. Fight Distractions -
" What distracts you the most during the message?
" You may need to think about where you sit
You may need to think about who you sit by –
especially those who think they are Sermon
Commentators
- you know, the ones who have to verbally say
something when they disagree with something
said –
- the ones who have to lean over to talk about a
point – comment on something – who must
always say something about everything
Donʼt create a climate that is distracting to others
But also – donʼt allow distractions to distract you
Make it hard to be pulled away from hearing what
God is saying in His Word
Let me remind you

20. - the physical distractions – are actually – spiritual
battles
Ephesians 6:12
When distractions arise – you might need to
immediately go to prayer rather than nudging your
neighbor to point them out and distract them
Listen carefully to what is said – to what is explained
Think along with the preacher – carefully consider the text
being explained.
One last element we want to talk about:
III. APPLY FERVENTLY
1. Review Soon After
There is biblical precedent for this –
" Acts 17:11
As Richard Baxter said several hundred years ago:
! “Chew the cud . . . when you come home in secret,
and by meditation preach it over to yourselves. If it were
coldly delivered by the preacher, . . .[consider] the great
weight of the matter, and preach it more earnestly over to
your own hearts.”
Take some time on Monday morning to review your notes
and think about what was said on Sunday Morning
Take some time on Tuesday morning to review your notes
and think about what was said on Sunday Evening
Take some time on Wednesday morning to review what
the Sunday School lesson was about

21. Take some time on Thursday morning and review what
was said on Wednesday Evening
2. Write Down Something Practical to Apply
Think about a sermon journal – where you think out
loud – in writing about what was said and what you
should do with the message.
" An Attitude to Change
" An Insight Gained
" A Behavior to Begin
" I know this in not normal
" I know this is beyond what may feel comfortable –
but would it help you be more intentional and practical
with what you hear on Sunday?
3. Share It With Some One
" A neighbor you are trying to reach
" Your spouse on the way home from church
" Your children just before dinner on Mondays –
family devotions
" Why?
- When you have to retell it – you will remember
more of it
- Preaching helps me to learn more
o – I have to verbally share what I have
studied
o – therefore I have to choose words that you
will understand

22. o I have to put my study into specific words
and phrases – and I am likely to remember
more
The key is to finish listening to a sermon and apply:
" James 1:22-25
Are you ready to Hear from God?
Is it important to you?
What needs to be different in your approach to a Sunday
- so that you can consciously, intentionally,
practically apply Godʼs Word?
CONCLUSION