Ramey states in his foreward, "Listening to a sermon, really listening - as in thinking, praying, following the argument, concentrating on the meaning and its application to your life - now that's hard work! Merely hearing a sermon is easy...Actively listening to the preaching of God's Word requires mental alertness, focused attention, and a spiritually receptive heart." I think he nails it in describing the plight of many Christians in many churches, especially in our culture today, who simply hear a sermon.
He begins the book by explaining the theological mandate for every true Christian to wholeheartedly listen to God's Word. Then, he explains how we can prepare our hearts to get the most out of the sermon. Ramey is both principled and practical in his exhortations. He has some really good thoughts about how we should grow in discernment in listening to sermons. Lastly, he ends with some good thoughts on application. Truly listening is not possible if we don't follow through and act on the sermons we hear.
Here are a few gems:
- Preaching is not a one-sided endeavor. It is a joint venture between the preacher and the listener. Successful sermons result from the listener teaming up with the preacher much like a catcher works in unison with a pitcher.
- Whenever we are exposed to the Word of God we are in essence being exposed to God Himself (1 Cor 14:24-25). That alone should be enough to motivate us to honor and obey the Word of God.
- One of the clearest evidences that a person has been born again is a love for God's Word. Before the Spirit regenerates us, we are baffled and bored by preaching. But once we are saved, it suddenly makes sense to us and becomes interesting and begins to have a transforming effect on our lives. There are people attending churches all across this world who have gone to church their entire lives but have little or no interest in the preaching of God's Word. That is evidence that they have never truly been born again.
- A preacher's commitment to the Lord should be to be prepared every week to stand and deliver His Word. Your commitment to the Lord should be to be prepared every week to sit and receive His Word. My goal is to be the best preacher possible. Your goal should be to be the best listener possible. When the preacher does his part and you do your part, God's Spirit will effectively use His Word to accomplish His purposes in your life.
- "Chew the cud, and call up all when you come home in secret, and by meditation preach it over to yourselves. If it were coldly delivered by the preacher, do you consider of the great weight of the matter, and preach it more earnestly over to your own hearts." Richard Baxter
- In ohter words, the better listeners are becoming the better Christians. Why? Because they don't just hear the Word, but it becomes a part of their lives. They live out what they learn. They apply it. They put it into practice.
- "A sermon is not over when the minister says 'Amen.' Rather that is when the true sermon begins. In an old Scottish story, a wife asked her husband if the sermon was done. 'No' he replied. 'It has been said, but it has yet to be done.'" Joel Beeke
- "We are told men ought not to preach without preparation. Granted. But we add, men ought not to hear without preparation. Which, do you think, needs the most preparation, the sower or the ground? I would have the sower come with clean hands, but I would have the ground well-plowed and harrowed, well-turned over, and the clods broken before the seed comes in. 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." C.H. Spurgeon
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