You Must Learn to Listen to God Before You Preach for Him
Live with the message before you proclaim it.
If we, as preachers, are not “living with” our sermons before we preach them, our preaching will not be as effective as it should be.
Preaching is sometimes described as the art of making a sermon and proclaiming it. It’s better and more accurate to think of preaching as “the art of making a preacher and delivering that” (William Quayle).
The apostle Paul reminded Timothy how important it was to be diligent in his study of God’s Word - so that he could first “present himself approved to God” (2 Timothy 2:15).
The Bible is the supreme preacher to the preacher. - P.T. Forsyth
Haddon W. Robinson pointed out “Distinctions made between ‘studying the Bible to get a sermon and studying the Bible to feed your own soul,’ are misleading and false” (Biblical Preaching, 25).
If we are not studying a passage of Scripture to feed our souls, how could we think our study of that passage would feed the souls of anyone else?
The charge to “preach the word” (2 Timothy 4:2) comes immediately after Paul’s command to Timothy to “continue in the things which you have learned” (2 Timothy 3:14).
We must first listen to God before we take His Word to others.
Listening to God.
We must be humble (Psalm 119:25).
The Psalmist thought of his life as clinging to the dust. He knew revival came from God’s Word. He understood how “low” he was and turned to God to be brought up again.
As preachers, we must not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think (Romans 12:3). If we are to listen to God, we must first humble ourselves in His sight (James 4:10).
We must be teachable (Psalm 119:26).
The Psalmist considered his ways and realized his need to be taught God’s way. When someone asks to be taught, they realize their own shortcomings.
Although we as preachers teach people God’s Word, we too must remain humble students of the Master Teacher (Matthew 28:19-20). If we cease to be teachable, then we stop listening to God.
We must be thinkers (Psalm 119:27).
The Psalmist spoke of understanding God’s ways and meditating on what He has done. Both of these words include thinking deeply. God’s Word is meant to be taken into the mind and pondered or turned over in the mind.
Not only should preachers be eager students of the Scriptures, but we should also think carefully about the things we study.
I admit that listening to God myself before I proclaim His message to others is easier said than done sometimes.
But if we as preachers want to make a difference in the lives of others using God’s Word, we must first allow the Spirit to work through His Word in our own lives.
Otherwise, do we really believe the message we are proclaiming?
Comment with how you make sure you as the preacher are listening to God’s Word before proclaiming it to others.