O Worship the LORD in the Beauty of Holiness

EXPOSITORY LISTENING

 Introduction

There are many books on expository preaching and much attention has been given to this subject. However, few, if not none, have given thought to the other side of the coin of expository preaching, which is expository listening. So I was surprised to find this book by Ken Ramey — Expository Listening (A Handbook for hearing and doing God’s Word), while browsing through a book publisher’s catalogue. 

Ken Ramey, a graduate of the Master’s Seminary, Southern California, wrote in his book: “The Bible teaches that listeners must partner with the preacher so that the Word of God accomplishes its intended purpose of transforming their life.” 

In this article, I will be extracting the main points from Ramey’s book to highlight the connection between the responsibility of the preacher in preaching the Word and the listener’s responsibility in receiving the Word “with all readiness of mind…” (Acts 17:11) and their responsiveness to the preached Word (1 Thess. 2:13). 

Much attention is directed at the preacher’s preaching, but few realise that the Bible has more to say “about the listener’s responsibility to hear and obey the Word of God than it does about the preacher’s responsibility to explain and apply the Word of God” (p.3). It matters to God very much how preachers preach. However, it matters to God equally, if not more, how listeners listen and respond to God’s Word. 

1. An appeal to Listen with your heart

The Thessalonians understood and appreciated the supernatural effectiveness of faithful preachers of the Word of God and fervent listeners of the preached Word. “Augustine urged his congregation to attend preaching with “burning thirst and fervent heart.” Likewise, the Puritans, understood this dynamic of biblical exposition—that when a man is faithfully preaching the Word of God it is actually the voice of God being heard—which should cause the hearers to pay earnest attention to every sermon preached” (p.6). 

How do believers honour God in worship? “By reverently listening to His Word with a full purpose of praising and obeying Him once they see what Christ has done and is doing, and what they are called to do.” This ought to stir up the believer’s “passion to honour God by being discerning hearers of His Word, diligent doers of His Word, and devoted lovers of His Word, who come to church like a thirsty man craving something to drink and whose hearts fervently long to hear the Word preached because they know that in it God speaks to them” (p.7). 

2. Steps to preparing your heart to listen

A preacher’s commitment to the Lord is to be prepared every week to stand and deliver His Word. The listener’s commitment to the Lord is to be prepared every week to sit and receive His Word. The preacher’s goal is to be the best preacher possible. The listener’s goal is to be the best listener possible. When the preacher does his part and the listeners do their part, God’s Spirit will effectively use His Word to accomplish His purposes in the preacher’s and the listener’s lives. 

          2a.     Read and mediate on God’s Word daily

Reading the Word on a daily basis will develop in you a healthy appetite for God’s Word. Richard Baxter said, “Read and meditate on the Holy Scriptures much in private, and then you will be the better able to understand what is preached on it in public” (p.38). 

Meditation links interpretation and application, links knowing what a passage means and putting it into practice. 

2b.     Pray throughout the week

First, pray for yourself that God would grant you a humble and teachable heart to hear and accept the Word and that it will bring forth lasting fruit in your life, that He would help you to listen to and obey His Word, and thereby change and grow in Christ-likeness. Remember that you cannot change all by yourself. You need God’s help. Paul said, “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Phil. 2:12-13). 

Second, pray for the preacher that God’s Spirit would empower and use him to help you grow in your understanding of God and His Word and accomplish His purposes in your life and the life of our church. Someone once asked Spurgeon the secret to the power and effectiveness of his preaching ministry. He replied simply, “My people pray for me!” 

2c.      Confess your sin

In preparation to hearing and receiving of the Word, you must constantly, as James says, “…lay apart all filthiness and superfluity of naughtiness, and receive with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). The Word cannot be internalised unless and until your heart is cleansed by the blood of Christ. Unconfessed sin and unreconciled relationships hinder your ability to hear and obey God’s Word. 

2d.     Reduce your media intake

“The media saturation of our society has a dulling, deadening effect on our hearts. We are constantly being bombarded by visual stimulation, which conditions and diminishes our ability to listen to and comprehend the preaching of God’s Word.” 

Listening demands a great deal of concentration and self-discipline. Augustine said, “To proclaim the Word of truth as well as to listen to it is hard work… Thus, let us exert ourselves in listening.” Jay Adams writes, “Many today drift into church with their minds turned off, slouch in the pew, and expect the preacher to do the rest. Examine yourself, brother or sister: have you been guilty of becoming a Sunday morning version of the couch potato?” (p.42 & 43). 

2e.     Plan ahead, and schedule your week around the ministry of the Word

Too often, work, school, sports, and other activities take precedence over going to church. They err in scheduling the Lord’s Day worship and the ministry of the Word around their various activities instead of the other way round. Thus, Church and ministries in the church are last in their priorities. When you prioritise rightly and plan well, you are better able to worship the Lord and be in a much more receptive frame of mind to hear and receive His Word. 

2f.      Go to church with a humble, teachable, expectant heart

Cultivate a spirit of anticipation, fully expecting God to speak to you through His Word in ways that will make a lasting difference in your life. Pray with the Psalmist: “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psa. 119:18). 

Jay Adams describes the manner in which we should approach God in worship: 

“When you go to hear a sermon, you must be concerned about one thing: what does God have to say to me? Focus on God. See preaching as a transaction not merely between yourself and the preacher, but between yourself and God. The preacher is a means to that end. Go expecting to hear a Word from God that, when obeyed, will change your life.” 

2g.     Worship with all your heart

The most critical moments for the listener are those in and around and leading up to the sermon itself. Therefore you need to maximise this crucial time. Hymns and prayers serve as a prelude to the preaching. The worship service is designed to set the table for the Word. The climax of service is the sermon. You speak to God through the hymns and prayers, and then the Lord speaks to you through the sermon. 

2h.     Fight off distractions

Whenever the Word is preached, there is a spiritual battle going on. The Evil One will do everything in his power to distract you from hearing the Word and snatch away the Word from your heart and mind so that it cannot take root and grow and produce fruit in your life. Therefore, you must work hard, through the help of the Holy Spirit, at not being distracted, or worse, being a distraction to others. 

2i.       Listen with diligent discernment

God holds you personally responsible to determine whether or not what the preacher says is biblically accurate (Deut. 13:1-5; 1 John 4:1; 2 John 1:7-11). The Westminster Confession Larger Catechism states: “It is required of those that hear the Word preached that they attend upon it with diligence, preparation and prayer; examine what they hear by the Scriptures; receive the truth with faith, love, meekness and readiness of mind, as the Word of God; meditate, and confer of it; hide it in their hearts, and bring forth the fruit of it in their lives.” 

2j.       Preparation of the heart and soul

Martyn Lloyd-Jones said that the key to powerful preaching is preparation; not just preparation of the sermon, but preparation of the heart and soul. 

This principle of preparation applies both to the preacher and the listeners. The key to being powerfully impacted by the preaching of God’s Word is proper preparation of the heart and mind of the hearer. Even the most well-crafted, well-preached sermons will fail to effect a change in your life if it is not received by a well-cultivated, well-prepared heart. 

Conclusion

“In order for the hearer to receive the maximum benefit from the sermons, the hearer must partner with the preacher so that the Word of God accomplishes its intended purpose of transforming your life. Nothing creates a more explosive, electrifying, life-changing atmosphere than when the lightning bolts from a Spirit-empowered preacher hit the lightning rods of a Spirit-illuminated listener” (p.4).

– Mok Chee Cheong 

— adapted and edited from “Expository Listening” (A handbook for hearing and doing God’s Word) by Ken Ramey

Shorter Catechism Question 8

Q: How doth God execute his decrees?

A: God executeth his decrees in the works of creation and providence.

Appointments for the Week

Monday, Aug 12

        7.30 pm     ERBL: Intro to Biblical Counselling (Mr Joel Seah)

Tuesday, Aug 13

        8.00 pm     Prayer Meeting (Dn Surya Kusuma)

Wednesday, Aug 14

      10.00 am     SF Meeting

Thursday, Aug 15

      10.00 am     Ladies’ Prayer Group

        7.30 pm     ERBL: The Book of Proverbs (Rev Lim Chee Boon)

Saturday, Aug 17

        3.00 pm     LTF / YLM

Sunday, Aug 18

  8.00 am     Where is the God of Justice? Malachi 2:17-3:5 (Rev Quek Keng Khwang, with Holy Communion)

  8.00 am Choir Practice

  9.15 am Library (Sanctuary Balcony)

  9.40 am Sunday School / Catechism Class

10.15 am Coffee Corner

11.00 am Where is the God of Justice? Malachi 2:17-3:5 (Rev Quek Keng Khwang)

11.00 am Children’s Ministry

11.00 am Chinese Service (MPH)

11.00 am Filipina Service (Rm 1-6)

12.15 pm Library (Sanctuary Balcony)

  2.30 pm Thai Service (LMH)

  4.00 pm Indonesian Service (Rm 1-6)

Announcements

Life BPC Job Vacancies

1. Church Operations Manager (COM)

Responsibilities:

The COM provides active oversight and support in the mission, administrative affairs and general operations of the Church including Financial Management, HR, MIS Technology, Media Technology, Facilities and General Administration.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor degree or higher
• Minimum 5 years’ experience in operations or managerial positions
• Good interpersonal and communications skills 

2. Estate Management Officer (EMO)

Responsibilities:

EMO plans, oversees and coordinates all property management and preventive maintenance activities associated for the church premises. Coordinates facilities usage for a range of Church activities and Church’s authorized users using the premises. The EMO reports to the Church Operation Manager.

Qualifications:

• Diploma or equivalent
• 5 years’ experience in real estate management and maintenance
• Certification in real estate management and maintenance is an added advantage
• Lifers are preferred 

Candidates with relevant qualifications and experience may submit your application and CV to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be contacted.

Door to Door Evangelism

18 August 2024 Meet in Beulah Room 2-11, 12.30pm Contact: Desmond  or Amos

Traffic Warden Service

We welcome all church members to join in this work. Our TW’s role is to provide godly service to facilitate worship. We need help in following time slots for Sunday: 7.30-8am or 10.30-11am with a frequency of once or twice a month. Please contact Dn Chan Yong or Bro Kelvin.

Holy Communion Elements Preparation

Lifers are invited to serve in the Holy Communion elements preparation, clean-up and washing. Those interested may contact Jenny or Wendy .

Mailbox Club Bible Correspondence Course (MBCC)

Another Church Outreach Ministry invites Lifers to register their young children, teens, or grandchildren with our MBCC. Those whose loved ones, friends or colleagues who are either young in their faith or being non-believers, are interested to know and explore more of Christianity, are also invited to register with us by filling in the registration forms which are now available at the Church front counter and post them to:

Life B-P Church

No.10, Gilstead Road

Singapore 309064

Attention: Mrs Ong Chuay Ying 

LIFE B-P CHURCH SURVEY 2024

In order to better understand the spiritual life of our congregation, our church pastoral staff is conducting an online survey of the Pulpit Ministry and the Prayer Meeting. Kindly click on the following URL or scan the QR Code below to participate in this survey. Deadline: Monday, 12 August 2024. https://lifebpc.com/survey/index.php/434388?lang=en 

YLM Seminar: The Quest for True Holiness

31 Aug 2024, 10am – 3.30pm @ Beulah MPH. Speaker: Rev Mark Chen. Note: Deadline for sign-ups is 18 Aug 2024. 

Missions Seminar 2024

28 September; 3-6pm @ Beulah MPH. “Witnessing for Christ in the Last Days”

Speakers: Rev Charles Seet, Rev & Mrs Moses Hahn, Mr & Mrs Lim Kwang Taek, Bro Benjamin Heng

Registration link at: https://forms.gle/u92nfBsCWCgRDMaDA

YF Camp (for youths aged 16-25)

16-20 Dec 2024, “To live is Christ, to die is gain” by Eld Chin Hoong Chor. 

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