God cares for His people through gifted men* speaking His truth. It is true that those who publically preach the Word of God have an obligation to deliver the highest quality ministry to the best of their God-given ability. It is also true that listeners have an equal obligation to listen to the best of their God-given ability. Here are some suggestions on getting the most out of the message.
1. Pray for the preacher. A prayed-for preacher is a better preacher. It is strange that the prayer meeting is the least attended meeting. You would almost think we don’t believe in prayer. Or worse, we never pray at home. When I allow the preacher to get up to speak without my prayer support, I share responsibility for unprofitable ministry (Eph. 6:18-19).
2. Listen to the preacher. Peter tells us, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God” (1 Pet. 4:11). W. E. Vine explains the word oracle this way, “The utterances of God through Christian teachers.” We believe that when a man stands to preach, his sole purpose is to deliver a message from God. He is not there to advance himself or merely fill a calendar date. No, the preacher is there as a steward of God. Listen!
3. Take notes from the preacher. Even if those notes do not become part of your personal Bible study notes, the process of taking notes helps you follow the order of thought that may not be obvious by simply listening. This concentration of mind helps in your meditation on the Scriptures as you learn how others think about the Word. Taking notes forces the mind to understand the message, rather than lazily dreaming about other irrelevant things (1 Tim. 4:15-16).
4. Encourage the preacher. Timothy was exhorted to stir up his gift (2 Tim. 1:6). You get the impression from Paul that Timothy was easily disheartened and needed the encouragement to go on. When a man speaks a message from God, we may assume mistakenly that the man himself is full of confidence and enthusiasm, when all the time it is the message that is strong. The preacher may be on the verge of quitting. Not that we should seek self-confidence or the praise of men. But there is much to discourage a man in his ministry, and encouraging him will go a long way. The Lord will keep him humble; we don’t need to.
It is easy for us to attend the meetings when a preacher with a well-developed gift is speaking, but if we never encourage those courageous enough to attempt to stir up their gift, then the caliber of ministry will remain weak through lack of development.
5. Support the preacher. One of the beauties of the assembly is the equality among believers. There is no clergy-laity distinction according to the New Testament. This provides, through variety of gift, a rich banquet of spiritual food given by gifted men. Many assemblies enjoy a healthy diet of truth presented by elders and others in the assembly. This should not be taken for granted.
Others, however, are called to special service for God and in so doing are permitted to be relieved of the normal demands of secular employment for the purpose of serving the Lord. It is not that they don’t work, but their work is different. We are commanded to provide for their care, and support them financially. There are several examples of this in the life of Paul (2 Cor. 11:9; Phil. 2:25). There is nothing in this teaching to support the lazy or those who would use the work of the Lord as a means to raise funds. It is, however, a call to us to remember our responsibility, and receive the promised blessing of investing in another’s ministry. In these days of complicated tax reporting, we have moved away from spontaneity in giving directly to those who minister to us. But you appreciate a man’s ministry more if you invest in it.
*In another article we will consider the distinctive roles of men and women. For this article, I will refer to men addressing the whole church. But these principles apply equally to women speaking to women as well.