{"id":824,"date":"2021-09-20T04:35:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-20T11:35:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=824"},"modified":"2021-09-19T13:24:00","modified_gmt":"2021-09-19T20:24:00","slug":"listen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=824","title":{"rendered":"Listen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(James 1:16-20)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You would likely find plenty of hits from an internet search that would provide list upon list of traits and skills that successful people have in common. One of those skills right near the top would have to be the ability to listen. Without listening, we\u2019re limited. It\u2019s really that simple. We\u2019re limited by what we can learn. We\u2019re limited by how much we might grow. We\u2019re limited by how we might best help and serve others. A know-it-all fails to listen to others, so he can\u2019t learn anything more. An egotistical person cares about himself, so he doesn\u2019t listen for what needs others might have. Without listening, we\u2019re limited.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The world has plenty of talkers, but not many listeners, so it\u2019s easy to stand out. And, those talkers want to be heard. We learn that at a pretty young age, as demonstrated in this video<\/a>. You might have already seen this viral video some time ago. It strikes a balance between being quite humorous while also providing a striking reality check. This little child demonstrates the popular view of our society today: \u201cI have something important to say, and you need to listen to it.\u201d \u201cWhat I have to say is more important than what you have to say, so listen to me and then we can get along.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now we could get miffed by that. We could get irritated – just like everyone else does. Recall how painful it was to watch the debates between two presidential candidates who could not stand there and listen without trying to talk over the other. They weren\u2019t interested in listening, but in talking. We have more than enough outlets today for people to talk, but who is listening?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where we come in. There is a reason this series is entitled Simple Evangelism<\/em>. Because being an exceptional evangelist is much simpler than we have framed it in our minds, and it starts with listening. Do you want to be an exceptional evangelist? Start by becoming an exceptional listener.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I know what you\u2019re thinking to yourself: \u201cBut listening is really hard and I don\u2019t know if I can do it.\u201d I understand, and that\u2019s why right this very moment, I\u2019m going to share with you a training exercise that will help you vastly improve your listening skills. It involves two steps, and they\u2019re a little bit complicated, so try to stay with me. Are you with me? OK, here\u2019s the first step: you all have one of these (mouth), right? Now I want you to try to press your lips together so that this stays closed. It doesn\u2019t have to be hard; you can press them together gently and that will do the trick. See – you did it! That\u2019s the first step. The second uses an entirely different part of your body. For the second step, we\u2019re going to use our ears. Now you don\u2019t physically need to do anything, but you do have to pay attention to the sounds that these (ears) pick up. When someone is speaking words to you, these will allow you to hear those words and when this (mouth) isn\u2019t moving, it allows your brain to process the words that these (ears) hear. That\u2019s it! Work on perfecting those two easy steps, and you\u2019re on your way to becoming an exceptional listener and exceptional evangelist. It\u2019s so simple, isn\u2019t it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now you\u2019re ready for some additional practical tips on listening. You just have to use your EAR (Engage, Ask, Restate). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did you catch how the conversation in today\u2019s Gospel (John 4:1-26) began? Jesus initiated it. He engaged<\/strong> with the woman at the well with a simple request: \u201cWill you give me a drink?\u201d (Jn. 4:7)<\/em><\/strong>. Quick question for you: did Jesus really need that woman to get him a drink of water? Do you know Jesus – God in the flesh! – well enough to know that he just maybe<\/em> could have managed to somehow quench his thirst on his own? Jesus did not care about the water; he cared about the woman and her soul. So he engaged her to start a conversation, listen to her, and then provide her what she needed more than anything else: him. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As much as everyone wants to be heard, socially, in-person, fewer and fewer people are comfortable starting a conversation with others. Our screens have become our security blankets to avoid interaction with real people (if we’re even brave enough to leave the safety and security of our own homes). But don\u2019t be fooled – those same people still want to be heard. So we need to engage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the top reasons Christians provide for not being better evangelists is that they don\u2019t know anyone or have friends with those outside the church. Well\u2026 what\u2019s going to change that? Are you waiting for others to come and befriend you – the same ones hiding behind their screens or hunkering down in their homes avoiding people? Not likely. We need to engage. We need to strike up conversations. Comment on what someone is wearing or how cute their kid is or give them a compliment – do whatever it takes to engage others. That\u2019s how we get the ball rolling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How do you keep<\/em> it rolling? Ask<\/strong> questions. Once you have begun speaking with someone, keep it alive with questions. Focus on being interested, not interesting. You want to learn more about the other person and you do that by asking good questions that keep the conversation going. Then, when they respond to your questions, remember those two key steps we talked about when it comes to being a good listener: close these (lips) and open these (ears). This is the part where you listen to what the other person says after you ask a question. If we are not intentional about doing this, we\u2019ll honestly miss what they said because we\u2019re busy thinking of what to ask next! But if you\u2019re actually listening, the other person will provide more than enough information for you to pose another question.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That\u2019s where the \u201cR\u201d from EAR comes in: restate<\/strong>. Speak back to her what you just heard her say. I\u2019m not saying you awkwardly repeat it verbatim, like a child annoyingly copycatting her sibling. No, you simply restate in your own words what you heard the other person say. Doing so demonstrates to the other person that you\u2019re listening, it helps you to retain it, and it buys you some time to come up with a follow-up question. Use your EAR to listen – Engage, Ask, and Restate – and suddenly you will be connecting with others regularly. \u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ve got all the practical tips you need, right? Honestly, have you learned anything new from reading this? Aside from a neat acronym, you already knew everything you’ve read. But you already know <\/em>lots, don\u2019t you? You know you should save money and you know how to. You know you should eat right and you know how to. You know you should exercise and you know how to. You know plenty. But what does it take to give our \u201cknow\u201d some \u201cget up and go\u201d? How do we put our knowledge into practice? We know how <\/em>to listen, but what\u2019s it going to take to get us to do<\/em> it, to practice it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s how: you listen. That\u2019s right – if you want to become a better listener to others with the goal of becoming an exceptional evangelist, you need to become a better listener – to the Lord. The more you listen to him, the more he\u2019ll work a change in your heart to long to listen to others. Were you listening to what James reminded you about the Lord? \u201cEvery good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created\u201d (v.17-18)<\/em><\/strong>. You listening? \u201cEvery good and perfect gift\u201d is from him. You listening? He \u201cchose\u201d you. You listening? He gave you \u201cbirth through the word of truth.\u201d You listening? Do you know what that means? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

James – the guy who spends most of his letter focusing on how we\u2019re supposed to live as Christians and emphasizing the importance of good works – that James, is assuring you that all that you have and everything that you are is because God already chose you. He picked you. He selected you to be his, to be saved, to be forgiven, to be lavished by his grace. No conditions. Nothing is needed from you to make it certain. No contract to agree to. Nothing from you; everything from him because he chose you.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Does that not stir your soul? Are you indifferent to that? Then perhaps that\u2019s the real reason behind your struggle to apply the very next words of James: \u201cMy dear brothers and sisters,\u00a0take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak\u00a0and slow to become angry,\u00a0because human anger\u00a0does not produce the righteousness that God desires\u201d (v.19-20)<\/em><\/strong>. Are you always the one talking? Do you always have something to say, some opinion to express, something you insist on being right about? Do you get angry when it appears that others aren\u2019t listening to you? Does it frustrate you that they don\u2019t share your same passion or opinion over this matter or that? Welcome to everyone else in the world! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And when we act like everyone else, frankly, we deserve what everyone else in the world without Jesus has coming: an eternity without him. Being cut off from him. Letting our anger swell into sin not only fails to display the righteousness Christ has credited to us by faith; but it also potentially robs the now-turned-off individual on the receiving end of our anger of the righteousness Jesus longs to grant to them by faith, too. So we harm ourselves and we hurt others when our listening is replaced by raging anger. We put ourselves and others at great spiritual risk by doing so.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But listen again to what James says: \u201cHe chose to give us birth\u00a0through the word of truth\u201d (v.18). <\/em><\/strong>Birth – not death. Birth means life. It means being alive. It means existing. It is a thing to be celebrated. And that birth came through the Word. The Word gives life. The Word sustains our souls, just as surely as your next meal sustains your body. The Word by which we were birthed into faith is the same Word that sustains that faith and the same Word that fans that faith into a flame that burns passionately for lost souls. Faith, fueled by the Word of forgiveness for our missed opportunities – whether by lack of listening, angry outbursts, or sealed lips – faith frees us to focus on the souls of others because faith knows our own souls are secure in Christ through the Word of truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So listen – both to the Lord and to your neighbor. Listen to the Lord declare to you again and how deeply he loves you. Then, listen to your neighbor. Just listen. Take that first step and open the door so that after listening, you know what your neighbor needs to hear. I want us to get really good at listening, so that we really start to see how simple evangelism is, and so that Christ\u2019s Kingdom grows because of it, as others are brought in to listen to the life-giving words of their Savior – the same Savior we love to listen to. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(James 1:16-20) You would likely find plenty of hits from an internet search that would provide list upon list of traits and skills that successful people have in common. One of those skills right near the top would have to be the ability to listen. Without listening, we\u2019re limited. It\u2019s really that simple. We\u2019re limited… Continue reading Listen<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[170,65],"tags":[42,36,171,108],"class_list":["post-824","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-simple-evangelism-series","category-sermons","tag-evangelism","tag-sermon","tag-simpleevangelism","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/s842FN-listen","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=824"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":825,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/824\/revisions\/825"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=824"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=824"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=824"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}