James 1:22
"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves."
The responses towards the preaching of God's Word varies with every individual. Throughout the years of my ministry, I have watched people respond, some good and some bad. You would think every Christian would want to respond properly towards God's Word for in It is the "power of God unto salvation." (Romans 1:16) In this chapter of James, we see there are several responses toward the preaching of God's Word, some are beneficial but others are detrimental to the Christian.
The first response to the preaching of God's Word is hearing only. God says in the verse above that those who only hear the Word of God are deceiving themselves. Sadly, I find this response is very common among many Christians. This is the crowd that sit listening to the Word of God being preached, but walk out and do nothing about it. In other words, they never respond to the preaching. God's Word is preached so that you can make a decision. You must be careful that you are not letting the preaching of the Word of God be simply a sound that you hear. Every truth that comes from God's Word is beneficial to your life. If all you do is hear the Word of God, you are deceiving yourself regarding the goodness of your Christianity. Just hearing God's Word does not make you a good Christian, but responding to what God's Word says is the catalyst towards becoming a good Christian.
The second response to the preaching of God's Word is doing. Just like there are hearers only, there are also those who only do without hearing. These are Christians who are doing the work of God in the flesh. Friend, you can stay busy doing God's work, but you need to hear what God is trying to say to you through the preaching so that your work for God will not be in vain.
The third response to the preaching of God's Word is being a forgetful hearer. Verse 25 talks about the Christian being blessed because they don't forget what they heard. If you want to be blessed of God, don't walk out of church and forget what you heard in the sermon. Write down what you hear. Mentally rehearse what you have heard throughout the day and week. Let the preaching of the Word of God soak into your mind and heart so that It will have a blessed affect on your life.
The fourth response to the preaching of God's Word is being a hearer and a doer. This is the first of two good responses. The true test of whether you are right with God is what you do with God's Word after you hear it. The purpose of hearing the Word of God is to go out and daily perform what it tells you to do. This response creates good Christians. This response will create a hunger for God's Word. This response is what causes the lost to get saved. You should be the Christian who is a hearer and a doer.
The fifth response to the preaching of God's Word is being "swift to hear." In other words, you should have an excitement about hearing the Word of God preached. When you are excited about hearing God's Word preached, then you will be more apt to do what you have heard. Your attitude towards preaching dictates your final response towards it. Don't get so used to preaching that it becomes a necessary thing you have to do. Have an exciting attitude towards preaching, the type of attitude that can't wait to hear what you will learn from God's Word.
What is your response towards preaching? I pray that the final two responses are yours. If you want to have a blessed life, then you must be a Christian who is excited about the preaching of God's Word, and one who listens and does what the preaching of God's Word tells you to do.