Listen and Hear

Listen and Hear

Intro: The word hear is used 550x in the Bible, if I were a truly educated man then I would have to say that it is more important to listen and hear than to be speaking. The reason I bring this message up is because of the importance of hearing. It is said that hearing separates the leaders from the others, how so you might say, well if leaders listen properly then situations can have results, problems can be avoided and people can be challenged, comforted and led!
If I were to take a poll, I think most people would say that others just don’t listen, and if they are then they aren’t hearing what is said, there is a difference you know. When the preacher preaches almost 90% of what is said is not listened to or heard, how do I know well look at the deplorable situations that most people are in nowadays. They are lost and going to hell, they are confused as to salvation, eternal security, they get themselves into situations that the preacher probably already preached on previously. Think about the passage we just heard, if Hananai had brought this message to me would I have listened and heard, or would I have been distracted and interrupted? Hananai had an important message, Nehemiah listened to what was said:
a. Jerusalem is also broken down, and the gates thereof are burned with fire
i. They were in reproach
ii. They were afflicted
iii. People were making fun of them (Gods Children!)
iv. There was no military for protection
This was a long sad story, but again instead of interrupting with a great plan of action, Nehemiah listened, he heard the anguish, he felt the burden. So today I want to give you some points of leadership and character that deserves a lot of attention – Listening and Hearing.

1. Prayer
It’s amazing how the Bible speaks so much of God listening and hearing us:
Psalm 34:4 I sought the LORD, and he heard me, and delivered me from all my fears.
Psalm 34:6 This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his
troubles.
Psalm 77:1 I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice; and he gave
ear unto me.
When our backs are against the wall, when we have reached that moment of
despondency and we have nowhere to turn and when we finally call upon God, we always
expect Him to hear us. Rightfully so because the Bible clearly indicates that God desires
us to call upon Him and depend upon Him Jer 33:3 Call unto me, and I will answer thee,
and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not. Now comes the
important part of prayer, after all that speaking we should listen, and hear. Listen with
our heart to what God is saying, and the direction He is leading us. Listen so we might
glorify Him when we come out of our prayer closets.

What a thought it would be if we had it in our mind that God just wasn’t listening, how sad would we walk away from that time alone with Him in our time of need. The same thing goes outside of prayer in our dealings with others, if we spend time in prayer listening, then we ought to be
developing that skill to use on others. Nehemiah prayed for 4 months before he made a decision, I am sure that in the past Nehemiah was a man of prayer, that is why he was able to listen when Hanani came to him, the Bible says that God “heareth the cry of the afflicted” (Job34:28), when you spend time with people you tend to mimic some of their traits, Nehemiah was just mimicking the character trait of listening.

2. Example
As Jesus Christ is our great example then we ought to learn by Him. Jesus listened intently when it came to the woman at the well. He didn’t just blurt out about her current situation in life, he didn’t run her down the road of being a harlot, instead He listened for every opportunity in conversation to show her what she needed most – eternal life through Him. We also can be an example for others to follow, by being a good listener, and hearing what is said, by this we can show others compassion, friendship, and concern. We can learn to talk when it’s time to talk, and listen when its time to listen so that we might be the wiser for it:
Pro 1:5 A wise man will hear, and will increase learning; and a man of understanding shall attain unto wise counsels:
Pro 8:33 Hear instruction, and be wise, and refuse it not.
By our example of listening, then others will learn to hear and they will be wiser also.

3. Practice
We learn to listen by practice, we all have to practice listening. Sometimes in my day to day conversations I find myself asking myself, “am I really listening and hearing what is said?”
Science has proven that we can speak about 100 words a minute, we can hear about 400. The warning comes in when we see the next stat, we can think about 10x faster than we hear! That means we can think about 4,000 words a minute. The sad part about all this is in the following scenario:
If I am talking to someone and I am just hearing what is going on then there are over 4,000 things cluttering my mind, I’m not listening. I have to constantly practice listening by clearing my mind and focusing on the situation at hand – it takes practice.

4. Character
We show that we have developed our listening skills by having character. Think about this as its already been stated this morning numerous times- when “listening” our mouths are shut, and our ears, and hearts are open. Don’t listen to some of the conversation then just jump in trying to save the day with a reaction. Don’t react, just listen. Listening shows character by telling the other person that “My opinion is not the important thing at the moment” just let them know that you are there for them. Now if it is a situation that requires response then responds accordingly, but defiantly listen first to what is being said.
When in those great debates show character by showing respect to let them finish, then follow up with I’ve heard you now it’s my turn. Nehemiah listened to the whole story before he ever spoke.

5. Repetition
The fifth way we can learn to listen is by repletion, that is repeating what we have heard back to the person. It shows the person that you were taking in what you heard and it is being digested, it also allows for corrections in the conversation just in case you mis-heard what was trying to be said. The old preacher once said God designed each of us uniquely, however he gave all of us the same ability to listen, that is he gave all of us 2 ears and one mouth, so open them up, and close the other you’ll be better off for it.

So we see listening means to pay attention, to close our mouths and hear God and others. It is also the act of applying Gods Word into our lives! We also will hear what Godly people are saying to sharpen us and know when there is error. It is the person who listens who exhibits good character and godliness.

We also see that Wander, Disregard, Disrespect, and Contempt are the opposites of godliness and good character. When we are reluctant to listen and hear, then we are refusing to learn and grow. When we do not listen we transition into distrust from others and God and begin to grow in pride and rebellion.

Great leaders listen, Do U?