A réponse to a sermon that states it was just want the listener wanted to hear, can mean that the listener hasn’t really comprehended God’s Word.
An encounter with the word of God that is truly heard evokes a response that it was just what the listener needed to hear.
From Will Willimon:
When the congregation asks, “Is there any word from the Lord?” and we merely human beings stand up and preach, that’s risky. They erroneously thing they have authorised you to be the always loving, caring, patient, and inoffensive pastor. By God’s grace you might dare to be even more: the courageous leader. Good preachers always venture more than the congregation wanted said.
William H Willimon, Leading With The Sermon, Fortress Press, 2020, pg 104.
