PREACHING (1)

Preaching is not only necessary, but it is primary for the Pastor. G. Campbell Morgan wrote: “The supreme work of the Christian minister is the work of preaching. This is a day in which one of our great perils is that of doing a thousand little things to the neglect of the one thing, which is preaching.”[1] That is more true today than ever. In the last couple of decades there has been a movement away from strong expository preaching to more, what I would refer to as watered down devotional preaching, centering upon what people want to hear, instead of what they need to hear. Sin has been censored from the pulpit, salvation is degraded to self liberation; and the message of the Word into psychological babble.

Merrill Unger pointed out some years ago that there are four things that produce the state we find ourselves in today in regard to preaching:[2] 

·        The prevailing lack of a Bible centered emphasis in the pulpit.

·        The movement to ecumenicity.

·        The worldliness of the church compromises our preaching and produces powerlessness.

·        Secularism of our educational and institutional system.

How can we prevent these things from happening in our ministry? The only one who can change and counter this trend is the Pastor. The only method that will counter this is the preaching of the Word. It starts with you as a Pastor. May I suggest three things to renew your excitement about preaching? It starts not in the pulpit, but in your person.

First, prepare yourself, not your sermon.  There must be a preparation of the messenger, before he can prepare the message. This order is never to be reversed. This takes determination and time. Each day must have a time to prepare yourself to speak for God, by meeting with God. This is so easily lost in the hustle and bustle of demands of the day. In the day of social media, it may mean turning off Facebook and facing the Book and its author. Preparing yourself means reading the Word, not for a sermon, but personal stimulation and devotion. Lloyd-Jones warns us that “One of the most fatal habits a preacher can ever fall into is to read his Bible simply in order to find text for sermons. This is a real danger; it must be recognized and fought and resisted with all your might.”[3] While devotional books are good, devotional time with God and His Word is better. It means praying. Prayer is vital, yet we fail in this point more than anywhere else in our relationship with God. Without prayer the result is our sermons are characterized by intellectualism rather than spirituality.

 In meeting with God we should:

• Clear our minds, or in the words of Douglas White, “We must think ourselves empty.”[4]
• Read ourselves full.
• Pray ourselves clean.

Second, remember the duty of preaching. As you begin, stop and think of what you are doing. What you are opening is the Word of God, not just some book.

·        It is the Divine Source of Truth (John 17:17).

·        It is the Divine Authority (2 Timothy 3:16). It is God’s breathed out Word; inspired, inerrant, and all authority.

·        Your Divine Mandate (2 Timothy 4:2). Preaching is the Divine method of bringing salvation and edification to your people.

You have a sacred duty to God to preach His Word. Thus, we must be students of the Word. If you are empty, your sermons will be empty. Be filled with the Word and fully preach it.

Third, remember to be dependent in your preaching. You do not preach alone, or should not. You must recognize your dependence upon the Holy Spirit. Unger warns us that, “To enjoy the full, untrammeled teaching ministry of the Spirit he must also be yielded to God’s will, adjusted to God’s purpose, and under the full control of the Spirit’s wisdom and power.”[5] The power in your preaching comes not from your ability (as great as it may be), but your availability to the Holy Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that empowers your words, convicts your people, and saves their souls.

We are channels for the springs of living water, not the reservoirs of knowledge. People need to drink of the springs of living water, not swim in the deep reservoir of your knowledge.

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[1]  Quoted by John MacArthur, PREACHING, [Thomas Nelson, Nashville, 2005], 4.

[2]  Merrill f. Unger, PRINCIPLES OF EXPOSITORY PREACHING, [Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1973], 12-16.

[3]  D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, PREACHING & PREACHERS, [Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1972], 172.

[4]  Douglas M. White, THE EXCELLENCE OF EXPOSITION, [Loizeaux Brothers, Neptune NJ, 1977], 97.

[5]  Unger, 58.