Image via WikipediaI guess everyone, who has been saved any length of time, has tired of preaching because of apathy and personal sin. It happens! Even pastors, hard working pastors, get heavy ears and weary of preaching. This is no surprise because preaching is the primary way that God uses His Omnipotent Word to reach souls! Satan surely knows this and if he can get the hearers and the proclaimers to lose the wonder of preaching, then he has gained some ground! Whether on the pew, or behind the pulpit, we should not lose the Wonder of Preaching! This post seeks to remind us of the greatness and wonder of preaching God’s Word and hearing it heralded forth!
The Wonder of PREACHING…
Preaching is the medium that God has ordained to proclaim the truth of His revealed word!
1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”
1 Corinthians 1:21 “For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.”
We understand the word “Preach” to come from a word that would convey the idea of one who is crying out, or heralding.
Isaiah 58:1 ¶ “Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and shew my people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins.”
In our day, we often witness what would never be deemed to fall within the aforementioned definition of preaching. We see a lot of pansy preachers who do not have the backbone of an amoeba. They are the type of people who would be characterized as compromising, hypocritical, and apostates; if you were to compliment them! Many are not God called at all. They are after money, women, prestige, and everything else they can get their hands on. With all of the problems with false preachers, I am glad that there are still some God called men preaching the Bible without compromise!
The Preeminence Of Preaching…
Preaching should be the main thing in the church. It should never take second place to music, drama, socials, or even a pie throwing contest! It should be the highlight of the services because it is expounding the eternal truths that “belong unto us and to our children for ever”! The sermon taken from the pages of the “Holy Writ” should be the highlight of every child of God’s life. Preaching should not be considered as something to be endured, but something that is enduring and delightful!
What Makes Great Preaching Great?
Great preaching is not great because a man inflects his voice like Billy Sunday, because a man is a statesman like Talmage, or because a man has the depth of men like G. Campbell Morgan, and Charles Hadden Spurgeon, and many others. What makes preaching great is the fact that a Spirit filled man declares the living Word of God and the Holy Ghost of God uses that same Word to accomplish what God intended!
Isaiah 55:11 “So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.”
It is the God behind preaching that makes great preaching great. Preaching is the greatest privilege in the universe. It is more important than the work of Doctors in the ER. It is higher in honor than giving the state of the Union speech before a joint session of Congress as the President of the United States. It is nobler to preach than to enjoin yourself to a life of philanthropy among the needy of our society. It is accomplishes more to preach than it does in giving lectures among the intellectual minds of the great universities. It is more compassionate to preach, “Thus sayeth the LORD”, than it is to be a social worker is devoted to the betterment of society. It is better to be a “Truth hugger” than a “tree hugger”! We have come to the “kingdom for such a time as this”, to preach, and not to sit around and play our time away.
Consider What God Chose Not To Do…
When God chose to express His thoughts and desires to mankind about the truth contained in the Bible concerning Salvation and the personal growth of the converted in our day, He did not choose the Sun to convey them even though it gives great light to all of our solar system and serves as a picture of Christ. He did not choose the Moon to convey them even though it stands sentry in the night sky, and serves as a picture of a Christian who should reflect the Light of Christ. He did not choose the Stars to convey them, even though they hold everyone’s attention, and serve to give us the vast number of descendents of Abraham. He did not choose the Angels even though they were present at Christ birth, and were mediums of truth in times past. He did not choose to use the sky above to write His message, even though great poems, songs, and other pieces of great contemplation have found their inspiration from it. He did not choose to use the great animals which He created, even though they serve to illustrate many practical truths from which we can benefit.
Consider What God Has Chosen To Do…
HE DID CHOOSE TO USE men, like you and me, who have nothing in and of ourselves to offer, but what God has already given to us. We deserve to suffer for eternity in Hell. We are but dust and deserve nothing at all from God! That being stated, God did choose to save us from our sins and use us to proclaim his message!
Conclusion…
Pastor, layman, church member, Christian have you lost your wonder for preaching? When a minister lifts up his voice to articulate God’s Word do you abhor it, or does it stir your soul as never before? Brother Keith Knauss stated…
“Never Lose The Wonder Of Preaching!”
Precious saint, cultivate your soul and let the freshness of God’s Holy Spirit get down in the hardened clay of your soul! Let Him stir your desires for the Heavenly way! May the awe inspiring wonder of God’s proclaimed word find its way our of your mouth. As the Word of God says, “Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!”
