SermonIndex Audio Sermons
SermonIndex - Promoting Revival to this Generation
Give To SermonIndex
Discussion Forum : Devotional Thoughts : The Preacher

Print Thread (PDF)

PosterThread
EvangelTam
Member



Joined: 2011/1/29
Posts: 149


 The Preacher

So just something that the HS brought to my mind as I was sitting eating and pondering.... on the preacher's job in the body. (My church has been looking for a pastor)

The preacher’s job is not only to preach a sermon that is theologically sound and understandable to the congregation. If his message succeeds in communicating truth to the people, but fails to move them to conformity and obedience to that truth, he has only done a small portion of his job. The preacher must have the power of God’s Spirit on him to such an extent that his preaching fans the flame of God inside the congregants’ hearts with increasing might and stirs them in their innermost being to zealous action. In short the congregation must be EDIFIED! The job of the preacher is to build up! If he fails in doing so he has not done his job (Eph 4:11)

This, dear brothers and sisters, the true test for a successful sermon is not that people understand the message or feel that it is an important truth to apply to their lives, nor that their flesh was entertained for an hour and they had a good laugh—but that they are brought deeper into the very life of Christ Himself! That the dry bones are refreshed, renewed and jolted back to life every time they attend service and don’t go back to being a heap on the floor! That the sanctuary breaks out into whole hearted praise to the Creator and King by the encouragement and exhortation of the preacher!

At preaching of Haggai the prophet, the people were stirred into action to rebuild the temple of God. The Word of the Lord comes to Haggai the Prophet to tell the people to stop living comfortably while the temple of God is in ruins!

“Then Haggai, the messenger of the LORD, spoke by the commission of the LORD to the people saying, “‘I am with you,’ declares the LORD.” So the LORD stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel the son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua the son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of all the remnant of the people; and they came and worked on the house of the LORD of hosts, their God” (Hag 1:13-14).

God used the prophesying of Haggai to stir the people from a place of gross indifference and apathy to the things of God into zealous obedience! O, and what apathy they had! The people walked past the ruins of the temple day after day going about their own business without even giving so much as a thought to it! It was literally right in front of their eyes! But, is it not the same now as it was back then? God has so little room in the lives of His people. He is left out amidst all the business of religious life. Sure, people may extend an invitation to Him here and there but it is mostly just a formality and after they have paid their respects He is soon left out again.

If only we had a preacher who could stir God’s people into action to rebuild God’s spiritual temple that is now in ruins! To move people away from all the activities, programs and man-made schemes to push religious agendas and into lives of personal devotion, consecration and holiness unto the Lord!

But I ask you, was it a onetime deal? Was the preaching of the sermon just once enough to keep the people obedient? No! Haggai had to preach to the people regularly to renew their zeal and fervour for the Lord!

“And the elders of the Jews built and prospered through the prophesying* of Haggai the prophet and Zechariah the son of Iddo. They finished their building by decree of the God of Israel and by decree of Cyrus and Darius and Artaxerxes king of Persia” (Ezra 6:14). [*Note: some translations use preaching instead of prophesying.]

The key word here is prospered! The people were not only able to successfully complete their task but they prospered; they were blessed; there was an increase in their life! And this is true of preaching: it causes the hearers to prosper spiritually and to walk more and more into the fullness of God in the victorious Christian life. So, a church under a preacher who can truly preach will be built up into a living temple of God (1 Pet 2:5)! In fact, in the Bible, it is the way God has ordained it, “And He gave some as apostles, and some as prophets, and some as evangelists, and some as pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ” (Eph 4:11-12).

This is seen beginning even in Ancient Israel during the time of Moses. God ordained that there would be two silver trumpets for summoning the congregation, breaking camp, going to war and rejoicing in worship. God even said that they needed to sound the silver trumpets so that when they went to war and when they worshipped him they “may be remembered before the Lord” (Num 10:9-10). The ones who blew the trumpets were the “sons of Aaron” who, besides the High Priest himself, were the closest to God’s holy place and could handle the holy things (Num 10:8). These silver trumpets were blown by people who ministered and heard from God himself!

And the fact that these trumpets were made of silver is significant because in Proverbs 10:20 it says, “The tongue of the righteous is as choice silver”. The trumpets of silver were a shadow of better things to come: the voices of the righteous that are called to summon the congregation and lead them in the direction they should go. So, the preacher is the trumpet that moves the people into action!

And think of how foolish the preacher is! He is like a trumpet that makes a lot of noise and rouses people (often annoying them), but God has indeed chosen to use the foolishness of preaching for His glory (1 Cor 1:21). He uses it to turn the hardened heart of a sinner into the humble heart of newly born again infant. He uses it to call back the wayward sheep who have wandered miles and miles away from the path, back into the green pastures and still waters!

Think about it: a wild man in the wilderness dressed in camel hide, eating locusts with long hair, preaching at the top of his lungs a message of repentance in order to prepare a generation for the coming of Christ! That man is John the Baptist the last of the Old Covenant prophets! If John the Baptist had a ministry of preaching repentance under the Old Covenant that came with so much power and conviction, how much more should the preacher today under the New Covenant? If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! (2 Cor 3:9) for He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (2 Cor 3:6)

God’s people should not be easily satisfied with servants who can preach a sound message; they must desire servants whose prayer life can lead them straight into either the blazing glory of God’s Throne or the tender heart of Christ each and every time. This is the only way for a church to thrive spiritually.

Many preachers can move the emotion of men and can reason with the intelligence of men but few can move the hearts of men unto obedience to God! For it takes a man with the burning heart of Christ to move a sinner toward repentance. It takes a man with the humble gentle heart of Christ to lead sheep father along the narrow path. These characteristics cannot be gained with much study or with masterful oratory skill, but can only be formed by being with the Master Himself in the secret place of prayer! How much is learned of His character and how much His character changes you the longer you are with Him. As one opens themselves to His chastisements and corrections of Him and does not shrink away in prayer.

How many preachers are willing to do that? How many preachers are willing to give up their time, give up their other religious responsibilities to sit at the feet of Christ? To do what He does so that he will be able to lead His congregation to Christ and not astray? It is the best thing to do! If only we could learn from Mary and Martha! As a pastor named Leonard Ravenhill has said “If the preacher isn’t praying the congregation is straying” If the sheep at the head of the flock stops following the Sheppard and turns aside, all the others behind him follow! O what a glorious and fearsome responsibility the preacher has! It should not be taken lightly!

Sadly, the standard has gone down and the majority of people are content with lukewarm, lifeless preaching and do not wish for things to change. But, perhaps even more alarmingly, they do not think that there is a problem. Thus, the truth we find in Scripture is true: in the last days men will always find someone to tell them what their itching ears desire (2 Tim 4:3). So the problem is not with just the preacher but with the people who desire to hear what the preacher says. The people do not desire to be moved into a deeper life with Christ but are satisfied with a lukewarm spiritual life.

The first thing people do is run away from the preacher who preaches truth without compromise and with conviction! They lock him away and don’t let him preach for fear of his fanatical ideas spreading. They wish to stay comfortable in their religious lives and institutions.

A dead preacher will produce dead preaching.
A lukewarm preacher will produce lukewarm preaching.
A religious preacher will produce religious preaching.
A Spirit-filled preacher produces life-giving preaching.

“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Luke 6:45).

A dead congregation will be satisfied with dead preaching.
A lukewarm congregation will be satisfied with lukewarm preaching.
A religious congregation will be satisfied with religious preaching.
A living congregation can only be sustained by life giving preaching!

This same principle can be applied to a preacher who preaches truth but lacks the power to move people into action. Here the people desire truth and religiously pride themselves in this over Christ. They hold to the very doctrine of Christ but lack His heart. So: a powerless preacher will produce powerless preaching and powerless people.

All the above is the spiritual reality that we face today.

The book of Revelation sheds light into this. Many may think that Revelation was only written for the specific seven churches, however these seven churches actually point to the diverse church of the last days. Each church reveals a different spiritual condition. For instance, the Church in Sardis had a reputation of being alive even though they were actually dead while the Church of Smyrna were encouraged to not fear but by faithful unto death during their tribulations (Rev 2-3).

So then the question of the time is this: What do you desire? Do you desire the truth of God's Word? or something lesser? In these days that we live there are so many different teachings and roads that seem right, that it is truly a test. God will only be found by those who truly seek Him with all their hearts (jer 29:13) who love truth and nothing else. These people are the ones who will find God or rather be found by Him.

When a congregation wants God and wants revival, then they will seek a godly preacher to lead them. What kind of congregation do we want to be? One that is dead? One that is lukewarm? One that lacks power? Or a congregation that can contend with the forces of hell? A preacher can only bring the congregation as far as he himself has gone.

With so much being said on the preacher, I don’t want you to think that the congregation is exempt from responsibility. The pastor’s well being is in the hands of the congregation. The relationship is one of interdependency.

It is easy to talk about these things and just look at preachers without looking at ourselves. In a paraphrase of Watchman Nee, God’s power is like an unstoppable train, but it must run on the rails of prayer. In the same way, preachers can be used mightily by the Spirit for God’s work, but the congregation must pray. Apostle Paul himself, though he never ceased to pray, knew that he needed the combined efforts of the whole body for God’s power to be released in his ministry. He wrote, “Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should” (Eph 6:19). And again, “Now I urge you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to strive together with me in your prayers to God for me, that I may be rescued from those who are disobedient in Judea, and that my service for Jerusalem may prove acceptable to the saints” (Romans 15:30-31). Paul knew that he needed the prayers of his brethren in order that his work may be acceptable to the living saints who needed living messages! For the whole to work, each body part must play its role. The congregation’s prayers need to be as fervent—“strive with me…”—as the preacher’s in hunger for the power of God to move in each meeting.

“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.” (Heb 13:17)

So then we must all hold each other accountable in this task! Christian you must first ask yourself what is it you desire? A pastor who can lead you Christ, as pastor that will lead you astray or a pastor that can only lead you half way?Be wise in who you decided to follow!

If you are in a church and you sense that there something wanting in the preaching of your pastor. Do you pray for Him fervently for him to receive what he is lacking? Or do you disrespect him and oppose him thinking you can do a better job? Should be not Care for, respect and love him as a brother

But we request of you, brethren, that you appreciate those who diligently labor among you, and have charge over you in the Lord and give you instruction, Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other (1 Thess 5:12) Will you not humble yourself, love this brother and wash his feet for his sake, your and the congregation? Love builds up! Knowledge only puffs up! (1 Cor 8:1)

Pastor, are you depending on the power of Christ to lead the congregation or on your own strength, talent, knowledge, theology?

Do you labour in prayer for them or are they half hearted and of secondary importance?

We must keep in mind that unless we remain in Him we can NOTHING of eternal significance! (John 15:5)

Though it may seem that you are doing quite fine without Him or with so little of Him, on that our work will be shown for what it really is, be it gold, silver, precious stone, wood , hay or straw, things that will last through the fire or burn away to ash.

I pray that you have been blessed by this!

In Christ

Evangel

 2011/11/26 23:11Profile
shadyg
Member



Joined: 2009/4/28
Posts: 64


 Re: The Preacher

I'm assuming you are planning on sharing this as your church is looking for a pastor. Let's not forget about Jeremiah who preached and saw little to no results. In fact God told him not to even pray for the people. Many churches who are looking for a pastor do so because they have in fact rejected Gods word, and the leader he sent them. Probverbs 29:1 comes to mind. It's a great responsibility to proclaim Gods word, but the results of that proclamation are not left with the pastor.

 2011/11/27 0:39Profile
shadyg
Member



Joined: 2009/4/28
Posts: 64


 Re: The Preacher

Also if a church truly wants revival they will fall upon their faces in repentance and seek God not a pastor.

 2011/11/27 0:49Profile
EvangelTam
Member



Joined: 2011/1/29
Posts: 149


 Re:

Hey shadyg

Thanks for your reply. I am actually not planning on sharing this formally to my church perhaps only to a few friends in the church.I am not sure how they will take it or that they may take it the wrong way.

"Let's not forget about Jeremiah who preached and saw little to no results. In fact God told him not to even pray for the people. Many churches who are looking for a pastor do so because they have in fact rejected Gods word, and the leader he sent them"

Wow this is so true thank you for sharing!

I agree with what you are saying if a church wants revival they will seek God and God is the only one who can lead the congregation to repentence.

Just to clarify what I am saying:
I beleive that if a church seeks God they will start to listen to His servant that is called by Him or rather to the voice of Christ in that servant who can lead them closer to God! Just like when people turned to God in Jesus days they also simulataneously acknowledge Jesus as the Christ.

and yes only God can work in people but what I am trying to say is that the preacher can't just open his mouth to speak a message but he has to be an open vessel that allows God to work through him as He wills so that if God wants to move through the message in power He will not hindered by the vessel! The scriptures that I read to support this are 1 Thess 1:5

because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake

and 2 Timothy 2:20

20In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble. 21If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work.

So taking from the first passage I see that there is sense in which the gospel can be preached with power that convicts and from the second I see that there is a correlation between a servant being prepared and holy unto God that makes Him useful to God to work through in a powerful way.

So to conclude what I am saying is that the preacher has more to do than just share the message! Just like lawyer's job is not only to speak in court but he also must do all the background work before and after the hearing such as meeting with clients, filling the paper work, finding the evidence etc. So the preacher must also prepare himself before preaching the message and also AFTER preaching the message

He must also be the one who after he sows seed labour in prayer to keep away the birds, to take away the rocks to break the hard soil so that the seed can take root!

I hope this makes things more clear!
thanks again!

In Christ,
Evangel Tam

 2011/11/27 14:20Profile
ThyKingCome
Member



Joined: 2011/4/19
Posts: 169
Southern CA

 Re: The Preacher

This was truly an inspired posting. Thank you so much for sharing this. My heart leaped with joy while reading this...all I can say is amen and amen.

We need some modern day Haggai's and Zechariah's who can be used by Christ to prosper His Church through the preaching and prophesying of the Word.

May the Lord raise up His vessel for your Church in His timing and His way.

God bless you!


_________________
Brother Kevin

 2011/11/27 15:44Profile





©2002-2024 SermonIndex.net
Promoting Revival to this Generation.
Privacy Policy